    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book I)]
    [February 9, 2003]
    [Pages 141-146]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the ``Congress of Tomorrow'' Republican Retreat Reception in
    White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia
    February 9, 2003

        Thank you. Please be seated. Nothing like about an hour's speech for
    a Sunday lunch--[laughter]--trying to loosen up my vocal cords for the
    week.

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        Thanks for having me. And thanks for serving our country. First, I
    want to tell the family members who are here, I appreciate your
    sacrifice. I know it's hard to leave a district and a State that you
    love. I know your spouse is working incredibly long hours, and I want
    you to know that I feel that you're just as an important part of your
    spouse's mission. So on behalf of a grateful nation, thank you all very
    much for the sacrifices you make.
        I want to thank the Speaker  Dennis and I want
    to thank Senator Frist for their leadership. I'm
    confident in their abilities. I know we can work together. And I'm proud
    to call them friends. I want to thank DeLay for
    serving in the capacity he does. He brings a lot of Texas wisdom into
    the House of Representatives. [Laughter] Texas tough, and I'm proud to
    call him friend as well. I've known Tom a long time, and I'm confident
    by working together we can get a lot done.
        I want to thank Santorum--Rick Santorum,
    that is--and I want to thank Deborah for
    putting on this event. Where are you, Santorum? There you are. I know
    it's not easy to herd cats. It's a lot easier when you do it in a
    beautiful place like the Greenbrier though. [Laughter] I want to thank
    Roy Blunt for being a good vote counter, and we're
    counting on you to count. And I appreciate--and Jon Kyl. Thank you, Jon. I'm honored you're up here with us today.
        So we've got some big challenges facing us. I don't exaggerate when
    I say this is a significant year for our country. I truly believe that.
    My attitude: It doesn't matter how high the hurdle is; we'll cross it.
    It doesn't matter how big the obstacle is; we'll deal with it, because
    we represent the greatest country on the face of the Earth.
        I know there's a lot of people paying attention to what's happening
    overseas, and so am I. But I want to begin by reminding us that we've
    got a domestic agenda that is positive and strong and hopeful and
    optimistic.
        We believe strongly that if somebody is looking for work and can't
    find a job, then we've got to do everything we can to grow our economy.
    Our whole philosophy is based upon growth of the economy. We equate jobs
    and growth. And we know the role of Government is not to create wealth
    but an environment in which the entrepreneurial spirit flourishes, in
    which small businesses can grow to be big businesses.
        And that is why I am passionate about my plan to give people more
    money. The more money they have in their pockets, the more likely it is
    that somebody will find work. It is also important for us never to
    forget that we represent the entrepreneurs of America and that when you
    reduce the individual income-tax rates, you're putting money into the
    pockets of the sole proprietorship or the limited partnership or the
    subchapter S. The tax reduction plan that I want you to pass and I want
    to sign will put more money into the pockets of the entrepreneurs of
    America, which is good for those who are looking for work.
        We've already passed it once. We had a pretty good battle. I see
    some of the soldiers in the tax cut fight of 2001 sitting out there. I
    repeat what I said earlier: If the tax relief is good 2 or 4 or 5 years
    from now, with an economy that is not as strong as we want it to be, it
    is good enough today. Let us get the tax relief plan passed.
        And while we're doing it, it makes sense to help our seniors and to
    make the Tax Code more fair. The double taxation of dividends is unfair.
    It is unfair to tax profits and the distribution of those profits. And
    therefore, for the sake of capital formation and for the sake of the
    lifestyle of the 10 million seniors who receive dividend income, let us
    end the double taxation of dividends.
        I want to appreciate those who are involved with appropriations for
    working hard to get an appropriations bill to my desk as soon as
    possible. It would be nice to

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    get the 2003 issue out of the way, as we start to deal with the 2004
    budget and appropriations process. I am serious about holding the line
    on Federal spending. I submitted a budget to you which sets clear
    priorities, meets those priorities, and will enable us to say to the
    American taxpayer, ``We are wise with your money.'' And therefore, I
    look forward to working with you to pass a budget which is realistic and
    a budget which is responsible.
        We will address the Medicare issue in a way which enables us to say
    as a country, ``We've fulfilled our promise to senior citizens.''
    Medicine is becoming modern. Medicare isn't, and we have an obligation
    to the future of this country to modernize the Medicare system, to
    fulfill the promise to thousands of seniors, a system which includes
    more choice, more options, and prescription drugs for the senior
    citizens of this country.
        We need an energy bill in America, a bill which encourages
    conservation and exploration. We need a Clear Skies legislation so that
    we can say our party has led to reasonable, sane environmental policy.
    And we need a forest policy in America, a Healthy Forest Initiative
    which enables us to maintain the vast treasures, particularly of forest
    land in the West, and at the same time be wise about how we clear
    underbrush so that we don't encourage forest fires that--some of the
    devastating forest fires that took place in the West this year.
        I look forward to working with the Senate to get my judges
    confirmed. I have named some really honorable people to the bench. I
    want to thank Senator Hatch and other members
    of the Senate Judiciary Committee for kind of putting aside all that
    political--the politics that so dominated the discourse.
        The first test, of course, is Miguel Estrada. Fabulous story. He's a great, great jurist--a lawyer
    who will be a great jurist. And I expect that he be given a fair hearing
    on the floor of the Senate. I expect the people of the Senate not to
    hold him up, not to try to talk his nomination into the ground, because
    Miguel Estrada not only represents the American Dream but will do us
    proud on the bench. I want to thank the Senators for standing strong for
    this good nominee. And when the vote comes up, this guy is going to be
    confirmed, and America--the bench and America will be better for it.
        I look forward to working with you on a compassion agenda, one that
    recognizes that in our plenty there are people who hurt, there are
    people who need love and compassion, there are people who wonder whether
    or not the American experience is meant for them. I look forward to
    working to get the Faith-Based Initiative out of the House and the
    Senate. I look forward to getting the ``Citizen Service Act''--a
    reformed ``Citizen Service Act'' passed as well.
        I'm going to Nashville tomorrow to talk about the compassion agenda.
    We've got a role in Washington, but the biggest role, of course, takes
    place in the neighborhoods of our country, when people hear the call to
    love somebody like they'd like to be loved themselves, when people fully
    understand that one person can make a significant difference in the life
    of somebody who hurts. I'm going to reiterate my call for a mentoring
    initiative, aimed particularly at junior high students as well as
    children whose mom or dad may be in a prison. I'm going to call for a
    focus on those who are addicted to drugs. Listen, we will work hard to
    continue to drive the demand for drugs down and interdict supply, but
    there are sad souls in our society who are hooked on drugs. And I look
    forward to working with the Congress to empower programs which work,
    particularly faith-based programs which work, to help save Americans one
    heart, one soul, one conscience at a time.
        And as we show our compassion here at home, I feel strongly about
    our need to show our compassion abroad as well. Some of you have been to
    Africa and have

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    seen the suffering. Some of you know firsthand the stories about
    thousands of abandoned children who are in orphanages, crowded
    orphanages, because their mom or dad--and dad--and/or dad have died
    because of AIDS. Some of you know the startling statistics that the
    people of the continent face. It's a pandemic. It is destruction of
    human life, the likes of which the modern world hasn't seen, and we need
    to do something about it.
        In my strong judgment, this Nation needs to stand up and show our
    compassion when a fellow human being suffers. See, if we say every life
    matters, if we believe that every life has worth, that the Almighty God
    believes in the worth of every individual, if we believe that, then it
    makes sense for us to help save lives when we can.
        I want to work with you to get the AIDS initiative passed out of the
    Senate and the House as quickly as possible. It is a plan that is a plan
    of mercy. It's an important initiative. It's a vital initiative, because
    we're talking about saving human life. We're talking about showing the
    world the great strength and compassion of the United States of America.
    There is no doubt that when you pass this initiative, when our time in
    Washington, DC, is past and we go home and--sitting around the ranch in
    Crawford or the front porch in Plano or in Woodlands, that we'll say we
    heard the call, the cry of people who suffer, and we responded, and the
    world is a better place because of the actions we took.
        And I believe the world will be a better place because of the
    actions we take when it comes to fighting terror. First, I thank you all
    for your hard work to get us a homeland security bill late last year.
    We'll work with the Congress to implement that so that we can all say
    that we're doing everything we can to protect the homeland. We've got
    other initiatives. The BioShield initiative is an important initiative,
    and we look forward to working with the respective committees and, of
    course, the House and the Senate to get that passed.
        The best way to secure the homeland is to continue to hunt the
    killers down one at a time. The best way to deal with the threat we face
    is to find them and bring them to justice, which is precisely what our
    military is doing right now. We are sharing intelligence the likes of
    which we've never done before. We're cutting off money. We've got some
    of our best units chasing these people down, and one by one, we are
    dismantling their network.
        The other day the Italians hauled some in. The Brits hauled some in.
    Anytime one of these people is arrested, whether we do it or not, we're
    making progress against the shadowy killer network of Al Qaida. Slowly
    but surely, we're bringing them to justice, and we're not quitting until
    the American people are secure and safe.
        The issue facing our Nation and the world is the extension of the
    war on terror to places like Iraq. Prior to September the 11th, there
    was apparently no connection between a place like Iraq and terror. Oh,
    sure, he had run some terrorist networks out of his country, and that
    was of concern to us. But it was very difficult to link a terrorist
    network and Saddam Hussein to the American
    soil. As a matter of fact, it was very difficult to link any attack on
    the American soil, because prior to September the 11th, we were
    confident that two oceans could protect us from harm.
        The world changed on September the 11th. Obviously, it changed for
    thousands of people's lives for whom we still mourn. But it changed for
    America, and it's very important that the American people understand the
    change. We are now a battleground. We are vulnerable. Therefore, we
    cannot ignore gathering threats across the ocean. It used to be that we
    could pick or choose whether or not we would become involved. If we saw
    a threat, it may be a threat to a friend, in which case we would be
    involved, but never did we realize the

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    threat could be directed at the American people.
        And that changed. And therefore, when we hear of stories about
    weapons of mass destruction in the hands of a brutal dictator who hates America, we need to take that seriously, and
    we are. And when we find out there's links between Baghdad and a killer
    who actually ordered the killing of one of our fellow citizens, we've
    got to realize the--what that means to our future.
        And that's why this administration and this country is holding the
    U.N. Security Council and the world to its demands that Saddam
    Hussein disarm. It is important for the
    country to realize that Saddam Hussein has fooled the world for 12
    years, is used to fooling the world, is confident he can fool the world.
    He is--wants the world to think that hide-and-seek is a game that we
    should play. And it's over.
        You see, our country recognizes, and a lot of other countries now
    recognize as well, the role of the inspector is to show up and verify
    whether Saddam Hussein is disarming. That's
    the role of the inspector. The role of inspectors--there's 104 of them--
    the role of the inspector is not to go into a state the size of--a
    country the size of California and try to figure out where this guy has
    hid things over a 12-year period of time.
        And the inspectors have gone to Iraq, and it is clear that not only
    is Saddam Hussein deceiving, it is clear he's
    not disarming. And so you'll see us, over the next short period of time,
    working with friends and allies and the United Nations to bring that
    body along. And it's a moment of truth for the United Nations. The
    United Nations gets to decide shortly whether or not it is going to be
    relevant in terms of keeping the peace, whether or not its words mean
    anything.
        But one thing is certain: For the sake of peace and for the sake of
    security, the United States and our friends and allies, we will disarm
    Saddam Hussein if he will not disarm himself.
        And so we've got a lot to do--we've got a lot to do to leave behind
    a safer country and a better country and a safer and better world. But
    I'm glad history has called this country into action at this point in
    time, because there's no doubt in my mind, when we make our mind up, we
    can achieve a lot.
        And there's no doubt in my mind, when the United States acts abroad
    and home, we do so based upon values, particularly the value that we
    hold dear to our hearts, and that is, everybody ought to be free. I want
    to repeat what I said during my State of the Union to you: Liberty is
    not America's gift to the world. What we believe strongly and what we
    hold dear is, liberty is God's gift to mankind. And we hold that value
    precious, and we believe it is true.
        And as we work to make the world a safer place, we'll also work to
    make the world a freer place. And as we work to make America a freer
    place, we'll work to make it a more compassionate place. Big obstacles
    have been placed in our way. Working together, we will achieve what we
    need to achieve to cross those obstacles.
        Thank you all for your interest. May God bless you, and may God
    bless America.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:23 a.m. at the Greenbrier. In his
    remarks, he referred to Representative Deborah Pryce of Ohio; Miguel A.
    Estrada, nominee to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia
    Circuit; and President Saddam Hussein of Iraq.

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