    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
    [September 5, 2002]
    [Pages 1543-1550]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks to the Community in South Bend, Indiana
    September 5, 2002

        Listen, thank you all for coming. What a warm welcome. I appreciate
    this Indiana hospitality. I'm thrilled to be back here again. I wanted
    to come and talk to you about some of the problems we face and our--this
    Nation's great character and our ability to overcome anything that
    stands in our way. See, we're all going to work together to make America
    a safer place, a stronger place, and as importantly, a better place.
        I appreciate John Barnes for introducing me.
    I appreciate all the good folks who put this event on. I want to thank
    my fellow citizens for coming out. I particularly want to thank those of
    you who brought your family members with you. I love to see our Nation's
    young. I love to be with our children.
        I want to thank the mayor, Mayor Luecke of South Bend, Indiana, for greeting me here. I want to
    thank Mayor Beutter for coming as well. I
    want to thank Mayor David Miller for being
    here. I want to thank any local official who has taken time out of your
    busy day to come and

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    say hello. There's one Member of the Congress who is here today. That's
    Steve Buyer. I appreciate Buyer being with us.
        As you can see, I had some folks meet me out there at this
    unbelievable airplane that you provide for the President. [Laughter] I
    want to thank our long-time friend Digger Phelps for being here. I appreciate him coming to say
    hello. And as importantly, I want you to know that if you're a Fighting
    Irish fan, which I presume some people are, that this great university
    hired a really good man to be its head coach, Ty Willingham. I appreciate Ty coming over.
        And what's interesting about my administration, at least one person
    in my administration: One of the finest women in America, one of the
    smartest women in America, is my close adviser on foreign policy. That
    happens to be Condoleezza Rice. She was a
    former student here at Notre Dame, a former trustee at Stanford. She
    went and saw Notre Dame's first victory. She's constantly telling me to
    watch out for the Irish, because she knows Tyrone
    Willingham.
        But anyway, I want to thank you all for coming. We've got some big
    challenges facing this great Nation. The first challenge is to make sure
    that there is economic security in America. See, a better America and a
    stronger America is an America in which people are able to find work. If
    they're looking for work and can't find work, we've got a problem, and
    we need to do something about it. Our country was in recession--when I
    got sworn in, it turns out the first three quarters of my time in
    Washington was in recession. Secondly, the enemy hit us, which shocked
    our economy. Thirdly, it turns out we had some people that thought they
    could cook the books in America, people that were--thought the best way
    to get ahead was to kind of shade the truth, to mistreat employee and
    shareholder. And we're dealing with all of them.
        We're dealing with the latter by passing law that says to those who
    want to cheat people, there's no easy money in America, just hard time.
    We're going to find you, and we're going to hold you to account. We
    expect high standards. We expect high standards in America. And
    Democrats and Republicans came together. We passed the most
    comprehensive corporate reform bill since Franklin D. Roosevelt was the
    President. It's a good piece of legislation. By the way, it shows what's
    possible in Washington when we set aside our political parties and focus
    on what's doing right for the American people.
        But our economy got hurt--was hurting and got hurt, but we're
    recovering. See, the foundations for growth are strong. Interest rates
    are low. Inflation is low. We've got the best workers in the world. The
    worker of the American--the productivity of the American worker is up.
    The entrepreneurial spirit is strong. The foundation for growth is
    solid. It's solid.
        One way to make sure that if people want to find work is to do more
    on the tax front. Let me tell you something about my view of taxes.
    Here's the textbook I read--and by the way, some in Washington aren't
    reading this textbook; they're reading another chapter. I believe if you
    let a person keep their own money, that person is more likely to demand
    a good or a service. And when they demand a good or a service, in our
    society somebody is more likely to produce it. And when somebody
    produces that good or service, somebody is more likely to find work.
        The tax relief we planned came at the right time in American
    economic history. It was the right thing to do. It was good for small
    business. America must understand that 70 percent of new jobs are
    created by small-business people. And when you cut the tax rates like we
    did, and you understand most small businesses are sole proprietorships
    or limited partnerships--in other words, they pay tax at the personal
    income tax level--what we did was infuse capital into the small-business
    sector of our society. People are more likely to find work because of
    the tax relief.

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        We also did two other things important: One, we mitigated the damage
    done by the marriage penalty. Our Tax Code ought to encourage marriage,
    not discourage marriage. And thirdly, we put the death tax on the way to
    extinction. The death tax is bad for Indiana farmers. It's bad for
    Indiana ranchers. It's bad for Indiana small-business owners. It is
    plain--it's just plain a bad tax.
        But here's the problem--here's the problem--because of the Senate
    rules, all the tax relief that we passed, which both Republicans and
    Democrats voted for, goes away after 10 years. Now, that's a hard one to
    explain at the coffee shop there in Crawford. [Laughter] How do you say,
    ``On the one hand, you've got tax relief; but on the other hand, you
    don't''? The one hand giveth; the other hand taketh away. It sounds like
    Washington to me. [Laughter] But those are the Senate rules.
        And so here's one way to make sure we continue to have jobs for
    people, so that people can plan, so that people have certainty when it
    comes to their businesses, so jobs will grow, is for Congress to make
    the tax relief permanent.
        There are some who are beginning to make noises that they want to
    raise the taxes. They want to do away with the tax relief. For the sake
    of people who want to find work in America, for the sake of job
    creation, it is important for those voices in Congress to read the same
    textbook you and I have read, that tax relief is important for job
    creation.
        I'll tell you what else is important for job creation, is to make
    sure that Congress does not overspend. The problem we have in Washington
    is, every program sounds like a beauty, sounds like a winner. Every
    program sounds good. Just the problem is, they all cost billions. What
    we need to do is set our priorities, the priorities on how to make
    America safer, stronger, and better and not overspend. It's essential
    that the United States Congress meet our priorities and hold the line on
    spending. And one way they can better understand how to do that is
    understand whose money we're talking about. The money we spend in
    Washington is not the Government's money. The money we spend in
    Washington is your money, the people's money.
        We need an energy bill in America. An energy bill will be good for
    job security. It will also be good for national security. We need an
    energy bill which will encourage conservation, that will help unleash
    the technology necessary for us to conserve more, the technologies and
    the research necessary for us to do a better job with renewable sources
    of energy. But at the same time, we've got to understand technology has
    changed, and we can explore for energy here at home in safer ways. For
    the sake of job security and for the sake of national security--and I
    say ``national security'' because we must do everything we can to become
    less dependent on foreign sources of crude oil. They've been talking
    about an energy plan for months, and with the short time left before the
    Congress goes home for the elections, and for the sake of American jobs,
    they've got to stop talking and get me an energy bill. For the sake of
    the country, what's best for the country, we need an energy policy.
        And we need, by the way, a terrorism insurance policy, too. When the
    terrorists hit us, they affected the ability of people to be able to get
    insurance necessary to start construction projects. There are over $10
    billion of construction projects which have been delayed because we
    can't get terrorism insurance for developers. Congress ought to help.
    Congress ought to help not for the sake necessarily of the developers
    but the sake of the over 300,000 hardhats who will be able to find work.
    If you want to help economic growth, Congress, get me a terrorism
    insurance bill that is--that recognizes the importance of the hardhat,
    rewards the hardhats of America, and does not reward the plaintiffs
    attorneys in this country.

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        I've got--I'm optimistic about our future, because I'm optimistic
    about America. I know the resiliency of our country. I know the
    strengths of our country. And while some hurt now because of the
    economic slowdown, I'm optimistic about our future. I really am. I feel
    strong--I feel strongly that there are better days ahead for people who
    can't find work. The foundation is there, and we'll keep working--we'll
    keep working.
        My biggest job, however, is to protect you, the American people.
    That's my biggest job now, is to secure the homeland, is to make sure
    that we're safe, is to make sure our American families are protected.
    That job still exists, and it's important today because there's still an
    enemy out there that hates us.
        It is really important for all of us to communicate the right
    message to our children when we talk with these harsh words. But you
    need to tell your kids that these killers hate America because of what
    we love. And what we love is, we love freedom. We love the fact that
    freedom can worship an--the freedom to worship an almighty God the way
    we see fit. We love our freedoms. We hold them dear, and we're willing
    to defend them. We love freedom to speak. We love freedom to assemble.
    We love freedom of the press. We love those freedoms. And the other
    thing--one of the other things that distinguishes from our enemy is that
    we value the worth of each life. Everybody counts. Everybody matters.
    Each person has worth here in America.
        And that's not the way the enemy thinks. See, they've hijacked a
    great religion, and they don't care about life. They've got their
    desires, their dark, dark ambitions. And if people get in the way from
    them, that's just too bad, as far as they're concerned. But the
    problem--what they've got is, they've got a mighty nation that stands
    between them and their ambitions. We know they're out there. We know
    they're out there, and therefore, we're doing everything we can to
    protect you. We're chasing down every lead, every hint. There's a lot of
    really good, hardworking people who are working overtime, working long
    hours to protect the homeland.
        One of the reasons I've asked--or the reason I asked for us to
    create a new Department of Homeland Security is because I want to have
    all the tools at our disposal necessary to protect you--not just me but
    future Presidents. And notice I say ``future Presidents,'' because I
    believe this struggle is going to be going on for quite awhile, because
    we're not quitting freedom and they're probably not going to quit hating
    for a while.
        I've asked the Congress to join me in creating this Homeland
    Department because I want the over 100 agencies involved with your
    protection to be under one agency. In other words, in order to affect
    the culture of an agency, in order to set the right priorities, they
    ought to be under one umbrella. They ought to be working toward the same
    goal. That doesn't mean they can't do other things, but the number one
    priority, the most important job that these agencies have, is to protect
    America.
        And we're making some progress. I appreciate the way the House voted
    the bill, but we've got a little problem in the Senate. And here's the
    problem. I need flexibility in order to make decisions necessary to
    protect you. I'll give you an example. One of the ways--one of the most
    important things to secure our homeland is to do a better job on our
    borders. See, we need to know who is coming in the country. We need to
    know what they're bringing into the country. We need to know what
    they're bringing in, and we need to know if they're leaving when they
    say they're going to leave. That's what we need to know. And yet when
    you go down to the border, when you look at our border, there's Customs
    and there's INS and there's Border Patrol, three different uniforms,
    three different cultures, three different attitudes perhaps.

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        In order to better secure America, the administration, the executive
    branch of Government needs the capacity to move people to the right
    place at the right time. The enemy moves quickly; we should be able to
    move quickly. Yet the bill coming out of the Senate micromanages the
    process. Listen, there are Senators up there who are more concerned
    about special interests in Washington and not enough concerned about the
    security of the American people. And I'm not going to accept a lousy
    bill. I'm not going to accept a lousy plan. I insist, for the sake of
    our security, that the United States Senate get it right.
        The best way to secure our homeland and the best way to make sure
    that our children can grow up in a free world is to hunt these killers
    down, one person at a time, and bring them to justice, which is exactly
    what we're going to do.
        It's a different kind of war than we're used to. In the old days,
    they could count tanks and figure out how strong the enemy was, or you
    could look at airplanes and formations and flotillas. This is a war
    where we're fighting tough people, smart killers, who hide in dark caves
    or who kind of slither into shadowy recesses in large cities and parts
    of the world and then send youngsters to their suicidal death. See, it's
    a different kind of war, which means we've got to think differently.
    We've got to be better at intelligence. We've got to uphold that
    doctrine that says, either you're with us, or you're with the
    terrorists.
        We will be steady. We will be patient. Sometimes you'll see the
    action in this war, and sometimes you won't see the action in this war.
    Sometimes you'll know whether we bring one of them to justice; sometimes
    you won't know whether we bring one of them to justice. [Laughter] But
    you've got to know that we're after justice, that we're steadily, slowly
    but surely, we are slowly but surely doing everything we can to protect
    the homeland, slowly but surely finding these people.
        Sometimes they think they can outwit us, but they can't outwit a
    powerful nation that's just on the hunt. Once we get them on the run,
    we're going to make sure that there's no place for them to light, make
    sure that other countries understand the consequences of accepting these
    Al Qaida killers and other terrorists who hate America.
        I also laid out another doctrine--and by the way, I think it's very
    important that when the United States speak, we do what we say, for our
    credibility and for the sake of peace. I told the world loud and clear,
    if you harbor a terrorist, if you feed a terrorist, if you hide a
    terrorist, you're just as guilty as the killers who came to America.
        And one group of folks found out what we meant, the Taliban. I want
    you to tell your children this, as well, that this great Nation went
    into Afghanistan--in upholding that doctrine--we went into that country
    not to conquer anybody but to liberate people. See, every life matters
    to us. Every life matters. You need to tell your young ones when they
    think about America and our values, that because of this country and our
    friends, many young girls went to school for the first time. We freed
    people from the clutches of a barbaric regime.
        I submitted the biggest increase in defense spending since Ronald
    Reagan was the President to Congress recently. I did it for two reasons.
    It's important for you to know why. First, anytime we put our troops
    into harm's way, our soldiers deserve the best possible pay, the best
    training, and the best equipment. We owe it to our troops. We owe it to
    those who are sacrificing for our country, and we owe it to their loved
    ones. By the way, if you happen to have a son or a daughter or a nephew
    or niece or a mom or a dad in the military, you tell them, thanks, on
    behalf of a grateful nation.
        I submitted that bill that size because I wanted to send a message
    to friend and foe alike that we're in this deal for the

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    long haul, that there's not a calendar on my desk that says, by such-
    and-such a date we've got to quit. See, we love freedom. And it doesn't
    matter how long it takes to defend freedom. We will defend freedom in
    America. That's what we're made out of. That's the fiber of our country.
        That's important for people to understand. If there is a threat to
    America, we will deal with it in a deliberative, smart way. If we face a
    threat, we must confront that threat if we want our children--see,
    there's a new--it's a new attitude around the world. We've got to
    understand that. The battlefield is now here in America. It used to be
    the oceans would protect us. But September the 11th taught us a new
    lesson, and it's a lesson that must--that we must take seriously. We
    must understand the possibilities of what can happen in the new war of
    the 21st century.
        And that's why I started a dialog yesterday on another threat to
    America, a dialog about Saddam Hussein. I
    want to assure you that I want the American people to fully understand
    all the consequences. That's why we're going to have a debate here
    nationally. That's why there's going to be a lot of discussion. That's
    why I've asked the Congress to be a part of the deliberations. That's
    why there will be open hearings. That's why members of--appropriate
    members of my administration will testify. That's why we'll share
    information as much as we possibly can with the American people, not
    only with the American people but with our friends and allies around the
    world.
        I'll be meeting with Prime Minister Blair on
    Saturday, Prime Minister Chretien on Monday.
    I'll be talking to President Putin and
    Premier Jiang and President Chirac tomorrow. I'll be beginning to talk about the need
    for freedom-loving countries to deal with threats today, before they
    become incredibly serious tomorrow. See, I believe we owe that to our
    children.
        Some things are certain, however. This is a man who used poisons on his own people. He's invaded two
    countries--two countries. He's a person who has ignored all admonitions
    by international organizations. There will be a good debate, but I
    firmly believe that the world cannot allow the world's worst leaders to
    hold America blackmail, to threaten America, to threaten our peace and
    threaten our friends and allies with the world's worst weapons.
        I don't know what was going through the mind of the enemy when they
    hit us. They probably thought, you know, America is so self-absorbed and
    so materialistic, so shallow and so selfish that after September the
    11th, oh, they might file a lawsuit or two, but that's all they would
    do. No, they don't understand our country, do they? They don't
    understand the fact that, when we need to be tough, we're plenty tough.
    And when we need to be compassionate, we've got a huge heart.
        Out of the evil done to America is going to come some good. Out of
    the evil done to this country--see, the enemy never could predict that.
    Haters don't--can't see. They can't see beyond their selfishness. But I
    see something different, and I know many Americans do as well. I see
    peace. I believe that by being strong and forceful when we need to be
    strong and forceful, by speaking clearly about good and evil, by leading
    other peaceful and loving--freedom-loving people in a vast coalition,
    that we can achieve peace, that we can achieve peace not only for
    ourselves and for our children, but we can achieve peace in parts of the
    world where people have quit thinking about peace.
        We have a chance. The enemy hit us. They awoke a mighty country that
    not only will defend ourselves but will lead toward a more peaceful
    tomorrow. I want you to tell your children that when they hear all the
    talk and all the speculation and all the thousands of hours of so-called
    experts babbling away about this, that, or the other, that the true
    policy of this Government is to achieve peace for generations to come.

    [[Page 1549]]

        And at home the enemy hit us, and they have awakened a new spirit in
    the country. I used to tell people, ``If you want to join the war on
    terror, do some good. If you want to fight evil, love your neighbor just
    like you'd like to be loved yourself. If you want to be a patriot, serve
    something greater than yourself.''
        Today we've got Ricardo Rios with us. He is
    a AmeriCorps member. Ricardo, give them a wave. I'll tell you about
    Ricardo. He's decided that he wants to serve something greater than
    self, so he became a teacher, a sixth grade teacher. He knows what I
    know--and I want you all to hear this loud and clear--one person can't
    do everything in society. I know that, but each of us can do something
    to help change America one heart, one soul, one conscience at a time.
        See, that's the great hope here for this country. The enemy has
    awakened a new spirit of compassion in America. We've got to recognize
    that in this great country there are pockets of despair; there are
    pockets of hopelessness; there's addiction. There are people who wonder
    about the American Dream. And that can be changed. There can be light
    where there is darkness, particularly when our fellow Americans put
    their arm around people in need and say, ``I love you. What can I do to
    help? How can I help make your life better?'' If you want to join the
    war on terror, if you want to be a part of the change in America, love
    your neighbor just like you'd like to be loved yourself.
        No, the enemy hit us, and as a result, there are more soldiers in
    the armies of compassion all across America. The enemy hit us, and as a
    result, people have taken a step back and have asked, ``What's important
    in our lives?'' We've taken an assessment of our worth, an assessment of
    our future. And as a result of what they have done, I think our culture
    is changing, a culture that used to say, ``If it feels good, just go
    ahead and do it,'' and ``If you've got a problem, blame somebody else
    for your problem,'' to a new day in which each of us understand we are
    responsible for the decisions we make in life.
        If you're a mom or a dad--if you're lucky enough to be a mom or a
    dad, you're responsible for loving your child with all your heart and
    all your soul. If you're fortunate enough to be a citizen of South Bend,
    Indiana, you're responsible for the quality of education. You're
    responsible for the public school system. You're responsible for making
    sure that your faith-based groups, if they're looking for help, are
    joined. You're responsible for helping feed the hungry. It's your
    responsibility, in order to be an American, to serve something greater
    than yourself in life.
        Perhaps the most vivid example of that came with Flight 93. I want
    you all to remember. For me, it's one of the most important moments of
    the change that is taking place in America, the most vivid and sad
    symbol of them all but, nevertheless, vivid and clear. People are flying
    across the country on an airplane; at least they thought they were. They
    learned the plane was going to be used as a weapon. They got on their
    telephones. They were told the true story. Many of them told their loved
    ones goodbye. They said they loved them. They said a prayer; a prayer
    was said. One guy said, ``Let's roll.'' They took the plane into the
    ground.
        It is that spirit, it is that willingness to serve something greater
    than yourself in life which is a part of this great country's soul and
    fabric. No, the enemy hit us. They didn't know who they were hitting.
    And out of the evil done to America is going to come some incredible
    good, because this is the greatest nation on the face of the Earth, full
    of the greatest people.
        May God bless you all, and may God bless America.

    Note: The President spoke at 1:57 p.m. in the ATA Hangar at South Bend
    Regional Airport. In his remarks, he referred to John Barnes, vice
    chairman, U.S. Chamber of

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    Commerce; Mayor Stephen J. Luecke of South Bend; Mayor Robert C. Beutter
    of Mishawaka, IN; Mayor David Miller of Elkhart, IN; Richard ``Digger''
    Phelps, former men's basketball coach, and Tyrone Willingham, head
    football coach, University of Notre Dame; President Saddam Hussein of
    Iraq; Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom; Prime Minister
    Jean Chretien of Canada; President Vladimir Putin of Russia; President
    Jiang Zemin of China; and President Jacques Chirac of France.