[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book I)]
[January 1, 2003]
[Pages iii-xii]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]





Public Papers of the President, 2003, Book I


[[Page iii]]


         P U B L I C  P A P E R S  O F  T H E  P R E S I D E N T S

                                O F  T H E

                         U N I T E D  S T A T E S


    


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                            Published by the

                     Office of the Federal Register

              National Archives and Records Administration

 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing 
                                 Office

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                       Fax: (202) 512-2250

              Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20401


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                                Foreword

    This volume collects my speeches, major statements, and papers from 
the first 6 months of 2003.

    The year began with Saddam Hussein still defying the world. For more 
than a decade, the United States and other nations had sought through 
patient diplomacy to disarm the Iraqi regime of its weapons programs and 
to have international inspectors verify this disarmament. These efforts 
had not been successful. In November 2002, the United Nations Security 
Council unanimously passed Resolution 1441, which declared Hussein's 
regime in material breach of its longstanding obligations--and vowed 
serious consequences if Iraq continued its violations of U.N. 
resolutions. Saddam Hussein offered no proof that he had abandoned his 
weapons programs, and he continued to deceive weapons inspectors.

    We knew that Saddam Hussein had a long history of aggression, that 
he had developed and used weapons of mass destruction in the past, and 
that he had cultivated ties to terrorist groups and had harbored known 
terrorists. And we knew that in a post-September 11th world, America 
must confront gathering threats before it is too late. We gave Saddam 
Hussein another chance, a final chance, to meet his responsibilities to 
the civilized world--and again, he refused. By mid-March, we had 
exhausted all diplomatic options. Faced with continued defiance from 
Baghdad, America and its allies were obligated to enforce the just 
demands of the world.

    On my orders, on March 19 our Armed Forces began striking selected 
military targets to undermine Saddam Hussein's ability to wage war. In 
one of the swiftest advances of heavy arms in history, our Marines and 
soldiers charged to Baghdad across 350 miles of hostile ground, 
alongside troops from other coalition countries. By April, the world was 
watching Iraqis pull down a statue of their former dictator.

    As the Iraqi people celebrated the end of Saddam Hussein's 
dictatorship, we mourned the loss of the brave men and women in the 
coalition forces who gave their lives in battle. We also recognized that 
many difficult challenges remained to secure peace and freedom in Iraq 
and that the transition would take time. Many of the old regime's 
leaders were still at large, parts of Iraq remained dangerous, and basic 
services needed to be reestablished. The highest priority was to replace 
Saddam Hussein's tyranny with a government of, by, and for the Iraqi 
people.

    The liberation of Iraq was part of a broader American effort to 
combat terrorism, promote peace, and bring hope to the suffering. In my 
January 2003 State of the Union address, I proposed a historic $15 
billion initiative to address the worldwide HIV/AIDS pandemic. I also 
announced Project Bioshield, a new initiative to develop vaccines and 
other countermeasures against biological weapons and other dangerous 
agents, as well as the creation of a new office to merge and analyze all 
threat infor-


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mation in a single location. To enhance protection of the 
homeland, the new Department of Homeland Security began operations in 
March. That same month, our actions to disrupt the al-Qaida terrorist 
network continued to progress when American and Pakistani authorities 
captured Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a mastermind of the September 11th 
attacks on our country.

    At home, my Administration worked with Congress to address a number 
of priorities, including a broad reform of Medicare that would add a 
prescription drug benefit and give seniors more choices and control over 
their health care. In April, I signed into law the PROTECT Act, which 
gave law enforcement additional tools to prevent, investigate, and 
prosecute violent crimes against children. And to speed our economic 
recovery and help create jobs, in May I signed into law the Jobs and 
Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act, which delivered substantial tax 
relief to tens of millions of Americans. It reduced taxes for everyone 
who pays income taxes, increased the child tax credit, cut taxes on 
dividends and capital gains, and gave small business owners incentives 
to invest for the future.

    As we pursued our goals at home and abroad, our Nation was saddened 
by the tragic loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia in February. From the 
bravery of our astronauts, to the valor of our soldiers charging through 
sandstorms to liberate millions, the daring and decent character of our 
country was evident during the first 6 months of 2003.

                          B


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                                 Preface

    This book contains the papers and speeches of the 43d President of 
the United States that were issued by the Office of the Press Secretary 
during the period January 1-June 30, 2003. The material has been 
compiled and published by the Office of the Federal Register, National 
Archives and Records Administration.

    The material is presented in chronological order, and the dates 
shown in the headings are the dates of the documents or events. In 
instances when the release date differs from the date of the document 
itself, that fact is shown in the textnote. Every effort has been made 
to ensure accuracy: Remarks are checked against a tape recording, and 
signed documents are checked against the original. Textnotes and cross 
references have been provided by the editors for purposes of 
identification or clarity. Speeches were delivered in Washington, DC, 
unless indicated. The times noted are local times. All materials that 
are printed full-text in the book have been indexed in the subject and 
name indexes, and listed in the document categories list.

    The Public Papers of the Presidents series was begun in 1957 in 
response to a recommendation of the National Historical Publications 
Commission. An extensive compilation of messages and papers of the 
Presidents covering the period 1789 to 1897 was assembled by James D. 
Richardson and published under congressional authority between 1896 and 
1899. Since then, various private compilations have been issued, but 
there was no uniform publication comparable to the Congressional Record 
or the United States Supreme Court Reports. Many Presidential papers 
could be found only in the form of mimeographed White House releases or 
as reported in the press. The Commission therefore recommended the 
establishment of an official series in which Presidential writings, 
addresses, and remarks of a public nature could be made available.

    The Commission's recommendation was incorporated in regulations of 
the Administrative Committee of the Federal Register, issued under 
section 6 of the Federal Register Act (44 U.S.C. 1506), which may be 
found in title 1, part 10, of the Code of Federal Regulations.

    A companion publication to the Public Papers series, the Weekly 
Compilation of Presidential Documents, was begun in 1965 to provide a 
broader range of Presidential materials on a more timely basis to meet 
the needs of the contemporary reader. Beginning with the administration 
of Jimmy Carter, the Public Papers series expanded its coverage to 
include additional material as printed in the Weekly Compilation. That 
coverage provides a listing of the President's daily schedule and 
meetings, when announced, and other items of general interest issued by 
the Office of


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the Press Secretary. Also included are lists of the President's 
nominations submitted to the Senate, materials released by the Office of 
the Press Secretary that are not printed full-text in the book, and 
proclamations, Executive orders, and other Presidential documents 
released by the Office of the Press Secretary and published in the 
Federal Register. This information appears in the appendixes at the end 
of the book.

    Volumes covering the administrations of Presidents Herbert Hoover, 
Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. 
Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald R. Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, 
George Bush, and William J. Clinton are also included in the Public 
Papers series.

    The Public Papers of the Presidents publication program is under the 
direction of Frances D. McDonald, Managing Editor, Office of the Federal 
Register. The series is produced by the Presidential and Legislative 
Publications Unit, Gwendolyn J. Henderson, Chief. The Chief Editor of 
this book was Stacey A. Mulligan, assisted by Karen Howard Ashlin, 
William K. Banks, Loretta F. Cochran, Kathleen M. Fargey, Stephen J. 
Frattini, Alison M. Gavin, Christopher Gushman, Alfred Jones, and 
Michael J. Sullivan.

    The frontispiece and photographs used in the portfolio were supplied 
by the White House Photo Office. The typography and design of the book 
were developed by the Government Printing Office under the direction of 
Bruce R. James, Public Printer.

Raymond A. Mosley
Director of the Federal Register

Allen Weinstein
Archivist of the United States



[[Page ix]]
                                Contents

                    Foreword . . . v

                    Preface . . . vii

                    Cabinet . . . xi

                    Public Papers of George W. Bush,
                    January 1-June 30, 2003 . . . 1

                    Appendix A
                    Digest of Other White House Announcements . . . 727

                    Appendix B
                    Nominations Submitted to the Senate . . . 765

                    Appendix C
                    Checklist of White House Press Releases . . . 787

                    Appendix D
                    Presidential Documents Published in the Federal 
                    Register . . . 799

                    Subject Index . . . a-1

                    Name Index . . . b-1

                    Document Categories List . . . c-1



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                                Cabinet

        Secretary of State

                                          Colin L. Powell.........

        Secretary of the Treasury

                                          John Snow...............

        Secretary of Defense

                                          Donald H. Rumsfeld......

        Attorney General

                                          John Ashcroft...........

        Secretary of the Interior

                                          Gale A. Norton..........

        Secretary of Agriculture

                                          Ann M. Veneman..........

        Secretary of Commerce

                                          Donald L. Evans.........

        Secretary of Labor

                                          Elaine L. Chao..........

        Secretary of Health and Human

        Services

                                          Tommy G. Thompson.......

        Secretary of Housing and Urban 
        Development

                                          Mel R. Martinez.........

        Secretary of Transportation

                                          Norman Y. Mineta........

        Secretary of Energy

                                          Spencer Abraham.........

        Secretary of Education

                                          Roderick R. Paige.......

        Secretary of Veterans Affairs

                                          Anthony J. Principi.....

        Secretary of Homeland Security

                                          Tom Ridge...............

        Chief of Staff

                                          Andrew H. Card, Jr......

        Administrator of the Environmental

        Protection Agency

                                          Christine Todd Whitman..

        United States Trade Representative

                                          Robert B. Zoellick......



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        Director of the Office of 
        Management

        and Budget

                                          Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr.

        Director of National Drug Control

        Policy

                                          John P. Walters.........




                    Administration of George W. Bush

                                  2003