[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
[August 13, 2002]
[Pages 1379-1382]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at the Corporate Responsibility Session of the President's 
Economic Forum in Waco
August 13, 2002

[Commerce Secretary Donald L. Evans welcomed 
the President and summarized the discussion to that point, including the 
remarks of Truett Cathy, founder and chief 
executive officer, Chick-fil-A, Inc., concerning why his company never 
offered public shares. Secretary Evans then introduced Dick 
Holthaus, president and chief executive 
officer, National Association of Investors Corp. (NAIC), who asked NAIC 
members in the audience to raise their hands.]

    The President. Great.

[Mr. Holthaus described NAIC's activities as 
an organization of investment clubs.]

    The President. Dick, thank you. First of 
all, I want to thank you all for coming. This is--it's really a fine 
seminar because the quality of--the people are great. Wait until you see 
who's here when you go to lunch. It's really--impressed. And this is a 
topic that is a vital topic for the country, and that's trust. You know, 
how do we make sure people can trust what they see, can believe what 
they hear, can understand--understand that they're being told the truth 
when it comes to numbers, and make sure the fine print, you know, is 
fully exposed?
    I want to thank Dick from the New York 
Stock Exchange for helping set the tone for policing themselves. You 
know, the

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Government can only do so much. And I can assure you we're going to hold 
people accountable. If they lie, cheat, or steal, they're going to be 
prosecuted--they just are. But there's a lot others need to do as well, 
and the New York Stock Exchange set a very good example, starting a 
process that will regain the trust of, you know, of just the average 
citizen in America. That's what we've got to do, and that's what we've 
got to hit head on.
    As the man who heads Albertsons in 
the previous seminar said, CEOs need to get out front. They don't need 
to hide during this period of time; they need to be out front. He's 
starting tomorrow by signing a letter that will verify the truth and 
verify reality.
    But I want to thank you all for coming. I can assure you that even 
though I won't be sitting through every single moment of the seminars--
nor will the Vice President--we will look at the 
summaries, and we will look at any ideas that come out, as to determine 
whether or not there is more Government can do. In the meantime, I'm 
going to be calling upon the leaders in our communities, all across our 
communities, to do their job as responsible citizens.
    So thanks for coming. This is an important day, and I think, for 
those who are watching on C-SPAN, I think they are going to find that 
there's a lot of Americans like themselves who are deeply concerned 
about the future of this country. And I think you are going to find that 
a lot of us are very optimistic about the future of the country, because 
we are a fundamentally strong nation, full of great people.
    Welcome to central Texas.

[Secretary Evans introduced Harry 
Alford, president and chief executive officer, 
National Black Chamber of Commerce, who stressed the need for honesty 
and integrity in corporate leadership.]

    The President. Well, I can assure you of one thing. If somebody 
broke the law, they're going to be held accountable. Dick came and I think 
Ken--both came to the speech I gave in New York. I was telling this 
story to one of the other seminars. And our business schools don't want 
to teach right from wrong anymore. They're afraid of taking a position, 
evidently. Michael probably knows more about 
that than I do.
    But anyway, in my speech I said business schools need to take a 
stand to teach their youngsters right from wrong. Just as you mentioned, 
Harry, there are some values that are true. And 
I was working a ropeline--a professor said, ``Well, thanks for saying 
that. As a business school professor, we needed to hear that.'' And a 
laboring man standing next to him said, ``Yes, if you really want to 
teach people right from wrong, put those who did wrong in handcuffs. 
That's the best ethics lesson that Government can do.'' And we're going 
to. We're going to.

[Secretary Evans introduced Ron 
James, president and chief executive officer, 
Center for Ethical Business Cultures, who discussed the benefits of 
ethical corporate leadership.]

    The President. Where are you----
    Mr. James. Center for Ethical Business 
Cultures. We're in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
    The President. Oh, great.
    Mr. James. We partner with a couple of 
academic institutions, the Carlson School of Management at the 
University of Minnesota and St. Thomas' College of Business.
    The President. But is there a trend in these business schools, like 
this person pointed out to me, that there's kind of a----

[Mr. James said that ethics was a core part of the 
curriculum at these schools, leading students to raise questions about 
the values of the organizations they considered working for.]

    The President. That's interesting.

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[Secretary Evans introduced Anna Escobedo 
Cabral, president and chief executive 
officer, Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility, who stressed 
the need for greater diversity in corporate leadership as part of 
responsibility to the community.]

    The President. Well, I appreciate that. I think one of the most 
heartening statistics about Hispanic life in America is that the fastest 
growing segment of small-business growth--it's a different subject, but 
along the same lines--is the Hispanic owner. The Latino-owned businesses 
in California--the creation there is just unbelievable, and the same in 
my State of Texas, which is a really positive development.
    In terms of large, corporate America, there's no question there has 
to be a degree of sensitivity throughout the entire corporation in order 
for it to realize value. In other words, value is not just in numbers; 
value is in character as well. And I really appreciate Ron's point, that 
a company that has got a culture of responsibility is a company that 
benefits financially as well. It's kind of an interesting analysis.
    But thank you very much. I'm going to appreciate you coming.

[Secretary Evans introduced Yale School of 
Management student Jill Gibson, who described 
how ethics is taught in her classes.]

    The President. How about Dean Garten? 
How's he doing?
    Ms. Gibson. He's doing a great job, 
excellent dean, thank you.
    The President. Tell him to give you an 
``A.'' [Laughter]
    Ms. Gibson. I will. I'll make sure to tell 
him.
    The President. One of the things I hope to get corporate America to 
do is to give people time off to mentor children, as part of 
establishing a set of values within a corporation. One of the things 
that I think is beginning to happen is, corporate America looks at a 
potential employee's willingness to help a neighbor in need as part of 
whether or not that person will fit into the new corporate culture.
    I think a lot of folks would say that it's impossible to develop a 
culture within a large corporation; that after the entrepreneurial stage 
of corporate development, you lose your soul. And one of the interesting 
challenges for CEO America, as well as the business schools, is how to 
instill a culture within a large, kind of soulless organization. It's 
one thing to be Chick-fil-A; it's another thing to have evolved to this, 
you know, a conglomerate or a giant, where the ownership is dispersed to 
the point where people really wonder whether or not it's possible. I 
happen to think it is. I think you can instill a culture in any large 
organization. But one of the tricks is how to do so. And I believe one 
way to do so is for--is to encourage employees, as well as, you know, 
the people who run the company, to do something for somebody other than 
yourself. Part of that is to be a good community participant and a good 
community citizen.
    I'm glad you're here.

[Secretary Evans introduced June 
Lennon of Martin and Lennon CPAs, who discussed 
ways to be proactive in ensuring corporate responsibility, including 
simplifying accounting rules.]

    The President. You ought to take a look at--Franklin can tell you, the Government accounting system is 
pretty--it's kind of hard to explain. [Laughter] I've been there for 
nearly 18 months trying to figure it out. [Laughter]
    But thank you very much for that, June.
    Listen, again, I want to repeat to you all--I've got to bounce to 
another seminar, but I do appreciate you coming. This is--the other 
thing that Americans have got to know is that by far the vast majority 
of our fellow citizens are upright, honest, moral people. By far the 
vast majority of people running corporate America are good, honorable 
people, good, decent people that care about their shareholders, care

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about their employees, care about communities in which they live. And 
that's important for people to know--and that there have been some 
recently whose practices started a while ago and are now coming to 
light, that cast a shadow on all of us. And we've got to let the light 
shine in, and that's what we're going to do.
    But this is a unique land we're in. There is a moral compass amongst 
by far the vast majority of us, and that's what makes America so great. 
And our job is to--my job is to capture that spirit, to insist upon the 
best, call upon people to serve, hold people accountable when they 
don't. There's no question we're in a rough spot. But the good far 
outweighs the bad, not only in terms of statistics but, most 
importantly, because of the people and the character of the land.
    I do want to thank you all again for sharing your thoughts. I think 
this is a very important day. It's important for all of us here, but 
more importantly, or as importantly, it's important for people who are 
paying attention to what is said here. So thanks for coming. I look 
forward to seeing you at lunch. I'm impressed by the quality of the 
folks that have come.
    God bless you all. Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 9:46 a.m. in the Baylor Law Center at 
Baylor University. In his remarks, he referred to Richard Grasso, 
chairman and chief executive officer, New York Stock Exchange; Lawrence 
R. Johnston, chairman and chief executive officer, Albertsons Inc.; 
Kenneth I. Chenault, chairman and chief executive officer, American 
Express Co.; Michael Useem, professor of management, University of 
Pennsylvania; Jeffery E. Garten, dean, Yale School of Management; and 
Franklin D. Raines, chairman and chief executive officer, Fannie Mae.