[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2001, Book II)]
[October 24, 2001]
[Pages 1295-1298]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks to Employees of the Dixie Printing and Packaging Corporation in 
Glen Burnie, Maryland
October 24, 2001

    Thank you all very much. Please be seated. Newth, thank you very much. And Ray and Susan Blavatt, thank you for 
being here, as well. I'm glad my SBA Director is here; Hector 
Barreto is in charge of the Small 
Business Association. And Hector, thank you for coming. I want to thank 
the employees of Dixie Printing and my fellow Americans.
    Some might ask why, in the midst of war, I would come to Dixie 
Printing. They say, ``Here you are conducting a campaign against 
terrorists, and you take time to come to a small business.'' And the 
answer is, because we fight in the war on two fronts. We fight a war at 
home, and part of the war we fight is to make sure that our economy 
continues to grow.
    When the terrorists struck our homeland, they thought we would fold. 
They thought our economy would crater. That's what they wanted. But they 
don't understand America. They don't understand the entrepreneurial 
spirit of our country. They don't understand the spirit of the working 
men and women of America. They don't understand that small-business 
owners all across our country are saying, ``We're not going to allow you 
to terrorize us.'' We're going to make sure our--[applause].
    I am here to report that we're doing well on both fronts. Overseas, 
our diplomatic efforts are strong. Nations all across the globe have 
bound with the United States to send a clear message that we'll fight 
terrorism wherever it may exist.

[[Page 1296]]

    Recently I was in China. I had an interesting meeting, as you can 
imagine, with the President of Russia, the 
head of China, Mexico, 
Chile--were all represented. And to a leader, 
from all kinds of nations, some Muslim, some not, the people said, ``We 
stand with America. We stand with America in our noble goal of finding 
the evildoers and bringing them to justice.''
    As you know, I have asked our military to take an active role in the 
campaign. I set out a doctrine to America that said the following: Not 
only will we hold terrorists accountable for their activities, we will 
also hold those accountable, those nations accountable that harbor them, 
that hide them, that try to feed them. And that's exactly what we're 
doing in Afghanistan.
    I gave the Afghan Government, the Taliban Government, plenty of time 
to respond to the demands of the United States. I said, ``You must hand 
over the Al Qaida leadership which hides in your country.'' I said, 
``You must free those who you illegally detain in your country.'' And I 
said, ``You must destroy the camps that have been used to train the 
terrorists.'' And they had time to respond, and they didn't respond 
positively, and therefore, they're paying a price.
    Our military is conducting a campaign to bring the terrorists to 
justice, not to harm the Afghan people. While we are holding the Taliban 
Government accountable, we're also feeding Afghan people. You need to be 
proud of the United States military. It's doing its job. It is slowly 
but surely encircling the terrorists so that we'll bring them to 
justice. We're patient. We're firm. We have got a strategy that is going 
to work. And make no mistake about it, justice will be done.
    But there is another front in this war, and the front is here at 
home. It's something that, obviously, we're not used to in America. 
We've had oceans which have protected us over our history. Except for 
Pearl Harbor, we've never really been hit before. And yet, on September 
11th, this great land came under attack. And it's still under attack as 
we speak. Anybody who puts poison in mail is a terrorist. Anybody who 
tries to affect the lives of our good citizens is evil.
    I'm oftentimes asked by our friends in the press, do I know if 
there's a direct connection between what took place on September the 
11th and what's happening today. I have no direct evidence, but there 
are some links. Both series of actions are motivated by evil and hate. 
Both series of actions are meant to disrupt Americans' way of life. Both 
series of actions are an attack on our homeland. And both series of 
actions will not stand.
    It's important for the American people to know our Government is 
doing everything we can on both fronts of this war. On the homefront, 
we've got an Office of Homeland Security, the job of which is to 
organize and coordinate our functions of Government in such a way as to 
disrupt and find those who would harm our citizens. We've got thousands 
of FBI agents scouring the information, asking questions, following up 
leads, all aimed to raise the risk of someone who would harm our 
citizens.
    And as well, we've responded to every incident that has occurred. 
Our Nation has responded with bravery and courage. I'm proud of our 
health officials who responded so quickly to the incidents that took 
place. And unfortunately, we lost life, and our prayers are with anybody 
who lose life in America. But I firmly believe their quick actions saved 
many lives, as well.
    We're learning about terror and evil, and our country is responding 
forcefully. The American people have got remarkable spirit and 
remarkable resolve. We are strong. We are united. And we are determined 
to prevail.
    One of the effects of the attacks has been on our economy. Make no 
mistake about it: September 11th affected economic growth, and our 
Government must respond in an effective way. And so I'm here to

[[Page 1297]]

talk about an important part of the homefront security, and that is our 
economy.
    First of all, the bases for economic growth are very strong. The 
entrepreneurial spirit is really strong in America. We're the haven for 
small-business opportunity in our country. I mean, more jobs are created 
through small-business owners and the entrepreneurs of America than they 
are through large corporate America. And so as we think through how to 
encourage economic growth, we've got to always keep in mind the small 
business and the medium-sized businesses of America.
    Secondly, our tax structure has been improved. In other words, we're 
giving people more of their own money back. And that's an important part 
of economic growth. We just finished distributing about 40 billion in 
rebate checks. Maybe some of you have received a 600 or $300 check. 
That's part of encouraging growth. And by the way, those tax cuts that 
have just begun will continue next year and the year after that, as 
well.
    And we've acted confidently and quickly to spend money necessary to 
help the country recover from the attacks. We spent money on helping 
rebuild New York City and the Pentagon. We have spent money to stabilize 
our airline industry, which was the industry most directly affected by 
the attacks of September the 11th. We've spent money to take care of 
workers who have lost jobs, and that's necessary, and that's important.
    And we've taken enough money--spending money to make sure we defend 
our country and accomplish our mission overseas. That spending has 
amounted to about $60 billion above and beyond our budget. That money 
will help with job creation and will help our economy grow. It's 
necessary to spend that kind of money in a time of emergency, and we're 
in times of emergency.
    But I strongly believe it's time to balance this amount of spending 
with additional tax relief. My judgment, we've provided a lot of money 
in the short run, and in order to encourage and stimulate our economy, 
we ought to offset that money with additional tax relief. And I want to 
describe some of what that means.
    First, we need to accelerate the tax relief that is already going to 
happen. In other words, instead of waiting for next year's tax relief to 
happen, let's put it into this year, to bolster consumer spending. We 
want you to have more money to spend, particularly as we head into the 
Christmas season. We want our consumers feeling confident.
    One way to feel confident is for the people to know there's a strong 
homeland security initiative and strategy, that our country is doing 
everything we can to succeed. And there's nothing like boosting 
confidence than a little extra money in the pocket, too.
    I also believe we ought to have rebates for low- and moderate-income 
workers, people who might have filed an income tax return but didn't get 
any rebate last time. Those good folks have been particularly hard-hit 
as a result of September the 11th. And that ought to be a part of our 
consumer confidence package.
    And then there's the business side, and I want you to know that 
we've thought very carefully about how to stimulate economic vitality 
and growth. And it's a package that will help small-business America. 
It's a package that will do two things: One, encourage more investment, 
immediate investment in plant and equipment, and therefore, one that 
will help small businesses not only retain their workforce but hopefully 
expand their workforces.
    And, therefore, we need to reform the corporate income tax to get 
rid of the alternative minimum tax, which so severely affects small 
businesses like Dixie. As well, we need to allow businesses to deduct 
more of the cost of new investments immediately. We need to say to the 
Dixie Printings of America, ``If you invest in equipment now, you're 
rewarded for that

[[Page 1298]]

investment.'' To me, that makes common sense. It's a good way to make 
sure that we enhance the employment opportunities of America.
    The terrorists wanted our economy to stop. It hasn't. They wanted to 
diminish the spirit of America. It didn't. They thought the Government 
wouldn't be able to react. The Government is going to react with an 
economic stimulus package that is good for workers. The House is getting 
ready to vote on that package. I urge them to pass it, and then I urge 
the Senate to act quickly to make sure that the American people 
understand that at this part of our homeland defense, our country and 
the Congress is united.
    You know, I said early on that through my tears I see opportunity. 
And I believe my faith teaches that out of evil can come good, and 
there's been a lot of good that has come out of this terrible situation. 
By the way, there's a spirit of cooperation in Washington that is very 
positive. We've got Republicans and Democrats talking to each other. 
[Laughter] That's good. It's very important during this time in our 
history that we in Washington, DC, show that we can work together.
    I don't know if you know this or not, but I'm now having a weekly 
breakfast with the leaders of the House and the Senate, both Republicans 
and Democrats. And I can report that there is no party that has got a 
lock on patriotism. The Democrats, just like Republicans, want to win 
this war. And we're talking about how to best solve the problems with 
which we're confronted.
    But there's also a lot of other good, too. We've got moms and dads 
reassessing values, recognizing there are things that are so precious in 
life, like their children and their marriage and their family and their 
church and their synagogue and their mosque. Values are strong in 
America. Those who struck our country didn't realize--didn't realize, 
because they're so evil and so dark and so negative, they couldn't 
realize that there's going to be such good that comes out of what took 
place in America.
    We're resolved. We are strong. We're determined. We're patient. And 
this Nation is going to do whatever it takes. You see, my attitude is, 
is that how the Dixie Printings behave and how the workers behave here 
and how the citizens of Maryland behave are incredibly important. How 
you respond to these attacks are incredibly important, not only to help 
win the war today but to set the example for future generations of 
Americans.
    It's important that we win today, place that flag of freedom 
squarely in the world, because this is the first battle of the 21st 
century, and it's a battle we must win--we have no choice--for our 
children and our grandchildren. And it means that the country is going 
to have to do what it takes. And I'm here to report, we are. We are 
going to do it.
    So I want to thank you for giving me a chance to drop in to say 
hello. I am so honored to be the President of this great Nation, and I 
mean great. What a fabulous land we have. And the reason why is because 
we've got such fabulous citizens.
    Thank you for letting me come by. God bless.

Note: The President spoke at 1:42 p.m. on the factory floor of the Dixie 
Printing & Packaging Corp. In his remarks, he referred to A. Newth 
Morris, president, and Raymond J. Bedell, general manager, Dixie 
Printing & Packaging Corp.; Susan Blavatt, president and owner, ASC 
Corp.; President Vladimir Putin of Russia; President Jiang Zemin of 
China; President Vicente Fox of Mexico; and President Ricardo Lagos of 
Chile. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish 
language transcript of these remarks.