[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book I)]
[February 3, 2007]
[Pages 96-99]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks to the House Democratic Caucus Issues Conference in
Williamsburg, Virginia
February 3, 2007
Thank you all. It's nice to be here. Thank you very much. The last
time I looked at some of your faces, I was at the State of the Union,
and I saw kind of a strange expression when I referred to something as
the ``Democrat Party.'' Now, look, my diction isn't all that good.
[Laughter] I have been accused of occasionally mangling the English
language. [Laughter] And so I appreciate you inviting the head of the
Republic Party.
Thanks for having me, Madam Speaker. I'm
proud to be here. I'm proud to have met your grandchild. I know the mother well.
[Laughter] If the child has as much spunk as the mother, she's [he's]*
going to have a fantastic life. And so thank you for having me.
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*White House correction.
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I want to thank the members for allowing me to come. I'm looking
forward to visiting with you. I particularly want to thank your
families. I know how hard it is on a family to support a loved one in
public life. It takes a lot of sacrifice to encourage your spouse to
serve the country. Politics can be ugly. Sometimes they say not nice
things about you in the local newspaper. You're traveling a lot.
Campaigns are rough on a family. And so I really want to thank--I thank
the members for serving, but I know full well that you couldn't serve
without the love and support of your family members. So I really
appreciate your contribution to the country.
Madam Speaker, I thank you very much for
your leadership. I was genuinely touched when I thought about how your
dad would be reacting to seeing you sitting up there in the House
Chamber. It was an historic moment, and I know you're proud of the
accomplishments, and I appreciate you all supporting this fine woman
into a really important leadership role.
On the way in, we spent a little time talking about Florida, and I
talked to the Governor yesterday. The
Speaker was concerned, as am I, to make sure
that the folks get the help they need down there. And, Madam Speaker,
you and I, and every member here, shares concerns for those whose lives
were turned upside down by that storm. And as I told you earlier, and
told the Governor, whatever Federal response is needed, we will make it
quick and sure. And so thank you for your concerns.
I'm glad to be here with Steny Hoyer.
Good to see you. Thank you, Steny. He is a down-to-earth, no-nonsense
guy. I'm looking forward to working with you. James Clyburn and Rahm Emanuel and John
Larson and all the leadership, I'm looking
forward to working with you. I know you've probably heard that, and you
doubt whether it's true. It's true. We can do some big things together.
In order to do big things, we're going to have to do it together.
So I'd like to share some of the thoughts about the big things I'd
like to see us try to accomplish. First, balancing the budget--that's a
big thing. Rob Portman is going to
submit a budget tomorrow. Some of it you'll like; some of it you won't
like; but it achieves the goal that we have said, which is to balance
the budget. And we will show you how to do so in 5 years. You will have
your own ideas, and we can work together, hopefully, to achieve that big
goal.
Inherent in the budget issue is whether or not--is unfunded
liabilities as a part of entitlement programs. This is a difficult issue
for members of both parties. I fully understand it's hard to come to the
table to address Social Security or Medicare, the
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unfunded liabilities inherent in those programs. I've asked members of
my party to come to the table with ideas. I will bring ideas. I ask
members of the Democratic Party to come to the table as well.
I believe we have an obligation to work to solve the problem. Is it
going to be hard work? You bet it's hard work. A lot of times people
say: ``Well, why don't we just wait for the crisis to come upon us?''
Well, I think the crisis is here. That's why I've included reforms of
entitlement in every State of the Union Address. And I'm going to keep
talking--well, I've got one more left. I'll keep talking about it for
the next time as well. Hopefully, I won't have to, if we're able to sit
and come together. But I'm under no illusions of how hard it's going to
be. The only thing I want to share with you is, is my desire to see if
we can't work together to get it done.
Secondly, there's a great goal and--to make sure every child has got
the foundation necessary to be able to enjoy the great opportunities our
country affords. As you know, I am a big believer in the No Child Left
Behind Act. I think it has worked. I fully recognize that some have got
concerns about it, and I'm willing to work with both Republicans and
Democrats to address those concerns. My only admonition is, let us don't
water down the accountability inherent in this good law that enables us
to detect problems early so we can solve the problems, before it's too
late.
Secondly, I know we can work together on passing the American
Competitiveness Initiative, aimed at making sure that math and science
is more prevalent amongst our youngsters and doubling the amount of
basic research at the Federal level, which will enable our country to
remain the most innovative country in the world.
Thirdly, we've got to make sure people have got health insurance. I
mentioned this in the State of the Union. I believe the role of the
Federal Government is to help the poor, the disabled, and the elderly,
and we will work with you to make sure that's happened. But I also think
it's very important to figure out why health insurance is less
affordable and less available for more of our citizens.
I believe part of the reason is because the Tax Code discourages
private individuals from being able to purchase health care. I ask you
to carefully consider the idea that we have put out. I've already heard
from some members who thought it was a lousy idea; I understand that.
But please look at it in depth as a way to address an issue that
concerns us all, and that is, not enough people having health insurance.
Secondly, I strongly believe the States are the proper laboratories
for change. And I think it makes sense to encourage innovation at the
State level, in terms of helping people on Medicaid get health
insurance, helping the poor get health insurance, making sure that we
develop risk pools to enable those who cannot afford insurance because
of health reasons have coverage. Anyway, it's a comprehensive approach
that addresses a common goal of ours.
Thirdly, I set a goal to reduce our gasoline use by 20 percent over
the next 10 years. And I thank you very much for receiving the idea that
the country has advanced enough technologically to be able to have a
mandatory fuel standard that encourages the use of renewables and
alternatives, up to 37 billion gallons by 2017. We have spent a lot of
money on developing new technologies. I look forward to working with you
to continue to do so.
There's some concern, I know, amongst some of the farm State
Congressmen that when you use a lot of corn for ethanol, it's going to
rise--it's going to cause the feed for hogs and cattle to rise. I've
heard loud and clear those complaints. And to a certain extent, they're
right. As a matter of fact, that is why we need to spend money on
cellulosic ethanol, to make sure that we have got substitutes--
[applause]--substitute raw material--in other words, we are able to
replace corn as the main raw
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material for the ethanol in order to achieve a great goal. And I'm
looking forward to working with you on it.
It's an area where we can show the American people that the
Republican Party and the Democratic Party has got the capability of
enabling us to be able to say to the people: ``By being less dependent
on oil, we've enhanced our national security; we've helped our economic
security; and we've done something positive on the environment.''
I believe a great goal is a comprehensive energy--immigration bill.
This too is a difficult issue. And in order to get it done, it's going
to require Members in the House and the Senate--Republican Members,
Democratic Members--finding common ground. And the White House wants to
help. I believe strongly in this issue. I know that in order to enforce
our border, which all of us wants to--all of us here want to do, that we
must have a comprehensive plan to be able to do so.
I believe it is in the Nation's interests to have a temporary-worker
program. It's in the interests of small-business owners and farmers to
be able to have folks that are willing to do work Americans are not
doing, on a temporary basis. I know that in order to enforce this
border, we better have a plan that doesn't cause people to sneak in. We
want our Border Patrol agents guarding the border from criminals and
drug dealers and terrorists, not from folks that are coming to do jobs
that Americans aren't doing.
And so this is an important issue. And I repeat to you: I want to
work with you on it. I went to the Oval Office to address it, because I
believe strongly that we can achieve an objective. I'm under no
illusions as to how hard it's going to be, but it will be a lot easier
when Republicans and Democrats work together to achieve this important
objective.
We share a common goal, and that is to keep America safe. You know,
I welcome debate in a time of war, and I hope you know that. Nor do I
consider anybody's--nor do I consider a belief that if you don't happen
to agree with me, you don't share the same sense of patriotism I do. You
can get that thought out of your mind, if that's what some believe.
These are tough times, and yet there's no doubt in my mind that you
want to secure this homeland just as much as I do. You remember the
lessons of September the 11th just like I do, and you understand a
fundamental obligation of Government is to do everything in our power to
protect people here. And I'm looking forward to working with you on
that, to make sure our intelligence agencies have what they need to be
able to detect problems before they come, to continue to secure the
homeland. I believe we can work together in Afghanistan to make sure
that former safe haven is able to grow as a democracy.
I put out a plan that has caused a lot of debate on Iraq. I took a
lot of time thinking about how best to achieve an objective of a country
governing and sustaining and defending itself, a country that will be an
ally in this war on terror. I listened to many members here. I listened
to members of my own party. I listened to the military and came up with
a plan that I genuinely believe has the best chance of succeeding.
I do know we agree on some things, and that is that the
Maliki government is going to have to show
strong leadership. I appreciate the fact that the Speaker and many of--
the distinguished chairman came and briefed me on their trip. She said
loud and clear: ``Mr. President, you've got to make it clear to the
Iraqi people that their Government has got to perform.'' And I
understand, and I agree, Madam Speaker.
There's got to be success not only on the military front--in other
words, the Iraqis have got to be taking the lead in Baghdad to secure
its capital--but there's also got to be success on the political front.
They've got to pass an oil law. They've got
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to amend their Constitution so that all segments of that society feel
that the Government is for them. They've got to spend our money on
reconstruction projects that help unite the country. They've got to have
local elections so people feel involved in the Provincial governments.
In other words, there's benchmarks that they have got to achieve. And I
have made it clear to the Iraqi Government, just like I made it clear to
the American people: Our commitment is not open-ended.
We've got other equities in foreign policy that I know we can work
together on. I cannot thank you enough for supporting the HIV/AIDS
initiative on the continent of Africa. It's a pleasure to be able to
stand up in front of the American people and say: ``Your tax dollars
have made a significant difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands
of people.'' And this plan would not have been funded without the able
leadership and support of many people here in this building, and I
appreciate that.
We've set another great goal, and that's to reduce malaria in
countries on the continent of Africa. And I'm convinced we can work
together with a--[applause]--strategy that will work. I promised people
in my State of the Union that we will continue to pursue freedom in
places like Cuba or Belarus or Burma, and that we'll continue to rally
the world to stay focused on Darfur.
And so this is a bold agenda for all of us. And I agree, Madam
Speaker; there's a chance to show people that
we can get beyond the politics of Washington, DC; that we're able to
treat each other with civility and, at the same time, accomplish big
goals. And so I've come, at your kind invitation, to assure the members
that I look forward to working with you in doing the best we possibly
can do for the good of all American citizens.
Thank you for having me.
Note: The President spoke at 10:22 a.m. in Ballroom A at the Kingsmill
Resort & Spa. In his remarks, he referred to Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of
the House of Representatives, and her grandson, Paul M. Vos, and
daughter, Alexandra Pelosi; and Gov. Charles J. Crist, Jr., of Florida.