[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 36 (Monday, September 9, 2002)]
[Pages 1475-1480]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners Labor Day 
Picnic on Neville Island, Pennsylvania

September 2, 2002

    Well, I thank you very much for this warm welcome. Thanks for 
inviting me. If I speak

[[Page 1476]]

too long, it's going to remind me of Crawford. [Laughter] But I 
appreciate you all coming. I love to see your families.
    I'm here to talk about the greatness of this country. And it starts 
with the fact that we've got great Americans who work hard to make a 
living to put food on the table. Our workers are the most productive, 
the hardest working, the best craftsmen in the world. And I'm here to 
thank all those who work hard to make a living here in America. I also 
want to talk today about how to make sure our country is safer, our 
country is stronger, and our country is a better place for everybody.
    But before I do so, I want to thank Doug. I appreciate his 
leadership. I appreciate his vision. But most of all, I appreciate the 
fact that Doug McCarron cares deeply, deeply about the members of his 
union. Each person in this union matters to Doug. You can tell it when 
you talk to him, and I've had a chance to talk to him quite a lot. He is 
a fine, fine man who cares deeply about people and who loves his country 
just as much as I do. Doug, thank you for your leadership, and thank you 
for your friendship.
    I, too, want to thank Jack Brooks. I've had the honor of meeting 
Jack before. He's a decent, kind, smart, hard-working fellow. And I 
appreciate Jack's leadership as much as you do. I want to thank Ray 
Vogel, as well, for giving me a tour of the training center here. One of 
the things that distinguishes this union is that they understand, 
through training, somebody is going to get better pay. If you help a man 
or a woman enhance their skills, it's going to enhance their pocketbook. 
And I appreciate so very much the attention that this union pays to the 
skill level of its members. So I want to thank Jack and Ray for helping 
set this picnic up and giving me a chance to come by and talk to you 
all.
    I also appreciate the Secretary of Labor being here. Elaine Chao is 
doing a fine job. Her door is open. People are able to come in and visit 
with her. She's a good, honest, and open person, and I appreciate her 
service to the country.
    I want to thank your Governor, Mark Schweiker, your attorney 
general, Mike Fisher, your Allegheny County executive, Jim Roddey, and 
the mayor of Pittsburgh, Tom Murphy. Thank you all for coming. The mayor 
has got a lot of spunk. He challenged me to a 3-mile run. [Laughter] I 
said, ``Fine, see you in Crawford at 4 in the afternoon in August.'' 
[Laughter]
    I do appreciate--I appreciate Melissa Hart and Phil English coming, 
Members of the United States Congress. Thank you all for being here.
    I had the honor of meeting a lady named Doris Harris today. Where 
are you, Doris? Thank you for coming. You see, the reason I introduced 
Doris is because she volunteers her time to help people in need. Doris 
knows that when somebody is shut in, they're alone and lonely. And so 
she takes time to visit homebound seniors, to say, ``I love you. What 
can I do to help you?'' Doris is a member--is a soldier in the army of 
compassion here in America. And the reason I bring that up is because 
there are soldiers in the armies of compassion here amongst you as well. 
I want to thank Doris, and I want to thank you all for doing everything 
you can to bring love and compassion to the neighborhoods in which you 
live. It's the true strength of the--America. Thank you, Doris.
    You know, Doug mentioned, a year ago, Labor Day, I was in Wisconsin 
talking to carpenters. I said that we were a nation that's strong 
because our people are strong. See, we're a great nation because we've 
got great people. I said, ``We're a decent nation because our people are 
decent.''
    I didn't realize, when I said that at the time, how tested we would 
be. But a couple of days later, the enemy hit us, and they tested the 
character of this country. They tested our will. They tested our very 
fiber. I don't know what was going through their mind when they attacked 
us. [Laughter] They must have thought we were so materialistic, so self-
absorbed, so selfish, that all we would do is shrug our shoulders and 
file a lawsuit, maybe. They didn't understand the America we know.
    No, they hit us, and we united. They hit us, and we're now working 
together as a nation to make the Nation a safer place, a stronger place, 
and a better place. My most important job is to keep our families safe. 
That's my most important job now. I want you to know that there's still 
an enemy out there that hates America. I'm sure your kids,

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they're wondering, why would you hate America? We didn't do anything to 
anybody. Well, they hate America because we love freedom. We cherish our 
freedoms. We value our freedoms. We love the fact that people can 
worship an almighty God in a free land, any way they choose to worship. 
We value the idea of people speaking their mind freely here in America. 
We value a free press; we value our freedoms. But most importantly, we 
say, ``Each life matters. Everybody counts. Everybody has got purpose. 
Everybody is important in life.''
    And the enemy doesn't view it that way. They don't view it that--
they don't value life. See, they've hijacked a great religion, and 
they're willing to kill innocent people in the name of their sordid 
attitude about the future. And so, so long as we love freedom, which 
we'll do forever, and so long as this enemy is still standing, they're 
going to come and try to get us. That's just the reality that we face. 
And so, therefore, our biggest job is to protect the homeland.
    And there are a lot of good people working hard to do so. There 
really are a lot of fine folks in Washington at the Federal level and 
here in Pennsylvania at the State level and at the local level in 
Pittsburgh, doing everything they can to run down every lead, to chase 
down every idea, to hold people to account, to disrupt. And we're making 
some pretty good progress. But I've asked the Congress to join me in 
creating a new Homeland Security Department. And the reason I did is 
because I wanted to be able to come and, when I see the people, say, 
``Our most important priority is to protect America, and therefore, I 
want all agencies involved with protecting America under one umbrella.'' 
See, if you want the most important thing to be done, you've got to 
gather up the over 100 agencies that have got something to do with 
homeland security and put them under one boss, put them under one lead, 
so you can not only change the priorities but change the culture.
    I'll give you one example. We need to know who's coming into 
America, what they're bringing into America, and whether or not they're 
leaving America when they say they are. But see, on your border, you've 
got your INS and your Customs and your Border Patrol, three different 
agencies, and they've got different cultures. And we need to have them 
under one umbrella, so we can do a better job of assuring the American 
people we're doing their job. Look, anybody who wants to join a union 
can do so in this crowd, with the Homeland Security Department. I mean, 
if you're a whistleblower, you'll get protections. You'll have all the 
rights to be free to join. But I need the flexibility to put the right 
people at the right place at the right time to protect the American 
people, and the Senate better get it right.
    No, we're doing everything we can. A lot of people are working hard, 
but the best way to secure our homeland for the long run is to hunt 
these killers down, one person at a time, and bring them to justice. And 
that's what America is going to do.
    And that's how you ultimately make America a safer place. For those 
of you who have got relatives in the military, you need to be proud of 
the job they're doing. I sure am. It's a different kind of war, though. 
In the old days, you could count tanks and figure out how strong the 
enemy was. This is an enemy that hides in caves. They try to find the 
darkest cave, the deepest cave, and then they send youngsters to their 
suicidal deaths. It's a different kind of hater than we're used to.
    But my attitude is, there's no cave deep enough and dark enough to 
hide from the long arm of justice of the United States and our friends 
and allies. And that's exactly what we're going to do, folks. It doesn't 
matter how long it takes. You see, they put the spotlight on us, and 
we're going to find out what we're made out of, and so are they. And 
what we're made out of is, we're freedom-loving people who are plenty 
tough and plenty determined to make sure the future for our children is 
a future that is free and peaceful.
    And that's why I want to strengthen the military. Anytime you put a 
soldier in harm's way, they deserve the best pay, the best training, and 
the best possible equipment. So a stronger America, to me, means a 
stronger military. And that's why I've submitted the biggest increase in 
defense spending since the mid-eighties, when Ronald Reagan was the 
President. I wanted to send a message.

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The message is: We'll take care of our people. See, we owe it not only 
to those who wear the uniform; we owe it to their loved ones as well. We 
owe it to the husbands and wives of our soldiers. We owe it to the moms 
and dads. We owe it to the sons and daughters.
    But I also wanted to send a message to the enemy and our friends 
that we're in this deal for the long haul. See, when it comes to 
defending that which we hold dear to our hearts, we're in it for the 
long pull. I've asked Congress to get that bill to my desk soon. They 
don't need to be playing politics with the defense bill. They don't need 
to hold it up for other reasons. They need to get home--come from their 
homes--they need to get to Washington and get me a bill as soon as 
possible, so we can win this war and fight this war. That's what--we owe 
it to those who wear the uniform to get the defense bill done early.
    And part of making sure we have a strong America is to understand 
there are some people who want to find work and can't find work, and 
therefore, we're not as strong as we should be. A strong America is one 
where there's economic security. See, we want people working. I know the 
statistics and all that business. What I worry about is when I hear the 
stories of people who can't find work. And so we've got to make sure 
that we continue to focus on jobs and job creation and job growth.
    I think the ingredients are pretty good. I mean, when you think 
about it, interest rates are low. That's good. Inflation is low, and 
that's positive. Productivity is up because we've got the best workers 
in the world, and that's important. So I'm encouraged about job growth, 
but I'm not satisfied. And neither should you be, and neither should the 
United States Congress.
    And there are some practical ways that we can build on this 
foundation for growth, starting with getting a terrorism insurance bill 
out of the United States Congress. Let me tell you what that means. That 
means some of these big construction projects can go forward. See, a lot 
of them, they've been delayed because they can't get insurance. They 
can't get insurance because of what the terrorists did to America on 
September the 11th. So Doug and I and a lot of other concerned citizens 
have been working with Congress. We said, ``Okay, that's fine. We'll 
take some of the risk to get these big construction projects moving.'' 
There's been over $8 billion worth of projects that have been delayed 
because they can't get insurance. That means 300,000 workers aren't 
working. You see, if we want to do something to make sure the job base 
continues, Congress needs to get moving on a terrorism insurance bill. 
And this bill has got to be good for hardhats, not lawyers. This bill--
we get this bill, a lot of folks are going to go back to work.
    And the same with the energy bill. See, the energy bill that we're 
talking about is a jobs bill. You get the energy bill, we're going to 
get more jobs here in America. It's also a national security bill. See, 
we don't--the less we import oil from foreign sources, the more our 
national security is strong. And so we want to make sure that we 
conserve more, that we use our technologies to develop renewable sources 
of energy. That makes sense. We can do that. We can do a better job of 
exploring environmentally. But we need a bill--we need a bill. We need a 
bill on behalf of the American workers, and we need a bill on behalf of 
the national security of America. Congress needs to quit talking about 
energy and get back to work and do something on behalf of the American 
people when it comes to energy.
    In order to get confidence back in the economy, we've got to do a 
good job of making America's pensions strong. You see, one of the things 
that we did, we passed a--part of this corporate reform bill, one of the 
things we passed which made a lot of sense is that, if the boss gets to 
sell, everybody else does. What's good for the head person is good for 
the people on the shop floor. We also allow people to diversify out of 
their 401(k)s. You ought not to be stuck in one stock forever. After a 
reasonable period of time, you ought to be able to diversify. You need 
to get the best investment advice. We need to make sure our workers are 
protected when it comes to pension reform. And the Congress needs to act 
on it. For the good of the economy, they need to act on this, just like 
they acted on corporate reform.

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    And now it's my turn to act. Let me tell you what's going to happen. 
If we catch somebody cooking the books, like we have been doing, it's no 
more easy money; it's just hard time. By far, the vast majority of our 
fellow citizens are honest and decent and honorable people; they just 
are. But a few have created a--put a bad name out there. They've created 
a sense of--lack of--they diminish the confidence of the American 
people. We're putting those days behind us.
    We had Republicans and Democrats work together to pass the most 
comprehensive corporate reform since Franklin Roosevelt was the 
President. I put together a task force. And I want to assure you, my 
fellow Americans, here on Labor Day, that if we catch them cooking the 
books, if we catch them fudging the numbers, if we catch people trying 
to put a sleight of hand to the detriment of employees and shareholders 
alike, there are going to be serious consequences here in America. We 
expect people to behave responsibly in our society.
    And finally, in order to make sure the economy continues to grow and 
there's jobs, we've got to be wise about how you spend your money. See, 
every idea sounds like a good idea up there. Everybody throws something 
out there, and it sounds like a brilliant idea. But they always cost in 
the billions, it seems like. One way I like to remind Congress about how 
to be fiscally responsible is to remind them whose money they're 
spending. It's not the Government's money they spend. It's your money. 
It's the people's money.
    No, we can meet our needs. We can meet our needs. And by the way, we 
can make that tax relief a permanent part of the Tax Code. You need to 
have more money in your pocket, as far as I'm concerned. No, those are 
ways for us to make America a stronger place by continuing to focus on 
the economic security of all our citizens--every citizen.
    And we've got to make sure that America is not only safer and 
stronger but a better place--a better place. And there are ways to do 
that. One, America will be a better place when our seniors have got 
prescription drugs as a part of Medicare. That's a better country, a 
country that understands that Medicare serves an important purpose. 
Medicine has changed. Medicare hasn't. And therefore, our seniors don't 
have prescription drugs. It will be a better country when we do that.
    It's a better country when we focus on educating every child, not 
just a few children but every single child. I want to thank the teachers 
who are here. [Applause] I could tell. But remember, if you're a mom or 
a dad, you're a teacher.
    We're a better country when we help people get off welfare by 
finding them work. We're a better country when people learn to work. 
This training center here makes us a better country. It's a better 
country when you've got people who are willing to help people help 
themselves. It's a better country.
    It's a better country when people can own their own homes. When you 
own something, it makes America a better place. We've got a minority gap 
in ownership here for homes in America. We need to do something about 
it. We need to close that gap. We need to help people with downpayments. 
We need to get some--we need to get more capital into the marketplace, 
so people can find ways to borrow money to build--to buy their own home.
    No, it's a--the goal is more than just a safer country; it's a 
better place for all of us, see. I mean for all of us. You know, the 
enemy didn't realize, but out of the evil is going to come some 
incredible good here in America. I truly believe that. I believe that.
    I believe that we can achieve peace. And I want you to tell your 
sons and daughters that we fight for our freedom in order for there to 
be peace, for the world to be more peaceful, not only here at home but 
for children all across the world. See, we value each human life as 
important. We don't try to distinguish--everybody has got worth in the 
eyes of the Almighty, as far as we're concerned in this Nation.
    But peace is our goal--peace. There's going to be some steep hills 
to climb, no question about it, but we're going to work hard to achieve 
peace. Out of the evil done by these killers will come peace, we think--
I think. We have to be tough and determined and resolute, but we can 
achieve peace.
    And at home, we can have a better America. People say, ``Well, what 
can I do to

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help?'' You can love your neighbor just like you'd like to be loved 
yourself. You can help a neighbor in need. You can go to a shut-in and 
say, ``I love you.'' That's just a part of being--a part of loving your 
neighbor. You can mentor a child. You can understand your most important 
responsibility, if you're a mom or a dad, is to love your children with 
all your heart and all your soul. You should tell them you love them 
every single day. Put your arm around them. Find somebody who hurts, 
understand there's deep addiction and hopelessness in parts of our 
neighborhoods in America, and we can help change that, one person at a 
time.
    See, Government can hand out money--pretty good at it--[laughter]--
but it can't put hope into people's hearts. It can't put a sense of 
purpose in people's lives. Somebody said, ``Well, I can't do 
everything.'' No, but you can do something. You can do something. See, 
we can change America, one heart, one soul, one conscience at a time.
    And I call upon our fellow Americans, here on Labor Day, to be a 
part of that change in America. Be a part of the gathering momentum of 
millions of acts of kindness and decency which show the true face and 
character of the greatest Nation, the greatest Nation on the face of the 
Earth.
    God bless you all. God bless. God bless America. Thank you all.

Note: The President spoke at 2:35 p.m. outside the Carpenters' Training 
Center. In his remarks, he referred to Douglas J. McCarron, general 
president, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners; John A. 
``Jack'' Brooks, executive secretary-treasurer, Greater Pennsylvania 
Regional Council of Carpenters; Ray Vogel, coordinator, Carpenters' 
Training Center; and Jim Roddey, chief executive, Allegheny County, PA.