[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 3 (Monday, January 19, 2004)]
[Pages 74-79]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Bush-Cheney Luncheon in New Orleans

January 15, 2004

    Thank you all. Thank you all very much for coming. Thanks for the 
warm welcome. It's great to be back in the Big Easy. I've got a lot of 
good memories from this part of the world. [Laughter] Some I can share 
with you--[laughter]--and some I can't. [Laughter]
    We love New Orleans, fabulous city. Thanks for coming. I appreciate 
your support. It's great to be in the State of Louisiana, the home of 
those Bayou Bengals, the mighty LSU Tigers. That's pretty--that was--
that's awesome. [Laughter] It was exciting for Louisiana. I'm proud for 
you. I'm also glad that you didn't play the University of Texas this 
year. [Laughter] Wait a minute. [Laughter]
    I want to thank you for what you did for Vice President Cheney and 
me last--that last time we were ran, in 2000. We carried Louisiana. I'll 
tell you what we're doing today: We're laying the foundation for what is 
going to be another victory in the great State of Louisiana, and we're 
laying the foundation for what is going to be a great national victory 
in November of 2004.
    And I appreciate your help. I want to thank you for coming today. I 
want to thank you for your support. I want to thank you for your 
prayers. I want to thank you for what you're going to do, which is turn 
out that vote, find those voters and turn them to the polls.
    I'm getting ready, and I'm loosening up. [Laughter] But politics is 
going to come in its own time. See, I've got a job to do. There's a lot 
on my agenda, on behalf of all the people of this country. As this 
campaign gets cranked up, you tell the people that I'm working on their 
behalf and I'm going to continue to work hard to earn their confidence 
by keeping America secure and strong and prosperous and free.
    I am sorry Laura is not here. She is a fabulous First Lady. She's 
doing a great job. She is--she really, really, makes me proud and 
thankful she said yes when I said, ``Will you?''

[[Page 75]]

[Laughter] She sends her love to all our friends here in New Orleans and 
some of our friends who might have snuck in from Texas.
    I appreciate Boysie. I've known him for a long time. I want to thank 
you for your leadership, Boysie. You and Canizaro are doing a fine job. 
I want to thank all of you who worked hard to make this event such a 
successful event.
    You've sent some good people from Louisiana to the Congress. I want 
to thank Jim McCrery for joining us today, and the next United States 
Senator, David Vitter.
    Mr. Mayor, I know you're here. I want to thank you for coming. I 
appreciate the mayor of this great city. I appreciate his leadership. I 
appreciate his vision. I look forward to working with him to make sure 
New Orleans realizes its full potential, and everybody in this city has 
a chance to succeed.
    Joey Durel is here, the city-parish president from Lafayette. I want 
to thank you for coming, Joey. I want to thank all the State and local 
officials who are here. I want to thank my friend Pat Brister, who is 
the chairman of the Louisiana Republican Party, for being here today.
    I particularly want to say thanks to all the grassroots activists--
[applause]--yes, there you are. The phone callers, the sign-putter-
uppers, the envelope addressers--get ready. [Laughter] We're counting on 
you. We're counting on you to work those precincts. We're counting on 
you to work those phones. We're counting on you to go to the community 
centers. We're counting on you to turn out the vote.
    I want you to remind the people that over the last 3 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. My administration is meeting the tests of our time.
    Terrorists declared war on the United States of America, and war is 
what they got. We've captured or killed many of the key leaders of the 
Al Qaida network, and the rest of them know we're on their trail. In 
Afghanistan and in Iraq, we 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 today, they 
live in freedom.
    Three years ago, our military was not receiving the resources it 
needed, and morale was beginning to suffer. So we increased the defense 
budgets 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.
    Three years ago, the economy was in trouble, and a recession was 
beginning, and then there was attacks on our country and scandals in 
corporate America and war--all of which affected the people's 
confidence. But this administration acted. We passed tough new laws to 
hold corporate criminals to account. And to get the economy going again, 
I have twice led the United States Congress to pass historic tax relief 
for the American people.
    When Americans have more take-home pay to spend, to save, or invest, 
the whole economy grows, and people are more likely to find a job. And 
so we're returning more money to the people to help them raise their 
families. We're reducing taxes on dividends and capital gains to 
encourage investment. We're giving small businesses incentives to expand 
and to hire new people. With all these actions, this administration has 
laid the foundation for greater prosperity and more jobs across America 
so every single citizen has a chance to realize the American Dream.
    And today, the economy is strong, and it is getting stronger. The 
figures for the third quarter of 2003 show that the economy grew at an 
annual rate of 8.2 percent, the fastest pace in nearly 20 years. 
Productivity is high. Business investment is rising. Housing 
construction is expanding. Manufacturing activity is increasing. We've 
added over a quarter-million new jobs in the last 5 months. The tax 
relief we passed is working.
    Three years ago, there was a lot of talk about education reform in 
our Nation's Capital, and frankly, there wasn't much action. So I acted. 
I called for and the Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act. With 
a solid bipartisan majority, we delivered the most dramatic education 
reforms in a generation. We've increased funding, particularly for the 
poor. But in return for access funding,

[[Page 76]]

we're finally asking the question of school districts all across 
America, ``Are you teaching our children how to read and write and add 
and subtract?'' This administration is challenging the soft bigotry of 
low expectations. We believe every child can learn, and we expect every 
child--every school to teach so that not one single child is left behind 
in America.
    We reorganized our Government and created the Department of Homeland 
Security to better safeguard ports like New Orleans' port, better 
safeguard our borders, and to better protect the American people. We 
passed trade promotion authority to open up new markets for Louisiana's 
farmers and ranchers and manufacturers and entrepreneurs. We passed 
budget agreements that have helped to maintain spending discipline in 
Washington, DC. And we recently completed the greatest advance in health 
care coverage for America's seniors since the founding of Medicare. The 
new Medicare bill will give older Americans the option of a prescription 
drug benefit and more control over their health care so that they 
receive the modern medical care that they deserve. On issue after issue, 
this administration has acted on principle, has kept its word, and has 
made progress for the American people.
    The Congress gets a lot of credit. I enjoy working with Speaker 
Hastert; I enjoy working with Leader Frist--two good, honorable people 
who are working hard to deliver results to the American people. I enjoy 
working with the two Congressmen who are here today. We're working hard 
to change the tone in Washington. There's too much needless politics in 
the Nation's Capital, too much zero-sum attitude, too much backbiting. 
The best way to change that tone is to focus on the people's business, 
is to deliver results, and that's exactly what we're doing.
    Those are the kind of people I've attracted to my administration, 
results-oriented people, good, honorable, honest people from all walks 
of life. I put together a fantastic administration. Our country has had 
no finer Vice President than Vice President Dick Cheney. My mother may 
have a second opinion. [Laughter]
    In 3 years, we have done a lot. We have come far. But the work is 
only beginning. I have set great goals worthy of a 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 will work for a society that is prosperous and compassionate 
so that every citizen--every citizen--has a chance to work and to 
succeed and realize the great promise of this country. It is clear that 
the future of freedom and peace depend on 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.
    The 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.
    We are confronting that danger in Iraq, where all people can be 
certain they will never again have to fear the rule of Saddam Hussein. 
The Ba'athist holdouts, largely responsible for the current violence, 
now know there will be no return to corrupt power and privilege they 
once held. All Iraqis who have taken the side of freedom have taken the 
winning side.
    We will still face terrorists who would rather go on killing the 
innocent than accept the rise of liberty in the Middle East. You see, 
they know that the advance of freedom in Iraq will be a major defeat in 
the cause of terror. This collection of killers is trying to shake the 
will of the United States of America. America will never be intimidated 
by a bunch of thugs and assassins.
    We are aggressively striking the terrorists in Iraq, defeating them 
there so we do not have to face them in our own country. And other 
nations are helping--a lot of other nations are helping--because they 
understand a free Iraq, a peaceful Iraq, a free Iraq in the heart of the 
Middle East will make the world more secure. We're standing with the 
Iraqi people as they assume more of their own defense and move toward 
self government.
    These are not easy tasks, but they are essential tasks. The United 
States of America will finish what we have begun, and we will win this 
essential victory in the war against terror.

[[Page 77]]

    In order to make the world more secure and peaceful, we're working 
to oppose proliferation all around the world. Last month, after talks 
with the United States and Great Britain, Libya voluntarily committed to 
disclose and dismantle all weapons of mass destruction programs. Leaders 
around the world now know weapons of mass destruction do not bring 
influence or prestige; they bring isolation and other unwelcome 
consequences. Nations who abandon the pursuit of these weapons will find 
an open path to better relations with the United States of America.
    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 hope 
of every human heart. I believe that freedom is the future of every 
nation. And I know that freedom is not America's gift to the world; 
freedom is the Almighty God's gift to every man and woman in this world.
    America also understands that unprecedented influence brings 
tremendous responsibilities. We have duties in this world. And when we 
see disease and starvation and hopeless poverty, we will not turn away. 
On the continent of Africa, this great Nation, this strong and 
compassionate land, is bringing the healing power of medicine to 
millions of men and women and children now suffering with AIDS. America 
is leading the world in this incredibly important work of human rescue.
    We face challenges at home as well, and we'll be equal to those 
challenges. This administration will continue to promote a pro-growth, 
pro-entrepreneur economic agenda until anybody who wants to find a job 
is able to do so.
    And for the sake of our health care system, we need to cut down on 
the frivolous lawsuits which increase the cost of medicine. People 
who've been harmed by a bad doc deserve their day in court, no question 
about it. Yet the system should not reward lawyers who are simply 
fishing for a rich settlement. Because frivolous lawsuits drive up the 
cost of health care--and they do--they affect the Federal budget. 
Medical liability reform is a national issue which requires a national 
solution. I sent up a good bill to the House, and the House passed it. 
The bill is stuck in the Senate. I call upon the Senate to act on behalf 
of the American people. Perhaps you know a Senator or two you need to 
contact here in Louisiana. No one--no one--and the Senate must 
understand this--no one has ever been healed by a frivolous lawsuit in 
America. We need medical liability reform now.
    I have a responsibility as the President to make sure the judicial 
system runs well. And I've met that duty. I've nominated superb men and 
women for the Federal courts, people who will interpret the law, not 
legislate from the bench, people like Miguel Estrada. You might have 
heard of Miguel Estrada here in the State of Louisiana. Some Members of 
the United States 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 
of the Members of the United States Senate to stop playing politics with 
American justice.
    Congress needs to get me an energy bill. This country needs a plan. 
We need a plan to promote energy efficiency and more conservation, a 
plan to develop cleaner technology, to help us explore for energy in 
environmentally friendly ways. But one thing is for certain: We need an 
energy plan to make sure that this country does not have to rely upon 
foreign sources of energy.
    Our strong and prosperous Nation must also be a compassionate 
nation. I will continue to advance our agenda of what I call 
compassionate conservatism, which means we'll apply the best and most 
innovative ideas to the tasks of helping our fellow citizens in need. 
There are still millions of men and women who want to end their 
dependence on government, become independent through work. We must build 
on the success of welfare reform to encourage job training programs that 
actually work so we can bring work and dignity into the lives of more of 
our fellow citizens. With the help of Congress, we're working to ensure 
that more Americans can serve their communities and

[[Page 78]]

their country through the Citizen Service Program.
    Both Houses need to reach agreement on my Faith-Based Initiative, an 
initiative that will help support the armies of compassion--people from 
all faiths, Christian or Jewish or Muslim faiths, who have heard the 
universal call and are loving a neighbor just like they'd like to be 
loved themselves, people who are helping change America by caring for 
the homeless, mentoring children, and offering hope to the addicted. 
Congress must not fear the influence of faith. Congress must welcome 
faith-based programs to help solve the intractable problems of society.
    A compassionate society must promote opportunity for all of us, 
including the independence and dignity that come from ownership. This 
administration will constantly strive to promote an ownership society in 
America. See, we want more people owning their own home. We have a 
minority homeownership gap in America. I proposed a plan to the 
Congress, starting with helping with the poorest of poor make a 
downpayment for a home, to close that gap. It's in the national interest 
that more people own their own home. We want people owning and managing 
their own healthcare accounts and their own retirement accounts. We want 
more people owning their own small business. This is an administration 
that understands, when someone owns something, he or she has a vital 
stake in the future of our country.
    In a compassionate society, people respect one another. They respect 
their religions. They respect their point of view. And they take 
responsibility for the decisions they make. The culture of America is 
changing from one that has said, ``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 that we're responsible for the decisions we make in 
life.
    If you are fortunate enough to be a mother or father, you're 
responsible for loving your child with all your heart. If you're 
concerned about the quality of the education in the community in which 
you live, you're responsible for doing something about it. If you're a 
CEO in corporate America, you're responsible for telling the truth to 
your shareholders and your employees. And in this new responsibility 
society, each of us is responsible for loving our neighbor just like 
we'd like to be loved ourself.
    I see the culture of service and responsibility growing around us. I 
just met with some of the great social entrepreneurs of the State of 
Louisiana today, neighborhood healers, helpers, people who are actively 
involved in saving America, one heart and one soul and one conscience at 
a time. I started what's called the USA Freedom Corps. It's a chance to 
get people--it's an opportunity for people to extend a hand to a 
neighbor in need, and the response has been fantastic. Civil society in 
America is strong and vibrant. Our charities are strong. Churches and 
synagogues and mosques are strong. Policemen and firefighters and people 
who wear our Nation's uniform remind 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. I've been privileged to see the compassion and the 
character of the American people. All the tests of the last 3 years have 
come to the right nation. We're a strong country, and we use that 
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 know for our country, the 
best days lie ahead.
    May God bless you all. Thank you all. Thank you very much.

Note: The President spoke at 12:06 p.m. at the National D-Day Museum. In 
his remarks, he referred to Donald ``Boysie'' Bollinger and Joe 
Canizaro, Louisiana State finance cochairmen, Bush-Cheney '04, Inc.; 
Mayor C. Ray Nagin of New Orleans, LA; former President Saddam Hussein 
of Iraq; and Miguel A. Estrada, whose nomination to be U.S. Circuit 
Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit was withdrawn on Septem-
ber 4, 2003.

[[Page 79]]