[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2001, Book II)]
[October 11, 2001]
[Pages 1217-1218]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks Following a Cabinet Meeting
October 11, 2001

    I have asked my Cabinet to come in and give me a briefing on the 
progress that we're making on the war on terrorism. I can report to the 
American people we're making substantial progress.
    First, our Secretary of State and our 
diplomats around the world have put together a broad coalition of 
nations to make a stand against terrorists, terrorism, and those who 
harbor terrorists. And I'm really pleased. This coalition includes not 
only our friends in Europe and South America, but as we saw at the OIC 
conference, the Organization of Islamic Conferences, many Muslim nations 
have taken a very firm stand against terrorist activities, as well.
    Obviously, the Secretary of Defense 
and the Defense Department has been busy. As I said today, America is 
very proud of the men and women who wear the uniform; they're proud of 
your leadership too, sir. We'll leave the military briefing for the 
Pentagon.
    I had a good visit with our Secretary of Treasury, who informed me that we've now frozen $40 million worth of 
assets--Taliban and Al Qaida assets all around the world, and we've just 
begun. We want the terrorists to know that we're after them

[[Page 1218]]

in all kinds of ways, and one good way to make them ineffective is to 
cut off their money.
    The Attorney General has reported that 
here at the homeland--in the homeland we've interrogated over 600 people 
that may have been involved with the bombings, as well as spending a 
great deal of time analyzing information that could lead to the 
disruption of any potential attack on America.
    And then we discussed our legislative priorities before the Congress 
goes home. One of those, of course, is an economic stimulus package that 
must include tax relief that has got a positive effect on the economy in 
the short run.
    But there are two other aspects to a good, strong economic stimulus 
package, one of which is trade promotion authority. And the other is an 
energy bill. Now, there was a good energy bill passed out of the House 
of Representatives. And the reason it passed is because members of both 
parties understand an energy bill is not only good for jobs, it's 
important for our national security to have a good energy policy.
    And I urge the Senate to listen to the will of the Senators and move 
a bill--move a bill that will help Americans find work and also make it 
easier for all of us around this table to protect the security of the 
country. The less dependent we are on foreign sources of crude oil, the 
more secure we are at home.
    We've spent a lot of time talking about homeland security. An 
integral piece of homeland security is energy independence. And I ask 
the Senate to respond to the call to get an energy bill moving.
    We have got a lot of work to do, and everybody around this table 
understands that. We're a patient group of people; we're a disciplined 
group of people. But one thing we've got in mind as well is, we've got 
the best interests of the American people in mind. And I'm proud of the 
job everybody is doing here. I want to thank you on behalf of America 
for your hard work.
    I will see you all tonight.

Note: The President spoke at 3:02 p.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White 
House.