    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
    [September 16, 2002]
    [Pages 1592-1598]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Luncheon for Representative Jim Nussle in Davenport
    September 16, 2002

        Thank you all for coming. Thank you all. Mr. Chairman--Mr. Chairman,
    I'm here to remind the good people of this congressional district that
    Jim Nussle is not only a fine man who cares deeply about the citizens of
    Iowa, but it's in your best interest to make sure that Jim Nussle is
    reelected to the United States Congress.
        Anytime--anytime you introduce a candidate as ``Mr. Chairman,'' that
    ought to tell you something about whether or not you want a change or
    not. You see, when you've got somebody who's honorable and decent and
    full of integrity as a chairman, you need to keep him. It's in your
    interests. It's not only in your self-interest, it's in the interest for
    your State. And I'm here to tell you it's in the interest of the United
    States of America to make sure this good man is reelected to the
    Congress.
        I know him well. I've seen him under fire. I've seen people put
    immense pressure on him to change, to forget why he got elected in the
    first place. He's steady as

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    a rock. He's a loyal ally. He's a strong American. He has earned the
    right to get reelected. Don't make a mistake; this district shouldn't
    make a mistake. When you've got a good one, you make sure you keep him.
    And Jim Nussle is a good one, and it's in your interests you keep him.
        Jim, I'm proud to be by your side, and I urge the people of this
    district to send you back to Washington, DC.
        I want to thank Karen Nussle for standing
    by Jim's side. It's important to have a--in this business we're in, it's
    important to have somebody stand by your side. [Laughter] We both
    married above ourselves. [Laughter] I wish Laura
    were here with me. She's back in the White House, but I can't tell you
    how proud I am of the job she's doing. I want to thank you for holding
    up the Laura book. [Laughter] Yes. I haven't read it yet, but it better
    say she's one of the finest women God's ever produced. [Laughter] If
    they're interested in the truth, they know that she's doing a great job
    as the First Lady, and she sends her best to all the good friends of
    ours here in the State of Iowa.
        It's good to have met Sarah and Mark
    Nussle, Jim's children. It's good to have met
    his mother. I asked Ms. Laura Nussle whether or
    not Mark--I mean, Jim was still listening to her. She said, ``About half
    the time.'' [Laughter] I said, ``Well, that's about as much time as I
    listen to mine too.'' [Laughter]
        It's great to have the Nussle family here. I'm also honored to be
    traveling today with a great United States Senator. I emphasize
    ``great'' because he's worked hard on behalf of the citizens of Iowa.
    When he was the Chairman of the Finance Committee--something that I
    dearly hope happens again soon--he made a huge difference for our
    country, and that's, of course, Chuck Grassley.
        I'm also honored to be traveling today with a fine United States
    Congressman, a gentleman, a really bright citizen of our country,
    somebody who cares deeply about America, and that's Jim Leach. In case some of you all are not in Nussle's district
    but in Leach's district, it's really important to send him back too.
    [Laughter] He's a fine man, brings a lot of integrity and class.
        And so does the next United States Senator from the State of Iowa,
    and that's Greg Ganske. I appreciate you being
    here, Greg. He's a hard worker. He's going to make a fine Senator. I
    look forward to working with both he and Senator Grassley on working on
    the interests of the citizens of Iowa but, more importantly, the
    interests of the citizens of the entire country. That's the way these
    two men think.
        I'm proud to be here with a Congressman--a State senator now, soon
    to be a Congressman, named Steve King. Steve,
    thank you for coming today. Oh, hi, Steve. I appreciate Chuck
    Larson, who is the chairman of the
    Republican Party of Iowa, for coming. Good to see you, Chuck.
        I want to thank all of you who have come to help Jim. This is a huge
    turnout. It's a good sign, it seems like to me. But I also want to thank
    those of you who are working the grassroots here in the State of Iowa. I
    want to thank you for what you have done and, as importantly, what
    you're going to do, which means turn out the vote.
        You see, all this stuff helps; these rallies help. But the most
    important thing is to turn out the vote, is to find your neighbors. When
    you go to your coffee shops or your churches or your community centers,
    you've got to pass the word--pass the word that people need to
    participate in the process, and as they start to head to participate,
    tell them about the qualities of the man that we're supporting here
    today. Grassroots politics makes a huge difference in the outcome of
    these races. And so for those of you who are willing to volunteer your
    time and to lick the envelopes and make the phone calls and stick the
    signs in the ground, thanks. Just get ready. Get your uniforms on.
    [Laughter] We're coming down the stretch. We need your help.

    [[Page 1594]]

        Chairman Nussle is the head of the budget. The House passed a
    budget. The Senate can't pass a budget. [Laughter] That says something
    about his leadership. It's important to have a budget in Washington,
    because without a budget, there is a tendency to overspend. [Laughter]
    Without a budget, every idea sounds like a brilliant idea. Without some
    kind of constraint on the appropriations process in Washington, as they
    might say in this part of the world, somebody is liable to go hog wild.
    [Laughter]
        And sometimes those somebodies who go hog wild forget whose money
    they're spending. Nussle and I understand this: When it comes to
    spending the money in Washington, it's not the Government's money we
    spend. It's your money. It's the people's money.
        And Jim understands that, and so do I. And that's why we're going to
    have to have some budget restraint. In order to make sure our economy--
    the foundation of economic growth doesn't crumble, we've got to make
    sure there is budget restraint in Washington. We've got plenty of money
    up there. We can fund our priorities. The thing I appreciate about this
    chairman's leadership is, he has a clear vision of how to get back to a
    balanced budget. And that's important for you. It's important to have a
    leader up there who understands that.
        He also understood what I understood: In the face of a recession,
    you've got to let the people have their own money. You see, if you're
    worried about jobs like we're worried about jobs, the best way to help
    the economy recover is to trust the people with their own money. And so
    we cut the taxes on the people. People have more money to spend, and
    when you spend it, somebody is going to produce a good or a service to
    meet your demand. And when they do that, somebody is more likely to find
    work.
        Our tax relief plan came at the right time in American history, and
    I'm proud of the work Jim did. I'm proud of the work Chuck
    Grassley and Jim Leach and Greg Ganske did. And now, for
    the sake of the hardworking people of Iowa and for the sake of the
    farmers and ranchers in this part of the world, we need to make sure the
    tax relief is permanent and the death tax is forever extinguished.
        You listen to these debates in these congressional campaigns in the
    Senate race, they're going to use every excuse in the book to take the
    tax relief away. That's a tax increase, as far as I'm concerned. And one
    thing you don't do in the midst of an economic slowdown is raise the
    taxes on the people. If you're interested in job creation, if you're
    interested more about spending a person's pocketbook rather than the
    Government's pocketbook, you let the people keep their own money. And
    Jim Nussle understands that.
        He also understands the importance of education. We passed a really
    good education bill. It's one that sets high standards, that says that
    every child can learn. It challenges what I call the soft bigotry of low
    expectations. See, we understand, if you lower the bar, you get bad
    results. If you have expectations that are something other than
    excellent, if you have mediocre expectations, you'll get mediocrity out
    of your school systems.
        As well, Jim and I understood, as do the other members of the Iowa
    delegation, that the place to enhance educational excellence is to trust
    the local people. See, we understand the people of Iowa care more about
    the children in Iowa than bureaucracies in Washington, DC, do. So this
    bill passed power out of Washington.
        And finally, we finally began to say in America that if you take
    Federal money, you need to show us whether or not our children are
    learning to read and write and add and subtract. See, if you believe
    every child can learn, the next question is, ``Well, are the children
    learning to read and write?'' If you believe that, then you want to ask
    the question, and you want to know.

    [[Page 1595]]

    And if they are, then we ought to praise the teachers in school
    districts that are meeting this high standards. But if not, we need to
    teach children early, because Jim and I understand there's no second-
    rate children in America. No child should left behind--be behind in this
    country.
        Jim mentioned a very important issue, and that is Medicare. See, the
    Medicare system is an important system--really important we get it
    right. Medicine has changed; Medicare hasn't. And one of the things that
    Jim Nussle is on the--is leading in Congress--I mean, leading--is to
    make sure that there's a level playing field for Iowa seniors. He and
    Chuck Grassley, Greg Ganske, and Jim Leach spent a lot of
    time on this issue, and they understand that they need to work with
    Congress to get it done. I'm proud of the leadership of Jim Nussle. I'm
    proud of the leadership of Chuck Grassley and Greg Ganske and Jim Leach.
    These fine Iowa citizens know there's a problem, and they're working
    with both parties to solve the problem. If you want the problem solved,
    you better make sure that this man is reelected to the United States
    Congress.
        Nussle is a friend of the farmer, and so am I. I understand good
    agricultural policy is important for the economy of our country. I also
    want us an energy bill that includes a strong renewable section in the
    energy bill, which means ethanol. But also, Jim understands what I
    understand, that if you're good at something, you want to promote it.
    And since we're the best farmers in the world, we ought to be doing
    everything we can to sell our farm products around the world. And I
    appreciate so very much his strong support for a trade bill that will be
    good for the Iowa farmers.
        And Greg, I appreciate your support on a
    trade bill that will be good for the Iowa farmers. Same with you,
    Senator, and Congressman Leach as well. It's
    an important piece of legislation I signed. And I promise you, I'm going
    to use this legislation to open up markets, so our farmers can make a
    living.
        Finally, I appreciate Jim Nussle's understanding that we're--we've
    got a problem with an enemy that hates us, that he clearly sees like I
    see that there is a true threat to our freedoms. People say, well, you
    know--I'm sure youngsters say, ``Well, why would somebody want to hurt
    America?'' And the answer is, because we love freedom. The answer to
    those youngsters who wonder why we're at war is, because they hate us,
    because we love something precious. The more we love our freedoms, the
    more they hate us, and that's just the reality of the 21st century.
        You see, we love the idea of people being able to worship freely, to
    worship an almighty God the way they want to worship an almighty God. We
    welcome that. We treasure that. We hold that dear, and the enemy hates
    that idea. We believe in open debate. We believe in freedom of the
    press. We love our freedom in America. And nobody is going to take it
    away from us, no matter how hard they try.
        See, we're in a new era here in this world. It used to be we thought
    there was two oceans that separate us from an enemy. And we learned
    differently. We learned that there are no oceans which can protect us.
    We used to think that war was a measurement of tanks and artillery and
    airplanes and ships. This is a new war. It's the kind where the enemy
    hides--the leadership of the enemy hides in caves and send their
    youngsters to their suicidal death. They kind of move around in the
    shadows of big cities in some countries and hide and then strike hard.
    It doesn't require a lot of weaponry for them to be successful, because
    they're coldblooded killers. They're nothing but a bunch of coldblooded
    killers.
        A major difference between this great country, this decent,
    compassionate land, and the people we're hunting down is, we value life.
    We say, ``Every life is precious. Everybody counts. Everybody matters in
    this country.''

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        Our most important job is to protect the homeland. Our most
    important job is to do everything in our power to make sure that you're
    safe, that the enemy is unable to take innocent life again. And it's a
    big job, because we're a big country. But we're making progress--we're
    making good progress at home.
        We've got a lot of people on alert. We've got a lot of hard-working
    Americans running down every lead. If we get a hint that somebody might
    be thinking about doing something, you need to know we're acting on it--
    within the confines of the United States Constitution, I might add. We
    believe in our freedoms, and we're going to protect our freedoms. But
    we're running down every single--every single lead. And we're getting a
    lot of leads. We are. The other day, as you know, the country went on a
    higher status of alert, for a reason: The noise level began to gin up.
        A lot of people are working hard to protect you. I've asked the
    Congress to join me--I want to thank the House of Representatives for
    hearing that call--to join me in the creation of the Department of
    Homeland Security so we could better coordinate the Government agencies
    involved with your protection. Prior to September the 11th they would be
    worried about different things in the Coast Guard or different things in
    the Border Patrol. Now the number one priority for these agencies is
    your protection, and therefore, they ought to work under one agency. And
    I also need, in order to protect you better, the flexibility to move
    people from one place to another in order to respond to the needs of--
    the enemy.
        The House heard that, and I want to thank Jim for his vote. I want
    to thank Ganske and Leach for their votes. It looks like, to me, the Senate is
    heading down the wrong path. I hope not, but it may be. You see, they
    want to micromanage the process. They're more interested in special
    interests in Washington, as opposed to your interests, which is
    protecting the homeland. I expect there to be a bill on my desk soon,
    and I expect there to be a bill that gives me the flexibility--and
    future Presidents the flexibility--necessary to do everything we can to
    protect the American people from an enemy which hates.
        The best strategy, and only strategy, to defend the homeland is to
    chase the killers down, one at a time, and bring them to justice. It's--
    if they're in a cave, we head into a cave. If they're in some shadowy
    neighborhood, we'll finally put the spotlight on the shadowy
    neighborhood. It doesn't matter where they hide; we're after them, one
    person at a time.
        And we're making good progress. We're making good progress. The
    other day I'm sure you picked up your newspapers or saw on your TVs that
    we captured the guy that thought he
    wanted to be the 20th hijacker. I want to thank the Pakistani Government
    for cooperating with U.S. personnel to bring this person to justice.
    This guy is just another killer, and we got him--he along with several
    thousand others we have gotten. And another like number hasn't been
    quite so lucky. They weren't got--they were gotten the ultimate way.
    Slowly but surely, we're dismantling a terrorist network which wants to
    do more harm on America.
        And I want to thank those of you who have got a relative in the
    United States military. My, we have got a fabulous United States
    military.
        I asked our Congress for an increase in defense spending--a
    significant increase in defense spending, because my attitude is this:
    Anytime we put our youngsters into harm's way, they deserve the best
    pay, the best training, and the best possible equipment.
        I also wanted to send a message to friend and foe alike that we're
    in this deal for the long haul, and when it comes to the defense of our
    freedoms, this mighty country is going to stay the course, that we're
    not going to forget what happened on September the 11th, that we're
    steadfast and

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    resolved because we believe in peace. We owe it to our children to make
    the world more secure, that freedom has a chance, and that it's a
    peaceful tomorrow. That's what we owe it to them.
        It's going to be a rocky hill at times, getting to that peace.
    There's some threats out there that we have to deal with. The other day
    I gave a speech at the United Nations, delineating one of the clearest
    threats we face. See, we've got a man in that part of the world who
    agreed to disarm, agreed to pay compensation to the victims of the
    horrible crimes he committed, agreed not to harbor terrorists, and he's
    broken every single agreement. For 11 long years he has stiffed the
    world community. I went to the United Nations and said, ``Either you can
    be relevant in the world or not, your pick. We want you to be a part of
    keeping the peace. We want you to be strong.''
        But I also had another message: We the world cannot let the world's
    worst leaders harbor and develop the world's worst weapons. This tyrant
    must be dealt with, for the sake of our children and our children's
    children. We owe it to the world to show strength and resolve and
    leadership.
        This country is a great and strong country. Witness the fact that--
    what happened after 9/11. Instead of being cowed by these terrorists, we
    rose up in mighty indignation. But we also did something else, and it's
    happening all across Iowa and all across America. People understand that
    in order to fight evil, you can do so by loving your neighbor just like
    you'd like to be loved yourself.
        In community after community, citizens understand there's a
    different calling to patriotism today, that a patriot is more than
    somebody who just puts his hand over his heart. A patriot is also
    somebody who wants to make the community in which they live a more
    decent and honorable place, a more compassionate place.
        In the midst of our plenty, there are people in America who hurt.
    There are pockets of despair and hopelessness. And Government can hand
    out money, and frankly we do a pretty good job of it. But what it cannot
    do is put hope into people's hearts or a sense of purpose in people's
    lives. That's done when a citizen puts his or her arm around somebody
    who hurts and says, ``I love you. What can I do to help you? Can I
    mentor you? Can I teach you to read? As a shut-in, what can I do to make
    your day a brighter day?'' No, my call to the American people, if you
    want to join the war on terror, is to love your neighbor, is to help
    somebody.
        Flight 93--I had the honor of going to the site and hugging the
    families of the 40 who were on that airplane. Flight 93, it's the flight
    where people flying across the country heard the plane was going to be
    used as a weapon. They called their loved ones on cell phones and told
    them, ``I love you.'' They told--one of them said, let's--they said a
    prayer; a guy said, ``Let's roll.'' They took the plane into the ground
    to serve something greater than themselves in life.
        It's an example of what is happening in America, where people
    understand serving something greater than self is a part of being a
    complete American. I call upon all of you all--my call to our fellow
    Americans is, when you find hurt, be a part of healing and recognize
    that while you can't do everything, you can do something to help change
    America, one heart and one soul and one conscience at a time.
        No, the enemy hit us--they hit us. But out of that terrible day can
    come some good. There's no doubt in my mind, if America remains strong
    and steadfast, we can achieve peace--can achieve peace for this
    generation and for future generations to come.
        And the enemy hit us, and out of the evil done to America that day
    is going to come a more compassionate and decent and hopeful America,
    because they hit the greatest nation, full of the finest people on the
    face of the Earth.

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        Thank you all for coming. May God bless. God bless America. Thank
    you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 12:07 p.m. at the Mississippi Valley
    Fairgrounds. In his remarks, he referred to Representative Nussle's
    wife, Karen, and his mother, Laura; Ramzi bin al-Shibh, an Al Qaida
    operative suspected of helping plan the September 11, 2001, terrorist
    attacks, who was captured in Karachi, Pakistan; and President Saddam
    Hussein of Iraq. Representative Nussle was a candidate for reelection in
    Iowa's Second Congressional District.