    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book I)]
    [January 3, 2005]
    [Pages 5-8]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Reception for Newly Elected Members of Congress and Their
    Spouses
    January 3, 2005

        The President. Thanks for coming. Welcome to the White House. Hope
    you're feeling pretty excited about what's about to take place. We are
    excited for you. After all, we ran together. [Laughter] And there's
    nothing like winning. [Laughter]
        I want to welcome you all here. Laura and I
    are so thrilled you're here. We want to welcome your spouses. I
    particularly want to say a thanks to your spouse for having supported
    your run for the Congress or the Senate. Laura and I know how hard it is
    on a family to be in the political arena. It's the ultimate sacrifice,
    really--sacrifice your privacy, sacrifice time with your kids. But
    you're going to find it's worthwhile. Serving this great country is an
    unbelievable honor, and both the elected official and the spouse are
    serving our great country.

        The Vice President and I share something
    else in common with you, besides having run together in 2004, is that
    we've all run for the Congress. I'm the only one who never won.
    [Laughter] I ran in 1978, came in second in a two-man race. [Laughter]
    The Vice President won, as did Dan Lungren. Welcome back.

        Representative Dan Lungren. Thank you.

    [[Page 6]]

        The President. Thanks for agreeing to serve your great State and our
    country once again.
        Also elected that year was a young attorney from Sacramento,
    California, named Bob Matsui. Bob went on
    to serve with distinction and integrity in the House of Representatives
    for more than 25 years. He was a principled advocate for the people of
    northern California, and he will be deeply missed.
        We're also saddened to learn about the passing of former
    Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm of New York.
    She was a fine lady, a pioneer in education and public service, and the
    first African American woman elected to the Congress. Laura and I send our condolences to both the Chisholm and the
    Matsui families. May God rest their souls.
        One of Matsui's colleagues was Lungren, as I mentioned, and he is typical of what is a pretty
    interesting group of folks who've run and won in 2004. I mean, after
    all, there are former House Members who are coming back to the Capitol
    with a new job--that would be Senators Coburn
    and Thune--and two Members of the Congress,
    like Dan, who has served once and are now returning, Inglis and McKinney. Welcome back.
        There are some familiar names. After all, four new Senators have moved over from their
    House seats, and Senator Martinez was in the
    Cabinet. Welcome, Mel. It's good to see you and Kitty.
        There are new Members of the House who were preceded in Congress by
    their mom or dad. That would be four
    Members of
    the House. I get a little nervous when that
    son follows the father. [Laughter] The State of Colorado has sent
    two brothers.
    I know something about having a brother in politics
    too. [Laughter] In the 2004 class, we've got ranchers and farmers; we've
    got attorneys, physicians, educators, entrepreneurs, and a sheriff from
    King County, Washington. It's a diverse
    group, a widely talented group, and there's no doubt in my mind, some of
    your finest achievements lie ahead of you.
        You know, I've learned about Washington in 4 years. This town is
    sometimes too partisan and too political. People sometimes say, ``What's
    more important than the country is my politics.'' And my hope is, is
    that we can show the Nation that we can come together to achieve big
    things for the good of the country. After all, we've--we did some of
    that in my first 4 years here. The election, obviously, is a political
    event, and so sometimes that obscures what did take place in the first 4
    years of my time here.
        I mean, we were able to find common ground. After all, I'll never
    forget signing the education bill at a high school in Boston because Ted
    Kennedy helped carry the bill in the
    United States Senate, along with George Miller
    in the House and Judd Gregg in the Senate and
    John Boehner in the House. And on big
    issues, it is possible--and not only possible, important for the
    Congress and the White House to work together, issues like war and
    peace, issues like homeland security, issues like making sure seniors
    are treated well.
        I think it's important, as we head into a new session, to confront
    problems, to not pass them on to future Congresses or a future
    President. I don't know about what your timeframe is for the amount of
    time you anticipate spending here, but mine is about 4 more years, and
    then I'm going home. And so I want to confront problems, and I will.
    I'll call upon Congress to take on big issues. And I look forward to
    working with members of both parties to do just that.
        The first order of business is going to be to provide disaster aid
    for the millions of people devastated by the tsunamis in the Indian
    Ocean. Today my dad and President
    Clinton and Laura
    and I went to the four embassies of the countries most affected. And I
    told them, I said, ``This is a compassionate country, and we will help,
    and we will help in a way where the aid

    [[Page 7]]

    makes a difference.'' I know Presidents Clinton and Bush went on TV
    afterwards and called upon our fellow citizens to contribute in a wise
    way. The most effective way for U.S. citizens to contribute is to
    contribute cash dollars to agencies which are on the ground and are able
    to assess the needs and able to direct that money to make sure the
    people get help.
        We'll help, and you'll hear us call upon--I see my OMB man, Josh
    Bolten, here--we'll call upon the Congress
    to contribute, to help make good on our pledges of $350 million in cash
    grants, to help make whole our military, which is providing a lot of
    important relief efforts right now. But the American people are generous
    and compassionate people. And I know they want to step forward and help.
    And we've now got a mechanism for them to be able to do so.
        We've got to make sure that we win the war. We've got to make sure
    we support our troops. We've got to make sure we simplify the Tax Code.
    I don't know whether that's an issue in your district or in your State;
    I suspect it might be. It's a complicated mess. It takes millions of
    man-hours to fill out the Tax Code. I think we ought to work to simplify
    it, to make it easier to understand.
        We've got to make sure health care is more accessible and affordable
    for our families, got to make sure we reform the legal systems. We've
    got to make sure we raise standards for schools, including high schools,
    in America. I look forward to working with you to pass a budget that
    fits our times.
        And I look forward to working with you to make the Social Security
    system work for future generations. I know you've heard a lot of
    discussions about Social Security. I ask you to keep an open mind as we
    move forward to make sure the system works. Seniors have nothing to fear
    when they hear talk about reforming the Social Security system. Every
    senior in America will get their check. And the fundamental question is:
    Do we have the will necessary to make sure the Social Security system is
    sound and available for future generations of Americans, for younger
    generations of Americans? I'm going to call upon Congress to take this
    issue on, and I look forward to working with you to modernize the
    system.
        I look forward to your energy and your ideas. I'm ready to work with
    you. And there's no doubt in my mind we can accomplish big things for
    our country. The work begins tomorrow for you. And when you're sworn in,
    I hope you'll take a moment to appreciate that you're a part of our
    history, that when you made a decision to put your name on the ballot
    and ask people for the vote and became successful, that you're a part of
    a small, distinguished group of men and women who've had the honor of
    serving the United States of America in the Congress.
        So I want to congratulate you on your victory. I wish you great
    success in your career. If you're so interested, Laura and I are willing to--would love to have a picture with
    you in the Blue Room, and then we'd like to share some of our food with
    you.
        Good luck tomorrow, congratulations, and may God bless you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 3:39 p.m. in the East Room at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Kathryn ``Kitty'' Martinez, wife
    of Senator Mel R. Martinez; and Senator Ken Salazar and Representative
    John T. Salazar of Colorado.

    [[Page 8]]