    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book II)]
    [October 16, 2003]
    [Pages 1327-1333]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks in San Bernardino, California
    October 16, 2003

        Thank you all. Please be seated, Colonel. Thanks for coming. Thanks
    for the warm welcome. It's great to be in the Inland Empire with the
    38th Governor of the great State of California.
        We did have a good visit, and during that visit I was able to
    reflect upon how much we have in common. We both married well.
    [Laughter] Some accuse us both of not being able to speak the language.
    [Laughter] We both have big biceps. [Laughter] Well, two out of three
    isn't bad. [Laughter] We both love our country. Arnold
    Schwarzenegger is going to be a fine
    and strong leader for California. I'm proud to call him friend.
        Mark, I want to thank you and the Inland
    Empire Economic Partnership for hosting this event. I appreciate it very
    much. And thank you all for coming. I appreciate Teri Ooms as well, as
    the president and CEO of the partnership.
        I want to thank those from the military who are here, particularly
    James Rubeor, who is the colonel at March
    Air Force Base. I appreciate you coming, Colonel. I

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    presume you left somebody behind to make sure Air Force One is fueled
    up. [Laughter]
        We're leaving--I say we--Laura is coming from Washington this
    morning. I'm sorry she's not here. You drew the short straw when you got
    me. [Laughter] But she is--we're fixing to go overseas to represent our
    great country. I'm looking forward to the trip to remind the world about
    the challenges we face. I'm really here today to talk about the
    challenges we face at home as well.
        I want to thank the local officials who have so kindly come. Most of
    all, I want to thank our citizens who are here, because I am talking
    about two of the great priorities for our country. One is to create jobs
    for America, and to win the war on terror--the two challenges we're
    faced with.
        This country is being tested. We're being tested abroad, and we're
    being tested here at home. And we're meeting the tests of history. We're
    defeating the enemies of freedom, and we're confronting the challenges
    to build prosperity for our country. That's what we're doing. Every test
    of America has revealed the character of America. And over the last 2
    years, no one in the world, friend or foe, can doubt the will and the
    strength of the American people.
        When you become President, you cannot predict all the challenges
    that will come. But you do know the principles that you bring to office,
    principles that should not change with time or with polls. I took this
    office to make a difference, not to mark time. I came to this office to
    confront problems directly and forcefully, not to pass them on to future
    Presidents or future generations.
        The challenges we face today cannot be met with timid, timid actions
    or bitter, bitter words. Our challenges will be overcome with optimism
    and resolve and confidence in the ideals of America. Because we believe
    in our free enterprise system, we can be confident in our economy's
    future.
        Our economy has been through a lot. When I took office, the stock
    market had been declining for 9 months, and the economy was headed into
    a recession. And just as we started to recover, the killers came and
    attacked America on September the 11th, and that struck a blow to our
    economy. And then investor confidence was shaken by scandals in
    corporate America, dishonest behavior we cannot and will not tolerate in
    our country. And then we faced the uncertainty that preceded the battles
    of Afghanistan and Iraq.
        The country has been hit hard during these times, and so has the
    great State of California. Declines in investment have hurt the tech
    sector. You lost manufacturing jobs. Farmers are wondering whether
    they'll be able to sell their products overseas. Unemployment in this
    important State is too high.
        But we acted. I acted to overcome these challenges to this State and
    our country, and I acted on principle. Government does not create
    wealth. The role of Government is to create the conditions where
    risktakers and entrepreneurs can invest and grow and hire new workers.
        We know how to create jobs for America. It starts when Americans
    have more take-home pay to spend, to save, or invest, which causes the
    economy to grow, and therefore, someone is more likely to find a job. So
    I twice led the Congress to pass historic tax relief for the American
    people. We wanted tax relief to be as broad and as fair as possible, so
    we reduced taxes on everyone who pays taxes. It doesn't make sense to
    penalize marriage in the Tax Code, so we reduced the marriage penalty.
    It costs a lot to raise children, and so we increased the child credit
    from $600 per child to $1,000 per child. And we put the checks in the
    mail directly to moms and dads.
        It's counterproductive to discourage investment, especially during
    an economic recovery, so we quadrupled the expense deduction for small-
    business investment and

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    cut taxes on dividends and capital gains. It is unfair to tax the
    estates people leave behind after a lifetime of saving money and
    building a business or running a farm. When you leave this world, the
    IRS should not follow you. [Laughter] So we're phasing out the Federal
    death tax.
        I proposed and signed these measures to help individuals and
    families. But they also help the small businesses of America. See, most
    small-business owners pay taxes under the individual tax rate because
    they're Subchapter S's or sole proprietorships. And therefore, small
    business has benefited from the tax cuts. Millions of mom-and-pop
    companies are also benefiting from the higher expense deductions. And
    this is important because small businesses create most new jobs for our
    country, and they're usually the first to take risks. They're usually
    the first to hire people. By helping small businesses, we help our
    entire economy.
        We are following a clear and consistent economic strategy, and I'm
    confident about our future. Last month, this economy exceeded
    expectations and added new jobs. Inflation is low. After-tax incomes are
    rising. Homeownership is at record highs. Productivity is high. Factory
    orders, particularly for high-tech equipment, have risen over the last
    several months. Our strategy has set the stage for sustained growth. By
    reducing taxes we kept a promise, and we did the right thing at the
    right time for the American economy.
        Now our country is approaching a choice. Just as our economy is
    coming around, some in Washington are saying now is the time to raise
    taxes. To be fair, they think any time is a good time to raise taxes.
    [Laughter] At least they're consistent. [Laughter] I strongly disagree.
    A nation cannot tax its way to growth or job creation. Tax relief put
    this Nation on the right path, and I intend to keep America on the path
    to prosperity.
        We're moving forward, but we're not satisfied. We cannot be
    satisfied so long as we have fellow citizens looking for work. We must
    continue to act boldly. So I'm asking Congress to join me in carrying
    out a six-part plan for job creation for America.
        Businesses are more likely to hire people if health care for workers
    is affordable. One way to help our small-business owners is to allow
    association health care plans, where small businesses can pool risk and
    gain the same bargaining power as big businesses.
        And to help control costs for small businesses, large businesses,
    and Government, we need effective legal reform to stop the frivolous
    lawsuits against doctors. We need more than tort reform just for medical
    liability. Unfair lawsuits harm a lot of good and small businesses.
    There are too many large settlements that leave the plaintiffs with a
    small sum and the lawyers with the fortune. Class action and mass tort
    cases that reach across State lines should be tried in the Federal
    court, so the lawyers cannot shop around looking for a favorable judge.
    We got a good bill out of the House. It's stuck in the Senate. The
    Senate must act. Job creation will occur when we've got legal reforms.
        Our economy will grow stronger and create more jobs if we have a
    sound national energy policy. When we--we had a wake-up call this
    summer. We need to modernize our electricity grids. [Laughter] We need
    to make sure that we encourage investments so that the capacity to move
    electricity or natural gas is capable to sustain growth in the 21st
    century. We need to use our technology to develop clean and efficient
    energy sources, so that we can sustain economic growth and protect the
    environment. But one thing is for certain: For the sake of national
    security and for the sake of economic security, America must be less
    dependent on foreign sources of energy.
        More people will find jobs when employers do not have to waste time
    and resources complying with needless Government regulations. For the
    sake of American workers,

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    at the Federal level we're cutting unnecessary rules and making rules
    simpler to understand. Small-business owners should spend more time
    building companies and pleasing customers and less time filling out
    needless forms.
        To create jobs in this country, we need to pursue free trade
    agreements that will open up foreign markets for American products.
    Expanded trade will help businesses large and small--businesses such as
    UVP, Inc., and Maney Aircraft based right out of here--will help them to
    sell more good and locally made products overseas. Free trade must be
    two ways. We're good at what we do. We ought to be allowed to sell what
    we do in other people's countries. Farmers ought to have markets opened
    up to them. California's ranchers and farmers are really good at what
    they do. We need a level playing field when it comes to trade, and a
    level playing field will help us create jobs here in America.
        There's one more thing we need to do. We need to make sure that all
    the tax relief we passed does not disappear in future years. Employers
    need certainty in the Tax Code. Because of a quirk in the legislation,
    the tax cuts are scheduled to go away unless we act. When we passed tax
    relief, Americans did not expect to see higher taxes sneak through the
    back door. If Congress is interested in job creation, they will make
    every one of the tax cuts permanent.
        We have a responsibility to set good policies in Washington.
    Governor Schwarzenegger has a
    responsibility to set good policy in Sacramento. Yet the true strength
    of this country is found in the creativity and the entrepreneurial
    spirit of America. And that is one reason and that is the main reason I
    am so confident about the future of our economy.
        As we overcome challenges to our economy, we are answering great
    threats to our security. September the 11th, 2001, moved our country to
    grief and moved our country to action. We made a pledge that day, and we
    have kept it. We are bringing the guilty to justice. We're taking the
    fight to the enemy.
        And now we see that enemy clearly. The terrorists plot in secret and
    target the innocent. They defile a great religion, and they hate
    everything this Nation stands for. These committed killers will not be
    stopped by negotiations. They will not respond to reason. The terrorists
    who threaten America cannot be appeased. They must be found. They must
    be fought, and they will be defeated.
        In this new kind of war, America is following a new strategy. We are
    not waiting for further attacks. We are striking our enemies before they
    can strike us again. We have taken unprecedented steps to protect the
    homeland. Yet wars are won on the offensive, and America and our friends
    are staying on the offensive. We're rolling back the terrorist threat,
    not on the fringes of its influence but at the heart of its power.
        We have sent a message understood throughout the world: ``If you
    harbor a terrorist, if you support a terrorist, if you feed a terrorist,
    you're just as guilty as the terrorist.'' And the Taliban found out what
    we meant. Thanks to a great military, Afghanistan is no longer a haven
    for terror. The Afghan people are free, and the people of America are
    safer from attack.
        And we fought the war on terror in Iraq. The regime of Saddam
    Hussein possessed and used weapons of mass
    destruction, sponsored terrorist groups, and inflicted terror on its own
    people. Nearly every nation recognized and denounced this threat for
    over a decade. Finally, the U.N. Security Council in Resolution 1441
    demanded that Saddam Hussein disarm, prove his disarmament to the world,
    or face serious consequences. The choice was up to the dictator, and he
    chose poorly. [Laughter]
        I acted because I was not about to leave the security of the
    American people in the hands of a madman. I was not about to stand by
    and wait and trust in the sanity and restraint of Saddam
    Hussein, so our coalition acted in one of the
    swiftest and

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    most humane military campaigns in history. And nearly 6 months ago, the
    statue of the dictator was pulled down.
        Since the liberation of Iraq, our investigators have found evidence
    of a clandestine network of biological laboratories, advanced design
    work on prohibited longer range missiles, and an elaborate campaign to
    hide illegal programs. There's still much to investigate, yet it is now
    undeniable that Saddam Hussein was in clear
    violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1441. It is
    undeniable that Saddam Hussein was a deceiver and a danger. The Security
    Council was right to demand that Saddam Hussein disarm, and America was
    right to enforce that demand.
        Who can possibly think that the world would be better off with
    Saddam Hussein still in power? Surely not the
    dissidents who would be in his prisons or end up in his mass graves.
    Surely not the men and women who would fill Saddam's torture chamber or
    rape rooms. Surely not the families of victims he murdered with poison
    gas. Surely not anyone who cares about human rights and democracy and
    stability in the Middle East. There is only one decent and humane
    reaction to the fall of Saddam Hussein: Good riddance!
        Now our country is approaching a choice. After all the action we
    have taken, after all the progress we have made against terror, there is
    a temptation to think that danger has passed. But the danger has not
    passed. Since September the 11th, the terrorists have taken lives in
    Casablanca, Mombasa, Jerusalem, Amman, Riyadh, Baghdad, Karachi, New
    Delhi, Bali, Jakarta. And most recently, American lives were lost by
    terrorist attack in the Gaza.
        The terrorists continue to plot. They continue to plan against our
    country and our people. America must never forget the lessons of
    September the 11th. America cannot retreat from our responsibilities and
    hope for the best. Our security will not be gained by timid measures.
    Our security requires constant vigilance and decisive action. I believe
    America has only one option: We will fight this war against terror until
    it is won.
        We are fighting on many fronts. Iraq is now the central front.
    Saddam holdouts and foreign terrorists are
    trying desperately to undermine Iraq's progress and throw the country
    into chaos. The terrorists in Iraq believe their attacks on innocent
    people will weaken our resolve. They believe we will run from a
    challenge. They're mistaken. Americans are not the running kind.
        The United States did not run from Germany and Japan following World
    War II. We helped those nations to become strong and decent and
    democratic societies that no longer waged war against America, that
    became our friends. That's our mission in Iraq today. We're rebuilding
    schools. We're repairing hospitals, restoring water and electricity, so
    the Iraqi people can live a normal life.
        Americans are providing this help not only because our hearts are
    good but because our vision is clear: A stable and democratic and
    hopeful Iraq will no longer be a breeding ground for terror, for tyranny
    and aggression. Free nations are peaceful nations. Our work in Iraq is
    essential to our own security. And no band of murderers and gangsters
    will stop that work or shake the will of America.
        Nearly every day in Iraq, we're launching swift precision raids
    against the terrorists. Helped by intelligence from Iraqis, we're
    rounding up the enemy, and we're taking their weapons, and we're working
    our way through the famous deck of cards. [Laughter] We've already
    captured or killed 43 of the 55 most wanted former Iraqi leaders. And
    the other 12 have got a lot to worry about. [Laughter] Anyone who seeks
    to harm our soldiers can know that our soldiers are hunting for them.
        Our military is serving with courage, and some of the best have
    fallen. We mourn every loss. We honor every name. We grieve with every
    family, and we'll always

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    be grateful that liberty has found such brave defenders.
        In defending liberty, we are joined by more than 30 nations now
    contributing military forces in Iraq. Great Britain and Poland are
    leading two multinational divisions. We're in that cause with fine
    allies, and we thank them. And that includes the good people of Iraq.
    Last week, the first battalion of the new Iraqi army completed its
    training. Within the year, Iraq will have a 40,000-member military
    force. Tens of thousands of Iraqi citizens are guarding their own
    borders. They're defending vital facilities, and they're policing their
    own streets. Normal Iraqis want Iraq to be secure and peaceful.
        Our goal in Iraq is to leave behind a stable, self-governing society
    which will no longer be a threat to the Middle East or to the United
    States. We're following an orderly plan to reach this goal. Iraq now has
    a Governing Council, which appointed interim Government ministers. Once
    a constitution has been written, Iraq will move toward national
    elections. We want the process to go as quickly as possible, yet it must
    be done right. The free institutions of Iraq must stand the test of
    time.
        Today I want to thank the United Nations Security Council for
    unanimously passing a resolution supporting our efforts to build a
    peaceful and free Iraq. A democratic Iraq will stand as an example to
    all the Middle East. We believe and the Iraqi people will show that
    liberty is the hope and the right of every land.
        Our work in Iraq has been long, and it's hard. It is not finished.
    Since September the 11th, nearly 10,000 California National Guard
    soldiers and airmen have been mobilized for this effort; 1,600 are
    currently in the Middle East. They're playing a vital role for the
    defense of this Nation. Our country is grateful to those who serve and
    their families who support them.
        Americans have sacrificed in the cause of freedom and security, and
    that cause goes on. Beyond Iraq, the war on terror continues. There will
    be no quick victory in this war. But if we persevere, our victory is
    certain.
        I'm confident of that victory because I know the character of our
    military, shown in the conduct of young men like Joseph Robsky. He's a career soldier. He served with the Marines in
    Bosnia and saw the dangers of unexploded bombs, became an explosive
    ordnance disposal specialist with the Army's 759th Ordnance Company,
    based in California at Fort Irwin. Along with his unit, he was sent to
    Iraq. And on September the 10th of this year, he was killed disarming a
    bomb. Hear the words of his mother, Bonnie:
    ``My son always said he had a job to do. He said the terrorist has to be
    stopped.''
        Staff Sergeant Joe Robsky's devotion to
    his Nation will not be forgotten. We'll always remember the words,
    ``Terrorism must be stopped.''
        This war on terror has brought hardship and loss to our country,
    beginning with the grief of September the 11th. Let us also remember
    that the first victory in this war came on that same day, on a hijacked
    plane bound for the Nation's Capital. Somehow the brave men and women on
    Flight 93, knowing they would die, found the courage to use their final
    moments to save the lives of others. In those moments and many times
    since, terrorists have learned about America. They won't--we won't be
    intimidated. We'll fight them with everything we got. Few are called to
    show the kind of valor seen on Flight 93 or on the field of battle. Yet
    all of us do share a calling: Be strong in adversity and unafraid in
    danger.
        We Americans have come through so much. We have much yet to do. If
    we're patient, united, and determined, our Nation will prosper, and our
    Nation will prevail.
        May God bless you. Thank you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 9:38 a.m. at the Radisson Hotel and
    Convention Center. In his remarks, he referred to Col. James T.

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    Rubeor, USAFR, commander, 452d Air Mobility Wing, March Air Reserve
    Base; Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger of California; Mark Ostoich,
    chairman of the board, Inland Empire Economic Partnership; and former
    President Saddam Hussein of Iraq.