[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 11 (Monday, March 18, 2002)]
[Pages 403-406]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Keep Our Majority Political Action Committee Reception

March 12, 2002

    The President. Thank you all. I am here because I am most interested 
in making sure Denny Hastert remains Speaker of the House. It's in the 
Nation's interest that he remain Speaker of the House.
    And there's a reason why. First, he's a high quality person. I don't 
know if you all know this, but he was a wrestling coach at one time. 
He's the perfect Speaker. [Laughter]
    He's a steady man; he's a joy to work with. I trust him; I trust his 
judgment. I really appreciate his can-do spirit. Denny's the kind of 
person that comes in the Oval Office and asks the question, ``How can we 
get something done on behalf of the American people?'' And I appreciate 
that attitude a lot. You know, some folks up here are looking for a 
fight. Denny's a guy looking for results.
    And the record speaks pretty clearly. I remember first coming up 
here, and I told Denny that we've got to work together to get a tax cut 
for the American people. He said, ``You bet.'' And as a result of his 
leadership, we got a tax cut for the American people, right at the right 
time.
    History will judge that the tax cut was timely. It's a pretty simple 
theory, but one that works, and that is if the economy is slowing down, 
like it was, if you give people their own money back, that creates 
demand. And

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demand creates production, and production equals jobs. And as a result 
of Denny's leadership, we passed important economic relief, called tax 
relief.
    Some of them up here must be reading a different economics textbook 
than Denny and I are. There's a--for a while, they were talking about 
either stopping the tax relief, which I view as a tax increase. You 
never raise taxes in the midst of a recession, and Denny understands 
that, and I appreciate that.
    We worked together on a really good education bill. We had some 
photos taken earlier, and one lady came through, said she was a teacher. 
I want to tell her and I want to tell everybody else that education has 
got to be one of the top domestic priorities, regardless of political 
party. And as a result of working closely together, we passed a 
substantial piece of education reform.
    It is really good legislation. It is one that sets high standards, 
that refuses to accept mediocrity for any child, that challenges a 
system that quits on children early and just moves them through. That's 
not going to happen in America anymore, as far as we're concerned. We 
say we'll fund education; we'll focus money on where the needs are most, 
particularly amongst poor--the poor. But we expect everybody to learn. 
Not only do we expect everybody to learn, we firmly believe everybody 
can learn.
    We've got a great reading initiative as a part of this bill. Denny 
understands what I know, that reading is the new civil right. If you 
can't read, you're going to be left behind. And we were deadly serious 
when we said no child will be left behind in America, and it starts with 
making sure every child learns to read.
    We're on a mission here in America to achieve that objective. It, of 
course, trusts the local people--I mean, lest you think I forgot where I 
came from. I trust the Governors and the local school districts more 
than I trust people in Washington, DC, about educating children. So not 
only did we set high standards, we passed power out of Washington, DC. 
One size doesn't fit all. And if we expect to achieve excellence, we've 
got to trust local folks. And that's exactly the spirit of this bill.
    As well, Denny understands the need to stimulate our economy even 
further. On the one hand, we want to make sure those whose lives were 
adversely affected on 9/11 receive help. But people in America don't 
want an unemployment check; they want a permanent paycheck. And 
therefore, as a result of his steadfast leadership, I had the honor of 
signing a economic stimulus package last Saturday in the Rose Garden, a 
package that not only helps workers but provides incentive for people to 
develop plant and equipment, which means jobs.
    In other words, Denny understood what I understood: Jobs is the 
center of any good economic development plan. And Mr. Speaker, thanks to 
your steadfast leadership, I was able to sign a very good economic 
stimulus bill.
    He's the kind of fella that doesn't say much, which is unusual here 
in Washington. [Laughter] He lets results speak for themselves.
    History is going to show as well, we had a substantial legislative 
session in the House. As you know, as a result of the Speaker's 
leadership, we took a giant stride for improving our energy situation 
here in America. On the one hand, we encouraged more conservation and 
the development and modernization of our infrastructure, but on the 
other hand, we understand we've got to find more oil and gas in an 
environmentally friendly way here in America. The energy bill that 
passed the House was a really good piece of legislation. It is in our 
national security that we become less dependent on foreign sources of 
crude oil, and Denny Hastert understood that.
    As well, we passed a good trade bill out of the House of 
Representatives. It's a bill that has got confidence in the productivity 
of American farmers and American workers. It says that if you're 
confident, you open up markets. If you're confident, you encourage trade 
as opposed to protectionism. And thanks to the Speaker's leadership, we 
got trade promotion authority out of the House of Representatives.
    Thanks to the Speaker's leadership, we're focusing on research and 
development and at the same time send a firm, clear message: We will ban 
cloning in America.

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    Thanks to the Speaker's leadership, we passed a Faith-Based 
Initiative which recognizes that there are some in our society who 
hurt--badly hurt--and that the next step of good welfare reform is to 
rally the armies of compassion all across America, to encourage faith-
based programs to help people who have got significant needs in our 
society.
    The last four pieces of legislation--energy, trade, cloning, as well 
as Faith-Based Initiative--passed the House, but they haven't gotten out 
of the Senate yet. Denny Hastert is a can-do leader that focuses not on 
the political parties but focuses on what's best for America. And it's 
good for our country that he's the Speaker of the House of 
Representatives.
    I submitted a budget that recognizes our Nation is in a long 
struggle for freedom, and Denny understands that. He understands that my 
most important job--and as a significant leader, his most important 
job--is to make sure the enemy doesn't attack America again, that our 
most important job is to protect innocent life here in our country.
    We've got a great homeland defense strategy that the Speaker and I 
have been working on, as well as working with Tom Ridge. But I want to 
assure you all that I know this fact, that the best way to secure the 
homeland is to find the enemy, wherever he tries to hide, and bring them 
to justice. And that's precisely what we're going to do here in America.
    I gave a speech the other day, and I talked about the fact that 
we've accomplished the first stage of our mission, and that is, we 
liberated a country from the clutches of one of the most barbaric 
regimes in the history of mankind. We unleashed our mighty military, 
along with coalition forces, and we routed out the Taliban. I can't tell 
you how proud I am--I'm so proud of our military, men and women who are 
making huge sacrifices on behalf of freedom and that have not let us 
down.
    We're now in another phase of this war, which is to deny the enemy, 
the Al Qaida and any other affiliated terrorist group, any sanctuary 
anywhere in the world. We want them on the run. We want them to be 
treated like the international terrorists and international criminals 
that they are. And therefore, our policy not only continues to focus on 
Afghanistan; we have just finished--or are in the midst of wrapping up a 
significant battle in Afghanistan where we have achieved a mighty 
victory.
    We've lost life, and for those lives we mourn. And I hope those 
family members understand that the lost life was for a giant cause, and 
that is the freedoms we hold dear.
    But we're not through in Afghanistan. Any time we find Al Qaida or 
like-minded killers bunched up, we're going to get them. We'll be 
steady; we'll be relentless; we'll be resolved; we will not blink. I 
will continue to lead this coalition. History has called us into action, 
and we're not going to miss this opportunity to make the world more 
peaceful.
    And so whether it be in Afghanistan or in Yemen or in the 
Philippines, perhaps in Georgia, this mighty Nation will use our 
resources to deny sanctuary to anybody who thinks they can harm the 
United States of America or our friends or our allies.
    And there is a large cause at hand, as well, and Denny understands 
this. This great Nation must never allow the world's most dangerous 
regimes to develop the world's most dangerous weapons and hook up with 
terrorist organizations.
    Audience member. That's right.
    The President. As you know, I made that pretty clear to the world. I 
will continue to make that clear. This Nation must speak clearly and 
strongly for universal values. We must never waver in our love for 
freedom. We must never waver in our disdain for those who use murder to 
achieve political ends. And so long as I'm the President, I promise you 
I will be steadfast and strong in the face of evil.
    And the good thing about America is that the Nation understands 
this. We're a united nation. We're bound together, regardless of 
political party or where we live, by this common love for freedom. And 
America understands the stakes, and they recognize that history has 
called us into action. And for that I am most grateful to the American 
people. It is such an honor to be the President of such a great land.
    As well, American people are beginning to show the world that we're 
a compassionate nation as well, that we're a kind and decent

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people. We're tough on the battlefield; we're really tough. But also at 
home, neighbors love neighbors more than ever before. And I like to 
remind my fellow citizens that if you're interested in joining the war 
against terror, love a neighbor just like you'd like to be loved 
yourself. You see, it's the gathering momentum of millions of acts of 
kindness and decency that define our country and allow me to say that 
good stands squarely in the face of evil.
    We're a good people. We're a strong people. We're a resolute people. 
And we're a people who will not be deterred in our desire to not only 
protect our homeland but to make the world more peaceful for generations 
to come.
    It is an honor to be here with a great man, the Speaker of the 
House, and it is an honor to be the President of the greatest Nation on 
the face of the Earth. God bless.

Note: The President spoke at 6:45 p.m. in Constitution Hall.