    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
    [July 31, 2006]
    [Pages 1477-1482]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the Port of Miami in Miami
    July 31, 2006

        Thanks for the warm welcome on a warm day. [Laughter] I'm proud to
    be here in this really dynamic city. You know it's an amazing part of
    our country when you walk off and a Member of the United States
    Congress says, ``Bienvenido a Miami.''
        This trip is a little different from the last time I spent the night
    here in Miami. Last night Jeb and I had some crabs
    with members of the 1972 Miami Dolphins; Dan Marino and his really dynamic wife; TV
    stars--Andy Garcia, a movie star. We had a
    fantastic experience. It's a lot better, by the way, than preparing for
    a presidential debate. [Laughter]
        I'm glad to be here. I'm glad to be with brother Jeb. We're really proud of him in our family. He's a guy who
    does what he said he's going to do. He's a good man, mi hermanito.
        Miami is a strong and vibrant city, and because your economy is
    strong and vibrant, you've helped this State's economy grow and you've
    helped the country grow. I want to spend some time talking about the
    economy and how we can keep our economy strong; no better place to do
    that than here in the Port of Miami. I'm proud to be with those who work
    in the port. I'm particularly proud to be with those who wear the
    uniform of the United States of America. Thanks for serving.
        The Commandant of the United States Coast Guard has joined us today, Admiral Thad Allen. Thanks for
    coming. Rear Admiral David Kunkel is with
    us. I appreciate you being here, Admiral. I particularly want to thank
    all those who are on our ships, work in our ports. And I thank your
    families. You tell your wife or your husband how much this country
    appreciates the support of our families for our Coast Guard men and
    women.
        I want to thank Bill Johnson, who is acting
    seaport director. I'm proud to be here with the Federal Emergency
    Management Agency head, Dave Paulison--
    south Floridian by the way. Members of the United States congressional
    delegation are with us, starting with the Congresswoman from this
    district, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. Los
    hermanos Diaz-Balart are with us today, Lincoln y tambien Mario. It's
    good to see you guys. Thanks for coming. Clay Shaw, Congressman Shaw is with us. I'm proud you're here.
        The new speaker of the house, Marco Rubio,
    is with us today. Mr. Speaker, thank you. Mayor Carlos Alvarez is with us, el alcalde. Thank you. Mayor Manny
    Diaz is with us. Thank you, Manny. I want to
    thank all the local folks for coming, all the people who are concerned
    about south Florida--the local officials. I'm proud to be here.
        Let me start by telling you I'm monitoring the situation in the
    Middle East very closely. Secretary Rice
    was in the region over the weekend, and she is working urgently to get a
    sustainable cease-fire, a cease-fire which will last. We're going to
    work with our allies to bring before the United Nations Security Council
    a resolution that will end the violence and lay the groundwork for
    lasting peace in the Middle East.
        As we work with friends and allies, it is important to remember,
    this crisis began with Hizballah's unprovoked terrorist attacks against
    Israel. Israel is exercising its right to defend itself. And we mourn
    the loss of innocent life, both in Lebanon and in Israel. We're
    determined to deliver relief to those who suffer; we're determined to
    work to resolve this crisis.
        To achieve the peace that we want, we must achieve certain clear
    objectives. Lebanon's democratic Government must be empowered to
    exercise sole authority over its territory. A multinational force must
    be dispatched to Lebanon quickly so we can

    [[Page 1478]]

    help speed the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Lebanese people. Iran
    must end its financial support and supply of weapons to terrorist groups
    like Hizballah. Syria must end its support for terror and respect the
    sovereignty of Lebanon.
        This approach will make it possible what so many around the world
    want to see: the end of Hizballah's attacks on Israel; the return of the
    Israeli soldiers
    taken hostage by the terrorists; the suspension
    of Israel's operations in Lebanon; and the eventual withdrawal of
    Israeli forces.
        The current crisis is part of a larger struggle between the forces
    of freedom and the forces of terror in the Middle East. For decades, the
    status quo in the Middle East permitted tyranny and terror to thrive.
    And as we saw on September the 11th, the status quo in the Middle East
    led to death and destruction in the United States, and it had to change.
    So America is opposing the forces of terror and promoting the cause of
    democracy across the broader Middle East.
        This task is long. It is difficult work, but it is necessary work.
    When democracy spreads in the Middle East, the people of that troubled
    region will have a better future. The terrorists will lose their safe
    havens and their recruits, and the United States of America will be more
    secure. The hard work of helping people realize the benefits of liberty
    is laying the foundation of peace for generations to come.
        It's an honor to be here at the largest container port in Florida
    and one of the most important ports in our Nation. From these docks,
    ships loaded with cargo deliver products all around the world carrying
    that label, ``Made in the USA.'' See, the Port of Miami is shipping what
    the world wants to buy. The Port of Miami is also the largest cruise
    port in the whole world. All you got to do is drive down the highway and
    look at the size of those ships. This is known as the ``Cruise Capital
    of the World.'' And that's important. It's important for the people who
    want to find a job here.
        See, the Port of Miami not only enables us to ship products all over
    the world, which encourages job creation--people working here, getting
    those products moving around the world--but it's also a place where
    tourists come to travel the world on some great cruise ships, which
    means that chefs and grocers need to be hired to prepare food for the
    people on the ships or accountants and travel agents to handle the
    bookings or hotel workers to house the passengers before the ships
    depart.
        One reason south Florida's economy is doing well is because of the
    importance of this port. But it's just not the port that is helping the
    people in south Florida. Do you realize that over the past 3 years, the
    Miami-Fort Lauderdale metropolitan area has created more than 200,000
    new jobs? The unemployment rate in this area is down to 3.2 percent.
    It's amazing economic vitality in this part of the world, and I
    congratulate the entrepreneurs.
        Today I met with some entrepreneurs. I met a guy named Nelson
    Gonzalez. Are you here, Nelson? Yes, there
    he is. And he's got a partner who's not here.
    But think about this; I want to tell you about Nelson's story. It is an
    American story. It's a story about two people who had a dream, and 10
    years ago they sat in Nelson's garage talking about how to create a
    business. And they had $10,000 in capital to start their business. And
    so they decided to build high-performance, custom-designed personal
    computers. That was their dream. First year, the revenues were $87,000,
    like they started getting moving. Last year, the revenue was $192
    million. They went from 2 people sitting in a garage to employing 750
    people.
        So here's the spirit behind Nelson's
    dream. He said, ``Losing was not just in our vocabulary. We overcame a
    lot of things. We really didn't sit on our laurels, and we always look
    at what we can improve.'' See, one of the jobs of Government

    [[Page 1479]]

    is to put policy in place that encourages the entrepreneurial spirit to
    flourish. We want more people owning their businesses. We want more
    dreamers working hard to accomplish their dreams. And when they do, more
    people find work.
        One of the reasons why the national unemployment rate is at 4.6
    percent is because the entrepreneurial spirit is strong in America. And
    we intend to keep it that way. And one of the ways to make sure
    entrepreneurs like Nelson and others are
    able to realize dreams is to keep the taxes low.
        There's a great temptation in Washington to say, ``We can spend your
    money better than you can,'' see. But when you start talking about
    raising taxes, you're talking about taking money away from entrepreneurs
    and small-business owners. Good policy is policy that says, we want to
    strengthen the small-business sector in America. We want the
    entrepreneurial spirit to flourish. And one of the ways to do so is to
    make the tax cuts we pass a permanent part of the Tax Code.
        And here's another way that we can help the entrepreneurial spirit
    flourish and help make sure south Florida remains a vibrant part of our
    national economy, and that is to open up markets for trade. I'm worried
    about protectionist tendencies in the United States, people saying,
    ``Well, we don't want to--really want to compete. Let's just kind of
    throw up some walls and barriers so people can't sell products into the
    United States.'' Such policies will damage the Port of Miami; such
    policies are short-sighted, as far as I'm concerned.
        America is home to 5 percent of the world's population. That means
    95 percent of the world's population are potential customers. The port
    is known as ``The Gateway of the Americas'' for a reason, because
    international trade is one of the key reasons why Miami prospers. I
    don't know if the folks realize that because of trade--in other words,
    the ability to move products overseas--120,000 jobs here in this part of
    the world are supported by trade.
        I believe trade leads to opportunity, trade leads to jobs; trade
    means this port will remain vibrant. And so good policy from our
    Government perspective must be to continue to working up--working to
    open up markets for U.S. products, and say to people around the world,
    ``You treat us the way we treat you.'' In other words, trade must be a
    two-way street. We must work to open up markets, but at the same time,
    we must say to foreign nations, ``As we open our markets to your goods,
    you open your markets to our goods.'' The United States can compete with
    anybody, anywhere so long as the rules are fair.
        Congress passed NAFTA, and as a result, Florida's exports to Mexico
    tripled. Two years ago, we passed a free trade agreement with Chile.
    Florida exports to that country have jumped by 40 percent. Now when you
    hear me say, ``Florida's exports,'' that means exports of products made
    in the United States leaving ports like Miami, which creates jobs.
    Exports means work. Exports means vitality at our ports.
        Last year, we passed CAFTA. I want to thank the Members of Congress
    who supported me on that important agreement. This port handles nearly
    one-half of all American exports to Central America. And as CAFTA takes
    hold, we can envision more products passing from the United States to
    Central America through the Port of Miami.
        Now, one of the most promising ways to open up new markets for our
    workers and businesses is the Doha round of negotiations at the World
    Trade Organization. See, these talks are important talks. They have a
    chance to break down trade barriers around the world. They have a chance
    to expand the flow of commerce, which is what we want. They have a
    chance to create new jobs and economic growth not only here but
    elsewhere. And they have a chance to help lift millions of people out

    [[Page 1480]]

    of poverty around the world. These are important negotiations taking
    place. And our Government is strongly committed to a successful outcome
    of the Doha round.
        The problem is, is that some others aren't committed. Recent
    discussions broke down. In order to make sure that they don't break down
    permanently, I asked Trade Representative Susan Schwab to continue to work with her counterparts, to continue to
    discuss ways for the United States to be flexible, particularly on
    agricultural subsidies, and for our counterparts to be flexible when it
    comes to achieving fairness when it comes to trade.
        We'll do everything we can to get Doha back on track. That's what
    the people in this port who rely upon the export of goods must
    understand. We understand how important exportation is to the Port of
    Miami. We understand how important trade is for the economy of the
    United States. And so Susan Schwab now has
    been in Brazil recently and will continue talking with other trade
    ministers. Completing the Doha round is going to demand tough choices.
    We're willing to make those choices, and others nations should as well.
    This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to jump-start global trade and
    create opportunities around the world.
        In order to make sure this country continues to remain strong, we
    must also ensure that America welcomes new immigrants, people who add to
    our prosperity. See, we can be a nation of law and a welcoming nation at
    the same time, and we don't have to choose.
        Of all the places in our country, Miami understands the importance
    of the contribution that the newly arrived can make to a society.
    Jeb and I just went and had a little coffee at
    Versailles, which reminded me of the important influence that those who
    have fled oppression at home can make to our society. It's so hopeful
    when people who escape repression come to the land of the free and
    embrace that freedom. We welcome the Cuban influence in the United
    States of America. We understand that people flee oppression and poverty
    and seek a better life. We understand the Haitians who have come here to
    seek freedom. We understand that this is the land of opportunity, and
    for millions, Miami is the first stop toward realizing their dreams.
        To keep the dream alive, we must have comprehensive immigration
    reform. We must be logical about the approach we take to immigration. Of
    course, we want to enforce our borders. The Coast Guard works hard to
    enforce our borders. We got hard-working people on the Mexican border
    working hard to enforce our borders. And we'll provide more Border
    Patrol agents. And we'll provide new technologies to help those working
    hard. But in order to enforce the border, we have got to recognize that
    people are sneaking in here to work. The best way to enforce the border
    is to have a rational way for people who are doing jobs Americans aren't
    doing to come to this country on a temporary basis so they can realize
    their dreams. We need a guest-worker program as part of a comprehensive
    reform.
        There's a lot of document forging going on. See, we got people being
    snuck across in 18-wheelers; we got people walking miles across the
    desert because of coyotes, or smugglers. There's also a lot of people
    who forge documents. It's hard for an employer to know whether someone's
    here legally or not. That's why we need to have a document that can't be
    forged and faked. So people say, ``I'm here for a temporary basis to
    work. I'm here legally to do a job Americans aren't doing''--and that
    way we'll be able to have better worksite enforcement. It's against the
    law for somebody to hire somebody who is here illegally. In order to
    make sure that those laws work, we need to have tamper-proof documents
    in the hands of people applying for work.
        Fourthly, it is unrealistic to think that we should give automatic
    citizenship to people who've been here illegally. That's not going to
    work. It basically says, fine;

    [[Page 1481]]

    then the next wave of people will come to try to become--get automatic
    citizenship. Amnesty is not the right approach. But neither is trying to
    remove the 10 or 11 million people who've been here illegally.
    Deportation is not going to work. What must work is a rational middle
    ground that says, you can pay a fine; you can learn English; you can
    prove you've been a lawful citizen; and then you can get in the
    citizenship line--but at the back of the line, not the front of the
    line.
        And finally, we'll continue to work to help people assimilate into
    the United States. We want people learning English. We want people
    learning our history and our traditions. We're going to work hard to
    make sure we're one Nation under God. Rational immigration policy is
    possible, and it's important for Members of the United States Congress
    to work toward a comprehensive immigration plan.
        Finally, I want to talk a little bit about what we're doing to
    secure this country. You got to understand, we're still a nation at war.
    I fully understand why the American citizens would hope there is no such
    thing as war. I know that. I know that people don't like to be reminded
    about the fact that there's still an enemy that lurks and plots and
    plans. But it's my job, a job that I really understood clearly on
    September the 11th. My job is to rally the Federal Government and to
    work with State and local government to protect you. It's the most
    important job of our Government, is to protect the American people. And
    so we work hard to--I work hard to remind people that there's still a
    war going on. But I also assure them that we're doing everything we can
    to bring the enemy to justice and to secure the homeland at the same
    time.
        And one of the most important parts of securing our country is
    securing our ports. Port security is one of the top priorities of our
    Government. Since September the 11th, we've provided $700 million in
    grants to enhance physical security at our ports, and the Port of Miami
    received about $25 million of those grants. We understand the important
    the Coast Guard plays to port security, and so we've increased funding
    for the Coast Guard by almost $2.9 billion.
        We're using technologies to protect this country of ours, such as
    state-of-the-art x-ray and gamma-ray scanners to screen cargo and
    containers. We launched what we called the Container Security
    Initiative, which is to identify and inspect suspicious cargo at foreign
    ports before they depart for America. In other words, doesn't it makes
    sense for us to inspect product and cargo overseas, before they're
    shipped here? That's what we're doing. We've got a smart policy about
    how to protect our ports. And we'll continue to work with port
    authorities and custom officers and immigration agents and the Coast
    Guard and Jeb's office and local folks to do our
    duty, to do the duty the American people expect, which is, to the best
    of our ability, protect the United States against further attack.
        I want you to know that I am optimistic about the future of this
    country. I'm confident that we're going to win the war on terror,
    because I understand that our vision of freedom, our belief in liberty,
    is more powerful than the ideology of hatred that the terrorists
    espouse.
        I believe this economy will remain strong if we leave hands in the--
    if we leave people's money in their own hands so they can save, invest,
    and spend. I believe in the entrepreneurial spirit in America. I believe
    in our workers. I believe in our small-business owners. I believe that
    when people can dream and do and accomplish, our society is better off.
    I'm confident that the values of the United States will remain strong,
    because I understand the character of Americans by birth and by choice.
        And so I understand we face a lot of challenges, but I believe this
    country can overcome those challenges. And I want to thank you for
    letting me come to the Port of Miami to discuss some of the challenges
    we face.

    [[Page 1482]]

        Thanks for your hard work. May God bless you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:17 a.m. at the U.S. Coast Guard
    Integrated Support Command. In his remarks, he referred to Gov. Jeb Bush
    of Florida; former professional football player Daniel C. Marino, Jr.,
    and his wife, Claire; Rear Adm. David W. Kunkel, USCG, district
    commander, Seventh Coast Guard District; Bill Johnson, acting director,
    Port of Miami; Marco Rubio, speaker-designate, Florida State House of
    Representatives; Mayor Carlos Alvarez of Miami-Dade County, FL; Mayor
    Manuel A. Diaz of Miami, FL; Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier captured
    and held captive by militants in Gaza since June 25; Ehud Goldwasser and
    Eldad Regev, Israeli soldiers captured and held captive by militants in
    Lebanon since July 12; and Nelson Gonzalez and Alex Aguila, founders,
    Alienware Corp.