[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 17 (Monday, April 26, 2004)]
[Pages 669-671]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at the President's Environmental Youth Awards Ceremony

April 22, 2004

    The President. Thank you all for coming. Welcome. Please be seated. 
Welcome to the East Garden. We're glad you're here. This is a perfect 
place to honor some of America's finest young stewards of the 
environment. By working hard to preserve our natural surroundings, 
you've made important contributions to your communities and to our 
Nation. We're really glad you're here, and I appreciate the great 
example you're setting for others.
    Steve, thanks for being here. I'm honored that you've accepted the 
assignment of becoming the Deputy Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency. That's a big job, and I'm glad you're going to do it.
    Mr. Johnson. Thank you, sir.
    The President. Thank you. I know that your wife, Debbie, and Matthew 
are with us here today too, and I'm glad they're here. Good to see you.
    I want to congratulate the award winners from 10 EPA regions from 
around the country. Thanks for what you're doing. I want to thank your 
family members who are here with you, your teachers who are here with 
you, your buddies who are here with you. Thanks for coming.
    I also want to thank the EPA Regional Administrators. I see a couple 
of recognizable faces here. I'm glad you all are here. I appreciate your 
hard work for the country.
    The award winners today span the entire country, from Barrackville, 
West Virginia, to Shakopee, Minnesota, to Albuquerque, New Mexico. 
You've cleaned parks. You've restored wetlands, and you've organized 
conservation projects. As volunteers, you've given your time and talents 
in many different

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ways, and together you're helping to achieve a great national goal, to 
protect and pass along the great natural beauty of our country.
    Showing concern for the environment is one way of showing your love 
for America. Americans are fortunate to be able to breathe clean air and 
enjoy the beautiful, diverse landscapes of our vast continent. By 
getting your hands dirty and helping to clean up your communities, 
you're putting your ideals into action, and you're making America a 
better place. I hope you know that.
    As each of you have learned, good stewardship can be a lot of fun. 
Working outdoors is a chance to clear your mind or to get exercise or to 
be with your family and your friends. That's one of the reasons I like 
to go down to Crawford. I like to get outdoors. I like to clear my mind. 
I like to be with my family and my friends. And I like to work on our 
ranch to restore native grasses and to make our hardwood trees flourish.
    I'm looking forward to going down to be with a family member 
tomorrow, as a matter of fact. See, my brother is the Governor of 
Florida--Jeb--and we're going down to clear out some nonnative plants 
from the Everglade area so that the wetlands can be more healthy and 
flourish more. I'm going to make sure he pulls his weight, too. 
[Laughter]
    The other thing you're doing is you're setting an important example 
of service. I don't know if you know this or not, but this week is 
called National Volunteer Week. It's a time to recognize millions of 
citizens who are working hard to improve the communities in which they 
live. After September the 11th, 2001, I called on our fellow citizens to 
dedicate 4,000 hours or 2 years over the course of their lives to 
volunteer work. That's what you're doing, and I appreciate that a lot.
    I started what's called the USA Freedom Corps to provide information 
about volunteer opportunities in communities. And if people are 
interested, they ought to go on the Internet at www.usafreedomcorps.gov. 
And you can find out how to help if you're interested in environmental 
projects; they'll be listed there. If you're interested in ways to feed 
the hungry, you can find that too.
    You've proven with your projects that many small acts taken together 
can add up to something big, improving the environment, while people who 
volunteer to love a neighbor just like they'd like to be loved 
themselves are part of doing small gestures, which makes America a 
better place. Your efforts are helping to ensure a cleaner world for 
future generations. I want to thank you for your hard work. I look 
forward to congratulating you as you come up to receive your awards.
    Those of us in Government must uphold our responsibilities as well. 
Today I went to Maine. I saw my mother, I might add. I announced a new 
goal for our country, and that is to expand the wetlands of America so 
that we have better habitat for wildlife, wetlands that are important to 
trap pollution and clean water and stabilize whole areas. For decades 
this country was losing wetlands, and yet, with sound policy here and 
fostering cooperation between landowners and conservationists, we've not 
only slowed the loss of wetlands; I know that over the next 5 years, we 
can increase the number of wetlands to 3 million, over a 5-year period.
    To meet this goal, we're going to have to make sure that Congress 
passes reasonable budgets. In my budget, I've proposed $349 million on 
two key wetland programs, which would be an increase of more than 50 
percent since 2001. As well the farm bill I passed had a major 
conservation title to it, which will encourage farmers to replenish the 
wetlands on their lands so that we can meet an important national goal.
    I'm really looking forward to saying hello to you and thanking you. 
I'm told this is an impressive group of young leaders. You should be 
proud of your achievements. You're setting a good example for your 
fellow citizens. It leads me to be confident about the future of the 
environment because you're contributing so mightily.
    So thanks for coming, and now it's my honor to welcome Steve Johnson 
to the podium to announce the awards.

[At this point, Acting Deputy Administrator Johnson introduced the award 
recipients from each region, and the President congratulated them.]

    The President. Thank you, sir. Welcome. Glad you all are here. 
Thanks for coming.

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May God bless you, and may God bless your families, and may God continue 
to bless our great country. Thanks for being here.

Note: The President spoke at 3:48 p.m. in the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden 
at the White House. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a 
Spanish language transcript of these remarks.