[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book I)]
[June 21, 2004]
[Pages 1099-1105]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks in a Discussion in Cincinnati, Ohio
June 21, 2004
The President. Okay, thanks. Sit down, please. We got to get to
work. [Laughter] Neil, thanks for having me. I
appreciate the opportunity to come to such a shining
[[Page 1100]]
example of compassion and love here in the heart of Cincinnati, Ohio.
I want to thank you all for coming as well. I particularly want to
thank my friend Bob Taft, and Hope Taft, for coming today. Governor and Hope, thanks for coming.
Like me, the Governor married above himself. [Laughter] And I know that
Hope has done a lot of work here in the Cincinnati area of helping save
lives and changing society, one soul at a time. And when you think about
it, that's really what we're here to talk about, isn't it--how do we
make sure America is as hopeful a place it can possibly be, one soul at
a time, one conscience at a time?
I want to thank my friend Rob Portman, and
Jane and Jed, for
coming today. Thank you all for being here. I like to say this is part--
what we're going to discuss today is part of what we call a compassion
agenda. And there's no more compassionate Congressman than Rob Portman.
He has not only been an excellent Congressman, but as well he's been
very much involved in inspiring and supporting groups to interface with
those who need help.
I appreciate Congressman Steve Chabot
coming as well. Steve, it's good to see you, sir, appreciate you being
here. And from Dayton, Ohio, Congressman
Mike Turner--glad you could come, Michael. Glad you're here.
As well, we've got State Senate President Doug White. Senator, where
are you? Yes, not a very good view, but--maybe it is the best angle.
[Laughter] Thank you for coming. I know we've got other State and local
officials here. I appreciate you taking time to come.
I met Charlene Calhoun--there she is.
She was there right at the steps of Air Force One when we--when I
disembarked. The reason I bring up Charlene is that she is a volunteer
here, see.
Oftentimes, as we discuss our country, we think in terms of our
strength being the military. And I happen to believe it's important to
have a strong military to keep the peace. Or we talk about the strength
of our country being the fact that we're a wealthy nation. I also happen
to think that's a very important part of our country, and I was pleased
to see that the unemployment rate here in Ohio dropped to 5.6 percent.
People are going back to work. The economy is getting better.
The true strength of the country is the hearts and souls of our
citizens. That's the true strength of America, see. Government can hand
out money--and we're going to talk a little bit about the money we want
to hand out--but Government cannot put hope in a person's heart or a
sense of purpose in a person's life. That happens when a loving soul
like Charlene puts her arm around somebody
who hurts and says, ``What can I do to help you? What can I do to make
your life a better life? How can I, a citizen of America, interface with
you to help you understand there is a bright hope and a better future?''
No, the strength of this country is the hearts and souls of the soldiers
in the army of compassion. Charlene, thank you for being a soldier.
I know I don't need to say this to people here, but if you're
interested in serving your country, volunteer, become a mentor, feed the
hungry, find shelter for the homeless. If you really want to be a super
patriot, join the army of compassion.
And speaking about that, Neil is a general
in the army of compassion. He's what I call a social entrepreneur. We
got business entrepreneurs. We've also got social entrepreneurs, people
who are trying to invigorate the social side of life. I mean, we're a
land of plenty, but amidst our plenty, there are people who hurt. And we
got to do something about it here in America. We got to be smart about
how we save lives, because the vision of our country is that everybody
has hope, not just some. This country belongs to everybody.
Today you're going to hear from some good folks who are trying to
help and some folks who have received help because they
[[Page 1101]]
decided to do something about their own lives. I think you're going to
find these stories to be incredibly interesting; at least I did.
Before we do so, I do want to talk about some initiatives. You know,
there's been a lot of talk about welfare reform. In other words, we're
moving people from welfare to lives of independence, and it's been a
very successful policy. I mean, people want to be independent. They
don't want to be dependent on Government, but it must be done in a
compassionate way.
The welfare rolls have declined 60 percent since 1996. A better way
to look at it is, more people are now living a life they choose to live
because they got help. And the question is, how do we continue to
provide that help, to help people live lives of independence?
One is to make sure the education system works well. I mean, I think
one of the keys to make sure that people are able to realize their dream
is to insist that every child gets educated, that we stop this business
about--you know, there was kind of a mindset here in America that said,
oh, let's just move them through. Guess who got moved through? Generally
inner-city kids, kids whose parents don't speak English as a first
language. They're the easiest ones to quit on, and our system did. We've
changed that. I want to thank the Members of Congress here. I want to
thank the Governor as well.
See, we're setting high standards now in America. We said, in return
for Federal money, for the first time we're asking the question, can the
kid read? It seems like a reasonable question, doesn't it, in return for
taxpayers' money. At least, can they read at grade level in the third
grade? We want that answer to be, absolutely, yes. And if not, we want
to know why. We want the problems corrected early, before it's too late.
We've got to stop shuffling kids through. We're now a results-oriented
system.
And that's important for moms and dads to know. See, you need to
know, if you're a mother or a father with a kid in school. You need to
know whether or not the school is meeting expectations. I like to say
we're challenging the soft bigotry of low expectations. If you've got
low expectations, you're going to get lousy results. So step one to make
sure that people are independent in America is to make sure people are
educated in America.
Step two is to do some smart things with taxpayers' money. I think
one of the smartest things we can do is encourage families and is to
have a--is to spend money on grants to States to be matched by States or
grants directly to faith-based or community-based programs that teach
people what it means to be in a successful marriage.
Now, you say, ``Why do you think that?'' Well, strong families
really mean that children are going to grow up--children have a better
chance to succeed. Let's just be blunt about it. If a child grows up
with a mom and a dad, they have a much better chance to succeed. We want
everybody to succeed in America. If that's one of the keys to success,
it seems like it makes sense to encourage strong families in America.
And so one of the things we're going to talk about today is how
programs such as Talbert House works to encourage marriage and
strengthen families. And as I mentioned, I've asked the Congress to
spend about $300 million--$290 million--for grants on--to States and/or
directly to programs, all which are set up to provide parenting classes
and family classes. It seems to make sense to me.
Secondly, I know that many a good soul makes a mistake in their life
and ends up in prison, and it seems to make sense to me to spend
taxpayers' money to help these prisoners realize a better tomorrow when
they get out of prison, give them a second chance. And I want that
second chance to be done not only in kind of the traditional way, but
also through faith-based and community-based programs. And I can't--
[[Page 1102]]
frankly can't think of a better reentry program for somebody to be there
with open arms saying, ``I love you, no matter what you may have done in
the past. I want you to succeed, and here--and we're here to help.''
And so I'm asking the Congress to spend some money on a prisoner
reentry initiative as well as a mentoring program for children whose
moms and dads may be in prison, see. I think we need to make sure those
kids understand that they've got a bright future as well.
Finally, one of the big challenges we face here in America is the
challenge of addiction, addiction to alcohol and drugs. I have asked the
Congress to support a new initiative, which basically says to the
addict, ``We're going to give you a script. We're going to give you the
money, and you get to choose where you find your help.''
Sometimes, you can kick alcohol or drugs by going through the
traditional clinical assessment. A lot of times, however, you need to
change your heart. If you want to change your habits, you need to change
your heart. Government is not very good about changing hearts, see.
Government is law and justice. Government isn't love. But you can change
your heart by interfacing with people who may have heard a call from
above.
And we in Government ought not to worry about the process involved
in these programs. We ought to just ask the question, ``Are these
programs working?'' That's what we want to know. ``Are we saving lives?
Are we making a difference in our society by helping people?''
And the best place to--for me to make my point is to turn to a
social entrepreneur in Neil--Neil Tilow. He
doesn't look like an old guy, but he's been at this business since 1974.
Must have started when he's in junior high. [Laughter] Now, what do you
think?
Neil Tilow. Thank you, sir. [Laughter]
The President. Neil, tell us about the Talbert House, how it got
started, what do you do here. There may be somebody listening who would
want to contribute to this great program and/or volunteer their time
here or start their own. But tell us what you do.
[Mr. Tilow, president, Talbert House, Cincinnati, OH, made brief
remarks. He concluded with a discussion on proposed legislation on
prisoner reentry.]
The President. Yes, one reason I'm here is to give a little boost to
that bill. I want to explain what we're doing, but it's--I've got a
little method behind it all, see. [Laughter] Sometimes Congress needs to
get a boost. Portman doesn't need a boost, but--
anyway, sorry to interrupt. [Laughter]
Mr. Tilow. I was told you might do that.
[Laughter]
The President. We're lobbying him. [Laughter]
Mr. Tilow. Let me know how I can help,
sir. [Laughter]
The President. You're helping. Keep talking, will you? [Laughter]
[Mr. Tilow made further remarks.]
The President. Let me comment on that, if you don't mind. [Laughter]
He didn't mind. [Laughter] You see, if we can
get Government to focus on results as opposed to process, you'll find
there will be a lot of flexibility for you, and that's the attitude we
got to take.
It's really a difference about who do you trust, if you really think
about it. Do you trust a social entrepreneur on the ground, or do you
trust a planner in a faraway capital? And I think you'll find that these
initiatives I've talked about and the spirit that you've just defined is
now kind of the attitude in Washington. And that's important. That
really is important. If we say, ``What matters is whether or not lives
are being saved, you figure out how to do it,'' you'll find that the
entrepreneurial spirit at the social level will be much more invigorated
and much more alive. The energy level will be tremendous at the
grassroots level. And that's really the job of Government, is to
[[Page 1103]]
set the strategy and the goals and get out of the way.
Now, if you don't perform, you'll find--I hope you'll find
Government to be very inflexible, because we don't need to fund failure.
What we need to do is fund success.
Anyway, sorry.
[Mr. Tilow made further remarks.]
The President. Good job. You ready?
Okay, we've got Teri Rust with us. She's a
master clinical service provider. I think I got it right. More
importantly, she is the supervisor of two programs.
Teri Rust. Yes, sir.
The President. Tell us what you do, and thanks for coming.
[Ms. Rust, master clinical service provider, Talbert House, Lebanon, OH,
made brief remarks.]
The President. It must make you feel pretty good.
Ms. Rust. Oh, very good, yes, sir.
The President. Saving America, one soul at a time.
Speaking about good souls, we've got Tami Jordan with us. She is an inspirational person. Why don't you
inspire? [Laughter] Tell us your story.
[Tami Jordan, former Talbert House resident, Cincinnati, OH, made brief
remarks.]
The President. Thank you very much. I loved your story. There's
nothing like having a story like this to be able to share with people.
I'll never forget when I was the Governor of Texas, I went to a prison
unit. I decided to turn over a wing of the prison to a faith-based
program. Again, the attitude was whether or not the prisoners would come
out and not go back in. I said the recidivism rate would--could it be
lowered if we had a faith-based initiative in the prison unit?
And so I went to see it as the Governor, and out comes the prison
choir. And one of my favorite hymns is ``Amazing Grace.'' Of course,
I've got a lot of my mother in me, so I
immediately jumped in line with the prisoners singing ``Amazing Grace,''
you know, like 10 white suits and me. [Laughter] They weren't exactly
suits. They were, like, you know the kind of the suit I'm talking
about--jumpers, yes. [Laughter] And anyway, we're swinging back and
forth, and on the front page of The Houston Chronicle is Bush arm in arm
with a guy in prison for 20 years.
Let me tell you something. I welcomed some people to the White House
who had been involved in this program, and I looked a the man sitting next to me in the Roosevelt Room of the White
House, and sure enough, it was the guy who I was arm in arm with,
singing ``Amazing Grace.''
You can go from prison to be a boss. You can go from prison to the
White House, just so long as you have somebody who's there, willing to
take you by the hand and say, ``I want to help you help yourself.'' And
that's what we're here to talk about. You did a great job.
We now have a family with us, the Groves family. That would be
Darla.
Darla Groves. Yes.
The President. Larry.
Larry Groves. Yes.
The President. Tell us about your story. Have you decided which of
you are going to talk?
Mrs. Groves. We'll both talk.
Mr. Groves. We both are. [Laughter]
The President. Okay. Let her go. People are interested in why you're
here.
[Mr. and Mrs. Groves, former Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
recipients, Cincinnati, OH, made brief remarks.]
The President. There you go. That's a good job, well rehearsed. ACT
is a collaboration of local entities, of which the Talbert House is one.
So when you hear ACT, think in terms of the Talbert House, plus others,
correct?
Mr. Tilow. It's a freestanding
organization.
[[Page 1104]]
The President. Right, freestanding organization, all aimed--set up
by the State of Ohio, right?
Mr. Tilow. [Inaudible]
The President. Encouraged by the State of Ohio. We're fixing to get
to the State man here in a minute.
Mr. Tilow. It was encouraged by our
county, Job and Family Services, by the State, and led by the founding
agencies.
The President. Okay. Let me get back to you for a minute. So tell
them what's going to happen July the 8th.
Mrs. Groves. July the 8th--well, it's been
a long 2 years. My first year----
The President. It's hard to go back to school, right?
Mrs. Groves. It's very tough to go back to
school, especially after being out 17 years.
[Mrs. Groves made further remarks.]
The President. And? You make a little more, right?
Mrs. Groves. What?
The President. You make a little more money----
Mrs. Groves. Yes, and the money----
The President. Now, catch this. I just want everybody to know, there
is a happy ending.
Mrs. Groves. There is a very happy ending
here, that the money I used to make, which was $20,000 some a year, I
will be making close to $40,000 a year.
The President. Did you get help going to school?
Mrs. Groves. Through Cincinnati State, I
was very fortunate to be able to use the Pell grant. I was very blessed
with that. But through my LPN program, unfortunately, it didn't cover
that. I did have to take loans out.
The President. Let me say that--this is a very interesting story.
Our economy is changing, and there are some interesting jobs available.
It requires some to go back to school, and there's help. There are Pell
grants. There's displaced worker money. There's trade adjustment money.
I mean, there's all kinds of money available to help. And what's
interesting, and people will find this to be--what Darla just said--extra education makes you more productive.
And if you're more productive, you're going to get paid more.
And so it was painful, I'm sure, to go back to school.
Mrs. Groves. Yes, it was very painful, very
painful. [Laughter]
[Mr. Groves made further remarks, concluding as follows.]
Mr. Groves. But all of this here, I really
have to say, I give a lot of credit to ACT because we was lost, Mr.
President----
The President. And now you're found.
Mr. Groves. Yes, sir.
The President. That's good. Congratulations. You found yourself.
By the way, Government can't make people sit down with their kids
and pray. They can't make people decide to go to--people have to make
those decisions themselves. See, the role of Government is to stand
there and say, ``We're going help you. If you want help, there's help
here.''
And that's what we're describing. We're describing this network of
providers that are there to help people help themselves. The job of the
Federal Government is to fund the providers that are actually making a
difference.
Now, we've heard from the local man, and we've heard from the
Federal man. Now we're going hear from the State man, Joel Potts. See, the State plays a critical role in all this
business. Much of the Federal money goes directly to States.
One of my jobs, by the way, is to make sure Governors understand the
vitality of faith- and community-based programs and that they ought to
be spending Federal money that we send to the State on programs which
work. Whether or not they've got a cross on the wall or a Star of David
on the wall, we should not worry about faith being a part of the
delivery of social
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service. As a matter of fact, quite the contrary, we ought to welcome
that.
Anyway, you've got a job to do here, and if you would, share with us
the Ohio vision. Thanks for coming. Potts works
for the State. He's the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
Welcome.
[Joel Potts, senior policy analyst, Ohio Department of Jobs and Family
Services, Columbus, OH, made brief remarks.]
The President. What Joel is talking about is
Congress needs to get the welfare bill to my desk. It's a bill that will
encourage work, and it will encourage compassionate programs at the same
time. It's stuck. There's too much politics in Washington on this. The
1996 welfare law worked. And Members of Congress from both parties have
got to understand it worked, and we need to build on it to save lives.
That's what we're here to talk about.
And I hope you get a flavor of the attitude now coming out of
Washington, DC, about how we can support the social entrepreneurs.
That's really what I wanted you to hear. I wanted you to hear that in
your own community here in Cincinnati you've got heroic figures, heroic
people, saving lives on a daily basis, and these folks need to be
supported. They need to be supported at the local level. They need to be
supported at the State level, and they need to be supported at the
Federal level.
And then you saw some great examples of people who made the--made a
choice. They said, ``I want to do better. I want to be a mom. I want to
be a mom and a dad. I want to put food on the table, and I'm not afraid
to ask for help.'' If anybody is listening out there who needs help,
call the Talbert House or call the State and ask where you can get help,
because there's plenty of people in this good State with big hearts who
are willing to help.
I want to thank you all for coming. May God bless the State of Ohio,
and may God continue to bless our great country. Thank you very much.
Note: The President spoke at 4:08 p.m. at the Hamilton County Alcohol
and Drug Addiction Services Center. In his remarks, he referred to Gov.
Bob Taft of Ohio and his wife, Hope; and Jane Portman, wife of
Representative Portman, and their son Jed.