    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
    [September 5, 2002]
    [Pages 1530-1536]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks to the Community in Louisville, Kentucky
    September 5, 2002

        Thank you all very much. Thank you all. It is great to be here in
    the State of Kentucky. Let me tell you, it's great to be back to the
    State of Kentucky. I want to thank you all for coming. It is my--it's
    going to be my honor today to talk to you about our country, our future.
    I want to talk about how to make our country a safer country and a
    stronger country and, as importantly, a better country. And there's no
    better place to do it than Louisville, Kentucky.
        I want to thank Anne for her kind
    introduction, and I want to thank the other members of the Kentucky
    delegation who are here today who are my friends, and that would be
    Senator Jim Bunning and Congressman Ken
    Lucas. I appreciate all three members of the
    congressional delegation coming down today. As you know, they're up
    there in Washington meeting, and it's an honor that three Members
    decided to come and hear the President. [Laughter]
        I want to thank your Governor, Paul Patton,
    for coming today. Governor, I appreciate you taking time to be here. I'm
    honored that you're here. I want to thank Elaine Chao, who is a member of my Cabinet, the Secretary of Labor. I
    appreciate

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    you coming, Elaine. I want to thank the head of the Small Business
    Administration, Hector Barreto, for
    joining us as well. Thank you, Hector. Oh, I forgot--I forgot to mention
    the first lady of Kentucky. One thing you learn is never to forget to
    mention the first ladies. I appreciate Judi Patton being here as well. Thank you for coming, Judi.
        Speaking about first ladies, my wife is doing
    great, too. I like to remind people that when I married her, she was a
    public school librarian. And for all the public school librarians out
    there, you've got an advocate in the White House. For all the teachers
    out there, I want to thank you for being teachers, too. She didn't like
    politics, and she didn't like politicians when I married her. Now she's
    stuck with one. [Laughter] She's doing a great job. I'm really proud of
    her. She sends her love and her best to all the people of Kentucky.
        I want to thank the members of the Louisville community who happen
    to be small-business owners for coming to visit. We just had a good hour
    discussion about small-business issues. You see, one of the best ways to
    make sure that our economy grows is to have an environment in which the
    entrepreneur can flourish and the small business can be strong. Most new
    jobs are created in America by small businesses, and therefore, we'd
    better worry about the health of small businesses, if we're worried
    about the health and security of the country.
        And I'm worried about the health and security of our country; I am.
    And we've got a lot of work to do. I'm not worried about our future
    because I'm optimistic about America. We've got a great future ahead of
    us. But so long as anybody who wants to work can't find work, I think
    we've got a problem in America. And so, therefore, our thought process
    ought to be how to create jobs, how best to make sure that the
    foundation of economic growth remains strong and that we go forward with
    creating jobs. And that's why I met with the small-business owners and
    listened to their concerns and heard their points of view.
        First, let me tell you, the foundation for our economy is strong. I
    mean, after all, interest rates are low. Inflation is low. We've got the
    best workers in the world. Our productivity is high. We've got the best
    farmers and ranchers in the world. We're really good at a lot of things
    in America, which creates the foundation for growth. I am not satisfied,
    however, until everybody can find work. And so, fundamentally, what can
    we do?
        First, you've got to understand, the role of Government is not to
    create wealth. It's to create an environment in which people can realize
    their dreams, in which small businesses can grow to be big businesses.
    And one way to encourage that is to let people keep more of their own
    money.
        When we came in, it turns out the country was in a recession. That's
    three quarters of negative growth. Fortunately, I was able to team up
    with members of both political parties to take a chapter out of this
    textbook. It's the chapter that says, if you let people keep more of
    their own money, they will demand a good or a service. And if they
    demand a good or a service, somebody is likely to produce that good or a
    service. And when somebody produces that good or a service, somebody is
    more likely to find work. The tax relief came at the right time for the
    American economy.
        If you listen carefully to some of the dialog in Washington, you
    begin to hear a little tone about, ``Well, maybe we ought to stop the
    tax relief from being fully implemented.'' That would be a mistake for
    our economy. That would be a terrible mistake for jobs and job creation.
    Not only should we resist anybody who wants to undo the tax relief, we
    need to make the tax relief permanent.
        Well, people say, ``How can cutting income taxes on the people
    affect small business?'' Well, most small businesses are sole
    proprietorships, which means they pay tax at the individual income tax
    rate level. Or

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    most small businesses are limited partnerships. And so when you cut the
    taxes on the people, you're really cutting the taxes on the sole
    proprietors and on limited partnerships. You're helping small business
    grow. And when small businesses grow, America is better off.
        But let me also tell you that in the tax relief plan we began to
    mitigate the effects of the marriage penalty. Listen, the Tax Code ought
    to encourage marriage, not discourage marriage. And the other thing is,
    we sent the death tax on the way to extinction. The death tax is bad for
    Kentucky farmers; it's bad for Kentucky ranchers; and it's bad for
    Kentucky entrepreneurs.
        And then you say, ``Well, why, Mr. President, do you need to talk
    about making the tax relief permanent?'' Because a quirk in the law in
    the United States Senate says that you won't--we're going to cut your
    taxes, but in 10 years it will have come back. It's hard for me to
    explain. I mean, how can you say, ``On the one hand, we're cutting your
    taxes; on the other hand, it goes away after 10 years''? Well, that's
    just the way the Senate happens to work right now. But there's a way to
    change that, and that is to get the United States Senate to agree to
    make all this tax relief permanent. It will help people plan. It will
    help good policy, and anybody who wants to find work is more likely to
    be able to do so if the tax relief is permanent.
        In order to make sure people find work and our economy is strong,
    Congress must not overspend. Every idea sounds like a good idea in
    Washington--just that they cost billions of dollars. We need to set
    priorities, and we have set priorities in Washington, priorities of how
    to make America safer, stronger, and better. And it's my job to hold the
    line on spending the people's money.
        See, it's important to have the right mind-set up there. We're not
    spending Government money; we're spending your money. In order to make
    sure it's spent wisely--I look forward to working with Congress to make
    sure we spend your money wisely. If we overspend, it will serve as a
    drag on our economy. If we overspend, it will make it harder for people
    to find work. I'm worried about people finding work. I want anybody who
    wants a job to be able to find one here in America.
        There's some other practical things we can do in Washington, DC. We
    need to get us a terrorism insurance bill, to get our hardhats back to
    work. Over $10 billion of construction projects are not going forward
    because people can't get the proper insurance because of what the
    terrorists did to America. The Government ought to help here. It makes
    sense that the Government help. We want our hardhats back to working.
    The construction trades believe that over 300,000 workers will go back
    to work if we can get this bill out of Congress. I want a bill out of
    Congress that helps the hardhats, not helps the plaintiffs' attorneys. I
    want people going back to work in America.
        We need an energy bill. A good energy bill will create jobs in
    America. We also need an energy bill which will encourage conservation
    and the use of renewable energy. We can do that, but we also need an
    energy bill that will encourage exploration here in America, exploration
    in environmentally friendly ways, so that we become less dependent on
    foreign sources of crude oil. An energy bill is good for jobs, and it's
    good for national security, and it's time the Congress quit talking and
    get an energy bill to my desk.
        Now, I'm optimistic about our economy. I'm optimistic about job
    growth. I'm optimistic about the future because I understand America.
    We've got problems, no question, but we have a spirit that is
    indomitable and strong. I'm also optimistic about being able to do my
    most important job, which is to protect the homeland.
        You know, one of my concerns was the farther we got away from
    September the 11th, the more likely it would be that some in our country
    might not think the enemy

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    still existed. But they do, and they're nothing but a bunch of
    coldblooded killers. That's all they are. People in our country wonder
    why, why would somebody hate America? It's because we love freedom;
    that's why. We love the idea that free people can worship an almighty
    God any way they so choose in America. We value the freedom for people
    to speak their mind in this country. We value a free press. We value
    freedom. And the more we value freedom, the more they hate us. That's
    why. That's why the enemy still exists.
        And there's another reason. Every life matters in America. Everybody
    counts. Everybody has worth. And these killers don't think that way.
    They're willing to take innocent life in the name of a hijacked
    religion. And so my job is to do everything we can to protect our
    homeland--it's to make America more secure.
        You need to know there's a lot of good folks working hard to protect
    us. I mean, anytime we're getting a hint that the enemy might be
    thinking about doing something to us, we're moving on it. We communicate
    better. We're aware. We're aware of their hatred. Prior to September the
    11th, we would never assume that America would be a battlefield. It is
    now. It's a different era. I want you to know that you should take
    comfort in the fact that a lot of good people are doing everything they
    can to make sure that America is secure, not only at the Federal level
    but at the State level and here at the local level. A lot of really good
    people are getting better information and are acting on it as quickly as
    possible.
        I went to Congress, and I said, in order to help me and future
    Presidents--and notice I say ``future Presidents,'' because I don't
    think this war and this hatred is going to go away anytime soon--that
    future Presidents can deal with the threat on the homeland, I've asked
    for a new department in Washington called the Department of Homeland
    Security. The reason I did is because there's over 100 agencies in
    Washington, DC, that have something to do with protecting the homeland.
    They're scattered everywhere. In order to make sure the number one
    priority of these agencies is your protection, I've asked that they be
    put under one umbrella, one Cabinet Secretary to be confirmed by the
    United States Senate.
        I want to be able to align authority and responsibility. I want to
    be able to say clearly to the American people, ``We're doing a better
    job of protecting our borders.'' See, we need to know who's coming into
    America, what they're bringing into America, and whether or not they're
    going to leave America when they say they're going to leave America. We
    need to do a better job of coordinating our first--the strategy of our
    first-responders, the brave police and fire and EMS teams that you've
    got right here in Louisville and all across America. We need to do a
    better job of being able to respond to potential weapons of mass
    destruction attacks--need to do a better job of taking the intelligence
    we have and analyzing it and addressing the vulnerabilities that may be
    evident here in America.
        And so I've asked Congress to act, and I appreciate the fact that
    the House of Representatives has acted. And I'm sure on your TV screens,
    if you bother to watch TV, you'll see that the Senate is debating this
    bill. I've got deep concerns about where the Senate is headed, however.
    I need the flexibility necessary to be able to move people to the right
    place at the right time in order to protect America. And I'll give you
    an example.
        On our borders we've got three different agencies involved with
    protecting the border, Customs, INS, and Border Patrol. They wear
    different uniforms. They have different strategies. They've got
    different bosses. For the sake of protecting America, any administration
    must have the flexibility to move people around to address our
    vulnerabilities. The enemy moves quickly, and so should the Federal
    Government be able to move quickly. And yet, the bill out

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    of the Senate has got rules this thick. They want to micromanage the
    process. The Senate must hear this: I expect to get a bill that is not
    in the best interests of vested interests in Washington but in the best
    interests of protecting the American people.
        The best way to protect our homeland is to hunt the killers down one
    by one and bring them to justice. The best way to secure America--the
    best way to secure our country and to protect our freedom is to find the
    killers.
        This is a different kind of war, but the war goes on. We've got some
    great veterans in this hall who remember the way war used to be. You
    could determine the size of the enemy based upon the number of tanks
    they might have or the number of airplanes they have or the number of
    ships. This is a different kind of enemy. These are commanders who hide
    in dark caves and then send youngsters to their suicidal death. They
    kind of slither into cities and hope not to get caught. They're
    sophisticated. They understand we're after them. And they're elusive,
    and they're determined. But so are we. We've got a fabulous United
    States military, and they're on the hunt. We've got a strong coalition
    of nations which have heard, as Anne
    mentioned, the doctrine that says, either you're with us, or you're with
    the enemy. We have upheld the doctrine that says, if you harbor a
    terrorist, you're just as guilty as the terrorist.
        And I want you to tell your youngsters, your children and your
    grandchildren, that when this great Nation went into Afghanistan, we
    didn't go to conquer anybody. We went in to liberate. We went in to
    liberate people from the clutches of the most barbaric regime in
    history. This great Nation and our friends and allies not only upheld an
    important doctrine, but as a result of our action, many young girls go
    to school for the first time in Afghanistan.
        And we're not leaving. We believe so strongly that every individual
    counts, that we want to help democracy flourish in that region. And
    we're not leaving because there's still Al Qaida and their buddies
    roaming around. And there's a lot of brave folks on the hunt, probably
    some of your relatives. And if you've got a relative in the United
    States military or if you're in the United States military, this Nation
    is incredibly proud of what your relative is doing.
        I have submitted a defense spending bill that is the largest
    increase since Ronald Reagan was the President. And I did so for two
    reasons--two reasons: One, anytime we put our troops into harm's way,
    they deserve the best pay, the best equipment, and the best training;
    and secondly, I did so because I want to send a message to friend and
    foe alike that we're in this deal for the long haul. When it comes to
    the freedoms we love, when it comes to something we hold dear, this
    country is determined and patient and plenty resolved to achieve
    victory.
        Congress is back. The House passed a version of the defense bill.
    The Senate passed a version of the defense bill. I expect the Congress
    to work together and get that defense bill to my desk as soon as
    possible. It's in the interests of the United States. The American
    people are not going to like it if they see the Congress playing
    politics with the defense bill when we're at war.
        We're making progress. See, because the enemy is different and the
    nature of the war is different, sometimes you don't see what's going on.
    As I said early on, and right after September the 11th, sometimes you'll
    see what's happening, and sometimes you won't. That's just the nature of
    this war. Sometimes one of these killers will be brought to justice, and
    you'll hear about it, and sometimes they won't. But we're making
    progress. Slowly but surely, we're making progress. Slowly but surely,
    we're bringing people to justice.
        Notice I don't say, ``Slowly but surely, we're seeking revenge.'' I
    said, ``Slowly but surely, we're bringing people to justice.''

    [[Page 1535]]

    We owe that to our children. We owe that to our children's children. We
    must stay on the hunt for the sake of freedom here. We must continue to
    deny sanctuary. Once we get them on the run, we've also got to make it
    hard for them to light anywhere. We must make sure that those who would
    like to harbor them continue to get the message that there will be a
    consequence. We must anticipate problems before they occur. We must deal
    with threats to our security today, before it can be too late.
        Yesterday I announced to the country that I would be working closely
    with our United States Congress and the American people to explain the
    threat that Saddam Hussein poses to world
    peace. I take the threat very seriously. I take the fact that he
    develops weapons of mass destruction very seriously. I remember the fact
    that he has invaded two countries before. I know for a fact that he's
    poisoned his own people. He doesn't believe in the worth of each
    individual. He doesn't believe in public dissent.
        I look forward to a dialog. I'm a patient man. I've got tools--we've
    got tools at our disposal. And therefore, yesterday I began an important
    discussion about our future, about peace, about freedom; a discussion
    that I will continue to have with the United States Congress, Republican
    and Democrat alike; a discussion I will carry on with the American
    people; a discussion I will begin at the United Nations next week; a
    discussion I will have with the Prime Minister of Britain Saturday; a discussion I'll have with the Prime Minister
    of Canada on Monday; a discussion I'll be
    having with the President of Russia, Premier
    of China, President of France tomorrow.
        I will remind them that history has called us into action, that we
    love freedom, that we'll be deliberate, patient, and strong in the
    values that we adhere to, but we can't let the world's worst leaders
    blackmail, threaten, hold freedom-loving nations hostage with the
    world's worst weapons.
        I can't imagine what went through the enemy's mind when they hit us.
    I can't imagine what they were thinking. Let me guess. They probably
    said, America is so selfish and so self-absorbed and so materialistic,
    that after September the 11th we might file a lawsuit or two, but that's
    all we would do. They were wrong. See, they don't understand America.
    They don't understand our character, and they don't understand our
    fiber. They don't understand that, when we love something, we love it
    dearly. We love life, and we love freedom.
        And they understand one thing about us, too. When we need to be
    plenty tough, we're going to be plenty tough. And they're learning
    another thing about America. When we need to be compassionate and
    loving, we can be compassionate and loving, too. You see, I believe out
    of the evil done to America--and make no mistake, it was an incredibly
    evil act--will come incredible good. You need to tell your loved ones,
    the little ones in particular, that when they hear the President talking
    about Al Qaida, Iraq, and other places, I do so because I long for
    peace. See, I believe out of the evil done to America, if we're strong
    and focused and determined, we can achieve peace. We can not only
    achieve peace today for America but peace in the long term--but not only
    for America. See, every life matters in this country. And you don't have
    to be an American for you to matter, as far as this Nation is concerned.
    We want peace in parts of the world that have quit on peace. We want
    there to be peace in the Middle East. We want there to be peace in South
    Asia. We act because we believe in peace. And out of the evil done to
    America can come a more peaceful world.
        And out of the evil done to America can come a more compassionate
    America, too. A lot of people say, ``Well, what can I do on the war
    against terror?'' You can love your neighbor like you'd like to be loved
    yourself, is what you can do.

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        No, I'm for a safer and strong America, and I'm for a better
    America. A better America begins, by the way, with making sure every
    child gets an education in this country and no child is left behind. A
    better America is when we take care of people who can't help themselves
    with a health care system that's modern. A better America is one that
    calls upon the best of America. See, Government can hand out money--we
    do a pretty good job of it. But what Government cannot do is put hope
    into people's hearts or a sense of purpose in people's lives. That's
    done when a loving individual puts his arm around a fellow citizen and
    says, ``I love you. What can I do to help you?''
        You see, America is changing, one person at a time--one person at a
    time. We're saving America one soul, one conscience at a time, because
    thousands of our fellow citizens have recognized it's important to serve
    something greater than yourself.
        Robert Mihalovic is here. I met two
    groups of people--I met one group of people, and I met one person. I met
    Robert. I also met the Louisville Little League team, both kind of
    heroes in their own way. One group of kids won a championship. I did
    remind them, ``It's just beginning for you. You've got a responsibility
    now that you're champs, a responsibility to make the right choices in
    life.''
        Robert is here--Robert, if you don't
    mind standing up--I'll tell you why Robert is here. He's a Navy World
    War II veteran. He's a Korean war veteran. But let me tell you something
    about him. He mentors children. See, he's decided that in order to make
    a difference, in order to be a patriot, he wants to help a child in
    need. Robert told me at Air Force One that his most beautiful moments
    come when the child hugs him and says, ``Thank you,'' when the child
    says, ``Thanks for giving me some hope, and thanks for giving me love.''
        No Government program can do that. It happens because thousands of
    citizens like Robert, who I call soldiers
    in the armies of compassion, have heard the call to love their neighbor
    like they'd like to be loved themselves. One person, one Robert can't do
    everything, but he can do something. He can help change America, one
    heart, one soul at a time.
        The enemy hit us. They did tremendous evil to America. But out of
    that evil is going to come a more compassionate country. We can deal
    with addiction and hopelessness and despair when our fellow citizens
    answer the call to make America a compassionate and a decent place. And
    that's what's happening in this country. It's happening in America. No,
    out of the evil done to America is going to come incredible good--peace
    and a better society, because we're the greatest nation, full of the
    greatest people on the face of the Earth.
        Thank you for coming. God bless. God bless America.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:40 a.m. in the Broadbent Arena at the
    Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center. In his remarks, he referred to
    Representative Anne M. Northup of Kentucky, who introduced the
    President; Gov. Paul Patton of Kentucky, and his wife, Judi; 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. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish
    language transcript of these remarks.