    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book I)]
    [January 29, 2003]
    [Pages 91-97]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 91]]

    Remarks in Grand Rapids, Michigan
    January 29, 2003

        Thank you all. I'm anxious to get started. [Laughter] So I woke up
    this morning, and Laura said, ``Where are you
    going?'' I said, ``Grand Rapids, thankfully.'' And she said, ``Home of a
    great American, Gerald Ford''--and home to
    many great Americans. I want to thank you for your hospitality.
    She said, ``I've got a suggestion for you:
    Shorten your speech.'' [Laughter]
        I want to share some of my thoughts about that speech I gave last
    night. It's important for me to come to parts of our country and explain
    why I said what I said, so that you and others around our country
    clearly understand some things about the country and the problems we
    face. First thing I want you to know is that there's no doubt in my mind
    that we can accomplish our objectives, because we're the finest nation,
    full of the greatest people on the face of this Earth.
        Thanks for coming. I also want to thank my friend Tommy
    Thompson, who is the Secretary of Health
    and Human Services, for leaving a comfortable life and serving our
    Nation. You may remember, he was the Governor of Wisconsin. Don't hold
    it against him, here in Michigan. [Laughter] He's a great Governor, and
    he's a great Secretary of Health and Human Services. And I'm honored
    Tommy is serving with me.
        And I want to thank your Governor
    and attorney general and secretary of state Lynn for joining us today. I'm honored you all are
    here. Thanks for taking time out of your schedules to come and greet the
    President and hear what I have to say.
        I travel today from Washington with members of the mighty Michigan
    congressional delegation: Your Congressman, Vern Ehlers; neighboring Congressman Peter Hoekstra; Dave Camp and Nick Smith, also of the congressional delegation. I appreciate these
    Members traveling with me. I was honored to speak in their Chamber last
    night. I talked about things that matter to the future of this country.
        Today, before I came here, I had the honor of going to Spectrum
    Hospital, where I visited with docs and hospital administrators and
    Medicare--folks on Medicare, people who hurt, and heard their stories. I
    will share some of that with you, because I believe part of making sure
    that we've got a great country is we've got a great health care system
    that addresses the needs of all our citizens.
        Our biggest need at home, seems like to me, is to make sure that
    anybody who wants a job and can't find one--and if they can't find a
    job, we've got a problem. We've got to make sure this economy is as
    strong as it possibly can be.
        My philosophy is, the role of Government is not to create wealth but
    an environment in which the small-business owner can grow to be a big-
    business owner, in which the entrepreneur feels confident about the
    future, in which people are willing to take risk and invest, which will
    equal jobs. And that's why I feel so strongly about making sure that
    people get to keep more of their own money.
        We've come out of a recession. We've withstood terrorist attacks. We
    had some of our fellow citizens think they could fudge the books, and
    we're routing them out and bringing them to justice, because we believe
    in honesty in America. And our economy is still kind of nudging along,
    in spite of those setbacks. But there's more we need to do.
        When a fellow American has more money in his or her pocket, they're
    more likely to demand a good or a service. And in the marketplace which
    we have in America, when somebody demands a good or a service, somebody
    is more likely willing to produce that good or a service. And

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    when somebody produces the good or a service, it means somebody is more
    likely to find work. That's why tax relief is such an important
    component about creating the environment for economic growth. It is
    important for the people of Michigan and America to know that when I
    talk about tax relief, it equals jobs.
        You hear a lot of rhetoric in Washington, DC, about tax relief. You
    hear a lot of rhetoric about tax relief in Washington, DC, the old
    rhetoric of class warfare. My attitude is, if you pay taxes, you ought
    to get relief; the Government ought not to try to pick and choose.
        Seventy percent of new jobs in America are created by small-business
    owners. It makes sense to try to create an environment in which the
    small-business owner feels confident about the future, is willing to
    take risk and expand jobs. It just so happens that most small businesses
    in America pay taxes at the income-tax level because they're sole
    proprietorships or limited partnerships or Subchapter S's.
        So when you hear me talk about tax relief, I want you to know that
    that will help stimulate small-business growth in America. More money in
    the pockets of our small-business owners means it's more likely somebody
    in western Michigan is able to find work.
        We're trying to get rid of the effects of the marriage penalty. It
    doesn't make any sense to me that we tax marriage. [Laughter] It seems
    like we ought to encourage marriage in America. We ought to accelerate
    the increase of the child credit from $600 to $1,000 as quickly as
    possible. We ought to drop that lowest rate from 15 percent to 10
    percent. All these measures have been passed. You see, what I'm talking
    about today is what I argued for to Congress 2 years ago. They're all
    law. Congress decided these were good measures. It's just that they
    phased them in over 3 or 5 or 7 years. We need some life in this
    economy. We've got people looking for jobs who can't find them. If the
    tax relief is good 5 years from now, it makes a lot of sense to put the
    tax relief in today. For the sake of our economic vitality, Congress
    must act.
        Ten million seniors receive dividends. It's part of their retirement
    package. It's a part of making sure the quality of life is high. A
    dividend is a part of a dollar that has gone through our system that has
    been taxed twice. A company first pays taxes on profits, and that's
    right. And then they distribute the money out to a shareholder, somebody
    who has invested in that company, and then the shareholder gets to pay
    it again. The double taxation of dividends is not fair; it hurts our
    seniors. Congress needs to end the double taxation of dividends, for the
    sake of capital formation and for the sake of the quality of life for
    the seniors in America.
        These measures will help our economy grow, and that's important for
    the Federal budget. It's important for State budgets. If you're worried
    about budgets, which we should be worried about budgets, the first
    question you ask is, how do you create growth in the economy? The more
    growth there is, the more likely it is you'll have tax revenues.
    Policies that stimulate growth ought to be the centerplace of public
    policy, not policies which discourage growth. And the growth packages I
    talk about will encourage economic vitality, means more tax revenues at
    the Federal level.
        But there's two equations when it comes to deficits and balanced
    budgets. There's the revenue side, and then there's the spending side. I
    call upon the United States Congress to set clear and important
    priorities and not overspend the people's money.
        And we have some important priorities that's reflected in my budget,
    not only the budget this year but the budget the last couple of years. A
    significant, important, vital priority is education. Our Federal
    Government has substantially increased the amount of Federal money we
    have spent on education, particularly over the last 2

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    years. We've increased it by another 6 percent in the budget I've
    submitted to Congress.
        Spending money is important for education, but so is making sure
    that every child gets educated. It's important to spend money on
    priorities. It is essential that we set high standards for our children,
    that we challenge the soft bigotry of low expectations, that we insist
    that States measure so we can determine whether programs are working, so
    we know whether or not children are learning to read and write and add
    and subtract. And equally important, it is essential that, when we find
    children trapped in schools which will not teach and will not change, we
    give parents different opportunities for their children.
        Yesterday I talked about an immeasurable part of America's strength,
    and that is our hearts. Compassion in this country runs deep. It's one
    of the really great blessings to be the President of a country where
    people love their neighbor like they'd like to be loved themselves, and
    it doesn't even require a Government program. [Laughter]
        I do think there's a role of Government, though, when it comes to
    helping people in need. The Government ought to help people who cannot
    help themselves. And we need to recognize in Washington that there are
    pockets of despair and hopelessness all around our country, that in this
    land of plenty there are those who hurt, there are neighborhoods where
    the concept of the American Dream just doesn't exist, there are people
    who need love and affection and direction, there are people who are
    hopelessly addicted to drugs.
        Government can spend money and should. But Government cannot put
    hope in people's hearts or a sense of purpose in people's lives. That
    happens when a fellow neighbor puts their arm around somebody who hurts
    and says, ``I love you. Can I help you? What can I do to help you? Young
    lady or young man, understand that this country belongs to you and its
    future if you make the right decisions, and I'm here to help you make
    those right decisions.''
        Yesterday I talked about the need to rally the great compassion of
    America to focus on those who hurt. Think about what it must be to be a
    child whose mother or dad is in prison. Imagine what kind of life that
    would be, growing up in this society. I have hope for those citizens
    because I know there is somebody there in our society who can provide
    the love and direction and guidance to make sure that child has a chance
    to succeed.
        Today I came out--when I landed here at Ford Airport, I had the
    honor of meeting Jerry Nienhuis. He works for
    Kids Hope USA. I want my fellow--hi, Jerry. This program, as Vern
    Ehlers was telling me, is an inspiration to
    many here in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I think Vern said it started right
    here. It shows the great social entrepreneurial spirit of our country.
    It's a faith-based program. It's a program--a call went out to churches
    in the area. They said, ``If you truly love the Almighty, help somebody
    who hurts. Mentor a child. Mentor a child.''
        I said last night that we can save our society one heart, one soul,
    one conscience at a time. Each of us can be somebody helping. I urge you
    to mentor, just like Jerry has done. I urge
    those who are addicted to find a program that will help heal your heart.
    People care about you in our society. A better America is a
    compassionate America, where we save our country, one person at a time,
    and I'm confident it will happen.
        A better America is one in which our health care systems work. One
    of the commitments we have made to our seniors is that they get good
    health care. This system is called Medicare. Medicare has been used as a
    political football, however. It's old. It's important, but it hadn't
    changed. I like to remind people, medicine has changed, and Medicare
    hadn't. It's stuck in the past. It requires all kinds of bureaucracies
    to allow new medicines to come forth so our seniors

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    can take advantage of the technologies and changes in medicine.
        I urged the Congress last night to put aside all the politics and to
    make sure the Medicare system fulfills its promise to our seniors. I
    believe that seniors, if they're happy with the current Medicare system,
    should stay on the current Medicare system. That makes sense. If you
    like the way things are, you shouldn't change. However, Medicare must be
    more flexible. Medicare must include prescription drugs. Medicare must
    be available to seniors in a variety of forms.
        The Congress has got a good health care system for themselves and
    their employees and other Federal employees, which is fine. It's based
    upon trusting each Member of Congress to make decisions for his or her
    family. There's a variety of plans from which to choose. I believe it's
    very important for seniors to be given the same opportunities that
    Members of the Congress, Members of the Senate have. They ought to be
    able to choose their own health care plan, including fee-for-service
    plans. If it's good enough for the Congress, it's good enough for the
    senior citizens of America.
        Any good plan provides options, and any good plan makes sure seniors
    who cannot afford help receive help from the Federal Government. I
    proposed a budget where discretionary spending grew at 4 percent. Within
    that budget I proposed last night is a substantial increase in Medicare
    funding of $400 billion on top of what we already spend, over the next
    10 years. This is a commitment that America must make to our seniors. A
    reformed and strengthened Medicare system, plus a healthy dosage of
    Medicare spending in the budget, will make us say firmly, ``We fulfilled
    our promise to the seniors of America.''
        We want health care to be affordable and accessible for our all our
    citizens, of course. One of the problems we have in our society is we've
    got too many junk lawsuits, too many lawsuits against docs and
    hospitals, too many frivolous lawsuits which cause people to practice
    preventative medicine, procedure after procedure, just in case they get
    sued. Too many people being forced to settle out of court just to get
    rid of the lawsuits, which drives up your cost and drives doctors and
    nurses out of the practice of medicine.
        And it's a problem. I visited States where it's a real problem,
    where I've had docs come and see me and say, ``I can't practice medicine
    anymore.'' I remember a baby doc that came to see me when I was in
    Pennsylvania. She had tears in her eyes. She said, ``I love to deliver
    babies. I can't do it anymore. I'm being sued so much, my premiums are
    out of sight.''
        It is essential--it is essential that Congress understand what
    excessive litigation is doing to patients. It's driving up the cost. It
    makes it hard for people to get access to care, because there's fewer
    providers.
        I've come to the conclusion that this is a Federal issue, because
    excessive lawsuits are driving up the cost of health care at the Federal
    level. Medicare costs more; Medicaid costs more; veterans benefits cost
    more. We need a national, Federal medical liability policy.
        We can get one, but I need your help. The trial lawyers are
    powerful. They don't see the problem the way we see it. You need to
    write your Senators and make it clear to them that you, like me, expect
    people who have had injury to be able to have their day in court. And
    that's what we want. We want a judicial system that works. If somebody
    is hurt, they ought to have their day in court, but we need reasonable
    caps. We need to make sure that this lottery, this lawsuit lottery
    doesn't ruin the health care for citizens all across our country. It's
    an important piece of legislation, to help get control of costs that are
    running out of sight here in the medical industry today.
        Domestic policy is incredibly important, and I'll spend a lot of
    time on it. But there's nothing more important than protecting the
    American people from harm.

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    I knew one of my challenges was going to be to make sure people
    understood that distance between September the 11th, 2001, did not
    necessarily mean war had ended and your Government can relax. War has
    not ended. The war that people brought to our soil still goes on.
        We're doing everything we can in Washington to protect our soil.
    We've got a new Department of Homeland Security that will be up and
    running here pretty quickly. It's a better way to coordinate all the
    assets at our disposal, to protect our borders and protect our airports,
    protect our infrastructure--if need be, respond in an efficient way on
    your behalf.
        Our intelligence services, FBI, are working a lot better than ever
    before. The FBI's whole culture has changed from one that, ``We will
    haul you in,'' to one that says, ``We'll prevent a danger from happening
    in the first place as best we can.'' In other words, we're on alert.
        We know that there is still an enemy which lurks, and there is--
    there is. And they're nothing but a bunch of coldblooded killers, by the
    way. You know, they just don't value life like we do. The great thing
    about America is we say, ``Every life is precious. Everybody counts.
    Everybody has worth.'' And they just don't view it that way. They kill
    in the name of a false ideology based upon hatred.
        And as I told the Congress last night, and the country, we're
    winning this war. We're chasing them down, one by one, and bringing them
    to justice. Make no mistake about it, we are slowly but surely
    dismantling their organization.
        Yesterday some of them bunched up in parts of Afghanistan. They,
    unfortunately, met the United States military head on--unfortunately for
    them. [Laughter] The reason I bring that up is our troops are still in
    Afghanistan, and they're doing a great job. The country needs our
    presence and will have our presence--needs our presence to help make
    sure that those remnants of Al Qaida that still lurk around the area are
    brought to justice. And they will be--they will be.
        Our coalition is still strong. The doctrine that says that either
    you're with us, or you're with the enemy--that still exists. And there
    are a lot of good people working hard all across the world to bring
    these people to justice. The Brits hauled in a bunch the other day.
    You'll see the Spaniards. We're sharing intelligence, and we're watching
    them. And when they pop their heads up, we're getting them, one by one.
        And it doesn't matter how long it's going to take. It just doesn't
    matter. Slowly but surely, we will bring them to justice. Because this
    country understands and this generation understands, we have an
    obligation to protect our land. That's our most important thing we do.
        And by the way, in Afghanistan, we're not leaving for another
    reason. We didn't go into Afghanistan as conquerors; we went in as
    liberators. We liberated people from the clutches of one of the most
    barbaric regimes imaginable, and we're helping to build schools and
    health care centers. Tommy was telling me
    they're fixing to open one up in a couple of months in Afghanistan. And
    we're building highways. We're helping these good people get back on
    their feet.
        That's the great compassion about our country: We're strong in our
    might; we're compassionate in our vision. Everybody matters. Everybody
    has worth in the eyes of the American people. It doesn't matter where
    you're from, the nature of your religion.
        Everybody counts, including the millions who suffer from AIDS in
    Africa. This is a moral nation. We're a great nation. We have a chance
    to use our wealth and our abilities to help cure that epidemic that
    plagues a group of people. I call upon the generosity of the American
    people, at this time of tragedy, where thousands are dying, where
    thousands of children are being orphaned, to join in a great cause, a
    great humanitarian cause, a cause beyond all

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    imaginable--a cause to solve unimaginable problems, to help the people
    who are needlessly dying. We can make a huge difference, a significant
    difference in the lives of thousands of our fellow human beings. I want
    people to step back at some point in time and say, ``Thank God for
    America and our generosity,'' as lives were saved.
        My point is, our presence in the world is more than just our might,
    but our might is needed in the world right now to make the world a more
    peaceful place. The war on terror is not confined strictly to the Al
    Qaida that we're chasing. The war on terror extends beyond just a
    shadowy terrorist network. The war on terror involves Saddam
    Hussein because of the nature of Saddam
    Hussein, the history of Saddam Hussein and his willingness to terrorize,
    himself.
        Saddam Hussein has terrorized his own
    people. He's terrorized his own neighborhood. He is a danger not only to
    countries in the region, but as I explained last night, because of Al
    Qaida connections, because of his history, he's a danger to the American
    people. And we've got to deal with him. We've got to deal with him
    before it is too late.
        Before September the 11th, during a period when a lot of us thought
    oceans would protect us forever from gathering threats far from our
    land, the thought of containing somebody like Saddam Hussein made sense--so we could step back in America and say,
    ``Gosh. Well, don't worry. He's only a threat to somebody in the
    neighborhood, and we might pick or choose whether or not we're going to
    help in the neighborhood.'' But see, our fellow citizens must understand
    that September the 11th, 2001, changed the equation. It's changed the
    strategic outlook of this country, because we're not protected by
    oceans. The battlefield is here, and therefore, we must address threats
    today as they gather, before they become acute.
        There's a reason why the world asked Saddam Hussein to disarm--for 12 years. [Laughter] And the reason why
    is because he's dangerous. He's used them. He tortures his own people.
    He's gassed his own people. He's attacked people in the neighborhood.
        What's changed for America, besides the fact that he's still dangerous and can create havoc with friends in
    the neighborhood, is that there's now a shadowy terrorist network which
    he could use as a forward army, attacking his worst enemy and never
    leave a fingerprint behind, with deadly, deadly weapons. And that's
    what's changed.
        We're having an honest debate in this country, and we should, about
    peace and how to achieve the peace. It should be clear to you now,
    though, that in my judgment you don't contain Saddam Hussein. You don't hope that therapy will somehow change his
    evil mind--[laughter]--that you deal with Saddam Hussein. I hope we can
    do this peacefully.
        I went to the United Nations for a reason. One, I want the United
    Nations to be something other than an empty debating society. I wanted
    it to address this threat. By a 15-to-0 vote in the Security Council,
    they said, ``Yes, it's a problem and he must
    disarm.'' But the fundamental question is, when?
        There's a lot of focus on the inspectors, and we wish them well. But
    the role of the inspectors is not to play hide-and-seek with Saddam
    Hussein in a country the size of California. There's 108 inspectors
    running around a country trying to stumble into something, 108 people
    who are being misled by a person who's made a history of fooling
    inspectors. See, the role of the inspectors are not to play ``gotcha.''
    He's better at playing ``gotcha,''
    obviously--for 12 years he's played ``gotcha.'' The role of the
    inspectors are to watch Iraq disarm. That's the role of the inspectors.
    They're to report back and say, ``Gosh, he's started getting rid of all
    his mustard gas or sarin gas. He started getting rid of these weapons of
    mass destruction. He's now getting rid of the biological laboratories.''
    That's the role of the inspectors.

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        And it's clear he's not disarming. I'm
    convinced that this still can be done peacefully. I certainly hope so.
    The idea of committing troops is my last option, not my first. I
    understand the terrible price of war. I understand what it means to put
    somebody into combat. I know what it means to hug mothers and wives. But
    I've got to tell you something. I've thought long and hard about this.
    The risks of doing nothing, the risk of assuming the best from Saddam
    Hussein, it's just not a risk worth taking.
        So I call upon the world to come together and insist that this
    dangerous man disarm. But should they choose
    not to continue to pressure Saddam and should he continue to defy the
    world, for the sake of our peace, for the sake of the security, this
    country will lead a coalition of other willing nations, and we will
    disarm Saddam Hussein. If need be, if war is brought upon us like I said
    last night, I want to assure you, particularly those who wear the
    uniform and those who have a loved one in the military, we will commit
    the full force and might of the United States military, and for the name
    of peace, we will prevail.
        And when we do, we will free people. This great, powerful Nation is
    motivated not by power for power's sake but because of our values. If
    everybody matters, if every life counts, then we should hope everybody
    has the great God's gift of freedom. We go into Iraq to disarm the
    country. We will also go in to make sure that those who are hungry are
    fed, those who need health care will have health care, those youngsters
    who need education will get education. But most of all, we will uphold
    our values. And the biggest value we hold dear is the value of freedom.
    As I said last night, freedom and liberty, they are not America's gifts
    to the world. They are God's gift to humanity. We hold that thought dear
    to our hearts.
        This is a great nation. America is a strong nation. America is a
    nation full of people who are compassionate. America is a nation that is
    willing to serve causes greater than ourselves. There's no question we
    face challenges ahead of us, challenges at home, challenges abroad. But
    as I said last night, history has called the right nation into action.
    History has called the United States into action, and we will not let
    history down.
        Thank you all for coming. May God bless.

    Note: The President spoke at 12:40 p.m. at the DeVos Performance Hall.
    In his remarks, he referred to Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm, State Attorney
    General Mike Cox, and Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land of Michigan;
    and President Saddam Hussein of Iraq. The Office of the Press Secretary
    also released a Spanish language transcript of these remarks.