[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 45 (Monday, November 12, 2001)]
[Pages 1623-1624]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at the Signing Ceremony for the National Employer Support of the 
Guard and Reserve Week Proclamation

November 9, 2001

    Welcome to the White House. Thank you all for coming.
    I am pleased to be here today to salute the national guardsmen and 
reservists and their employers for serving their country and to announce 
some important new measures to make air travel more secure over the 
holidays.
    America is engaged in a long and difficult struggle. At a key moment 
in our history, an important moment in the history of freedom, members 
of the National Guard and Reserve are answering their country's call. 
They are performing their duty with skill and with courage. And by 
supporting their mobilization, many employers are demonstrating their 
own patriotism.
    In a moment, I will sign a proclamation naming next week National 
Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Week. It is a way to express 
our appreciation to these employers and to thank them for their selfless 
devotion to our great country.
    I want to thank the Secretary of Transportation, who is here, Norm 
Mineta. Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary, for your hard work. I 
appreciate Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz for being here as 
well. Thank you, Paul. And of course, I want to thank John McHugh, 
Representative from New York. Thank you for coming, John.
    America faces an evil and a determined enemy. They committed mass 
murder against innocent citizens, and they have brought misery and 
terror to the people of Afghanistan. They persecute women. They destroy 
great monuments of human culture and religious faith. They execute 
people who convert to other religions. They steal food that we send to 
help starving people.
    They hope to spread their terror around the world, but we're not 
going to let them. The Al Qaida terrorist network and every nation that 
supports it are enemies of liberty and human dignity. We will oppose 
them. We'll find them. And we'll defeat them.
    The American people have responded magnificently to this challenge. 
The terrorists thought they could break the spirit of this country. They 
really didn't understand America. Their attacks have had the opposite 
effect, for we're strong. We're united. We are patient. We're 
determined. And all of us are ready to serve the great cause of freedom.
    The National Guard and Reserve are examples of this service. Since 
September the 11th, we have called to active duty nearly 53,000 Guard 
and Reserve personnel. They are guarding energy plants. They are meeting 
the military's intelligence, medical, and supply needs with specialized 
training. And they are securing our airports.
    In order to increase security of airline travelers during the 
holiday season, we will increase by 25 percent the number of National 
Guard personnel who protect our airports and airlines and American 
travelers. We are calling up these guards men and women immediately. 
This increase in security will last through the busy holiday period, and 
it is in addition to more than the 6,000 members of the Guard already 
mobilized at airports since September the 11th. These are temporary 
measures, and we believe they'll help a lot. And we are making 
fundamental changes to airport security as well.
    The Federal Government must take, and I believe will take, control 
of aviation security. I am pleased that both Houses of Congress have 
passed bills that do just that. And I urge Congress to work hard to 
resolve the differences between the two bills--they're not that far 
apart--and to get to my desk as quickly as possible a bill that will 
make air travel much safer for the American people.
    While Congress finishes its business, I have instructed our good 
Secretary, Secretary of Transportation Mineta, to begin a series of 
high-level transition planning sessions with airport operators, security 
device

[[Page 1624]]

manufacturers, airline CEOs, and other parties that will play a direct 
role in the transition to the new airport security system.
    There are additional steps we are taking to increase the public's 
safety and its confidence in air travel. The FAA is deploying a core 
team of security professionals to improve oversight of screening and 
other security functions at our airports. I am instructing the Inspector 
General of the Department of Transportation to conduct undercover audits 
of security performance at airports nationwide, to ensure the strict 
compliance of FAA security standards. And in September, I announced a 
$300 million grant program to secure airport--secure cockpit doors on 
airplanes. And I commend the airlines for acting quickly. Major airlines 
have now fortified cockpit doors on 100 percent of their airplanes.
    We're fighting a war on many fronts. It's a diplomatic war; it's a 
financial war. The military is performing brilliantly in Afghanistan, 
and we could not win the war without the help of the Guard and the 
reservists. And they, in turn, could not do their vital work without the 
support of their employers. Many employers are putting the national 
interests above their own self-interest, including the five recipients 
of the Secretary of Defense Employers Support Freedom Award. They have 
representatives with us today: Southwest Airlines, Boeing, EDS 
Electronic Data Systems, BAE Systems, and the City of Bedford, Virginia.
    These employers are supporting the National Guard and Reserve in 
practical and important ways, including providing full pay, benefits, 
and job security to employees who are called to active service. 
Employers do these things because they recognize that their workers are 
fighting to keep America free. They recognize that we have such huge 
stakes. They also know that America's military forces are the best 
trained in the world. And when you hire a member of the Guard or 
Reserve, you bring that training to your workplace.
    Since September the 11th, more than 1,000 State and local chambers 
of commerce have signed statements of support for employees who serve in 
the Guard and Reserve.
    Well, the Federal Government, it turns out, is the largest employer 
of Guard and Reserve personnel in America. And I am proud to sign a 
statement of support on behalf of our Federal Government.
    I am also pleased to sign the proclamation naming next week National 
Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Week. I would like to welcome 
up to the stage for the signing Paul Wolfowitz, who represents the 
Defense Department, and the five winners of the Secretary of Defense 
Employers Support Freedom Award.
    I want to thank you all for your service to America. Thank you for 
coming to the White House. And may God bless America.

Note: The President spoke at 2:33 p.m. in the East Room at the White 
House.