    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book II)]
    [September 12, 2003]
    [Pages 1151-1156]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 1151]]

    Remarks at the Power Center in Houston, Texas
    September 12, 2003

        The President. Thank you all very much. Be seated.
    Kirbyjon can tell it. [Laughter] Heck,
    I might sound inarticulate compared to him. [Laughter]
        Reverend Caldwell. No, no.
        The President. Yes. Let's see how to start here. First, it's glad to
    be back--I'm glad to be back to Texas. It's good to see some of my
    buddies. I'm looking at a man right here on the front row I went to the
    seventh grade with in Houston, Texas. I see my friend ``Big Tuna'' I
    used to play basketball with at the Y. I never forget my friends, and
    I've got a lot of friends here in Texas, and I'm thrilled to be with
    you. Thank you all for coming tonight.
        But thank you for coming to support this wonderful program. You'll
    hear me say this a couple of times in what's going to be a short
    address. Pastor Caldwell said, ``Speak
    all you want, but don't exceed 7 minutes.'' [Laughter]
        I think the fact that people are willing to contribute money to save
    lives is a powerful testimony to the strength of America. I think that
    when people are willing to support a social entrepreneur like Kirbyjon
    Caldwell and the others at the Windsor
    Village Church who have heard a call and are out to save any life they
    can find that needs to be saved--the fact that you support them speaks
    to your heart as well. And so today I first want to say thanks. Thanks
    for contributing hard-earned money to make Houston, Texas, the best
    place it can be.
        And I'm proud to be up here with my friend. Sometimes it's not easy
    to be the friend of George W. Bush--I know that--[laughter]--if you know
    what I mean. [Laughter] But let me tell you something. It's good to have
    a friend that I can call before a debate and say, ``Do you mind saying a
    prayer?'' It's good to have a friend to go with you to Ground Zero. He's
    not a political friend; he's a friend. He rises above that, that
    friendship. And it's good for this community to lift up a man like
    Kirbyjon Caldwell who acts for the best
    interests of all the citizens of this community. And I'm proud to call
    him friend.
        And we both married above
    ourselves.
        Reverend Caldwell. Amen.
        The President. Yes, sir. Well, you don't need to ``amen'' it that
    loud, but--[laughter]. Laura sends her love to Kirbyjon and Suzette and to
    all our buddies here. She is a fantastic First Lady, by the way. I
    really lucked out. And she's doing great, she really is.
        Suzette is a unique person. I just had
    had my picture taken with a group of Prayer Warriors organized by
    Suzette Caldwell. You know, it's a unique country, when you think about
    it, that people would pray for me. People I'll never know, people I'll
    never have a chance to say thank you to, pray for me. Suzette organized
    such a group, and I had a chance to say thank you to the group. But it
    shows the kind of person Suzette is. And I want to thank you for your
    friendship as well. I want to thank you for your prayers. I feel them,
    and it means a lot--it means a lot. And so, Suzette, I want to thank you
    for your friendship as well. It's great seeing your kids. They're little
    livewires, little--one of them is like a little Kirbyjon, you know--[laughter]--hard to control. [Laughter]
        It's great to see Booker and Jean
    Caldwell as well. Kirbyjon and I both lucked out; we've got good, strong mothers. I
    hope you're still listening to yours, Kirbyjon. [Laughter] I'm listening
    to mine, I can assure you. [Laughter]
        I'm traveling today with a great friend of Houston, Texas, a friend
    of mine, a man who has agreed to serve our community--communities all
    across the country as the Secretary of Education, Mr. Rod Paige. I

    [[Page 1152]]

    like to remind people that when I was picking the Cabinet, I wanted for
    the education man, somebody that had actually been an educator. We had
    enough theory in Washington. We wanted somebody that had actually done
    the job. And as you know, he did a great job as the superintendent of
    the Houston Independent School District. What I love about Rod is, he is willing to challenge the soft bigotry
    of low expectations. He raises the bar, and he's not afraid to measure
    to determine whether or not we're meeting those standards.
        We passed a really important piece of legislation called the No
    Child Left Behind Act. And the way you make sure no child is left behind
    is, you raise standards. You hold people accountable. You correct
    problems before--early, before they're too late. I am absolutely
    convinced that under Rod's leadership at the Department of Education, it
    is less likely a child is going to be left behind in America. And I want
    to thank you for your service.
        I know some of my running buddies from the State government are
    here, Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst and
    Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams.
    I want to thank you all for coming. I'm proud you're here. I know
    Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee is here,
    and I'm--there she is--and I'm honored that you're here. Thank you for
    coming, Congresswoman. I appreciate it. One thing about Sheila Jackson
    Lee is, when I see her, she's never afraid to offer up any advice.
    [Laughter] It's become a habit of ours, hasn't it? [Laughter]
        I appreciate the fact that we've got two former Secretaries of
    Commerce here, one Houstonian, Bob Mosbacher, and new Texan, Bill Daley.
    And I want to thank them both for coming. I appreciate them being here.
    I appreciate my friend Oxford. He's actually making a pretty good hand.
    Thanks for putting on this event. Great to see you.
        Genora Boykins, who's the chairperson of
    the CDC, I want to thank her for opening this event up. I thank my
    friend Jodi Jiles, who's the treasurer of the
    Community Development Corporation. I've known Jodi for a long time.
        You know, I have had the chance to hear Kirbyjon preach, and he's a pretty darn good preacher. He reminds
    me of the preacher that got going one day, and about three-quarters of
    the way through the sermon, a guy was so moved on about pew three that
    he popped up and screamed, ``Use me, Lord. Use me.'' The preacher plowed
    on through and finished up and didn't think anything of it until the
    next Sunday. About the same time in his sermon, this guy gets so moved--
    I'm sure some of you have been so moved by Kirbyjon that you think about
    popping up--this guy popped up again and he screamed, ``Use me, Lord.
    Use me.'' After the service was over, the preacher sought the fellow
    out. He said, ``Fine, I appreciate your willingness to help, and
    therefore, I suggest and would like for you to scrape and paint all the
    pews.'' The next Sunday the preacher is up there letting it go. The guy
    pops up and he says, ``Use me, Lord. Use me, but in an advisory
    capacity.'' [Laughter]
        I'm at the Power Center today because this place is full of doers,
    not advisers. This was once an empty Kmart building. It is now a
    building full of love. It was used to sell goods, and now it provides
    incredibly important services to help save lives.
        I find it interesting that they named the center the Power Center.
    This--we're not talking about electricity in this power. We're talking
    about a higher power that caused this center to be. I find it also
    interesting that in the midst of this--or at least the last time I came,
    Suzette showed me the prayer facility right
    in the middle of the center. You had a bank. You've got a school, and
    you've got a women and children's clinic, the WIC program--it's a
    Government program. You've got some job training. You've got the Houston
    Community Center--Community College facility, I

    [[Page 1153]]

    mean. But in the midst, there's a prayer center. People should realize
    that the reason why this program is successful is because the power in
    the Power Center comes from a higher calling, a higher source of power.
        And the reason why I came to see the Power Center in the first place
    was twofold: One, I felt I had an obligation as the Governor of the
    State to support programs that were changing people's lives in a
    positive way; and secondly, I had heard that beyond good intentions
    there were good results here and that the Power Center was a unique
    faith-based program. And it helped me develop a philosophy of government
    that I want to explain right quick to you.
        And part of my reason I'm doing this is because I'm sending a
    message to the Congress at the same time. [Laughter] They might not be
    here, except for one very distinguished Congresswoman, but the TV cameras are here. It gives me a chance to
    speak directly to good social policy in America.
        I saw people's lives changed because of faith. Right here at the
    Power Center is a good example. I saw the fact that with the proper
    application of the call to love a neighbor like you'd like--love
    yourself, with resources and social entrepreneurship, souls could
    change. And I recognized that, at the time in Texas and now nationally,
    that the absolute best way to make sure that the promise of America
    extends its reach into every neighborhood, the best way to help heal
    those who hurt is to bring all the resources of our country to bear. And
    the most powerful resource of all is the ability to transform lives
    through faith.
        I don't talk about a particular faith. I believe the Lord can work
    through many faiths, whether it be the Christian faith, Jewish faith,
    Muslim faith, Hindu faith. When I speak of faith, I speak of all faiths,
    because there is a universal call, and that main universal call is to
    love your neighbor. It extends throughout all faith.
        That's what the Power Center says to me. It's a living example of
    what is possible not only in Houston but in communities all around our
    country, because there are faith-based communities all around our
    country. There are churches on every corner. There are synagogues in
    every town. There are people of faith who have heard a call. It seems
    like to me, this society of ours must rally the people of faith. Amongst
    our plenty, there are people who hurt. There's addiction and loneliness,
    social problems that can only be cured by love.
        I've been searching for that bill, by the way, ever since I've been
    in government, the bill that says you'll love somebody. Sheila Jackson
    will sponsor it, and I'll sign it. [Laughter] But there is no such bill.
    People don't get their inspiration to help a neighbor in need from
    government. They get their inspiration from a higher being. And yet,
    government has thwarted faith to be involved in our communities because
    of what they call the doctrine of separation of church and state. And
    that's a noble doctrine. The church should never be the state, and the
    state certainly should never be the church. But our Government must not
    fear the application of faith into solving social problems. We must not
    worry about people of faith receiving taxpayers' money to help people in
    need.
        In my judgment, that doesn't obscure the line of church and state.
    It enhances the capacity of state to save lives by tapping into this
    fundamental powerful resource of ours, the heart and soul of the
    American people.
        And yet in Washington, DC, there is an attitude that we should not
    welcome faith-based programs into the budgets of our Government. As a
    matter of fact, there are regulations that specifically prohibit faith-
    based programs from job training, for example, or Head Start or some
    housing programs. There is a fear that funding faith will somehow change
    the doctrine of church and state.

    [[Page 1154]]

        I completely disagree. The discrimination against faith-based
    programs at the Federal level prevents us from using all our resources
    to save lives. And for those who hurt, we need to use every resource we
    have. For those who are lonely, we need to use every resource. For those
    who are hungry, we need to use every resource. For those who look for
    housing, we need to use every resource. And so one of my missions is to
    work with people to end the discrimination in Washington, DC, against
    faith-based programs.
        The other problem we have, besides just outright regulations saying
    that you cannot use money for housing or Head Start or job training
    programs, is the fact that oftentimes groups that try to access Federal
    money--by the way, and the purpose of the money is to save lives, in
    many cases--the groups that apply have to change their board of
    directors in order to access the money, or have to take the cross off
    the wall, in the case of the Christian faith-based program. But it's
    hard to be a faith-based program if you can't practice faith. If the
    effectiveness of the program is based upon faith, our Government must
    allow that program to practice its faith.
        You see, up to now, the question has been, what is the process? My
    question is, what are the results? If we're saving lives, if the
    Salvation Army is doing what it does so very well, we ought to welcome
    programs that succeed. We ought to say, ``You're welcome into the
    fabric, the social fabric, of America in changing lives.''
        So that's what we're off to do. And I have signed an Executive
    order--Presidents sign Executive orders. [Laughter] It says that we'll
    have a level playing field for faith-based programs when they apply for
    Federal money. I've got offices in each Cabinet set up to make sure that
    the faith-based programs have a friendly ear when they come to apply,
    that they're not facing the same old bureaucratic morass, that they get
    a welcoming ear. Rod has got one in his
    office. HUD has got one. Social--Cabinets have got them in their offices
    because I want people who have got a good idea about how to change
    somebody's life to have a sympathetic ear in Washington, DC.
        I want people to know that you ought to come. Not only are people
    allowed to come and make their case and to get help on grantmaking, but
    we also assure them that, in reverse, the Government is not going to
    force them to change their habits and change their ways and change their
    basic reason for existing.
        And we're beginning to make some progress. Slowly but surely, we're
    changing the culture. We'll finalize new regulations later this month
    that will open up a lot of money available to faith-based programs. And
    that's important, because it means that we'll do a better job of
    encouraging the neighborhood healers to fulfill their mission.
        Obviously, not all money will be Federal money. That would be bad
    for the fabric of America. That's why you're here, see. That's why I
    came. I want to encourage private foundations not to discriminate
    against faith-based programs. I want to encourage individuals to give.
    But what I'm also telling you is that the Federal Government needs to
    take an active role, in my judgment.
        Let me tell you some of the kinds of things that are taking place,
    and hopefully this will stimulate other thought for others who may want
    to try to compete for taxpayers' money to help save lives. The
    Department of Health and Human Services recently awarded $7 million of
    grants to 15 faith-based groups who support abstinence education. One of
    the grants, for nearly $500,000, a new grant, went to A Woman's Concern.
    It's a group of faith-based health centers in the Boston area. It seems
    like it makes sense to me that when you're trying to help people make
    right choices, that you ask people of faith to be included in the
    process. This won't be a punitive--it wouldn't be punitive education. It
    would be education done out of

    [[Page 1155]]

    the kindness of somebody's heart. Faith-based programs work.
        We've got a--the Department of Labor has awarded $21 million to
    faith-based groups for job training. I asked Kirbyjon on the way in from Ellington Field, I said, ``Are you able
    to access Federal money for your job training program?'' He said, ``I
    didn't know we were able to.'' Well, you will be able to. What's wrong
    with having faith-based programs? What's wrong with having a church be
    able to reach out to a prisoner, somebody who just got out of prison,
    somebody who's desperate for love? What's wrong with a church, a place
    of love, surrounding that soul and at the same time having a job
    training program to help them? I'll tell you what's wrong with it--
    nothing's wrong with it. And the Federal Government ought to welcome
    faith-based programs to help save lives.
        In East Harlem, the Exodus Transitional Community is using grants
    from Labor and Justice to help released prisoners get a job. That's the
    kind of thing I'm talking about. Exodus helped 252 people last year.
    This year, with the new grant, they'll help 375. And that may not sound
    like a lot because there's a lot of prisoners. But think about if there
    was Exodus programs or Exodus-type programs all over. Instead of 375,
    we'll be talking about 375 times thousands. And then all of a sudden,
    souls who were once lost are then found. People who thought they didn't
    have hope can find hope.
        HUD, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, is supporting
    faith-based groups like Uplift Fourth Ward. You may have heard about the
    program. The Rose of Sharon Missionary Baptist Church in Houston runs
    it. Uplift Fourth Ward, the folks in it--there you go. [Laughter] I'm
    glad you invited somebody, Kirbyjon--[laughter]--from Uplift Fourth
    Ward. It is a chance to rehabilitate historic buildings and provide safe
    and affordable housing to low-income seniors. Who says housing programs
    have to be done out of the old traditional construction company? Why
    can't housing companies be started out of faith-based institutions?
        There's program after program that have started--but we're just
    starting, is my point to you. Congress needs to hear the call. Congress
    needs to not thwart efforts. You see, my attitude is, if a faith-based
    program provides help to anybody in need regardless of their religion,
    we should not fear that program. My view is, is that the program ought
    to stand on its own. The money won't go for proselytizing. The money
    will go to the social service intended for that program.
        I believe we ought to empower people to be able to make choices on
    where they receive their help. I can't think of anything more vital in
    America than to have a program aimed at changing drug addiction in
    America and a program that will allow faith-based programs to be an
    integral part of helping somebody kick alcohol and drugs. I say that
    because I know firsthand what it takes to quit drinking, and it takes
    something other than a textbook or a manual. If you change a person's
    heart, you can change their life.
        Our society must not fear the use of faith to solve life's problems.
    We must welcome faith, and Congress must not block these important
    initiatives. There are lives to be saved. There are soldiers in the army
    of compassion ready to save them, and the Federal Government ought to be
    on the side of the soldiers in the armies of compassion.
        We'll continue working on the Compassionate Capital Fund. I've asked
    for $100 million this year. It's a way to help startup social
    entrepreneurs learn how to apply for grants. It gives people ways to
    fulfill their mission, to realize their dreams. I believe we ought to
    have a national mentoring program, particularly for children whose mom
    and dad may be in a prison, for junior high students. I've asked for
    $450 million. I hope Congress funds it. I just told you about my view on
    drug rehabilitation. Look,

    [[Page 1156]]

    when we find suffering in our society today, we can't turn away.
        And just as an aside, we can't turn away overseas, either. I'm proud
    of the United States of America. This great Nation is going to spend $15
    billion over the next 5 years in the important work of human rescue by
    providing medicine and help to millions and millions of men, women, and
    children suffering from AIDS on the continent of Africa.
        I'm incredibly proud of our country. We're a really strong nation.
    We need to be strong. We're at a war with people who hate America, and
    I'll keep us strong militarily. We'll be strong to meet the challenges.
    We'll continue to push for freedom and peace overseas. The world is
    going to be peaceful, thanks to the United States of America. America
    will be more secure, thanks to the focus and strength of the American
    people.
        But at home, we need to work to save lives as well. A secure America
    is a hopeful America. A secure America is an educated America. A secure
    America is a place where people realize the American Dream is meant for
    them as much as it is meant for me.
        People say, ``Well, your country's strong.'' I say, ``Yes, we are,
    but you don't really understand the strength of America. It's the hearts
    and souls of our citizens.'' That's the true strength of this country.
    The Power Center tapped into that strength. Your contributions tonight
    recognize that strength and support it. And our Government must stand
    side by side with that strength as well.
        I'm incredibly optimistic about our country and its future. I've
    seen firsthand the great character of the American people. And it's that
    character, it's that determination, it is that optimism that allows me
    to boldly predict: America will overcome any problem she faces, abroad
    and here at home.
        Thank you all for coming. May God bless you, and may God bless our
    country.

    Note: The President spoke at 5:49 p.m. In his remarks, he referred to
    Rev. Kirbyjon H. Caldwell, senior pastor, Windsor Village United
    Methodist Church, his wife Suzette, and his parents Booker and Jean
    Caldwell; Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst of Texas; Michael L. Williams, chair,
    Texas Railroad Commission; and Genora Boykins, chairperson of the board,
    and Jodi Jiles, treasurer, Pyramid Community Development Corp.