[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 34 (Monday, August 23, 2004)]
[Pages 1644-1660]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
<R04>
Remarks in a Discussion in Hudson, Wisconsin
August 18, 2004
The President. Thank you all. Thanks for coming. Please be seated.
Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
The President. Thank you all. That's what I'm here to tell you. I'm
ready to go. There's more work to be done. I'm here asking for 4 more
years.
Thank you all for coming. I think we've got a pretty interesting way
to explain why I'm running for President again today. What I thought I
would do is spend some time talking about some issues with some of your
fellow citizens here, who will help explain why I make decisions the way
I do. Then if we've got time, I'd like to answer some questions from
you. Then I've got to go across the river----
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. They vote too. [Laughter] I want to thank you all for
coming. I really am out asking for the vote. I think it's really
important to travel the States that are key States and ask people--and
tell people why you're running. And that's what I'm doing today in your
great State. You know, we came close last time in Wisconsin. This time
we're going to win it.
I want to thank you all for your help. Listen, I know there's some
people here who volunteer for the campaign, and I want--let me tell you
what that means. It means signs. It means making phone calls. It means
encouraging people to register to vote.
You know, I like to tell people an interesting story about
Afghanistan, and I'll talk about that a little more later on, but there
was some doubt in people's minds as to whether or not, once free, the
Afghan people would participate in democracy, particularly after the
Taliban drug some people off one of the buses--women--off the buses and
executed them because they happened to be holding voter registration
cards. Today in that country, 3\1/2\ years after being brutalized by the
Taliban, over 9 million people have registered to vote. See, they are--
it's a great statistic, isn't it?
[[Page 1645]]
We have a duty in this country to vote. So I hope you register your
friends and neighbors. Tell them they have a duty to vote. And when you
head them--get them headed toward the polls, tell them if they want the
country safer, stronger, and better, put old George Bush and Dick Cheney
back in.
I'm sorry Laura is not here. Gosh, she would love this beautiful
part of the world. She is in Colorado campaigning, and then she's headed
to Texas. And after my speech tonight, I'm heading down to Crawford as
well. But the reason I bring her up is she is--I'm a lucky man. She is a
great mom. She's really a wonderful wife, and she's doing a great job as
the First Lady. She has come to realize what I have realized, that
simple gestures of kindness to people really can affect their lives in
positive ways, that when we've been given this awesome responsibility
and a high honor of serving our country, it really doesn't take much to
help lift somebody's spirits. And Laura goes around the country talking
to teachers and thanking them for teaching, and talking to people who
are involved with literacy programs and thanking them for their literacy
programs.
I remember when she did the radio address and spoke to the women of
Afghanistan. The feedback on that was fantastic. People were just so
grateful that somebody in a high position in America would speak to
their hopes and aspirations. Her job satisfaction level is high. I hope
there's a lot of reasons you want to put me back in, but perhaps the
most important one is so that Laura will be the First Lady for 4 more
years.
A couple of things. I want to thank my friend Mark Green,
Congressman Mark Green, for traveling today. He's a good fellow. Thank
you, Congressman. He's a good, smart, honest guy with whom I've got a
great working relationship.
I've also been traveling with Dale Schultz. He's going to make a
fine United States Congressman. I appreciate him. He's working hard.
He's knocking on a lot of doors, which is what you have to do if you're
going to--if you intend on winning. I think he'll be a great
Congressman.
Mr. Mayor, thank you for coming. I'm proud you're here. Where are
you? There he is. Mr. Mayor, thank you. Thanks for coming.
You know, I said I want the country to be stronger and safer and
better. Let me start with what it means to be a better country. A better
country is a country that makes sure every child is educated. One of the
reasons I'm running again is because there's more work to do to make
sure that the philosophy behind No Child Left Behind is fully
implemented. What that philosophy said was--is that we're going to
challenge the soft bigotry of low expectations. See, if you have a
system that doesn't expect the best, it's a system that tends to quit on
kids too early and just shuffles them through, grade to grade. And guess
who gets shuffled through? These so-called hard-to-educate. And that's
not good enough for America. And so what we did in Washington is we
said, ``We'll spend more Federal dollars, and, in return for Federal
dollars, we'll finally start asking the question, have you achieved the
goals?'' See, we'll start to measure. And the reason you measure is not
to punish. The reason you measure is to correct problems early, before
it's too late.
And so the No Child Left Behind Act sets high expectations and high
standards. It believes in local control of schools. It believes in
empowering parents. But it also says, ``Let's measure to determine
whether curriculum works, to determine whether or not our children are
learning to read.'' And if not, let's correct the problem before it is
too late. And we're making good progress. These test scores are
beginning to rise. The achievement gap is beginning to close. And what
I'm telling you is there's more work to do when it comes to the
education. I want the high school diploma to mean something. We need to
focus on math and science to make sure our youngsters have the skills
necessary to compete in this world. I like to tell people we've--we're
getting the job done when it comes to our schools. And by making our
schools work, America will be a better place.
I'll tell you what else will make America a better place. It's a
place where those of us in Government understand the limitations of
Government. See, money can hand out--Government hands out money, but it
cannot put hope in a person's life. That happens when people who have
been called to love
[[Page 1646]]
a neighbor step up and put their arm around a lonely soul or somebody
who hurts or somebody who needs compassion and says, ``What can I do?
How can I help you?'' And so I'm running again to continue to rally the
armies of compassion, to encourage people who want to love a neighbor
like they'd like to be loved themselves to continue to do so. And
equally as well is to open up Federal monies, Federal grants to faith-
based organizations, people that are able to--[applause].
One of the examples I like to use is, if somebody is addicted to
drugs, sometimes a counselor can work. But a lot of times it requires a
change of heart in order to change life. And the faith-based programs
are those programs that are able to help a person change their heart, to
get them less hooked on drugs or alcohol. And so there's a--part of my
vision is for a better country. I want everybody in America to realize
the great promise of this land.
This is a fantastic country we have. And the values are--when I'm
talking about changing America one heart and one soul at a time, I'm
talking about Scout masters who take time to work with these kids to
pass on good, solid values. I'm talking about people who go see a
neighbor and a shut-in. See, we can change and will change America one
heart at a time, one soul at a time. Listen, I recognize somebody can't
do everything, but somebody can do something to help this country be a
compassionate, hopeful place.
I'm here to talk about making the country a stronger country. That
starts with making sure our economy is strong. Listen, we want people
working. That's what we want in America. And we've been through a lot.
When you're out there campaigning and talking to people, remind them
what we have been through as a country. We've been through a recession.
That means we're going backwards. That means it's hard to find work. It
means if you're a small-business owner, you're nervous about making
payroll.
And then we went through a terrorist attack. They estimated it cost
us, after that attack, about a million jobs. It hurt when the enemy hit
us. We also went through corporate scandals, which affected us. I mean,
look, we're a country that depends upon honesty. I mean, when people--
when you're an investor or when you're looking at balance sheets, you
expect there to be good, honest numbers. And when we started to uncover
the fact that some didn't tell the truth, it began to affect our
confidence. It just did. We acted. I mean, it's real clear right now
that if you are dishonest in the boardrooms of America, there's going to
be a consequence. But we've overcome these obstacles.
And one of the reasons why I believe we overcame the obstacles is
because of tax relief. I believe by cutting the taxes, it helped. And I
want to thank the Congressman for his work on that. We did it, I think,
the fair way. We said, ``If you pay taxes, you get relief.'' We raised
the child credit to help people with children. We've mitigated the
consequences of the marriage penalty. We believe that the Tax Code ought
to encourage marriage, not discourage marriage.
We helped our small businesses--we're going to talk to two
entrepreneurs today about what the tax relief meant for their business.
They can explain it better than I can. After all, they're the ones--
they're the risktakers; they're the people who are on the frontline of
when it comes to hiring people.
Before we talk to them and talk to some others who are benefiting
from the tax relief and have got some interesting things to talk about,
I do want to talk about what else needs to be done. You know, there's
concern about jobs going overseas. I share the concern. We want people
working here. We want our jobs here. And the best way to do so is to
make sure this is the best place to do business in the world. The best
way to make sure jobs are here is, this is a place for risktakers, feel
comfortable taking risk, and you're able to do so without getting sued
right and left. So we need tort reform.
And you know, I got to tell you, the plaintiff's attorneys are tough
politically. But I believe it's the right thing to have a justice system
that's fair, that you're not--that the legal system doesn't look like a
lottery, but in fact, if somebody gets hurt, they've got their day in
court. But if we keep having frivolous and junk lawsuits that threaten
our employers, it's going to be hard to keep the job base active and
alive here. So we need tort reform. We need less regulation.
[[Page 1647]]
In order to make sure that our economy continues to grow and jobs
stay here, we've got to have free and fair trade. Let me tell you about
the trade issue and my point of view on that. Most Presidents believe
that it's important to have our markets open for foreign goods. Why?
Because if you're a consumer, the more goods you have to choose from,
the more likely it is you're going to get better quality at a better
price. That's how the market works. And so administrations from both
parties said, ``Let's open up our markets for the good of consumers.''
My attitude is, is that if we treat a country by opening our markets,
they ought to treat us the same way. That's good trade policy. We open
up our markets; you open up yours.
And it's paying off. Our trade policy is paying off. Look at the
agricultural sector here in America today. It's strong. You know why?
Because our farmers can compete with anybody, anyplace, anywhere. All
they needed was markets opened up to sell their products.
We need an energy plan. If we want to have jobs here, you know,
we've got to have energy. And right now, we're too dependent on foreign
sources of energy. That's just the way it is. I submitted an energy plan
to the United States Congress over 2 years ago. It was a plan that said
we've got to diversify our energy supply, but we've got to be--and we've
got to be wise about how we use the energy we have. We need clean coal
technology to make sure we can use precious coal. We can explore in
environmentally friendly ways. We need alternative sources of energy
like ethanol and biodiesel. We need to be better at conservation. We
need to promote technologies which change habits and uses, like
hydrogen-driven automobiles. But for the sake of economic security and
for the sake of national security, I need an energy plan on my desk to
make us less dependent on foreign sources of energy.
Health care is obviously an issue that matters as to whether or not
we can keep jobs here at home. Listen, most people receive their health
insurance through their jobs. And most--a lot of small businesses are
having trouble affording health care. And what we need to do is allow
small businesses to pool together so they can be able to purchase health
care at the discounts that big businesses are able to do. It's
prohibited now from doing that. It's called association health plans.
You'll hear me talk about health savings accounts in a minute, as an
innovative way for people to be able to make sure that the
decisionmaking process is between them and their doctors, and it's a way
to hold down costs. We've got somebody here who has actually used a
health savings account that has worked. There are things we can do to
help people who can't help themselves. My philosophy of government says
government ought to help people who can't help themselves and help
people help themselves. And part of helping people who can't help
themselves is to expand community health centers so low-income people
can get primary care in places other than emergency rooms in your
hospitals.
We delivered on a promise. As I said when I was campaigning, we'd
modernize Medicare, and was able to get that through the Congress. The
Medicare system was--is a really important system, but it was old and
wasn't working that well. Think about this. We would pay for the heart
surgery of a senior, and we wouldn't pay for the medication to prevent
the heart disease in the first place. I didn't think that made much
sense for the taxpayers and for the seniors. So I went to Congress and
said, ``Well, look, let's do our duty. Let's kind of set aside all this
bickering and why don't we focus on what's good for the seniors.''
And I was proud to sign a Medicare reform bill that, first of all,
provides drug discount cards for seniors. And if you're a senior here, I
would strongly urge you to look into the drug discount cards for savings
for your prescriptions. Secondly, in '05, we're now going to pay for
screenings, preventative screenings, for the first time for our seniors,
so we diagnose early, before it's too late. And in '06, a system will
show up where seniors actually have choices. If you want to stay in the
system as it is, you can do so, and you get prescription drug coverage.
If you want choice in the marketplace, you're able to design the program
that meets your needs. So in other words, we're doing good work when it
comes to health care.
[[Page 1648]]
And one thing I want to assure you, in all the discussion about
health care, we're going to make sure that the doctor and patient are
the decisionmakers, not bureaucrats in Washington, DC.
I'll tell you a national issue that's an important issue when it
comes to health care is medical liability reform. Green informed me that
he had helped pass medical liability reform here in the State of
Wisconsin. And it may not be nearly as big an issue here as it is
elsewhere, but a lot of these lawsuits are driving docs out of business.
I'm telling you, in State after State, one of the biggest complaints I
hear from people is that, ``My doc is leaving the business,'' or ``His
premiums are so high to stay in business, he's running up my cost.''
Now, look, I don't think you can choose--I mean, I know you have to
choose between patients and doctors and plaintiff's attorneys. You have
to make a choice. You can't be for both. And my opponent made his
choice, and he put him on the ticket. [Laughter] I made my choice. I'm
for medical liability reform now, for the sake of affordable and
available health care.
Finally, let me talk about two quick things, and then we're going to
talk to some of your fellow citizens here. One, education is really
important for workers. If we want to keep jobs here in America, we
better have a system that enables people to become retrained for the
jobs which exist. That's why I'm a big backer of the community college
system, and it's a system that's working. It's a system that is
available and affordable. They're everywhere, at reasonable price, and
there's plenty of Government aid to help.
So I travel the country a lot. And let me tell you an interesting
story. I met a lady in Phoenix, Arizona, went to Mesa Community College.
She had worked for 12 years as a graphic artist. She decided to go back
to college, got a little help to do so, went back and got an associates
degree. And her--in other words, she enhanced her skills. And her first
job out of the community college paid more in her first year than she
was making in her 12th year as a graphic artist. In other words, what
education does is it makes you a more productive worker. And Government
has got to encourage people to go back to community college by helping
them to do so.
And if we want to keep jobs here, we've got to train people for the
jobs which actually exist. This is a changing world. The economy is
changing. I was thinking about down in North Carolina where some of
these textile plants have moved out because they couldn't compete, but
the health care industry was strong. And so the compassionate thing to
do is to help people who have lost their job gain the skills necessary
to work in a field that is dynamic, and you make more money doing so.
Now, finally, I want to talk about fiscal discipline and fiscal
sanity in Washington, DC. In order to keep the job base expanding so
people can find work here, we must not overspend your money. And we must
keep your taxes down. See, running up the taxes right now will hurt our
economy. And we'll talk to some people that--when we run up--if their
taxes get--they're not going to get run up; the guy is not going to win.
And so it's--but your fellow citizens ought to worry about somebody who
is out there making promise after promise after promise, like over $2
trillion worth of new promises and not telling you how he's going to pay
for it. You know, he says, ``Well, we can pay for it because we'll tax
the rich.'' Well, we've heard that kind of language before. And you know
what happens with this kind of tax-the-rich deal. That's why they've got
accountants and lawyers. [Laughter] So the rich figure out ways not to
pay, and you get stuck with the tab. That's not going to happen in 2004.
Old Mike Shaver is with us. Where are you, Mike? Mike is a small-
business owner. He owns Hudson Machine and Tool. Before you say
something, Mike, I want to tell people how you're organized, if you
don't mind. He is a Subchapter S corporation. You know what that means?
He pays taxes at the individual income tax rate. So when you hear
somebody saying, ``Tax the rich,'' I want you thinking about small-
business owners.
Most of small businesses in America are Subchapter S corporations or
sole proprietorships. They pay tax at the individual income tax rate.
Therefore, when we said, ``Let's cut taxes on everybody who pays
taxes,'' we're also talking about small businesses. Seventy
[[Page 1649]]
percent of new jobs in America are created by small businesses. And if
you're worried about people find work--finding work, it makes sense to
stimulate the small-business sector of our country.
So here's a Subchapter S. All right, tell us about your company.
Here's your chance. [Laughter]
[Mike Shaver made brief remarks.]
The President. How many did you hire? How many did you hire?
Mr. Shaver. We hired about half a dozen people, eight people, maybe.
The President. Yes, that's it. Let me tell you something. He hires
eight. Another vibrant small business hires eight, and all of a sudden,
you got people working in America. That's what I'm talking about.
Go ahead.
Mr. Shaver. But what made it possible for us to hire these people is
the policy that you put in place has enabled me to purchase capital
equipment, and if I purchase capital equipment, I have to have people to
run it.
The President. Let me tell you something. Part of the tax relief for
small businesses was not just cutting the rates. We also incentivized
people to buy equipment. In other words, if he bought equipment, he got
a little extra help in the Tax Code.
And so what did you buy?
Mr. Shaver. We bought a horizontal machining center, and we added on
to the building too.
The President. See, buys a horizontal machining center. [Laughter]
But somebody had to make it, right? [Laughter] You see, we give--he
makes a decision because the Tax Code said, you know, ``It's in your
interest if you do,'' which was to buy a machine. And somebody had to
make the machine. And so what he just told you was, by buying a machine,
it enabled him to hire two people. And by buying the machine, it also
made the machine manufacturer more likely to either keep an employee or
add one to help meet his demand. I think that's the way it works, don't
you?
Mr. Shaver. That is correct.
The President. Yes, I understand it. Tell me about--he's got an
interesting idea. First of all, are you planning on investing again?
Mr. Shaver. Yes, we've already--I've bought a--we spent about
$150,000 this year so far on a new truck and a vertical machining
center.
The President. You got the horizontal machining center--[laughter].
Education is really important. [Laughter]
Tell me about your--you got an interesting idea. See, one of the
things that's important about having a vibrant small-business sector is
that there's some really great ideas that happen through these
entrepreneurs.
And so tell me about your apprenticeship program.
[Mr. Shaver made further remarks.]
The President. See, job training takes place in community colleges;
job training takes place on the floors of small businesses. It's really
important to make sure the small-business sector of the country is
dynamic. The role of a Government is not to create wealth. The role of
Government is to create an environment in which people like Mike Shaver
feel comfortable about expanding the job base of America.
And I want to thank you for coming.
Mr. Shaver. Thank you very much.
The President. Appreciate you.
Doug Richardson is with us.
Doug Richardson. Right here, Mr. President.
The President. Yes, you're the same guy I met recently. [Laughter]
He is the co-owner--you know, one of the things I love to talk about is
ownership in America. I love it when guys like Mike and Doug own their
own business. I love the idea of more people owning their own home. Do
you realize that homeownership rates in America are at an alltime high?
Isn't it wonderful to think about a country where more people own
something. They open up their front door and say, ``Welcome to my
home.'' This guy Doug Richardson is co-owner, which is--I love the
ring--he's an entrepreneur.
Tell us what you do.
Mr. Richardson. You stand up too.
The President. He's the other owner?
Mr. Richardson. The other owner is here too, Tim McCormick.
The President. Well, we've got you here because you're better
looking. But anyway
[[Page 1650]]
--[laughter]--let me tell you, Dick Cheney is not the prettiest guy in
the race. [Laughter] Of course, I didn't pick him because of his looks.
I picked him because he can do the job. He probably picked you because
you're a great co-owner. [Laughter] God, I hope he's still for me.
Anyway--[laughter]. Sorry, Doug, I didn't mean to dis your guy here.
Mr. Richardson. That's okay. I do it all the time. [Laughter]
The President. What do both of you do?
Mr. Richardson. Well, you talk about risk. We bought Parco
Manufacturing, which--we manufacture vinyl windows and patio doors. Talk
about increasing business, I'm sure a number of you are in need of
windows around here.
The President. This guy is a marketing genius. [Laughter] Except,
you need to look over there for the cameras; it's a much bigger crowd.
[Mr. Richardson made brief remarks.]
The President. Are you investing at all?
Mr. Richardson. We invested about 170,000 in equipment over the last
2 years----
The President. Horizontal or vertical? [Laughter]
Mr. Richardson. Neither.
The President. Yes, that's good. What do you buy, seriously?
Mr. Richardson. We buy delivery trucks.
The President. Good.
Mr. Richardson. We buy manufacturing equipment to build our windows.
And we've also invested a half-million dollars into property and another
factory.
The President. Great, congratulations. Classic small business: two
guys, two buddies, said, ``Let's get after it.'' They take a risk.
That's part of how the economy works; they're willing to take risk. And
because they're dreamers and doers, people are working. And the role of
Government is to encourage through good tax policy. We don't need to be
running up the taxes. Look, let me remind you all, when you hear, ``Tax
the rich--oh, don't worry, we're just going to raise the top rates,''
it's going to affect the entrepreneurial class of America because most
small businesses are Subchapter S corporations. We need to keep the
taxes low on the small businesses of America, in order for them to feel
comfortable about expanding the job base.
Thank you. Good job. I appreciate you coming.
Roger Ripplinger is with us. Hey, Rog, how are you?
Roger Ripplinger. Doing great.
The President. Good. Well, me too. He is a--what do you do?
Mr. Ripplinger. I hire people.
The President. Yes, my kind of guy. Get after it, will you?
[Laughter]
[Mr. Ripplinger made brief remarks.]
The President. Yes, good. In other words, you're good at what you
do. They hired you. Did you make any more money?
Mr. Ripplinger. I make a lot more money.
The President. Yes, see, what's happening is, is that, you know,
it's an interesting world we're in--people are changing jobs, and that's
a little unsettling. But if you're able to upgrade your skills or be
good at what you do, a lot of times when people change jobs, they can
make more money.
Now, one of the things that--let's see, you got a little tax relief.
How much? Got to turn on his mike. I'll say that. He got a lot, he said.
I'll be your interpreter. [Laughter]
Mr. Ripplinger. We got a check last July. And it was just in time--
there we go--and it was just in time for back to school shopping, when
all the sales hit, so we could even stretch it even farther. It was
wonderful.
The President. He saved about $2,400 in his taxes last year. That's
a lot of money for a family. And it's--you see, my philosophy--thank
you, Rog--my philosophy is that Government meets priorities; once it
meets its priorities, then the people can spend their money better than
Government can. And I want Roger having that 2,400 in his pocket,
because it helps the economy grow.
Did you do anything with it?
Mr. Ripplinger. Yes, we actually--we invested some.
The President. Good. That's a good thing.
Mr. Ripplinger. Yes, and we bought a new vehicle.
The President. That means there's more capital, by the way,
available for people when they go out an buy horizontal machines.
[[Page 1651]]
[Laughter] That's how the economy works. When he says ``investing,''
it's part of saving. Go ahead.
Mr. Ripplinger. And we bought a new vehicle as well.
The President. Good, yes, well, somebody had to sell it to you. And
then somebody had to make it. By the way, parts of the tax relief
package expire. See, the tax relief was not permanent--a permanent
fixture. They said, ``We'll give you tax relief for a while.'' And the
child credit goes down to $700 a child this year if Congress doesn't
act. The marriage penalty goes up if Congress doesn't act. The 10-
percent bracket is affected if Congress doesn't act. This guy will pay
$1,100 more in taxes if Congress doesn't act. So when you hear me going
around the country saying, ``Let's keep the tax cuts permanent,'' that's
what I'm talking about, not taking money out of his pocket.
All right, Rog, thanks for coming.
We got the Garzas with us. There they are. Oh, yes. Who you got with
you?
Jesse Garza. This is Page.
The President. Page.
Mr. Garza. Say, ``Hi, Mr. President.''
The President. Yes, I know how you feel sometimes. [Laughter] Thanks
for coming. Kate and Jesse are workers--both of them in the workplace?
Mr. Garza. My wife is a hospice social worker here in----
The President. Thanks. Thanks for doing that.
Mr. Garza. Yes, no problem.
The President. No, I'm talking to her. [Laughter] Thanks for doing
that--we'll try it again.
Kate Garza. My husband works for his family business and manages
that.
The President. Great. The reason I've asked them to come is to talk
about tax relief again. See, oftentimes in the course of the discussion
about tax relief, we talk numbers. And people seem to forget--
particularly in Washington--that tax relief affects people's lives in
incredibly positive ways. How much relief did you get, 1,200? Yes. Isn't
that right?
Mr. Garza. Yes, we did.
The President. And this year about $1,700, they tell me?
Mr. Garza. I hope so.
The President. She wants to talk.
Page Garza. Hi, Mr. President.
The President. There you go. [Laughter] All education begins at
home, by the way.
So what has it meant for you, tax relief? Explain. Here's your
chance to tell people who say, ``Oh, tax relief only benefited certain
people.''
[Mr. Garza made brief remarks.]
The President. Oh, fantastic. See, it helps people. It helps them
with their lives. They improved their home because they've got another
child coming. Tax relief helps families in tangible ways, and Congress
needs to make it permanent. We don't need to be taking money out of the
pockets of our small businesses and the working people here in America.
Mr. Garza. Mr. President----
The President. Yes. Go ahead.
Mr. Garza. If you want to help our family and the families out here,
just do one thing: Win.
The President. Thank you, sir. I intend to. Thank you all. Thanks
for coming.
Finally, we've got Kris Walker with us. There he is.
Kris Walker. Mr. President.
The President. Yes. I'm George Walker Bush. He's old, just plain
Kris Walker. [Laughter] Cousin.
Mr. Walker. Right on.
The President. Kris has done something; he's bought a health savings
account. I've asked him to come because I want him to explain what it
means. It's an interesting way for people to take care of their own
health care needs. It's a very interesting concept, by the way, for
small-business owners who are struggling with affordable health care.
Go ahead and tell us what it is.
[Mr. Walker made brief remarks.]
The President. Now, let me tell you what that is. Here's the way it
works. He goes out and buys a high deductible, catastrophic plan, which
means that after the deductible, insurance takes care of the health care
needs. And then the health savings account says you've got your high
deductible and then you can contribute, tax-free, to cover from zero to
the limits of your deductible--tax-free.
[[Page 1652]]
And the money stays in your account and earns interest, tax-free. And
you can take the money out, tax-free. And so in other words, it is an
incentive program that he has used, and it is $700 a month less
expensive.
Mr. Walker. [Inaudible]--dollars less. And for me, it's a great
thing, and I think for the 35 million Americans that are uninsured, it's
a fabulous way to be insured. And for small business, it's a great way
to be competitive in the market.
The President. Yes, it really is. I appreciate you saying that.
What's really interesting about this plan, by the way, is that it's--you
see your own money. See, you put your own money in, tax-free. It's your
money. You can save it over time if you don't spend it, obviously, and
therefore, it provides an incentive to make better choices about health
care needs. And all of a sudden, Kris starts saying, ``Well, you know, I
may not need this''--doc says you think you need it--``I may not need
it.'' In other words, he is directly involved with the pricing and
purchasing of health care, which I think is a vital component to make
sure that health care decisions are aligned properly and that a health
care market begins to adjust to consumer demand. And that's really what
health savings accounts do. I really want to thank you for sharing with
us his idea.
By the way, he got tax relief, and he got a tax relief big enough to
make the cash contribution equal to his deductible. So in other words,
it's--smart guy. I appreciate you sharing that with us.
Mr. Walker. Thanks for having me. Good luck in '04.
The President. Yes, thank you, sir. I appreciate you coming.
Listen, I want to thank you all for coming. I hope you found this to
be an innovative way to talk about how to keep the country stronger. Let
me talk about how to keep it safer.
I tell people that if this country shows weakness and uncertainty in
this decade, the world will drift to tragedy. It's not going to happen
on my watch. Our country changed on September the 11th. Our whole
perspective about security and peace must change with the lessons of
September the 11th. Let me share some of the things I've learned as the
President.
First, we face an enemy that is--that has no conscience. They are--
they'll cut off a head just like that and not care. They will take
innocent life in order to achieve a dark vision. That's the reality of
these people. That's why I tell people you cannot negotiate with them.
You cannot hope for the best with them. In order to secure our country,
we must stay on the offense and bring them to justice, defeat them
elsewhere so we do not have to face them here at home.
That is the reality of the world we live in today, and it's a stark
reality, but it's necessary. It's a reality that is in the forefront of
my thinking. The Government has a solemn duty to protect us, and so when
you hear talk about staying on the offense, that's why. And we're making
progress. We're dismantling the Al Qaida network. And it's a hard work.
It's a different--I see some great vets here with us today. This is
a different kind of war that we're in. It is a--[applause]. Thanks for
coming, men. But it is a different kind of war than you're used to. It's
a war where there is a patient, ruthless enemy that hides and waits for
countries to lower their guard and then strikes. And they're trying to
intimidate us. This is really--the war on terror is an interesting way
to describe the world in which we live. It's really a battle and a
struggle against ideological extremists who have hijacked a great
religion and used terror as a weapon to intimidate people of good heart
and good soul and good conscience. I clearly see the task at hand.
Secondly, in this new kind of war, we must not only deal with the
terrorists; we must send clear signals to those who would harbor
terrorists. See, we've got to disrupt their capacity to find safe haven.
And when an American President speaks, he better speak clearly and mean
what he says. If a President sends mixed signals, the world will drift
toward tragedy.
And so I said to the Taliban, ``Give them up, or face serious
consequences.'' ``Give them up'' meant give up Al Qaida. They defied.
They said, ``America really doesn't mean what it says.'' But I did. And
so we put together a coalition, and we routed the Taliban.
[[Page 1653]]
We upheld the doctrine. We said--[applause]. And the world is better for
it. America is safer as a result of our action.
I told you about the people showing up to vote in Afghanistan. It is
amazing to me, at least, to think that 3\1/2\ years ago, the Taliban,
these unbelievably barbaric people, by the way, were running the
country. They would take a woman out in the public square and whip her
because they didn't think she conformed to their dark view of the world.
If you dared speak out, if you dared exercise your religion in a way you
were comfortable with, you were punished. And now they're headed toward
a democracy. People are showing up to vote. The world is more peaceful
as a result, and Afghanistan is an ally. They're an ally in the war on
terror.
You know, I was in Cleveland a couple of weeks ago, and I was there
to kick off the International Children's Games. And right there to my
right as I stood up to say welcome to America, was the Afghan girls
soccer team. It was amazing. It was a very emotional moment for me. I
was so proud of our country that, in acting in our own self-interest, we
acted in the interests of those young girls, who would not have been in
our great country to play soccer had it not been for our willingness to
uphold doctrine, to defend our security, and to liberate people.
Another lesson of September the 11th which is a vital lesson, and
it's a lesson that's very important for our security, is that we must
take threats seriously, before they fully materialize. See, I'm
confident no--very few Americans would have ever felt that a President
would have needed to stand up and say that, except September the 11th
came. We used to think oceans could protect us. If we saw a threat
overseas, we could say, ``Gosh, well, there's a threat. We may have to
deal with it, may not have to deal with it, but it's unlikely to cause
us any harm.'' That's what happened on September the 11th--we no long
have that luxury of thinking our security is afforded by protection from
oceans.
And so I saw a threat in Saddam Hussein. I looked at his history. He
had used weapons of mass destruction. He had the capability of making
weapons of mass destruction. He harbored terrorists. Remember Abu Nidal?
He's the guy that killed Leon Klinghoffer. His organization was harbored
there in Iraq. Zarqawi, we knew, was in and out. He's the guy who
beheads people now and brags about it on Arab TV, trying to intimidate
us. He was in and out of Iraq. He funded families of suiciders. That's
an unconscionable act, and yet this guy said, ``We'll provide a little
financial incentive for you.'' He killed thousands of his own people.
He's a dangerous man.
And remembering the lessons of September the 11th, I went to the
United Nations and the Congress. I said to the Congress, I said, ``Look,
he's a threat. The intelligence shows he's a threat. His history shows
he's a threat. And we've got to remember the world we live in.'' And the
Congress responded. Members of both political parties looked at the same
intelligence and data and came to the conclusion I came to. By far, the
vast majority of Members of the Senate and the House--including my
opponent, by the way--looked at the same intelligence and said, ``Saddam
Hussein was a threat.''
I then went to the United Nations, and I did for a reason--one, I
want that organization to be effective. And so I basically said, ``Look,
you can either be an empty debating society or an effective
international organization. When you say something, you mean it.'' And
secondly, they had said year after year after year, resolution after
resolution after resolution, ``You're a problem, and we'll deal with
you,'' and they never did, which, in my judgment, emboldens a tyrant. It
certainly didn't frighten the tyrant.
So I went to the United Nations and said, ``Look, this is a
different era. The world changed. We see a threat. Do you?'' And in a 15
to nothing vote in the United Nations Security Council, they said,
``Saddam is a threat. Disclose, disarm, or face serious consequences.''
That is what the free world said.
And so we--but as he had for decades--a decade, Saddam Hussein
defied the demands. He wasn't about to listen to the demands of the free
world. As a matter of fact, we agreed to inspectors. We thought they
would be a good thing.
Let me say something. Let me step back. The reason I thought
diplomacy was important and the inspectors were important is because the
use of military is the last option
[[Page 1654]]
of the President. It's serious business when the President puts people
into harm's way. It is the toughest decision a Commander in Chief can
make, to say to moms and dads and husbands and wives, ``I believe it's
necessary for your loved one to defend our security.'' And so I was
hoping that we could solve this diplomatically and peacefully.
You know, he deceived the inspectors. So I'm confronted with a
choice at this point. Having tried diplomacy, working with the United
States Congress, and seeing the deception taking place, do I forget the
lessons of September the 11th and trust the word of this madman and hope
for the best, or do I take action to defend the country? I will tell
you, given that choice, I will defend America every time. [Applause]
Thank you. A couple of other points I want to make. [Applause] Thanks.
Thanks a lot. I appreciate that.
You know, we didn't find the stockpiles with thought we would find,
but I want to remind you, he had the capability of making weapons. And
had he once again defied the world, he would have made them. And having
that capability, it also gave him the opportunity to pass them on to an
enemy. It's a risk we just simply couldn't take. Knowing what I know
today, I would have made the same decision. I firmly believe America and
the world are safer with Saddam Hussein sitting in a prison cell.
Let me talk about three more points, then I'll answer some questions
if we have time. Sometimes I can get a little windy. [Laughter]
We put together a vast coalition, nearly 40 countries in Afghanistan
and nearly 30 in Iraq. And it's important we work with others in this
war on terror because you've got to share intelligence, and you've got
to work to cut off money. And when we find a threat, it's important to
be able to pick up the phone and call a friend like Great Britain and
say, ``Pick this person up, please,'' because--``and here's the
evidence.'' In other words, there's got to be a collaborative effort.
And we are. And we're working closely with countries around the world.
I'll continue to work on this coalition when I'm your President for 4
more years. But I will never turn over our security--national security
decisions to leaders of other countries.
I'm proud of the coalition we've put together. And it's very
important for those of us with the microphones to be singing the praises
of the coalition partners and thanking the moms and dads from Great
Britain, Italy, South Korea, Japan, Poland, from all around the world,
for the same contributions that the families of our troops have made.
And speaking about our troops, I made a pledge to those who wear the
uniform and their loved ones: They'll have all the support that we can
give them from the Federal Government. And we met that duty. I don't
know if you know this, but military pay is up by 21 percent since I've
been the President. Housing is better for those who--for the loved ones
of those who wear the uniform. We're transforming our military, which is
important.
You know, we were configured--our troops deployments were configured
for the cold war. We were configured to fight an enemy that no longer
exists. The Soviet Union doesn't exist, and yet we had troops stationed
around Europe, for example, with the equipment necessary to take on the
Soviet Union. That's why at the VFW the other day, I said, ``Wait a
minute. Let's be smart about how we deploy our troops. Equipment has
changed since the Soviet era. We can replace tanks with Stryker Brigades
and achieve the same objective. We don't need as many troops stationed
overseas anymore because the Soviet era is no longer a threat.''
When you can replace land troops with more effective aircraft, it
means people are stationed at home, that they can be deployed rapidly,
and it means less unsettling times for our troops, less rotations, less
pressure on the system, plus taxpayer savings. We're doing wise things
with our military. We're funding the military and we're transforming the
military to meet the threats of a new era. And it's important for the
Commander in Chief to see clearly how best to align our military to keep
the peace.
When it came to funding our troops, we have a difference of opinion
in this campaign. I put a supplemental up to the Congress in September
of last year. It was money for body armor and spare parts, ammunition,
[[Page 1655]]
and fuel, that which is necessary when you've got people in combat in
both Afghanistan and Iraq. And I want to thank the members of both
political parties for their strong bipartisan support. We had great
bipartisan support, so much so that only 12 United States Senators voted
against it, 2 of whom are my opponent and his runningmate. It's an issue
in this campaign. He--when pressed, my opponent said, you know, ``I
actually did vote for the $87 billion, before I voted against it.'' It's
kind of an interesting explanation. People around here are plain
talkers. And then he went on, when pressed, to say, ``Well, gosh, it
was''--you know, ``I did the right thing,'' or he's proud of his vote, I
think he said, and then said, ``It's a complicated matter.'' Now,
there's nothing complicated about providing for our troops in combat. I
will continue to be a Commander in Chief who supports our troops.
Two quick points. One, the goal in Iraq and Afghanistan is for there
to be democratic and free countries who are allies in the war on terror.
That's the goal. We will meet that goal by providing security so that
their political processes can work. There will be Presidential elections
this fall in Afghanistan. There will be elections in Iraq. There are two
leaders in Afghanistan and Iraq who believe in the aspirations of their
people. These are people who are committed to democracy. It's--we will
stay there to get the job done.
It's--the Iraqis--it's tough to go from tyranny to freedom. You can
imagine a society in which, if you stepped out of line, you were either
done in or tortured. And so people in Iraq are watching us carefully.
They wonder whether or not America is going to honor its word. That's
why the other day I took exception when my opponent said, if he's
elected, we'll substantially reduce the troops in 6 months. He shouldn't
have said that. See, it sends a mixed signal to the enemy, for starters,
so the enemy hangs around for 6 months and 1 day. It sends a mixed
signal to our own troops, and it says something to the Iraqis. It says,
maybe America isn't going to keep its word. It's vital when we say
something to the Iraqi people, we keep our word, so that they begin to
take risk toward a free society. They want to be free--they want to be
free.
And so what the strategy is, to stay there as long as it takes to
get the job done and not one day longer. That's the message I send to
the people of Iraq and our troops and the enemy.
And you'll see an Afghan army grow up, and you'll see an Iraqi
police force and army grow up to take care of those who want to stop the
advance of freedom, and that's really what we're talking about.
Just real quick, I believe freedom changes societies, and I believe
a free society is a peaceful society. And therefore, it is in our
national interests to promote a liberty in a part of the world that is
full of hatred and resentment and intolerance.
I talk about a dinner I had with Prime Minister Koizumi, and I think
I talked about that today with some people on Air Force One, if I'm not
mistaken. And anyway, so I'm having dinner with Koizumi, and we're
talking about North Korea. See, I made the decision that no longer can
we convince Kim Chong-il to disarm if it's only the United States
talking to the North Koreans. I felt it was important to bring other
countries into the mix, like China and Japan and South Korea and Russia,
so there's now five countries saying to the tyrant in North Korea,
``Disarm--disarm.''
And so I'm talking to Prime Minister Koizumi about that. Really what
I'm talking about is how to keep the peace, how to use U.S. influence
and Japanese influence, in this case, to keep the peace. He's the Prime
Minister of a country that my dad went to war with. It's amazing, isn't
it, that, gosh, half a century later, after a young Navy pilot--and I'm
sure your dads or granddads might have fought in the same theater--we're
back talking peace with a former enemy. You know why? Because after
World War II, my predecessor and others believed that liberty had the
capacity to transform an enemy into a peaceful partner, and that's what
happened.
There were some doubters and skeptics. ``The reconstruction effort
wasn't going well,'' or, ``It was too tough over there, and maybe, maybe
the Japanese don't have the capacity to self-govern.'' But somebody that
served in Government had great faith in liberty and didn't abandon the
concept that we hold dear. And here I am, sitting down with
[[Page 1656]]
the Prime Minister of Japan talking about the peace. Someday, when we
complete our job in Iraq, an American President is going to be having
dinner with an elected leader from Iraq talking about peace, and the
world will be better for it.
I want to talk--just real quick, a story, and then I'll be glad to
answer your questions. Let me say also, when I say liberty, by serving
the cause of liberty, I tell people, serves our security interests. It
also serves something which I believe is part of the American soul.
Freedom is not America's gift to the world; freedom is the Almighty
God's gift to each man and woman in this world. We believe that in
America. I think it's one of the most noble aspects of our national
character, is that we believe in human dignity, no matter the religion
of the person.
Let me tell you an interesting story, and then I promise to answer
some questions. [Laughter] If Laura were here, she'd be giving me the
hook. [Laughter] That's the way it is. [Laughter]
Anyway, the Oval Office door opens up and in walks seven men from
Iraq, all of whom had had their right hands cut off by Saddam Hussein.
They had been to Houston, Texas, where a newscaster had--a quite famous
newscaster--had raised money and set up a foundation to help people. He
saw their story through a documentary, and he flew them to Houston to
get new hands. So these guys come walking in the Oval Office--I mean, it
was a powerful moment. The Oval Office is a--it's a shrine to democracy,
and it tends to take everybody's breath away who walks in--except
Mother's--[laughter]--who is still telling me what to do. [Laughter] And
I'm listening--about half the time. [Laughter]
Anyway, so these guys walk in, you know, and I was emotional. They
were emotional. And I said, ``Why you?'' He said, ``The Saddam dinar had
devalued and''--he was a merchant, a small-business man; I don't know if
he was a Subchapter S corporation or not, but he was a small-business
man. And he had sold dinars on a particular day to buy another currency,
euros or dollars, so he could buy gold to manufacture his product. And
because the Iraqi * dinar had devalued, Saddam Hussein plucked this guy
out of society to punish him and six other small merchants, for the
devaluation of their currency. He just summarily said, ``You're it, come
here,'' and cut his hand off.
* White House correction.
Isn't it an amazing contrast, to think of a country that was ruled
by a tyrant who just said, ``We'll cut the hands off of people to make
me look better,'' and a country that has got a compassionate individual
who is willing to pay for their way to America to get a new hand? That's
what we're talking about. It's such a stark, vivid contrast about a
country that is compassionate and strong and decent and noble and a
country run by a tyrant, where seven poor individuals had their lives
severely affected until rescued by an American.
The guy takes a Sharpie. He holds the pen, and he writes ``God Bless
America'' in Arabic. It was a powerful moment in my Presidency. I told
him, I said, ``Welcome to the Oval Office.'' I said, ``I want you to
understand that the Office of President is bigger than the individual,
and when you have a free society in Iraq and have the institutions
bigger than the people, no longer will a thug be able to summarily
affect your life the way Saddam Hussein did.'' He said, ``Thank God for
America.'' He said, ``You're my liberator.'' I said, ``No, I want you to
walk out and look in the camera, and I want you to thank the moms and
dads of our service people and the taxpayers of America for liberating
you and making you free.''
These are historic times--these are historic times. I'm asking for 4
more years to spread freedom and peace.
Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
The President. Let me answer some questions right quick.
Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
The President. You can chant that, or I'll answer questions.
[Laughter] Yes, sir. Sit down, please. First of all, great color shirt.
[Laughter] Go ahead and yell it. If I don't like it, I'll just change
the question. [Laughter]
[[Page 1657]]
Praying for the President
Q. On behalf of all--thank you and God bless you. We're praying for
you.
The President. Thank you. He said he's praying for me. I appreciate
that. Thanks. And by the way, I appreciate the prayers. It's an amazing
country, where people pray for me. It really is. It's great. Thank you.
Go ahead. Do you have a question?
The President and Labor Unions
Q. Yes. Being that Wisconsin and Minnesota are swing States and----
The President. Minnesota and Wisconsin are swing States, I agree
with that.
Q. Thankfully, I believe, because of talk radio.
The President. Yes.
Q. But in addition to that, they're also big union States.
The President. Sure, union States.
Q. Being in a union----
The President. You're a union member. Good, see, I'm interpreting
faithfully. [Laughter]
Q. But being a union member, I have had a lot of feedback that
you're not 100 percent for unions, and I'd like you----
The President. Yes, he said--the question is, do I like unions?
Q. Well, that's one of--yes, that is the question.
The President. I respect everybody's right to unionize if they so
choose. But let me tell you what's equally important. When you cut
taxes, you cut taxes on people whether they're in a union or not. Your
union members have got more money in their pocket, thanks to what I did.
This wasn't a union-nonunion tax cut. This was a tax cut for everybody.
And when you're securing America, you're securing it not only for union
people but nonunion people. But go ahead. You tell your workers I
respect unions, and I respect the people who work for unions.
Yesterday I was in Ridley, Pennsylvania, at a Boeing plant, a
unionized plant, was warmly received on the shop floor by union workers.
Go ahead. This is kind of like a dialog, you know. [Laughter]
Q. They believe the reason why is because of your views or your
regulations on immigration, and I----
Immigration Policy
The President. Yes. He's asking my views on immigration. Thanks.
Here's what I believe. I believe that we have a policy today that is not
working, and my responsibility is to address problems. We have a
situation where we've got willing employers who can't find workers here
in America to fill jobs, who are looking for people who are coming
across the border. Talk to some of your farm workers--they know what I'm
talking about--or your--people--meatpackers. I mean, there's a lot of
workers--lot of employers who can't find workers. Interestingly enough,
there's a lot of people who want to improve themselves, and so they're
willing to walk miles to work. And so I believe a good policy is for a
willing employer, who can't find a U.S. citizen to fill the job, to be
able to look in a legal fashion for somebody who's willing to fill the
job.
I think that's an important part of keeping the economy growing. I
also know it's an important part of being a compassionate America. I
mean, why would you want to have a system where the employer is illegal,
the worker is illegal, and if the worker gets harmed, he or she is
fearful of bringing a complaint, for fear of not being able to fulfill
their function.
Look, I was the Governor of the great State of Texas. We had a--
[applause]--thank you, ma'am. We had a--there you go. We had a--we
obviously had an issue with this. There's moms and dads who live in
Mexico who feel an obligation to work to feed their kids, and if they
can make $5 in America as opposed to 50 cents in Mexico, they're going
to come. And so, therefore, in order to, in my judgment, to better
enforce our borders, which we must do, we need a temporary-worker
program that says to people--again, I repeat, if you can't find a
worker, let's have it legal so you can find somebody to do the job.
Now, this will enable somebody to go back and forth to their
country. There will be a--you know, looking forward to working with
Congress on limiting this. This doesn't mean automatic citizenship. I
don't think you ought to penalize people who have been waiting in line
for citizenship with somebody who has got a temporary-worker card. But I
think
[[Page 1658]]
the system needs to be changed, and that's what you can tell your union
buddies, that this is a system that says we can't--if you can't find a
worker, then you ought to be able to legally be able to hire somebody
who's willing to do the job.
Let me also tell you something. One reason I'm for trade in our
neighborhood is because I know ultimately the way to keep pressure off
our borders is for people to be able to find work close to home, that
people want to be able to work close to home. You got to understand,
moms and dads in Mexico have the same desire as moms and dads here to
put food on the table for their families. And if they can find work at
home, it's going to take the pressure of our borders. And the best way
to do so is to have free and fair trade in our neighborhood as well.
Yes, sir.
Culture of Life
Q. Could you tell us how you intend to cultivate what you call the
``culture of life'' in America?
The President. He wants to know about culture of life. Well, culture
of life says that, Mr. President, sign the partial-birth abortion bill,
in order to discourage the brutal practice of partial-birth. Encouraging
a culture of life is to encourage parental notification laws.
Encouraging a culture of life is to say that if a pregnant mom is
killed, that that person who killed that mom is also equally culpable
for the death of their child. In other words, it's to pass reasonable
laws that begin to say to people, life matters in America.
Now, cultures change slowly, and this is still a very--it's a very
heartfelt debate on behalf of--in the political process, on the abortion
issue. And my attitude is, is that I'll sign laws that begin to change
people's perception of life and, at the same time, speak out for a
culture of life, because I think a culture of--a society that embraces a
culture of life is a much more hospitable, generous, and compassionate
society. [Applause] Thank you.
Yes, what you got? The mike holder has got a question.
Drug Use/Faith-Based Initiative
Q. What I would like to ask----
The President. Here I'm standing by the speaker. Kind of blew me----
Q. Well, first of all, is that I agree with this gentleman. I'm glad
that we're all praying for you.
The President. Thank you.
Q. I'm a local youth minister, recently hired. And one of the
things--two of the things we've talked about today are enemies and
freedom. And I believe that the enemy that we need the greatest freedom
from right now happens to be Satan, and it's the enemy that we also
don't necessarily always see. There's so many people who are being
attacked on every level. A lot of those people are youth that are in our
middle schools and our high schools. And I was just wondering how we can
do more for faith-based initiatives for children, before they're drug
addicts?
The President. Yes. I appreciate you saying that. Look, well, first
of all, it's for me to call upon people such as yourself to interface
with children early, before it's too late. You answered the question by
your actions. But in terms of reducing demand for drug--you ask a
specific issue on drug use, for example. We've got a collaborative
effort with faith-based groups, community groups, neighborhood groups
all aimed at sending the same message you're sending. And it's a kind of
universal effort necessary to say to a child, ``Drugs will destroy
you.'' And it's working, frankly. We've reduced drug use by 11 percent
in 3\1/2\ years--it's not ``we,'' it's community groups have done so in
3\1/2\ years.
You're right, there needs to be a positive message sent to our
youth. There also needs to be a focused effort on helping the drug
addicts who consume most of the drugs. A percentage of--a relatively
small percentage of the people consume most of the drugs, and that's why
I'm working with Congress to fund a drug recovery program, of which an
integral part of that will be a Faith-Based Initiative. And the way it
works is, is a person gets a voucher that he or she can redeem at the
program he or she chooses that meets her own or his own needs. And that
includes the ability of faith-based programs to become involved, as I
told you, with helping people change their hearts and, therefore, change
their lives.
[[Page 1659]]
Thank you for what you do. I appreciate you being a youth minister.
Thanks.
Yes, ma'am. You're not nervous, are you? [Laughter]
Funding for the Arts
Q. No, not at all.
The President. You kind of look like it. [Laughter]
Q. Mr. President--[inaudible]--pray for you.
The President. Thank you.
Q. ----I realize what you've done, and I was curious to know what
your--[inaudible]--is for funding leaders involved across the United
States.
The President. Funding the arts? Well, we do that through the
National Endowment of the Arts, is the best way to do that. It's the
vehicle that we use in Washington, DC.
Q. [Inaudible]
The President. Sure. You're welcome. Glad you're here.
Yes, ma'am.
Prescription Drug Costs
Q. [Inaudible]
The President. Yes. Great question. Her question was about the cost
of drugs. Well, one is to expedite generic drugs on the market. Generic
drugs are sold at a vast discount from brand-name drugs. And we put
through, in the Medicare bill, as well as executive action through the
FDA, a way to speed generics to the market so people are able to buy the
very same drug that's sold at 50 at 10.
Secondly, I believer that part of good marketing is for people to
have exposure to price of drugs. So one of the things we've done is
we've put a virtual market right on the computer for people to look up
the different costs of drugs at their local pharmacy, so that there's
better selection when it comes to purchasing.
Thirdly, we are studying whether or not importation will work. I put
together a committee to make sure that--look, what I don't want to do is
be the President that says, ``We'll allow for importation,'' and all of
a sudden, drugs that are manufactured somewhere else come in over the
Internet, and it begins to harm our citizens. But I'm looking at this.
There is a lot of pressure in Congress for importation. So I think it
makes sense for us to make sure that we can do so in a safe way. If it's
safe, then it makes sense.
But again, I repeat to you, I have an obligation to--for the safety
of our citizens. And what I don't want is somebody to say, ``Oh, gosh,
I'll be able to buy a cheaper drug from Canada,'' and that drug ends up
coming from another country without proper inspection and proper safety.
I believe--I know Government has an obligation to make sure, before we
put policy in place, that that which somebody buys is actually the
product they think they're buying and it's safe. We have an obligation
to do that.
So there are some of the decisions that will make--hopefully help
keep the cost--but by far, the most effective way to help on drug costs
is to move generics to the market faster. People say, ``Well, why aren't
they moving fast?'' Well, first of all, you want people to be able to
recoup investment. I mean, part of allowing for a drug company to be
able to price a drug at a higher rate for a while is so that they can
recoup research and development. And we want our pharmaceutical
companies to be on the leading edge of change. I mean, they've come up
with some amazing cures for diseases through research and development.
And it's an incentive for them to be able to recoup that investment.
But for a while, until we got in there, they were able to deny or
delay generic drugs from being able to come on the market to compete
with the brand-name drug through all kinds of interesting head fakes, I
guess, is the proper way of putting it. In other words, they'd say,
``Well, there's a patent issue here or a patent issue there,'' and they
would delay, delay, and delay. And so what we've done is we've said,
``Here's a reasonable time for you to recoup your investment, and then
generics are coming behind.'' And there's a lot of generics coming on to
the market. And part of making sure that people get drugs at a
reasonable price is for there to be consumer information available. And
that's also a response of the--responsibility for Medicare bureaucracy.
[[Page 1660]]
Listen, I've got the hook. I got the sign to go. We could be here
for hours, but the problem is there's about 15,000 people waiting
somewhere else--[laughter]--equally as important as you all. They vote.
It's an important State, as the guy said. He said, ``It's a swing
State.'' We intend to not only carry Wisconsin but Minnesota as well.
I want to thank you all for coming. I hope you've enjoyed this as
much as I have. Thank you for your help. God bless. Thank you all.
Note: The President spoke at 3:28 p.m. at Lakefront Park. In his
remarks, he referred to Dale Schultz, candidate for Congress in
Wisconsin's Third Congressional District; Mayor Jack Breault of Hudson,
WI; former President Saddam Hussein of Iraq; senior Al Qaida associate
Abu Musab Al Zarqawi; President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan; Prime
Minister Ayad al-Alawi of the Iraqi Interim Government; Prime Minister
Junichiro Koizumi of Japan; and Chairman Kim Chong-il of North Korea.