[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
[February 25, 2002]
[Pages 281-283]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks on Receiving the World Trade Center Bullhorn and an Exchange 
With Reporters
February 25, 2002

    The President. Listen, I want to--I want to welcome Bob 
Beckwith to the Oval Office, and his wife, 
Barbara, and his two grandchildren and son 
and daughter who are here, and son-in-law.
    As you may remember, I met Bob on the heap 
of a burnt-out fire engine in New York. And he didn't know and I didn't 
know that we were going to meet on that day. And I had--I was traveling 
there with George Pataki and Rudy 
Giuliani. And it was my chance, after 
the national prayer service, to go to New York City and tell the good 
people of that town, that city, how the Nation stood with them. I had a 
chance to go and see the firefighters and the police officers who had 
been giving every ounce of their energy to rescue their fellow citizens. 
And I was given a bullhorn, and it turned out to be one of those moments 
where I had a chance to speak to the world on behalf of the citizens of 
New York. And Bob was standing there by my 
side.
    I told Bob when he came in, ``You made me 
famous that day.'' But I want to thank you, Bob, for coming back, and I 
want to thank Colonel Wiese as well, who 
rescued the bullhorn and will let me keep the bullhorn for the library. 
There's a father-and-son exhibit that's going to go on at the Bush 
Library, ``Bush 41'' Library, at Texas A&M, and this will be one of the 
key parts of the exhibit. It's an historic--really an historic memento. 
Something we didn't choose, but it's one of those days that I'll never 
forget, and I want to thank you.
    Mr. Beckwith. I'll never forget.
    The President. It was an amazing experience. You know, I didn't 
realize at the time that you and I walked up on 
the heap of a burnt-out fire engine. I didn't realize that--and what's 
interesting, as a result of that, some people in Louisiana saw us 
standing on the fire engine and went and raised money for a new fire 
engine for New York. So that event had a lot of interesting 
ramifications.
    Governor Pataki. Mr. President, since 
September 11th, you've provided incredible leadership and really 
inspired the country. There are many unforgettable moments. But one that 
Bob and I and his family and much of America will never forget was 3 
days after that attack when you came to Ground Zero. And it was exactly 
the right time.
    As Bob can say, everybody was exhausted and worn out, and you didn't 
come for a photo op; you spent hours touring the site and shaking hands 
with the firefighters and the construction workers. And I'll never 
forget the moment when you and Bob stood on that wreck, and the 
President was talking, and one of the construction workers yelled out, 
``We can't hear you.'' And the President said, ``Well, I can hear you. 
The whole world hears you. And pretty soon those evildoers will be 
hearing from us.''

[[Page 282]]

    And Mr. President, they have heard from us, and your leadership has 
been inspiring. And this is what you said those words with, and I'm 
proud to present it to you for the Presidential Library. Americans will 
never forget.

[At this point, Gov. George E. Pataki of 
New York presented the bullhorn to the President.]

    The President. Thank you.

Daniel Pearl

    Q. Mr. President, are you satisfied with Pakistan's response in the 
Daniel Pearl case? And is the United States interested in pursuing or 
indicting the primary suspect that's now in custody there?
    The President. I am satisfied with the response of President 
Musharraf and the Pakistani Government. I 
got a phone call from him when I was flying back from China, and I could 
tell from the tone of his voice how distraught he was, how disturbed he 
was that this barbaric act had taken place in his country. He knew full 
well that those killers did not represent the vast, vast majority of the 
people in his own country. And he vowed to me on the phone that he would 
do everything in his power to chase down the killers and bring them to 
justice.
    And yes, we're always interested in dealing with people who have 
harmed American citizens.

Economic Stimulus Package

    Q. Mr. President, what are your thoughts on an economic stimulus 
package now? Do you think there's really an opportunity to work with the 
Democrats in the Senate, particularly given signs that, albeit slowly, 
the economy is beginning to recover?
    The President. Well, I've got to tell you something: It's a matter 
of will and desire. If people put their mind to something, we can get 
things done in Washington, DC. I think we need an economic stimulus 
package. I think it's important for our economy. I think anytime people 
are not working who need to be working, who want to work, we've got to 
do everything we can to make sure the environment is such that they can 
work.
    Secondly, I'm going to talk to the Governors today and remind them 
that in the economic stimulus package was some emergency Medicaid money, 
as well as the national emergency grants, because it's what--emergency 
grant money to help Medicaid bills as well as grants for emergency 
situations to help people with their health care bills.
    And yes, I think we need that bill. And I hope the Senate will take 
it up and pass it.

Pentagon Office of Strategic Influence

    Q. Sir, have you told Secretary Rumsfeld to get rid of the office of 
disinformation that he's talking about?
    The President. I told Secretary 
Rumsfeld--I didn't even need to tell him this. He knows how I feel; I 
saw it reflected in his comments the other day--that we'll tell the 
American people the truth. And he was just as amazed as I was about 
reading, you know, some allegation that somehow our Government would 
never tell the American people the truth. And I don't--I've got 
confidence, having heard his statement--I heard him this morning talk 
about it--that he'll handle this in the right way.

Superfund

    Q. There was a report over the weekend, Mr. President, that 
questioned the administration's commitment to the EPA Superfund. Are you 
committed to fully funding the Superfund, sir?
    The President. I'm committed to cleaning up the environment without 
enriching lawyers.
    Q. I'm sorry?
    The President. I think there's too much litigation when it comes to 
environmental cleanup. What I want is action and results. And so we're 
looking at ways to make sure

[[Page 283]]

the Superfund fulfills its mission. And you cannot sue your way to clean 
air and clean water and clean land. It's got to be a system that focuses 
on efficient, good ways to make sure we accomplish the mission. And I 
think--so yes, we're looking at ways to reform the system to make sure 
it works, make sure it actually accomplishes what the Congress wants it 
to accomplish.

Steel Imports and Automobile Industry

    Q. [Inaudible]--and I was wondering if you could tell us if you're 
worried at all that your position on steel would hurt the automakers' 
ability----
    The President. I haven't made a decision yet on steel. I haven't 
made a decision on steel yet. I'm in the process of reviewing all--all 
the facts. But I have made a decision on the need for the use of 
technologies to clean up our air and explore for more energy and change 
the automobile fleet. One of these days, this little lady right here is 
going to be driving an automobile with a hybrid engine in it and a fuel 
cell in it. And it's going to work. And I hope I'm around to see it, 
too.

World Trade Center Bullhorn

    Q. We thought the bullhorn had been lost. How were you able to find 
it?
    The President. The colonel found it; it's 
the actual one, too.
    Q. It never was lost? It's the real one? It's the actual one?
    The President. Yes.

Note: The President spoke at 11:30 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to retired New York City firefighter 
Bob Beckwith and his wife, Barbara; former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani of 
New York City; Col. Daniel Wiese, Assistant Deputy Superintendent, New 
York State Police, and commander, New York State Police Executive 
Services Detail; and President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan. A reporter 
referred to Wall Street Journal journalist Daniel Pearl, who was 
kidnaped January 23 in Karachi, Pakistan, and later killed by his 
captors.