[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
[October 23, 2002]
[Pages 1868-1870]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
[[Page 1868]]
Remarks on Signing the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2003
and the Military Construction Appropriation Act, 2003
October 23, 2002
Good morning. Please be seated.
The security of the American people is the first commitment of the
American Government. Our Nation faces grave new dangers, and our Nation
must fully support the men and women of our military who confront these
dangers on our behalf.
The Department of Defense and the Military Construction
Appropriations bills I sign today will make our country more secure,
make our military forces more prepared, and reward military families for
their sacrifice in service.
These bills, passed with bipartisan support, send a message: America
is united; America is strong; and America will remain strong.
I appreciate so very much Vice President Cheney joining me today. He is a great Vice President. I
appreciate Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld joining me today. He's a great Secretary of Defense. I
appreciate Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz
coming. I want to thank Tom White, the
Secretary of the Army. I want to thank the Members of the Congress who
have joined us today, both Democrat and Republican: Senator Byron
Dorgan of North Dakota, Arlen
Specter of Pennsylvania, Bill Young of Florida, Dave Hobson
of Ohio, and Jim Moran of Virginia.
I want to thank the service chiefs who are here. They've done such a
good job for our country. I want to thank their senior enlisted
advisers. I want to thank the friends of the United States military who
are here in the Rose Garden today. I want to thank those who wear the
uniform who are here. And I welcome my fellow Americans.
Since September the 11th, Americans have been reminded that the
safety of many depends on the courage and skill of a few. We've asked
our military to bring justice to agents of terror. We've asked our
military to liberate a captive people on the other side of the Earth.
We've asked our military to prepare for conflict in Iraq, if it proves
necessary. We're asking young Americans to serve in many places far from
home and at great risk. We owe them every resource, every weapon, and
every tool they need to fulfill their missions.
The best military in the world must have every advantage required to
defend the peace of the world. And the best military in the world is
making good progress on this, the first war of the 21st century.
It's a different kind of war. Our military knows it. After all,
we're on an international manhunt. We're chasing coldblooded killers
down, one killer at a time. And we're making good progress. We've hauled
in or arrested, thanks to our military and our friends and allies, over
a couple of thousand killers, and like number weren't as lucky. In
either case, they're no longer a threat to the American people.
Sometimes the American people will see the progress we're making,
and sometimes they won't. They just need to know that the United States
military is after them, one person at a time.
The bill I sign today also sends a clear signal to friend and foe
alike that it doesn't matter how long it takes to defend our freedom;
the United States of America will stay the course. There is no timetable
in the Oval Office here behind me that says, at a certain period of time
we no longer care deeply about our freedoms, and therefore we're going
to quit. There's no such timetable. The bill today says America is
determined and resolute to not only defend our freedom but defend
freedom around the world, that we're determined and resolute to answer
the call to history, and that we will defeat terror.
[[Page 1869]]
This year's defense bill provides nearly $355 billion to protect our
country, more than $37 billion increase from fiscal year 2002--for
fiscal year 2002. We're matching increased funding with clear
priorities.
First, this legislation takes care of our men and women in uniform
and their families. We provide the money for a pay increase of 4.1
percent for service members, provide for additional full-time support
personnel for the National Guard and Reserves, continue to reduce the
out-of-pocket cost for housing for our service members and their
families.
The Military Construction Appropriations bill adds $10.5 billion for
building and upgrading military installations and for military family
housing. We're taking care of our people. We want the people who wear
the uniform to know America appreciates their service.
Secondly, this year's defense bill will ensure that our military is
ready and well-equipped. We increased funds for operations and
maintenance by more than $5 billion, provide nearly $72 billion for
weapon procurement, an $11 billion increase. Today's American forces are
ready and able to deploy to any point in the globe to defeat any foe,
and we're going to keep it that way.
Third, this legislation begins developing the next generations of
weaponry that will win battles in the future. We invest almost $58
billion in research and development. At the same time, the bill ends
some weapons systems that aren't going to meet the needs of the future,
and that's an important contribution to our military. To have the
willingness to say, ``This program works, and this one doesn't,'' is
important. So we ended the Crusader artillery program, a program that
was designed for a different era.
Instead, we will fund new systems, systems that will enable our
military to do a more effective job at defending America and our
freedoms, systems such as the unmanned aerial vehicles like the Predator
and the Global Hawk that we've used so effectively in Afghanistan.
We fund efforts to adopt cold war systems like the Trident submarine
to meet the new 21st century missions. We fund over $7 billion to
protect America and our friends from the threat of ballistic missiles.
I'm grateful that Congress completed its important work on defense
and military construction appropriations bills. I want to thank them for
working hard on these two important pieces of legislation. I appreciate
the bipartisan spirit.
There's still important work to complete. For example, Congress has
yet to act on my proposal to nearly double overall funding for homeland
defense, including my request for unprecedented funding levels for
police and firefighters and emergency medical personnel who are on the
frontlines of defending our citizens.
In addition, our new homeland--Department of Homeland Security is
stalled in the Senate. The defense bill I will sign today funds our
soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines, all of which exist in a single
Department. That Department was created by President Harry Truman when
he reorganized our Nation's defense structure to meet the security
threats of a new era.
Today we are once again in a new era. Yet our homeland security
activities are spread among more than 100 different Government agencies.
America needs a single Department of Government dedicated to protecting
our people and to protecting our homeland. We can't wait any longer. The
threats to America are simply too great. Providing for the security of
our country is a broader task than just keeping our military strong. I
look forward to working with Congress on all the measures needed to
build the strength and security of the greatest nation on the face of
the Earth.
It is now my honor to sign the Department of Defense Appropriations
Act and the Military Construction Appropriations Act.
[[Page 1870]]
Note: The President spoke at 10:40 a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White
House. H.R. 5010, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, and H.R.
5011, the Military Construction Appropriation Act, approved October 23,
were assigned Public Law No. 107-248 and Public Law No. 107-249,
respectively. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish
language transcript of these remarks.