[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book II)]
[August 18, 2004]
[Pages 1703-1721]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks in a Discussion in Hudson, Wisconsin
August 18, 2004

    The President. Thank you all. Thanks for coming. Please be seated.
    Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
    The President. Thank you all. That's what I'm here to tell you. I'm 
ready to go. There's more work to be done. I'm here asking for 4 more 
years.
    Thank you all for coming. I think we've got a pretty interesting way 
to explain why I'm running for President again today. What I thought I 
would do is spend some time talking about some issues with some of your 
fellow citizens here, who will help explain why I make decisions the way 
I do. Then if we've got time, I'd like to answer some questions from 
you. Then I've got to go across the river----
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. They vote too. [Laughter] I want to thank you all for 
coming. I really am out asking for the vote. I think it's really 
important to travel the States that are key States and ask people--and 
tell people why you're running. And that's what I'm doing today in your 
great State. You know, we came close last time in Wisconsin. This time 
we're going to win it.
    I want to thank you all for your help. Listen, I know there's some 
people here

[[Page 1704]]

who volunteer for the campaign, and I want--let me tell you what that 
means. It means signs. It means making phone calls. It means encouraging 
people to register to vote.
    You know, I like to tell people an interesting story about 
Afghanistan, and I'll talk about that a little more later on, but there 
was some doubt in people's minds as to whether or not, once free, the 
Afghan people would participate in democracy, particularly after the 
Taliban drug some people off one of the buses--women--off the buses and 
executed them because they happened to be holding voter registration 
cards. Today in that country, 3\1/2\ years after being brutalized by the 
Taliban, over 9 million people have registered to vote. See, they are--
it's a great statistic, isn't it?
    We have a duty in this country to vote. So I hope you register your 
friends and neighbors. Tell them they have a duty to vote. And when you 
head them--get them headed toward the polls, tell them if they want the 
country safer, stronger, and better, put old George Bush and Dick 
Cheney back in.
    I'm sorry Laura is not here. Gosh, she would 
love this beautiful part of the world. She is in Colorado campaigning, 
and then she's headed to Texas. And after my speech tonight, I'm heading 
down to Crawford as well. But the reason I bring her up is she is--I'm a 
lucky man. She is a great mom. She's really a wonderful wife, and she's 
doing a great job as the First Lady. She has come to realize what I have 
realized, that simple gestures of kindness to people really can affect 
their lives in positive ways, that when we've been given this awesome 
responsibility and a high honor of serving our country, it really 
doesn't take much to help lift somebody's spirits. And Laura goes around 
the country talking to teachers and thanking them for teaching, and 
talking to people who are involved with literacy programs and thanking 
them for their literacy programs.
    I remember when she did the radio address and 
spoke to the women of Afghanistan. The feedback on that was fantastic. 
People were just so grateful that somebody in a high position in America 
would speak to their hopes and aspirations. Her job satisfaction level 
is high. I hope there's a lot of reasons you want to put me back in, but 
perhaps the most important one is so that Laura will be the First Lady 
for 4 more years.
    A couple of things. I want to thank my friend Mark Green, Congressman Mark Green, for traveling today. He's a good 
fellow. Thank you, Congressman. He's a good, smart, honest guy with whom 
I've got a great working relationship.
    I've also been traveling with Dale Schultz. 
He's going to make a fine United States Congressman. I appreciate him. 
He's working hard. He's knocking on a lot of doors, which is what you 
have to do if you're going to--if you intend on winning. I think he'll 
be a great Congressman.
    Mr. Mayor, thank you for coming. I'm proud 
you're here. Where are you? There he is. Mr. Mayor, thank you. Thanks 
for coming.
    You know, I said I want the country to be stronger and safer and 
better. Let me start with what it means to be a better country. A better 
country is a country that makes sure every child is educated. One of the 
reasons I'm running again is because there's more work to do to make 
sure that the philosophy behind No Child Left Behind is fully 
implemented. What that philosophy said was--is that we're going to 
challenge the soft bigotry of low expectations. See, if you have a 
system that doesn't expect the best, it's a system that tends to quit on 
kids too early and just shuffles them through, grade to grade. And guess 
who gets shuffled through? These so-called hard-to-educate. And that's 
not good enough for America. And so what we did in Washington is we 
said, ``We'll spend more Federal dollars, and, in return for Federal 
dollars, we'll finally start asking the

[[Page 1705]]

question, have you achieved the goals?'' See, we'll start to measure. 
And the reason you measure is not to punish. The reason you measure is 
to correct problems early, before it's too late.
    And so the No Child Left Behind Act sets high expectations and high 
standards. It believes in local control of schools. It believes in 
empowering parents. But it also says, ``Let's measure to determine 
whether curriculum works, to determine whether or not our children are 
learning to read.'' And if not, let's correct the problem before it is 
too late. And we're making good progress. These test scores are 
beginning to rise. The achievement gap is beginning to close. And what 
I'm telling you is there's more work to do when it comes to the 
education. I want the high school diploma to mean something. We need to 
focus on math and science to make sure our youngsters have the skills 
necessary to compete in this world. I like to tell people we've--we're 
getting the job done when it comes to our schools. And by making our 
schools work, America will be a better place.
    I'll tell you what else will make America a better place. It's a 
place where those of us in Government understand the limitations of 
Government. See, money can hand out--Government hands out money, but it 
cannot put hope in a person's life. That happens when people who have 
been called to love a neighbor step up and put their arm around a lonely 
soul or somebody who hurts or somebody who needs compassion and says, 
``What can I do? How can I help you?'' And so I'm running again to 
continue to rally the armies of compassion, to encourage people who want 
to love a neighbor like they'd like to be loved themselves to continue 
to do so. And equally as well is to open up Federal monies, Federal 
grants to faith-based organizations, people that are able to--
[applause].
    One of the examples I like to use is, if somebody is addicted to 
drugs, sometimes a counselor can work. But a lot of times it requires a 
change of heart in order to change life. And the faith-based programs 
are those programs that are able to help a person change their heart, to 
get them less hooked on drugs or alcohol. And so there's a--part of my 
vision is for a better country. I want everybody in America to realize 
the great promise of this land.
    This is a fantastic country we have. And the values are--when I'm 
talking about changing America one heart and one soul at a time, I'm 
talking about Scout masters who take time to work with these kids to 
pass on good, solid values. I'm talking about people who go see a 
neighbor and a shut-in. See, we can change and will change America one 
heart at a time, one soul at a time. Listen, I recognize somebody can't 
do everything, but somebody can do something to help this country be a 
compassionate, hopeful place.
    I'm here to talk about making the country a stronger country. That 
starts with making sure our economy is strong. Listen, we want people 
working. That's what we want in America. And we've been through a lot. 
When you're out there campaigning and talking to people, remind them 
what we have been through as a country. We've been through a recession. 
That means we're going backwards. That means it's hard to find work. It 
means if you're a small-business owner, you're nervous about making 
payroll.
    And then we went through a terrorist attack. They estimated it cost 
us, after that attack, about a million jobs. It hurt when the enemy hit 
us. We also went through corporate scandals, which affected us. I mean, 
look, we're a country that depends upon honesty. I mean, when people--
when you're an investor or when you're looking at balance sheets, you 
expect there to be good, honest numbers. And when we started to uncover 
the fact that some didn't tell the truth, it began to affect our 
confidence. It just did. We acted. I mean, it's real clear right now 
that if you are dishonest in the boardrooms of America,

[[Page 1706]]

there's going to be a consequence. But we've overcome these obstacles.
    And one of the reasons why I believe we overcame the obstacles is 
because of tax relief. I believe by cutting the taxes, it helped. And I 
want to thank the Congressman for his work on 
that. We did it, I think, the fair way. We said, ``If you pay taxes, you 
get relief.'' We raised the child credit to help people with children. 
We've mitigated the consequences of the marriage penalty. We believe 
that the Tax Code ought to encourage marriage, not discourage marriage.
    We helped our small businesses--we're going to talk to two 
entrepreneurs today about what the tax relief meant for their business. 
They can explain it better than I can. After all, they're the ones--
they're the risktakers; they're the people who are on the frontline of 
when it comes to hiring people.
    Before we talk to them and talk to some others who are benefiting 
from the tax relief and have got some interesting things to talk about, 
I do want to talk about what else needs to be done. You know, there's 
concern about jobs going overseas. I share the concern. We want people 
working here. We want our jobs here. And the best way to do so is to 
make sure this is the best place to do business in the world. The best 
way to make sure jobs are here is, this is a place for risktakers, feel 
comfortable taking risk, and you're able to do so without getting sued 
right and left. So we need tort reform.
    And you know, I got to tell you, the plaintiff's attorneys are tough 
politically. But I believe it's the right thing to have a justice system 
that's fair, that you're not--that the legal system doesn't look like a 
lottery, but in fact, if somebody gets hurt, they've got their day in 
court. But if we keep having frivolous and junk lawsuits that threaten 
our employers, it's going to be hard to keep the job base active and 
alive here. So we need tort reform. We need less regulation.
    In order to make sure that our economy continues to grow and jobs 
stay here, we've got to have free and fair trade. Let me tell you about 
the trade issue and my point of view on that. Most Presidents believe 
that it's important to have our markets open for foreign goods. Why? 
Because if you're a consumer, the more goods you have to choose from, 
the more likely it is you're going to get better quality at a better 
price. That's how the market works. And so administrations from both 
parties said, ``Let's open up our markets for the good of consumers.'' 
My attitude is, is that if we treat a country by opening our markets, 
they ought to treat us the same way. That's good trade policy. We open 
up our markets; you open up yours.
    And it's paying off. Our trade policy is paying off. Look at the 
agricultural sector here in America today. It's strong. You know why? 
Because our farmers can compete with anybody, anyplace, anywhere. All 
they needed was markets opened up to sell their products.
    We need an energy plan. If we want to have jobs here, you know, 
we've got to have energy. And right now, we're too dependent on foreign 
sources of energy. That's just the way it is. I submitted an energy plan 
to the United States Congress over 2 years ago. It was a plan that said 
we've got to diversify our energy supply, but we've got to be--and we've 
got to be wise about how we use the energy we have. We need clean coal 
technology to make sure we can use precious coal. We can explore in 
environmentally friendly ways. We need alternative sources of energy 
like ethanol and biodiesel. We need to be better at conservation. We 
need to promote technologies which change habits and uses, like 
hydrogen-driven automobiles. But for the sake of economic security and 
for the sake of national security, I need an energy plan on my desk to 
make us less dependent on foreign sources of energy.
    Health care is obviously an issue that matters as to whether or not 
we can keep

[[Page 1707]]

jobs here at home. Listen, most people receive their health insurance 
through their jobs. And most--a lot of small businesses are having 
trouble affording health care. And what we need to do is allow small 
businesses to pool together so they can be able to purchase health care 
at the discounts that big businesses are able to do. It's prohibited now 
from doing that. It's called association health plans.
    You'll hear me talk about health savings accounts in a minute, as an 
innovative way for people to be able to make sure that the 
decisionmaking process is between them and their doctors, and it's a way 
to hold down costs. We've got somebody here who has actually used a 
health savings account that has worked. There are things we can do to 
help people who can't help themselves. My philosophy of government says 
government ought to help people who can't help themselves and help 
people help themselves. And part of helping people who can't help 
themselves is to expand community health centers so low-income people 
can get primary care in places other than emergency rooms in your 
hospitals.
    We delivered on a promise. As I said when I was campaigning, we'd 
modernize Medicare, and was able to get that through the Congress. The 
Medicare system was--is a really important system, but it was old and 
wasn't working that well. Think about this. We would pay for the heart 
surgery of a senior, and we wouldn't pay for the medication to prevent 
the heart disease in the first place. I didn't think that made much 
sense for the taxpayers and for the seniors. So I went to Congress and 
said, ``Well, look, let's do our duty. Let's kind of set aside all this 
bickering and why don't we focus on what's good for the seniors.''
    And I was proud to sign a Medicare reform bill that, first of all, 
provides drug discount cards for seniors. And if you're a senior here, I 
would strongly urge you to look into the drug discount cards for savings 
for your prescriptions. Secondly, in '05, we're now going to pay for 
screenings, preventative screenings, for the first time for our seniors, 
so we diagnose early, before it's too late. And in '06, a system will 
show up where seniors actually have choices. If you want to stay in the 
system as it is, you can do so, and you get prescription drug coverage. 
If you want choice in the marketplace, you're able to design the program 
that meets your needs. So in other words, we're doing good work when it 
comes to health care.
    And one thing I want to assure you, in all the discussion about 
health care, we're going to make sure that the doctor and patient are 
the decisionmakers, not bureaucrats in Washington, DC.
    I'll tell you a national issue that's an important issue when it 
comes to health care is medical liability reform. Green informed me that he had helped pass medical liability 
reform here in the State of Wisconsin. And it may not be nearly as big 
an issue here as it is elsewhere, but a lot of these lawsuits are 
driving docs out of business. I'm telling you, in State after State, one 
of the biggest complaints I hear from people is that, ``My doc is 
leaving the business,'' or ``His premiums are so high to stay in 
business, he's running up my cost.''
    Now, look, I don't think you can choose--I mean, I know you have to 
choose between patients and doctors and plaintiff's attorneys. You have 
to make a choice. You can't be for both. And my opponent made his choice, and he put him 
on the ticket. [Laughter] I made my choice. I'm for medical liability 
reform now, for the sake of affordable and available health care.
    Finally, let me talk about two quick things, and then we're going to 
talk to some of your fellow citizens here. One, education is really 
important for workers. If we want to keep jobs here in America, we 
better have a system that enables people to become retrained for the 
jobs which exist. That's why I'm a big backer of the community college 
system, and it's a system that's working. It's a system that is 
available and

[[Page 1708]]

affordable. They're everywhere, at reasonable price, and there's plenty 
of Government aid to help.
    So I travel the country a lot. And let me tell you an interesting 
story. I met a lady in Phoenix, Arizona, went to Mesa Community College. 
She had worked for 12 years as a graphic artist. She decided to go back 
to college, got a little help to do so, went back and got an associates 
degree. And her--in other words, she enhanced her skills. And her first 
job out of the community college paid more in her first year than she 
was making in her 12th year as a graphic artist. In other words, what 
education does is it makes you a more productive worker. And Government 
has got to encourage people to go back to community college by helping 
them to do so.
    And if we want to keep jobs here, we've got to train people for the 
jobs which actually exist. This is a changing world. The economy is 
changing. I was thinking about down in North Carolina where some of 
these textile plants have moved out because they couldn't compete, but 
the health care industry was strong. And so the compassionate thing to 
do is to help people who have lost their job gain the skills necessary 
to work in a field that is dynamic, and you make more money doing so.
    Now, finally, I want to talk about fiscal discipline and fiscal 
sanity in Washington, DC. In order to keep the job base expanding so 
people can find work here, we must not overspend your money. And we must 
keep your taxes down. See, running up the taxes right now will hurt our 
economy. And we'll talk to some people that--when we run up--if their 
taxes get--they're not going to get run up; the guy is not going to win. And so it's--but your fellow 
citizens ought to worry about somebody who is out there making promise 
after promise after promise, like over $2 trillion worth of new promises 
and not telling you how he's going to pay for it. You know, he says, 
``Well, we can pay for it because we'll tax the rich.'' Well, we've 
heard that kind of language before. And you know what happens with this 
kind of tax-the-rich deal. That's why they've got accountants and 
lawyers. [Laughter] So the rich figure out ways not to pay, and you get 
stuck with the tab. That's not going to happen in 2004.
    Old Mike Shaver is with us. Where are you, 
Mike? Mike is a small-business owner. He owns Hudson Machine and Tool. 
Before you say something, Mike, I want to tell people how you're 
organized, if you don't mind. He is a Subchapter S corporation. You know 
what that means? He pays taxes at the individual income-tax rate. So 
when you hear somebody saying, ``Tax the rich,'' I want you thinking 
about small-business owners.
    Most of small businesses in America are Subchapter S corporations or 
sole proprietorships. They pay tax at the individual income-tax rate. 
Therefore, when we said, ``Let's cut taxes on everybody who pays 
taxes,'' we're also talking about small businesses. Seventy percent of 
new jobs in America are created by small businesses. And if you're 
worried about people find work--finding work, it makes sense to 
stimulate the small-business sector of our country.
    So here's a Subchapter S. All right, tell us about your company. 
Here's your chance. [Laughter]

[At this point, Mike Shaver made brief remarks.]

    The President. How many did you hire? How many did you hire?
    Mike Shaver. We hired about half a dozen 
people, eight people, maybe.
    The President. Yes, that's it. Let me tell you something. He hires eight. Another vibrant small business hires eight, 
and all of a sudden, you got people working in America. That's what I'm 
talking about.
    Go ahead.
    Mr. Shaver. But what made it possible for us 
to hire these people is the policy that you put in place has enabled me 
to

[[Page 1709]]

purchase capital equipment, and if I purchase capital equipment, I have 
to have people to run it.
    The President. Let me tell you something. Part of the tax relief for 
small businesses was not just cutting the rates. We also incentivized 
people to buy equipment. In other words, if he bought equipment, 
he got a little extra help in the Tax Code.
    And so what did you buy?
    Mr. Shaver. We bought a horizontal machining 
center, and we added on to the building too.
    The President. See, buys a horizontal machining center. [Laughter] 
But somebody had to make it, right? [Laughter] You see, we give--
he makes a decision because the Tax Code said, 
you know, ``It's in your interest if you do,'' which was to buy a 
machine. And somebody had to make the machine. And so what he just told 
you was, by buying a machine, it enabled him to hire two people. And by 
buying the machine, it also made the machine manufacturer more likely to 
either keep an employee or add one to help meet his demand. I think 
that's the way it works, don't you?
    Mr. Shaver. That is correct.
    The President. Yes, I understand it. Tell me about--he's got an interesting idea. First of all, are you planning 
on investing again?
    Mr. Shaver. Yes, we've already--I've bought 
a--we spent about $150,000 this year so far on a new truck and a 
vertical machining center.
    The President. You got the horizontal machining center--[laughter]. 
Education is really important. [Laughter]
    Tell me about your--you got an interesting idea. See, one of the 
things that's important about having a vibrant small-business sector is 
that there's some really great ideas that happen through these 
entrepreneurs.
    And so tell me about your apprenticeship program.

[Mr. Shaver made further remarks.]

    The President. See, job training takes place in community colleges; 
job training takes place on the floors of small businesses. It's really 
important to make sure the small-business sector of the country is 
dynamic. The role of a Government is not to create wealth. The role of 
Government is to create an environment in which people like Mike 
Shaver feel comfortable about expanding the job 
base of America.
    And I want to thank you for coming.
    Mr. Shaver. Thank you very much.
    The President. Appreciate you.
    Doug Richardson is with us.
    Doug Richardson. Right here, Mr. 
President.
    The President. Yes, you're the same guy 
I met recently. [Laughter] He is the co-owner--you know, one of the 
things I love to talk about is ownership in America. I love it when guys 
like Mike and Doug own their own business. I love the idea of more 
people owning their own home. Do you realize that homeownership rates in 
America are at an alltime high? Isn't it wonderful to think about a 
country where more people own something. They open up their front door 
and say, ``Welcome to my home.'' This guy Doug Richardson is co-owner, 
which is--I love the ring--he's an entrepreneur.
    Tell us what you do.
    Mr. Richardson. You stand up too.
    The President. He's the other owner?
    Mr. Richardson. The other owner is here 
too, Tim McCormick.
    The President. Well, we've got you here because you're better 
looking. But anyway--[laughter]--let me tell you, Dick Cheney is not the prettiest guy in the race. [Laughter] Of 
course, I didn't pick him because of his looks. I picked him because he 
can do the job. He probably picked you 
because you're a great co-owner. [Laughter] 
God, I hope he's still for me. Anyway--[laughter]. Sorry, Doug, I didn't 
mean to dis your guy here.

[[Page 1710]]

    Mr. Richardson. That's okay. I do it all 
the time. [Laughter]
    The President. What do both of you do?
    Mr. Richardson. Well, you talk about 
risk. We bought Parco Manufacturing, which--we manufacture vinyl windows 
and patio doors. Talk about increasing business, I'm sure a number of 
you are in need of windows around here.
    The President. This guy is a marketing 
genius. [Laughter] Except, you need to look over there for the cameras; 
it's a much bigger crowd.

[Mr. Richardson made brief remarks.]

    The President. Are you investing at all?
    Mr. Richardson. We invested about 
170,000 in equipment over the last 2 years----
    The President. Horizontal or vertical? [Laughter]
    Mr. Richardson. Neither.
    The President. Yes, that's good. What do you buy, seriously?
    Mr. Richardson. We buy delivery trucks.
    The President. Good.
    Mr. Richardson. We buy manufacturing 
equipment to build our windows. And we've also invested a half-million 
dollars into property and another factory.
    The President. Great, congratulations. Classic small business: two 
guys, two buddies, 
said, ``Let's get after it.'' They take a risk. That's part of how the 
economy works; they're willing to take risk. And because they're 
dreamers and doers, people are working. And the role of Government is to 
encourage through good tax policy. We don't need to be running up the 
taxes. Look, let me remind you all, when you hear, ``Tax the rich--oh, 
don't worry, we're just going to raise the top rates,'' it's going to 
affect the entrepreneurial class of America because most small 
businesses are Subchapter S corporations. We need to keep the taxes low 
on the small businesses of America, in order for them to feel 
comfortable about expanding the job base.
    Thank you. Good job. I appreciate you coming.
    Roger Ripplinger is with us. Hey, Rog, 
how are you?
    Roger Ripplinger. Doing great.
    The President. Good. Well, me too. He is a--what do you do?
    Mr. Ripplinger. I hire people.
    The President. Yes, my kind of guy. Get after it, will you? 
[Laughter]

[Mr. Ripplinger made brief remarks.]

    The President. Yes, good. In other words, you're good at what you 
do. They hired you. Did you make any more money?
    Mr. Ripplinger. I make a lot more 
money.
    The President. Yes, see, what's happening is, is that, you know, 
it's an interesting world we're in--people are changing jobs, and that's 
a little unsettling. But if you're able to upgrade your skills or be 
good at what you do, a lot of times when people change jobs, they can 
make more money.
    Now, one of the things that--let's see, you got a little tax relief. 
How much? Got to turn on his mike. I'll say 
that. He got a lot, he said. I'll be your interpreter. [Laughter]
    Mr. Ripplinger. We got a check last 
July. And it was just in time--there we go--and it was just in time for 
back to school shopping, when all the sales hit, so we could even 
stretch it even farther. It was wonderful.
    The President. He saved about $2,400 in 
his taxes last year. That's a lot of money for a family. And it's--you 
see, my philosophy--thank you, Rog--my philosophy is that Government 
meets priorities; once it meets its priorities, then the people can 
spend their money better than Government can. And I want Roger having 
that 2,400 in his pocket, because it helps the economy grow.
    Did you do anything with it?
    Mr. Ripplinger. Yes, we actually--we 
invested some.
    The President. Good. That's a good thing.

[[Page 1711]]

    Mr. Ripplinger. Yes, and we bought a 
new vehicle.
    The President. That means there's more capital, by the way, 
available for people when they go out an buy horizontal machines. 
[Laughter] That's how the economy works. When he says ``investing,'' 
it's part of saving. Go ahead.
    Mr. Ripplinger. And we bought a new 
vehicle as well.
    The President. Good, yes, well, somebody had to sell it to you. And 
then somebody had to make it. By the way, parts of the tax relief 
package expire. See, the tax relief was not permanent--a permanent 
fixture. They said, ``We'll give you tax relief for a while.'' And the 
child credit goes down to $700 a child this year if Congress doesn't 
act. The marriage penalty goes up if Congress doesn't act. The 10-
percent bracket is affected if Congress doesn't act. This guy will pay 
$1,100 more in taxes if Congress doesn't act. So when you hear me going 
around the country saying, ``Let's keep the tax cuts permanent,'' that's 
what I'm talking about, not taking money out of his pocket.
    All right, Rog, thanks for coming.
    We got the Garzas 
with us. There they are. Oh, yes. Who you got with you?
    Jesse Garza. This is Page.
    The President. Page.
    Mr. Garza. Say, ``Hi, Mr. President.''
    The President. Yes, I know how you feel sometimes. [Laughter] Thanks 
for coming. Kate and Jesse are workers--both of them in the workplace?
    Mr. Garza. My wife is a hospice social 
worker here in----
    The President. Thanks. Thanks for doing that.
    Mr. Garza. Yes, no problem.
    The President. No, I'm talking to her. 
[Laughter] Thanks for doing that--we'll try it again.
    Kate Garza. My husband works for his family 
business and manages that.
    The President. Great. The reason I've asked them to come is to talk about tax 
relief again. See, oftentimes in the course of the discussion about tax 
relief, we talk numbers. And people seem to forget--particularly in 
Washington--that tax relief affects people's lives in incredibly 
positive ways. How much relief did you get, 1,200? Yes. Isn't that 
right?
    Mr. Garza. Yes, we did.
    The President. And this year about $1,700, they tell me?
    Mr. Garza. I hope so.
    The President. She wants to talk.
    Page Garza. Hi, Mr. President.
    The President. There you go. [Laughter] All education begins at 
home, by the way.
    So what has it meant for you, tax relief? Explain. Here's your 
chance to tell people who say, ``Oh, tax relief only benefited certain 
people.''

[Mr. Garza made brief remarks.]

    The President. Oh, fantastic. See, it helps people. It helps them 
with their lives. They improved their home because they've got another 
child coming. Tax relief helps families in tangible ways, and Congress 
needs to make it permanent. We don't need to be taking money out of the 
pockets of our small businesses and the working people here in America.
    Mr. Garza. Mr. President----
    The President.  Yes. Go ahead.
    Mr. Garza. If you want to help our family 
and the families out here, just do one thing: Win.
    The President. Thank you, sir. I intend to. 
Thank you all. Thanks for coming.
    Finally, we've got Kris Walker with us. 
There he is.
    Kris Walker. Mr. President.
    The President. Yes. I'm George Walker Bush. He's old, just plain Kris Walker. [Laughter] Cousin.
    Mr. Walker. Right on.
    The President. Kris has done something; he's 
bought a health savings account. I've asked him to come because I want 
him to explain what it means. It's an interesting way for people to take 
care of their own health care needs. It's a very interesting

[[Page 1712]]

concept, by the way, for small-business owners who are struggling with 
affordable health care.
    Go ahead and tell us what it is.

[Mr. Walker made brief remarks.]

    The President. Now, let me tell you what that is. Here's the way it 
works. He goes out and buys a high deductible, 
catastrophic plan, which means that after the deductible, insurance 
takes care of the health care needs. And then the health savings account 
says you've got your high deductible and then you can contribute, tax-
free, to cover from zero to the limits of your deductible--tax-free. And 
the money stays in your account and earns interest, tax-free. And you 
can take the money out, tax-free. And so in other words, it is an 
incentive program that he has used, and it is $700 a month less 
expensive.
    Mr. Walker. [Inaudible]--dollars less. And 
for me, it's a great thing, and I think for the 35 million Americans 
that are uninsured, it's a fabulous way to be insured. And for small 
business, it's a great way to be competitive in the market.
    The President. Yes, it really is. I appreciate you saying that. 
What's really interesting about this plan, by the way, is that it's--you 
see your own money. See, you put your own money in, tax-free. It's your 
money. You can save it over time if you don't spend it, obviously, and 
therefore, it provides an incentive to make better choices about health 
care needs. And all of a sudden, Kris starts 
saying, ``Well, you know, I may not need this''--doc says you think you 
need it--``I may not need it.'' In other words, he is directly involved 
with the pricing and purchasing of health care, which I think is a vital 
component to make sure that health care decisions are aligned properly 
and that a health care market begins to adjust to consumer demand. And 
that's really what health savings accounts do. I really want to thank 
you for sharing with us his idea.
    By the way, he got tax relief, and he got a 
tax relief big enough to make the cash contribution equal to his 
deductible. So in other words, it's--smart guy. I appreciate you sharing 
that with us.
    Mr. Walker. Thanks for having me. Good luck 
in '04.
    The President. Yes, thank you, sir. I 
appreciate you coming.
    Listen, I want to thank you all for coming. I hope you found this to 
be an innovative way to talk about how to keep the country stronger. Let 
me talk about how to keep it safer.
    I tell people that if this country shows weakness and uncertainty in 
this decade, the world will drift to tragedy. It's not going to happen 
on my watch. Our country changed on September the 11th. Our whole 
perspective about security and peace must change with the lessons of 
September the 11th. Let me share some of the things I've learned as the 
President.
    First, we face an enemy that is--that has no conscience. They are--
they'll cut off a head just like that and not care. They will take 
innocent life in order to achieve a dark vision. That's the reality of 
these people. That's why I tell people you cannot negotiate with them. 
You cannot hope for the best with them. In order to secure our country, 
we must stay on the offense and bring them to justice, defeat them 
elsewhere so we do not have to face them here at home.
    That is the reality of the world we live in today, and it's a stark 
reality, but it's necessary. It's a reality that is in the forefront of 
my thinking. The Government has a solemn duty to protect us, and so when 
you hear talk about staying on the offense, that's why. And we're making 
progress. We're dismantling the Al Qaida network. And it's a hard work.
    It's a different--I see some great vets here with us today. This is 
a different kind of war that we're in. It is a--[applause]. Thanks for 
coming, men. But it is a different kind of war than you're used to.

[[Page 1713]]

It's a war where there is a patient, ruthless enemy that hides and waits 
for countries to lower their guard and then strikes. And they're trying 
to intimidate us. This is really--the war on terror is an interesting 
way to describe the world in which we live. It's really a battle and a 
struggle against ideological extremists who have hijacked a great 
religion and used terror as a weapon to intimidate people of good heart 
and good soul and good conscience. I clearly see the task at hand.
    Secondly, in this new kind of war, we must not only deal with the 
terrorists; we must send clear signals to those who would harbor 
terrorists. See, we've got to disrupt their capacity to find safe haven. 
And when an American President speaks, he better speak clearly and mean 
what he says. If a President sends mixed signals, the world will drift 
toward tragedy.
    And so I said to the Taliban, ``Give them up, or face serious 
consequences.'' ``Give them up'' meant give up Al Qaida. They defied. 
They said, ``America really doesn't mean what it says.'' But I did. And 
so we put together a coalition, and we routed the Taliban. We upheld the 
doctrine. We said--[applause]. And the world is better for it. America 
is safer as a result of our action.
    I told you about the people showing up to vote in Afghanistan. It is 
amazing to me, at least, to think that 3\1/2\ years ago, the Taliban, 
these unbelievably barbaric people, by the way, were running the 
country. They would take a woman out in the public square and whip her 
because they didn't think she conformed to their dark view of the world. 
If you dared speak out, if you dared exercise your religion in a way you 
were comfortable with, you were punished. And now they're headed toward 
a democracy. People are showing up to vote. The world is more peaceful 
as a result, and Afghanistan is an ally. They're an ally in the war on 
terror.
    You know, I was in Cleveland a couple of weeks ago, and I was there 
to kick off the International Children's Games. And right there to my 
right as I stood up to say welcome to America, was the Afghan girls 
soccer team. It was amazing. It was a very emotional moment for me. I 
was so proud of our country that, in acting in our own self-interest, we 
acted in the interests of those young girls, who would not have been in 
our great country to play soccer had it not been for our willingness to 
uphold doctrine, to defend our security, and to liberate people.
    Another lesson of September the 11th which is a vital lesson, and 
it's a lesson that's very important for our security, is that we must 
take threats seriously, before they fully materialize. See, I'm 
confident no--very few Americans would have ever felt that a President 
would have needed to stand up and say that, except September the 11th 
came. We used to think oceans could protect us. If we saw a threat 
overseas, we could say, ``Gosh, well, there's a threat. We may have to 
deal with it, may not have to deal with it, but it's unlikely to cause 
us any harm.'' That's what happened on September the 11th--we no long 
have that luxury of thinking our security is afforded by protection from 
oceans.
    And so I saw a threat in Saddam Hussein. 
I looked at his history. He had used weapons of mass destruction. He had 
the capability of making weapons of mass destruction. He harbored 
terrorists. Remember Abu Nidal? He's the guy that killed Leon 
Klinghoffer. His organization was harbored there in Iraq. 
Zarqawi, we knew, was in and out. He's 
the guy who beheads people now and brags about it on Arab TV, trying to 
intimidate us. He was in and out of Iraq. He funded families of 
suiciders. That's an unconscionable act, and yet this guy said, ``We'll 
provide a little financial incentive for you.'' He killed thousands of 
his own people. He's a dangerous man.
    And remembering the lessons of September the 11th, I went to the 
United Nations and the Congress. I said to the Congress, I said, ``Look, 
he's a threat. The

[[Page 1714]]

intelligence shows he's a threat. His history shows he's a threat. And 
we've got to remember the world we live in.'' And the Congress 
responded. Members of both political parties looked at the same 
intelligence and data and came to the conclusion I came to. By far, the 
vast majority of Members of the Senate and the House--including my 
opponent, by the way--looked at the same 
intelligence and said, ``Saddam Hussein was a threat.''
    I then went to the United Nations, and I did for a reason--one, I 
want that organization to be effective. And so I basically said, ``Look, 
you can either be an empty debating society or an effective 
international organization. When you say something, you mean it.'' And 
secondly, they had said year after year after year, resolution after 
resolution after resolution, ``You're a problem, and we'll deal with 
you,'' and they never did, which, in my judgment, emboldens a tyrant. It 
certainly didn't frighten the tyrant.
    So I went to the United Nations and said, ``Look, this is a 
different era. The world changed. We see a threat. Do you?'' And in a 15 
to nothing vote in the United Nations Security Council, they said, 
``Saddam is a threat. Disclose, disarm, or 
face serious consequences.'' That is what the free world said.
    And so we--but as he had for decades--a decade, Saddam 
Hussein defied the demands. He wasn't about 
to listen to the demands of the free world. As a matter of fact, we 
agreed to inspectors. We thought they would be a good thing.
    Let me say something. Let me step back. The reason I thought 
diplomacy was important and the inspectors were important is because the 
use of military is the last option of the President. It's serious 
business when the President puts people into harm's way. It is the 
toughest decision a Commander in Chief can make, to say to moms and dads 
and husbands and wives, ``I believe it's necessary for your loved one to 
defend our security.'' And so I was hoping that we could solve this 
diplomatically and peacefully.
    You know, he deceived the inspectors. So 
I'm confronted with a choice at this point. Having tried diplomacy, 
working with the United States Congress, and seeing the deception taking 
place, do I forget the lessons of September the 11th and trust the word 
of this madman and hope for the best, or do I take action to defend the 
country? I will tell you, given that choice, I will defend America every 
time. [Applause] Thank you. A couple of other points I want to make. 
[Applause] Thanks. Thanks a lot. I appreciate that.
    You know, we didn't find the stockpiles with thought we would find, 
but I want to remind you, he had the 
capability of making weapons. And had he once again defied the world, he 
would have made them. And having that capability, it also gave him the 
opportunity to pass them on to an enemy. It's a risk we just simply 
couldn't take. Knowing what I know today, I would have made the same 
decision. I firmly believe America and the world are safer with Saddam 
Hussein sitting in a prison cell.
    Let me talk about three more points, then I'll answer some questions 
if we have time. Sometimes I can get a little windy. [Laughter]
    We put together a vast coalition, nearly 40 countries in Afghanistan 
and nearly 30 in Iraq. And it's important we work with others in this 
war on terror because you've got to share intelligence, and you've got 
to work to cut off money. And when we find a threat, it's important to 
be able to pick up the phone and call a friend like Great Britain and 
say, ``Pick this person up, please,'' because--``and here's the 
evidence.'' In other words, there's got to be a collaborative effort. 
And we are. And we're working closely with countries around the world. 
I'll continue to work on this coalition when I'm your President for 4 
more years. But I will never turn over our

[[Page 1715]]

security--national security decisions to leaders of other countries.
    I'm proud of the coalition we've put together. And it's very 
important for those of us with the microphones to be singing the praises 
of the coalition partners and thanking the moms and dads from Great 
Britain, Italy, South Korea, Japan, Poland, from all around the world, 
for the same contributions that the families of our troops have made.
    And speaking about our troops, I made a pledge to those who wear the 
uniform and their loved ones: They'll have all the support that we can 
give them from the Federal Government. And we met that duty. I don't 
know if you know this, but military pay is up by 21 percent since I've 
been the President. Housing is better for those who--for the loved ones 
of those who wear the uniform. We're transforming our military, which is 
important.
    You know, we were configured--our troops deployments were configured 
for the cold war. We were configured to fight an enemy that no longer 
exists. The Soviet Union doesn't exist, and yet we had troops stationed 
around Europe, for example, with the equipment necessary to take on the 
Soviet Union. That's why at the VFW the other day, I said, ``Wait a 
minute. Let's be smart about how we deploy our troops. Equipment has 
changed since the Soviet era. We can replace tanks with Stryker Brigades 
and achieve the same objective. We don't need as many troops stationed 
overseas anymore because the Soviet era is no longer a threat.''
    When you can replace land troops with more effective aircraft, it 
means people are stationed at home, that they can be deployed rapidly, 
and it means less unsettling times for our troops, less rotations, less 
pressure on the system, plus taxpayer savings. We're doing wise things 
with our military. We're funding the military and we're transforming the 
military to meet the threats of a new era. And it's important for the 
Commander in Chief to see clearly how best to align our military to keep 
the peace.
    When it came to funding our troops, we have a difference of opinion 
in this campaign. I put a supplemental up to the Congress in September 
of last year. It was money for body armor and spare parts, ammunition, 
and fuel, that which is necessary when you've got people in combat in 
both Afghanistan and Iraq. And I want to thank the members of both 
political parties for their strong bipartisan support. We had great 
bipartisan support, so much so that only 12 United States Senators voted 
against it, 2 of whom are my opponent and his 
runningmate. It's an issue in this campaign. 
He--when pressed, my opponent said, you know, ``I actually did vote for 
the $87 billion, before I voted against it.'' It's kind of an 
interesting explanation. People around here are plain talkers. And then 
he went on, when pressed, to say, ``Well, gosh, it was''--you know, ``I 
did the right thing,'' or he's proud of his vote, I think he said, and 
then said, ``It's a complicated matter.'' Now, there's nothing 
complicated about providing for our troops in combat. I will continue to 
be a Commander in Chief who supports our troops.
    Two quick points. One, the goal in Iraq and Afghanistan is for there 
to be democratic and free countries who are allies in the war on terror. 
That's the goal. We will meet that goal by providing security so that 
their political processes can work. There will be Presidential elections 
this fall in Afghanistan. There will be elections in Iraq. There are two 
leaders in Afghanistan and Iraq who believe in the aspirations of their people. These 
are people who are committed to democracy. It's--we will stay there to 
get the job done.
    It's--the Iraqis--it's tough to go from tyranny to freedom. You can 
imagine a society in which, if you stepped out of line, you were either 
done in or tortured. And so people in Iraq are watching us carefully. 
They wonder whether or not America is going to honor its word. That's 
why the

[[Page 1716]]

other day I took exception when my opponent said, 
if he's elected, we'll substantially reduce the troops in 6 months. He 
shouldn't have said that. See, it sends a mixed signal to the enemy, for 
starters, so the enemy hangs around for 6 months and 1 day. It sends a 
mixed signal to our own troops, and it says something to the Iraqis. It 
says, maybe America isn't going to keep its word. It's vital when we say 
something to the Iraqi people, we keep our word, so that they begin to 
take risk toward a free society. They want to be free--they want to be 
free.
    And so what the strategy is, to stay there as long as it takes to 
get the job done and not one day longer. That's the message I send to 
the people of Iraq and our troops and the enemy.
    And you'll see an Afghan army grow up, and you'll see an Iraqi 
police force and army grow up to take care of those who want to stop the 
advance of freedom, and that's really what we're talking about.
    Just real quick, I believe freedom changes societies, and I believe 
a free society is a peaceful society. And therefore, it is in our 
national interests to promote a liberty in a part of the world that is 
full of hatred and resentment and intolerance.
    I talk about a dinner I had with Prime Minister Koizumi, and I think I talked about that today with some 
people on Air Force One, if I'm not mistaken. And anyway, so I'm having 
dinner with Koizumi, and we're talking about North Korea. See, I made 
the decision that no longer can we convince Kim Chong-il to disarm if it's only the United States talking to the 
North Koreans. I felt it was important to bring other countries into the 
mix, like China and Japan and South Korea and Russia, so there's now 
five countries saying to the tyrant in North Korea, ``Disarm--disarm.''
    And so I'm talking to Prime Minister Koizumi about that. Really what I'm talking about is how to 
keep the peace, how to use U.S. influence and Japanese influence, in 
this case, to keep the peace. He's the Prime Minister of a country that 
my dad went to war with. It's amazing, 
isn't it, that, gosh, half a century later, after a young Navy pilot--
and I'm sure your dads or granddads might have fought in the same 
theater--we're back talking peace with a former enemy. You know why? 
Because after World War II, my predecessor and others believed that 
liberty had the capacity to transform an enemy into a peaceful partner, 
and that's what happened.
    There were some doubters and skeptics. ``The reconstruction effort 
wasn't going well,'' or, ``It was too tough over there, and maybe, maybe 
the Japanese don't have the capacity to self-govern.'' But somebody that 
served in Government had great faith in liberty and didn't abandon the 
concept that we hold dear. And here I am, sitting down with the Prime 
Minister of Japan talking about the peace. 
Someday, when we complete our job in Iraq, an American President is 
going to be having dinner with an elected leader from Iraq talking about 
peace, and the world will be better for it.
    I want to talk--just real quick, a story, and then I'll be glad to 
answer your questions. Let me say also, when I say liberty, by serving 
the cause of liberty, I tell people, serves our security interests. It 
also serves something which I believe is part of the American soul. 
Freedom is not America's gift to the world; freedom is the Almighty 
God's gift to each man and woman in this world. We believe that in 
America. I think it's one of the most noble aspects of our national 
character, is that we believe in human dignity, no matter the religion 
of the person.
    Let me tell you an interesting story, and then I promise to answer 
some questions. [Laughter] If Laura were here, 
she'd be giving me the hook. [Laughter] That's the way it is. [Laughter]
    Anyway, the Oval Office door opens up and in walks seven men from 
Iraq, all of whom had had their right hands cut off

[[Page 1717]]

by Saddam Hussein. They had been to Houston, 
Texas, where a newscaster had--a quite famous 
newscaster--had raised money and set up a foundation to help people. He 
saw their story through a documentary, and he flew them to Houston to 
get new hands. So these guys come walking in the Oval Office--I mean, it 
was a powerful moment. The Oval Office is a--it's a shrine to democracy, 
and it tends to take everybody's breath away who walks in--except Mother's--[laughter]--who is still telling me what to 
do. [Laughter] And I'm listening--about half the time. [Laughter]
    Anyway, so these guys walk in, you know, and I was emotional. They 
were emotional. And I said, ``Why you?'' He said, ``The Saddam dinar had devalued and''--he was a merchant, a small-
business man; I don't know if he was a Subchapter S corporation or not, 
but he was a small-business man. And he had sold dinars on a particular 
day to buy another currency, euros or dollars, so he could buy gold to 
manufacture his product. And because the Iraqi* dinar had devalued, 
Saddam Hussein plucked this guy out of society to punish him and six 
other small merchants, for the devaluation of their currency. He just 
summarily said, ``You're it, come here,'' and cut his hand off.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    *White House correction.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Isn't it an amazing contrast, to think of a country that was ruled 
by a tyrant who just said, ``We'll cut the 
hands off of people to make me look better,'' and a country that has got 
a compassionate individual who is willing to 
pay for their way to America to get a new hand? That's what we're 
talking about. It's such a stark, vivid contrast about a country that is 
compassionate and strong and decent and noble and a country run by a 
tyrant, where seven poor individuals had their lives severely affected 
until rescued by an American.
    The guy takes a Sharpie. He holds the pen, and he writes ``God Bless 
America'' in Arabic. It was a powerful moment in my Presidency. I told 
him, I said, ``Welcome to the Oval Office.'' I said, ``I want you to 
understand that the Office of President is bigger than the individual, 
and when you have a free society in Iraq and have the institutions 
bigger than the people, no longer will a thug be able to summarily 
affect your life the way Saddam Hussein 
did.'' He said, ``Thank God for America.'' He said, ``You're my 
liberator.'' I said, ``No, I want you to walk out and look in the 
camera, and I want you to thank the moms and dads of our service people 
and the taxpayers of America for liberating you and making you free.''
    These are historic times--these are historic times. I'm asking for 4 
more years to spread freedom and peace.
    Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
    The President. Let me answer some questions right quick.
    Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
    The President. You can chant that, or I'll answer questions. 
[Laughter] Yes, sir. Sit down, please. First of all, great color shirt. 
[Laughter] Go ahead and yell it. If I don't like it, I'll just change 
the question. [Laughter]

Praying for the President

    Q. On behalf of all--thank you and God bless you. We're praying for 
you.
    The President. Thank you. He said he's praying for me. I appreciate 
that. Thanks. And by the way, I appreciate the prayers. It's an amazing 
country, where people pray for me. It really is. It's great. Thank you.
    Go ahead. Do you have a question?

The President and Labor Unions

    Q. Yes. Being that Wisconsin and Minnesota are swing States and----
    The President. Minnesota and Wisconsin are swing States, I agree 
with that.
    Q. Thankfully, I believe, because of talk radio.
    The President. Yes.

[[Page 1718]]

    Q. But in addition to that, they're also big union States.
    The President. Sure, union States.
    Q. Being in a union----
    The President. You're a union member. Good, see, I'm interpreting 
faithfully. [Laughter]
    Q. But being a union member, I have had a lot of feedback that 
you're not 100 percent for unions, and I'd like you----
    The President. Yes, he said--the question is, do I like unions?
    Q. Well, that's one of--yes, that is the question.
    The President. I respect everybody's right to unionize if they so 
choose. But let me tell you what's equally important. When you cut 
taxes, you cut taxes on people whether they're in a union or not. Your 
union members have got more money in their pocket, thanks to what I did. 
This wasn't a union-nonunion tax cut. This was a tax cut for everybody. 
And when you're securing America, you're securing it not only for union 
people but nonunion people. But go ahead. You tell your workers I 
respect unions, and I respect the people who work for unions.
    Yesterday I was in Ridley, Pennsylvania, at a Boeing plant, a 
unionized plant, was warmly received on the shop floor by union workers. 
Go ahead. This is kind of like a dialog, you know. [Laughter]
    Q. They believe the reason why is because of your views or your 
regulations on immigration, and I----

 Immigration Policy

    The President. Yes. He's asking my views on immigration. Thanks. 
Here's what I believe. I believe that we have a policy today that is not 
working, and my responsibility is to address problems. We have a 
situation where we've got willing employers who can't find workers here 
in America to fill jobs, who are looking for people who are coming 
across the border. Talk to some of your farm workers--they know what I'm 
talking about--or your--people--meatpackers. I mean, there's a lot of 
workers--lot of employers who can't find workers. Interestingly enough, 
there's a lot of people who want to improve themselves, and so they're 
willing to walk miles to work. And so I believe a good policy is for a 
willing employer, who can't find a U.S. citizen to fill the job, to be 
able to look in a legal fashion for somebody who's willing to fill the 
job.
    I think that's an important part of keeping the economy growing. I 
also know it's an important part of being a compassionate America. I 
mean, why would you want to have a system where the employer is illegal, 
the worker is illegal, and if the worker gets harmed, he or she is 
fearful of bringing a complaint, for fear of not being able to fulfill 
their function.
    Look, I was the Governor of the great State of Texas. We had a--
[applause]--thank you, ma'am. We had a--there you go. We had a--we 
obviously had an issue with this. There's moms and dads who live in 
Mexico who feel an obligation to work to feed their kids, and if they 
can make $5 in America as opposed to 50 cents in Mexico, they're going 
to come. And so, therefore, in order to, in my judgment, to better 
enforce our borders, which we must do, we need a temporary-worker 
program that says to people--again, I repeat, if you can't find a 
worker, let's have it legal so you can find somebody to do the job.
    Now, this will enable somebody to go back and forth to their 
country. There will be a--you know, looking forward to working with 
Congress on limiting this. This doesn't mean automatic citizenship. I 
don't think you ought to penalize people who have been waiting in line 
for citizenship with somebody who has got a temporary-worker card. But I 
think the system needs to be changed, and that's what you can tell your 
union buddies, that this is a system that says we can't--if you can't 
find a worker, then you ought to be able to legally be able to hire 
somebody who's willing to do the job.

[[Page 1719]]

    Let me also tell you something. One reason I'm for trade in our 
neighborhood is because I know ultimately the way to keep pressure off 
our borders is for people to be able to find work close to home, that 
people want to be able to work close to home. You got to understand, 
moms and dads in Mexico have the same desire as moms and dads here to 
put food on the table for their families. And if they can find work at 
home, it's going to take the pressure of our borders. And the best way 
to do so is to have free and fair trade in our neighborhood as well.
    Yes, sir.

Culture of Life

    Q. Could you tell us how you intend to cultivate what you call the 
``culture of life'' in America?
    The President. He wants to know about culture of life. Well, culture 
of life says that, Mr. President, sign the partial-birth abortion bill, 
in order to discourage the brutal practice of partial-birth. Encouraging 
a culture of life is to encourage parental notification laws. 
Encouraging a culture of life is to say that if a pregnant mom is 
killed, that that person who killed that mom is also equally culpable 
for the death of their child. In other words, it's to pass reasonable 
laws that begin to say to people, life matters in America.
    Now, cultures change slowly, and this is still a very--it's a very 
heartfelt debate on behalf of--in the political process, on the abortion 
issue. And my attitude is, is that I'll sign laws that begin to change 
people's perception of life and, at the same time, speak out for a 
culture of life, because I think a culture of--a society that embraces a 
culture of life is a much more hospitable, generous, and compassionate 
society. [Applause] Thank you.
    Yes, what you got? The mike holder has got a question.

Drug Use/Faith-Based and Community Initiative

    Q. What I would like to ask----
    The President. Here I'm standing by the speaker. Kind of blew me----
    Q. Well, first of all, is that I agree with this gentleman. I'm glad 
that we're all praying for you.
    The President. Thank you.
    Q. I'm a local youth minister, recently hired. And one of the 
things--two of the things we've talked about today are enemies and 
freedom. And I believe that the enemy that we need the greatest freedom 
from right now happens to be Satan, and it's the enemy that we also 
don't necessarily always see. There's so many people who are being 
attacked on every level. A lot of those people are youth that are in our 
middle schools and our high schools. And I was just wondering how we can 
do more for faith-based initiatives for children, before they're drug 
addicts?
    The President. Yes. I appreciate you saying that. Look, well, first 
of all, it's for me to call upon people such as yourself to interface 
with children early, before it's too late. You answered the question by 
your actions. But in terms of reducing demand for drug--you ask a 
specific issue on drug use, for example. We've got a collaborative 
effort with faith-based groups, community groups, neighborhood groups 
all aimed at sending the same message you're sending. And it's a kind of 
universal effort necessary to say to a child, ``Drugs will destroy 
you.'' And it's working, frankly. We've reduced drug use by 11 percent 
in 3\1/2\ years--it's not ``we,'' it's community groups have done so in 
3\1/2\ years.
    You're right, there needs to be a positive message sent to our 
youth. There also needs to be a focused effort on helping the drug 
addicts who consume most of the drugs. A percentage of--a relatively 
small percentage of the people consume most of the drugs, and that's why 
I'm working with Congress to fund a drug recovery program,

[[Page 1720]]

of which an integral part of that will be a Faith-Based Initiative. And 
the way it works is, is a person gets a voucher that he or she can 
redeem at the program he or she chooses that meets her own or his own 
needs. And that includes the ability of faith-based programs to become 
involved, as I told you, with helping people change their hearts and, 
therefore, change their lives.
    Thank you for what you do. I appreciate you being a youth minister. 
Thanks.
    Yes, ma'am. You're not nervous, are you? [Laughter]

Funding for the Arts

    Q. No, not at all.
    The President. You kind of look like it. [Laughter]
    Q. Mr. President--[inaudible]--pray for you.
    The President. Thank you.
    Q. ----I realize what you've done, and I was curious to know what 
your--[inaudible]--is for funding leaders involved across the United 
States.
    The President. Funding the arts? Well, we do that through the 
National Endowment of the Arts, is the best way to do that. It's the 
vehicle that we use in Washington, DC.
    Q. [Inaudible]
    The President. Sure. You're welcome. Glad you're here.
    Yes, ma'am.

Prescription Drug Costs

    Q. [Inaudible]
    The President. Yes. Great question. Her question was about the cost 
of drugs. Well, one is to expedite generic drugs on the market. Generic 
drugs are sold at a vast discount from brand-name drugs. And we put 
through, in the Medicare bill, as well as executive action through the 
FDA, a way to speed generics to the market so people are able to buy the 
very same drug that's sold at 50 at 10.
    Secondly, I believer that part of good marketing is for people to 
have exposure to price of drugs. So one of the things we've done is 
we've put a virtual market right on the computer for people to look up 
the different costs of drugs at their local pharmacy, so that there's 
better selection when it comes to purchasing.
    Thirdly, we are studying whether or not importation will work. I put 
together a committee to make sure that--look, what I don't want to do is 
be the President that says, ``We'll allow for importation,'' and all of 
a sudden, drugs that are manufactured somewhere else come in over the 
Internet, and it begins to harm our citizens. But I'm looking at this. 
There is a lot of pressure in Congress for importation. So I think it 
makes sense for us to make sure that we can do so in a safe way. If it's 
safe, then it makes sense.
    But again, I repeat to you, I have an obligation to--for the safety 
of our citizens. And what I don't want is somebody to say, ``Oh, gosh, 
I'll be able to buy a cheaper drug from Canada,'' and that drug ends up 
coming from another country without proper inspection and proper safety. 
I believe--I know Government has an obligation to make sure, before we 
put policy in place, that that which somebody buys is actually the 
product they think they're buying and it's safe. We have an obligation 
to do that.
    So there are some of the decisions that will make--hopefully help 
keep the cost--but by far, the most effective way to help on drug costs 
is to move generics to the market faster. People say, ``Well, why aren't 
they moving fast?'' Well, first of all, you want people to be able to 
recoup investment. I mean, part of allowing for a drug company to be 
able to price a drug at a higher rate for a while is so that they can 
recoup research and development. And we want our pharmaceutical 
companies to be on the leading edge of change. I mean, they've come up 
with some amazing cures

[[Page 1721]]

for diseases through research and development. And it's an incentive for 
them to be able to recoup that investment.
    But for a while, until we got in there, they were able to deny or 
delay generic drugs from being able to come on the market to compete 
with the brand-name drug through all kinds of interesting head fakes, I 
guess, is the proper way of putting it. In other words, they'd say, 
``Well, there's a patent issue here or a patent issue there,'' and they 
would delay, delay, and delay. And so what we've done is we've said, 
``Here's a reasonable time for you to recoup your investment, and then 
generics are coming behind.'' And there's a lot of generics coming on to 
the market. And part of making sure that people get drugs at a 
reasonable price is for there to be consumer information available. And 
that's also a response of the--responsibility for Medicare bureaucracy.
    Listen, I've got the hook. I got the sign to go. We could be here 
for hours, but the problem is there's about 15,000 people waiting 
somewhere else--[laughter]--equally as important as you all. They vote. 
It's an important State, as the guy said. He said, ``It's a swing 
State.'' We intend to not only carry Wisconsin but Minnesota as well.
    I want to thank you all for coming. I hope you've enjoyed this as 
much as I have. Thank you for your help. God bless. Thank you all.

Note: The President spoke at 3:28 p.m. at Lakefront Park. In his 
remarks, he referred to Dale Schultz, candidate for Wisconsin's Third 
Congressional District; Mayor Jack Breault of Hudson, WI; former 
President Saddam Hussein of Iraq; senior Al Qaida associate Abu Musab Al 
Zarqawi; President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan; Prime Minister Ayad 
Allawi of the Iraqi Interim Government; Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi 
of Japan; and Chairman Kim Chong-il of North Korea.