    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
    [June 7, 2002]
    [Pages 942-947]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the World Pork Expo in Des Moines, Iowa
    June 7, 2002

        The President. Thank you for that warm welcome. David, thanks for your kind remarks. It's a great honor to be
    here. It's a great pleasure to get out of Washington. [Laughter] It
    feels like I'm kind of getting closer to home, to be with people who
    make their living on the land. I'm honored to be with the good folks who
    supply our country with food and the good folks who live the values of
    the farm.
        I am honored to be traveling today with Tom Ridge. I gave a speech last night to the Nation that talked
    about the need to make sure we do everything we can to secure the
    homeland. And Tom--I convinced him to leave the Governor's--the
    statehouse of Pennsylvania to join me in Washington, and he's done a
    really good job, really good job.
        I want to thank some of my friends who flew down from Washington
    with me. I don't know if they wanted a free ride or not, but they came.
    [Laughter] You know how Senator Grassley
    is. [Laughter] Congressman Ganske, Leach, and Latham also came down
    with me, and I was honored to travel with them. I appreciate their
    friendship. We spent a lot of time talking

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    about the farm. Anytime you're around people from Iowa, at least the
    congressional delegation, they're always talking about the farm, and
    that's good. I'm told Senator Harkin is here.
    Thank you for coming, Senator. I appreciate you being here. Congressman
    Leonard Boswell is here. Thank you for
    coming, Congressman. I'm honored you're here. The Lieutenant Governor,
    Sally Pederson, is here; Governor, thank you
    for being here. I'm honored you came.
        I've got one regret. The traveling team wasn't complete.
    Unfortunately, my wife didn't come with me.

    [At this point, the audience groaned.]

        The President. Yes, I agree with you. [Laughter] You know, I'm
    really proud of her. The country has gotten to
    know Laura like I have gotten to know her. People now understand why I
    asked her to marry me. A lot of people are still confused as to why she
    said yes. [Laughter] But she has been a great comfort to our Nation and
    a great love of my life.
        I remember--I remember campaigning in Chicago, and one of the
    reporters said, ``Would you ever deficit spend?'' I said, ``Only--only
    in times of war, in times of economic insecurity as a result of a
    recession, or in times of national emergency.'' Never did I dream we'd
    have a trifecta. [Laughter]
        But I want you to know we are dealing with these issues in a way
    that I hope makes you proud that we're dealing with the issues. I'm
    doing everything I can to put the interests of the American people ahead
    of politics. I'm doing everything I can--everything I can to address
    these issues in a way that solves problems. So for example, on the issue
    of economic security, I went at it in a way--the only way I knew how,
    which is in a straightforward, plain-spoken way.
        I said, the best way to make sure we've got a strong farm economy
    and to make sure our economy recovers from the recession is to let
    people keep their own money. I believe that when you let a person keep
    his own--his or her own money, they're going to spend it. And when they
    spend it, it increases demands for goods and services. And with an
    increase of demand for goods and services, somebody has got to produce
    that good and service. And when they produce it, it means somebody's
    going to find work.
        It was one year ago today, I had the honor of signing the tax relief
    bill that Chairman Chuck Grassley--then-
    Chairman Grassley--shepherded--helped shepherd through the United States
    Senate. It was the right public policy at the right time for the United
    States of America. And today I'm told that there are some statistics
    coming out that shows that the unemployment rate in America is dropping.
    People are getting back to work. My attitude is, I don't pay attention
    to the numbers, however. If a person's looking for work and can't find
    work, I'm worried about it. And so long as there are people looking for
    work who can't find work, we're going to continue doing the right thing
    in Washington to stimulate job creation.
        Now, part of that tax relief package was something really important
    for the future of the country and for the future of your families.
    Finally, the United States Congress realized how unfair the death tax is
    to the people who make a living on the farm, and finally, we repealed
    the death tax. Now--but because of a quirk in the law, that repeal isn't
    permanent. It's hard for me to explain why. They repeal it but didn't
    repeal it. And so what I want you to do is work with Members of the
    United States Senate so that they do what they did in the House, which
    is to make the repeal of the death tax permanent. It makes no sense to
    tax a person's assets twice, and it makes no sense to have a tax that
    drives people off the farm. For the good of American agriculture, let's
    make sure that death tax is forever buried and forever done away with.

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        For the good of the economy and for economic security, they need to
    get me an energy bill, an energy bill that encourages conservation, an
    energy bill that encourages reasonable, environmentally sound
    exploration, and an energy bill--and an energy bill that promotes
    renewable sources of energy such as ethanol and biodiesel.
        When I first came to Iowa to ask for the support of the people here,
    and I talked about ethanol, people's eyes tended to glaze over at times
    because they said, ``Well, this guy's from Texas. He can't possibly mean
    what he says about ethanol.'' First, I hope I proved them wrong. And
    secondly, you've got to understand, it's in our Nation's national
    interest; it is in our national interest to have more forms of energy
    produced at home so we're less reliant upon foreign sources of energy.
        In order to make sure this economy is strong, we've got to make sure
    that the agricultural sector of our economy is strong. See, I understand
    that. I was from a--the Governor of the second largest agricultural
    State in the Union. I understand farm economics. I understand the need
    to have a hopeful economy. And I understand the need to be able to grow
    more--to grow more food than we need, for the national security of the
    country as well.
        But I also understand, when there's oversupply, it's a problem. And
    one of the ways to deal with oversupply is to sell Iowa pork in foreign
    markets. I need the trade promotion authority. It is time to quit
    playing politics with trade promotion. It's time for the House and the
    Senate to get together and get that bill on my desk. And my promise to
    you all is this: We're not going to treat agriculture as some second-
    class citizen when it comes to international trade agreements.
        I understand the importance of agriculture for our economy. I
    understand the importance of agriculture for job creation. And I
    understand the need to fight for foreign markets so that when we're good
    at something, we benefit. And we're good at growing hogs, and we ought
    to be selling our hogs all across the world.
        And the farm bill I signed recognizes the importance of trade. To
    put it in fancy Washington talk, it's what we call WTO-compliant. It
    means we've honored our trade agreements when it comes to agriculture.
    But it also recognizes, there needs to be a safety net for the American
    farmer. And it also recognizes the need to promote conservation in
    America through the EQIP program, for example. I signed a good farm
    bill. It's good for the American farmer, and it's good for the United
    States of America.
        And finally, to work on the economic security of this country, we
    need terrorism insurance. There's a lot of construction programs or
    projects that aren't going forward because people can't get the right
    kind of insurance for fear of a terrorist attack. And Congress has got
    to act, for the good of the working people, for the good of people who
    are building skyscrapers and construction projects all across America.
    The United States Congress needs to get to my desk a bill to make sure
    we've got terrorism insurance all across the United States of America.
    If we're interested in economic security, this is a good step in that
    right direction. This is a step in a direction that will help people
    find work when it comes to building plants and equipment. The economy's
    getting better, but I'm not going to rest until everybody can find work.
        The other big challenge we have is to make sure our homeland is
    secure. As I mentioned last night, when I get into the Oval Office every
    morning, I read what they call a threat assessment. By the way, I do
    have a ritual every morning. I'm still getting Laura the coffee. I hate to put the pressure on you guys,
    but--[laughter]--there I was this morning. I'm kind of on a farmer's
    schedule. We're up early. In comes the coffee. I don't spend a lot of
    time on the editorial pages, I want you to know. [Laughter] And then I'd
    walk the dogs, and it's a moment of high drama for the dogs. They're
    looking forward to getting

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    out of the confines of the White House. Spot the dog is pretty
    comfortable there. After all, she was born when my dad was the
    President, born right there at the White House. And so she's--second
    time around, feels--understands where the hedges are. [Laughter] And
    Barney, 1\1/2\-year-old Scottish terrier, he's a feisty little guy. He
    doesn't spend a lot of time in the White House--I mean, in the Oval
    Office. After all, we've got a new rug in there. [Laughter]
        So off goes Barney in one direction, and Spot and I go in the Oval
    Office. And I settle in to read this threat assessment, and it reminds
    me, on a daily basis, my most important job is to protect America from
    attack. We're constantly asking inside the White House, What can we do?
    What do we need to do to protect innocent Americans? And the reason
    we're having to do that is because we face a formidable enemy, an enemy
    which hates America because we stand for freedom. The problem is,
    they're going to be on the losing side because we're more formidable,
    because we love freedom.
        I don't know what went through their mind when they attacked us.
    They must have thought we were so materialistic and so weak and so self-
    absorbed that all we would do is file a couple of lawsuits. They found
    out we're a little different than that.
        And the first thing we've got to do is to make sure we do everything
    at home to protect the people. And that's why last night, on national
    TV, I proposed the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, a
    new Cabinet-level position that will consolidate the essential functions
    of securing our homeland into one agency.
        See, there's now over 100 different entities--agencies that deal
    with the homeland, which makes it kind of hard to hold anybody
    accountable. I believe in accountability in Government. After all, you
    will hold me accountable, and therefore, it's important to align
    authority and responsibility, to create accountability.
        Last night I used a couple of examples. You know, I said that the
    Coast Guard's--obviously--job is to patrol the coast, but they report to
    the Transportation Department. And the Transportation Department's
    primary function is not the security of the country. The Customs reports
    to the head of the Treasury. The main job of the Treasury is not the
    security of the country. It's time for us to consolidate, not to
    increase the size of Government but to increase the efficiency of your
    Government, so we can do the job you expect us to do.
        This is going to be a tough battle because we're going to be
    stepping on some people's toes. I understand that. You see, when you
    take power away from one person in Washington, it tends to make them
    nervous. So we're just going to have to keep the pressure on the people
    in the United States Congress to do the right thing. I believe it is
    going to happen.
        This morning we had a group of Senators and House Members from both
    parties--Joe Lieberman was there; Arlen
    Specter was there--talking about how to get
    this bill started in Congress and through Congress as quickly as
    possible. And so I'm confident it's going to happen, particularly when
    the American people understand it is in our national interests that we
    bring these agencies under one--under one head, so that we can do
    everything in our power--and I mean everything in our power--to keep you
    all safe.
        But the best way to keep you safe, the best way to protect the
    homeland, is to chase the killers down one by one and bring them to
    justice. And that's what we're going to do.
        I see some youngsters out there. I want you to understand that the
    goal of this country is to have peace. The goal of the United States is
    to remain strong and tough so that you can grow up in a peaceful world.
    That's my hope. And it's not just you growing up in a peaceful world; it
    is

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    children all around the world growing up in a peaceful world.
        But so long as there are people out there that want to harm us
    because of that vision, because we love freedom, because we worship
    freely, because we're free to speak our mind, the United States of
    America has an obligation to lead. The United States of America has an
    obligation to lead a coalition to bring people to justice. And so long
    as I'm the President of the United States, that is precisely what this
    great Nation is going to do.
        This is a new kind of war. We're not used to this kind of war in
    America. First of all, we weren't used to the fact that anybody could
    come into our country and kill thousands of innocent people. We've got
    to get used to the fact that they want to come again. That's what we
    have to get used to. But we've also got to get used to the fact that
    we're fighting an enemy that's willing to send youngsters to their
    suicide, to the death by suicide, and they, themselves, hide in a cave.
    And so it's going to require this country to be determined and strong
    and patient. And that's exactly how the country feels. And for that, I'm
    grateful. And for that, the enemy is nervous.
        You see, the world looks at us right now. They say, ``Well, this
    great bastion of freedom--how are we going to react? As time goes
    between September the 11th and now, what's going to happen to the United
    States? How strong are they? How much are they willing to defend their
    country? What are they really like?'' And that's why it's important for
    us to remain tough and strong. If we blink, the world's going to go to
    sleep, and I understand that. In order to defend freedom, we've got to
    have the world by our side. And that's what's going to happen, folks--
    that's just exactly what's going to happen.
        There is no cave dark enough and deep enough to prevent us from
    chasing down these killers. And so one by one, this great and steady and
    strong United States of America is going to liberate the world from
    people who would destroy civilization as we know it. It's the right
    course of action. History has called our Nation into action. History has
    given us a chance, and it's a chance I intend to seize.
        I believe--I firmly believe, out of the evil done to the country
    will come some great good; I do. I believe that over time, we can
    achieve peace in places where there's never been a hope for peace. I
    believe by being strong and diligent, by speaking out against right from
    wrong, by calling evil what it is, we can lead the world to a more
    peaceful tomorrow.
        And I also know this about America: Out of the evil done to our
    country can come some incredible good right here in Iowa, and all across
    the country. People ask me all the time, ``What can I do to help
    America? How can I participate in this war against terror?'' Well, if
    you're interested, really interested, you can call up--dial up USA
    Freedom Corps on the Internet to find out. But you don't need to do
    that. If you're interested in fighting evil, do some good. If you're
    interested in fighting evil, love a neighbor just like you'd like to be
    loved yourself.
        Sometimes the acts of kindness are noticeable, and sometimes they're
    not. Walking across the street to a shut-in, saying, ``I love you. What
    can I do to help you?'' is part of loving your neighbor like you'd like
    to be loved yourself. Mentoring a child is an incredibly important part
    of defining America for what we are, which is a country of goodness and
    decency.
        Today at the airport I met a young lady named Annie
    Wignall. She's the founder of Care Bags
    Foundation. Young lady--where are you, Annie? Stand up. [Applause] Annie
    started this foundation on her own. She just decided she's going to do
    something to make a difference in somebody's life. It collects and
    distributes clothes, toys, and personal care items to children who are
    victims of abuse or neglect. Annie is a soldier in the army of

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    compassion. Annie sets a good example for all of us. One person can't do
    everything, but one person can do something to make somebody's life
    better.
        So my call to my fellow Americans is that on the one hand we're
    tough, to keep the peace. But on the other hand, I know we can rise to
    the challenge of showing the world that in the face of the incredible
    evil done to America can come some great good. And it starts right with
    you. Every act of individual kindness and compassion, the gathering
    momentum of millions of acts of kindness and compassion, will show the
    enemy and the world the true face of the greatest nation on the face of
    the Earth.
        Thank you for letting me come by. God bless you.

    Note: The President spoke at 12:20 p.m. in the 4-H building at the Iowa
    State Fairgrounds. In his remarks, he referred to David Roper,
    president, National Pork Producers Council, who introduced the
    President. He also referred to EQIP, the Environmental Quality
    Incentives Program which is funded through the Commodity Credit
    Corporation.