    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
    [September 9, 2002]
    [Pages 1562-1564]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on Implementation of the ``Smart Border'' Declaration and Action
    Plan in Detroit, Michigan
    September 9, 2002

        Thank you for joining us today. It's a pleasure to be back in
    Detroit--just across the river from Windsor--to reaffirm a special
    relationship, an important relationship, and to address a common
    challenge. America and Canada face new threats to our security. It's the
    new reality of the 21st century, and we can't forget that. And some of
    those threats must be stopped at our borders. This great and peaceful
    border must be open to business, must be open to people, and it's got to
    be closed to terrorists and criminals. And so today we're taking two
    steps to turn this vision into reality.
        I appreciate so very much the Prime Minister, Jean
    Chretien, for joining us here. He has been a
    steadfast friend. I really enjoy dealing with him on a personal basis.
    He's a plain-spoken fellow with a good sense of humor--probably won't go
    too good up here in Canada, but he'd be a great Texan. [Laughter]
        I appreciate Tom Ridge joining us. Tom is my
    adviser for Homeland Security, former Governor of Pennsylvania. I want
    to thank Tom for working hard with the Deputy Prime Minister John
    Manley from Canada, who--both these two men work
    hard to--[applause]. The Prime Minister and I,
    of course, get the credit if it goes well. [Laughter] They get the blame
    if it doesn't. [Laughter] The truth of the matter is, they did a lot of
    the work, and I want to thank both of you men for working hard for
    what's best for our countries.
        I appreciate so very much the members of our congressional
    delegation who have shown up here, Congressman Joe
    Knollenberg, Carolyn Kilpatrick. I had a chance to say hello to Congresswoman
    Kilpatrick's little boy at the airport. [Laughter] He's doing a fine job
    as the mayor of Detroit. I know she's
    proud of what a fine job he is doing. I want to appreciate very much
    Congressman John Conyers as well and Sandy
    Levin and Nick Smith
    from the--both Republicans and Democrats who share deep concern about
    our border and what transpires here. So I thank the Members of Congress
    for coming today.
        I also appreciate so very much our Ambassador from Canada, Paul
    Cellucci, my close friend, for being
    here as well. Mr.

    [[Page 1563]]

    Ambassador, thank you for coming. I want to thank Robert Bonner of the Customs, U.S. Customs, for being here, and
    Rob Wright, who's the Commissioner of Canadian
    Customs. Thank you both for coming. I appreciate Jim Ziglar so very much, the head of our INS, for being here.
    He's got a tough job, and he's handling his job in fine fashion. Jim, I
    want to thank you for your service to the country.
        I appreciate very much our friend the Governor from Michigan, John
    Engler, for introducing me. Lieutenant Governor
    Dick Posthumus is with us today. Lieutenant
    Governor, thanks for coming. And Candice Miller, the Michigan secretary of state, is here as well. And
    I want to appreciate all the officials for coming.
        This bridge right here is a symbol of the close and unique
    relationship--close and unique relationship--between our two nations.
    This single bridge carries more trade than any other border crossing on
    this continent, and that's saying a lot. This is a--this is an active
    bridge. Thanks to the North American Free Trade Agreement, more than
    500,000 people and over a billion dollarsMDSU/' worth of goods cross the
    U.S.-Canadian border every day. The ties of trade and travel and family
    between America and Canada are closer than ever, and our countries are
    better for it.
        Yet, nearly a year ago, we saw the terrorists, coldblooded killers,
    using our openness, the openness of our societies against us. We were
    awakened to threats that can arrive across our borders. We realized, at
    least in our country, that we had become a battlefield. And we've got to
    confront those threats. We have no choice but to confront the threats
    head-on, while we preserve the freedom and the openness of our
    societies.
        We have hard-working inspectors at this border, and I want to thank
    all the folks who work hard to expedite the traffic here. I believe my
    job is to--at least on the American side--is to make sure that you're
    able to do your jobs more effectively and to figure out how to use
    technologies and the systems necessary so that you can do your job in a
    better fashion. You see, we want our inspectors to be able to focus on
    the greatest risks, not on legitimate trade and travel. We want their
    time focused on stopping terror, criminality. We've got to recognize
    that inspections create bottlenecks on both sides of this bridge. That's
    one of the realities. When you start looking closer, you're going to
    start creating bottlenecks, and that's not good. It's not good for
    families that want to be together. It's not good for trade and traffic.
    And so we've got to reduce the backups and, at the same time, strengthen
    our mutual security.
        So today Canada and the United States are launching what we call the
    FAST, which stands for Free and Secure Trade. The Prime
    Minister and I got to see the FAST system in
    operation. It says that American and Canadian companies can register
    their goods and their trucks and their drivers with their Governments
    and then border inspectors can review this information up to an hour
    prior to arrival. Once the agents have determined the safety of each
    shipment, the trucks can cross in special lanes, using tested
    technology, technology that the Prime Minister and I just saw. Border
    inspectors will be able to instantly verify the contents and identify
    each truck as it pulls up. Stop times will be reduced from a few minutes
    to seconds, and that's important.
        We're also announcing a second initiative for safer and smarter
    borders that will benefit individual travelers. We're dramatically
    expanding a program to issue special photo identifications to people who
    are screened to ensure they are not security threats to either country.
    These cards entitle people to travel across the border in dedicated
    lanes, where there will be little or no delay for inspections. We're
    trying to help people cross the borders as quickly as possible.
        This kind of program for simplifying travel for thousands of people
    who regularly

    [[Page 1564]]

    cross the border is now in place in Washington--Washington State and
    British Columbia. And so, starting today, we're launching the program
    here in Detroit, accepting applications from Americans and Canadians who
    want to travel across the border in faster fashion.
        With these two initiatives, we'll ensure faster movement of legal,
    low-risk goods and faster travel for people across our borders. And
    we'll be able to better enhance security. Our inspectors will spend less
    time inspecting law-abiding citizens and more time inspecting those who
    may harm us.
        We're doing everything we can here in America to protect our
    homeland. Along with Canada, we've got some of the finest troops in the
    world hunting down the Al Qaida killers in Afghanistan, hunting them
    down one at a time to make sure we can better secure our respective
    countries.
        And at home I've asked our Congress to join with me to set up a
    Department of Homeland Security so that we can do a better job on our
    borders, a better job with our first-responders. I do not need a bunch
    of rules and regulations trying to micromanage the process. I want the
    ability to be able to look the American people in the eye and say, ``I'm
    doing everything,'' or ``We're doing everything we can to protect you.''
    And so the Senate, the United States Senate, must not focus on narrow
    special interests but must focus on the security of the American people.
        And so I'm--Mr. Prime Minister, this
    country is doing everything we can to address a common problem, and you
    need to know, sir, that we're determined, and we're patient, and we're
    resolved to win this war against these terrorists, because, like you, we
    love freedom. We value our freedoms. We want to leave a legacy of
    freedom behind for our children and our grandchildren.
        It's now my honor to welcome to the podium a friend, a strong
    leader, the Prime Minister of our important neighbor, Jean
    Chretien.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:41 a.m. outside the U.S. Customs cargo
    inspection facility next to the Ambassador Bridge. In his remarks, he
    referred to Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick of Detroit. The transcript
    released by the Office of the Press Secretary also included the remarks
    of Prime Minister Chretien.