[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
[September 27, 2002]
[Pages 1676-1683]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
[[Page 1676]]
Remarks at a Luncheon for Congressional Candidate Bob Beauprez in Denver, Colorado
September 27, 2002
Thank you all. Nice to be out West. [Laughter] Thank you all for
coming today. And ``Congressman,'' thank you for that kind introduction.
Bob Beauprez is the right man to represent the State of Colorado. There
is no question in my mind. I am proud to stand with him, and I hope the
good folks of Colorado are wise enough to send him to Washington, DC.
I'm honored to be up here with Claudia,
mother of four. These two folks love their family; they love their
country. And Claudia, I appreciate you're willing to sacrifice. See,
moving out of Colorado is a pretty good size sacrifice. [Laughter] But
like Bob, I married above myself. [Laughter] And my good wife sends her love and her best to our friends who are
here, and to the Beauprezes in their quest of this high office--the
Governor and the first lady of the State of Colorado. She sends her best, as do
I.
By the way, she's doing a fabulous job. She
was down in Mexico representing the United States. She's winging her way
back to Crawford. I'm going to see her tonight after my trip. Tomorrow
we're going to spend a little quality time on the ranch, helping to make
sure we maintain perspective, understanding that there's life outside of
the Beltway, that the values of central Texas and the values of the West
out here in Denver are important values to keep a part of our spirit.
And so I'm honored to be here to campaign. She sends her love. By the way, she is doing a fabulous
job. She is a great First Lady for America, and I'm really proud of her.
Not bad for a west Texas girl who, when I married her, was a public
school librarian who, frankly, didn't care for politics and wasn't too
keen on politicians. [Laughter] She's a great lady. She sends her love.
I also am honored to be here with your Governor. He is one of the Nation's best Governors. Unlike some of
them, he can run on his record. [Laughter] And it's a record that's
going to put him back in office. And that's good for Colorado. I'm
honored Frances is here with him as well, a
great first lady for the State of Colorado.
I want to thank the grassroots activists who are here. I want to
thank Chairman Benson. I've known him for a long
time. He's a fine leader. I want to thank you for what you have done and
what you're going to do, and that is, you're going to turn out the vote.
You're going to man the precincts. You're going to do what you're really
good at, which is grassroots politics. And a lot of times you don't get
thanked enough. I'm here to thank you. I want to thank you for turning
out the vote, not only to make sure the Governor
wins and Bob wins but to make sure Wayne Allard
goes back to the United States Senate.
I want to thank Senator Campbell
for being here and the rest of the congressional delegation. You've sent
some fine folks to Washington, DC, and I've enjoyed working with all of
them. And I want to thank the folks who have organized this dinner--or
lunch, however you want to call it. [Laughter] It's a big crowd. Bob,
it's a good sign. See, the folks here know what I know--that you're a
man of principle, a man of character.
I love the Beauprez story. It's an American story, really, when you
think about it. It's a Colorado story. It embodies the values of the
State of Colorado and the best of America. After all, his grandfather
came here penniless in 1910, left a wife and child behind. He wasn't
sure if he could make it in America. He came and worked hard. Had the
honor of meeting Bob's mom and
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dad. One of them got out of the eighth grade.
And the mom got a little farther in school: she got out of the ninth
grade. But they're truly the American story, that hard work and dreaming
big dreams and loving one another and raising your family means you can
get ahead in America. Those are the values of Bob Beauprez, and they're
important values for America to understand, and they're good values for
the United States Congress.
I like to support a man who's made a living, who understands what it
means to take risk, who's not only worked on a farm but has had a vision
and saw that vision come to be. It's the kind of thinking we need in
Washington, because we've got a problem with our economy. And here's the
problem: Anytime somebody who wants to work can't find work, that's a
problem. And even though there is economic growth, we don't have enough
growth. And even though interest rates are low and inflation is low, the
foundation for a growing economy--we need to do more.
But here's our attitude about the economy. The role of Government is
not to create wealth; the role of Government is to create an environment
in which the entrepreneur can flourish, in which the producer can make a
living, in which the small business can grow to be a big business.
You're backing the right man for Congress. He understands how the
economy works. He will join me and others in making sure the tax cuts
which we passed are a permanent part of American life. There's an
interesting debate in Washington about taxes; there always is. There's
some who want more of your taxes in Washington; there are some who want
less. I believe that when the economy slowed the way it was slowing when
we came in, we needed to let people keep more of their own money. Here's
the page of the textbook which we read. It says: ``If you have more
money in your pocket, it means you're more likely to demand a good or a
service. And if you demand a good or a service in the American system,
somebody is going to produce the good or a service. And when somebody
produces the good or a service, somebody is more likely to find work.''
The tax cuts came at the right time in American history.
The tax cuts stimulate economic growth. The tax cuts are good for
small business creation. Small businesses create 70 percent of the new
jobs in America. Most small businesses are not incorporated. Most small
businesses are sole proprietorships or limited partnerships and,
therefore, pay income taxes at the individual rates. And so when you
drop the rates, you're encouraging capital creation in the small-
business sector of America. Those who oppose tax cuts do not understand
job creation and what the small-business community does for job
creation.
It's hard for me to explain why we need to make them permanent. It's
kind of--some of the things that happen in Washington: On the one hand,
they taketh away; on the other hand, they giveth. In this case, we had
tax reductions, but because of a rule in the United States Senate, those
tax reductions cease after 10 years from the date of enactment. Congress
gives, and then it takes away. And that's not right. What I need--I need
allies in Washington who will make those tax reductions permanent so
people can plan and save, and the job will grow.
And we did a good thing in that tax reduction plan. We sent the
death tax on its way to extinction. The death tax is bad for Colorado
ranchers. The death tax is bad for Colorado farmers. If you're
interested in curtailing urban sprawl, you ought to eliminate the death
tax, so people aren't forced to sell their farms and ranches when they
don't want to, because of a bad tax. The death tax is bad for small
businesses. The death tax is just plain bad. And this State and this
district better send somebody to Washington who will vote to permanently
repeal the death tax.
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Economic vitality and economic growth means that we've got to manage
our resources wisely, and we're not managing our forest resources wisely
in America. We're allowing our forests to grow up like giant piles of
kindling and just hoping that something doesn't happen. We're--backwards
policy. We don't listen to the folks out West enough. We don't listen to
the folks whose job it is to conserve our forests for future
generations. The fires that have devastated the West should send a clear
signal to not only the voters of this district but to the people in
Washington, DC, that America, for the sake of our precious resources,
and America, for the sake of future generations, must have forest policy
based upon common sense. We must thin out our forests so that they're
not giant piles of kindling for future national disasters.
Bob's commonsense approach makes sense for Colorado. He understands
as well, when you're good at something, you ought to promote it. We're
good at high-tech. We're good at growing crops. We're good at producing
things, and we ought to be selling our products overseas. And so I
appreciate that we're going to have a fellow free-trader elected to the
United States Congress from this district. Trade is good for jobs. Trade
is good for Colorado. And trade is good for America.
In order to create more jobs in America, Congress needs to act when
it comes to terrorism insurance. There's some significant projects on
hold because people can't get insurance because of what the terrorists
did to us. It's estimated there's over 300,000 jobs that have been
delayed, 300,000 hardhat, good, hard--good-paying jobs, because we can't
get terrorism insurance. And Congress ought to act, and they need to
move.
The problem is--well, here's the problem: Some of them are more
interested in rewarding the trial lawyers than they are the hardhats. We
need a bill that focuses--we need policy that focuses on the hard-
working people, those people wearing the hardhats. We've got to get them
back to work. I need somebody up there who will join me in putting good,
commonsense policy in place--people can find work in America. We want
them working.
And one other thing I want to share with you about how to make sure
the economy grows: We must be fiscally sound with your money; we cannot
allow Congress to overspend. And here's the danger. Every idea in
Washington sounds like a good idea. Everybody's idea sounds brilliant.
And the problem in Washington politics is, every one of those brilliant
ideas has got a price tag on them in the billions. And it begins to add
up.
And the other danger is, there's no budget. Senator
Armstrong remembers the days when the
Senate had a budget. They don't have one now. And if you don't have a
budget, guess what's likely to happen? People overspend. For the sake of
job creation, for the sake of jobs, we need to make sure the United
States Congress understands whose money they're spending. They're not
spending the Government's money; they're spending your money. And I need
fiscal conservatives, people who will protect your pocketbook in
Washington, DC.
No, we're going to work together to make America a stronger place by
making sure people can find work. Oh, I know there's a lot of talk about
national security, and there should be, during these days. But part of
making sure America is a secure place is that our economy is strong, and
we continue to focus on job creation, which I'll do.
But my most important job these days is to protect the homeland, is
to protect America against nothing but a bunch of coldblooded killers,
protect our country against people who hate us because of what we love.
They hate us because we love freedom. They hate us because we love the
idea that people can worship an almighty God any way they see fit. They
hate us because we speak our mind: we allow public discourse and
dissent. They
[[Page 1679]]
hate us because we have a free press. And so long as we love freedom,
they'll hate us. But we're never, ever going to relinquish our love of
freedom in America.
Let me tell you something else about the enemy: They're resourceful;
they're slippery; they're the ones who hide in caves and send youngsters
to their suicidal death. These are folks that have hijacked a great
religion and then take innocent life. And that's a huge difference
between America. See, in America we value life. Everybody matters. Every
person counts, not only in America but around the world. Human life is
precious to the American people, part of our culture. The enemy doesn't
think that way. And therefore, we've got to do everything we can to
defend against them, to make sure they never hurt us again.
And a lot of good people are working a lot of long hours to protect
the American people--just are--you've got to know it. You've got to know
that we're doing a better job now of coordinating between agencies in
Washington. I mean--once we've learned that oceans no longer protect
us--there's a new mentality in your Nation's Capital as well as your
statehouse and at the local level as well. A lot of good people are
sharing information, are running down leads. Anytime we get a hint
something might be happening to America, we're going to react to it. We
owe that to the American people. We will do so and protect the United
States Constitution at the same time.
We're making progress at home, but we need to make more progress.
And one way to do so is to create a Department of Homeland Security. I
remember when I first made the announcement, somebody said, ``Well, all
that's going to mean is bigger Government.'' I readily concede I didn't
campaign on the slogan: ``Vote for me. I want your Government to be
bigger.'' But I do want it to work. I want it to perform. There's over
100 agencies involved in the homeland defense. And if the number one
priority is to protect the homeland, it seems like, to me, it makes
sense to have them under one umbrella so that we can have a new culture
in those agencies. It's not to say they won't do other functions, but we
want them focused on your job, on your security, and on their job.
That's what we want in America.
And so I've asked Congress to respond. And the House acted quickly,
and I appreciate the votes of the Members here from the House. The
Senate is bogged down right now. They're bogged down over a dispute as
to how best to run the agency. I want to thank Senator
Campbell's strong support of my
position, which I'm about to share with you. And it's this: I don't need
a giant--and when I say ``I,'' it's not only me, it's other Presidents--
don't need a thick book of regulations trying to micromanage the
Department of Homeland Security. That's not what we need. We need
flexibility. We need to be able to move quickly. We need to be able--
need to put the hard-working people in the right place at the right
time, to protect us from an enemy. Let me give you some examples of what
I'm talking about.
After September the 11th, the Customs Service wanted to require
inspectors at the Nation's 301 ports of entry to wear radiation
detection devices. That makes sense: Put a radiation detection device on
that will help to determine whether or not somebody is trying to
struggle a weapons of mass destruction in the country--eminent sense,
logic that folks should want to do that. The union that represents the
Customs workers objected. They didn't think that was right. They sought
to invoke collective bargaining, which would have taken at least a year
to resolve. We don't have a year to resolve issues like that. See, we
need to be able to move quickly. We need to be able to respond. It's our
job. In order to locate employees in cases of emergency, the Customs
Service thought to have employees provide their home addresses or their
telephone numbers to the Customs Service--in other words, if there
needed
[[Page 1680]]
to be a quick response, we needed to have their numbers available. The
union objected. They said such a request would violate the privacy
rights of workers.
We're in a different time here in America. In this case, a union
filed a grievance and sought to negotiate something as sensible as this
request. I'm for workers' rights. I believe people ought to be able to
have collective bargaining if that's what they want. But in the name of
national security, this administration, future administrations need this
flexibility to put people--the right place at the right time, in order
to protect America from an enemy which still wants to hurt us.
Hope we can get it right in the Senate--an opportunity for the
Senate, House to leave behind a legacy that America is more fully
protected as time goes on. But the best way to protect America, short
term and long term, is to hunt the killers down, one at a time, and to
bring them to justice. And that's what we're doing. We're doing it in a
variety of ways. First, you just need to know the doctrine that says, if
you're--you're either with us, or you're with them--it still stands.
There's a lot of people still with us. This is a different kind of
war, and we need people with us. As I mentioned, these are folks that
like to hide in caves or the dark recesses of cities around the world.
They don't have tanks. They don't have airplanes. They don't have ships.
We don't measure success based upon our capacity to destroy their
ability to fight war. We measure success based upon how many we have
hauled in or how many weren't so lucky. We've gotten over a couple of
thousand of them so far. ``We'' not only means the United States but
others with whom we work. And a like number have not been as lucky.
We're slowly but surely dismantling the Al Qaida terrorist network.
It's not a very glamorous war for some to cover. It's hard to get
breathless over an arrest. Bin al-Shibh
popped his head up. He was the guy that thought he was going to be the
20th hijacker, or wanted to be. He's no longer a threat. He's no longer
a threat to America. He's no longer a threat to our friends. It doesn't
matter how long it takes, folks, the enemy has got to understand: we're
going to get them. It doesn't matter how long it takes; we're going to
pursue them. You see, we're fighting for our freedom. We're fighting for
that which we hold dear.
I sent up to Congress the largest increase in defense spending since
Ronald Reagan was the President. I did it for two reasons. One, anytime
we commit our troops into harm's way, they deserve the best pay, the
best equipment, and the best possible training. We owe that to our
troops, and we owe it to their loved ones as well. And for those of you
in the audience who have got a loved one in the military--one, proud of
your son or daughter; two, I have got full confidence in your son or
daughter; and three, thank you for your sacrifice. And secondly, the
reason I asked for a increase the size of which I did is because I
wanted to send a message to friend and foe alike that when it comes to
the defense of our freedoms, we're not quitting. There's no calendar on
my desk that says, well, we've reached this time; it's time to stop.
That's not how I think. That's not how America thinks. We want our
friends understanding that. We want the enemy to know it as well, that
when it comes to the defense of our country, comes to defending the
values we hold dear, it doesn't matter how much it costs; it doesn't
matter how long it takes: The United States will be firm and resolved.
We owe that to our children, and we owe it to our children's children.
I've got a problem, however. The defense budget I submitted hasn't
made it to my desk yet. Here we are trying to defend the homeland, and
it's stuck. The House passed it. The Senate passed it. Now it's time for
the leadership in Washington, DC, to get the defense bill to my desk
before they go home. It's important for--it's an important signal to
send. And they
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ought to stop playing politics with defense appropriations at this time
in American history.
There's not going to be an easy road to secure our freedom. There is
going to be--there are some steep hills to climb. But we're ready to
climb them as a nation, I think. There's a steep hill to climb in Iraq.
I went to the United Nations the other day, and I want to share with you
why I went. First, I wanted to make sure the world heard the case: This
man is a dictator who tortures and rapes
women--has women raped in order to make a point; who kills, stifles
dissent through murder; the man who said he would get rid of weapons of
mass destruction and still has them. And we need to fear the fact that
he has weapons of mass destruction. He's used them before. He's used
them on his own people before. He's invaded two countries. He's lied and
deceived the world.
The United States is no longer secure because we've got oceans.
We're vulnerable to attack, as we learned so vividly. My job is to not
only deal with problems--people kind of run around and lurk--my job is
also to anticipate problems. My job is to be realistic about our future.
My job is to make sure that the world's worst leader is not able to blackmail or hurt America or our
friends and allies with the world's worst weapons. We've got to make
sure that these dictators aren't able to team up with terrorist groups,
use their weapons of mass destruction as a way to intimidate those of us
who love freedom.
So I went to the United Nations. My message was, ``We want you to
succeed as an organization. We remember what it was like when the
collective body was the League of Nations, unable to stop
totalitarianism, that in order to secure the freedom in the 21st
century, it's important to have an effective body. But you've been
ineffective,'' I said. ``For 11 long years you have said one thing to
the dictator in Iraq, and he has thumbed his
nose. For 11 years you've allowed this man to be--to lie and deceive
about weapons of mass destruction, and you have not held him to account.
And now is the time. For the sake of freedom, you have got a choice: You
can hold him to account. And for the sake of freedom, he has got a
choice: He can disarm.''
There's no negotiations, by the way, for Mr. Saddam
Hussein. There's nothing to discuss. He
either gets rid of his weapons and the United Nations gets rid of his
weapons--he can either get rid of his weapons and the United Nations can
act, or the United States will lead a coalition to disarm this man.
I'm willing to give peace a chance to work. I want the United
Nations to work. I want him to do what he
said he would do. But for the sake of our future, now's the time--now's
the time. For the sake of your children's future, we must make sure this
madman never has the capacity to hurt us with a nuclear weapon or to use
the stockpiles of anthrax that we know he has, or VX--the biological
weapons which he possesses.
I appreciate both Republicans and Democrats in our country
understanding this issue. The other day I was at--greeted in the Cabinet
Room members of both parties from the United States Congress, both
parties, who understand the stakes--members of both parties who
understand the stakes, people who are willing to work with us to send a
clear message to the world, a unified message, a strong resolution which
defines our vision for peace.
Soon I'll have a--soon you'll see a resolution come forth supported
by members of both parties--not everybody, I can understand that. This
is an important debate, a debate where people will speak their
conscience. I'm absolutely convinced as we've laid out the facts,
members from both parties understand the stakes, understand we're
talking about freedom, and understand we cannot allow this
madman to threaten us, to threaten others, to
threaten our friends with the world's worst weapons.
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I want you to know that behind the rhetoric of war is a deep desire
for peace, that I believe that by remaining strong and diligent that we
can achieve peace, that we can achieve peace not only for America but
peace around the world. I believe that by speaking clearly about terror,
delineating good from evil, remaining forceful in our desire for
freedom, we can achieve peace in the Middle East.
I laid out a vision for peace. I'm going to stay on that vision. I
believe so strongly it's possible. And I believe we can achieve peace in
South Asia. I want you to tell your kids that when they hear the debate,
listen to the rhetoric: This administration has got a deep desire for a
peaceful world. I also have a deep desire for a better world, too, a
better country.
As we work to keep the peace we've also got to work to make America
a better place for all of us. I mean every single citizen. That means
we've got to have an education system that is next to none. I believe
strongly in setting high standards and challenging the soft bigotry of
low expectations. I believe every child can learn.
I know Bob shares that vision, and I know the Governor does as well. I'm proud to sign an important piece of
education reform--for the first time said that if you receive Federal
money, why don't you show us whether or not your children are learning
to read and write and add and subtract? See, if you believe every child
can learn, if you're willing to challenge the soft bigotry of low
expectations, then just show us. And if they are, we'll praise the
teachers and praise the superintendents. But when we find our children
trapped in schools that won't teach and won't change, we must demand
something different. No child should be left behind in America.
A better America is one that has got a modern health care system.
And I look forward to working with Bob to make sure that the Medicare
system is modern. Medicine has changed; Medicare hasn't. And it's time
to keep the promise of Medicare with a modern system, starting with
prescription drug benefits for our seniors.
And by the way, I appreciated what the House did. I call upon the
Senate to do the same thing that the House did the other day. In order
to make sure medicine is affordable and accessible, we need medical
liability reform at the Federal level. Let me just put it to you this
way: Too many lawsuits are driving docs out of business. Too many
lawsuits are making health care hard to get for a lot of folks. Too many
lawsuits, too many frivolous and junk lawsuits are driving up your cost
for health care, and we need to do something about it, starting at the
Federal level. The House acted. The Senate must show the same kind of
courage, for the sake of the American people.
There's a lot of things we can do in Washington, but the best way to
make America a better place is to call upon our fellow citizens to love
a neighbor just like you'd like to be loved yourself. See, Government
can hand out money--sometimes we do a pretty good job of it--but what it
cannot do is cause people to love one another. It can't put hope in
people's hearts or a sense of purpose in people's lives. That is done
when a fellow citizen puts his arm around somebody who hurts, and says,
``I love you.'' That's how that happens. That's done when a church or a
synagogue or mosque decides to feed the hungry or find shelter for those
who have no housing. It's done when somebody mentors a child. It's done
when somebody runs a Boy Scout or Girl Scout troop. That's what happens,
see.
That's the true strength of the country, by the way. The true
strength of the country is in the hearts and souls of our fellow
citizens. You know, people have asked me, what can they do to help in
the war against terror? My answer is, love a neighbor. If you want to
fight evil, do some good. Try to make your community a better place in
which somebody can live and realize their dreams.
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No, the enemy hit us--the enemy hit us. They didn't know who they
were hitting. They probably thought after 9/11/2001 that maybe a couple
lawsuits would be filed against them. They didn't understand America.
They didn't understand our view of freedom; nor did they understand that
this great Nation would rise up--this Nation would take a step back and
assess what was important and rise up. A lot of people now understand to
be a patriot means more than just putting your hand over your heart. It
means doing something to make your community a better place. A true
patriot is somebody who helps eliminate those pockets of despair and
hopelessness by loving somebody.
I believe out of the evil done to America is going to come great
good--still mourn the loss of life, like we all do, but I know the
culture is beginning to change from one that has said, ``If it feels
good, do it,'' and ``If you've got a problem, blame somebody else,'' to
a day in which each of us understand we're responsible for the decisions
we make in life. We're responsible for loving our children, if you're
lucky enough to be a mom or a dad. You're responsible for the quality of
life in the community in which you live. You're responsible for loving
your neighbor like you'd like to be--self. If you're running corporate
America, you're responsible to tell the truth to your employees and your
shareholders.
This great country is responding to the evil done. I'm an optimistic
guy, because I believe America can achieve anything it sets its mind to,
believe we can achieve peace. And I believe we can help eliminate the
pockets of despair and make sure this country remains such a beacon of
hope for everybody, for every citizen who is fortunate enough to live in
this great land.
The reason I believe that way is, I understand that America is the
greatest nation, full of the finest people, on the face of our Earth.
God bless you all, and may God bless America.
Note: The President spoke at 11:26 a.m. in the Plaza Ballroom at the
Adam's Mark Hotel. In his remarks, he referred to candidate Bob
Beauprez's wife, Claudia, and his parents, Joe and Maria Beauprez; Bob
Benson, chair, Republican Party of Colorado; Gov. Bill Owens of
Colorado, and his wife, Frances; former Senator William L. Armstrong of
Colorado; Ramzi bin al-Shibh, an Al Qaida operative suspected of helping
to plan the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, who was captured in
Karachi, Pakistan; and President Saddam Hussein of Iraq. Bob Beauprez
was a candidate for Colorado's Seventh Congressional District.