    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 9 (Monday, March 4, 2002)]
    [Pages 318-323]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Remarks to Employees of The Printer, Inc., in Des Moines

    March 1, 2002

        Well, thanks for that warm welcome. It's nice to be back in Iowa. I
    spent some quality days here in Iowa. [Laughter] I used to tell people
    that Iowa was the friendliest State that I campaigned in, and I want to
    thank you for the hospitality, coming back as your President.
        I appreciate the Governor being here. Governor, thanks for taking
    time. We had the honor of hosting the Governors--the national Governors
    at the White House last Sunday night. I'd just gotten in from China,
    rented my tux, and had the Governors over. [Laughter] But it was good to
    see your Governor, and thanks for being here. I'm honored you're here.
        And I also appreciate so many friends and members of the Iowa House
    who are here. I see my friend Mary Kramer. I see the speaker. I want to
    thank you both for coming. I want to thank all the members. I hope the
    Governor is doing everything you tell him to do. [Laughter] That's not
    the way it's supposed to work.
        I appreciate very much Leonard Boswell, the Congressman, for being
    here, and I want to appreciate my friend Tom Latham, as well, for
    traveling with me--two fine Members of the United States Congress.
    Anyway, I thank all the elected officials for coming. I appreciate a
    chance to say hello.
        I also want to thank the Benskins for inviting me here. I didn't
    realize Bill--I guess

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    the employees probably didn't realize it either--he's such a silver-
    tongued devil. [Laughter]
        But I appreciate so very much the chance to visit with Bill and some
    of the employees. Let me tell you what my first impression is, is that
    this is a company that deeply cares about the people who work here. And
    Bill and Marty understand that if you treat the folks that work with you
    well, you'll more likely have a good product, that if you care about the
    future of the people who are doing the work for your company, the
    company is going to have a culture of success. And I could feel that
    instantly when I came here, and I want to congratulate the Benskins.
        See, small business is the lifeblood of the American economy. Most
    new jobs are created in small businesses. I'm a big believer in the
    entrepreneurial spirit. I'm a big believer in understanding that the
    role of Government is not to create wealth but an environment in which
    small businesses can flourish and people like the Benskins can realize
    their dream and, in turn, provide good, steady, honorable employment for
    the people who work in this company. So I want to thank you for giving
    me a chance to come and talk about security.
        Before I talk about retirement security, I see people wearing our
    uniform--the uniform--and I've got to talk about national security from
    a defense perspective. I submitted a budget to the United States
    Congress that sets this priority: We will defend freedom at any cost.
        The budget I submitted says basically this: If you wear the uniform
    of the United States of America and you're fighting to defend our
    freedom, you deserve the best equipment, the best training, another pay
    raise. And Congress best heed that call.
        We're in for a long and difficult struggle when it comes to fighting
    terrorists. It's long and difficult because, unlike other wars, these
    kind of faceless folks, nameless folks hide and burrow into countries
    that may be weak. They hide in the caves. These are the kinds of people
    who send young advocates, young believers to their suicide, and they,
    themselves, hide.
        When they attacked our country, they really didn't understand
    America. They thought we were soft. They thought we had a culture that
    was so materialistic that nobody in this land would be willing to
    sacrifice for something greater than ourselves. And they made a huge
    mistake.
        I made it absolutely clear to the world, a couple of points: One,
    that if you harbor a terrorist, if you feed a terrorist, if you hide a
    terrorist, you're just as guilty as the terrorists who attacked America,
    and you'll be held accountable. And that's exactly what happened to the
    Taliban. They wish they'd never heard of America.
        But our country showed up not as conquerors but as liberators. Our
    United States military liberated a nation from the most barbaric--one of
    the most barbaric regimes history has shown, and now young girls get to
    go to school, and women are free. And I can't tell you how proud I am of
    the efforts of the United States military in Afghanistan.
        I also made it clear to our coalition and our country that this is a
    new kind of war, that we've got to think about our children's future,
    that we can't rest until we have routed out terrorists wherever they try
    to hide, wherever they think they can accumulate and gather to hurt us
    again.
        Listen, we're doing everything we can to protect the homeland of the
    country. Our law enforcement is on alert. Our FBI has got thousands of
    agents now chasing down every possible lead, every hint. Every
    opportunity to make the country safe, we're seizing it. We've got a
    national strategy in place to have a good first-time responders
    initiative. I know the Governor is working on that, along with local law
    enforcement officials, to make sure that if we're attacked, there is a
    good response mechanism in place. We're working on a bioterrorism
    initiative. We're strengthening our borders. We're going to have a
    better understanding of who's coming in and who's going out of the
    United States of America. And we've got better intelligence-sharing.
    We're doing everything we can.
        But the best way to secure the homeland is to chase down those that
    would harm us and bring them to justice, and that is precisely what the
    United States of America is going to do. It doesn't matter how long it
    takes; it doesn't matter where we have to go.

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    We will protect freedom, and this administration will protect the
    innocent lives of American citizens.
        I'm confident the congressional appropriators will not let our
    military down and will not let the American people down, because the
    American people are united and patient and strong and prepared to defend
    freedom. I can't tell you how proud I am of our country, how proud I am
    of those who understand the task ahead.
        I also understand that part of my job is to battle a recession, and
    I spent a lot of time here in Iowa talking about the need for tax
    relief. And we passed tax relief right about the right time, because the
    best way to battle an economic slowdown is to get people your own money
    back so you can spend it. And as you spend it, it encourages new
    products and jobs.
        There are some in Washington who want to argue that we shouldn't go
    on with tax relief that we passed. They're reading the wrong economic
    textbooks. They are mistaken. Tax relief is good for American workers,
    and tax relief is good for the American economy.
        I know we need to take care of workers whose lives were affected as
    a result of the terrorist attacks on America. We need to extend
    unemployment benefits, and we need to help with health care. And I've
    laid out an initiative to do that. The House of Representatives passed a
    good bill to do that.
        But people want more than an unemployment check in America; they
    want a paycheck. And what people in Washington ought to be asking is
    how--what do we do to create more jobs so people can find work; what
    does it require? And one of the things that I think needs to happen is,
    we need a stimulus bill, an economic growth bill, a jobs bill that will
    encourage more investment in plant and equipment. If companies invest
    more in plant and equipment, companies are more likely to hire more
    workers. We need a stimulus bill out of Washington, DC.
        And we need a good farm bill to help with jobs. And I'm looking
    forward to working with Congress to get a good farm bill, one that
    recognizes a couple of things: One, farming is an incredibly important
    part of our economy. It's a huge industry in America. And the more
    vibrant the farm economy is, the more vibrant our national economy will
    be.
        Secondly, we've got to think about value-added processing when it
    comes to agriculture. I believe in ethanol. I believe ethanol is good
    for the quality of the air. I believe ethanol is important for the
    agricultural sector of our economy. I think it makes sense, and we've
    got to explore additional ways.
        We've got to have a farm bill that provides a safety net but doesn't
    encourage overproduction. And at the same time, we must open up markets
    for Iowa corn growers and soybean growers. When I was in China, I spent
    a lot of time talking to the Chinese leadership, saying, ``Buy those
    Iowa soybeans. You said you would do so. Open your markets.'' Because
    the more markets are open around the world for food products, the more
    likely it is American farmers, who happen to be the best at growing food
    in the world, are going to be able to sell their products. We ought to
    be feeding the world because we're the best at growing food. And so I
    want a good farm bill, and I expect to get one here pretty quick. And I
    look forward to signing it.
        And also, we need an energy bill. Listen, we import over 50 percent
    of our energy from overseas. And that doesn't make sense. We have to do
    it because we're not conserving enough, nor we are producing enough. For
    the good of the national security of our country, we ought to encourage
    more exploration in an environmentally friendly way on American soil. We
    ought to be less dependent on foreign sources of crude oil.
        And I also want to talk about retirement security today. And I came
    here not only because I wanted to herald the importance of small
    business in our society but because this company has a good 401(k) plan.
    A good 401(k) plan has got some features to it, one, that there is an
    encouragement for people to save. And Bill was telling me that one of
    the smart things they did was they put a certain amount of money in
    everybody's 401(k) plans to begin the process, and everybody said,
    ``What is a 401(k) plan?'' It got everybody's attention when they saw
    they had a little money, something set aside for them.

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        A good plan is one that--where the company says it's to your
    advantage to put as much money as you can away when you're younger and
    understand the power of compounding interest rates. In other words,
    watching that money grow on a tax-free basis makes a lot of sense. And
    the workers here at The Printer, Inc., understand that.
        You see, we're going to have to encourage more savings in America
    because people are going to live longer lives. I mean, you and I, the
    baby boomers, if we behave ourselves, will live way beyond the average
    lifespan of 20 to 30 years ago. And I don't know about you, but I plan
    to be active after I've reached the so-called retirement age. And
    therefore, it is to our advantage to start putting more money aside
    early so we've got more money to spend and to live on later on.
        And the 401(k) is a great way to encourage savings. And Bill was
    telling me, there's no guarantees, but on bonus years it goes in the
    401(k)s, which is a way to encourage workers to pay attention to the
    plan.
        He also tells me that there's a Web page designed for instant access
    to your money. This isn't the Government's money, by the way. This is
    your money; this is the workers' money; and you ought to be trusted with
    your own money. And a 401(k) recognizes who owns the money. And a good
    company is one that provides the instant access to accounting of your
    money, so you can see how it's growing. And then you have the option,
    obviously, within the law, to make investment decisions that you think
    is important.
        Now, one issue that I am concerned about is that a company like
    right here cannot offer sound investment advice, third-party advice to
    the workers, because they're afraid to get sued. Now, that doesn't make
    any sense to me, that if on the one hand a business such as this sets up
    a 401(k) plan and encourages investment, that they can't bring a third-
    party adviser to sit down with the workers, to give people objective
    advice as to what's happening in the marketplace or what makes sense,
    without fear of lawsuits. We've got too many lawsuits in our society, to
    begin with. And it doesn't make any sense to force workers not to be
    able to have good advice because somebody is afraid of getting sued.
        And so it seems like, to me, it makes sense for Congress to help
    reform pension laws by making it easier for people such as Bill to get
    good advice for the workers, without fear of some junk lawsuit or some
    throwaway lawsuit.
        And so I'm proud of what's happening here in this company, and I
    know that we need to do more when it comes to encouraging savings. And
    we did some good stuff in the tax relief--the tax cut--tax relief bill I
    talked about last year. Let me tell you about some of the reforms we
    made to encourage others to save more.
        One, we relaxed the restrictions on how much workers can invest in
    their individual retirement accounts and 401(k) plans; in other words,
    made it easier for people to invest.
        Two, it allows people over the age of 50 to catch up, to put more
    money into their retirement fund. And why would that happen? Well,
    somebody might have been laid off for a while. Or, if you happen to be a
    woman and you stayed at home for a while to raise your kids and came
    back into the workplace late, you ought to be allowed to catch up. You
    ought to be allowed to put more money in to make sure your 401(k) was
    sound and whole.
        We have--as well, we've reduced the tax burden on small businesses
    who want to start a 401(k) plan. As Bill will tell you if you were to
    ask him, it's pretty expensive to start one of these plans. You've got
    to hire a lawyer; you've got to hire an accountant. There are some
    startup costs. And a lot of small businesses take a look at the startup
    costs, and they say, ``What the heck do I want to spend money on this
    for,'' and therefore don't. And the workers lose out on a fantastic
    opportunity.
        And so it makes sense for the Government to make it easier for the
    small businesses to be able to deduct the cost of such startups on the
    tax credit basis, so that we encourage more 401(k) plans in America and,
    therefore, encourage more savings. The more savings there are, as
    Americans grow older, the more likely it is we'll have a vibrant society
    where people are more productive, more happy, and more healthy.

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        I also am deeply concerned about pension plan abuse. I'm worried
    about what's taking place, what we've seen in the newspapers here in
    America. First of all, there's such a thing as corporate responsibility.
    We've seen that here in this company, people responsible for the
    employees. Corporate America has a responsibility to disclose all the
    assets and liabilities of their companies.
        As well, we need to make sure that workers don't lose everything if
    their company were to fail. In other words, there needs to be some
    safeguards in some of these 401(k) plans, particularly as it relates to
    publicly traded companies. And let me cite some of the reforms I think
    that Congress ought to pass.
        First, workers would be free to sell any stock their company
    contributes to their retirement plan after participating for 3 years. In
    other words, if you've been a 3-year employee and your company has used
    stock as part of your retirement plan--which, by the way, is a good
    thing. I hope Congress understands it's a good thing to encourage
    companies to contribute their own stock to their employees as part of an
    incentive plan. On the other hand, an employee ought to be able to sell
    that stock after she or he has worked there for a 3-year period of time.
        Secondly, they have what they call a blackout period sometimes, when
    they change a fund manager, for example. And here's what I believe ought
    to happen: If there's a blackout period in which employees can't conduct
    transactions, first, an executive shouldn't be able to sell if the
    employee can't sell. What's good for the executive ought to be good for
    the employees in America. If the boss sells, so should everybody else.
    And if everybody else can't sell, the boss doesn't get to sell.
        There ought to be a guarantee that employees get to see at least
    quarterly reports on what's taking place in the 401(k) plans. Here, you
    get a minute-by-minute report. You know, the information flows so freely
    these days, it seems like it makes sense to give everybody instant
    access to what's going on in their accounts, and that's what ought to be
    happening. There ought to be, you know, at least quarterly reporting as
    well, as I mentioned, to make sure that small businesses have got an
    incentive to set up a plan, as well as liability protection against
    those employers who are anxious that there be as much information and as
    much knowledge passed between adviser and employee.
        The whole point is this: We ought to do everything we can in
    Washington, DC, to encourage people to own a piece of the future. The
    more somebody owns something, the more somebody builds up an asset base,
    the better off America will be. And whether it be in Social Security or
    401(k)s, we've got to understand the power of compounding interest, the
    importance of savings, and the beauty of ownership in the American
    society.
        And what a great society this is. America--you know, when they hit
    us, they didn't realize that out of this terrible evil was going to come
    some good. Nobody--nobody in America wishes what happened on 9/11 would
    ever occur again, of course. And we're still sad when we think of the
    events--at least I am. But there's going to be some incredible good that
    comes out of this. The world will be more peaceful if we're strong and
    patient and resolved, and we will be. But as a result, I think our
    communities are going to be better. I think the American people have
    taken a good, hard look at what's important in life. They understand
    that loving your child, if you happen to be a mother or dad, is the most
    important job you'll ever have. America knows that.
        I like to tell people that, if you're interested in fighting evil
    and want to join in the war against terror, love your neighbor like
    you'd like to be loved yourself. It's what I call the gathering momentum
    of millions of acts of kindness which define America and which enable
    America to stand tall in the face of evil. It's all these acts of
    goodness that take place in our society. Right here in Des Moines, Iowa,
    somebody walks across the street on a daily basis and says to a shut-in,
    ``I love you. What can I do to help you?'' It's that accumulation of all
    those acts which define our country.
        What a great nation we are. We're a strong nation; we're a proud
    nation; and we're showing the world we're a deeply compassionate nation
    as well. Out of evil will come good. They thought they hit a weak
    nation, but instead they found a strong, strong group of people, and I'm
    proud to be your President.

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        God bless.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:45 a.m. in the bindery at The Printer,
    Inc. In his remarks, he referred to Gov. Thomas J. Vilsack of Iowa; Mary
    Kramer, president, Iowa State Senate; Brent Siegrist, speaker, Iowa
    State House of Representatives; and William C. Benskin, president, and
    Martin L. Benskin, vice president, The Printer, Inc.