[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 17 (Monday, April 30, 2001)]
[Pages 667-672]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Reception for Senator Tim Hutchinson in Little Rock

April 25, 2001

    Well, Tim, thank you very much. It's my honor to be back in the 
great State of Arkansas. We were just reminiscing about the campaign. I 
remember--I was kind of tired, because it was the last day of the 
campaign, and I was on the airplane flying into Arkansas, wondering 
whether or not I could give one final speech. And we landed up there in 
northwest Arkansas, and there was about--I don't know, 17,000 people 
inside the area and another 17,000 trying to get in. And I had that 
funny feeling right there that not only could I not only give the 
speech, but I had that feeling things were going to go okay on election 
day in Arkansas, and they did, and I want to thank you all.
    I want to thank Tim Hutchinson for his help in getting me here. More 
importantly, I want to thank him for his help as a United States 
Senator. I'm here for one simple reason. This man needs to be returned 
back to the United States Senate, come elections in 2002.
    It's good to see the Lieutenant Governor, Win Rockefeller, and wife, 
Lisa Ann. Thank you all for being here. Every time I came back to 
Arkansas, it seemed like Win was able to make time for his old buddy, 
the Governor of Texas, and I appreciate that very much, sir. Thank you 
very much.
    It's great to be here with former State Senator Jim Keet. It's good 
to see you again. He reminded me in 1988 when I campaigned here for the 
man we affectionately call ``Number 41''--[laughter]--I'm ``Number 
43''--but we campaigned together for a great President, my dad, in 1998 
together, and it's good to see you again, sir.
    It's also great--Nick Bacon is here, Medal of Honor winner, an 
American hero, a man who represents the veterans of this State 
incredibly well. You need to know, Nick, that the veterans have got a 
friend in the White House. And it's my honor to be the President, not 
only the Commander In Chief, of those who wear the uniform, but a 
President who understands that those who used to wear the uniform need 
to be well-represented in Washington, just like you're doing here in 
Arkansas. And Dennis Rainey of the FamilyLife ministry, and Pastor 
Robert Smith, thank you all for being up here.
    I'm sorry my wife isn't here with me. She is in Crawford, Texas, and 
I'm headed to Crawford, Texas, after this speech. [Laughter] They say, 
``Well, you must not like to live in Washington because you like to go 
to your ranch or Camp David.'' Well, I like to do both. I like--I love 
my life in the White House. I love getting up every morning and going 
into this majestic office that we call the Oval Office. As Tim said, it 
is an honor to be the President of the United States, and I view it that 
way, but I also like to stay in touch with the people that got me here. 
I like to get outside of Washington. I like to go to where the space is 
open, where I can walk around with Spot and Barney, the two family dogs. 
[Laughter] My wife loves our country--the country house we've got, and 
so do I, and so I beg your forgiveness for not eating dinner here 
tonight. I am here to thank you for supporting Tim. I do want to give 
some remarks about what I think is going on in Washington, but then I'm 
fixing to get on Air Force One and take it to Crawford, Texas. 
[Laughter]
    By the way, our family is happy. I'm really proud of the work that 
Laura is doing. She is--people are learning about west Texas women. They 
sometimes don't say a lot, but when they speak, people do listen. She's 
a great listener. And she's doing the country a great service by 
traveling our Nation, convincing people, both young and old alike, to 
become teachers, reminding people that teaching is a noble profession 
and that you do the country a great service if you end up in the 
classroom. We're working on Troops to Teachers programs that take 
retired teachers--I mean, retired military folks and help them become a 
teacher. And she, as well, is working with youngsters who are just 
getting out of college and saying, ``Be a teacher. It will be a huge 
contribution to America,''

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and people are listening. And for that, I am grateful, and I know you 
are as well.
    As Tim mentioned, I think we are making good progress in Washington, 
reminding people that we're up there for a reason, and it's not just 
politics. We're up there to get some things done on behalf of the 
American people. And Tim's helping--a lot. And he mentioned tax relief.
    I want to remind people that before the tax relief debate started 
because of me, he had already been up there talking about increasing the 
child credit for people who are raising children in America. Well, now, 
one of the key ingredients in our tax plan is doubling the child credit, 
and that's an important part of tax relief. It's an important part of 
tax relief, particularly when you drop the bottom rate in our Tax Code, 
like we're advocating. And the reason that's important is because 
there's a lot of folks in our country who live on the outskirts of 
poverty who are working hard to get ahead, and as a result of the way 
this Tax Code is structured, as they begin to get ahead, pay a higher 
marginal rate on dollars earned than somebody who is successful.
    I love to use the example, because it helps make my case as loud--as 
clearly as I can, about the single lady working in any State in the 
Union, trying to get ahead. She may have two children. First, it's 
important for Congress to understand she's got the toughest job in 
America. Raising children on her own is the hardest work in our country, 
coupled with the fact that for whatever reason, she's making $22,000 a 
year. The way this Tax Code is structured today, for every additional 
dollar she earns, she pays a higher marginal rate on that dollar than 
someone making $200,000 a year. And that is not fair, and that's not 
what America is about, as far as we're concerned.
    So tax relief, when you combine dropping the bottom rate from 15 to 
10 and increasing the child credit, it makes the Tax Code more fair and 
more equitable. It inculcates this principle: The harder you work, the 
more money you ought to put in your pocket in America. And Tim 
understands that.
    Well, I've heard a lot of the debate about taxes. You know, they 
say, ``Well George W., he only cares about the wealthy people.'' That's 
because I believe if you pay taxes, you ought to get tax relief. What I 
don't subscribe to is this business about Washington, DC, people being 
able to pick and choose the winners. That's code word for targeted tax 
cuts. That means elected officials get to sit in a room, and they get to 
say, ``This table over here gets tax relief, and this table doesn't.'' 
Our attitude is, if you pay taxes, you ought to get relief. That's the 
only fair thing in America.
    We dropped that top rate, just like we dropped the bottom rate. And 
there are two positive effects when you do so. First of all, it sets a 
principle, that the Federal Government should take no more than a third 
of anybody's check. It's time we have some principles in the Tax Code. 
One, the code ought to be more fair. Two, our Federal Government doesn't 
need to take more than a third of anybody's check. And secondly, it's 
important for the policy makers in Washington to focus on the reality of 
dropping the top rate. By dropping the top rate, we stimulate 
investment. We send a clear message that ours is an entrepreneurial 
economy.
    The role of Government is not to create wealth. The role of 
Government is to create an environment in which the entrepreneur or the 
small-business person can flourish. And these Senators that are balking 
on this plan must understand that most small businesses all across 
America are unincorporated. They're Subchapter S's. They're sole 
proprietorships. They don't pay the corporate tax; they pay the personal 
tax. And by dropping the top rate, we're sending a clear message that 
small business must thrive and flourish in America, that we want our 
entrepreneurs to have more cash so they can expand their payrolls, 
create new investment opportunities. No, the way to deal with this Tax 
Code is to recognize if you pay taxes, you've got to get relief. And 
that's what this Senate must hear loud and clear from the people of 
Arkansas.
    We're trying to do something about the marriage penalty. This Tax 
Code of ours sends the wrong signals. It taxes marriage. We ought to be 
rewarding marriage. We ought to be encouraging families in the Tax Code.

[[Page 669]]

    And finally, one area the Senator and I are working closely on, it's 
an area dear to the hearts of a lot of people--doesn't matter whether 
you're Republican or Democrat--and that's this business about the death 
tax. The death tax is unfair, and we need to repeal the death tax in the 
code. It's unfair to tax a person's assets twice. I've talked to 
hundreds of people all across America who've heard this message about 
repealing the death tax, and they come up to me and say, ``I've worked 
all my life. I started with nothing. It looks like I'm going to end up 
with something, and it should be the American right to be able to pass 
my assets on to my children without the Federal Government making it 
impossible for me to do so.''
    This is a State with a lot of farmers. And Tim and I spent a lot of 
time talking about agriculture, coming down here. And I understand that 
some in the agricultural sector are hurting. And I understand there is 
pressure--what they call urban sprawl in some areas. Well, if you're 
worried about urban sprawl and if you're worried about the farmer, why 
don't we make it easier for people not to have to sell their farm upon 
death? We need to get rid of the death tax, and the Senate needs to hear 
that loud and clear.
    I'm sure you've heard the arguments--I certainly have--that, well, 
if you have a $1.6 trillion tax cut, the Government is not going to be 
able to meet its needs, that by letting people keep their own money, the 
Federal Government is going to starve to death.
    Well, let me tell you about the budget that Tim has supported and I 
proposed. It increases discretionary spending by 4 percent. Now, there 
are some parts of our budget that are going to grow based upon what they 
call entitlements. That's like Social Security. And Social Security, by 
the way--we've set aside all the payroll taxes, and they're only going 
to be spent on Social Security. This business about letting Congress dip 
into Social Security, that's over with. People have got to understand 
the Social Security system is safe and secure and sound under a Bush 
administration.
    But discretionary spending grows in my budget at 4 percent. Is that 
enough? Well, 4 percent is greater than the rate of inflation. Seems 
like it's enough to me. Four percent is greater than most people's 
paychecks increase by. That ought to be enough. But it's not enough, and 
over the objections of Senator Hutchinson, the United States Senate 
passed a discretionary budget of 8 percent.
    Now, what does 8 percent mean? If we increase the discretionary 
budget by 8 percent, on an annual basis, it means that 9 years of 
discretionary budget of the United States of America will double. And 
when you double the discretionary budget of Federal spending, you crowd 
out capital in the private sector, and it's a drag on the U.S. economy. 
This Congress needs to be able to live within its means, and 4 percent 
is plenty.
    We've got some choices to make: Bigger Government or a stronger 
economy. And we've got some choices to make. Once we meet the needs of 
the Government, who do we trust with the money? Who do we trust? And 
that's the question I'm asking Washington to think about. Senator 
Hutchinson trusts the people, and so does President Bush, because we 
understand this surplus is not the Government's money. The surplus is 
the people's money. And we've got to trust them with their own money to 
make decisions for their family. It's a fundamental, philosophical 
question.
    Some of your members here of the congressional delegation are 
struggling with that question. Who do you trust? Who do you trust with 
that additional money? And Senator Hutchinson has no problems making the 
statement loud and clear. Once we meet our needs in Washington, he 
trusts the people, the people of Arkansas to make the right decisions 
for their families and the children, make the right decision on how 
they're going to save and what they're going to do with their money.
    And we've got some priorities in the budget, and that's one reason 
why I think it's safe for me to say that the budget meets the needs. 
Instead of trying to be all things to all people, it sets clear 
priorities. Education is a priority in our budget, and it should be a 
priority in the budget. The Department that gets the biggest increase of 
any one, of any Department in my budget, is the Department of Education. 
And let me tell you what we do in it.

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    I've made reading a priority in our Nation. I fully understand if 
you can't read, it's going to be hard to get ahead. One of the worst 
things that's happened is we've just shuffled children through the 
system who are illiterate. And that has got to end in America, and it 
starts by having the Federal Government make a commitment to sound 
reading programs, diagnostic tools. And so we've tripled the amount of 
money in the Federal budget, money that's accessible by the local school 
districts.
    We tripled character education funds. It's one thing to teach 
children to read and write, but we also have to teach them right from 
wrong in America. And so we make money available for local school 
districts for character education.
    Teacher training is a priority. So we increase teacher training 
funds by 18 percent, from 2001 to 2002. No, we set priorities in the 
budget. And I appreciate Senator Hutchinson's leadership on the Labor 
and Education Committee in the Senate. He talked about a bipartisan 
consensus, and we're getting there, because the principles inherent in 
the bill are sound and make sense. It's a commonsense approach to 
education.
    It says, first and foremost, this Nation must set high standards for 
the children to go to school. If you set low standards, guess what you 
get? Low results. And so we set high standards and high expectations. 
Secondly, we know who is best to chart the path to excellence, and it's 
not in Washington, DC. This bill and reforms that we're proposing in 
Washington will pass power out of Washington because I strongly believe, 
as does Senator Hutchinson, in local control of schools.
    We've done something different at Washington, DC. We have said, 
``Listen, we've spent a lot of Federal money, and some of it makes 
sense. And if you receive Federal money, you have to account for it.'' 
It's time to have a results-oriented approach to public policy. And it 
says if you receive money, you must measure. It doesn't say the Federal 
Government should measure, it says the State of Arkansas ought to 
measure. And you ought to test, and you ought to let us know whether or 
not children are learning to read and write and add and subtract. And if 
they are, there ought to be ample praise in society. But if they're not, 
instead of just quitting on children, instead of just shuffling through 
the school system, we've got to end that practice.
    Up until now, much of public education has asked the question to our 
children, ``How old are you? If you're 10, you're supposed to go here, 
and if you're 12, you belong here, and if you're 16, you go here.'' And 
guess what happens in a system that simply asks age as opposed to, 
``What do you know?'' Children get shuffled through the system. And many 
times, sadly enough, they're inner-city kids. It's so much easier to 
quit on a child than to take the extra time to teach them.
    The system must stop asking the question, ``How old are you?'' and 
start asking the question, ``What do you know?'' And if the children do 
not know what they're supposed to know early in life, we need to correct 
those problems, because there are no second-rate children in America as 
far as this administration is concerned. There are no second-rate 
dreams. And the education reform package we're sending sets this clear 
and profound goal: Not one single child will be left behind in the great 
country called America.
    I take my obligation to defend our country very seriously. I'm proud 
to be the Commander in Chief. And I fully understand that to enhance 
morale in the United States military, it requires a Commander in Chief 
who honors the men and women who wear the uniform and, in turn, earns 
the respect of the men and women who wear our uniform. And secondly, in 
order to boost morale we must increase pay, and my budget does so. It 
improves housing. And my budget does so. And Tim Hutchinson stands side 
by side. We need modern defenses. And he and I agree strongly that the 
Little Rock Air Force Base is important for the future of this country. 
He not only looks out for Arkansas, this Senator looks out for America. 
And for that I hope the people of this great State are grateful.
    You will hear those who make every excuse in the world to keep your 
money in Washington say, ``Well, the Bush budget or so and so votes 
means that somebody is not going to get adequate health care.'' In the 
budget

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I submitted to Congress, we doubled the Medicare budget over a 10-year 
period of time. In the budget I submitted to Congress, we doubled the 
number of folks who will be served in community health centers in 
America over a 5-year period of time. In the budget I submitted for 
America, we have tax credits for working uninsured. We have a President 
who is saying to Congress, ``Instead of just talking about these health 
care issues, let's get something done on them.'' And my budget reflects 
that, and that's an important priority of ours--the health of our 
citizens.
    And finally, I believe that Senator Hutchinson and I and others, but 
Republicans and Democrats, are doing something that's immeasurable. You 
can't talk about it in terms of the budget. But they're working hard to 
change the tone of Washington, DC. I have pledged to the American people 
to change the tone of our Nation's Capital so that when people look at 
Washington, they are proud of what they see. I believe most Americans of 
either party are sick and tired of needless partisan bickering and name-
calling, and finger-pointing.
    We need to spend our energy getting things done, not passing the 
blame. And we're making good progress. There is a culture of respect 
that's beginning to emerge in Washington. I'm beginning to notice that 
the rhetoric is toning down just a little bit. I hope people realize 
that good public policy means good politics. And we don't need to be 
spending all our time on politics in Washington. It's time to focus on 
the people's business. Tax relief is in the people's interest. It's good 
for our economy. It's good for our people.
    This doesn't have to be a, ``Well, I can't vote for that bill 
because it might make George W. Bush look good, or some political party 
look good,'' we need to get the attitude in Washington, DC, ``We've been 
elected for a reason, and that's to stand up and do what each of us 
think is right on behalf of the American people.'' Tim Hutchinson 
understands that. I hope all Senators understand that. And if they 
understand that, then the dialog is going to be much, much more civil, 
much more responsible.
    And that's what we need in this country. We need responsibility. We 
need to usher a period of personal responsibility, where each of us 
understands we have the awesome responsibility to be a good citizen. If 
you happen to be a mom or dad, you have the awesome responsibility of 
loving your children with all your heart and all your soul. If you're a 
fortunate citizen in this country, you have the responsibility of 
putting your arm around a neighbor in need and say, ``Brother or sister, 
somebody loves you. Somebody cares.'' One of the most profound 
initiatives that we are working on--one of the most profound initiatives 
that we are working on is the Faith-Based Initiative that welcomes 
people of faith and community and good heart into the compassionate 
delivery of help for people who need help in America.
    We should not fear faith in America; we ought to welcome faith. It 
changes lives and changes hearts. We're making good progress toward 
ushering in a period of personal responsibility. But it requires people 
serving in Washington who understand the reason they are there. And I 
firmly believe Senator Tim Hutchinson understands the reason they are 
there. He loves and cares about the people of Arkansas.
    And by the way, as this campaign gets going, you might turn to a 
friend or neighbor and say, it makes a lot of sense for Arkansas to have 
somebody who can walk into the Oval Office. It makes a lot of sense for 
our State, with the problems we have, to have a United States Senator be 
able to pick the phone up and say, ``Mr. President, I'd like to discuss 
the concerns of the people of Arkansas. We've got some problems with our 
farmers. I'd like to discuss the concerns. We may have a problem in our 
education system. Mr. President, I'd like you to hear me out. I'd like 
to deliver a message on the people of Arkansas.'' And I can assure you, 
folks, that the person running this race who will have the ear of the 
President of the United States is Senator Tim Hutchinson. So I want to 
thank you all for coming. Thank you for your generous support. Work 
hard. We need this man in Washington, DC.
    God bless. And God bless America.

Note: The President spoke at 6:53 p.m. at the Statehouse Convention 
Center. In his remarks, he

[[Page 672]]

referred to Nick Bacon, director, Arkansas Department of Veterans 
Affairs; and Dennis Rainey, executive director, FamilyLife.