[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 10 (Monday, March 11, 2002)]
[Pages 378-382]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks to Employees of America II Electronics in St. Petersburg

March 8, 2002

    Thank you for that warm welcome. I love to be introduced by my 
brother. [Laughter] I know I'm not supposed to say this, but he's doing 
a great job as Governor. He's really--[applause]. I'm really proud of 
him, and it seems like a lot in Florida--a lot of people here are proud 
of him, too. But it's good to see you, Jeb. Thanks, and I hope you're 
still listening to Mother. [Laughter]
    For all of you out there who have got children, I want you to know 
that you can tell them the President said, listen to their mothers--
[laughter]--because I'm still listening to ours--[laughter]--whether I 
want to or not. [Laughter]
    I'm so honored that we could come to America II. I was impressed by 
what I read on the briefing paper before I arrived at the company. I am 
doubly impressed, having talked to Mike and the people who work here, 
about the incredible culture that exists in this fine company, a culture 
that recognizes the worth of the people who work for the company. And 
Mike, I want to thank you for letting us come.
    One of my jobs is to remind people, the role of Government is not to 
create wealth but an environment in which the entrepreneurial spirit can 
flourish. Here's a guy that started off with 5 employees and no 
children--[laughter]--now has 4 children and 500 employees. [Laughter] 
And so I want to congratulate you all, and thanks for your hospitality.
    I also appreciate the members of the Florida congressional 
delegation for flying down today. We had really a good talk about issues 
that matter to our national security as well as issues that matter to 
Florida. Congressmen Bilirakis, Davis, Miller, Putnam, and the chairman, 
Congressman Bill Young, thank you all for coming.
    And I want to thank the mayor. Mr. Mayor, you did a fine job of 
getting America II prepared for just a little visit from the President. 
[Laughter]
    I want to spend a little time talking about the big challenges our 
Nation faces, starting with an unrelenting drive to defend our freedom. 
We were attacked by a ruthless enemy who must not have understood 
America. They must have thought we were soft and so incredibly 
materialistic and self-absorbed that we would not find the will to fight 
and sacrifice for that which we hold dear. And they have made a huge 
miscalculation.
    In the beginning, I told the American people we were in for a long, 
difficult struggle, that I wasn't sure how long this was going to take. 
But I really wasn't concerned about the calendar. I'm concerned about 
our future. And I'm concerned about this Nation leading the world to 
rout out terror wherever it exists, so our children and grandchildren 
can live in freedom. That's our concern.
    I told the world that you're either with us, or you're against us. A 
lot of people are now with us. [Laughter] And it's important that

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we remain strong and determined and focused, to remind people that we're 
fighting for freedom, the right to worship freely, the right to express 
your opinion in the political process, the right for there to be a free 
press--freedoms we hold dear. And these freedoms are not just American 
freedoms; they're universal freedoms. And we must stand strong.
    I also said, if you harbor a terrorist, if you feed a terrorist, if 
you hide a terrorist, you're just as guilty as the murderers who killed 
thousands in America. And the Taliban found out what I meant. The 
Taliban found out about what we meant by justice. The Taliban found out 
that we've got a fabulous military. And they found out that our military 
and our coalition were not conquerors; we're liberators. We liberated 
the people from the clutches of one of the most barbaric regimes in the 
history of mankind, people who refused to educate young girls, people 
who mistreated women. No, this great country of ours not only defends 
our freedom; we liberate people so they can enjoy their own freedoms. 
I'm proud of the United States military.
    Next Monday will mark the sixth month, the date of 6 months from 
September the 11th. That's not a very long time. It seems like a long 
time for a lot of people, I know, but when we look back at history, 6 
months is a pretty short period of time in the war against terror. And 
we've accomplished a lot, but there are still dangerous missions left 
ahead. You see, the Al Qaida killers trained thousands of people who 
hate America, who hate what we stand for, who resent our freedoms, who 
want to harm us still, who want to make sure that our alliance is weak. 
They're looking for soft spots to exploit, and we're not going to let 
them.
    We found a bunch of Al Qaida killers recently, bunched up in 
Afghanistan. And our military went after them, and we're making good 
progress. It is a sign of what's going to happen for a while. And my 
fellow Americans must understand that, that we'll be relentless and 
determined to do what is right.
    And we will take loss of life, and I'm sad for loss of life. And 
today we've got the mom and dad of a brave soldier who lost his life, 
and a brother. God bless you. Thank you all for coming. I know your 
heart aches, and we ache for you. But your son and your brother died for 
a noble and just cause. May God bless you. May God bless you.
    I hate it, to know that young soldiers are at risk. But I want to 
assure you and all those loved ones whose sons and daughters are at risk 
that not only is the cause just and important and noble, but our United 
States Government will provide the United States military with whatever 
it needs to win this war against terror.
    And I want to thank Chairman Young, chairman of the Appropriations 
Committee, for joining and supporting the budget I submitted to the 
United States Congress, which sets this priority: The national defense 
of our country is the number one priority in this budget. We will give 
our soldiers the best material, the best supplies, the best training, 
another pay raise. The price of freedom is high, no doubt about it, but 
the price of freedom is never too high, as far as I'm concerned. My job 
is to protect the American people. It's the job of the American 
military, and I take that job really seriously.
    We've got a homeland defense strategy that's making the borders more 
secure, preparing for bioterrorism attack, a homeland security strategy 
that will work with first-time responders, should we need them. We're on 
it, and I want you to know that our law enforcement officials are 
running down every possible lead, every hint. I mean, if we get a whiff 
of somebody fixing to do something to America, we're on them. We are 
doing everything we can. The Nation is on alert, as it should be, 
because there is still an enemy there.
    But I want to remind my fellow citizens, the best way to secure the 
homeland is to find the killers wherever they hide, wherever they try to 
flee, wherever they think they can find safe sanctuary. We're after 
them. We will not allow this Nation to be threatened. We will protect 
the homeland. We will defend freedom no matter what the cost. I'm proud 
of my fellow citizens. We're united. We are determined, and we are 
patient--much to the chagrin of the enemy.
    And I'm proud of my fellow citizens when it comes to enduring some 
hardship at home as well. I mean, not only were we attacked,

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but the attacks of September the 11th hurt our economy. Now, you'll hear 
a lot of number-crunching going on and people saying, ``Well, you know, 
this was the number; that was the number.'' Look, I don't care about the 
numbers. I know the facts, and people's lives were affected. People lost 
jobs. People were worried about their future. People were deeply 
concerned about what the terrorist attacks did to our economy.
    And so long as somebody can't find work who wants to work, I'm 
worried about it. And therefore, I'm going to stay focused on how best 
to create more jobs in America; what can you do to do to help people 
find work? It's one thing to help people that are unemployed, and that's 
fine. Unemployment checks are good and important, but that's not what 
folks want in America. They want a permanent paycheck, and that ought to 
be the policy of this Government.
    And today the United States Senate passed a stimulus package, one 
that the House passed yesterday. That is a good piece of news for 
American workers and American entrepreneurs. I'm going to sign it as 
soon as it gets to my desk.
    The best kind of public policy is one where we don't play party 
politics but focus on what's right for the country. It's kind of hard to 
get them thinking that way up there, but nevertheless, we're making 
pretty good progress. And I think--I think America is beginning to see 
that by changing the tone and by focusing on people and by heralding 
what we can do, as opposed to what we can't do, we're making progress in 
Washington, DC.
    This is a good piece of work by the House of Representatives. The 
Speaker of the House deserves a lot of credit. The Members of the House 
deserve a lot of credit for staying with this initiative. And I'm 
pleased the Senate has reacted and passed the bill, and now I'm going to 
sign it. It is good for America.
    But I also want to remind you that we took some action ahead of 
this. This is going to help as we go down in the out years. But when I 
traveled your State, I talked about the need for tax relief. I said that 
it's really important for our Government to understand the dynamics of 
economic growth, and when you let workers keep their own money, it gives 
them something to spend. And when they spend it, it encourages somebody 
to produce a product. And when somebody is encouraged to produce a 
product, that means jobs.
    We cut taxes at exactly the right time, and I can't tell you, I'm 
going to mightily resist anybody who tries to undo the tax relief for 
the American people. Sometimes in Washington people get confused about 
whose money we're dealing with. They think it's the Government's money. 
No, it's the people's money. And the more you have of it in your pocket, 
the better off you will be and, therefore, our economy will be as well.
    I'm pleased to hear Mike's firsthand report about sales beginning to 
improve. I think that is good news. I'm pleased to see, you know, the 
unemployment figures today got better, and that's good news. But as far 
as I'm concerned, the economy is not strong enough. As far as I'm 
concerned, when people are looking for work and can't find it, I'm going 
to keep focused on jobs. I'm not going to let the numbers lull me to 
sleep.
    I want you all to know that out of this evil is going to come some 
good. It may be hard to realize it right now; it's got to be. But out of 
evil will come good in America. I believe when we stay strong--you know, 
so long as I'm the President, we're going to be after them, without 
blinking. If we remain steadfast and steady and determined and strong, 
the world will be a more peaceful place. Out of the evil will come some 
good.
    And at home, out of evil is coming some good. People are beginning 
to say--take a new look at their life, take an assessment of what's 
important in life. There is a period of responsibility beginning to take 
hold here, and that begins--that's twofold: One, personal 
responsibility; and one, corporate responsibility.
    I'm here because this is a company led by a man who understands 
corporate responsibility. They lose 40 percent of their sales and didn't 
lay off one citizen. Mike built a culture of respect. I felt it when I 
was talking to the employees. People respect each other. They love the 
idea that he's aligned authority and responsibility. He is a good 
corporate citizen, because he understands the responsibility that comes 
with leadership.

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    All people involved in our capitalistic system must assume 
responsibility for leadership. In the publicly held corporations, the 
world of publicly held corporations, there are laws and regulations 
which hold people accountable. They need to be clear, and they need to 
be tough when people misuse the public trust. We've got thousands of 
citizens who own shares of publicly held companies, many in pension 
plans, mutual funds, a lot of them direct ownership. And this country 
must hold corporate CEOs--CEOs of publicly held companies to the highest 
of high standards.
    I talked yesterday--I want to review with you right quick what I 
believe we ought to do. First of all, any time a chief executive officer 
of a publicly held company signs a financial statement, he is personally 
vouching--he's personally saying the numbers are correct and accurate. 
And if one were to receive a bonus, any corporate officer receive a 
bonus and the numbers are misleading as a result of misconduct, the 
bonus needs to go back to the treasury on behalf of the shareholders. 
These guys should not be allowed to keep their bonuses. And if they get 
caught doing it, they ought never to be an officer of a publicly held 
corporation or a board member of a publicly held corporation again. They 
ought to be--any time an officer of a publicly held company sells stock, 
we ought to know within 2 days. We ought to know, ``we'' being 
shareholders and employees. There needs to be openness and transparency 
for the good of the capitalist system.
    And the auditors, those who analyze the numbers for publicly held 
companies, ought to be held to high standards as well. And they ought to 
make sure that we can have confidence in their numbers by making sure 
there are no conflicts of interest involved.
    In order to usher in a period of responsibility in America, a 
culture of responsibility, corporate America must be responsible, must 
make sure that there are no shenanigans or sleight of hands, must make 
sure there is an openness and disclosure about true liabilities and true 
assets. And if they don't, they must be held to account.
    And I believe Americans, as a result of taking an assessment of 
what's important in life, are ushering in a period of personal 
responsibility as well. I think--I believe we're feeling a cultural 
shift, one from the days when it said, if it feels good, just go ahead 
and do it, to a period when each of us understands we're responsible for 
the decisions we make in life, that we're responsible for loving our 
children with all our heart and all our soul, and we are responsible for 
loving our neighbor just like we'd like to be loved ourself.
    Today we've got one such person with us. You know, I like to define 
America's compassionate citizens as soldiers in the armies of 
compassion. And we've got one such soldier here that I can recognize--
I'm sure there are many soldiers in the armies of compassion here with 
us--and her name is Roxanne Hunt. She works for the City of Pinellas 
Park Police. Roxanne, do you mind standing up real quick? [Applause] 
Thank you, Roxanne.
    Without being asked or told, Roxanne has adopted a family for 
Christmas. Roxanne has fed the homeless. Roxanne has been involved in 
environmental cleanup activities here. Roxanne sponsored a bike rodeo, 
saved a little guy's life who was choking on a hot dog--at least it 
wasn't a pretzel. [Laughter] Roxanne is a soldier in the armies of 
compassion, armies which exist in every community across America.
    People say to me, ``What can I do to help? What can I do to fight in 
the war against terror?'' And my answer is, do some good. You see, for 
every act of kindness, people are doing something to fight evil. If 
you're good to a neighbor in need, you stand firm in the face of evil. 
It's the gathering momentum of millions of acts of kindness and 
compassion and decency which define the true face of America.
    They hit us. They thought we had quit. We're not going to quit. 
We're strong, and we're steady. They hit us, and out of this evil can 
come incredible good, as Americans show the world their compassion by 
loving a neighbor, by caring for somebody in need, by focusing on the 
values that matter, faith and family.
    I'm so proud to be the President of a country of such decent and 
caring and strong and--people willing to sacrifice for a greater good. 
May God bless you all. May God bless America.

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Note: The President spoke at 11:32 a.m. in the warehouse at America II 
Electronics. In his remarks, he referred to Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida; 
Michael Galinski, founder and chief executive officer, America II 
Electronics; and Mayor Rick Baker of St. Petersburg.