[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 38 (Monday, September 23, 2002)]
[Pages 1583-1588]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at the Republican Governors Association Fall Reception

September 19, 2002

    The President. Well, thank you all very much. John, thank you very 
much. I appreciate the invitation to get out of the house. [Laughter] 
I'm honored to come to thank you all for supporting our Governors.
    I love our Governors. I know them well. I was one. [Laughter] And 
these are fine, fine public servants who bring a lot of class and 
dignity to the office they hold. They put results ahead of process. 
These are people who put success ahead of excessive verbiage. They're on 
the frontlines of reform. They care deeply about our country. I'm 
honored to be in their presence. And I want to thank you for supporting 
their reelections.
    Governors get things done. And Governors can make a tremendous 
difference in people's lives. I knew that when I started forming my 
Cabinet. I knew that I needed to surround myself with people who not 
only would bring honor to the office to which I appointed them but also 
would work hard to get something done for the country. And that's why I 
named John Ashcroft, former Governor; Christie Todd Whitman, former 
Governor; Tommy Thompson, former Governor; and Tom Ridge, former 
Governor, to serve our country.
    I want to thank Johnny Rowland for his leadership of the Republican 
Governors Association and for his fine leadership for the State of 
Connecticut. [Applause] He got one peep. [Laughter] Bill Owens is the 
vice chairman, from the great State of Colorado, and I appreciate his 
leadership as well.
    I want to thank all the first ladies who are here. First ladies 
really define the Governor--or first gentlemen--define the Governor--
[laughter]--just like our great First Lady has helped me a lot and 
defined me as a person. You know, people get to know a lot--you can 
judge the nature of a man, in my case, by the person he marries. And I 
married above myself. [Laughter] People have gotten to know Laura. They 
now understand why I asked her to marry me. Lot of folks are still 
wondering why she said yes.

[[Page 1584]]

[Laughter] She sends her love to our Governors and their wives. She 
sends her appreciation to you. And I can't tell you how proud I am of 
the job she's doing for America.
    I appreciate these Governors being on the frontline of making 
America a stronger place, a safer place, and a better place for all 
citizens, regardless of their party affiliation, regardless of where 
they live. That's the spirit of these can-do people.
    And that's a job we all have in America, to make America a safer, 
stronger, and better place. And to make sure America is a strong place, 
we need to continue to work to make sure our fellow citizens can find 
work. A strong America is an America in which people who want to work 
and can't find a job are able to do so. A strong America is an America 
that recognizes the vibrancy of the entrepreneur in America. A strong 
America understands the role of Government is not to create wealth but 
an environment in which the small-business owner can grow his or her 
business.
    A strong America is one that recognizes that in times of recession--
and I want you all to remember that when Dick Cheney and I got sworn in, 
the country was in a recession--and a strong economy, a strong America, 
is one that recognizes that the engine to growth is the American people. 
And so when we let American people keep more of their own money, we sent 
a clear, strong signal to economic vitality.
    Some up here don't get it, see. They forget whose money we're 
talking about. They think we're talking about the Government's money. 
One thing we all understand is, when it comes to tax money, it's your 
money. And the tax cuts we passed in Washington came at the right time. 
And that's just one of the first things we have done here to make sure 
our economies grow, to make sure people can find work.
    I was the first President in a long time to get what they call trade 
promotion authority. My attitude is, if you're good at something, you 
ought to promote it. [Laughter] We're good at growing crops. We're good 
at raising cattle. We're good at the entrepreneurial spirit. We're good 
at high-tech. We ought not to fear trade. We ought to welcome trade. And 
for the sake of jobs, I got the Congress to pass the trade promotion 
authority, so our people would be more likely to find work.
    For the sake of economic vitality, we sent a chilling signal to our 
fellow Americans who feel like they can fudge the books, who feel like 
they can get ahead by not telling the truth. Every one of these 
Governors understands the need for corporate responsibility in their 
States and all across America. I proudly signed the most comprehensive 
corporate reform since Franklin D. Roosevelt was the President of the 
United States. And for the sake of a stronger America, we sent this 
signal: No more easy money, just hard time if you betray the trust of 
your employees and your shareholders in America.
    Now, we've got a foundation for economic vitality and growth that is 
strong. Interest rates are low. Inflation is low. The productivity of 
the American worker is the best in the world. But we're not going to 
rest until people find work. A stronger America requires a strong 
economy. And there are some things that Congress can do to help us in 
our desire to make America a stronger place.
    And I'll give you one example. There are over 300,000 jobs that 
don't exist because many developers and project managers cannot find 
terrorism insurance. The Congress ought to pass a law that provides a 
backstop for terrorism insurance, to get our hardhats working again. And 
by the way, it needs to be a law that does not reward trial lawyers but 
rewards the hardhats of America.
    We need an energy bill in America, an energy bill that fosters more 
conservation, an energy bill that enhances renewables like ethanol, but 
an energy bill that makes us less dependent on foreign sources of crude 
oil. An energy bill is needed. There's too much talk in Washington and 
not enough action.
    And finally, to make this economy strong, to make sure people can 
find work, we've got to make sure Congress holds the line on spending. 
There's an enormous appetite for spending your money up here. Every 
project sounds wonderful in Washington, DC. Problem is, is that the 
price tags run in the billions. It is important for Congress to set 
priorities.
    It's hard to set priorities, however, when the Senate can't even 
pass a budget. The

[[Page 1585]]

House passed a budget. The Senate can't pass a budget. My message to 
Congress, and I hope you help send the message, is we expect the 
appropriators to be wise with the people's money. We expect them to stay 
focused on national priorities. We expect them not to overspend. We 
expect them to be reasonable and sound. Because if we overspend, it will 
make it harder for people to find work.
    No, the grounds for economic growth are strong. After all, this is 
America. There's a lot of problems that we can overcome. But I just want 
to assure you, and I want to assure my friends who are the Governors, 
this administration will not rest; we will stay focused on economic 
vitality, because we understand a strong America is an America in which 
people can find work.
    And we're working hard here in Washington, and we're working hard 
with our Governors to make sure we have a safer America. We need to work 
hard because there's still an enemy out there which hates our country. 
They hate America. They hate us because we love. We love freedom. We 
love the idea of our fellow citizens being able to worship an almighty 
God any way he or she sees fit. We love the idea of welcoming people to 
our country and letting them rise to their own level that talents will 
take them. We love the idea of being able to speak our minds, to have 
political discourse. We love a free press. We love freedom. But the 
enemy hates freedom.
    We also value each life in America. Everybody counts. Everybody has 
got worth. Everybody matters. But that's not the way our enemy thinks. 
They don't value life. They don't care about innocent life. And so long 
as we hold these values dear, which we will do, there will be an enemy 
trying to hurt America.
    And so, therefore, my most important job is to protect the American 
people from further harm, is to guard our homeland. You need to know a 
lot of good folks are working hard to do just that. I can testify for 
those here in the Federal Government that are spending hours upon hours 
chasing down every lead, running down every hint. We get a whiff of 
anything that might be happening or going to happen to America, we're 
moving on it--and at the same time, I can proudly report, safeguarding 
the United States Constitution.
    And so are these Governors. They're working hard to protect their 
fellow citizens. They're working hard at the State level and working in 
coordination at the local level to prepare, to be ready, to be on alert. 
And I want to thank them for their service to our country.
    I asked Congress to work with me to make a--to make the Government 
work better. I readily concede my slogan wasn't, don't--``Vote for me. 
I'm going to make Government bigger.'' But I do want to make it work 
better. And that's why I called upon our Congress to set up a Department 
of Homeland Defense, so we can better coordinate amongst agencies, so we 
can have the protection of our homeland as our number one priority, so 
if need be, we can change cultures so that this President and 
administration and future Presidents and administrations can say to the 
American people, ``We're doing everything in our power to protect you.''
    And we're making some progress. Republicans and Democrats came 
together in the House of Representatives to pass a good homeland 
security bill. We're kind of bogged down in the Senate, however. You 
see, the Senate wants to take away some of the powers of the 
administrative branch. The Senate wants to micromanage the process, and 
I'm not going to let them do it.
    For the sake of homeland security, the Senate--for the sake of the 
security of our homeland, the Senate needs to be more worried about the 
American people and less worried about special interests here in 
Washington, DC.
    But the best way to secure our homeland is to chase the killers 
down, one person at a time, and bring them to justice, which is exactly 
what the United States is going to do. It's a different kind of war. 
It's a war that is not measured by the destruction of tanks or ships or 
aircraft, because we're fighting a different kind of enemy. This is a 
war that is measured in terms of killers caught.
    We're making progress, thanks to a coalition we have put together. 
And we're making progress, thanks to one of the finest militaries our 
Nation has ever seen.

[[Page 1586]]

    Audience member. Thanks to our Commander in Chief!
    The President. This is an enemy which hides in caves or in the dark 
corners of cities and then sends youngsters to their suicidal death. 
It's a different kind of enemy and a different kind of war. But our 
resolve is just as fierce today as it has been in the past. And we're 
making progress. We're making progress. I don't have an exact count, but 
the number of those who the United States and our coalition partners 
have arrested, detained, whatever you want to call it, is over a couple 
thousand. And about a like number weren't as lucky. They're just not 
around anymore.
    We got a guy the other day, just as an example, thought he could 
hide in Pakistan. I don't know if you remember that doctrine I laid out, 
said, ``Either you're with us, or you're with the enemy.'' President 
Musharraf in Pakistan is with us when it comes to hunting these killers 
down. The person who thought he'd be the 20th hijacker, bin al-Shibh, is 
no longer a threat to the United States of America and our friends and 
allies.
    Oh, I know for some who are trying to fill the airways with 
speculation and noise and news and all that stuff, it's not a very 
glamorous war. But you've just got to know, this Nation is steady in our 
pursuit. We're strong in our resolve. No matter how long it takes, we're 
going to hunt them down, one person at a time. We're going to get them 
on the run, and we're going to keep them on the run, until we bring them 
to justice.
    I have submitted the largest increase in defense spending since 
Ronald Reagan was the President. I sent that up to the Congress for two 
reasons. One, anytime this Nation sends our troops into harm's way, 
anytime we ask our youngsters to go into the thin air of the mountains 
of Afghanistan or anywhere else in harm's way, they deserve the best 
pay, the best training, and the best possible equipment. We not only owe 
it to their--to the soldiers, we owe it to their loved ones as well.
    And a defense bill sends another message. It sends a clear message 
to our friends and to our foe that the United States is in this for the 
long pull. There's not an artificial quitting date. There's not a moment 
that says, you know, well, we've been at it for a period of time; we're 
getting kind of worn out; and freedom isn't that important. The message 
is that no matter how long it takes, and no matter what the cost, we 
will defend the freedoms of the United States of America.
    The House passed a defense bill. The Senate passed the defense bill. 
The way the process works is, they're supposed to get together, 
reconcile their differences, and get me a defense bill. It languishes. 
It languishes. This Congress must do its duty and get me a defense bill 
before it goes home. For the sake of our country, for the sake of this 
war, for the sake of the military, I need a defense appropriations bill.
    Now, we've got a big task ahead. See, history has put the spotlight 
on us. History will determine whether or not this Nation was strong and 
resolved in our defense of freedom. History will determine whether or 
not we uphold our values, the values that say we not only care for 
individuals here at home, but everybody matters. So far, I think history 
is going to judge us well.
    I want you to remember that when it came time to uphold the doctrine 
that said, ``If you harbor a terrorist, if you feed a terrorist, if you 
house a terrorist, you're just as guilty as the terrorist,'' we upheld 
that doctrine. And in so doing, we freed a group of people from the 
clutches of one of the most barbaric regimes in the history of mankind. 
I want you to tell your children when they ask about this war that our 
country went into Afghanistan not to conquer anybody but to liberate 
people. And as a result of the United States and our friends and allies, 
many young girls now go to school for the first time.
    No, this mighty nation believes that everybody matters. Each person 
has worth. Everybody counts, regardless of where they are from. And 
we're going to have tough times ahead of us, no question about it, as we 
pursue our goals. There's going to be some rocky paths that we're going 
to have to climb up. There's going to be some high hurdles we have to 
cross.
    One of the highest hurdles is to recognize that as a nation, we're 
no longer protected by two vast oceans. No longer are we safe.

[[Page 1587]]

We used to think, well, there's a little conflict going over there, or 
perhaps a leader over here who is a despicable person couldn't hurt us. 
We learned a new lesson after September the 11th, that we're vulnerable. 
For the sake of our security, we must not allow--for the sake of the 
future of our country and for the future of other regions in the world, 
we must never allow the world's worst leaders to develop, to deploy, to 
blackmail the free world with the world's worst weapons.
    I believe it is important that there be an international 
organization that is strong and vibrant and capable of helping freedom-
loving countries keep the peace. You see, if the enemy hides in caves, 
and a different kind of enemy, different kind of war, we need a 
collection of friends sharing intelligence, cutting off money, routing 
these people out. So I went to the United Nations. And I made it clear 
to the United Nations that our Nation hopes that the United Nations 
succeeds. We want there to be a strong United Nations. We want the 
United Nations to be more than a debating society. We don't want the 
United Nations to become the League of Nations. We want the United 
Nations to have backbone and to enforce--enforce the resolutions and 
doctrines and mandates.
    I also made it clear, for the sake of peace, for the sake of freedom 
for our country, if the United Nations will not act, the United States 
and our friends will. We owe it to our children; we owe it to our 
grandchildren to make sure that the dictator in Iraq never threatens our 
country or our children or our children's children with the world's 
worst weapons.
    As we work to make our country stronger and safer, we also must 
never forget to work to make it better. That's why I'm so strong for 
these Governors--they understand that. I signed one of the most 
comprehensive education reform bills in our Nation's history. It says, 
we expect there to be high standards in American schools. We want to 
challenge the soft bigotry of low expectations. I believe and these fine 
Governors believe that every child in America can learn. Everybody can 
learn. And therefore, we expect everybody to learn.
    If you believe everybody can learn, then you should expect everybody 
to learn. Inherent in that bill is my great trust for the Governors of 
the United States and for local folks. I strongly believe in local 
control of schools. But I also believe in this, that if you take Federal 
money, if you receive a dime of Federal money, you owe it to the 
taxpayers to show us whether or not the children are learning to read 
and write and add and subtract. And if they are, there will be plenty of 
praise for our Nation's teachers. But if not, we must not allow our 
children to be trapped in schools which will not teach and will not 
change.
    A better tomorrow recognizes that when it comes to reforming 
welfare, we must insist upon work. People find dignity in a job. I look 
forward to working with our Governors to make sure we continue the great 
progress of welfare reform by helping people help themselves, by helping 
people find job training so that instead of being dependent upon 
Government, they can find a job and be dependent upon their skills and 
their talents to provide for their families.
    A better tomorrow recognizes the great power of our faith-based 
institutions in America. A better tomorrow recognizes that in our 
churches, in synagogues and mosques, we find great compassion and love. 
We understand that Government can hand out money, but what Government 
cannot do--and by the way, we do a pretty good job of it up here--but 
what Government cannot do is put hope in people's hearts or a sense of 
purpose in people's lives. That's found in--all across America. It's 
found particularly in places that exist because of the universal dictum 
that people should love their neighbors just like they should be loved 
themselves.
    You know, the enemy hit us. The enemy hit us, and they didn't know 
who they were hitting. Oh, they probably thought that after September 
the 11th, 2001, we'd kind of regroup and file a lawsuit or two. 
[Laughter] They didn't realize that this bold country is a great 
country, full of decent and compassionate people. I want you to know 
that out of the evil done to America is going to come great good. Around 
the world, if we remain tough and strong, we can achieve peace. If we're 
willing to speak clearly about good and evil, if we continue to denounce 
terror, if we

[[Page 1588]]

understand the plight of the human condition, which we do in America--
that people must have hope, that everybody matters, that freedom 
counts--we can achieve peace in this world.
    Oh, you'll hear a lot of war rhetoric. But I want you to know, my 
goal is peace. I long for peace. And I believe out of the evil done to 
America can come peace in places around the world that have quit on 
peace, including the Middle East and South Asia. I also want you to 
know--I want you to know that we will be a better America, too, because 
the strength of the country lies in the hearts and souls of our fellow 
citizens.
    People say, ``How can I help on this war against terror? How can I 
fight evil?'' You can do so by mentoring a child, by going into a shut-
in's house and say, ``I love you,'' by running a Boy Scout troop or a 
Girl Scout troop, by being involved in your Boys and Girls Clubs, by 
joining the USA Freedom Corps. If you're interested in helping America 
fight evil, love your neighbor just like you'd like to be loved 
yourself.
    An educated America, a working America, an America that understands 
the power of our faith-based and charitable organizations is an America 
that is going to be a better America. There is no question in my mind 
that out of the evil done to this country, that we will be able to help 
eradicate those pockets of despair and hopelessness which exist. In our 
land of plenty, there are people who hurt, people who cry, people who 
wonder whether or not the American Dream is meant for them. And this 
society of ours, this society of ours is going to change, one heart, one 
soul, one conscience at a time, because thousands of our fellow citizens 
are loving a neighbor just like they'd like to be loved themselves.
    People understand in America now that a patriot is somebody who not 
only puts his hand over his heart and says, ``I pledge allegiance to one 
Nation under God,'' but somebody who serves something greater than 
themselves.
    See, that was the example of Flight 93, an example which is vivid in 
my mind and, I'm sure, vivid in yours. It's an historic moment in many 
ways, a sad, tragic moment. On the other hand, it's a moment that I hope 
people remember for a long time. After all, it was a flight full of our 
fellow citizens. They learned that the plane they were on was going to 
be used as a weapon. They told their loved ones goodbye, or, ``I love 
you.'' They said a prayer. One guy said, ``Let's roll.'' They drove the 
plane into the ground to serve something greater than themselves in 
life.
    No, the spirit of America was alive on that airplane. The spirit of 
America is alive today. No, out of the evil done to this great country 
is going to come a more compassionate, a more decent, a more hopeful 
country. There's no doubt in my mind that we can achieve the big goals 
before us, because this is the finest country on the face of the Earth, 
full of the finest people.
    May God bless you all, and may God bless America. Thank you all.

Note: The President spoke at 6:53 p.m. at the National Building Museum. 
In his remarks, he referred to Gov. John G. Rowland of Connecticut; Gov. 
Bill Owens of Colorado; President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan; Ramzi 
bin al-Shibh, an Al Qaida operative suspected of helping to plan the 
September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, who was captured in Karachi, 
Pakistan; and President Saddam Hussein of Iraq.