    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
    [January 11, 2002]
    [Pages 53-56]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on Signing the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields
    Revitalization Act in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania
    January 11, 2002

        Thank you very much for that warm welcome. It's great to be back
    here in Pennsylvania.
        I'm glad to be traveling with one of the most effective members of
    my Cabinet, the former Governor of New Jersey, now the Administrator of
    the EPA, Christie Todd Whitman.
    America is getting to know what people in this part of the world
    understand, that she is an able Administrator, a fine person, a person
    who cares deeply about the environment and our country. And she's going
    to go down as one of the best selections I have made in my Cabinet. So
    Christie Todd, thank you for coming, and thank you for your leadership.
        I want to thank you all for coming. When I saw the family over
    there, it reminded me that we have more responsibilities than just those
    on the war. And that is, we've got a responsibility of making sure every
    child is educated and that the environment in which our children grow up
    is healthy and clean.
        I'm here to sign this bill, and it's a very important piece of
    legislation. It's a great accomplishment. And I do so in Pennsylvania
    because your State has been on the forefront of brownfield legislation,
    thanks to now the--in part, to the Director of our homeland security
    effort, Governor Tom Ridge.
        I want to share with you, just right quick, my attitudes about how
    to keep the peace. And the reason I brought up the family is, is that
    it's so important for our fellow Americans to understand that our
    efforts overseas and our efforts at home are all aimed at making sure
    that little fellow can grow up in a peaceful world and in a world that
    understands freedom.
        We have learned that there are some on this globe that hate America
    and hate what America stands for. Those folks didn't understand our
    country. They thought, because we were prosperous and free, we would be
    soft and complacent. They made a grave mistake. Our war overseas and our
    war at home to stop terrorist activity is all aimed at making sure the
    youth of America can grow up in a free society. They will not stop us.
    They will not deter us. We will achieve our aims and bring the
    terrorists to justice no matter where they hide or where they exist.
        So we'll be focused overseas, and we'll be making sure we follow
    every single lead about whether or not they're going to try

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    to hit us again. But we've also got a lot of work to do here at home. I
    made that clear the other day when I signed a really good piece of
    legislation, and that's the education reform bill. And I'm now making
    that statement again when I sign this sensible piece of legislation, one
    that emphasizes the need for environmental stewardship all across the
    country, and a piece of legislation that will enhance prosperity and the
    safety of Americans living in urban areas.
        This bill was passed because of the work of both Republicans and
    Democrats. It's an example of what can happen when people put
    partisanship aside and focus on what's best for America. It shows what
    can happen when people say, ``I'm proud of my political party, but I'm
    more proud of my country, and I'm in Washington, DC, to do what's right
    for America first, not my political party.''
        And so I want to thank Paul Gillmor from
    the State of Ohio. Paul flew over today from his district outside of
    Toledo, in order to watch this bill being signed. And it's right that
    he's here, because he was the main sponsor in the House, who has worked
    hard to get this piece of legislation through. Paul, I want to thank you
    for coming. I look forward to giving you the pen, as I sign the bill.
    This should be one of the high marks of your leadership and your service
    to the country. So thank you for being here, sir.
        I want to thank two members of the Pennsylvania delegation for being
    here, Joe Hoeffel and Bob Borski. Thank you both for being here and taking time out
    of your day to come. It's good to see the old Governor here. I
    appreciate Mark coming today. I appreciate
    his leadership, and I know the people of the Commonwealth of
    Pennsylvania appreciate his willingness to step in when Ridge left, and he's doing a fine job. I want to thank the
    attorney general, Mike Fisher, for being here as
    well. Michael, thanks for coming, and thanks for your service to
    Pennsylvania.
        And then I want to thank Brian O'Neill. I
    knew the O'Neills were a big family, but I didn't realize--[laughter]--
    they were that big. But I thank Brian for being a risktaker--somebody
    who understands that in order to create jobs, you have to take risk;
    somebody who is an entrepreneur; somebody who has had the vision to take
    these eyesores and convert them into positive economic assets that
    benefit the community at large. And so, Brian, I'm proud of the work you
    do, no more so than the citizens of this community. You're leaving
    behind a legacy that is positive and strong. And I'm honored to be here
    at your place of business. Thank you, sir.
        I also want to thank some of the Senators that worked on this piece
    of legislation, none of whom could be here today. They're traveling
    around in different parts of the globe. One is Senator Lincoln
    Chafee from Rhode Island; he sponsored the
    bill. Kit Bond worked on it; Senator Bob
    Smith, Senator Harry Reid
    all worked hard to get this legislation out of the Senate and eventually
    onto my desk.
        All of us have a responsibility to be the stewards of our land. When
    we use the land, we must do so wisely and responsibly, balancing the
    needs of the environment with the best interests of those who live and
    work on the land.
        The law I sign today addresses the problem of land which has already
    been developed and then abandoned. American cities have many such
    eyesores; anywhere from 500,000 to a million brownfields are across our
    Nation. These areas once supported manufacturing and commerce, and now
    lie empty, adding nothing of value to the community and sometimes only
    causing problems.
        Many communities and entrepreneurs have sought to redevelop
    brownfields. Often they could not, either because of excessive
    regulation or because of the fear of endless litigation. As a
    consequence, small businesses and other employers have located
    elsewhere, pushing development

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    farther and farther outward, taking jobs with them and leaving cities
    empty.
        For its part, the Federal Government sometimes spent more time
    haggling over regulatory details than it did working with States and
    cities to fix the problem. The old way of doing things was to mandate,
    regulate, and litigate. That began to change a few years ago as some
    States, such as Pennsylvania, and some communities and local businesses
    began to work together in a constructive relationship to find positive
    solutions to the brownfield problem. And the Federal Government began to
    help by pursuing a more cooperative approach with regulatory relief,
    with loans, and with technical support.
        Here at the Millennium Corporate Center, if people take time to find
    out what happened, you'll see the possibilities of what can happen when
    people work together. For a long time this site was the site of a steel
    foundry. After the foundry closed, the property sat in disrepair.
    Finally, with a grant from the EPA, Montgomery County began to work to
    turn things around. Then O'Neill came in with
    private investment, and he received cooperation at every level of
    government. This place is a good place to work. It is now a good place
    to live. And there are going to be more people employed here than
    before. This is an example of what can happen, of what is possible.
        And the bill I am about the sign will enable this success to be
    repeated many times over, all over America. It gives protection against
    lawsuits to prospective buyers and others who didn't create the
    brownfields but want to help clean them up and develop them. And it will
    help strengthen State cleanup programs, with more Federal funding and
    less Federal meddling. My budget for next year will meet this commitment
    by requesting that Congress double EPA's brownfields funding.
        The law will also make way for the creation of more jobs. As the
    employees here know, when a business develops a brownfield, it turns a
    stagnant plot of land into a productive neighborhood. What we ought to
    be asking in America is, what does it take to create more jobs? Sure, we
    want those who have been affected by 9/11 to be helped with an
    unemployment check, but what they really want is a permanent paycheck.
    In all public policy--public policy ought to figure out ways to make
    sure that the entrepreneurs can succeed, so that there is job creation
    taking place all over the country. This is a good jobs creation bill.
        Further benefit will come as businesses recycle older properties and
    spare surrounding lands from development. There has been a lot of talk
    about urban sprawl. Well, one of the best ways to arrest urban sprawl is
    to develop brownfields and make them productive pieces of land where
    people can find work and employment. By one estimate, for every acre of
    redeveloped brownfields, we save 4\1/2\ acres of open space.
        This legislation will also protect small-business owners from
    unwarranted Superfund liability. Lawyers and governments used to tell
    small-business owners that because they sent their trash to a landfill
    and because that landfill became contaminated, they were potentially
    liable for cleaning up the entire site. When Government acts in such a
    heavy-handed way, it hurts a lot of people; it works against its own
    purposes; it discourages small-business growth. With this bill, we are
    returning common sense to our cleanup program. We will protect innocent
    small-business owners and employees from unfair lawsuits and focus our
    efforts, instead, on actually cleaning up contaminated sites.
        Environmental protection and economic growth can go on together. It
    is possible for the two to exist, if we're wise about public policy. And
    the law that I'm about to sign is good public policy. It's got a lot of
    common sense in it. It's wise. It

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    encourages growth. It fosters the environment. It is the best--it shows
    what can--it is the best of Washington, when people decide to cooperate,
    not bicker, when people put the national interests ahead of political
    interests.
        And so it's an honor to be here in Pennsylvania to sign the most
    important piece of environmental legislation that came out of the
    Congress last year, the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields
    Revitalization Act.
        Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 9:45 a.m. in the Millennium 3 building at
    the Millennium Corporate Center. In his remarks, he referred to Gov.
    Mark Schweiker of Pennsylvania and Brian O'Neill, chairman of the board,
    O'Neill Properties Group. H.R. 2869, approved January 11, was assigned
    Public Law No. 107-118.