    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book II)]
    [July 8, 2004]
    [Pages 1248-1251]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Satellite Remarks to the League of United Latin American Citizens
    Convention
     July 8, 2004

        Hector, thank you very much. I
    appreciate so very much the invitation to take part in your celebration
    of the 75th anniversary of LULAC. And I'm so honored to speak to members
    of America's oldest leading Latino civil rights organization.
        Listen, you picked a great place for your convention,
    Hector. San Antonio and Texas are--San
    Antonio is a wonderful city, and Texas, of course, is a great State. And
    thanks for giving me a chance to speak to you.
        I appreciate--listen, one of the reasons I enjoy working with LULAC
    so much is I appreciate your commitments to freedom and to
    entrepreneurship and to the values of familia y fe, which help to make
    our society a stronger place. And what I believe is those commitments
    deserve recognition and respect of all of our Americans. See, we share
    the same goal: We will keep working to make this Nation a welcoming
    place for Hispanic people, a land of opportunity para todos who live
    here in America.
        And so, thanks, Hector. I appreciate
    your leadership, and I want to thank your friendship. It is good to see
    you via video, and I appreciate you working closely with my
    administration. I want to thank Ken Cole for
    the introduction as well, and I want to thank you for sponsoring this
    important gathering of American leaders.
        I also want to thank people there who are representing my
    administration. I know that Tommy Thompson
    is with you. He's doing a fantastic job in running the Department of
    Health and Human Services. Thank you for being in Texas, Tommy, and
    thanks for the job you're doing on behalf of all America.
        I also see a great Texan and great American, a person who greeted me
    at the base of the stairs of Air Force One when I snuck off from Texas
    last Thanksgiving to go say thanks to our troops in Baghdad, Iraq, and
    that, of course, is General Rick Sanchez.
    General Sanchez, God bless you, sir, and thank you for your great
    service to America.
        You know, when I think of General--when I think of the story of Rick
    Sanchez, it reminds me that America is
    the Nation of the open door and must remain that way. Every generation
    of our history has brought new immigrants and new stories. And those
    immigrants have brought great strengths. When men and women arrive here
    ready to work hard or care for their families and honor the law, they
    make our country more, not less, American. And Rick Sanchez's history
    and his family history reminds me of that aspect of our country.
        You see, in the United States our aspirations matter more than our
    origins. And my administration is committed to this basic principle: El
    Sueno Americano es para todos. And all deserve a chance to achieve the
    American Dream.
        Success in America, of course, depends on personal effort. I believe
    that a compassionate Government should encourage and reward that effort.
    An opportunity society must educate every single child, encourage a
    spirit of enterprise, treat immigrants with fairness and respect. I
    believe America has made progress in all these areas, and I want you to
    know I look forward to working with LULAC to do more.
        The first commitment of an opportunity society is a good public
    school in every neighborhood. To succeed and rise in the world, a
    student must know the basics of reading and math. Parents are entitled
    to expect these basics from their schools. I believe strongly, every
    school has a duty to teach the basics.
        My judgment is, too many children in America have been just shuffled
    through the system without learning essential

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    skills*. It's easy to quit on a boy or girl from an immigrant family.
    We've got to end that practice of social promotion. We've got to stop
    the practice of hearing only excuses from a bureaucracy. When it comes
    to our fundamental obligation to children, there is no excuse for
    failure, because I believe every child can learn. And that is why I
    proposed and signed the No Child Left Behind Act.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        *White House correction.
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        We've increased Federal funding for Title I schools, which serves
    the poorer students, by 41 percent over the last 3 years. And in return,
    because I believe every child can learn, we're requiring schools to
    measure performance of all students to make sure every child is
    learning. And that is how you make sure that every child can read and
    write and add and subtract. That is how you can make sure the dreams of
    every parent in America can be achieved.
        We're measuring achievement in math and reading, and we're getting
    results. You see, when you raise the bar and call upon results, you can
    get results. The Council of Great City Schools released a study on the
    progress since the No Child Left Behind took effect. The study examined
    61 urban school districts and found that more than two-thirds of grades
    tested showed improvement in both reading and math amongst Hispanic
    students, and that's what we want. We want progress, substantial
    progress. And my pledge to you is, I'm going to continue to work to
    bring about more progress so every child can have a chance to realize
    the great promise of a country.
        What I hope you do is join me in understanding that when politicians
    criticize testing and high standards, they do a disservice to our
    schools, to the parents, and to the students. In other words, what
    they're saying is they're choosing bureaucracy over our children.
    Instead of undermining standards, we're striving to meet those standards
    in every part of America. I made a promise to LULAC and to others to
    improve the Nation's public schools. I'm delivering on that promise.
        Secondly, the commitment of an opportunity society is a healthy and
    growing economy in which entrepreneurs are encouraged to take risks and
    to build their businesses and to hire new workers. I believe that starts
    with a respect for the earnings of those who pay the taxes.
        And so, in order to get this economy moving after a recession, an
    emergency, and an attack, we've given tax relief to every person who
    pays Federal income taxes. And by leaving more money in the hands that
    say--that spend and save and earned, our economy is strong and getting
    stronger.
        And one reason why is because tax relief has helped millions of
    small-business owners and entrepreneurs who pay taxes at the individual
    income-tax rate. You see, if you're a small-business owner, you're
    likely to be what they call a Subchapter S corporation or a sole
    proprietorship, and therefore, you pay taxes at the individual income-
    tax rate. And because new jobs or most new jobs are created by small
    businesses, I thought it was wise to cut taxes on small businesses to
    encourage economic growth. And we're seeing the results of this tax
    relief and the stimulus for small businesses.
        America has had now 10 consecutive months of job growth. Since last
    August, our economy has added more than 1.5 million jobs. The
    unemployment rate today is lower than the average rate in the 1970s,
    1980s, and 1990s. But most importantly, and I think one of the most
    important statistics of all, is that there are millions of new small
    businesses owned by members of the Hispanic community. And that doesn't
    surprise me, because the entrepreneurial tradition is strong amongst
    Americans--Hispanic men and women.
        According to the most recent data, Hispanic-owned companies employ
    about 1.4 million Americans and carry a payroll of

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    nearly $30 billion. And what I'm here to tell you today is our economy
    is stronger, our society is better off because Hispanic-owned businesses
    are thriving and creating jobs all across America.
        We have many issues to discuss, but I want to end on this important
    issue. The third commitment of an opportunity society is a policy of
    fairness and justice toward those who have come to America to live and
    work. Our country must confront this basic fact: Jobs being generated in
    our growing economy are not being filled by American citizens, and these
    jobs represent an opportunity for workers who come from abroad, who want
    to put money on the table for their children. Yet current law says to
    those workers, ``You must live in a massive, undocumented economy.''
        And so we've got people in America working hard who live in fear and
    who are often exploited. And this system isn't fair, and it's not right.
    So I proposed reforms that will match willing foreign workers with
    willing American employers when no Americans can be found to fill the
    jobs, a system that would grant legal status to temporary workers who
    are here in the country working, that will increase the number of men
    and women on the path to American citizenship.
        The reason I do so is because I know this proposal is good for our
    economy, because it would allow needed workers to come into the country
    under an honest, orderly, regulated system. And the reason I made this
    proposal is because it's humane. It would bring millions of hard-working
    people out of the shadows of American life. This proposal reflects the
    interest and best values of America, and Congress should pass it into
    law.
        As a citizen of Texas and the Governor of Texas, I have been
    privileged to see the many contributions of Latinos to our economy, to
    our State, to our culture, and to our Nation. As President and Commander
    in Chief, I've seen other great contributions. Some 85,000 Latinos have
    served in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. More
    than 100 have given their lives. Over 400 have been injured in combat.
    Our Nation will never forget their service and their sacrifice to our
    security and to our freedom.
        I want to tell you about one of the most meaningful moments of my
    Presidency, if you've got a minute. I had the privilege of meeting
    Master Gunnery Sergeant Guadalupe Denogean. Sergeant Denogean was an immigrant from Mexico who
    had served in the Marine Corps for more than 26 years. He was wounded in
    combat in Iraq. When he was brought home for treatment, they asked the
    Sergeant if he had any special requests. He said he had two. First, he
    wanted a promotion for the Corporal who had helped to rescue him, and
    second, he wanted to become an American citizen. And I was privileged to
    be right there at the Bethesda Naval Medical Center the day he raised
    his right hand and took the oath of citizenship. I'm proud to be the
    Commander in Chief of this good Sergeant, and now I'm proud to call him
    fellow citizen.
        You see, brave Americans like Sergeant Denogean are sacrificing for the cause of our country, and
    America has needed that sacrifice. Our men and women in uniform have
    removed two terrorist regimes that threatened our people and are now
    helping the Iraqi and Afghan people get on the path to democracy and
    self-government. By fighting the terrorists abroad, they have made
    American people more secure here at home. By standing for the cause of
    freedom, they're making our world more peaceful. And by acting in the
    best traditions of duty and honor, they're making our country proud.
        This country of ours has been through challenging times in the past
    few years. We're overcoming those challenges, thanks to the courage and
    the character of the American people. We're ready to meet every
    challenge that comes our way and, of course, to seize new opportunities.
    And

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    as always, America looks to the future with confidence.
        Once again, I appreciate the good work of LULAC and of your members
    and of your leadership. Thank you so very much for having me. Que Dios
    los bendiga, y que Dios bendiga a los Estados Unidos. Gracias.

    Note: The President spoke by satellite at 2:20 p.m. from the Map Room at
    the White House to the convention meeting in San Antonio, TX. In his
    remarks, he referred to Hector M. Flores, national president, League of
    United Latin American Citizens; Kenneth W. Cole, vice president,
    government relations, General Motors Corp.; and Lt. Gen. Ricardo S.
    Sanchez, USA, commander, Multi-National Force--Iraq. The Office of the
    Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of these
    remarks. A portion of these remarks could not be verified because the
    tape was incomplete.