[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 36 (Monday, September 10, 2001)]
[Pages 1261-1264]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Teamsters Barbecue in Detroit, Michigan

September 3, 2001

    The President. Thank you, all. Larry Brennan said there hadn't been 
a President come to a Teamster rally in 50 years--only he's been long 
enough to know if that's 50 years. [Laughter] I appreciate it.
    Listen, I want to thank you all very much. First of all, thank you 
for your hospitality, and thank you for being so nice to my wife. Yes, I 
brought my wife. You think I travel without her, you're crazy. 
[Laughter] Best decision I ever made was to ask Laura to marry me. 
There's a lot of folks wondering whether the best decision she ever made 
was to say yes. [Laughter]
    But we are honored to be here on Labor Day to celebrate the American 
worker. And it's a good place to be, right here in Michigan, where 
people work hard, with the Teamsters, who made an historical record of 
setting the example of how to work hard.
    I want to thank the working families who are here to greet us, and I 
want to thank the working families all across America, who make our 
Nation unique and different. I mean, we're different because our folks 
aren't afraid of hard work, and they know what it means to support 
family, and they know what it means to make their communities better.
    So thanks for having us and giving us a chance to celebrate. I 
appreciate the officials

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who are here, your Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, and the mayor of 
the great city of Detroit, all out here to say a few nice words to the 
President. It makes me feel good on Labor Day.
    I also want to thank Bill Black for his hospitality and the 
leadership of this local for letting me come. Some folks might have 
thought they took a risk inviting a Republican here, but I stand before 
you--I stand before you as a proud American, first and foremost.
    And I'll tell you, another proud American is traveling with me--we 
just came from the Green Bay, Wisconsin, area, and Doug McCarron is the 
president of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners. Where's 
Doug? There he is. He gave them a stemwinder this morning. But we were 
there to celebrate the carpenters of America, as well.
    And I understand we don't necessarily agree on every single issue, 
but we agree to listen. And I agree about this, that you've got a good 
man running the Teamsters in Jimmy Hoffa. I don't know if that will help 
him or hurt him in his reelection campaign. [Laughter] But let me tell 
you something about him. Like Doug, if he's got an issue, he brings it 
forward in a straightforward way with the union workers--with the union 
workers in mind.
    And we listen. We listen. Ours is an administration that answers the 
phone. We don't ask the question, ``How did you vote?'' We ask the 
question, ``What's on your mind? Is it good for America?'' And that's 
why we're working together on some key issues.
    Let me tell you another thing about Jimmy Hoffa. He's running a good 
union. And in an above-board way, in an above-board way. And make no 
mistake about it, people are beginning to notice, particularly in 
Washington, DC. [Laughter]
    Now, let me tell you, I'm a little concerned. I'm proud of our 
workers; I'm concerned about the fact that our economy is just bumping 
along. This is a Labor Day where we can't celebrate a booming economy. 
For the last 12 months--let me repeat--for the last 12 months the 
economy has been way too slow. And people are hurting. And people are 
suffering. And there are families who wonder about how they're going to 
feed their kids. And I understand that, and we've got help in 
Washington.
    But the best thing we can do is ask the question, how do we make 
sure our economy grows? And I came up with this answer: Our economy can 
grow best when we give people their own money back, when we give the 
hard-working Americans their own money back in the form of rebates, so 
that you spend it. And that's what's going to help this economy rebound. 
The Federal Government must keep a lid on spending and remember that 
when the American consumer spends, it is the best way to kick-start a 
soft economy. The biggest threat to economic vitality and economic 
growth is if Congress overspends. And that's why I'm glad to have Peter 
Hoekstra on my side. He not only supported tax relief for the American 
families; he understands that Congress and Washington should not 
overspend.
    Now, I came in, I saw a sign that said, ``Thank you for the rebate, 
Mr. President,'' as if that's my money to give back. But the person 
holding the sign, I appreciate the thanks----
    Audience member. It's my money.
    The President. Yes. It's not the Government's money. It's the hard-
working Teamsters' money. It's your money to begin with.
    There's another issue that we're working on, and Jimmy Hoffa was on 
national TV yesterday talking about it. And that's energy. He 
understands good, sound energy policy means jobs for American workers. 
And if we run out of energy, if we become more beholden to foreign 
sources of energy, it's going to be hard on the working families in 
America. So he stood strong, as did Doug, with our administration as we 
developed the first energy plan in a long period of time for this 
Government.
    Now, energy means we've got to conserve better, and we will. But it 
also means that when we can find exploration activities in our own 
country, it makes sense to do so. It not only means independence; it 
means jobs. And I appreciate the leadership that Jimmy Hoffa took on 
good, sound energy policy in America.
    We're working hard on good education policy. One of the reasons I 
like to come to picnics like this is people bring their families.

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They bring their families to say hello to the President. They bring 
their families because they want to celebrate their off days with their 
kids. That's what I like. And I understand a lot of folks in this 
audience understand the most important priority you have--and not 
necessarily driving a truck--but if you have a child, it's to love your 
child with all your heart and all your soul. The most important thing 
you can do--it doesn't matter what your job is, what your political 
party is. If you're a mom or a dad, your most important job is to love 
your child and let them know that on an everyday basis. In order to make 
sure America works the way we want it to, we've got to have an education 
policy that starts at home, with moms and dads setting a good example 
for their children, surrounding their children with love, giving their 
children confidence.
    And then we've got to make sure we've got a public school system 
that works. And that's why we're proposing education reform that insists 
upon local control of schools but at the same time that says, we're 
going to measure to find out whether or not children are learning to 
read and write and add and subtract. And if they are, we're going to 
praise the teachers. But if we find schools that won't teach and won't 
change, we'll demand something different. There are no second-rate 
children in this country called America, and there are no second-rate 
dreams, as far as I'm concerned.
    We're going to be focusing on the economy and education. And another 
issue I'm focusing on is security. And for those of you who serve the 
United States in the military, I want to thank you for your service. For 
those of you who have got relatives in the military, let me assure you I 
understand a strong military is needed to keep the peace.
    And finally, we'll be talking about opportunity. Opportunity not 
only means good education; opportunity means not only letting people 
keep their own money so you can spend it, so you can make the decisions 
for your families. But opportunity means also understanding there are 
people in our society who hurt.
    And therefore, in order to make sure people realize the American 
Dream is meant for them, that we must rally the great compassion of 
America. And oftentimes that's found in our churches and synagogues and 
mosques. And our Government must not fear institutions of faith that 
exist to love a neighbor just like you'd like to be loved yourself. We 
shouldn't resist faith-based programs. We ought to welcome them. We 
ought to encourage them. We ought to spread them out in neighborhoods so 
nobody feels left out in America.
    I was walking in the audience here and somebody stuck out their hand 
and said, ``Mr. President, I pray for you.'' I can't tell you how good 
that makes me feel. They didn't say, ``Let me check your voter 
registration card.'' [Laughter] They said, ``I'm praying for you.''
    And that speaks to the greatness of our country. I want you to know 
that--that ours is a nation of people on bended knee. Ours is a nation 
that's got great values. One of the values is hard work; another value 
is family; and another value is faith. We're a nation where you're free 
to choose.
    But there are a lot of faithful people in America, and that's what 
gives me great hope for the future of this country. I know we can work 
our way out of the economic doldrums we have. But I also know that we 
can love our way out of the problems we find in our neighborhoods, in 
our communities.
    And my job as your President is to set a tone that will encourage 
the very best from each citizen. My job as the President is to lift our 
sights and raise our spirits. And my job as the President of the United 
States is to set an example for which you'll be proud.
    I accept the challenge. I'm honored to be here as your President. 
Thank you for your hospitality, and may God bless you all. May God bless 
you.

Note: The President spoke at 2:36 p.m. on a lot across the street from 
the Teamsters Joint Council 43 headquarters building. In his remarks, he 
referred to Larry Brennan, president, and Bill Black, D.R.I.V.E. 
director, Joint Council 43, and James P. Hoffa, general president, 
International Brotherhood of Teamsters; Gov. John Engler and Lt. Gov. 
Dick Posthumus of Michigan; and Mayor Dennis W. Archer of Detroit.

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