    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
    [May 13, 2002]
    [Pages 784-787]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks in a Discussion on the Welfare to Work Program in Chicago,
    Illinois
    May 13, 2002

        The President. Thank you all very much for that warm welcome. Mr.
    Mayor, I'm honored to be in your presence.
    This man is a great mayor of a great city. I've learned one thing: I'd
    rather have him for me than against me. [Laughter] And the good news is,
    he is for the people of Chicago, and that's important, Mr. Mayor.
        Michael, thank you very much for having us
    here. We're honored to be able to come and to talk about how to make
    America a more compassionate and better place for all people.
        I want to thank Rodney Carroll, who is
    the president of the Welfare-to-Work Partnership, for being here. He has
    helped recruit thousands of businesses across the country, which have
    employed over 1.1 million citizens who were formerly on welfare, who are
    now independent and free to realize their dreams. Rodney, thank you for
    your leadership. I want to thank my two new friends who are here, with
    whom we'll be discussing their lives and how important work is for the
    future of their family.
        I want to thank members of the congressional delegation who are
    joining us today: Senator Peter
    Fitzgerald--thank you, Peter, for coming. Congressman Rod Blagojevich--thank you, Rod, for being here. The
    chairman, Henry Hyde--thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    I'm glad you're here.
        I'm looking forward to flying back to Washington with the
    Chairman on Air Force One. I announced this
    morning at the South Lawn of the White House that we've reached an
    agreement with Russia on a treaty that will substantially reduce our
    nuclear weaponry, so that we can enter into a new era of relations with
    Russia. I can't wait to explain it to you, Mr. Chairman, and I
    appreciate your support.
        I want to thank Judy Biggert for being
    here. Judy, thank you for coming. I appreciate Mark Kirk as well for coming. Thank you, Congressman.
    Jerry Weller--thank you, Jerry. I appreciate
    you being here. Finally, the attorney general of the State of Illinois,
    Jim Ryan--thank you, Jim.
        I want you to know that we're here to talk about how to make America
    better. Before we talk about that, I want to remind you of one thing: My
    job is also to make sure America is safer. And the best way to make
    America safe is to not only have a homeland security strategy that will
    support our mayors and our police and fire and EMS teams all across
    America; but to make America safe, we've got to hunt these killers down
    one by one and bring them to justice.
        And much to the chagrin of the enemy, we are a united country. The
    security of America has nothing to do with our political parties; it has
    everything to do with doing our jobs. We are a united nation; we are a
    patient nation. And we're plenty tough when it comes to protecting that

    [[Page 785]]

    which we hold dear. And what we hold dear is freedom, and we're not
    going to let anybody get it.
        I can't imagine--I can't imagine what was going through the mind of
    those people. They must have thought we were so materialistic, so self-
    absorbed that all we was going to do is maybe file a couple of lawsuits.
    [Laughter] But much to their chagrin, they realized that we're tough.
    But also the world is learning we're compassionate as well. While we
    work to make the world more secure, we've got to make the world a better
    place.
        And it starts right here at home. Today I had the honor of meeting
    Adrienne and Jerry Welenc. Would you all stand up for a second, please? [Applause]
    These good folks--hold on, don't applaud yet, until you hear what
    they've done. They have fostered over 90 children over the last 35
    years. These good Americans didn't need a law; they didn't need a
    government telling them what to do. They decided to love a neighbor just
    like they wanted to be loved themselves. These good Americans asked the
    question, what could they do to save one person's life.
        If you want to join the war on terror, help somebody in need. It's
    going to be hard to do what they've done; 90 children over 35 years is a
    fantastic feat. But it's a fabulous tribute to Americans making the
    decision to help somebody. We can't do it all, but we can help one
    person at a time. And as we do so, America will be a more compassionate
    place. As we work hard to defy the evil ones through military strength,
    we must also do so with the kindness and compassion that define America.
        I want to thank you all for being here. God bless you for your work.
        And we can continue to make America a better place by helping people
    find work. We can help America be a compassionate, decent land, where
    hope can penetrate places of despair and despondency, by helping people
    find a job.
        And that's what we're here to talk about, as we reauthorize the
    welfare bill. It is essential that a central component of that bill be
    work. We must set high standards. Over the next 5 years, the States, and
    working with the local governments, ought to place 70 percent of the
    people on welfare into a job. It is important not only for our society;
    it's important for the people. Because as you're about to hear, a job is
    such an important part of a person's dignity, a person's future.
        And so one of the things about welfare--welfare to work is, not only
    do we need to encourage businesses to provide a place; we've got to
    encourage States to get after it, to provide training and help. Listen,
    the welfare budget we're submitting is $17 billion. That's the same
    level it was when we had twice the number of welfare cases we had to
    deal with. The welfare rolls have declined in half, yet the dollars are
    the same, which ought to be ample money to help people with training or
    drug treatment, to give them a chance so that they can work and realize
    the dignity of a job. When we reauthorize welfare, let us always
    remember that a job is a central core to someone's hopeful future.
        I want to make three other points, and then I promise, Mr.
    Mayor, I'll be quiet--for a brief period of
    time. The best way to help people avoid welfare is education. Mr. Mayor,
    I want to thank you for setting high standards for the public schools of
    the city of Chicago. Washington doesn't know everything, believe it or
    not. That may be a horrible admission for somebody who lives there
    temporarily to say. The best way to help people get off welfare is to
    empower local folks, is to recognize one size doesn't fit all, is to
    recognize that the more options there are at the local level, the more
    opportunity it is for people to succeed.
        And finally, in order to make sure welfare works, we've got to
    welcome faith-based and community-based programs into the compassionate
    delivery of help. We

    [[Page 786]]

    shouldn't fear faith in our society. We ought to welcome faith. We ought
    to welcome the programs that come out of our inner-city churches or
    synagogues and mosques. Our Government ought to say, ``You ought to be
    able to access Federal money to help people in need, without losing your
    mission.'' In order to make sure that welfare works, not only do you
    encourage jobs, but we need to welcome those programs that can
    fundamentally change people's lives by changing their hearts.
        Mr. Mayor, I want to thank you for
    letting me come here to Chicago. I've been talking too much. So what I'm
    going to do is ask Rodney Carroll, who's in
    charge of this Welfare to Work Partnership--one of the things I preach
    is personal responsibility. There's also such things as corporate
    responsibility in America. CEOs have the responsibility not only to make
    sure that we all understand fully their assets and their liabilities,
    that there's full disclosure, but they have the responsibilities of
    helping the communities in which they live. Mike
    has done a fabulous job doing that for Big Brown, and Rodney's in charge
    of lining up corporate America to do that as well.
        Welcome, Rodney.

    [At this point, the discussion began.]

        The President. I believe the thing that's interesting to note is, a
    beneficiary, of course, is UPS. [Laughter] You talk--for a person who
    has never worked a day in her life until UPS, you're one articulate
    soul.
        Vivian Kimmons. Thank you, thank you.
        The President. And that's a really good job.
        Ms. Kimmons. Thank you very much. Thank
    you, Mr. President.
        The President. Congratulations.
        Ms. Kimmons. Thank you.
        The President. And your oldest daughter?
        Ms. Kimmons. She's 17.
        The President. What's she fixing to do?
        Ms. Kimmons. She's about to graduate from
    the Firefighters Police Academy, tomorrow night at 6 p.m.

    [The discussion continued.]

        The President. Great job. Thank you very much, Lupe.
        I think the--what we're trying to say here, most eloquently by these
    two ladies, is that in this country, if you give somebody a chance, they
    can succeed. Now, it takes extra help sometimes, and we've got to
    provide that help. It takes a little extra education. We've got to
    provide that education. If we don't get it right the first time, we
    can't quit. We've got to get it right the second time.
        But the key is, is that when this country puts its mind to
    something, like making sure every child gets educated or making sure
    everybody gets a hand--businesses cooperating, local government
    cooperating, Federal Government--we can succeed. And here are two prime
    examples of what we're talking about, people who now have hope, children
    who see their mom--and by the way, being a single mom, raising children,
    is the toughest job in America; it's the toughest work. And that's what
    makes these two stories even more courageous and successful.
        I told them, when we got it--back there in the back they said they
    were nervous. I said, ``There's not going to be many people out there.''
    [Laughter] But I thank you for sharing with us your hearts and your
    story. For those people who are watching and realize that--and maybe
    wondering whether you can succeed, just look at these two ladies.
    They're great examples of what is possible, what is possible.
        Mr. Mayor, one of the things you do is
    you run a great city, and you care deeply about the lives of the
    citizens here. In the city of Chicago, the welfare rolls are down by 70
    percent. We're proud of your record, Mr. Mayor, and we'd love to hear
    from you.

    [The discussion continued.]

    [[Page 787]]

        The President. Michael, I want to thank you
    all for giving us a chance to come and visit with you. There's a lot of
    issues that we face in Washington or here in Chicago. But there's no
    bigger issue than all of us remaining united to show the world what
    we're made out of, that people from all walks of life, all backgrounds,
    political parties, can come together to defend our country and at the
    same time elevate the spirit of this great land, to defend common values
    that are bigger than any single individual, and to serve a nation by
    helping somebody. It's really what we're talking about today, people
    willing to help themselves, as well as corporate America willing to
    provide an opportunity so people can succeed.
        I want you to know that you live in the greatest country on the face
    of the Earth. The stories we hear here today speak to our greatness and
    speak to the fact that we will not rest as a nation when we see and find
    pockets of despair and hopelessness, that in order to make this country
    complete, everybody has got to feel a part of its future--not just some
    but everybody. Oh, I know that's a high goal, but it's a goal we can
    achieve. Working together, it's something that this Nation can do. Out
    of the evil done to America will come incredible good. And part of that
    incredible good is that the promise of America extend its reach into
    every single neighborhood.
        It is an honor for me to be here today. And it is an honor for me to
    be the President of the greatest country on the face of the Earth. God
    bless. Thank you all very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:30 a.m. in a loading area of the UPS
    Jefferson Street Hub. In his remarks, he referred to Mayor Richard M.
    Daley of Chicago; Mike Eskew, chairman and chief executive officer, UPS;
    and former welfare recipients Vivian Kimmons and Guadalupe ``Lupe''
    Meza, who participated in the discussion.