[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 14 (Monday, April 5, 2004)]
[Pages 520-527]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks in a Discussion on Job Training in Huntington, West Virginia

April 2, 2004

    The President. Thanks for coming. Please be seated. I wish Dan had 
said ``a friend of long standing''--[laughter]--as opposed to ``an old 
friend.'' I knew him when he lived in Texas. You've got a good one 
running Marshall University here. He's a fine fellow. He's doing a fine 
job.
    I'm proud to be back in Huntington. We're going to have an 
interesting discussion today about how to make sure people have an 
opportunity to get the skills necessary to fill the jobs of the 21st 
century. That's really what we're here to talk about. We're going to 
talk about how to make sure everybody's life is optimistic and hopeful 
as this economy of ours grows and changes. A perfect place to do so here 
is at this community college, and I'm so honored to have been invited. 
Thank you for opening up your fantastic facility, and thank you for 
giving me a chance to come and talk.
    By the way, right as I walked in--I want to thank the sisters. One 
of them said to me--probably the most important thing a President can 
hear is, she said, ``Mr. President, I'm praying for you.'' Thank you.
    I want to thank the State and local officials who are here. Thanks 
for coming by to say hello. I think that when you finish hearing this 
discussion, you're going to realize what an important asset you have in 
the community college system of West Virginia and how the Federal 
Government and employers can work together with the community colleges 
to make sure people get the skills necessary to take advantage of an 
expanding job base.
    I met a lady coming in named Robin Black. She was out there at the 
airport. The reason I mention Robin is, a lot of times people say the 
strength of America is our military. And that's a part of our strength, 
and by the way, it is strong, and we intend to keep it strong. Or they 
say the strength of America is the fact that we're a wealthy nation. And 
that's important as well. But the true strength of the Nation is the 
hearts and souls of our citizens. That's the true strength of America. 
And the reason I mention Robin Black is that she's a volunteer. Robin's 
sitting right there, by the way. She's a volunteer to help people going 
for a job interview to look as good as they possibly can, to understand 
what to say. She's a mentor to people who need help.
    No, the strength of this country is the fact that we've got citizens 
from all walks of life who are willing to love a neighbor just like 
they'd like to be loved themselves, who are willing to work to change 
America one heart and one soul at a time. If you're one of those 
soldiers in the army of compassion, I thank you for doing what you're 
doing. You're making a difference to our country--just like you are, 
Robin. Thank you.
    I'm an optimist, because I fully understand America's strengths and 
I've seen what we've come through. I want to remind you right quick what 
has happened to this country, what our economy has been through, what 
the America people have had to endure over the last 3 years.
    We went through a recession. That means things were going backwards. 
That means three quarters of negative growth. Now, if you're a small-
business owner, it's difficult to survive in a recession. If you're 
somebody looking for a job, it's hard to find a job during a recession. 
But we acted, and we cut the taxes on the people, which made the 
recession one of the shallowest recessions in economic history.
    And then as we were recovering from the recession, the enemy hit us. 
They attacked us, and it affected us. It affected our way

[[Page 521]]

of thinking, for starters. See, when most of us were growing up, we 
thought oceans could protect us, and we found out that wasn't the case. 
We found out that America could be harmed by people who hate what we 
stand for. We suffered for those who lost life. I vowed then and there 
that the best way to protect America was to get on the offense and stay 
on the offense and bring people to justice. We resolved as a nation not 
to allow terrorists to cause us to lose our optimism and our spirit. 
That's what we resolved. And we still have that spirit and resolve, by 
the way.
    And then we found out we had some corporate citizens who didn't tell 
the truth. That affected our economy. It kind of shattered our idealism 
about people in positions of responsibility. We passed tough laws, by 
the way. We're not going to tolerate dishonesty in the boardrooms of 
America. There will be consequences if you lie to your shareholders and 
your employees. But it affected us. It was a hurdle we had to cross. It 
was a challenge to our economy.
    And then, as you know, I made the decision to remove Saddam Hussein 
from power. Let me tell you one of the important lessons of September 
the 11th, and it's important for people to understand, is that when we 
see a threat, we cannot let it materialize. That's an important lesson. 
I saw a threat. I looked at intelligence and saw a threat. The United 
States Congress looked at the same intelligence, and it saw a threat. 
The United Nations Security Council looked at the intelligence, and it 
saw a threat. People were worried about Saddam Hussein because of his 
past behavior. Remember, he had used weapons of mass destruction against 
his neighbors and his own people. I remembered the lesson of September 
the 11th as I looked at the data. I had a choice, either to trust a 
madman or defend the country. Given that choice, I'll defend America 
every time.
    We've still got hard work in Iraq. The reason we do is, there's 
killers there who want to shake our will. They want the American people 
to forget what it means to promote freedom. They want us to retreat. 
See, a free Iraq is an historic opportunity. A free Iraq will change a 
neighborhood that needs to be free. A free Iraq will make the world more 
peaceful. But a free Iraq is something that the terrorists fear. They 
hate freedom. They can't stand the thought of a free society, so they're 
willing to kill. And they're trying to shake our will, but they don't 
understand this country. We will never be intimidated by thugs and 
assassins. This country will stay the course and get the job done. We 
will get the job done.
    Laura reminded me one time, she said, ``Do you remember what it was 
like in the summer of 2002 when you turned on your TV sets and saw 
`March to War'?'' That's a hurdle that we had to overcome. You see, it's 
not good for the economy to be marching to war. It's good for our 
security, but it's hard for people to make investment decisions if you 
think you're marching to war. It's a negative thought. So that was the 
fourth challenge we faced here in America.
    We faced a recession, an attack, corporate scandals, and a march to 
war to make us more secure. But we've overcome all those challenges, 
because the entrepreneurial spirit is strong, because the America people 
are great workers, and because of good policy.
    One of the things I think really did help, and I look forward to 
continuing this dialog on the subject, is, you see, when a person has 
more money in their pocket, they're more likely to demand an additional 
good or a service. And when they demand additional good or a service, 
somebody's likely to provide the good or a service. And when somebody 
provides a good or a service, somebody is more likely to keep a job or 
find work.
    The tax relief we passed is working. It's making a difference for 
this economy. And the reason I say that is, for example, the 
homeownership rate is the highest ever. That's really important. We want 
people owning their own home. It's a vital part of our economy.
    Small businesses--the spirit of the small-business owner is strong 
in America. Remember, when you cut income-tax rates on individuals, 
you're really affecting most small businesses in America, because most 
small businesses are sole proprietorships or Subchapter S corporations, 
which means they pay tax at the individual income-tax rate. And in that 
most new jobs are created by small businesses, it makes sense to have a 
vibrant

[[Page 522]]

small-business sector in America. And the small-business sector of this 
country is strong, and it's growing, and people are more optimistic 
about expanding their businesses.
    Manufacturing is up. An important statistic besides the growth 
statistics is the fact that after-tax income is up by 10 percent since 
late 2000. That's good. If you've got more money in your pocket, that's 
a good thing.
    The economy is growing, and people are finding work. Today the 
statistics show that we added 308,000 jobs for the month of March. We've 
added 759,000 jobs since August. This economy is strong; it is getting 
stronger. You can understand why I'm optimistic when I cite these 
statistics because I remember what we have been through. I mean, we're 
getting better, and that's important.
    There are other things we need to do. We need to make sure the tax 
cuts are permanent. Congress doesn't need to be taking away the child 
credit or the marriage penalty or the 10-percent--or the reduction--or 
the increase of those eligible for the 10-percent bracket. We need to 
make these tax cuts permanent. Small-business owners need to have 
certainty in the Tax Code if they're going to be confident about 
expanding their businesses.
    We need tort reform in America, if you're a small-business owner. If 
we want our jobs to stay here in America and want people to be able to 
find work, we better make sure the legal environment is fair and 
balanced. Frivolous lawsuits hurt small-business owners. They make it 
hard for people to expand their business.
    We need less regulation. I wish I could tell you that every single 
piece of paper you fill out is read at the Federal level. [Laughter] I 
can't. [Laughter] If I were to say it is true, a lot of people would 
walk right out of the hall. [Laughter]
    We need to make sure that we've got good policies to help control 
the cost of health care: medical savings accounts; association health 
care plans; and real, substantial medical liability reform at the 
Federal level.
    West Virginia's unemployment rate is 5.4 percent, down from 6.4 
percent a year ago. The policies are working. There's more we need to 
do. There's more we need to do to make sure the job base here is strong 
and people can find good jobs right here in America. We need an energy 
policy that makes sense.
    If you're a small manufacturing company--or big, for that matter--
manufacturing company, and you're worried about where you're going to 
get your electricity from, it's hard to expand your business. It's hard 
to expand your business if you're worried about the reliability of 
electricity, not just the cost but whether or not electricity is going 
to be reliable. Our electricity system is antiquated. It wasn't all that 
long ago, last summer, to be exact, that we started having rolling 
blackouts. That affects the ability for people to find a job when that 
happens.
    We've got a great, abundant resource in coal, and we need to--
[applause]. I came to West Virginia a while ago when I was seeking the 
vote. I said, ``We're going to have a robust, clean coal technology 
program funded by the Federal Government.'' My budget for this year has 
got $447 million in it for clean coal technology. This Nation must be 
willing to use--we must be willing to use the resources we have in a 
smart way. We put out good regulations for mining companies to make sure 
we don't shut down the ability to find coal and, by the way, to hurt 
people finding work. In other words, we've been responsible, and the 
most responsible position is to make us less dependent on foreign 
sources of energy.
    The job base is expanding. We've got a good strategy to keep 
expanding. But you've got to remember that as the economy changes, 
people need to change with it. Their skill levels need to change. And 
one of the big challenges we have is how to make sure we match people 
who want to work with the jobs which are available, and that's what 
we're going to discuss today.
    This is--as I say, this is a time of transition. That's what the 
economists say. That's okay to use that word. The problem is, if you're 
one of the people that are worried about the transition, we need to make 
sure there's a plan to help you. That's what we need to do. We need to 
stand with people who want to work and help them gain the skills 
necessary so that they can do what they want to do, which is to put food 
on the table for

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their families, to do their jobs as a responsible adult.
    By the way, all job training starts with making sure we get it right 
at the elementary and secondary school level. The No Child Left Behind 
Act is really important. It's an important part of making sure that 
people can read and write and add and subtract. And we're going to stay 
on it by insisting that in return for Federal money, that we achieve 
high standards. See, I believe every child can learn, and I'm against 
these systems that just move these kids through and hope that they 
learn. We've got a--we'll say, ``Show us whether or not a child is 
learning to read and write and add and subtract early in life.'' And if 
not, there will be the help necessary to make sure not one single child 
gets left behind. If you talk to the educators, they'll tell you, if we 
can get it right at the elementary and secondary school level, we'll be 
able to get it right at higher education as well.
    Now, the other thing we need to do is recognize that some kids have 
been shuffled through and they need remedial help at the high school 
level. And we've laid out a good strategy to deal with that.
    But I think one of the most exciting strategies is the one I started 
to detail in the State of the Union and will continue talking about next 
week, which is to make sure the WIA Program, the Workforce Investment 
Act, gets money into the classrooms, gets money to the people so that 
they can get properly trained for the jobs which exist.
    The community college system is an incredibly important part of the 
education system in America because the curriculum are flexible. That 
means that if an employer group says, ``We need these kind of people,'' 
that they're willing to adapt a curriculum to help train people for the 
jobs which exist. Vicki Riley is going to tell us what that means here 
in a second.
    It's important for us to make sure there's collaboration, for 
example, for high-tech industries, so people get the skills. Listen, 
technology is changing, and it races through our economy, but work 
skills don't change as quickly. And that's the challenge we face. We've 
got to make sure we get people trained, and that's what we're here to 
talk about.
    I want people out there listening to listen to the story of some of 
the people who have gone back to school, to realize that that option is 
available for you. If you're worried about the job you're in and you 
feel like you need a new skillset in order to meet the new jobs, there's 
some opportunity for you. There's Pell grants available. There's 
scholarship money available. Now, Government can't make you make up your 
mind to seek new skills, but we darn sure can help, and that's what 
we're here to talk about today.
    And a perfect person to start the conversation is Vicki Riley. She's 
the provost and CEO of Marshall Community College. She has put in some 
very innovative programs. And Vicki, thank you for giving me a chance to 
visit this beautiful campus.

[Vicki Riley made brief remarks.]

    The President. I think what Vicki is saying is, is that there are 
some fields that are begging for--looking for workers, best way to put 
it. The health care field is such a field. I mean, I have traveled this 
country quite extensively, and a lot of times I hear that, ``Gosh, if we 
only had more skilled nurses, or if we only had more skilled 
technicians, we could meet the demands, our needs.'' And what Vicki is 
saying is, the community college here has got a curriculum developed to 
meet the needs of the health industry here in West Virginia. And I 
presume part of the curriculum was developed by the people doing the 
hiring.
    Ms. Riley. Absolutely. One of the things, again, that is a strength 
of community college is we're connected. We're connected to business and 
industry. And those employers sit on our advisory boards, and they tell 
us what needs to be current. They tell us what they need. They tell us 
what we may be missing, and we go back and fix it, so that they're 
getting the types of employees they want to hire that next go-round.
    The President. Yes, you see, that's an interesting concept, isn't 
it, and it's something people have got to understand, that Vicki goes 
out and says, ``Who are you looking for? What kind of skills do you 
need? What can we do to adapt our curriculum to your needs?'' And that's 
very important. It's that

[[Page 524]]

flexibility which I think makes the community college system such a 
vibrant part of the American experience.
    That's why I've asked Congress to put up an additional $250 million 
for collaborative efforts between the community college and the local 
employer groups, so people can find the skills. I mean, after all, it 
makes sense for Government to help people help themselves. And that's 
what we're talking about here.
    The other thing we can do to make sure Vicki's job is better is to 
make sure the paperwork requirements from the Federal Government are 
more streamlined. I mean, they've got all kinds of programs coming out 
of--am I right? [Applause]
    We have got a student with us named Rina Angus. Now, Rina, first of 
all, what were you doing before you became a student?
    Rina Angus. I was in administrative management at a local health 
club in Huntington. And whenever the facility was coming under new 
ownership, I decided that that was my time to leave.
    The President. So you made the decision, right?
    Ms. Angus. I made a decision.
    The President. That's good. [Laughter] You're a mom?
    Ms. Angus. Yes, sir.
    The President. Two children?
    Ms. Angus. Yes, sir.
    The President. How old?
    Ms. Angus. Eleven and thirteen.
    The President. Whew, yeah, I've been there. [Laughter] You have a 
job, you decide to leave because of the change in the business, and then 
what happens?
    Ms. Angus. My husband got laid off.
    The President. Yes? Then what happens? So far it's not a very pretty 
story.
    Ms. Angus. Well, we prayed a lot, and we found out through the 
Parkersburg Job Service that there was additional training available, 
that we qualified for a program called the Displaced Worker Program. And 
when we went for the initial training and interviews, it just happened 
that my husband lucked into another job and I qualified for the program. 
So they showed me a list of skills that were needed in the area, the in-
demand jobs, and I saw one on there that I had thought about when I was 
in high school and decided to pursue it.
    The President. And what is it?
    Ms. Angus. Radiologic technology in the allied health field here at 
Marshall.
    The President. Fantastic. Catch the story. Listen to the story. I 
mean, I think it's a wonderful story about a mom and wife who, instead 
of getting, like, totally distraught with the circumstances, says,``I'm 
going to go back to school.'' And there's help for that. The Displaced 
Worker Program is part of the Federal monies that are available to help 
people go back to the community college system.
    So, was it easy to go back to community college? Was it hard to go 
back to school?
    Ms. Angus. Well, it was scary to go back after being out of school 
for 18 years. But with the help of Steve Brown, with the adult 
recruitment office here at Marshall--he made the transition very smooth. 
He told me the classes I needed to get into. He helped me sign up for 
them. He directed me where I needed to go. The staff at Marshall is 
wonderful. I mean, if you have situations arise with your children or an 
illness, they work with you to let you get your job done.
    The President. Good. Do you think you're going to make more in your 
new job after having come here, or not? That's a loaded question. 
[Laughter]
    Ms. Angus. Yes. I mean, the statistics show that I should double the 
salary that I was making before.
    The President. Yes. Let me pick up on that. That's why the kind of 
leading question, as we say, and I'm not even a lawyer. [Laughter] It's 
important for people who are listening to realize that if you go back to 
the community college and gain new skills for the jobs which exist, not 
only can you become employable, you're likely to make more money.
    I was at Mesa Community College and met a woman who had been a 
graphic design artist for 15 years. She decided to go back to school in 
a technological program, got out--the Government helped her--got out, 
and she made more in her first year in her new job because of the skills 
she had gained than she'd made in her 15th year as a graphic design 
artist.

[[Page 525]]

    You hear a lot of talk about becoming--productivity. That's kind of 
the talk of the economists these days. That means that one worker can 
produce more units now than they could have before. But productivity 
also means having the skills necessary to work in the new jobs. And if 
you're more productive, if the society is more productive, wealth goes 
up. And in this case, when Rina gets more productive, her personal 
wealth will go up.
    Now, are you almost through?
    Ms. Angus. I'm completing my first year here at Marshall, the basic 
skills program. And I'm currently awaiting an interview at Saint Mary's 
School of Radiology, where, if I'm accepted, I would start this summer 
and complete 2 years of clinical and classroom training. And at that 
time, you take a board certification to become a certified radiologist--
--
    The President. Do you need a recommendation? [Laughter]
    Ms. Angus. Well, if you're willing to give one.
    The President. Okay, you got one.
    Ms. Angus. Thank you very much, sir.
    The President. Thanks. Great job.

[The discussion continued.]

    The President. Rocky McCoy is with us. Rocky, tell us what you do. 
He's got a very interesting job and a great opportunity to help people.

[Rocky McCoy, site coordinator, Huntington Work4WV Career Center, and 
manager, Huntington Job Service, made brief remarks.]

    The President. That's good. Now, tell me about your board. Do you 
have employers on your board?
    Mr. McCoy. Yes, we do. Yes, we do.
    The President. Like, how many? [Laughter] Well, not exactly.
    Mr. McCoy. Our board is made up of--it's a pretty large board. 
There's probably 50-plus, and we're required to have 51 percent of the 
membership from the private sector.
    The President. Right, that's good.
    Mr. McCoy. So we have--we have several employers that are on our 
board.
    The President. How many people do you see, would you say?
    Mr. McCoy. In the Huntington office, I'd say we see anywhere from 
400 to 600 people come through our door a month for one-stop services. 
It's not necessarily job service; that is for all one-stop services and 
all of our partners within our one-stop system.
    The President. Right. What else could people do at the one-stop?
    Mr. McCoy. We have the job service, if someone's looking for a job. 
We can go through the necessary paperwork, so to speak, to find out what 
a person's skills are, and we can refer them out to jobs that are 
available. We also have the veterans program so----
    The President. Right.
    Mr. McCoy. ----if we have any veterans that need special programs 
for veterans, they can talk to a veterans officer there. People with 
disabilities--we also have the Department of Rehabilitative Services 
there; the Department of Health and Human Resources, if people need some 
support until they find a job; senior employment programs; adult basic 
education, if a person needs to work on their GED; and also the basic 
skills program, such as remediation, job-seeking skills, interviewing 
skills, how to fill out a resume and job application.
    The President. See, these services, by the way, used to be scattered 
all over. And now he calls it one-stop because you go to one place, and 
I appreciate that. Who's hiring?
    Mr. McCoy. Folks in the health industry, folks in the IT industry, 
and there are several smaller businesses that are hiring in the area.
    The President. That's good. See, there are jobs. And a lot of people 
say, ``I hear there's jobs available, but I don't have the skills, so 
I'm not going to go look.'' And Rocky's job and, truth of the matter, 
all our jobs, is to say, ``Here's someone available to help you.'' And 
you've got to want to help yourself, like this good lady did. You got to 
say, ``I want to embetter myself. I want to take advantage of the 
opportunity.'' But Rocky's job is to help steer people to the 
opportunities, whether it be the community college or the jobs which 
exist, if people don't feel like they need to enhance their skills.
    And I appreciate you, Rock. I call you Rock.

[[Page 526]]

    Mr. McCoy. That's fine. [Laughter] You can call me whatever you 
want. [Laughter]
    The President. All right, Sally Oxley is with us. Sally is a small-
business owner. I love to be with entrepreneurs, people who are willing 
to start their own business and dream big dreams, people who--and as a 
result, by the way, of dreaming a dream, gets in a position, when 
successful, to hire people. That's one of the dividends of the 
entrepreneurial spirit, is people can find work.
    Sally, tell us about your business. How did you get started? Why did 
you start your own business? How did you find the courage to start your 
business? And anything else you want to say.

[Sally Oxley, owner, Huntington Physical Therapy, made brief remarks.]

    The President. By the way, that's not easy. It sounds easy; it's 
hard. It requires a good plan, a good strategy, and the development of a 
product people need.
    Ms. Oxley. And the reason that I started my own business was, I 
wanted to do it my way. I wanted to do it the right way. And that seemed 
to be what evolved.
    The President. Good. And are you looking for people?
    Ms. Oxley. We are. We're always looking for good people.

[Ms. Oxley made further remarks.]

    The President. And how is your business doing?
    Ms. Oxley. It's growing. We're doing well.
    The President. A lot of old guys like me with kind of aches and 
pains. [Laughter]
    Ms. Oxley. A few. Birth to death, is what we say.
    The President. I like that beginning part. [Laughter]

[Ms. Oxley made further remarks.]

    The President. I'm glad you're doing well. Thanks for starting your 
own business. Thanks for putting people to work. I think it's a very 
interesting story, isn't it, that a small business in the health field 
connects with the community college in order to do two things, one, lay 
out the requirements necessary to hire people, but also provide a 
opportunity for on-the-job training.
    I appreciate your contribution to the community. It's a great story.
    Ms. Oxley. It's a great community.
    The President. It is a great community. Thanks for coming.
    Bryan Johnson.
    Mr. Johnson. Yes, sir.
    The President. I'm glad you're here.
    Mr. Johnson. Glad to be here, sir.
    The President. They ever call you ``Red''? [Laughter]
    Mr. Johnson. On several occasions. I haven't figured out why just 
yet. [Laughter]
    The President. I'll be the funny guy. [Laughter]
    Mr. Johnson. If we're going to do the act then, sir, I'll sit over 
there on your lap----
    The President. That's right. [Laughter] Whew! Anyway, Bryan, 
changing subjects rapidly--[laughter]--no longer verbally dueling with 
Bryan. [Laughter] He is the chief information officer of Mountain State 
Center for Independent Living. Tell us your story, please sir.

[Mr. Johnson made brief remarks.]

    The President. What did you get? What degree did you get here at 
Marshall?
    Mr. Johnson. I got the IT degree. And they actually offer----
    The President. Explain what IT means, just in case somebody----
    Mr. Johnson. Yes, information technology, which basically covers 
computers and networking and whatnot.
    The President. Now, that sounds like a pretty big leap, from a guy 
in a restaurant business to the IT business. Was it a big leap?
    Mr. Johnson. You better believe it. When I started in 1998 into the 
program, I couldn't even tell you how to turn a computer on, okay? Now 
I'm a network engineer.
    The President. That's good.
    Mr. Johnson. Thank you. Thank you.
    The President. By the way, did you have to pay for the--how did you 
handle the cost?
    Mr. Johnson. I got student loans, and I also received some 
assistance through WIA as well.
    The President. Right, Workforce Investment Act. A lot of times, with 
Government things, we talk in initials.

[Mr. Johnson made further remarks.]

[[Page 527]]

    The President. And so what is your--with the degree you have, not 
only do you provide a--you're an important employee for the firm for 
which you work, you're also now a consultant.

[Mr. Johnson made further remarks.]

    The President. Are you making more money now than in the restaurant 
business?
    Mr. Johnson. Oh, yes.
    The President. That's really important for people to understand, 
that if you come back to Marshall Community College, for example, and 
get new skills--how long did it take you to get them?
    Mr. Johnson. Well, sir, it actually took me 4 years with this 
program, because there are four specializations on the degree, and I 
went for all four because of portability. I wanted to be able to go 
anywhere and do anything.
    The President. So you went for the full monty.
    Mr. Johnson. Oh, yes. Indeed. [Laughter]
    The President. Most programs don't take 4 years, I don't think.

[The discussion continued.]

    The President. It's very important for people to understand that, 
one, the job base is growing in different sectors. You know, I know 
workers are worried that--you know, ``I wish my son or my daughter could 
have worked in the same industry I've worked in for all my life.'' But 
this is a changing economy. It's a different economy. It's an economy 
that provides great opportunity. However, people are going to have to 
seize the moment, and that's what we're here discussing. We're 
discussing this sense of providing--so that people can provide for their 
families.
    And there's two great examples here of people that could have 
decided, ``Well, I don't think I'm going to improve myself,'' and just 
stayed doing what they were doing. But instead, I sense a great deal of 
excitement in their voices about having made a decision that was an 
important decision, a decision that probably seemed pretty darn hard at 
first. But now that you've made it and you're in the middle of it, you 
can recommend it, I suspect.
    I love being with an entrepreneur, a job creator, a compassionate 
soul who is interested in expanding the workforce in a smart way. I want 
to thank the local government providing for the one-stops. Appreciate 
you running it, Rocky--or Rock. [Laughter]
    And finally, I'm so honored to have been here at this community 
college. Madam President, thanks for opening it up. Thank you for doing 
what you're doing. Thank you for providing hope for people, providing an 
opportunity for people to take advantage of this exciting era in which 
we live.
    Finally, I want to conclude by telling you that I talked about the 
challenges that faced our country. We'll have other challenges too. 
There's no doubt in my mind, this great country will overcome any 
challenge put in its path, because this country is great because of the 
people of this country.
    Thanks for coming. God bless, and God bless our great land. Thank 
you.

Note: The President spoke at 11:40 a.m. at Marshall Community and 
Technical College. In his remarks, he referred to Dan Angel, president, 
Marshall University.