[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book I)]
[January 14, 2005]
[Pages 50-58]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks in a Discussion at Florida Community College at Jacksonville in
Jacksonville, Florida
January 14, 2005
The President. Thank you all. Please be seated. Thanks for having
me. [Laughter] It's an honor to be here. I--it's kind of nice to be
introduced by your brother. [Laughter] I'm real proud of Jeb. I asked Jeb to take on an important assignment, and that
is to travel to the countries that had been hit by the tsunamis. He went
with Colin Powell. I couldn't think of two
better representatives of the United States of America to show the
compassion and heart of the people of the United States of America.
For those of you who have given your hard-earned dollars to help the
victims, I want to thank you for that. I also want to remind you,
there's a lot of other work to be done at home and around the world.
Please don't let your gift to help the tsunami victims shortchange other
vital programs to help feed the hungry and to provide comfort for those
who have been--those who need help.
And so Jeb, thanks for doing a good--looking
forward to seeing you in Washington here pretty soon. They'll turn down
the bed for you. [Laughter]
I--Steve, thanks for having me. I'm
really looking forward to talking about the importance of the community
college system in the United States and in Florida to help make sure
that we train people for jobs. That's what we're here to talk about, how
to help people improve their lives. And the community college system is
a vital part of a hopeful America. So thanks for having me.
I want to thank all the folks who teach here. I want to thank the
folks who put up with my entourage. [Laughter] It's quite large these
days. [Laughter]
I'm proud to be traveling in the limo today with Mel
Martinez, the new United States Senator. I
flew down today with Ander Crenshaw, the fine
United States Congressman. And also, the mayor came out to say hello.
And I appreciate the mayor. Mayor Peyton, thanks
for joining us. I appreciate you coming.
So there I was with the Senator, the
Congressman, the mayor, and the Governor, and guess what we
talked about? [Laughter] We talked about the importance of Jacksonville,
Florida, to the security of the United States of America. And I
appreciate so very much the very strong presentation these leaders made
about the importance of Mayport. I listened very carefully. I know full
well that Jacksonville is the home port that most in the United States
Navy want to be based at. I fully understand the importance of Mayport
and the Navy to the economy of Jacksonville, Florida.
I want to thank you, Mr. Mayor, for your
willingness to take time out of your schedule to brief me on the
realities of the situation here. And I'll take your message back to
Washington, DC.
I want to thank John Winn, the commissioner of
education from this great State of Florida. Just do what the Governor
tells you to do. I want to thank--[laughter]--isn't that what you told
me to say, Jeb? [Laughter] I want to thank David
Armstrong, who's the chancellor of
the Community Colleges and of Workforce Education. I want to thank all
the State and local officials who are here. I want to thank our
panelists. I think you're going to find some interesting stories here.
I'm going to try to tell you something about education. They can tell
you firsthand what is--some of them can tell you firsthand what it's
like to go to school at the community college. I think you're going to
find it fascinating. I certainly did, during our discussion.
[[Page 51]]
I met a fellow named Steve Miller, who
mentors low-income high school students and helps them prepare for
college. Where are you, Steve? There he is, right there. Thanks for
coming out. Listen, he is a volunteer, and one of the things--one of the
important--one of the strengths--the strength of America is the heart
and soul of our citizens. We like to talk about our military
representing the strength of America--and it does to a certain extent--
and the size of our wallets representing the strength of America. But
the true strength of the United States of America lies in the hearts and
souls of our citizens. And I want to thank Steve for taking time out of
his life to mentor a child. It's a fantastic gift, and I appreciate the
example you have set. And if you want to serve our country, love your
neighbor just like you'd like to be loved yourself.
I--we've got a lot on the agenda. Obviously, winning the war on
terror is still on my mind. And I want to appreciate those of you who
wear our Nation's uniform for your sacrifice and for joining our great
country's cause of freedom.
We will stay on the hunt to bring killers to justice before they
hurt us. In the long run, we will defeat the enemy by spreading freedom.
And it's been a remarkable 3 months for freedom around the world. People
in Afghanistan voted for a President. People in
the Palestinian Territory voted for a new leader. And on January the 30th, amazingly enough, the people
of Iraq will be going to the polls to elect leadership that will guide
this country forward.
And I'm so optimistic about the future, because I believe deep in
everybody's soul is the desire to live in a free world. I know that
mothers of all religions want to raise their child in a peaceful
society. And I firmly believe that the more freedom spreads, the more
peace will spread. And so I want to thank those in the military for
helping us to achieve a grand mission during historic times.
At home, we've got to keep this economy growing, and that's why
we're going to keep the taxes low. I'm looking forward to Congress to--
passing a smart budget, one that recognizes we got to be wise about how
we spend your money and deal with our deficit. I'm looking forward to
Congress to make sure that--working with Congress to make sure America
is the best place for the small business to grow and flourish. That
means we need legal reform; we need class-action reform, asbestos
reform, and medical liability reform.
We've got a lot to do. I noticed we've got some young--younger folks
here today. There you--yes. I can't help but look at you and realize we
have a responsibility to do something about Social Security. If you're
retired, you don't have anything to worry about Social Security, because
you're going to get your check. You can forget about the old days of
saying, ``Well, if they talk about Social Security, I'm not going to get
my check.'' The Social Security trust has got plenty of money in it to
take care of those who have retired or near retirement.
But if you're a youngster in America, you better understand that by
the time--if you're in the twenties and by the time you retire, if
nothing is done about Social Security, the system will be bust. In other
words, there won't be anything available for you.
And so I'm going to work with Congress to take on this big problem.
We have a problem, and now is the time to fix it. The longer we wait,
the harder it is to fix it. And we have a duty to the youngsters of
America to make sure the retirement system is available for them.
And we have a duty to continue to make sure every child is educated
in this country. There are some I've heard that say, ``Well, maybe we
ought to change the No Child Left Behind Act.'' Forget it. The No Child
Left Behind Act is working. We've set high standards. We believe every
child can learn, and we're going to measure to make sure
[[Page 52]]
that every child is learning. And when they're not, we'll correct
problems early, before it's too late.
And here in Florida, I just--I can't tell you how proud I am of
Jeb and his education initiatives because they're
so hopeful. He, like others, just refuses to shuffle kids through the
system without making sure there's excellence available for every child.
And so I look forward to continuing the education reform, the spirit
of high standards to the high school systems in America. I want to work
with Congress to get some positive initiatives passed, because we have a
duty in the country to make sure that the next generation not only has a
retirement system but is educated and literate.
Now, to make sure America is the most competitive place in the
world, the best place to do business, a place where people can work,
we've got to make sure education systems actually educate willing
workers for the jobs which exist. And that's why I'm here at the
community college system today. The community college system is
flexible. It is available. It's got the ability to change a curriculum
to meet the needs. It's the demand-driven education system, which works.
I believe government ought to fund that which works and de-fund that
which does not work.
And the community college system is viable. And that's why I worked
with Congress to get 250 million passed last time. It's still in the
budget for this time. I'm looking forward to working with Mel and Ander to make sure the
community college programs--the job training programs is really what
they are--remains viable.
You see, it used to be that they'd say to a State, ``Just go educate
people.'' And so all that mattered was the number of people educated.
Now we're saying, ``Educate people for jobs which exist so that you're
actually helping people, not conforming to an empty bureaucratic
standard.''
And that's why, since the community colleges are able to do that,
I'm confident--and encouraging our Secretary of Labor to continue moving forward with high-growth job training
initiative grants. I know you've received some from the Federal
Government, I think about $4 million worth. It's money well-spent. I can
confidently tell the taxpayers that the money spent here is making a
difference. Somebody else is going to tell you who has got more
authority on the subject than I do. That's the person who runs the
school.
I want to talk about an interesting program that I'm going to submit
to Congress, here real quickly, and that is how to make sure the Pell
grants work better. Pell grants are really important. Pell grants make
it possible for people to go to school who otherwise won't go to school.
I'm about to talk to some Pell grant recipients here. We've added about
a million students in the last 4 years to the Pell grant program. I
think that is money really well-spent.
I'm going to reform the student loan program to make it more--or ask
Congress to reform it to make it more effective and efficient, and
thereby saving money. We've got a unique way of saving money, and that
saved money from the administration of the student loan program will be
plowed into the Pell grant program. There's a $4.3 billion shortfall in
the Pell grant program. We intend to use the savings from changing how
student loans are granted and administrated--administered to closing
that deficit.
We want to increase the Pell grants by $100 a year over--$100 per
year over the next 5 years. We want to continue to say to students who
take rigorous course loads throughout Florida and the country that when
you do so and you qualify for a Pell grant, you'll get an extra $1,000
on your Pell grant. In other words, we want to raise the standards and
provide incentives for people to aim high in life. And that's what the
Pell grants can be used for. And so I'm looking for Congress to get this
new program and initiative in place.
[[Page 53]]
And finally, I know many of you here are involved with the Workforce
Investment Act. It needs to be reformed. It needs to be changed so more
people are trained. Right now, the Workforce Investment Act is--trains
about 200,000 people. I think with some reasonable reforms, some
flexibility in the program, less proscription by the United States
Congress on how the program is administered, we can double the number of
people trained under the Workforce Investment Act for the same amount of
money. And that's what we intend to work with Congress on doing.
So that's what I'm here to talk about, what Congress can--how we can
work together to make sure this community college system is viable and
vibrant but really to make sure people can find work. That's what it is,
to make sure the education system focuses on the needs of the students.
Government can help, the Federal Government can help. But it's going to
require a collaborative effort between the Federal Government, the State
government, and the local government.
And that's why I'm so proud that Susan Pareigis is with us today. What do you do?
Susan Pareigis. I work for your brother.
[Laughter]
The President. That's a heavy lift. [Laughter] Fine lad, but it's a heavy lift. [Laughter]
Ms. Pareigis. I'm the director for the
Agency for Workforce Innovation, and we are really trying here at the
local level and at the State level to make sure that we marry the jobs,
as you describe, in the marketplace, that we have the students coming
out of the education system with the skills and the training that they
need at the job site.
The President. All right. And so give us some idea of what you and
brother are doing to make sure the community college--how do you help
the community college system?
[At this point, Ms. Pareigis, director, Florida Agency for Workforce
Innovation, Tallahassee, FL, made further remarks.]
The President. Yes, see, this is a really important point.
Government tends to change incrementally, and as it does, there's
another set of rules and another set of regulations. And then, sure
enough, after a while, you wake up and the money has got a lot of
strings to it, and--which makes it hard for Governors and
Susan to do their job. And so, one of the
things this administration will do throughout our budget, in
particular--today we're talking about the Workforce Investment Act--is
to provide as much flexibility as possible. That way, we can say with
certainty to the taxpayer, ``We're results-oriented people.'' As opposed
to focusing on the process, we think government ought to focus on the
results and give flexibility to those who are charged with making sure
we achieve results. And so I want to appreciate you bringing up the
flexibility issue.
I look forward to working with the Congress to provide as much
flexibility as possible. It's very important for those who write the law
to understand you've got to make sure you align authority and
responsibility. And a good way to do so at the Federal level is to pass
the power back to those who we're holding responsible for spending the
money. Thank you for bringing it up.
Ms. Pareigis. Thank you very much.
The President. You got anything else? I notice you're on the
President's National Hire Veterans Committee. Thanks for joining.
Ms. Pareigis. Thank you for letting me
serve. I would tell you that we work with our veterans on a daily basis
within the State of Florida. We think they're very strong candidates for
the job community, and we're glad to have them.
The President. You've got a lot of great veterans here in the
Jacksonville area, I know that.
[[Page 54]]
Okay, speaking about aligning authority and responsibility--Mr.
President. [Laughter]
Steven Wallace. Yes, sir.
The President. Steve Wallace. How long
have you been here?
Dr. Wallace. Seven and a half years, Mr.
President.
The President. Great. Let her rip. Here's your chance to tell us.
[Laughter]
Dr. Wallace. Well, first of all, Mr.
President, on behalf of the 60,000 students and 4,000 employees of
Florida Community College, we welcome you here. We are thrilled----
The President. Thousand?
Dr. Wallace. Yes, sir.
The President. That's good. That's a lot.
Dr. Wallace. I also want to thank you for
your extraordinary support of America's community colleges.
The President. Well, thanks for saying that. I appreciate that. I'm
proud to do so. You know why? Because they work.
Dr. Wallace. And we're getting better all
the time.
The President. That's good. So give us a sense for--what has
changed? What do you see in your future? Why are 60,000 people coming
here? I mean, it's a pretty good sign when that many people have made a
conscious decision to come to your school. Something must be going
right.
[Dr. Wallace, president, Florida Community College at Jacksonville, made
further remarks.]
The President. It's pretty interesting, isn't it, when you think
about it. So you get--a group of employers come to the community college
and say, ``Here's what we're looking for,'' and the community college is
able to adjust its curriculum, which is sometimes hard to do in
educational--in the educational world, adjust its curriculum to meet the
needs. That's what you're saying, I think.
Dr. Wallace. Absolutely.
The President. Whew. Got it right. [Laughter] You got anything else
you want to tell me while you got me? Never mind. [Laughter]
Should we go to Eric? You ready?
Eric Mitchell. Yes, sir.
The President. Eric, where do you go to
school?
Mr. Mitchell. I currently attend Florida
Community College in Jacksonville.
The President. Fabulous. Tell us a little bit--I'm not going to ask
you how old you are. [Laughter]
Mr. Mitchell. Currently, I'm an engineer
here with the Jacksonville Fire Department.
The President. Fantastic.
[Mr. Mitchell, student, Florida Community College, and firefighter/
engineer, Jacksonville Fire and Rescue, Jacksonville, FL, made further
remarks.]
The President. Right. And so, first you had to make up your mind,
obviously. I guess the easier path would have said, ``Well, I'm doing
okay. I think I'll just do what I'm doing.'' Somehow, something clicked
and said, ``I think I'm going to go back to school,'' right?
Mr. Mitchell. Right.
The President. Well, see, government can't make you do that.
[Laughter] It's called personal ambition. That comes from your soul.
Anyway, so you decide--so what happens?
Mr. Mitchell. So I decided to go back to
school, and an opportunity arose within the department to obtain my
paramedic license. And so that's what I'm doing currently right now. And
the way that I'm funding that is actually through financial aid, student
loans and the Pell grant as well as, this semester, a scholarship.
The President. Fantastic. So, in other words, there's help. If
somebody's out there listening, you're looking--kind of an older
guy here, graduated in '95. Not really old--
[laughter]--compared to me and the old president there--[laughter]--but
a little
[[Page 55]]
older. And you're probably wondering whether or not it makes sense to go
back to school. And you're saying, ``Well, gosh, I can't afford it.''
There's plenty of help. You received it.
Mr. Mitchell. Yes, I did.
The President. And that's helpful. I mean, he's got a son to raise. He's probably wondering how to make
sure that he can do--be the dad, provide, and at the same time go back
to school. There's help--you've got to know that--the Pell grant
program, the loan program. And now, as I understand it, this is kind of
an upgrade. In other words, you're able to say if you get this degree,
it enables you to maybe make a little more money?
Mr. Mitchell. Correct, correct. It opens
doors for advancement, as far as promotional. And with 85 to 90 percent
of our call volume being EMS-related, it actually makes me better at my
job.
The President. Yes, see, this is important for people to understand,
and that is that--there's a lot of talk about productivity in our
society. Productivity translates to higher wages over time. And one way
to become more productive is to get an additional education. And that's
what Eric has done. And so he's taking time;
he's getting loans. But he's going to make a lot more money than he's
making today. I'm not going to tell you how much more, because he's
afraid the IRS man is watching. [Laughter] I won't tell him.
But I appreciate you coming back to school. I think it means a lot
to hear a story about somebody who has been out of school for a while,
working in the fire department, sees an opportunity, comes to the
community college. It says a lot about you, and it says a lot about the
community college. There is a program tailored to meet this man's needs,
which I appreciate.
All right, here we go. Kim wasn't so sure,
when I came barging in the room, that this was such a cool idea after
all. [Laughter] Right? Name, please. [Laughter] This is Kim Wilkerson, a
student at the Florida Community College. Right?
Kim Wilkerson. Yes. Hello.
The President. Let her go. Went to high school?
Ms. Wilkerson. Yes, sir. [Laughter]
The President. She said she likes short
answers. [Laughter] How many children do you have? One. [Laughter] This
is a great story, by the way. We're about to get to it. I'm not
telling--I mean, it is--[laughter]--went to high school and was working
for quite a while and decided to go back to school.
Ms. Wilkerson. I decided to go back in
1999 after I had my daughter. And I worked dead-end jobs, and I realized
that a college education was the best way to go to provide for her and
myself.
The President. Just stop right there. It's kind of like what we call
personal responsibility, where--so what--how did you know what to do? I
mean, so it's time to go back to college. There's two issues: One, what
do you major in, and how is it paid for. That's what people are going to
be asking. They say, ``Well, I've heard Kim.
She said she had to go back to college.'' Were you able to get
financing?
Ms. Wilkerson. Yes, sir. I've got Pell
grants and loans.
The President. Good, so that's made it a little easier to go back?
Ms. Wilkerson. Yes, sir. Without that, it
would have been impossible to go.
The President. That's why Pell grants are important. That's why we
want to expand them. That's why we want to make sure they're available,
so that people feel comfortable going back. Then how did you know what
to do? I mean, how did you know what to major in, what subject to take?
Was there help here at the community college, for example, a kind of
career counseling?
Ms. Wilkerson. Yes. My first choice was
addictions counseling. And I realized I really didn't want to go into
that. And I went to the Advanced Technology Center and
[[Page 56]]
talked with Mr. Lance Wallace, and he gave me a tour.
The President. Is Wallace here? He should
be. He's about to get national publicity, and he didn't show up.
[Laughter]
Anyway, so there's a place where you could go get counseling. The
reason we're going through this is that if somebody is listening,
there's help. So you go get counseling.
Ms. Wilkerson. Yes, sir. I go talk with
Lance, and he explains the program that I went into, which is computer
engineering technology.
The President. That sounds pretty sophisticated, computer
engineering technology. Was it intimidating when you first heard that?
Ms. Wilkerson. Yes.
The President. Yes. And you've mastered it.
Ms. Wilkerson. Yes. Well, I'm on my way to
mastering it. [Laughter]
The President. Good. That's good. That's what----
Ms. Wilkerson. And I will have it
mastered, so----
The President. There you go. That's the right attitude. And so the
person said, ``These are the kind of jobs which exist,'' I presume--
Wallace.
Ms. Wilkerson. Yes.
The President. So, like, if you get the degree, you're liable to
find a job in this field, and it interests you.
Ms. Wilkerson. Yes, sir.
The President. And you said, ``Let's get after it.''
Ms. Wilkerson. Oh, yes.
The President. And what's really interesting is that you were being
paid maybe $16,000 a year, kind of, in the jobs that you had previously?
Is that what you had mentioned to me?
Ms. Wilkerson. Yes, sir.
The President. And when you get your degree, you'll be eligible for
jobs which start at $61,000 a year?
Ms. Wilkerson. Yes, sir.
The President. Is that right?
Ms. Wilkerson. Yes, sir.
The President. No doubt in my mind you're going to succeed. Probably
be number one in your class, when it's all said and done.
Ms. Wilkerson. I am definitely trying.
The President. Yes, well, even if you're not, there's others of us
who had--weren't number one, either--[laughter]--if you know what I
mean. How about the story, though, seriously? Somebody who has worked a
series of jobs, has a responsibility as a mom,
hears about the availability of the program. She gets help--I presume
the school helps people with the loans and Pell grants and, ``This is
what you quality for.'' You've got a whole office for that.
Dr. Wallace. We have a whole network of
offices.
The President. And she gets a little--takes some time to--it must
have been a little frightening, I would suspect. Or not--I mean, I don't
want to put words in your mouth. [Laughter] So were you confident coming
in? I mean, seriously.
Ms. Wilkerson. I was very afraid at first.
The President. Yes, see, I was right.
Ms. Wilkerson. But with great family
support, I made it.
The President. Now, you're doing great. This is a fantastic--this is
an important story. It's an important story for a lot of reasons. It's
an important story because it shows how effective the community college
system can be. It's an important story for those of us at the Federal
level who are deciding Pell grants, because a Pell grant has--it sounds
like--but it's--there's a human dimension to it when you start hearing
how they're applied--Pell grants are applied. And it's an important
story because if you so desire, there's a pathway for a better tomorrow.
And I really want to thank you for sharing it with us. It's great.
Ms. Wilkerson. You're welcome. Thank you.
The President. Really good job.
Ms. Wilkerson. Thank you.
[[Page 57]]
The President. Finally, we've got Jim McCollum with us. Jim works for----
Jim McCollum. BellSouth.
The President. That's good. And I believe there is a responsibility
in corporate America to work with the community college system and other
agencies to help people help themselves. And explain what you do, Jim. I
think people find this to be very interesting.
Mr. McCollum. Thank you, Mr.
President.
The President. Make it a little easier to pay the phone bills.
[Mr. McCollum, regional director, Corporate and External Affairs,
BellSouth, Amelia Island, FL, made further remarks.]
The President. That's great, yes. Thanks. It's a competitive world.
Telecommunications is competitive, and these companies are constantly
having to update their skill levels. In other words, it used to be if
you could handle a shovel, you're in pretty good shape when it came to
employment. I'm talking about way back. [Laughter] Now, all of the
sudden, the skill set is completely different and it's changing. And one
of the things that Jim said I think is
interesting is that we're constantly trying to make our--work with our
employees to help them become more productive. In other words, it's
ongoing education. Education is not just a moment that you quit. There's
a constant process, and the community college system fits in nicely with
that. I presume you're pretty well linked up with the president there.
Mr. McCollum. Well, I also--I do know
Dr. Wallace. I also have the opportunity to be--to serve on the board
for his Advanced Technology Center, and if I could explain that----
The President. I wish you would. Helps you.
Mr. McCollum. Rather than just opening
another division of the college to meet the needs of future work skills,
we collaborated the local, political, and private and public and
educational sectors, and with Susan and Governor Bush in Tallahassee,
and said, ``Let's look at the type of jobs and type of companies that we
want to bring to northeast Florida.'' And we did that, and we said,
``Okay, here's the type of companies,'' and we did studies. And then we
said, ``Okay, what are those specific skill sets?''
We went to Dr. Wallace, met with them, and they said, ``Well, why
don't we just develop the technology center,'' which we did. And it
addresses those very specific companies that we want to bring in here so
that when we do, they will be graduating employees that will come out
and go to work.
The President. Yes, that's really smart. Nice going, Mayor. This is a smart chamber of commerce--people who are
responsible for attracting capital and jobs to a community--is one which
effectively utilizes the community college system. If people--a company
knows that they're going to find a skilled workforce, they're coming.
And I appreciate you bringing up that point. It makes sense. So how
many businesses are actively involved with the community college system,
would you say? Are you the right person to ask? Maybe Dr.
Wallace knows that.
Mr. McCollum. We've got 4,000
businesses that are members of the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of
Commerce, and I don't know the exact number within----
The President. A lot?
Mr. McCollum. But I would say 75
percent would be a very easy number.
The President. No wonder this is such a vibrant community. It is
utilizing all its assets to continually--to make this--Jacksonville an
attractive place for a lot of reasons, and--got anything else you want
to say?
Mr. McCollum. Just thank you for being
here, and thank you for the job you're doing.
The President. Yes, thanks. Listen, I--[applause]--thanks. I want to
thank our--
[[Page 58]]
the folks sitting up here, willing to get in front of all the cameras
and talk. [Laughter] You can get used to it. [Laughter]
But I hope you found this interesting. I certainly did. I love to
see success. And I think part of my job is to herald success, and part
of the job of those of us who have been elected is to focus on success,
which means results. And we're getting fantastic results all around our
country from our wonderful community college system.
Jeb told me that coming to--when I came to
Jacksonville, I'd see one of the great community college systems in the
country. I suspect he's right, Dr. Wallace.
You get a lot of credit for it. And you get a lot of credit for being
able to attract well-motivated, incredibly smart students.
So I want to thank you all for coming today. May God bless you all.
May God continue to bless our country.
Note: The President spoke at 12:59 p.m. at the South Campus. In his
remarks, he referred to Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida; Mayor John Peyton of
Jacksonville, FL; and J. David Armstrong, Jr., chancellor, Florida
Community Colleges & Workforce Education, Florida Department of
Education.