[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
[March 10, 2006]
[Pages 441-456]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks at the National Newspaper Association Government Affairs
Conference and a Question-and-Answer Session
March 10, 2006
The President. Thank you very much. Jerry
likes to give a short introduction. [Laughter] I appreciate you letting
me come by to visit with you some, and I look forward to answering some
questions you might have. You can't come to a newspaper deal without
answering questions. [Laughter]
First, I want to thank you all for being part of the backbone of
democracy. You know, you can't have a democracy unless there is a free
and vibrant press corps. I sometimes remind people I may not like what
you print, but what you print is necessary to maintain a vibrant public
forum where people feel comfortable about expressing themselves. And so
thanks for what you do. I appreciate it very much.
I also recognize that not all the press is located in the big cities
in America. I remember running for the United States Congress in 1978. I
came in second in a two-man race, by the way. [Laughter] And I remember
people telling me, ``Whatever you do, you make sure you go knock on the
door of the rural newspaper.'' If you're interested in finding out
what's going on in the community, you not only go take questions, but
you listen to what the people are saying. And I've never forgotten that
lesson that good politics means paying attention to the people not only
in the big cities but outside the big cities. It's one of the reasons I
was grateful to accept your invitation. I'm looking forward to being
here.
A couple of thoughts on my mind--first, obviously, your businesses
thrive when the economy is good. And part of our job here in Washington
is to make sure the environment for entrepreneurship and small
businesses and the farmers and ranchers of this country is a strong
environment. And this economy of ours has overcome a lot. We've overcome
a recession and an attack, a national emergency, corporate scandals, a
war, natural disasters. And we've overcome it, and the reason I say that
is because the statistics say it--not just the politicians--but
statistics: 3\1/2\ percent growth last year. The national unemployment
rate as of today is 4.8 percent. That's lower than the average rate of
the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s. Today we just learned that we've added 243,000
new jobs last month. That's about 5 million jobs over the past 2\1/2\
years. American workers are defying the pessimists. Our economy is
strong. Productivity is up. Homeownership is up.
The fundamental question facing folks here in Washington and at the
State governments is, what do you do to make sure that the economy
remains strong? My philosophy can be summed up this way: The role of
government is to create an environment in which the entrepreneurial
spirit flourishes.
[[Page 442]]
I believe one of the reasons we're having the economic success we're
having is because we cut the taxes on the people. I believe that when
somebody has more money in their pocket to save, invest, or spend, the
economy benefits. The tax relief we passed is working. Parts of it are
set to expire. I'm reminding the American people that if the Congress
doesn't act, you're about to get hit with a tax increase you don't
expect and most people don't want. So for the sake of economic vitality,
to make sure this economy continues to grow and to make sure America is
competitive in a global economy, Congress needs to make the tax relief
permanent.
Now, some will say, ``Well, we've got to raise taxes in order to
balance the budget.'' That's not the way Washington works. Washington
will raise your taxes and figure out new ways to spend your money;
that's how it works.
The best way to balance the budget is to keep progrowth economic
policies in place. In other words, keep the taxes low so the economy
grows, which generates more revenues for the Treasury, and set
priorities on the people's money. I've submitted a budget to the
Congress which keeps us on track to cut the deficit in half by 2009.
Setting priorities is a difficult task for some in Washington. Every
program sounds worthwhile. Everybody's spending request is necessary.
But Congress needs to set priorities, needs to be wise about the
people's money. And if they need some help, they ought to give me the
line-item veto, and that way we can bring budget discipline, help keep
budget discipline in Washington.
The long-term budget challenge is--it really has to do with
mandatory spending, what's called mandatory spending. That's code word
for Social Security and Medicare. Baby boomers like me are getting ready
to retire. My retirement age happens in 2008, by the way, which is
aligned perfectly. [Laughter] I talked about the issue last year. I'm
going to keep talking about the issue. The job of a President is to
confront problems--that's why you put me up here--is to deal with
problems, not to pass them on or hope somebody else takes care of it.
And we have a problem with Social Security and Medicare. We've got a
lot of people retiring and not enough people paying into the system.
We've been promised a lot of benefits, our generation, better benefits
than the previous generation. And so Congress needs to join me in
setting aside all the needless politics in Washington, DC, to come
together and to present a solution to the American people so we can say
we've done our job. I'm looking forward to working with Congress.
I said it in the State of the Union: I want people at the table. I
meant it. I want Republicans and Democrats to come to the table, to come
up with a solution. Part of the solution is going to be--the best way to
describe it is like an automobile; if you're speeding, you slow your car
down to get to the speed limit. You don't put it in reverse. We can fix
the problem. We can come together and show the American people we're
capable of dealing in a bipartisan way.
We also need bipartisanship when it comes to energy. I surprised
some of you, and I'm sure some of my Texas friends here were somewhat
surprised to hear me say, ``We're addicted to oil, and that's a
problem.'' [Laughter] And it is a problem. It's an economic problem--
economic/security problem. When demand for fossil fuels goes up in India
or China or elsewhere, it affects the price of gasoline in Granbury,
Texas, Jerry.
When I'm sitting around the Oval Office talking about national
security matters and somebody says, ``Did you see what the Iranians said
about consequences?''--really what they're talking about, I guess, is
energy. So for national security purposes, we have got to become not
addicted to oil.
And there are ways to do this--really interesting ways, exciting new
technologies.
[[Page 443]]
And Congress and the administration needs to work together to fund those
new technologies. For example, it's possible to develop energy from saw
grass. We know we can develop energy from sugar and corn; we're doing it
in the Midwest. Those of you in the Midwest have seen the advent of the
85 pumps. Well, we need to be able to get ethanol out of other forms of
biomass. And it's coming; we're close to some breakthroughs. We want
people driving cars from fuels grown in America; that's what we want.
There's going to be hybrid batteries being developed that will
enable you to plug in your car or your truck, and you'll be able to
drive the first 40 miles on electricity. That's coming. It's called
plug-in hybrid vehicles. That's going to be a part of making sure we're
not addicted to oil.
Same on the electricity front. We can use wind power and
electricity. These are all coming to the market because of research.
They're becoming competitive forms of energy. We need nuclear power, in
my judgment. It's a renewable source of energy that doesn't create
greenhouse gases. We're spending a lot of money, by the way, on clean
coal technology. We've got 250 years of coal here in the United States
of America, and we can--we're developing technology so that we can burn
the coal cleanly. In other words, we've got a comprehensive strategy to
get us off oil, and looking forward to working with both Republicans and
Democrats to get this passed.
One other issue, then I want to talk about the war on terror right
quick; then I'll answer questions. Probably wondering whether I'm going
to filibuster you. [Laughter]
We've got to make sure our children have the skills necessary to
fill the jobs of the 21st century. If you're interested in talking about
No Child Left Behind, you can ask me about it. I'm a firm believer. I
believe it's changing public education for the better because we're
measuring. And we've got to use the same high standards that we've
applied for reading in the early grades for math in the middle years,
junior high. That's what we need to do.
And we need to spend research and development money at the Federal
level so that we're always on the leading edge of technological change,
that the United States is the leader of the world, and that we've got to
make sure the research and development tax credit is a permanent part of
the Tax Code, recognizing two-thirds of research dollars comes from the
private sector.
One of the things--I guess what I'm telling you is, is that I don't
fear the future for the United States because we intend to shape the
future with good policies that keeps our economy flexible,
entrepreneurial, that recognizes that small business is the backbone of
job creation, that honors the contribution of our ranchers and farmers.
I'm very optimistic about the economic future of the United States, and
I'm looking forward to working with Congress to make sure the
environment continues to encourage job growth.
We're at war. I wish I could report to you we weren't at war; we
are. There's an enemy that still lurks, that would like to do serious
harm to the United States. Much of my thinking, the decisions I have
made, all revolve around that fateful moment when we got attacked. As
concerned citizens, I'm going to share with you a little bit about why I
have made decisions I have made. I'll be glad to answer any question you
have along those decisions.
But I vowed after September--on September the 11th and after I would
use all assets at our disposal to protect you. That is, by far, the most
important job of the President, is to secure this homeland. There are
lessons to have been learned after September the 11th. One of them is
that we cannot take our security for granted. Listen, I understand that
this is a different kind of war, and there are some in our country that
may not believe there
[[Page 444]]
is a global war on terror. They may believe this is an isolated
incident; I don't. I know we're at war with a jihadist movement that has
got strategies and tactics to back up those strategies.
So we cannot take our security for granted. And we must remain on
the offense, and we are. We're dismantling Al Qaida. It takes time. But
whoever is the President of the United States after me must always keep
the pressure on Al Qaida.
Secondly, we cannot let terrorists find safe haven. They found safe
haven in Afghanistan, where they could plot and plan and attack. And
therefore, it's very important for the United States to deny safe haven.
Thirdly, when we see a threat, we've got to take it seriously and
never allow it to materialize. The first choice of any President ought
to be to deal with issues diplomatically. And we dealt with the issue of
Iraq diplomatically--Security Council resolution after Security Council
resolution after Security Council resolution, until 1441, when the world
spoke with a united voice that said to Iraq: ``Disarm, disclose, or face
serious consequences.'' Saddam Hussein chose
otherwise. He was removed from power. And there's no doubt in my mind
that the United States is more secure, and the world is better off
without Saddam Hussein in power.
And now we must achieve a victory in Iraq by helping this country
defend itself, secure itself, and become an ally in the war on terror.
The enemy we face has got a powerful weapon. They can't defeat us
militarily. They do not have an ideology that is appealing to people.
But they do have the capacity to kill innocent life, and they're willing
to do so, all attempting to shake our will and cause us to leave the
Middle East, so they can find save haven from which to launch attacks.
That is what they have said. And as your President, it is important for
me to see the world the way it is, the realities of the world, not the
way some would hope it would be.
We've got a three-part strategy in Iraq, that on the one hand says
there is a--that politics can help achieve our objective. And the Iraqi
people have said loud and clear--not in one election, but three
elections during the past year--they want freedom. Eleven million people
went to the polls in the face of terror and threats. There are some who
are trying to, obviously, sow the seeds of sectarian strife. They fear
the advancement of a democracy. They blow up shrines in order to cause
this Iraqi democracy that is emerging to go backwards, to not emerge.
That's what you're seeing on your TV screens. You're seeing the use of
violence to try to create strife. And there's no question, this is a
period of tension in Iraq.
The Iraqi forces responded well, however, which is the second part
of our strategy, and that is to let the Iraqis take the fight to the
enemy. It's up to Iraq to make the decision. They made the political
decision, and now it's up to them to make the decision to defend their
own security against those who would stop the march of democracy. And
after the shrine bombing, while there was no question about it, there
was attacks; nevertheless, the Iraqi forces moved. In 16 of the 18
Provinces, there was relative calm. And they performed, by and large, in
good fashion.
I know people in your parts of the world wonder how long the troops
are going to be there. They're going to be there so long as the
commanders on the ground say they're necessary to achieve victory. But
they're coming home as the Iraqis are more likely to be able to take the
fight to the enemy.
And the third aspect is economic development. That includes wise
reconstruction efforts, creation of a central bank, a sound currency,
small businesses. And if we don't lose our nerve, I'm confident we'll
achieve our objectives, and a democracy in the heart of the Middle East
is going to help lay peace.
[[Page 445]]
Part of winning this war on terror requires alliances. America has
got a lot of friends in the war on terror. People understand the stakes.
They understand that the bombings around the world were an indication of
the plans that terrorists have for those of us who embrace freedom.
Obviously, you've been reading about the UAE issue. And I want to
make a comment on that, the port issue. I'm sure that the decision by DP
World was a difficult decision, to hand over port operations that they
had purchased from another company. My administration was satisfied that
port security would not have been undermined by the agreement.
Nevertheless, Congress was still very much opposed to it. My
administration will continue to work with the Congress to provide a
greater understanding of how these transactions are approved, in other
words, the process, and how we can improve that process in the future.
I'm concerned about a broader message this issue could send to our
friends and allies around the world, particularly in the Middle East. In
order to win the war on terror, we have got to strengthen our
relationships and friendships with moderate Arab countries in the Middle
East. UAE is a committed ally in the war on terror. They are a key
partner for our military in a critical region.
And outside of our own country, Dubai services more of our military
ships than any country in the world. They're sharing intelligence so we
can hunt down the terrorists. They've helped us shut down a worldwide
nuclear proliferation network run by A.Q. Khan. UAE is a valued and strategic partner. I'm committed
to strengthening our relationship with the UAE and explaining why it's
important to Congress and the American people.
Thank you for letting me come by. Be glad to answer some questions.
Yes, sir.
South Dakota Abortion Legislation
Q. Governor Mike Rounds signed a bill this week banning almost all
abortions in South Dakota, sort of a frontal assault on the
Constitution--[inaudible]. I wonder if you agree with this process that
the State has taken.
The President. As a former Governor, I fully recognize that State
legislatures will vote on matters that they think expresses the will of
the local folks. Obviously, this bill he signed will work its way
through the court system, and maybe someday be given a fair hearing in
the Supreme Court. I don't know. I can't predict to you the course these
legal challenges will take. I can assure you, however, if it does make
it to the Supreme Court, the two
people I nominated and who were
approved were not picked because of any litmus test. They will interpret
laws based upon the Constitution, is what they'll do. And so I followed
this in the newspapers. I haven't talked to the Governor about it.
Health Care/Association Health Plans
Q. Mr. President----
The President. Yes, I meant to call on you first. I'm sorry.
[Laughter] Don't hold it against the man from South Dakota.
Q. After that long introduction I gave you, I figured you owed me
something.
The President. I do owe you one. [Laughter]
Q. This organization and its members are vitally interested in the
passage of association health plans. And we wonder what the
possibilities are for that.
The President. I appreciate that.
Q. And then as the next questions come around, we'll just hand this
microphone around. So thank you.
The President. Look what you did. Fine with me. No, don't worry
about it. I don't care. [Laughter] I don't have to deal with the guy.
I'm fixing to leave. [Laughter] I'm going to go meet with President
Toledo of Peru here after this.
[[Page 446]]
The question is association health plans. First of all, I fully
understand the pressures being put on small businesses because of rising
health care costs. And therefore, good policy needs to address the
rising cost of health care. I've got some ideas for you. I'll get to
AHPs in a minute.
I think it's very important that there be more transparency in
pricing in health care. It's really the only industry, when you think
about it, where somebody else decides whether the price is worthwhile.
The consumer isn't directly involved in health care decisions; a third-
party payer is. And so there's really no interaction between the
provider and the customer when it comes to health care.
I'm a big believer in what's called health savings accounts because
it puts consumers in charge of health care decisions. And we strongly
urge small businesses to look at this vehicle.
Secondly, the health care is an inefficient industry--when you
really think about what information technology has done to your
business, providing better productivity increases, as well as
interesting challenges, by the way. The same productivity increases
haven't happened in health care. I mean, you've got a guy writing down
prescriptions by hand and/or files being written by hand, and doctors
don't write so good anyway, which leads to medical error and
inefficiencies.
So information technology, which we're now advancing here at the
Federal level in conjunction with providers throughout the country to
develop a common vocabulary so that eventually there will be electronic
medical records with ample privacy protections available, will help
wring out some of the costs of health care.
Health care costs are driven by frivolous lawsuits. Doctors practice
defensive medicine in order to be able to withstand a court challenge.
And a lot of times that practice of defensive medicine isn't necessary,
except for legal reasons.
Secondly, lawsuits cause premiums to go up, which causes price to go
up. And therefore, I'm a believer in medical liability reform at the
Federal level. I wasn't when I first arrived in Washington; I thought
States should handle it okay. But the problem is, is that it's estimated
that these lawsuits and defensive practice of medicine and the rising
premiums cause us to spend about $28 billion a year in additional
Federal money through Medicaid and Medicare and veterans' benefits. And
so I'm for medical liability at the Federal level.
Finally, AHPs makes a lot of sense. I am a strong backer. I believe
small businesses ought to be able to pool risk across jurisdictional
boundaries so they can get the same benefits from larger risk pools that
big companies get. So I'm a believer in AHPs. I think we've got a pretty
good chance this year--I hope so--to get it out of the--I know we got it
out of the House; we've got to get it out of the Senate. So part of a
comprehensive strategy for dealing with health care costs is to have
AHPs as a part of a health care vision.
Yes, sir.
Postal Reform
Q. Mr. President, I've got a followup question about the small
business--keeping small business healthy, that you referred to. Postal
delivery rates are very important to community newspapers, much as you
might know, I believe, Bonnie Mullens, of the McGregor Mirror and
Crawford Sun down in your area. And we are----
The President. She didn't call you
to go after a subscriber, did she? [Laughter]
Q. No, we just did a little research.
The President. Okay, good. Smart man. That's called due diligence.
[Laughter]
Q. Postal reform, which has been going on in Congress for about 10
years, was really pushed forward by a commission that you appointed, and
it was passed overwhelmingly by both Houses. And we have this bill going
to conference in April or
[[Page 447]]
May. There's some concern that the administration may want to oppose
this bill or veto it if it's so-called not favorable to the Federal
budget. But there are things in that bill that are very important to the
newspaper industry. And part of that is the funding that keeps rates
fair--because of some overpayment of military pensions--that we don't
think should be put on the taxpayers, the rate payers. So we'd ask your
support on behalf of us and Bonnie Mullens----
The President. Thank you.
Q. ----to support that bill as it's in the Congress if it comes to
your desk, sir.
The President. As you know, we do support postal reform. And as you
accurately noted, we've got the process started, and we look forward to
working with Congress on an acceptable bill.
Frankly, this issue hasn't made it to my desk prior to me arriving
at this meeting. And I'm mindful of the bill. I need to know more about
the particulars before I make you a commitment one way or the other.
Yes, sir.
Iraq/Spread of Democracy
Q. Mr. President, what are our plans if civil war breaks out in
Iraq?
The President. Yes. Step one is to make sure--do everything we can
that there not be one. Secondly, I believe the Iraqi people have made a
choice. It wasn't all that long ago that 11 million people went to the
polls. It may seem like an eternity, but that was last December that
people defied assassins, car bombers, threats, and said, ``We want a
democracy.''
Secondly, the first real test for an interim government occurred
when the Shias' shrine was blown up, the holy site. And while there's--
as I said earlier, there was--no question there was violence and
killing, the society took a step back from the abyss, and people took a
sober reflection about what a civil war would mean.
I just got off of a teleconference with Ambassador Zal
Khalilzad, as well as General Casey. They're obviously concerned about sectarian
violence and the violence you see. They understand people are trying to
create this tension, this ethnic tension. But they were also pleased
with the response of the security forces. It wasn't perfect across the
board. But nevertheless, in 16 of the 18 Provinces, I've mentioned that
there was relative calm. Most of the violence was in the Baghdad area.
It's the violence you're seeing on your TV screens.
And so the purpose is to make sure that we continue to remind the
interim government that the people want democracy. One of the keys is
going to be to get a unity government up and running, a government that
reflects the diversity of the country. We talked about that today. We
want the Iraqis to make that selection, of course. They are the ones who
got elected by the people. They're the ones who must form the
government.
But we are going to continue to remind them that the sooner they can
get a unity government up and running, the more confidence the people
will have in their future. So it's to take advantage of the desire of
the Iraqis to live in a peaceful world and encourage government to
continue to respond to fight off the desires of few people, fight off
those who are trying to sow the seeds, and get a democracy going.
It's very important for the people in the Muslim world to understand
that we understand there's a--we're dealing with a--that we want them to
have a democracy that reflects their histories and their traditions.
Iraqi democracy doesn't have to look like the United States, nor should
it. But it's also important for people around the world to recognize
that there are such things as the natural rights of men and women.
That's what we're founded on here in America. We believe in the
universality of freedom. We believe people desire to be free, not just
Americans, but universally. And that faith--at least my faith in the
[[Page 448]]
natural rights of men and women and the desire for people to be free was
expressed at the ballot box. And it's that powerful statement that I
believe will enable Iraq to develop a democracy.
A democracy in Iraq is important. It's important to deny safe haven
to Al Qaida. Zawahiri made it clear--
he's the number-two man in Al Qaida--that it's just a matter of time for
America leaving. That's what he said. And the reason why that was
important for him to say because they wanted to use Iraq as a place to
plot/plan, as well as to spread their jihadist, their Islamist--radical
Islamic view. They're totalitarians. That's what they are. And we've got
to recognize them as such.
And so it's kind of a long-winded answer to my belief that we will
succeed, and we must succeed. And the reason I say we will is because
the Iraqis want us to succeed. They want to succeed.
There's a lot of talk about Iran. A free Iraq will inspire reformers
in Iran. I believe the more women are empowered in the Middle East, like
it's going to happen in Iraq, the more that will inspire others in the
Middle East to demand their freedom.
Now, if you don't believe freedom is universal, then I can
understand skepticism about what I just said. But I reject that notion
that freedom is only available to some of us. I believe liberty is
universally desired. And I know it's in our interest to help democracy
spread.
I like to remind people about this historical parallel, and I've
used it a lot. You've probably have heard it, so I beg your pardon for
bringing it up again. But it's important for me to connect the idea of
laying the foundation for peace with reality, and that reality is what
we see in Europe today. There were two major world wars in Europe in the
1990s--I mean, the 1900s. And today, Europe is free and whole and at
peace. And a lot of that has to do with the fact that the nations of
Europe are democracies. Democracies don't war.
One of my best buddies in the international arena is Prime Minister
Koizumi of Japan. What's interesting about
that is my dad fought the Japanese--as did,
I'm sure, your relatives, some of your relatives. And yet today I can
tell the newspaper owners that I work with Koizumi to keep the peace.
Democracy has the capacity to turn enemies into allies and cause, kind
of, warring factions to come together. And it's hard work to help a
democracy get hold, particularly if you had just left--lived under the
thumb of a brutal tyrant, somebody who'd kill you in a moment--or get
you killed in a moment's notice.
Remember, we discovered mass graves of a lot of people in Iraq. This
guy--Saddam Hussein was brutal for the people
of Iraq. And there's a lot of tension and a lot of rivalry. One of the
big issues we're going to have to deal with is to make sure that people
don't take revenge outside the rule of law. Militias that are, kind of,
seeking revenge. And at any rate, I'm just trying to share with you some
of my--the philosophical tenets of the decisions I have made and my
optimism about the future and my hopefully realistic assessment about
the necessity for us to achieve our objectives.
Remember, this is a global war on terror. We've got a strong ally in
Pakistan fighting off Al Qaida. And Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom of
Saudi has committed itself to fighting Al Qaida. Lebanon is now becoming
a freer democracy, although we've still got work there to make sure
foreign influence is--allow the Lebanese democracy to grow. Libya made a
decision to get rid of its weapons programs. And there's--positive
things are happening, and they need to happen on a global basis because
this is a global war on terror.
Yes, ma'am.
Trade
Q. Thank you, Mr. President. Many of the things that you've
mentioned today are
[[Page 449]]
affecting the State. We have a high unemployment rate. And of course,
much of our economy is dependent upon the automobile industry.
The President. Right.
Q. General Motors is having problems with their health care plans,
their pension plans, and of course, the issue of gas is definitely one--
energy conservation. I know the auto industry has asked the
administration for advice and for help in this problem. What role do you
see the Federal Government playing in terms of some of the industries in
the country that are partially problem-makers for your policies, as well
for the people of our State?
The President. People have asked whether or not private companies
that have made pension promises should be relieved of their
responsibility. And my answer is, if you make a promise, you've got to
keep it--that if you said, ``I--company X, Y, Z--promise you this,''
it's up to the company to make good on the promise. I think that's a
very important principle to state loud and clear.
One of the real issues that affects Michigan and people in Michigan
is trade. They're concerned about trade. They're worried that trade has
only benefited our friends but not our country. Let me take a step back
and tell you I'm a free trader. I believe it's very important for this
country to be opening markets. I'm confident that if the playing field
is level, that we can compete with anybody. And therefore, one of the
things I've tried to assure the people of Michigan is that not only am I
free trader, I believe the rules ought to be fair. In other words, I
would hope that American people say, ``Just treat us fairly, and we've
got the confidence to compete.''
I know our farmers can compete. And for those of you who remember
the price of soybean a couple of years ago, part of that is because we
opened up markets. If you've got cattle men and women in your area,
buying your newspapers, one of the things they constantly talk to me
about is, ``Get those markets open; work with the Japanese to get that
market open again.'' If you've got chicken growers--I remember one of
the first discussions I had with Vladimir Putin in Russia was, ``You
made some promises on our chickens; open up your markets like you said
you would do.''
My point is, is that opening markets is good, so long as we're
treated fairly. So I've constantly reminded the Chinese leadership that
intellectual property rights needs to be protected; your currency needs
to be floated; treat our people fairly. That's all we want. Our
manufacturers need to have a level playing field.
And so I fully understand Michiganders' concerns about the trade
arena. And I would think it would be a mistake if we become a
protectionist nation. I thought so strongly about it that I put it in my
State of the Union Address. I am worried about isolation and
protectionism. To me, it's a lack of confidence in our ability to shape
the future, and I think it would be wrong economic policy. And so I will
continue to work to open up markets. But I fully am aware of the issues
in Michigan.
Yes, sir.
Gulf Coast Reconstruction
Q. Mr. President, I publish in the southern and eastern suburbs of
Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The President. There you go.
Q. I know you've heard a lot of complaints from Louisiana and seen a
lot of hands out. I would like to thank you for your personal interest
and also for all the money. [Laughter]
My Congressman, Richard Baker, came up with the idea of employing a
Federal entity to buy out property in New Orleans and sell it back into
commerce selectively. It seemed to have a political consensus in
Louisiana from both parties. It got to your office and was rejected.
The President. Correct.
Q. Can you talk a little bit about the problems that you see with
Richard's plan?
[[Page 450]]
And also, you're still about to send billions more down to us. How would
you like to see that money handled, since you've been to us 10 times?
The President. Well, thank you. First of all, I want to thank the
people of Baton Rouge for being so generous to the evacuees. I want to
thank my fellow Texans for being generous to evacuees, and I'm sure
people throughout--I'll bet you most of you are involved with
communities that said, ``Welcome.'' And that was a fantastic gesture of
kindness by the American people, by the way.
I felt like there was a better approach to the housing issue. He's
talking about a good fellow, a really good guy named Richard
Baker, came up with a plan that basically
had the Government buying the property, getting developers to develop
the property, and to the extent that money was not recovered, the
Government would basically be the banker.
Working with the folks--let me step back. Right off the bat, I knew
it was important for Louisiana to develop its own plan, not have the
Federal Government say, this is the--impose a plan, but to have the
folks in Louisiana come up and develop a plan. We, obviously, have
interfaced with them, because as you recognize, in kind of a cavalier
way, ``Thanks for all the money.'' [Laughter] Well, not ``cavalier.''
You made sure you mentioned it, let me put it to you that way.
[Laughter]
And Louisiana had the Baker plan but also was developing another
plan, as well, and one that we agreed to. Governor Blanco has put together a citizens group of
distinguished people--good, honorable people--who are working closely
with the group that Mayor Nagin put together,
to develop a plan that will take CDBG money, and money I've requested in
the supplemental, to basically have money that goes directly to the
homeowner. I like that idea better than the Government moving in and
becoming the bank, as opposed to the Government providing money for
individual homeowners to make decisions.
And the rules and the zoning laws attributable to that money are now
being developed. But it's a very good concept, in my judgment. It's very
important for Congress to make sure that the $4.2 billion, I think it
was, request in the supplemental go to Louisiana, as I said down in New
Orleans the other day.
Step one in the recovery in New Orleans has got to be to make sure
that the levees are strong enough--equal to or better than pre-Katrina--
in order for there to be confidence for the market, confidence for the
homeowner to be able to rebuild in certain parts of New Orleans.
Secondly, it's important that as the levees are rebuilt and people
gain confidence, that there be a rational development plan in place. I
think a lot of taxpayers really don't want to pay money for people to
rebuild in an area that's likely to be flooded again. And the people of
New Orleans understand that, and the people of Louisiana understand
that. That issue is being addressed.
Thirdly, it's very important that the Federal Government rebuild the
infrastructure that we're obligated to rebuild in a timely fashion.
Incredibly enough, the Slidell bridge, as I understand it, because of
proper incentives, was built in record time, under budget. That may be a
contradiction in terms when you hear a Federal official saying, ``under
budget, on time,'' but nevertheless, I believe that's what the
Governor told me.
And so there is a comprehensive strategy in place that I'm
comfortable with. Details need to be worked out, more details about
dealing with the flood plain issue and how high the houses have to be
rebuilt if people choose to rebuild there. I like the idea of funding
people, of letting them make the decision.
By the way, Mississippi--and I don't know if we've got any folks
from Mississippi here--but if you've ever been to the gulf coast of
Mississippi since the storm, you'll
[[Page 451]]
know what I'm saying--it looked like a bomb blast. It just leveled,
absolutely wiped out a lot of homes and property and some lives along
there. And they developed a plan too--their own plan.
Louisiana is different from Mississippi. They came up with a
Mississippi plan that has been funded. And they are now in the process
of saying to homeowners, ``We're helping you rebuild your lives.'' I
went to a home where the guy building--rebuilding it on the beach. I
forgot how high he's got it up, but it's high enough to meet new
standards, new building standards.
Debris removal in both locations is--you just can't imagine how much
debris was there. As you know, I'm not too poetic to begin with, so I'll
probably not be able to describe it properly. Let me just say, it's a
lot. [Laughter] I mean, a whole lot. And Mississippi has moved a lot of
it off private and public land--I'm probably telling you more than you
want to know.
I'll just give you an interesting public policy dilemma. When we
first got down there, the Government will remove debris off public
property but not private--will pay to remove debris off public property
but not private property. The simplest way to explain why not is, you
start moving debris off private property, and the guy shows up and says,
``Where's my million-dollar necklace?'' And so therefore, there needs to
be a kind of a held-harmless statute, or a held-harmless agreement with
local authorities. And so we've devised a perfectly legal way of saying
that if you declare a health and safety hazard for particular blocks,
then Government money will pay to clean up the land. A lot of
Mississippi has been cleaned up because a lot of the local folks decided
to take that tack.
Now, the problem in Louisiana, as far as debris cleanup, is that--
like in the lower Ninth, a lot of people haven't come back to their
homes yet to see the devastation. They've been displaced around the
country. And until people are able to come home and until people are
clear about what the rules will be and the funding mechanism will be,
it's going to be--the debris removal will be slow. We've done a pretty
effective job of cleaning debris off the public right-of-ways, public
lands but not off the private lands. And so that's yet another deterrent
to economic development.
So all this is coming together. My point--the funding is coming
together; the levees are coming together; the rules about reconstruction
are coming--or rebuilding are coming together; and the debris removal,
albeit slow at this point in time, waiting for people to inspect their
houses, will probably accelerate when people realize there's a way
forward--long answer to a complicated problem.
We've got $100 billion that has been allocated for the region, which
is going to create some interesting opportunities and further problems.
One is going to be labor. People are going to be rebuilding down there a
long time. If you're interested in making a living, go down there, and
there will be a job. And we want the first people hired, of course, to
be Mississippi people and Louisiana people. It's a great opportunity, by
the way, for small business development. And I'm a believer--as you can
tell, I'm an optimistic person. I believe that out of this terrible harm
and grief is going to come a vibrant part--a vibrant economy.
You know, sales taxes receipts are, I think, almost equal to what
they were last year in Mississippi. It's amazing, isn't it? There's
great resiliency to the American people.
Anyway, thanks for asking. Yes, sir.
Democracy/Free Speech
Q. Aurora, Colorado--and in our town a teacher was suspended for
remarks critical of your State of the Union message, made the talk
shows, et cetera--compared you to Hitler and--actually, I've heard the
tape and he didn't; he said, ``Hitler-esque,'' but it's not the----
The President. He's not the only one. [Laughter]
[[Page 452]]
Q. And it's not the content that my question is about. My question
is about your sense of the free speech right in the classroom or in
public to criticize you without being considered unpatriotic.
The President. Yes, I think people should be allowed to criticize me
all they want, and they do. [Laughter] Now, what are you all laughing at
over there? [Laughter] Don't cheer him on. [Laughter]
Look, there are some certain basic freedoms that we've got to
protect. The freedom of people to express themselves must be protected.
The freedom of people to be able to worship freely--that freedom is
valuable. I tell people all the time, you're equally American if you're
a Christian, Jew, or Muslim. You're equally American if you believe in
an Almighty or don't believe in an Almighty; that's a sacred freedom.
The right for people to express themselves in the public square is a
freedom. Obviously, there's limitations--if, for example, someone is
inciting violence, or the destruction of property, or public--causing
somebody harm. But the idea of being able to express yourself is a
sacred part of our society. And that's what distinguishes us from the
Taliban, and that's important for Americans to understand.
We're in an ideological struggle. And one way for people to connect
the ideological struggle with reality is to think about what life was
like for people under the rule of the Taliban. If you didn't agree with
their view of religion, you were punished. If you tried to send your
little girl to school, you were punished. These people have a backward
view. I don't believe--I believe religion is peaceful. I believe people
who have religion in their heart are peaceful people. And I believe
these people have subverted a great religion to accomplish a political
end.
And so thank you for bringing that up; I appreciate it. People say
to me, my buddies in Texas, ``How do you handle all this stuff?'' After
a while, you get used to it. [Laughter] But you have to believe in what
you're doing, see. You have to believe in certain principles and
beliefs. And you can't let the public opinion polls and focus groups,
one, cause you to abandon what you believe and become the reason for
making decisions.
My job is a job where I make a lot of decisions. And I decide big
things and little things. And there are certain principles to
decisionmaking. You make decisions--you know, you have to make a lot of
decisions. And you don't put your finger in the air to figure out how to
make a decision, and neither should the President of the United States.
And you have to know what you believe.
Good decisionmaking rests on certain basic principles. I believe in
the universality of freedom. I believe democracies lead to peace. I
believe people ought to worship freely. I do believe there's an Almighty
God that has spread freedom--making freedom available for everybody. I
believe in private enterprise. I believe in free enterprise. I believe
in high standards in education. These are basic beliefs that I'm not
going to change.
And I know some would like me to change, but you can't be a good
decisionmaker if you're trying to please people. You've got to stand on
what you believe. That's what you've got to do if you're going to make
decisions that are solid and sound. And I understand some of the things
I've done are unpopular, but that's what comes with the territory.
If you're afraid to make decisions and you only worry about whether
or not people in the classroom are going to say nice things about you,
you're not leading. And I think we've got to lead. We've got to lead to
spread the peace; we've got to lead to protect this country; and we've
got to lead to make sure we're the preeminent economic power, so our
people can benefit.
Yes, sir.
[[Page 453]]
War on Terror/Iran/North Korea
Q. Who do you think the biggest threat is: Iran, North Korea, or
China?
The President. Interesting question. The biggest threat to American
security: Iran, North Korea, or China. Why did I call on you? [Laughter]
No. It would be an Oklahoma guy, you know? [Laughter]
The biggest threat to American security, short-term, is Al Qaida.
They would like to attack us again. I think about Al Qaida and their
potential to attack all the time--all the time. That's what you want
your President doing. My job is to basically insulate people from some
concerns. You don't risk capital if you're worried about an attack
coming tomorrow. You don't go confidently about your business if an
attack is right around the corner. I understand that. But I think about
it a lot. So step one--I'm changing your question: Would you please
order the threats?--Al Qaida.
I said in an early speech there was an axis of evil, and it included
Iran and North Korea. I said that, I think, help me out here, April--
2002 perhaps? Yes, State of the Union. If it's not 2002, it's
April's [April Ryan, American Urban Radio
Networks] fault, because she nodded her head. [Laughter] Relatively
early in my Presidency.
I did that because I'm concerned about totalitarian governments that
are not transparent, that have stated their intentions to develop
nuclear weapons. One of the real dangerous threats, of course, is the
nexus of terrorist groups, nonstate groups that get a weapon of mass
destruction, which is their stated objective. And so I'm concerned about
that.
I'm concerned about--I would say they're equal, Iran and North
Korea, as for a security threat, because any time there's a
nontransparent regime without a free press to hold people to account, it
creates an unpredictability in the world. The Iranian President has stated his desire to destroy our ally,
Israel. So when you start listening to what he has said, to their desire
to develop a nuclear weapon, then you begin to see an issue of grave
national security concern.
And therefore, it's very important for the United States to continue
to work with others to solve these issues diplomatically--in other
words, to deal with these threats today, and we are. We've got the EU-
3--which is Great Britain, France, and Germany--diplomatic lingo,
sorry--are basically taking the position for the free world to the
Iranians, that said, ``No nuclear weapon and no knowledge about how to
make a nuclear weapon.''
I talked to Vladimir Putin this week--
or the Foreign Minister from Russia this
week, about making sure that we're--Russia says the same thing. In other
words, we want the Iranians to hear loud and clear that the world is
speaking with one voice when it comes to their capacity to develop a
nuclear weapon. Remember now, the reason we are where we are is because
they had agreed to international norms and then were caught not adhering
to the international norms. In other words, they basically tried to pull
one over on the world. And to me, that's a warning signal we've got to
take seriously.
Korea--the issue is one in which we tried to alter the relationship
with the Koreans to be more than just the voice of the United States
saying to the Koreans the same thing. And so we've now got China, South
Korea, Russia, Japan, and the United States involved in what's called
the six-party talks.
Ultimately, I think it's very important for the people in those
countries to be able to live in a free society. If you believe liberty
is universal, then you would hope liberty would spread to those
countries as well.
The Chinese--you know, our relationship is a very interesting
relationship with the Chinese. It's an amazing country, in many ways.
It's a country that has got--it's got to create 25 million new jobs a
year to
[[Page 454]]
stay even. Think about that. It's a country that has chosen the path, by
and large, of markets and enterprise. They are an economic issue for us,
and that's why we've got a huge deficit with them. And therefore, it's
very important for the Government to, on the one hand, reject
protectionism, but on the other hand, insist that their market is open
and it be traded freely and fairly, like I answered the lady from
Michigan. I don't view--China is a more--China is a strategic partner
when it comes to trade, for example. And I can't say that about the
other two countries. And so the relationship is different; it's a
different relationship.
He's giving me the hook, because I've got to go see President
Toledo. But anyway--yes, ma'am.
No Child Left Behind Act
Q. I represent the Tullahoma News, from Tullahoma, Tennessee. I have
the very best job there. I'm the wife of the publisher.
The President. Yes. I don't know if Laura
would say the same thing. [Laughter]
Q. But I wanted to know what you understand the complaints to be
about your No Child Left Behind policy, and if you acknowledge those
complaints as any weaknesses to the policy? How effective do you think
that it is in spite of that?
The President. No, good question. I'm glad you brought up No Child
Left Behind. The complaint is that, ``How dare the Government cause us
to measure''--one of the complaints--``Too much testing,'' you know. I
heard that when I was the Governor of Texas. Jerry didn't editorialize there, I'm sure. [Laughter] Maybe
you did.
You know, ``How dare you test people who don't speak English as a
first language.'' My answer to those concerns is that, how do you know
if you don't test? How can you possibly tell whether a child is learning
to read and write if you don't measure? When I was the Governor of our
State, I was deeply concerned about a system where people would come to
me and say, ``You know what? We're getting kids in college that are not
very literate.'' This kind of, just--social promotion was the culture
and the norm.
If I were a newspaper owner, I'd want to make sure people could
read. And one way to make sure people read is to measure early whether
or not people can pass a test. I've heard people say, ``All we're doing
is teaching the test; you're causing people to teach the test.'' And my
answer to that is, teaching a child to be literate will enable that
child to pass the test. There's something fundamental about literacy.
Secondly, people said, ``We believe in local control of schools, and
the No Child Left Behind Act is not local control of schools.'' I
strongly disagree. I believe in local control of schools. The No Child
Left Behind Act said, ``We're spending a lot of Federal money,
particularly on Title I students; show us whether or not the money is
being well spent.''
We didn't say, ``Here's the curriculum you must use; here are the
class sizes you'll have.'' We didn't say, ``We're going to design the
test on your behalf.'' I fought off a national test, because I believed
a national test would undermine local control of schools. All we said
was, ``Measure, and post your scores for everybody to see, and that
you've got to be meeting a higher standard.'' In other words, we're
holding people to standards. So I believe the No Child Left Behind Act
honors local control of schools.
One of the classic debates that takes place at the local level is
what curriculum to use. I'm sure some of you have been through the
classic reading curriculum debates. They raged hot and heavy in the
State of Texas for a while. And you'd have, this side would be yelling
at that side. One way to make sure that your curriculum works is to
measure. If a child is passing reading by using this curriculum, and
another child is not passing reading when they use another curriculum,
it provides a
[[Page 455]]
useful tool for the local newspaper, for example, to say, ``We told you
so; the curriculum is not working,'' or, ``We told you so; the
curriculum is working.''
There's got to be accountability in the public school system. If you
do not diagnose a problem, you can never solve the problem. And one of
the things about No Child Left Behind which is important is that when we
diagnose a reading problem early, there is supplemental service money to
help that child be brought up to speed. That's why it's called No Child
Left Behind. We believe every child can learn--every child. And
therefore, this is a program that says we want accountability for the
taxpayers' money. We'll provide extra help early on when we find a child
who needs extra help. And it's working. That's the other thing that I
would tell people. How do I know? Because we measure.
There's an achievement gap in America that is not right. When you
measure at the fourth grade, Anglo kids did fine; African American and
Latino kids didn't. And that's not fair, and it's not right. And so
we've essentially ended social promotion in the early grades and said,
we're going to correct problems. And it's working because that gap is
narrowing. And the reason I can say that is because we measure.
Interestingly enough, when you, kind of, compare measurements
internationally in math and science or math, we're doing fine in the
fourth grade. We're falling off in the eighth grade. And so what I want
to do is to apply the same rigor for reading that we did in the early
grades to math in junior high. So in the eighth grades we get those
scores and, kind of, lay that foundation for the sciences and the
engineering--the physicists, so we can compete.
I'm a strong believer in No Child Left Behind. My Secretary of
Education, my good buddy, Margaret Spellings, who helped me put a similar program in place in the
State of Texas, is now the Secretary of Education. She's obviously
listening to complaints about certain aspects of AYP. But we're not
going to undermine the basic tenet that says we believe in high
standards; we believe every child can learn; and we're going to measure.
And when we see the status quo is unacceptable, we'll challenge the
status quo. That's what you need to, and I'm sure you are doing that. It
ought to be unacceptable to opinion makers when you find illiteracy. And
you ought to demand change, not only for your own self interest but for
the sake of this country. And so thanks for asking the question.
I've got to go. Listen, I'll be a diplomatic problem if I don't get
over there on time. [Laughter] I'm honored you'd have me. Thanks for
letting me come by and visit with you. God bless.
Note: The President spoke at 9:45 a.m. at the Wyndham Washington Hotel.
In his remarks, he referred to Jerry Reppert, president, and Jerry
Tidwell, vice president, National Newspaper Association; former
President Saddam Hussein of Iraq; A.Q. Khan, former head of Pakistan's
nuclear weapons program; U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad; Gen.
George W. Casey, Jr., USA, commanding general, Multi-National Force--
Iraq; Ayman al-Zawahiri, founder of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad and
senior Al Qaida associate; President Vladimir V. Putin and Minister of
Foreign Affairs Sergey V. Lavrov of Russia; Gov. Kathleen Babineaux
Blanco of Louisiana; Mayor C. Ray Nagin of New Orleans, LA; President
Mahmud Ahmadi-nejad of Iran; and President Alejandro Toledo of Peru.
[[Page 456]]