[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

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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.

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     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

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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

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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.