[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 42 (Monday, October 20, 2003)]
[Pages 1402-1407]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks in San Bernardino, California

October 16, 2003

    Thank you all. Please be seated, Colonel. Thanks for coming. Thanks 
for the warm welcome. It's great to be in the Inland Empire with the 
38th Governor of the great State of California.
    We did have a good visit, and during that visit I was able to 
reflect upon how much we have in common. We both married well. 
[Laughter] Some accuse us both of not being able to speak the language. 
[Laughter] We both have big biceps. [Laughter] Well, two out of three 
isn't bad. [Laughter] We both love our country. Arnold Schwarzenegger is 
going to be a fine and strong leader for California. I'm proud to call 
him friend.
    Mark, I want to thank you and the Inland Empire Economic Partnership 
for hosting this event. I appreciate it very much. And thank you all for 
coming. I appreciate Teri Ooms as well, as the president and CEO of the 
partnership.
    I want to thank those from the military who are here, particularly 
James Rubeor, who is the colonel at March Air Force Base. I appreciate 
you coming, Colonel. I presume you left somebody behind to make sure Air 
Force One is fueled up. [Laughter]
    We're leaving--I say we--Laura is coming from Washington this 
morning. I'm sorry she's not here. You drew the short straw when you got 
me. [Laughter] But she is--we're fixing to go overseas to represent our 
great country. I'm looking forward to the trip to remind the world about 
the challenges we face. I'm really here today to talk about the 
challenges we face at home as well.
    I want to thank the local officials who have so kindly come. Most of 
all, I want to thank our citizens who are here, because I am talking 
about two of the great priorities for our country. One is to create jobs 
for America, and to win the war on terror--the two challenges we're 
faced with.
    This country is being tested. We're being tested abroad, and we're 
being tested here at home. And we're meeting the tests of history. We're 
defeating the enemies of freedom, and we're confronting the challenges 
to build prosperity for our country. That's

[[Page 1403]]

what we're doing. Every test of America has revealed the character of 
America. And over the last 2 years, no one in the world, friend or foe, 
can doubt the will and the strength of the American people.
    When you become President, you cannot predict all the challenges 
that will come. But you do know the principles that you bring to office, 
principles that should not change with time or with polls. I took this 
office to make a difference, not to mark time. I came to this office to 
confront problems directly and forcefully, not to pass them on to future 
Presidents or future generations.
    The challenges we face today cannot be met with timid, timid actions 
or bitter, bitter words. Our challenges will be overcome with optimism 
and resolve and confidence in the ideals of America. Because we believe 
in our free enterprise system, we can be confident in our economy's 
future.
    Our economy has been through a lot. When I took office, the stock 
market had been declining for 9 months, and the economy was headed into 
a recession. And just as we started to recover, the killers came and 
attacked America on September the 11th, and that struck a blow to the 
economy. And then investor confidence was shaken by scandals in 
corporate America, dishonest behavior we cannot and will not tolerate in 
our country. And then we faced the uncertainty that preceded the battles 
of Afghanistan and Iraq.
    The country has been hit hard during these times, and so has the 
great State of California. Declines in investment have hurt the tech 
sector. You lost manufacturing jobs. Farmers are wondering whether 
they'll be able to sell their products overseas. Unemployment in this 
important State is too high.
    But we acted. I acted to overcome these challenges to this State and 
our country, and I acted on principle. Government does not create 
wealth. The role of Government is to create the conditions where 
risktakers and entrepreneurs can invest and grow and hire new workers.
    We know how to create jobs for America. It starts when Americans 
have more take-home pay to spend, to save, or invest, which causes the 
economy to grow, and therefore, someone is more likely to find a job. So 
I twice led the Congress to pass historic tax relief for the American 
people. We wanted tax relief to be as broad and as fair as possible, so 
we reduced taxes on everyone who pays taxes. It doesn't make sense to 
penalize marriage in the Tax Code, so we reduced the marriage penalty. 
It costs a lot to raise children, and so we increased the child credit 
from $600 per child to $1,000 per child. And we put the checks in the 
mail directly to moms and dads.
    It's counterproductive to discourage investment, especially during 
an economic recovery, so we quadrupled the expense deduction for small-
business investment and cut taxes on dividends and capital gains. It is 
unfair to tax the estates people leave behind after a lifetime of saving 
money and building a business or running a farm. When you leave this 
world, the IRS should not follow you. [Laughter] So we're phasing out 
the Federal death tax.
    I proposed and signed these measures to help individuals and 
families. But they also help the small businesses of America. See, most 
small-business owners pay taxes under the individual tax rate because 
they're Subchapter S's or sole proprietorships. And therefore, small 
business has benefited from the tax cuts. Millions of mom-and-pop 
companies are also benefiting from the higher expense deductions. And 
this is important because small businesses create most new jobs for our 
country, and they're usually the first to take risks. They're usually 
the first to hire people. By helping small businesses, we help our 
entire economy.
    We are following a clear and consistent economic strategy, and I'm 
confident about our future. Last month, this economy exceeded 
expectations and added new jobs. Inflation is low. After-tax incomes are 
rising. Homeownership is at record highs. Productivity is high. Factory 
orders, particularly for high-tech equipment, have risen over the last 
several months. Our strategy has set the stage for sustained growth. By 
reducing taxes we kept a promise, and we did the right thing at the 
right time for the American economy.
    Now our country is approaching a choice. Just as our economy is 
coming around, some in Washington are saying now is the time to raise 
taxes. To be fair, they think any time

[[Page 1404]]

is a good time to raise taxes. [Laughter] At least they're consistent. 
[Laughter] I strongly disagree. A nation cannot tax its way to growth or 
job creation. Tax relief put this Nation on the right path, and I intend 
to keep America on the path to prosperity.
    We're moving forward, but we're not satisfied. We cannot be 
satisfied so long as we have fellow citizens looking for work. We must 
continue to act boldly. So I'm asking Congress to join me in carrying 
out a six-part plan for job creation for America.
    Businesses are more likely to hire people if health care for workers 
is affordable. One way to help our small-business owners is to allow 
association health care plans, where small businesses can pool risk and 
gain the same bargaining power as big businesses.
    And to help control costs for small businesses, large businesses, 
and Government, we need effective legal reform to stop the frivolous 
lawsuits against doctors. We need more than tort reform just for medical 
liability. Unfair lawsuits harm a lot of good and small businesses. 
There are too many large settlements that leave the plaintiffs with a 
small sum and the lawyers with the fortune. Class action and mass tort 
cases that reach across State lines should be tried in the Federal 
court, so the lawyers cannot shop around looking for a favorable judge. 
We got a good bill out of the House. It's stuck in the Senate. The 
Senate must act. Job creation will occur when we've got legal reforms.
    Our economy will grow stronger and create more jobs if we have a 
sound national energy policy. When we--we had a wake-up call this 
summer. We need to modernize our electricity grids. [Laughter] We need 
to make sure that we encourage investments so that the capacity to move 
electricity or natural gas is capable to sustain growth in the 21st 
century. We need to use our technology to develop clean and efficient 
energy sources, so that we can sustain economic growth and protect the 
environment. But one thing is for certain: For the sake of national 
security and for the sake of economic security, America must be less 
dependent on foreign sources of energy.
    More people will find jobs when employers do not have to waste time 
and resources complying with needless Government regulations. For the 
sake of American workers, at the Federal level we're cutting unnecessary 
rules and making rules simpler to understand. Small-business owners 
should spend more time building companies and pleasing customers and 
less time filling out needless forms.
    To create jobs in this country, we need to pursue free trade 
agreements that will open up foreign markets for American products. 
Expanded trade will help businesses large and small--businesses such as 
UVP, Inc., and Maney Aircraft based right out of here--will help them to 
sell more good and locally made products overseas. Free trade must be 
two ways. We're good at what we do. We ought to be allowed to sell what 
we do in other people's countries. Farmers ought to have markets opened 
up to them. California's ranchers and farmers are really good at what 
they do. We need a level playing field when it comes to trade, and a 
level playing field will help us create jobs here in America.
    There's one more thing we need to do. We need to make sure that all 
the tax relief we passed does not disappear in future years. Employers 
need certainty in the Tax Code. Because of a quirk in the legislation, 
the tax cuts are scheduled to go away unless we act. When we passed tax 
relief, Americans did not expect to see higher taxes sneak through the 
back door. If Congress is interested in job creation, they will make 
every one of the tax cuts permanent.
    We have a responsibility to set good policies in Washington. 
Governor Schwarz-
enegger has a responsibility to set good policy in Sacramento. Yet the 
true strength of this country is found in the creativity and the 
entrepreneurial spirit of America. And that is one reason and that is 
the main reason I am so confident about the future of our economy.
    As we overcome challenges to our economy, we are answering great 
threats to our security. September the 11th, 2001, moved our country to 
grief and moved our country to action. We made a pledge that day, and we 
have kept it. We are bringing the guilty to justice. We're taking the 
fight to the enemy.

[[Page 1405]]

    And now we see that enemy clearly. The terrorists plot in secret and 
target the innocent. They defile a great religion, and they hate 
everything this Nation stands for. These committed killers will not be 
stopped by negotiations. They will not respond to reason. The terrorists 
who threaten America cannot be appeased. They must be found. They must 
be fought, and they will be defeated.
    In this new kind of war, America is following a new strategy. We are 
not waiting for further attacks. We are striking our enemies before they 
can strike us again. We have taken unprecedented steps to protect the 
homeland. Yet wars are won on the offensive, and America and our friends 
are staying on the offensive. We're rolling back the terrorist threat, 
not on the fringes of its influence but at the heart of its power.
    We have sent a message understood throughout the world: ``If you 
harbor a terrorist, if you support a terrorist, if you feed a terrorist, 
you're just as guilty as the terrorist.'' And the Taliban found out what 
we meant. Thanks to a great military, Afghanistan is no longer a haven 
for terror. The Afghan people are free, and the people of America are 
safer from attack.
    And we fought the war on terror in Iraq. The regime of Saddam 
Hussein possessed and used weapons of mass destruction, sponsored 
terrorist groups, and inflicted terror on its own people. Nearly every 
nation recognized and denounced this threat for over a decade. Finally, 
the U.N. Security Council in Resolution 1441 demanded that Saddam 
Hussein disarm, prove his disarmament to the world, or face serious 
consequences. The choice was up to the dictator, and he chose poorly. 
[Laughter]
    I acted because I was not about to leave the security of the 
American people in the hands of a madman. I was not about to stand by 
and wait and trust in the sanity and restraint of Saddam Hussein, so our 
coalition acted in one of the swiftest and most humane military 
campaigns in history. And nearly 6 months ago, the statue of the 
dictator was pulled down.
    Since the liberation of Iraq, our investigators have found evidence 
of a clandestine network of biological laboratories, advanced design 
work on prohibited longer range missiles, and an elaborate campaign to 
hide illegal programs. There's still much to investigate, yet it is now 
undeniable that Saddam Hussein was in clear violation of United Nations 
Security Council Resolution 1441. It is undeniable that Saddam Hussein 
was a deceiver and a danger. The Security Council was right to demand 
that Saddam Hussein disarm, and America was right to enforce that 
demand.
    Who can possibly think that the world would be better off with 
Saddam Hussein still in power? Surely not the dissidents who would be in 
his prisons or end up in his mass graves. Surely not the men and women 
who would fill Saddam's torture chamber or rape rooms. Surely not the 
families of victims he murdered with poison gas. Surely not anyone who 
cares about human rights and democracy and stability in the Middle East. 
There is only one decent and humane reaction to the fall of Saddam 
Hussein: Good riddance!
    Now our country is approaching a choice. After all the action we 
have taken, after all the progress we have made against terror, there is 
a temptation to think that danger has passed. But the danger has not 
passed. Since September the 11th, the terrorists have taken lives in 
Casablanca, Mombasa, Jerusalem, Amman, Riyadh, Baghdad, Karachi, New 
Delhi, Bali, Jakarta. And most recently, American lives were lost by 
terrorist attack in the Gaza.
    The terrorists continue to plot. They continue to plan against our 
country and our people. America must never forget the lessons of 
September the 11th. America cannot retreat from our responsibilities and 
hope for the best. Our security will not be gained by timid measures. 
Our security requires constant vigilance and decisive action. I believe 
America has only one option: We will fight this war against terror until 
it is won.
    We are fighting on many fronts. Iraq is now the central front. 
Saddam holdouts and foreign terrorists are trying desperately to 
undermine Iraq's progress and throw the country into chaos. The 
terrorists in Iraq believe their attacks on innocent people will weaken 
our resolve. They believe we will run from a challenge. They're 
mistaken. Americans are not the running kind.

[[Page 1406]]

    The United States did not run from Germany and Japan following World 
War II. We helped those nations to become strong and decent and 
democratic societies that no longer waged war against America, that 
became our friends. That's our mission in Iraq today. We're rebuilding 
schools. We're repairing hospitals, restoring water and electricity, so 
the Iraqi people can live a normal life.
    Americans are providing this help not only because our hearts are 
good but because our vision is clear: A stable and democratic and 
hopeful Iraq will no longer be a breeding ground for terror, for tyranny 
and aggression. Free nations are peaceful nations. Our work in Iraq is 
essential to our own security. And no band of murderers and gangsters 
will stop that work or shake the will of America.
    Nearly every day in Iraq, we're launching swift precision raids 
against the terrorists. Helped by intelligence from Iraqis, we're 
rounding up the enemy, and we're taking their weapons, and we're working 
our way through the famous deck of cards. [Laughter] We've already 
captured or killed 43 of the 55 most wanted former Iraqi leaders. And 
the other 12 have got a lot to worry about. [Laughter] Anyone who seeks 
to harm our soldiers can know that our soldiers are hunting for them.
    Our military is serving with courage, and some of the best have 
fallen. We mourn every loss. We honor every name. We grieve with every 
family, and we'll always be grateful that liberty has found such brave 
defenders.
    In defending liberty, we are joined by more than 30 nations now 
contributing military forces in Iraq. Great Britain and Poland are 
leading two multinational divisions. We're in that cause with fine 
allies, and we thank them. And that includes the good people of Iraq. 
Last week, the first battalion of the new Iraqi army completed its 
training. Within the year, Iraq will have 40,000-member military force. 
Tens of thousands of Iraqi citizens are guarding their own borders. 
They're defending vital facilities, and they're policing their own 
streets. Normal Iraqis want Iraq to be secure and peaceful.
    Our goal in Iraq is to leave behind a stable, self-governing society 
which will no longer be a threat to the Middle East or to the United 
States. We're following an orderly plan to reach this goal. Iraq now has 
a Governing Council, which appointed interim Government ministers. Once 
a constitution has been written, Iraq will move toward national 
elections. We want the process to go as quickly as possible, yet it must 
be done right. The free institutions of Iraq must stand the test of 
time.
    Today I want to thank the United Nations Security Council for 
unanimously passing a resolution supporting our efforts to build a 
peaceful and free Iraq. A democratic Iraq will stand as an example to 
all the Middle East. We believe and the Iraqi people will show that 
liberty is the hope and the right of every land.
    Our work in Iraq has been long, and it's hard. It is not finished. 
Since September the 11th, nearly 10,000 California National Guard 
soldiers and airmen have been mobilized for this effort; 1,600 are 
currently in the Middle East. They're playing a vital role for the 
defense of this Nation. Our country is grateful to those who serve and 
their families who support them.
    Americans have sacrificed in the cause of freedom and security, and 
that cause goes on. Beyond Iraq, the war on terror continues. There will 
be no quick victory in this war. But if we persevere, our victory is 
certain.
    I'm confident of that victory because I know the character of our 
military, shown in the conduct of young men like Joseph Robsky. He's a 
career soldier. He served with the Marines in Bosnia and saw the dangers 
of unexploded bombs, became an explosive ordnance disposal specialist 
with the Army's 759th Ordnance Company, based in California at Fort 
Irwin. Along with his unit, he was sent to Iraq. And on September the 
10th of this year, he was killed disarming a bomb. Hear the words of his 
mother, Bonnie: ``My son always said he had a job to do. He said the 
terrorist has to be stopped.''
    Staff Sergeant Joe Robsky's devotion to his Nation will not be 
forgotten. We'll always remember the words, ``Terrorism must be 
stopped.''
    This war on terror has brought hardship and loss to our country, 
beginning with the

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grief of September the 11th. Let us also remember that the first victory 
in this war came on that same day, on a hijacked plane bound for the 
Nation's Capital. Somehow the brave men and women on Flight 93, knowing 
they would die, found the courage to use their final moments to save the 
lives of others. In those moments and many times since, terrorists have 
learned about America. They won't--we won't be intimidated. We'll fight 
them with everything we got. Few are called to show the kind of valor 
seen on Flight 93 or on the field of battle. Yet all of us do share a 
calling: Be strong in adversity and unafraid in danger.
    We Americans have come through so much. We have much yet to do. If 
we're patient, united, and determined, our Nation will prosper, and our 
Nation will prevail.
    May God bless you. Thank you all.

Note: The President spoke at 9:38 a.m. at the Radisson Hotel and 
Convention Center. In his remarks, he referred to Col. James T. Rubeor, 
USAFR, commander, 452d Air Mobility Wing, March Air Reserve Base; 
Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger of California; Mark Ostoich, 
chairman of the board, Inland Empire Economic Partnership; and former 
President Saddam Hussein of Iraq.