[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book I)]
[January 1, 2004]
[Pages iii-xiii]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]




Public Papers of the President, 2004, Book I


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       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




    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]



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           [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


                            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

   Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov  Phone: (202) 512-1800 
                       Fax: (202) 512-2250

              Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20401

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                                Foreword

    This volume collects my speeches and papers from the first 6 months 
of 2004. During this period, my Administration worked to address many 
key domestic priorities. I urged the Congress to adopt policies that 
would make health care more affordable and accessible; give Americans 
the skills needed for the jobs of the 21st century; reduce high energy 
prices; and protect job creators from frivolous lawsuits. In January, I 
outlined my vision for immigration reform and border security, including 
a temporary worker program that would decrease pressure on our borders 
by legally matching willing foreign workers with willing employers for 
jobs Americans are not doing.

    We also acted to reflect the compassionate spirit and values of 
America. To turn the tide against HIV/AIDS in our country, I announced 
new funding to deliver life-saving drugs to people in America living 
with HIV/AIDS. In April, I signed into law the Unborn Victims of 
Violence Act, which extended the protection of Federal law to unborn 
children who are harmed or killed in crimes against their mothers. And 
in May, we dedicated a national historic site in Topeka, Kansas, to 
commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision in 
Brown v. Board of Education, which outlawed segregation in America's 
public schools.

    These months also brought solemn reminders of the sacrifices made 
during the past century to protect our liberty. In May, we dedicated the 
World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., honoring a generation of 
Americans who gave so much to ensure freedom's triumph. In June, I 
traveled to France to attend ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of 
the D-Day invasion, when free nations came together to reclaim Europe 
from Nazi tyranny. That same month, America mourned the passing of one 
of freedom's greatest champions: President Ronald Reagan, whose 
steadfast leadership helped the free world to win the Cold War.

    As we honored the legacy of freedom's past defenders, we also worked 
to protect and spread freedom's blessings in our own time. Thanks to the 
support of the United States and our Coalition partners and the 
sacrifices of our men and women in uniform, Afghanistan and Iraq 
continued their remarkable journeys toward freedom and democracy. At the 
beginning of 2004, Afghanistan adopted a new constitution that provided 
a framework for national elections later in the year. In early March, 
the Iraqi Governing Council approved a Transitional Administrative Law 
that laid the foundation for democratic elections and a new 
constitution. This document included a bill of rights that was 
uprecedented in the Arab world--providing essential freedoms and rights 
to all Iraqis regardless of gender, religion, or ethnic origin. And on 
June 28th, the Coalition Provisional Authority transferred sovereignty 
back to the Iraqi people.

[[Page vi]]

    In the midst of all this progress, we were also reminded that 
freedom's enemies remained evil and ruthless. On the morning of March 
11th, members of a terrorist cell in Spain exploded bombs on commuter 
trains in Madrid, killing nearly 200 people and injuring more than 
1,500. In Iraq, illegal militias and remnants of the old regime, joined 
by foreign terrorists, tried to take by force the power they could not 
gain by the ballot. Terrorists brutally murdered innocent civilians and 
committed other acts of unspeakable savagery in Iraq, hoping to shake 
the will of our Coalition and convince us to abandon the Iraqi people.

    I vowed that America would never retreat in the face of thugs and 
assassins, because any concession or retreat on our part would only 
embolden the terrorist enemy and invite more bloodshed. As I told the 
American people in April: ``The defeat of violence and terror in Iraq is 
vital to the defeat of violence and terror elsewhere; and vital, 
therefore, to the safety of the American people. Now is the time, and 
Iraq is the place, in which the enemies of the civilized world are 
testing the will of the civilized world. We must not waver.''

    In a speech in Istanbul in late June, I declared that just as the 
defense of freedom in the 20th century had brought peace to Europe, the 
defense of freedom in the 21st century would bring peace to the broader 
Middle East. ``The historic achivement of democracy in the broader 
Middle East will be a victory shared by all,'' I said--and I recognized 
that ``this transformation is one of the great and difficult tasks of 
history.'' Yet ``by our own patience and hard effort, and with 
confidence in the peoples of the Middle East, we will finish the work 
that history has given us.''

                          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, 2004. 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. At the request of the Office of the Press 
Secretary, the Bush property known as Prairie Chapel Ranch in Crawford, 
Texas, is referred to simply as the Bush Ranch. 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 Adia Mulligan, assisted by William K. Banks, 
Loretta F. Cochran, Kathleen M. Fargey, Stephen J. Frattini, Alison M. 
Gavin, Diane Hiltabidle, Alfred Jones, Ashley Merusi, 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


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                                Contents

                Foreword . . . v

                Preface . . . vii

                Cabinet . . . xi

                Public Papers of George W. Bush,
                January 1-June 30, 2004 . . . 1

                Appendix A
                Digest of Other White House Announcements . . . 1157

                Appendix B
                Nominations Submitted to the Senate . . . 1189

                Appendix C
                Checklist of White House Press Releases . . . 1203

                Appendix D
                Presidential Documents Published in the Federal 
                Register . . . 1215

                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

                                          Alphonso R. Jackson.....
                                          (appointed April 1).....

        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......

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        Administrator of the Environmental

        Protection Agency

                                          Michael O. Leavitt......

        United States Trade Representative

                                          Robert B. Zoellick......

        Director of the Office of 
        Management

        and Budget

                                          Joshua B. Bolten........

        Director of National Drug Control

        Policy

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


[[Page xiii]]

                    Administration of George W. Bush

                                  2004