    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book II)]
    [August 21, 2003]
    [Pages 1034-1038]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Bush-Cheney Luncheon in Portland, Oregon
    August 21, 2003

        Thank you all. Thanks for coming. Please be seated. Thanks for the
    warm welcome and the cool day. It seems the temperature is a little
    better here than it is in Crawford. [Laughter] But I want to thank you
    all for coming. I am so honored that we have set a record today, a
    record fundraiser, which indicates the depth of support here in Oregon,
    for which I am most grateful. I want to thank you for what you have
    done; I want to thank you for what you're going to do, which is to
    energize the grassroots all across this important State, to put up the
    signs and to mail out the mailers, but most importantly, to remind
    people that I have a vision that includes everybody, a vision that is
    hopeful and optimistic, a vision that believes in the best of America.
        I want you to know that I'm getting ready for the coming campaign.
    I'm loosening up. [Laughter] But there's going to be ample time for
    politics, because I've got a job to do. I got a lot on the agenda. But I
    want you to know that I will continue to work hard to earn the
    confidence of every American by keeping this Nation secure and strong
    and prosperous and free.
        My main regret for coming here is the fact that I'm not traveling
    with the First Lady. She is a great First Lady. I
    love her dearly. I'm proud to call her wife, and I already miss her. But
    she's in San Antonio, Texas, today. She's honoring a friend of ours, and
    she's working on a library event. But I'll be with her on the ranch
    Friday night and continuing our period of

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    relaxation before we get back to the Nation's Capital. But it's a great
    comfort to have her by my side.
        I'm also proud to call Gordon Smith friend.
    He's a great United States Senator. And I appreciate so much working
    with my friend Congressman Greg Walden as well.
        After this event here, we're going to a different part of your
    beautiful State to talk about a Healthy Forest Initiative, a commonsense
    policy to do everything we can to thin out the forest beds so that we
    can prevent the catastrophic forest fires that seem to be occurring all
    over the West. I'm proud to have two commonsense conservatives with whom
    I can work to bring some sense to the forest policy of the United States
    of America.
        I thank my friend Mercer Reynolds from
    Cincinnati, Ohio, who is with us today. He's the national finance
    chairman for this campaign. I appreciate Bill McCormick, who is the Oregon State chairman for the Bush-Cheney
    2004 campaign. Sorry we're not using your restaurant. I appreciate Kevin
    Mannix, who is the chairman of the Republican
    Party here in the State of Oregon.
        It was such an honor to be able to shake hands once again with a
    fine American, a great Oregonian, Senator Mark Hatfield. I appreciate you coming, Senator.
        I want to thank so very much the leadership of the University of
    Portland for opening up this beautiful campus. But most of all, I want
    to thank you all for coming. I'm proud to have you as supporters. I'm
    proud that we're on the same team, working hard to do what's right for
    America.
        See, I ran for office to solve problems, not to pass them on to
    future Presidents and future generations. I'm serving to seize
    opportunities, and that's what we're doing. I believe you can tell your
    neighbor that this administration is meeting the tests of our time.
        Terrorists declared war on the United States of America, and war is
    what they got. We've captured or killed many key leaders of the Al Qaida
    network, and the rest of them know we're on their trail. In Afghanistan
    and Iraq, we gave ultimatums to terror regimes. Those regimes chose
    defiance, and those regimes are no more. Thanks to the United States of
    America and friends, 50 million people in those 2 countries once lived
    under tyranny, and today 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. We increased
    the defense budget to prepare for the 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, as Gordon
    mentioned, we inherited an economy in recession. And then we had attacks
    on our country and scandals in corporate America as well as a war, which
    affected--all affected the people's confidence. But we acted. We took
    action. We passed tough new laws to hold corporate criminals to account.
    And to get the economy going again, I have twice led the United States
    Congress to pass historic tax relief for the American people.
        Here's what I believe, and here's what I know, that when Americans
    have more take-home pay to spend, to save, to invest, the whole economy
    will grow, and people are more likely to find a job.
        I also understand whose money we spend in Washington, DC. It's not
    the Government's money. It's the people's money. We're returning more
    money to the people to help them raise their families. We're reducing
    taxes on dividends and capital gains to encourage investment. We're
    giving small businesses incentives to expand and to hire new 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--every person--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 in Washington, DC, 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. In return for Federal
    dollars, we now expect every school to teach the basics of reading and
    math. This administration is finally challenging the soft bigotry of low
    expectations. The days of excuse-making are over. We now expect results
    in every classroom so that not one single child in America is left
    behind.
        We reorganized the Government and created a Department of Homeland
    Security to better safeguard our borders and ports and to protect the
    American people. We passed trade promotion authority to open new markets
    for Oregon's farmers and ranchers and entrepreneurs and manufacturers.
    We passed budget agreements that is helping to maintain much needed
    spending discipline in Washington, DC. On issue after issue, this
    administration has acted on principle, has kept its word, and has made
    progress for the American people.
        And the United States Congress shares in this credit. I've got a
    great relationship with Speaker Denny Hastert and Majority Leader Bill Frist.
    I appreciate being able to work with them and, as I mentioned,
    Greg and Gordon. We'll
    continue to work hard to try to change the tone in Washington, DC, to
    focus on results, not petty politics.
        And those are the kind of people I've attracted to my
    administration. I have assembled a great team of people to serve the
    American people. People in my administration are results-oriented
    people. They asked the question, what's best for the American people?
    And they're doing a great job. There has been no finer Vice President of
    the United States than Dick Cheney. Mother may have a different opinion. [Laughter]
        In 2\1/2\ years, we've come far. In 2\1/2\ years, we've done a lot.
    But the work is only beginning. I have set 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 to realize the great promise of this country.
        It is clear that the future of freedom and peace depend on the
    actions of America. This Nation is freedom's home and freedom's
    defender, and we welcome--we welcome--this charge of history, and we are
    keeping it. Our war on terror continues. The enemies of freedom are not
    idle, and neither are we. This country will not rest; we will not tire;
    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. 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. When we see
    disease and starvation and hopeless poverty, we will not turn away. On
    the continent of Africa, this great, strong, and compassionate Nation is
    bringing the healing power to medicine to millions of men and women and
    children now suffering with AIDS. This great land, America, is leading
    the world in the incredibly important work of human rescue.

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        We face challenges at home as well, and our actions will prove that
    we're equal to those challenges. I understand there's a lot of people
    hurting in the State of Oregon. Your unemployment rate is too high. I
    will continue to try to create the conditions necessary for job
    creation, so long as there's anybody who's looking for work.
        And we have a duty as well to keep our commitment to America's
    seniors by strengthening and modernizing Medicare. The Congress took
    historic action to improve the lives of older Americans. For the first
    time--for the first time--since the creation of Medicare, the House and
    the Senate have passed reforms to make the system work better, to give
    our seniors more choices, and to provide coverage of prescription drugs.
    It's now time for both Houses to iron out their differences and to get a
    bill to my desk as soon as possible, so that we can say to our seniors
    of today and those of us who are going to be seniors tomorrow, we have
    kept our commitment in Washington, DC.
        And for the sake of our health care system, we need to cut down on
    the frivolous lawsuits which increase the cost of medicine. People who
    have been harmed by a bad doctor deserve their day in court, yet the
    system should not reward lawyers who are fishing for rich settlements.
    Because frivolous lawsuits drive up the cost of health care, they affect
    the Federal budget. Medical liability reform, therefore, is a national
    issue that requires a national solution. The House of Representatives
    have passed a good piece of legislation. The bill is stuck in the United
    States Senate. The Senate must act on behalf of the people. They must
    understand that no one has ever been healed by a frivolous or junk
    lawsuit. If Gordon has his way, he would
    unstick it in the Senate.
        I have a responsibility as your President to make sure the judicial
    system runs well, and I have met that duty. I have nominated superb men
    and women for the Federal courts, people who will interpret the law, not
    legislate from the bench. Yet, 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 of the Members of the
    United States Senate to stop playing politics with American justice.
        The Congress needs to complete work on a comprehensive energy plan.
    We had a good bill pass the House, bill pass the Senate. They need to
    come together and get an energy plan, an energy bill to my desk as soon
    as possible, an energy bill which will encourage the modernization of
    the electricity infrastructure of America. I have proposed such a plan.
    We need an energy bill that will encourage energy efficiency and promote
    conservation, an energy bill which will encourage the use of
    technologies to help us explore for energy in environmentally sensitive
    ways. For the sake of economic security, for the sake of national
    security, this Nation must become 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, which means we'll apply the best and most innovative ideas
    to the task of helping our fellow citizens who hurt or fellow citizens
    in need.
        There are still millions of men and women in our country who want to
    end their dependence on Government and to 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 citizens.
        Congress should complete the ``Citizen Service Act'' to encourage
    more Americans to serve their communities and their country. Both Houses
    should finally reach agreement on my Faith-Based Initiative to support
    the armies of compassion that are mentoring our children, who are caring
    for

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    the homeless, that offer hope to the addicted. This Nation of ours
    should not be fearful of faith. We ought to welcome faith to help solve
    many of the Nation's seemingly intractable problems.
        A compassionate society must promote opportunity for all, including
    the independence and dignity that come from ownership. My administration
    will constantly strive to promote an ownership society all across
    America. We want more people owning a home. We have a minority
    homeownership gap in America. I have laid before Congress a plan to
    solve it. We want people owning their own health care plan. We want
    people owning and managing their own retirement accounts. And we want
    more people owning a small business because, you see, we understand that
    when a person owns something, he or she has a vital stake in the future
    of the United States of America.
        In a compassionate society, people respect one another, and they
    take responsibility for the decisions they make. You know, it seems like
    to me, I'm confident--not just seems like, I am confident that we're
    changing the culture of America from one that has said, ``If it feels
    good, just go ahead and do it,'' and ``If you've got a problem, blame
    somebody else,'' to a culture in which each of us understands that we
    are responsible for the decisions we make in life.
        If you are fortunate enough to be a mom or a dad, you're responsible
    for loving your child with all your heart and all your soul. If you're
    concerned about the quality of the education in your community, you're
    responsible for doing something about it. If you're a CEO in America,
    you're responsible for telling the truth to your shareholders and your
    employees. And in this new responsibility society, each of us are
    responsible for loving our neighbor just like we'd like to be loved
    ourselves.
        We can see the culture of service and responsibility growing around
    us, particularly after September the 11th, 2001. Shortly after September
    the 11th, I started what's called the USA Freedom Corps to encourage
    Americans to extend a compassionate hand to somebody who hurts. And the
    response has been terrific. Our faith-based groups and our charities are
    vibrant and strong, because people understand it's important to serve
    something greater than yourself in life. After all, that's what
    policemen and firefighters and people who wear our Nation's uniform
    remind us on a daily basis. Our children once again believe in heroes
    because they see them every day in America.
        In these challenging times, the world has seen the resolve and the
    courage of America. 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
    this country. 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 all.

    Note: The President spoke at 12:08 p.m. in the Chiles Center at the
    University of Portland. In his remarks, he referred to former Senator
    Mark O. Hatfield of Oregon.