[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 30 (Monday, July 28, 2003)]
[Pages 942-945]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Bush-Cheney Reception in Dallas, Texas

July 18, 2003

    Thank you all very much. Laura and I are thrilled to be here. It is 
great to be home. It's really fun for us to see a lot of our old 
buddies--some of our young buddies too. [Laughter] This is our first 
trip back to Texas since I got back from Africa. You may remember we 
were over there, and we went to a park in Botswana. That's where we 
learned a lot about our party's mascot. [Laughter]
    I want to thank you all for your help. Thanks a lot. It means a lot 
to Laura and me. We love Texas, and we love our friends, and we want to 
thank our friends for helping us. You're laying the foundation for what 
is going to be a great victory in November of 2004.
    I'm getting ready, loosening up. [Laughter] But I'm going to have to 
count on you to energize the grassroots and to make the phone calls and 
to put up the signs and to address the envelopes and remind everybody 
that our message is so positive and hopeful for every citizen of this 
State and this country.
    The political season will come in its own time. But right now, I'm 
focused on the people's business in our Nation's Capital. I have a job 
to do, and we have a lot on our agenda. And I will continue to work hard 
to earn the confidence of all America by keeping this Nation strong and 
secure, free, and prosperous.
    I am thrilled that Laura's here. She is a fabulous First Lady, and I 
love her dearly. She is just a steady rock and has been a great 
comforter for a lot of Americans during some of our difficult times.
    I appreciate our Governor. I want to thank him for his introduction. 
I thank him for his introduction; more importantly, I thank him for his 
great leadership for the State of Texas. He is Governor during some 
tough times for this State, and he has led with courage and vision. And 
the State of Texas is better off with Rick Perry as the Governor.
    I know we've got quite a few of the mighty Texas congressional 
delegation with us today. And I'm going to tell you something: It's 
really good to have steady support in the House of Representatives from 
our fellow Texans, Texans like Joe Barton and Michael Burgess and Kay 
Granger and Jeb Hensarling and Sam Johnson. I want to thank all of them 
for their service to our State and to our Nation.
    I know our able Lieutenant Governor is here, and I want to thank 
David Dewhurst for his service to the State of Texas, and the speaker of 
the house, my fellow Midland, Texan, citizen Tommy Craddick; I want to 
thank Tom for his service. Thank you, Tom and Nadine. I saw Marchant and 
Branch out there, two fine members of the Texas House. It's good to see 
you all.
    I appreciate so very much my close personal friend Mercer Reynolds. 
He's the national finance chairman for the Bush-Cheney '04 campaign. I 
want to thank Mercer for his hard work. I want to thank my close friend 
Fred Meyer for being the Texas State finance chairman. I thank Jeanne 
Johnson Phillips and Roger Williams for being the finance vice chairmen 
for our campaign here. I want to thank all of you who worked hard to 
raise this money. I appreciate your help.
    Finally, I want to thank the Gatlin boys for bringing their mother. 
[Laughter]
    In the last 2\1/2\ years, our Nation has acted decisively to 
confront great challenges. I came to this office to solve problems, not 
to pass them on to future Presidents and future generations. I came to 
seize opportunities, instead of letting them slip away. We are meeting 
the tests of our time.
    Terrorists declared war on the United States of America, and war is 
what they got. We have captured or killed many leaders of Al Qaida, and 
the rest of them know we're on their trail. In Afghanistan and Iraq, we

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gave ultimatums to terror regimes. Those regimes chose defiance, and 
those regimes are no more. Fifty million people in those two countries 
once lived under tyranny, and now they live under freedom.
    Two-and-a-half years ago, our military was not receiving the 
resources it needed, and morale was beginning to suffer. We increased 
the defense budget to prepare for the threats of a new era. And today, 
no one in the world can question the skill and the strength and the 
spirit of the United States military.
    Two-and-a-half years ago, we inherited an economy in recession. And 
then the attacks happened on our country, and there were corporate 
scandals and war. All affected the people's confidence. But we acted. We 
passed tough new laws to hold corporate criminals to account. And to get 
the economy going again, we have twice led the United States Congress to 
pass historic tax relief for the people of this country.
    We know that when Americans have more take-home pay to spend, to 
save, or to invest, the whole economy grows, and people are more likely 
to find a job. We understand whose money we spend in Washington, DC. It 
is not the Government's money. It is the people's money.
    We're returning more money to people to help them raise their 
families. We're reducing taxes on dividends and capital gains to 
encourage investment. We are giving small businesses incentives to 
expand and to hire people. With all these actions, we have laid the 
foundation for greater prosperity and more jobs, so that every single 
American in our country can realize the great hope of the American 
Dream.
    Two-and-a-half years ago, there was a lot of talk about education 
reform, but there wasn't much action. So I called for, and Congress 
passed, the No Child Left Behind Act. With a solid, bipartisan majority, 
we delivered the most dramatic education reforms in a generation. We're 
bringing high standards and strong accountability measures to every 
public school in America. We believe and strongly believe that every 
child can learn the basics of reading and math, and we expect every 
school to teach the basics of reading and math. We are challenging the 
soft bigotry of low expectations. The days of excuse-making are over. We 
expect results in every classroom, so that not one single child in 
America is left behind.
    We reorganized the Government and created the Department of Homeland 
Security to safeguard our borders and ports and to better protect the 
American people. We passed trade promotion authority to open up new 
markets for our entrepreneurs and farmers and ranchers and 
manufacturers. We passed a budget agreement that is helping to maintain 
spending discipline in Washington, DC. On issue after issue, this 
administration has acted on principle, has kept its word, and has made 
progress on behalf of the American people.
    The United States Congress has shared in these great achievements. I 
appreciate the leadership of Speaker Hastert and Leader Frist. I want to 
thank the hard work of many Members of the Congress. We're going to 
continue to work together to change the tone in Washington, DC, and to 
focus on results.
    And those are the kind of--the nature of the men and women I have 
asked to serve in my administration. I have put together a fantastic 
team on behalf of America. These are people who understand their job is 
to serve all Americans. Our country has had no finer Vice President than 
Dick Cheney--although Mother may have a different opinion. [Laughter]
    In 2\1/2\ years, we have come far, but we're only beginning. I have 
set great goals worthy of this great Nation. First, America is committed 
to expanding the realm of freedom and peace for our own security and for 
the benefit of the world. And second, in our own country, we must work 
for a society of prosperity and compassion, so that every citizen has a 
chance to work, to succeed, and to realize the promise of our country.
    It is clear that the future of freedom and peace depend upon the 
actions of America. This Nation is freedom's home and freedom's 
defender. We welcome this charge of history, and we are keeping it. Our 
war on terror continues. The enemies of freedom are not idle, and 
neither are we. This country will not rest; we will not tire; we will 
not stop until this danger to civilization is removed.

[[Page 944]]

    Yet, our national interest involves more than eliminating aggressive 
threats to our safety. Our greatest security comes from the advance of 
human liberty, because free nations do not support terror. Free nations 
do not attack their neighbors. Free nations do not threaten the world 
with weapons of mass terror. Americans believe that freedom is the 
deepest need and the deepest hope of every human heart, and we believe 
that freedom is the right of every person and the future of every 
nation.
    America also understands that unprecedented influence brings 
tremendous responsibilities. We have duties in the world, and when we 
see disease and starvation and hopelessness, we will not turn away. 
Laura and I just came from Africa. America is now committed to bringing 
the healing power of medicine to millions of men and women and children 
who suffer with AIDS. This great, strong, compassionate Nation is 
leading the world in this incredibly important work of human rescue.
    We face challenges here at home, and our actions will prove that we 
are equal to those challenges. I will continue to work on our economy 
until everybody who wants to work and is not working today can find a 
job.
    We have a duty to keep our commitment to America's seniors by 
strengthening and modernizing Medicare. Recently, the Congress took 
historic action to improve the lives of our older Americans. For the 
first time since the creation of Medicare, the House and the Senate have 
passed reforms to increase choices for seniors and to provide 
prescription drug coverage. The next step is for both Houses to come 
together to iron out the details and to get a good bill to my desk.
    And for the sake of our health care system, we need to cut down on 
the frivolous lawsuits which increase the cost of medicine. I want to 
thank Governor Perry and the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker for 
passing meaningful, real medical liability reform. People who have been 
harmed by a bad doctor deserve their day in court. Yet, the system 
should not reward lawyers who are simply fishing for rich settlements. 
Because frivolous lawsuits drive up the cost of health care at the 
national level, medical liability reform is a national issue that 
requires a national solution. The House of Representatives has passed a 
good bill. It is stalled in the Senate. For the sake of a good health 
care system, the United States Senate must act.
    I have a responsibility as the President to make sure the judicial 
system runs well, and I have met that duty. I have nominated superb men 
and women like Priscilla Owen for our Federal courts, good people who 
will interpret the law, not legislate from the bench. Yet, some Members 
of the Senate are trying to keep my nominees off the bench by blocking 
up-or-down votes. Every judicial nominee deserves a fair hearing and an 
up-or-down vote on the Senate floor. It is time for some Members of the 
United States Senate to stop playing politics with American justice.
    This Congress needs to pass a comprehensive energy plan. Our Nation 
must promote energy efficiency and conservation. We must develop cleaner 
technology. We must explore in environmentally friendly ways. Yet, for 
the sake of economic security and national security, we need to become 
less dependent on foreign sources of energy.
    Our strong and prosperous Nation must be a compassionate nation. I 
will continue to advance our agenda of compassionate conservatism, 
applying the best and most innovative ideas to the task of helping our 
fellow citizens in need.
    There are still millions of men and women who want to end their 
dependence on Government and become independent through hard work. We 
must build on the success of welfare reform to bring work and dignity 
into the lives of more of our fellow citizens.
    Congress should complete the ``Citizen Service Act'' so that more 
Americans can serve their communities and their country. And both Houses 
should reach agreement on my Faith-Based Initiative to support the 
armies of compassion that are mentoring children, that are caring for 
the homeless, that are offering hope to the addicted.
    A compassionate society must promote opportunity for all, including 
the independence and dignity that come from ownership. This 
administration will constantly strive to promote an ownership society in 
America. We want more of our citizens owning their own home. We want 
people to own and manage their own health care account and their own

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retirement account. We want more people to own their small business, 
because we understand when an American owns something, he or she has a 
vital stake in the future of our country.
    In a compassionate society, people respect one another and take 
responsibility for the decisions they make. We're changing the culture 
of America from one that says, ``If it feels good, do it,'' and ``If 
you've got a problem, blame somebody else,'' to a culture in which each 
of us understands we are responsible for the decisions we make in life. 
If you're fortunate to be a mom or a dad, you're responsible for your 
child. If you're concerned about the quality of the education in your 
community, you are responsible for doing something about it. If you're a 
CEO in America, you are responsible to tell the truth to your employees 
and your shareholders. And in this new responsibility society, each of 
us is responsible for loving our neighbor just like we'd like to be 
loved ourself.
    We can see the culture of service and responsibility growing around 
us. I started the USA Freedom Corps to encourage Americans to extend a 
compassionate hand to neighbors in need, and the response has been very 
strong. Our charities and our faith-based institutions are strong and 
vibrant all across our country. They're helping people who cry out for 
help. Policemen and firefighters and people who wear our Nation's 
uniform are reminding us what it means to sacrifice for something 
greater than yourself. Once again, the children of America believe in 
heroes because they see them every day.
    In these challenging times, the world has seen the resolve and the 
courage of America, and I have been privileged to see the compassion and 
the character of the American people. All the tests of the last 2\1/2\ 
years have come to the right nation.
    We are a strong country, and we use our strength to defend the 
peace. We're an optimistic country, confident in ourselves and in ideals 
bigger than ourselves. Abroad, we seek to lift whole nations by 
spreading freedom. At home, we seek to lift up lives by spreading 
opportunity to every corner of America. This is the work that history 
has set before us. We welcome it, and we know that for our country and 
for our cause, better days lie ahead.
    Thank you for coming. May God bless.

Note: The President spoke at 6:16 p.m. at the Wyndham Anatole Hotel. In 
his remarks, he referred to Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst 
of Texas; Texas House of Representatives Speaker Tom Craddick and his 
wife, Nadine; Texas State Representatives Kenny Marchant and Dan Branch; 
Jeanne Johnson Phillips, Texas State vice chairman, and J. Roger 
Williams, north Texas chairman, Bush-Cheney '04, Inc.; country music 
entertainers the Gatlin Brothers, and their mother, Billie; and 
Priscilla Owen, nominee to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit. 
This item was not received in time for publication in the appropriate 
issue.