    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book I)]
    [June 30, 2003]
    [Pages 718-722]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

     Remarks at a Bush-Cheney Luncheon in Miami
     June 30, 2003

         The President.  Thank you all for coming. It's a big deal to be
    introduced by your brother--[laughter]--especially one who's been so
    successful as the Governor of the State of Florida.
    I'm proud of him. I'm not surprised. We both share the same political
    consultant--[laughter]--our mother. [Laughter]
    Her fees are low, but her opinion is plentiful. [Laughter]
         But it's been a successful event. We've raised a lot of money, and
    I want to thank you for that. We're laying the groundwork for what is
    going to be a victory in November of 2004. I'm getting ready. I'm
    loosening up for the task ahead. But I just need to remind you that I'm
    going to need your help, continued help. I believe our message is best
    for the country. It is a

    [[Page 719]]

    message that speaks to everybody. It's a message of hope and peace and
    freedom. And you're going to need to tell your friends and neighbors. We
    need a grassroots effort.
         There will be plenty of time for politics. Right now I'm focused on
    the people's business in Washington, DC. We've got a lot on the agenda,
    and I'm going to work hard to continue to earn the confidence of each
    American by making sure this country is safe and secure and prosperous
    and free.
         I just flew in from Crawford. I said good-bye to the First
    Lady. She sends her best. I'm sorry she is not
    with me. She is, by far, the best thing I've got going. I'm really proud
    of Laura. I'm proud of her steadiness and her calm in the face of storm.
    I love her dearly. She is a great First Lady for our country.
         I'm honored that Members of the United States Congress are here.
    Congressman Foley and the two Diaz-Balart boys are with us as
    well. I'm proud to call them friends. I'm proud to work with them. They
    love Florida. They love America. And they're fine United States
    Congressmen. Thank you all for coming today.
         I too want to thank Zach and Tom
    Petway III for putting this event on. I want to
    thank them for serving in a big capacity for me in the Florida campaign.
    I want to thank Al Hoffman as well, as well as
    Mercer Reynolds, my longtime friend who is
    the national chairman. I want to thank the party chairman who is here,
    Al Cardenas. But most of all, I want to thank
    you all. I'm honored that you've given of your money and your time and
    your efforts. I appreciate your love for our country. I appreciate your
    willingness to participate in the process.
         You know, we've been through a lot in 2\1/2\ years. We really have,
    but our Nation has acted decisively to confront great challenges. I came
    to office to solve problems, not to pass them on to future Presidents
    and future generations. I came to seize opportunities instead of letting
    them slip away. We are meeting the tests of our time.
         Terrorists declared war on the United States of America, and war is
    what they got. We have captured or killed many leaders of Al Qaida, and
    the rest of them know we're on their trail. In Afghanistan and in Iraq,
    we gave ultimatums to terror regimes. Those regimes chose defiance, and
    those regimes are no more. Fifty million people in those two countries
    once lived under tyranny, and now they live in freedom.
         Two-and-a-half years ago, our military was not receiving the
    resources it needed, and morale was beginning to suffer. So we increased
    the defense budget to prepare for threats of a new era. And today, no
    one in the world can question the skill and the strength and the spirit
    of the United States military.
         Two-and-a-half years ago, we inherited an economy in recession.
    Then the attacks came on our country, and we had scandals in corporate
    America, and we were at war. And all this affected the people's
    confidence. But we acted. We passed tough new laws to hold corporate
    criminals to account. And to get the economy going again, we have twice
    led the United States Congress to pass historic tax relief for the
    American people. We believe that when Americans have more money in their
    pocket to spend, to save, or invest, the whole country benefits, and
    someone is more likely to find a job. We understand whose money we spend
    in Washington, DC. We do not spend the Government's money. We spend the
    people's money. It's your money to begin with. And so we're returning
    more money to people to help them raise their families. We're reducing
    taxes on dividends and capital gains to encourage investment. We're
    giving small businesses proper incentives to expand and to hire people.
         With all these actions, we are laying the foundations for greater
    prosperity and more jobs across America, so that every single person in
    this country has a chance to realize the American Dream.

    [[Page 720]]

         Two-and-a-half years ago, there was a lot of talk about education
    reform, but there wasn't much action. So I called for and the Congress
    passed the No Child Left Behind Act. With a solid bipartisan majority,
    we delivered the most dramatic education reform in a generation. We're
    bringing high standards and strong accountability measures to every
    public school in America. We believe every child can learn the basics of
    reading and math, and we expect every school in America to teach those
    basics. We are challenging the soft bigotry of low expectations. The
    days of excuse-making are over. And now we expect results in every
    single classroom, so that not one single child is left behind.
         We reorganized the Government and created the Department of
    Homeland Security to safeguard our borders and ports and to better
    protect the American people. We passed trade promotion authority to open
    new markets for America's entrepreneurs and manufacturers and farmers
    and ranchers. We passed a budget agreement that is helping to maintain
    spending discipline in Washington, DC. On issue after issue, this
    administration has acted on principle; we have kept its word; and we
    have made progress on behalf of the American people.
         The United States Congress deserves credit, and I will continue to
    work with the Congress. I'll work with them to help change the tone in
    Washington, DC, to focus on results. And that's the nature of the people
    that I've surrounded myself with. I've put together a fantastic
    administration of hard-working, decent Americans, there to serve the
    American people. Dick Cheney is a great Vice
    President of the United States, the greatest Vice President. I say the
    ``greatest''; Mother might have a different
    opinion. [Laughter]
         Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida. I was wondering
    about that. [Laughter]
         The President.  In 2\1/2\ years, we've come far. We really have.
    But our work is only beginning. We have great goals, worthy of a great
    nation. First, America is committed to expanding the realm of freedom
    and peace, for our own security and for the benefit of the world. And
    second, in our own country we must work for a society of prosperity and
    compassion so that every citizen has a chance to work and to succeed and
    realize the great promise of our country.
         It is clear that the future of freedom and peace depend on the
    actions of America. This Nation is freedom's home, and we are freedom's
    defender. We welcome this charge of history, and we are keeping it. The
    war on terror continues. The enemies of freedom are not idle, and
    neither are we. This country will not rest; we will not tire; and we
    will not stop until this danger to civilization is removed.
         Yet our national interest involves more than eliminating aggressive
    threats to our safety. Our greatest security comes from the advance of
    human liberty, because free nations do not support terror, free nations
    do not attack their neighbors, and free nations do not threaten the
    world with weapons of mass terror.
         Americans believe that freedom is the deepest need and hope of
    every human heart, including those who live on the island of Cuba. And
    we believe that freedom is the right of every person, and we believe
    that freedom is the future of every nation.
         America also understands that unprecedented influence brings
    tremendous responsibilities. We have duties in the world, and when we
    see disease and starvation and hopeless poverty, we will not turn away.
    On the continent of Africa, which I'll be visiting next week, America is
    now committed to bringing the healing power of medicine to millions of
    men and women and children now suffering from AIDS. This great land is
    leading the world in this incredibly important work of human rescue.
         We face challenges here at home, and our actions prove that we're
    equal to those challenges. I will continue to work on our economy until
    everybody who wants to

    [[Page 721]]

    work and can't find a job is able to find a job.
         We have a duty to keep our commitment to America's seniors by
    strengthening and modernizing Medicare. Last week the Congress took
    historic action to improve the lives of older Americans. For the first
    time since the creation of Medicare, the House and Senate have passed
    reforms to increase the choices of seniors and provide coverage of
    prescription drugs. The next step is for both Houses to come together to
    iron out some details and to get a bill to my desk.
         And for the sake of a strong health care system for all Americans,
    we need to cut down and end the frivolous lawsuits which increase the
    cost of medicine. People who have been harmed by a bad doc deserve their
    day in court. Yet the system should not reward lawyers who are simply
    fishing for rich settlements. Because frivolous lawsuits drive up the
    health--the cost of health care, they affect the Medicaid budget; they
    affect the Medicare budget; they affect the cost to our veterans. It is
    a--they affect the Federal budget, is what I'm telling you. Medical
    liability reform is a Federal issue. It requires a Federal solution. No
    one has ever been healed by a frivolous lawsuit. This country needs
    medical liability reform now.
         I have a responsibility as President to make sure the judicial
    system runs well, and I have met that duty. I have submitted--I have
    nominated superb men and women for our Federal courts, people who will
    interpret the law, not legislate from the bench. But some Members of the
    United States Senate are trying to keep my nominees off the bench by
    blocking up-or-down votes. Every judicial nominee deserves a fair
    hearing and an up-or-down vote on the Senate floor. It is time for some
    Members of the United States Senate to stop playing politics with
    American justice.
         The Congress needs to pass a comprehensive energy plan. Our Nation
    must promote energy efficiency and conservation. We must develop cleaner
    technology. We must use our technologies to help us explore for more
    energy at home. For the sake of our economic security and for the sake
    of our national security, we must be less dependent on foreign sources
    of energy.
         Our strong and prosperous Nation must also be a compassionate
    nation. I will continue to advance our agenda of compassionate
    conservatism by applying the best and most innovative ideas to the task
    of helping our fellow citizens in need. There are still millions of men
    and women who want to end their dependence on Government and become
    independent through work. We must build on the success of welfare reform
    to bring work and dignity into the lives of more of our fellow
    Americans.
         Congress should complete the ``Citizen Service Act,'' so that more
    Americans can serve their communities and their country. Both Houses
    should reach a settlement on my Faith-Based Initiative to support the
    armies of compassion that are mentoring children, that are caring for
    the homeless, and offering hope to the addicted.
         A compassionate society must promote opportunity for all, including
    the independence and dignity that comes from ownership. This
    administration will constantly strive to promote an ownership society.
    We want more people owning their own home. We want people to own and
    manage their own health care plan. We want more people to own and manage
    their own retirement accounts. We want more small-business owners in
    America, because we understand that when a person owns something, they
    have a vital stake in the future of America.
         In a compassionate society, people respect one another and take
    responsibility for the decisions they make in life. We're changing the
    culture of America from one that has said, ``If it feels good do it,''
    and ``If you've got a problem, blame somebody else,'' to one--to a
    culture in which each

    [[Page 722]]

    of us understands we are responsible for the decisions we make in life.
         If you are fortunate enough to be a mother or a father, you're
    responsible for loving your child. If you're worried about the quality
    of education in your neighborhood, you're worried about doing
    something--you're responsible for doing something about it. If you are a
    CEO in corporate America, you're responsible for telling the truth to
    your shareholders and your employees. And in a responsibility society,
    each of us is responsible for loving our neighbor just like we'd like to
    be loved ourself.
         We can see the culture of service and responsibility growing around
    us. I started what we call the USA Freedom Corps to encourage Americans
    to extend a compassionate hand to neighbors in need. And I'm pleased to
    report the response has been strong. Our faith-based charities from all
    denominations are vibrant and strong, as people who have heard the call
    to serve something greater than themselves in life are doing so by
    helping somebody who hurts.
         We've got policemen and firefighters and people who wear our
    Nation's uniform reminding us on a daily basis what it means to
    sacrifice for something greater than yourself in life. Once again, the
    children of America believe in heroes, because they see them every day.
         In these challenging times, the world has seen the resolve and the
    courage of America. And I've been privileged to see the compassion and
    the character of the American people. All the tests of the last 2\1/2\
    years have come to the right nation. We're a strong country, and we use
    that strength to defend the peace. We're an optimistic country,
    confident in ourselves and in ideals bigger than ourselves.
         Abroad, we seek to lift whole nations by spreading freedom. At
    home, we seek to lift up lives by spreading opportunity to every corner
    of America. This is the work that history has set before us. We welcome
    it, and we know that for our country and for our cause, the best days
    lie ahead.
         May God bless you. And may God continue to bless America. Thank you
    all.

      Note:  The President spoke at 12:35 p.m. in the International Ballroom
    at the Hilton Miami Airport. In his remarks, he referred to Zach
    Zachariah and Tom Petway III, Florida State finance cochairmen, and
    Mercer Reynolds, national finance chairman, Bush Cheney '04, Inc.; Al
    Hoffman, Jr., finance chairman, Republican National Committee; and Al
    Cardenas, former chair, Republican Party of Florida.