    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
    [March 16, 2006]
    [Pages 494-499]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a National Republican Congressional Committee Dinner
    March 16, 2006

        Thank you all. Please be seated. Thank you all for coming. Thank you
    for the warm welcome. Mr. Speaker, I can't tell you what a joy it is to
    work with you. America is very fortunate to have Denny Hastert as the Speaker of the House of Representatives. And
    I want to thank you all for coming tonight to make sure that he remains
    the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
        We're here to not only thank you but to remind you and our fellow
    citizens, we've got a lot of work to do to lay the foundations for
    peace, and we've got a lot of work to do to make sure this country
    remains a prosperous country so that every single citizen can realize
    the great promise of America.
        I bring greetings from the First Lady--that would be Laura. She sends her best regards to the Speaker and the
    leadership of the House of Representatives. She sends her best regards
    to you. I'm a lucky guy that she said yes when I asked her to marry me.
    She is a fabulous woman, a great mom, and she's doing a wonderful job as
    our Nation's First Lady.

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        I also bring greetings from the Vice President of the United States,
    Dick Cheney. You know, mine is an interesting
    job. I get to make a lot of decisions, and I have to rely on people to
    give me good, sound, steady advice. And Vice President Dick Cheney gives
    me good, sound, steady advice. The country is lucky to have him as the
    Vice President of the United States.
        I want to thank my friend Tom Reynolds, Congressman Tom
    Reynolds from New York, for being the
    chairman of the NRCC. I thank
    Buck--and Patricia--for being such a fine
    chairman and supporting person for this event. This takes a lot of time
    and a lot of effort to put together a significant event like this. And,
    Buck, I know you worked hard, and I want to thank you and the entire
    team of people for making this such a successful event.
        I welcome the House majority leader, John Boehner from Ohio. Thank you, John. The House Majority Whip, Roy
    Blunt from Missouri--I appreciate you being here,
    Roy. I thank all the leadership team for the House of Representatives
    who are here tonight. I want to thank all the Members of Congress.
    Thanks for coming. But most importantly, I thank our distinguished
    guests.
        We've got a lot of work to do. This Nation is a nation at war, and
    I'm proud to work with Members of the United States Congress who
    understand that. After September the 11th, I vowed to our country that
    we would remain firm in defeating an enemy that would try to hurt us
    again. And I appreciate the strong allies in the House of
    Representatives who understand the stakes in the world in which we live.
        Ours is a nation which is committed to making sure we defeat the
    terrorists overseas so we do not have to face them here at home. We
    understand that if somebody harbors a terrorist, feeds a terrorist,
    houses a terrorist, they're equally as guilty as the terrorist, and they
    will be held to account. You know, a President, when he says something,
    he better mean it, and when I told the Taliban, ``Cough up Al Qaida, or
    we will hold you--we will bring you to justice,'' I meant what I said.
    Thanks to the United States military, Afghanistan is now free, and
    America is better off for it.
        I know the Members here share the great joy I have in knowing that
    we liberated 25 million people from the clutches of one of the most
    barbaric regimes in the history of man. Thanks to defending our Nation,
    thanks to upholding the doctrine that says if you harbor a terrorist--
    today, young girls go to school in Afghanistan, women have a chance to
    succeed. Afghanistan is free, and the world is better off for it.
        I appreciate working with Members of the United States Congress who
    understand that one of the lessons of September the 11th is when this
    Nation sees a threat, we must take it seriously, before it materializes.
    I saw a threat in Saddam Hussein. Members of
    the United States Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, saw a
    threat. Members of the United Nations Security Council saw a threat. By
    removing Saddam Hussein from power, America is safer and the world is
    better off.
        We have a strategy for victory in Iraq. Part of that victory means
    that we will stand by the Iraqi people as a democracy unfolds. I hope
    you felt the joy in your heart that I felt when millions of Iraqis--75
    percent of voting-age population--defied the terrorists, defied the car
    bombers, surprised the world, and said loud and clear, ``We want to be
    free.''
        We've got a comprehensive strategy to help that country rebuild its
    economy, and we've got a strategy to train Iraqis so they can defend
    their freedom. We fight a terrorist--an enemy that has got only one
    weapon. They can't beat us on the battlefield, but they have the
    capacity and the willingness to kill innocent life. They know full well
    that our TV screens are full of images of the innocent dying, and they
    know full well it breaks our heart. The only way the enemy can defeat
    us, the only way

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    that Iraq will not become a democracy is if we lose our nerve. I will
    not lose my nerve in the face of assassins and killers.
        I thank the Members of the United States Congress understanding that
    in order to achieve a victory in Iraq, that we will rely upon the wisdom
    of our commanders on the ground. As Iraqis stand up, we will stand down.
    And the troop levels in Iraq will not be decided by artificial
    timetables set in Washington, DC, but by our commanders on the ground.
        The work is hard in Iraq, but it's necessary. It's necessary for our
    security; it's necessary to lay the foundations of peace in a troubled
    part of the world. We believe that democracy is the right of every man
    and woman on this world. And we understand that history says loud and
    clear that democracies do not war.
        I want to read a letter from--to you, if you don't mind, from a
    mother of a courageous American named Sergeant William Scott Kinzer, Jr.
    I read this letter the other day, and I thought you might like to hear
    one mother's point of view of what we're doing. William Scott Kinzer was
    killed last year while securing election sites in Iraq. His mom,
    Debbie, wrote me. She said: ``These words
    are straight from a shattered but healing mother's heart. My son made a
    decision to join the Army. He believed that what he was involved in
    would eventually change Iraq, and those changes would be recorded in
    history books in years to come. On his last visit home, I asked him what
    I would ever do if something happened to him in Iraq. He smiled at me,
    and his blue eyes sparkled as he said, `Mom, I love my job. If I should
    die, I would die happy. Does life get any better than that?'''
        His mom went on to say: ``Please do not
    let the voices we hear the loudest change what you and Scott started in
    Iraq. Please do not let his dying be in vain. Do not let my son have
    given his all for an unfinished job. Please complete the mission.'' My
    message to Debbie and the message from people here from the United
    States Congress is the same: We will complete the mission; we will
    secure this country; we will spread freedom for the sake of peace for
    our children and our grandchildren.
        I thank the Speaker and the leaders of
    the United States Congress who understand that when we ask our law
    enforcement officials and intelligence officials to protect us, they
    must have all the tools necessary to do their job. So we passed the
    PATRIOT Act right after September the 11th. It's an important act. It's
    an act that protected the civil liberties of the United States while
    giving law enforcement the tools necessary to protect us. Parts of the
    PATRIOT Act expired last year. It came up for reauthorization.
        I want to remind the people what the Democrat leader from Nevada said in the United States Senate. He
    boasted, the ``Democrats killed the PATRIOT Act.'' They didn't kill it
    for long. Thanks to the leadership of the people up here on this dais,
    the PATRIOT Act passed, and the homeland is more secure.
        The Speaker and I were sitting back
    there talking about some of the challenges we've faced over the past
    years. This economy of ours faced some serious challenges. We had a
    recession, a stock market collapse. There was terrorist attacks,
    corporate scandals, major natural disasters, rising energy prices. But
    we acted. We had a plan, an economic recovery plan. And by working
    together, we passed that plan. And the heart of that plan was this: We
    believe that when Americans have more money to save and spend or invest,
    the economy is better off. So we cut the taxes. We cut the taxes on
    working families; we cut the taxes on family with children; we cut the
    taxes on small businesses; we cut the taxes on dividends; we cut the
    taxes on capital gains.
        I remember clearly in 2003 when a Democrat leader attacked our economic growth plan and said of the tax
    relief, it

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    is ``reckless and irresponsible;'' it's a ``reckless and irresponsible
    tax plan that will undermine opportunity in our country.'' Today, the
    United States economy is strong, and it's getting stronger. We grew last
    year at 3.5 percent, faster than any major industrialized nation. We
    added 243,000 jobs in February, almost 5 million jobs in the last 2\1/2\
    years. The unemployment rate across the United States is 4.8 percent--
    that's lower than the average rate of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s. Real
    after-tax income is up for working people. Productivity is high in
    America. Homeownership are at alltime levels; more minorities own a home
    today in America than ever before in our Nation's history. The economic
    recovery plan that we passed works.
        Today, many Democrats want the tax relief we passed to expire in a
    few years. Some even want to repeal it now. If the tax relief is not
    made permanent, the American people will get a mighty tax increase they
    do not want and they do not deserve. In order to make sure this economy
    of ours remains strong, we need to make the tax relief permanent.
        We have a plan to cut the deficit in half by 2009. Oh, you'll hear
    some in Washington say, ``Well, let's raise your taxes in order to
    balance the budget.'' Folks, that's not the way Washington works. Here's
    how Washington works: They'll raise your taxes, and they'll figure out
    new ways to spend your money. The best way to cut the deficit is to keep
    our progrowth economic policies in place and be wise about how we spend
    your money. We set priorities in Washington, DC--[applause]. By the way,
    every single spending program sounds great. They've all got wonderful
    titles. We believe that it's important to set priorities. So long as
    we've got any troops in harm's way, they'll have all the equipment, all
    the support, the best pay, the best housing possible. And I want to
    thank the Members of the United States Congress who are here for
    supporting the troops of the United States military.
        I thank the Speaker, and I thank the
    leaders here who've helped us put austere budgets in place, budgets that
    have cut the rate of growth of nonsecurity discretionary spending every
    year since 2001. I put out another tight budget for 2007, and I look
    forward to working with Congress to be wise about how we spend your
    money, to make sure that the deficit is cut in half by 2009.
        I appreciate very much the work on the line-item veto. I look
    forward to working with the United States Congress, to join with them to
    make sure that when we spend money, it's money well-spent. Today I met
    with members of both political parties and both chambers of the United
    States Congress to strategize about how we can get a line-item veto
    passed, to my desk, so we can assure the American people their money is
    going to be spent in a way they want their money spent.
        We believe we should not fear the future, but we should shape the
    future. We believe we ought to put policies in place to make sure that
    America remains the economic leader of the world. And one way to do that
    is to make sure we have an economy which is flexible, where regulations
    are low, as are taxes. And one way to make sure this economy of ours
    remains strong and vibrant is to continue to work for meaningful, real
    tort reform.
        I know it shocks some of you to hear a Texan say that we're addicted
    to oil--[laughter]--and we are, and that's a problem. In order to make
    sure this Nation remains competitive, in order to make sure we're the
    leader of the world, I look forward to working with the Members of the
    United States Congress here to pass the Advanced Energy Initiative.
        Last year, thanks to the leadership of the Speaker, I was able to sign a comprehensive energy bill. There
    is more work to be done. We're going to harness technology to make sure
    the automobiles you drive consume less oil. We believe in plug-in hybrid
    batteries. It's the wave of the

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    future. We believe in the use of ethanol. I love the fact that when our
    farmers are growing crops, it makes us less dependent on oil from the
    Middle East.
        Ours is a party that knows you got to challenge the status quo when
    it comes to energy. In order to make sure this country is less dependent
    on fossil fuels, we must promote safe and sound nuclear power. We must
    promote solar energy and clean coal technology and wind energy. Ours is
    the party that can see into the future. We don't fear it; we welcome it
    because we intend to continue to lead.
        We believe in a health care system that's run by doctors and
    patients, not by people in Washington, DC. Recently, working with the
    United States Congress, Members up here on the dias, we have kept a firm
    commitment to the Nation's elderly. Our Government said, ``We're going
    to take care of the elderly with good health care.'' And the Medicare
    system became stagnant and old. It wasn't meeting the requirements of
    our seniors. So we came together and did something that no Congress had
    been able to do for years, and that is modernize Medicare. But as we did
    so, we not only provided prescription drugs for our seniors, but we had
    a uniquely Republican idea as a part of that bill, and it said that we
    ought to give our seniors choices. We believe that people ought to be
    given choices in the marketplace. We believe that Government shouldn't
    tell people the nature of their health care. We believe that Government
    ought to say, ``Here's some choices from which to choose.''
        So far, 25 million seniors have signed up for this program.
    Interestingly enough, because we've injected competition into Medicare,
    the projected costs for Medicare this year are going to be 20 percent
    less than projected. Competition works. Trusting people to make the
    decisions in their lives is the right thing to do. The Medicare
    modernization plan we passed is good for our seniors, and I'm proud that
    we're able to get the job done.
        We believe in health savings accounts, which puts consumers in
    charge of their health decisions. We believe in association health plans
    that enable small businesses to pool risk across jurisdictional
    boundaries so they can buy insurance at the same rates and same
    discounts that big companies are able to do. We believe in information
    technology to help control the cost. And we believe we've got to do
    something about these frivolous and junk lawsuits that are running good
    doctors out of practice and running up the cost of medicine for our
    consumers.
        We don't fear the future; we welcome it. And we understand that to
    make sure this country remains competitive, we've got to stay on the
    leading edge of technological change. And so therefore, I look forward
    to working with Congress to double the Federal commitment to the most
    critical basic research in the physical sciences over the next 10 years.
    I look forward to working with the United States Congress to make sure
    the research and development tax credit is a permanent part of our Tax
    Code. And I look forward to working with the United States Congress to
    make sure our children have got the skills necessary to become the
    scientists and engineers and chemists and physicists to keep the jobs of
    the 21st century right here in the United States of America.
        I can stand up here and tell you that we have delivered results for
    the American people, and we've got an agenda to continue to do so. One
    of the interesting things about working with these good folks is that
    they've got a proper perspective of the role of government in our life
    as well. The way I like to put it is this: Government can hand out
    money, but it cannot put hope in a person's heart or a sense of purpose
    in a person's life. We understand that the great strength of America is
    not in the size of our military force or in the size of our wallets. The
    great strength of the United States of America lies in the hearts and
    souls of our citizens who all want to serve

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    something greater than themselves. Ours is a compassionate nation; ours
    is a loving nation. And we understand the role of government is not to
    crowd out our faith-based and community-based institutions but to
    welcome them in the providing of care and love and compassion for our
    fellow citizens who hurt.
        We believe in ushering in the responsibility era, when our citizens
    understand they are responsible for the decisions they make in life. If
    you are a mother or a father, you're responsible for loving your child
    with all your heart. If you're a corporate citizen, you're responsible
    for being a--for putting something back into our culture, and you're
    responsible for telling the truth to your shareholders.
        If you're a citizen who wants to help change America one heart and
    one soul at a time, you're responsible for mentoring a child, for
    feeding the hungry, for providing shelter to the homeless. The great
    strength of America is the compassion of America. And I look forward to
    continue to call people to service, to rally that strength so that every
    single citizen of our country realizes the great promise and the great
    hope of the blessed land we call home.
        It's an honor to be here. I'm proud to be your President. I'm proud
    to be working with these Members of the United States Congress. I want
    to thank you for keeping them in power in Washington. The Nation is
    better off with Denny Hastert as the
    Speaker and these leaders running the Congress.
        God bless, and God bless America.

    Note: The President spoke at 7:12 p.m. at the Washington Hilton Hotel.
    In his remarks, he referred to Patricia McKeon, wife of Representative
    Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon; and former President Saddam Hussein of Iraq.