[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 34 (Monday, August 27, 2001)]
[Pages 1188-1191]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention in Milwaukee, 
Wisconsin

August 20, 2001

    Thank you all. Thank you very much. At ease. [Laughter]
    Thank you for that warm welcome. Before I begin my address, I know 
you'll want to join me in paying tribute to a fine friend and a good man 
who left us last week. We mourn the loss of Floyd Spence, who served our 
country well as a Congressman from South Carolina. He was chairman of 
the Committees on National Security and on the Armed Services, a senior 
member of the Committee on Veterans Affairs. He was a strong advocate 
for national defense. Our prayers are with his wife, Deborah, and his 
four sons.
    My, time flies. I was here a year ago, minus one day. [Laughter] 
Since then, I have had a change of address--[laughter]--and I received a 
great honor. Another honor comes to me today, to speak as Commander in 
Chief to the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States of America.
    Today I bring the respect of our Nation and a special greeting from 
one of your own members, from VFW Post 4344 of Houston, Texas, the 
former President George H.W. Bush.
    I want to thank your commander in chief. John has been in the Oval 
Office. He is a true advocate for the veterans. He has done a fine job. 
And like me, he married well. And I want to congratulate John's 
successor, Jim Goldsmith. And I look forward to working with Jim, just 
like I have with John. I also want to thank Bob Wallace. I want to thank 
Bob Wallace, the VFW's man in Washington,

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DC, for working closely with my administration and representing your 
interests very well. I want to thank Pat Jankowski of the Ladies 
Auxiliary, who are gathered here as well in Milwaukee, and I want to 
thank her for her leadership. And I want to congratulate Diana Stout, 
who will become the incoming president of the Ladies Auxiliary.
    As well, I want to thank the Governor of Wisconsin, Scott McCallum, 
for his hospitality, and I want to thank all the good people of 
Wisconsin, particularly Milwaukee for being such a welcoming city to 
this great convention.
    And I want to pay tribute to a good friend of mine and a good friend 
of yours, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Tony Principi. Last year he 
was giving me advice about veterans affairs. This year he sits around 
the Cabinet, making sure I understand what we are doing in veterans 
affairs. And I appreciate so very much Tony's return to public service. 
He is doing a fine job.
    I want to thank you all for having me come to this convention. I 
have been looking forward to this visit. I appreciate every chance I get 
to travel our country. It is important for a President never to become 
isolated in the seat of power. As great and influential as that city is, 
sometimes the President just has to get out of Crawford, Texas. 
[Laughter]
    This is a fine organization. General Douglas MacArthur called the 
VFW the greatest organization in the world. He and his dad were both 
members, and they would be proud of all you have done for your country, 
and they would be proud of the more than 1.9 million members of the VFW.
    Each one of you is a living example of a special kind of patriotism, 
the love of country, expressed not just in word but in lifetimes of 
service. You defended America in hours of need. You help your fellow 
veterans in times of their need. And you have done so much to build the 
character of our young people, to teach them to live by good values, to 
honor their parents, to trust in God. You helped them to appreciate 
freedom, to love America, and to respect our flag. You understand as 
well that showing a basic respect for our Nation's flag is not merely 
the option of every citizen; it should be a matter of constitutional 
law.
    In Europe last month, one of my last stops was Camp Bondsteel in 
Kosovo. I went there to thank our service men and women for their 
sacrifice for our Nation. I took the occasion to make good on a promise, 
by signing a bill to allocate over $2 billion in additional 
appropriations for military pay, benefits, health, and housing. To 
restore the strength and morale of America's Armed Forces, we must first 
take care of the people who wear our uniform. I believe we're making 
every branch of service a place where men and women are proud to serve 
and, as importantly, proud to stay.
    My administration understands America's obligations not only go to 
those who wear the uniform today but to those who wore the uniform in 
the past, to our veterans. And at times, those obligations have not been 
met. Veterans in need of care have been kept waiting, and thousands of 
veterans' claims have been delayed or, in some cases, lost in the 
bureaucracy.
    Many veterans have observed that the Government seemed to work a lot 
more efficiently when it wanted something from them. When the draft 
board got your file, it worked efficiently. [Laughter] But now, when you 
need health care, forms get lost and answers come late. That is no way 
to treat America's veterans, and that is going to change.
    Secretary Principi is conducting a top-to-bottom review of the 
claims processing. Currently, there are about 600,000 pending 
applications, of which 53,000 have been pending over a year. Many of 
those belong to veterans over 70 years of age. That's not right. I have 
given Secretary Principi the clearest of clear mandates. He must bring 
those claims to a speedy and fair resolution. We must move as quickly as 
possible on the backlog, and we will. We will improve cooperation 
between the VA and the Department of Defense in providing care to those 
who served.
    In May, I signed an Executive order creating a Presidential task 
force to recommend major reforms in the delivery of health care to 
veterans and military retirees. Two distinguished Americans will lead 
that task force: Dr. Gail Wilensky, an expert on health policy and a 
faithful friend to the veterans, and former Congressman Gerry Solomon. 
One

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might be tempted to call him an ex-marine, but we all know there is no 
such thing as an ex-marine.
    We are making great progress on implementing the Veterans Millennium 
Health Care Act to ensure that our veterans receive high-quality care. 
In the budget I submitted to Congress, I requested an increase of $1 
billion, additional money for veterans services. Secretary Principi 
recently announced new health care facilities for veterans: six new 
centers for Parkinson's disease research and care and 41 new outpatient 
clinics in 28 States.
    Veterans are a priority for this administration. I put a good man in 
charge, and that priority is reflected in my budget. Our budget also 
meets the most fundamental responsibility a President bears, to provide 
security for the United States of America. Not only does the budget take 
care of our people, we give today's military what it needs to operate: 
equipment, spare parts, advanced training. In all, I've asked Congress 
to provide our military an increase of $39 billion over the original 
2001 appropriations. This is the largest increase in military spending 
since Ronald Reagan was the Commander in Chief. We are not only going to 
spend more on national defense; we're also going to spend it more 
wisely.
    Secretary Rumsfeld is charged with developing a strategy to bolster 
today's military, and he is charged with developing a strategy to 
develop a military that is ready to defend America tomorrow, as well. A 
modern military requires major investment in research and development so 
that our military is always the finest in the world.
    And something I offered last year as a promise is today a 
commitment, to research, develop, and deploy a defense against ballistic 
missiles. These are the priorities I submitted to Congress in February 
and priorities reflected to the budget amendment in June. I trust they 
will be reflected in the appropriations bills Congress sends me this 
fall for my signature.
    As we enter the appropriations process, I have great hopes but no 
illusions. Washington has its own way of doing things, especially around 
the time of year when final appropriations are made. The spending bills 
are passed one after another, 13 in all. Everybody in Washington knows 
there is a budget, but new spending gets thrown in along the way. 
Finally, when it is time to pass the last bill, they realize they are 
just about to go over the budget. And often, and sadly, the final bill 
has been the Defense appropriations bill, and therefore, defense 
appropriations has gone without adequate funding. That's the old way of 
doing business. That's old style of thinking.
    I have a better idea. Let's abandon the old ways of gamesmanship, 
standoffs, and Government shutdowns. Let us keep our priorities straight 
and start with the things that matter most to our country's security and 
our country's future. This year, let us have responsible spending from 
day one and put the national security and education of our children 
first in line when it comes to the appropriations process.
    I hope you all watch very carefully. It's important that people pay 
attention to what goes on in Washington. It will be an interesting 
signal about the priorities of the leaders of the United States Congress 
when they let those appropriation bills out to come to my desk. I'm 
confident I can work with Congress on appropriations because we have 
worked closely together on other issues. We saw bipartisan votes on the 
budget itself. And they passed, and I signed, and the mailman is 
delivering the first major income tax relief in a generation. And we 
also work together in honoring veterans.
    Members of the VFW have long advocated a fitting memorial to those 
who served in the Second World War. The World War II Memorial has been 
in the works for an awfully long time. The final obstacles have been 
removed. I've signed it into law, and soon the veterans of World War II 
will have their place of honor in the heart of our Nation's Capital.
    In the heart of Washington, DC, that monument will stand for all 
time as a reminder of service and sacrifice. Not far away are monuments 
to those who fought in other wars across the world. For all of you, 
service in time of war was a defining experience in your life. Your 
brave and selfless conduct has defined the best of our country.

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    America does not seek to produce more generations of war veterans; 
we are a peaceful Nation. But we'll always need the commitment and 
courage and honor that we find in our veterans. Those who have worn the 
uniform have made a contribution, not just to the defense of our Nation 
but to the character of our Nation. You've given your best to America, 
and in so many ways you are the best that is in America.
    For all that, you have the deep respect of those who wear the 
uniform today, the Commander in Chief, as well. And you have the 
gratitude of a Nation that is in debt.
    Thank you for letting me come. May God bless our veterans.

Note: The President spoke at 11:20 a.m. at the Midwest Express Center. 
In his remarks, he referred to David, Zack, Benjamin, and Caldwell 
Spence, sons of Representative Spence; John F. Gwizdak, commander in 
chief, and James N. Goldsmith, senior vice commander in chief, Veterans 
of Foreign Wars; Bob Wallace, executive director, Veterans of Foreign 
Wars Washington office; Patricia Jankowski, president, and Diana Stout, 
senior vice president, Ladies Auxiliary to the Veterans of Foreign Wars; 
and Gov. Scott McCallum of Wisconsin. The President also referred to 
Executive Order 13214, President's Task Force To Improve Health Care 
Delivery for Our Nation's Veterans, published in the Federal Register on 
May 31; Public Law No. 106-117, the Veterans Millennium Health Care and 
Benefits Act, approved November 30, 1999; and Public Law No. 107-11, to 
expedite the construction of the World War II Memorial, approved May 28.