[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2001, Book II)]
[December 20, 2001]
[Pages 1530-1531]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks to Martha's Table Leaders and Volunteers
December 20, 2001
Thank you all. It must be hard to describe how to cause people to
love one another, which is precisely why this program is so meaningful
and so real to people. I'm here because I want the American people to
understand the greatest gift they can give this holiday season is to
programs such as Martha's Table.
We're such a generous nation, and after September the 11th, people
gave very generously to those whose lives were affected as a result of
the terrorist activity. But unfortunately, contributions to
organizations, community-based organizations all aimed at helping
brothers and sisters in need, have fallen off.
And so my wish for Christmas, for the holiday season, is for our
country to be at peace, to be protected, that our men and women overseas
are protected, but that the great generosity of Americans come to the
surface again to help people whose sole purpose is to say, ``What can I
do to help somebody? What can I do? How can I live the Biblical
admonition to treat somebody just like I'd like to be treated myself?''
I want to thank the leadership of this great program. It's a pretty
strong leadership. First of all, they got my mother to come--
[laughter]--who said, ``When you get up there, you make sure you go by
Martha's Table.'' I said, ``Yes, ma'am.'' [Laughter] And by the way, I'm
going to see her Saturday, and I look forward
to telling her you're doing great. I got to see the expansion, the new
addition to this program. And I want to congratulate the members of the
board and the hard workers who've gone out to raise the money to see
that the expansion came to be. I want to thank all the volunteers who
are here.
You know, part of my vision for a better America is that our country
understands the power of faith-based and community-based organizations--
and government should do everything it can to facilitate their expansion
all around the country--that a lot of times faith can do things that
others can't. And while governments should never promote a particular
religion, governments should not fear faith and should welcome those
programs based upon faith, because government couldn't possibly
duplicate what goes on inside this building. There is no way that our
Government could mandate love. I used to tell people, I wish I could
make people love one another, and I'd sign the bill, but that's not the
way life works. What happens is, dedicated citizens decide they're going
to do something
[[Page 1531]]
to embetter the community in which they live and, without government,
say, ``Let's go. Let's roll. Let's make it happen.'' And that's what's
happened here at Martha's Table.
So I urge my fellow citizens to find ways to contribute not only
time but money. Instead of giving a gift this year, for example, one of
the things I hope people do instead of sending Laura and me something,
if they choose to do so, I would hope they would figure out a way to
help a community, a charitable-based organization. It would be the best
gift you could possibly give us. If they're trying to send Barney a
gift, they ought to send it to a charitable-based organization. That
would make our hearts feel great, and I know it would help people in
need.
And while we're here in this joyous season, we've also got to
remember, people hurt in our society. And as a result of September the
11th, people have lost work. And I'm worried about that. I've been
working hard to try to get the Congress to take care of unemployed
people, people who lost their jobs.
I thought we made pretty good progress yesterday when Republicans
and Democrats decided to set aside the typical partisanship that takes
place in Washington and put a pretty good package out there--not a
pretty good, a real good package--that said that we're going to extend
the unemployment benefits for displaced workers, that we're going to
help people with health care needs in a significant way--over $30
billion to help unemployed people take care of themselves during this
period of national tragedy.
As well, in the package that passed the House of Representatives,
there are ways to stimulate small business growth. And the truth of the
matter is, we've got to figure out ways to create jobs in America. A job
is the best thing that you can do to help anybody. And unfortunately,
that particular piece of legislation was declared dead before it even
got to the Senate floor, even though I'm confident that, if it was ever
voted on, it would pass. I think we need to pass that bill. I think, for
the good of the American people, that bill ought to get out of the
United States Senate and get to my desk so that we can help the
unemployed people and help grow jobs.
And I hope, as well, next year when we come back, that the Faith-
Based Initiative passes. I think this--again, this isn't a partisan
issue; this is a good American issue. This is an issue that will help
people. And that's what I want to see. I want to see people in need have
hope, people who live with despair in their lives have sunshine. And I
know how to get it done, and that is to encourage places like Martha's
Table to flourish and grow.
My fellow Americans need to know that as we head into this time of
joy, that our Nation is doing everything we can to protect our citizens,
that we'll be on alert during the holiday season, that if we have any
hint anybody wants to hurt us, we'll respond, to make sure that the good
citizens of our land are able to celebrate peacefully with their
families.
I wish everybody a happy holiday season. I want to thank you all for
giving me the chance to come by a place of love and compassion. I want
to thank you for what you do, on behalf of all Americans.
God bless.
Note: The President spoke at 1:34 p.m. in the upstairs after-school
program room at Martha's Table. In his remarks, he referred to his
mother, Barbara Bush, and his dog Barney.