    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
    [January 31, 2002]
    [Pages 147-151]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks to Senior Corps Volunteers in Daytona Beach
    January 31, 2002

        The President. Thank you all very much. Please be seated. Well, it's
    good to be here with my little brother. [Laughter]
    Last night when we arrived, I had the honor of saying hello to, it
    looked like, a couple thousand citizens there. And I said I always like
    to go to States that have got a really good Governor. [Laughter] And I
    did.
        I want all the moms here to know that any success I've had, any
    success Jeb has had, is the result of having a
    strong mother. So my advice to the young in Florida is, always listen to
    your mother. [Laughter]
        Jeb and I know one thing, and that is that
    America can change, one heart, one soul at a time. We understand that a
    compassionate tomorrow and a safe tomorrow requires Presidents and
    Governors and mayors and county officials to rally the true strength of
    the country, which is our people.

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        You know, the enemy hit us the other day, a while ago. They didn't
    understand America. They thought we were weak and materialistic and
    soft. Instead, they have found a patient, determined, compassionate
    nation that stands in the way of their efforts to spread evil.
        In my State of the Union Address the other night, I chose to spend
    time talking about the spirit of unity in our country. To me, it is one
    of the most--as I said, I stand in awe of the American people,
    individually and collectively. I know--I know how strong we are as a
    nation. And now our job is to take that spirit and extend it for years
    to come.
        I like to describe it this way: Our culture has said, ``If it feels
    good, do it.'' Our dream--or my dream for the country is that we usher
    in a culture that says, ``Each of us are responsible for the decisions
    we make in life.'' We're responsible for loving our children. We are
    responsible for serving goals greater than ourself, and that means
    becoming involved in the communities in which we live.
        And so we're here today in Volusia County to herald a Senior Corps
    program that embodies the spirit that I was defining in my speech, a
    program that recognizes the power of recruiting volunteers to work side
    by side with police and fire and emergency rescuers to make sure that
    this county is more secure in its future.
        I want to thank Terry White, who is the
    Florida secretary of elder affairs. I mention the Florida office because
    we understand at the Federal Government, since I had been a Governor,
    that sometimes the Federal Government can help, and sometimes it can get
    in the way. I want to be--I want to have an administration that helps
    and doesn't thwart the efforts of local people. So I look forward to
    working with your Governor, and I look forward to
    working with the cabinet he's put together, to pass power out of
    Washington to local governments. The government that's closest to the
    people is that which works the best, as far as we're concerned.
        And somebody who understands that is Congressman John Mica, and I want to thank John for being here as well. I
    want to say a word about John. One of the--obviously, right after the
    attack, we realized the Federal Government had a responsibility to make
    sure our air travel was more secure. And as a result of his leadership
    and the leadership of others--but John had a major role to play--I was
    able to sign a good airline security bill that made traffic as secure as
    it possibly could be.
        And thanks to the result of our efforts, Brother was informing me today that people are beginning to
    travel more, coming back to this great destination State called Florida.
    I'm glad they're traveling more. I hope they travel more to Florida.
    It's good for our economy, and it's good for our Nation when people do
    that. But John, thank you for your leadership
    on this important issue.
        I also am so glad the Chairman of the Corporation for National and
    Community Service is with us, the former
    mayor of Indianapolis, Indiana, a man who understands what compassionate
    conservatism is all about, a guy who did a fabulous job of revitalizing
    Indianapolis through a faith-based initiative that was strong and
    powerful and locally derived, and now a man who is in charge of making
    sure that the initiatives I'm outlining get instituted, and that's
    Stephen Goldsmith. Thanks for coming, Steve.
        And with him is the CEO, Les Lenkowski.
    In my speech, I talked about making sure AmeriCorps and Senior Corps
    expand. Les's job is to follow through. I'm one of these accountability
    guys. I understand, sometimes in the political process, all you hear are
    words. I like to back them up with action. I like it to be known that--
    --
        Audience member. You bet!
        The President. You bet. [Laughter] I like to know that it's one
    thing to lay it out;

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    it's another thing to follow up. I'm a followup guy. Les understands that. And so, when we say we're going to
    have an active effort to recruit, I will be asking Les and John
    Bridgeland, who is now working for me, head
    of the USA Freedom Corps, ``What are the results? Have we been able to
    deliver what we said?'' And I'm confident we will, particularly since
    the spirit in this country is so strong. I'm confident--when I stood up
    in front of the Nation and said, ``I ask you to dedicate 2 years of your
    life, 4,000 hours for the rest of your life, to service for your
    country''--and I believe America will respond. I truly believe it.
        One thing we've got to do is make sure that people understand how to
    respond. Now, don't get me wrong; I understand there are thousands of
    Americans who are now volunteering in America. And for that, I am
    incredibly grateful. I know there are hundreds and thousands of man-
    hours being given to make sure communities are better off, and we
    applaud those efforts. What I'm saying is, to those who are already
    volunteering, ``Keep going. We need your help.''
        And some aren't sure where to go; you see, some aren't sure how to
    help. And so we set up the USA Freedom Corps. And I want people to
    understand that if they want to help, they need to call 1-877-USA-CORPS.
    If you want to be a part, just call that number, and we will help direct
    your heart to a program that needs your help. Or if you happen to be an
    Internet surfer, we've got a web page, usafreedomcorps.gov--
    usafreedomcorps, spelled c-o-r-p-s, .gov. It will give you a chance to
    find out what we're talking about. It will give you a go-by as to how
    you can help.
        And there are some fantastic programs right here in Volusia County
    that others ought to recognize, that work. One is Citizens on Patrol. We
    basically--we, the county and the State, have said there are numerous
    seniors who have got a lot to offer, people who might be retired but
    their brains haven't retired and their experience hasn't been retired,
    so let's figure out how to get them involved in the community. So
    they've got a program called Citizens on Patrol. More than 200
    volunteers put in 51,000 hours in the year 2001 to help serve as eyes
    and ears of local law enforcement. If a child is missing, they help
    look. If something is odd, they help notice.
        I don't know if you remember, but I talked about, digging into those
    Al Qaida caves in Afghanistan, we found some of their aspirations in
    terms of creating harm for America. For example, they targeted some of
    our cities or some of our infrastructure. Citizens on Patrol here in
    Volusia County patrol the water treatment plants and water treatment
    facilities in this county. I was up in Maine the other day, and I was
    informed that as a result of a collaborative effort with the Coast Guard
    and the FBI, lobstermen now patrol the coast of Maine, looking for
    something unusual. Part of having a homeland defense is to have people
    on alert. And I appreciate this program. So if people in this part of
    the world want to help be a part of the first defense on homeland
    security--and that is, help patrol neighborhoods or patrol areas or
    industrial complexes to make sure nothing unusual is happening--a great
    program is Citizens on Patrol, right here in Volusia County.
        Part of the homeland security initiative that I outlined is to make
    sure that there is a proper strategy in place for responding to an
    emergency. That's why we're focusing resources on bioterrorism, airport
    security, a better border--better border programs. We've got to
    understand who's coming in and who's coming out of the country in a
    better way, it seems like to me. But one of the things we also need to
    do is to have emergency response strategy. If something were to go
    wrong, there needs to be a collaborative strategy between city and
    county and all jurisdictions within that will be able to respond
    properly.

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        One of the interesting programs here through Senior Corps and the
    senior programs in Volusia County is the Community Emergency Response
    Volunteers, CERV. They have got lists of seniors who they call if
    there's an impending emergency. They help put kits together to make sure
    that if there's an emergency, people are well treated. They have been
    assigned schools to go to if there's an emergency during evacuation.
        All this, by the way, is transferable to our war against terror, is
    to make sure the homeland of the United States is more secure. And so I
    want to thank the seniors in this county. And the innovative
    entrepreneurial spirit of convincing people of how to volunteer in a
    constructive way is so good here.
        And America--Americans are asking how you can help. Here's another
    way to help: to serve your Nation by being a part of an emergency
    response team. There are retired doctors, retired nurses that can help
    hospitals; there are retired policemen and firemen that can help fire--
    there are people that want to help. Here's a good way to help.
        And finally, one of the things that--one of the incredible parts of
    9/11 is that the Nation understands how important compassion is. I mean,
    the way I view this is that we're fighting evil, and I don't see any
    shades of gray. And the best way to fight evil is with acts of kindness.
    The best way to fight evil is for people to love their neighbor.
        People say, ``Well, I want to be a part of the war on terror.''
    Okay, go love a child. Find somebody who needs help. One thing we ought
    to do in the Nation is to find those children whose parents may be in
    prison and team them up with a mentor, so that that child understand
    there is at least somebody in our society that says, ``I love you.''
        And there is an important role for seniors, people who understand
    the importance of love. And so, there's a Foster Grandparent Program
    here, as a part of Senior Corps. It's a program that says, if you care
    for children--and most foster grandparents obviously have had a little
    experience with raising children--please, we want your help. We want you
    to serve as a mentor. We want you to provide a part of a hopeful future
    for a child.
        I'm fully aware of the importance of Senior Corps for the future of
    the country. That's why I'm here, to herald successful programs within
    the Senior Corps fabric. Our goal is to recruit 100,000 new Senior Corps
    volunteers--100,000. We've got a web site. We've got a phone number you
    can call. Please pass the word. It is an initiative that will help
    really solidify the spirit of compassion, a responsibility era that's
    beginning to emerge in our country.
        I leave here to go to Atlanta, Georgia, to talk about the need for
    us to recruit teachers in classrooms. Part of fighting terror is to make
    sure our children are educated. And we need more teachers, and
    particularly hard in neighborhoods where some teachers may not want to
    teach. And so I'm going to herald a great program later on today that's
    as successful as the Senior Corps program here in Volusia County.
    Obviously, you can tell that I've got great optimism for the country, a
    great hope for our future.
        My most important job as the President is to protect America, is to
    make sure that we've got a homeland defense that's well coordinated and
    active. And even though the enemy thinks they're going to hit us again,
    you need to know your Federal Government is doing everything we can to
    stop them.
        We are on full alert. Our FBI, for example, has got a new mission,
    and that is to prevent attack. Oh, they've got their other jobs to do,
    but their primary focus is, ``What can I do, what can I do as an FBI
    agent, to gather as much intelligence as possible to prevent a possible
    attack from happening?''

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        Another way, we've got to make sure we share information with local
    authorities. When we get a piece of information, I can assure you we'll
    be on the phone notifying people about the appropriate response. But
    we're looking, and we're listening, and we're active. And the enemy
    knows that they have awakened a mighty giant.
        But the best way to make sure we secure our homeland, the best way
    we make sure that children can grow up in a peaceful world, a world that
    understands the power and promise of freedom, is to find the enemy where
    they hide and bring them to justice. And that's exactly what this Nation
    is going to do.
        Oh, I know some of the people around the world are saying, ``Well,
    you know, he can't possibly mean that, now that they've looked like
    they're successful in Afghanistan. Gosh, don't you think it's about time
    they just kind of go on home?'' No. It's now time to stand for freedom
    and to make it clear to terrorists and/or nations that are willing to
    develop weapons of mass destruction that could be used against us that
    we will not tire and we will not falter.
        This great Nation has been given a chance in history to make the
    world more free, and I promise you we'll seize that opportunity. We'll
    be wise and deliberate about how we pursue our grand objective, but
    we'll pursue it.
        Time isn't on our side. As these nations develop these sophisticated
    weapons, they need to know--not how, but our intention is to hold them
    accountable. And the rest of the world needs to be with us, because
    these weapons can be pointed at them just as easily at us. And we cannot
    let terror and evil blackmail the United States or any other freedom-
    loving country in the world.
        I'm proud of our country. I'm proud of the spirit of America. I am
    proud to be the President of the greatest nation on the face of the
    Earth. I said in my speech that one way we'll overcome evil is through
    the gathering momentum of millions of acts of kindness and decency and
    compassion. And I'm proud to be in a room of part of that momentum.
        May God bless you all, and may God bless America.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:42 a.m. at the Volusia County Fire
    Services Training Center. In his remarks, he referred to Gov. Jeb Bush
    of Florida.