[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 38 (Monday, September 20, 2004)]
[Pages 2007-2018]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks in a Discussion on Health Care in Blaine, Minnesota

September 16, 2004

    The President. Thank you all for being here today. Pleased be 
seated. Please be seated. We got some work to do here. I'm here to ask 
for your vote; that's what I'm doing today. I'm here to ask for your 
help. I believe everybody has the duty to vote in America, and I'm 
asking that you register your friends and neighbors, encourage them to 
do their duty in democracy. And while you're out registering people to 
vote, make sure you don't overlook discerning Democrats--you know, 
people like Zell Miller. And then after you register them to vote--I 
know a lot of you are working hard in the grassroots here--as you 
register them to vote and election time comes upon us, head them to the 
polls. And then when you head them to the polls, say, ``If you want a 
stronger America, a safer America, and a better America, put Dick Cheney 
and me back into office.''
    What a great place to spend the day, the great State of Minnesota. I 
tell you, what a fantastic bus trip we're having. Just had a sandwich in 
Anoka, the Halloween capital of America. And I started my morning in St. 
Cloud. Actually, I didn't start my morning in St. Cloud. I started my 
morning at the White House. And I said to Laura, ``I'm heading to 
Minnesota.'' She said, ``Well, tell everybody hello.'' So I am. The 
First Lady sends her best.

[[Page 2008]]

    This is a true story--kind of true. [Laughter] It may have been 
slightly embellished at times. [Laughter] So I said, ``Laura, will you 
marry me?'' She said, ``Fine.'' She was a public school librarian, by 
the way. And she said, ``I'll marry you, just so long as I don't have to 
give a political speech.'' [Laughter] I said, ``Okay.'' Fortunately, I 
didn't--she didn't hold me to that promise. America got to see a 
fabulous mom, a great wife, and a wonderful First Lady in New York City. 
I'm really proud of Laura.
    Today, at the end of this interesting dialog we're going to have on 
a lot of issues, we're going to focus mainly on health. We've got some 
citizens from the area here who are going to discuss different aspects 
of the health care plan we have, so you can better understand why I 
believe our plan is the best. But at the end of this, I hope you'll find 
there's a reason why I'm running again, that I have a reason to seek the 
vote, that I have a vision for this country that is one that will make 
the world a safer place and a better country for all of us.
    And I just got off the phone with the FEMA Director, Mike Brown, 
who's down in the Southeast. And as you know, Hurricane Ivan hit the 
coast very hard. The States of Mississippi and Louisiana, most 
particularly Alabama and Florida, were hit hard. And I know the citizens 
of that part of the world will be glad to hear that people in the great 
State of Minnesota are praying for their safety, praying for their 
lives.
    I'm running with a good man in Dick Cheney. I'm proud of my 
runningmate. Now, listen, I admit it--I admit that he doesn't have the 
waviest hair in the race--[laughter]--kind of like old Weber. I didn't 
pick him for his hairdo. [Laughter] I picked him because of his 
experience, his judgment, and he can get the job done.
    I'm proud of your Governor. You've got a great Governor in Tim 
Pawlenty. He's an innovator. He's a good thinker. He's got a pretty good 
sense of the politics here in the State. He told me something on the 
bus. He said, ``You know something, Mr. President, you're going to carry 
Minnesota.'' And I believe him. [Applause] Thank you all. Okay. All of 
us in the political arena love applause, but we've got work to do here 
today.
    I've got something I want to share with you. I've got some things on 
my mind I want to tell you. Before I do, I also want to thank my friend 
Mark Kennedy, Congressman Mark Kennedy. You've got to put this guy back 
in office. He's a great United States Congressman. He has earned your 
support, and I'm looking forward to working with him in my second term 
as President of the United States. We've got a great relationship. I 
think it's important to have a Congressman who can call over to the 
White House and the President answer the phone. I'll answer Kennedy's 
calls. I want to thank Debbie, his wife, Debbie. She is a--Kennedy is a 
smart guy. He sends the better half the family out to campaign on his 
behalf. Thank you, Debbie, for working hard.
    Jimmy Ramstad--Congressman--I appreciate you, Congressman. Thanks 
for coming. Proud you're here. I'm honored to--I mentioned Zell Miller a 
while ago. He's a strong, strong citizen.
    You know, Randy Kelly is as well. I am proud that the mayor of St. 
Paul, Minnesota--[applause]--thank you. I'm proud to call him friend and 
supporter. There are a lot of people just like him out there that wonder 
about the future of this country. They forget all the political noise, 
and they're looking at vision. That's what they want. They want somebody 
who can lead this country to a better tomorrow. Mr. Mayor, I'm honored 
to have your support. I'll treasure it.
    I appreciate Vin Weber being here. Thank you for coming, Vin, former 
Congressman. I want to thank all the State and local folks who are here. 
Thanks for serving your State and your cities and counties.
    I want to thank all the grassroots activists for what you have done 
and, more importantly, what you're going to do. We're coming down the 
stretch. Now is the time to be getting on those phones and reminding 
people that we have a duty to vote. And I'm honored you do so. So when 
you tell them to vote, tell them that we've got a vision in this 
campaign for a safer world and a more hopeful America.
    And a hopeful America really means that you've got to have an 
understanding that we're living in changing times. Think about how the 
times have changed since our dads

[[Page 2009]]

and granddads were coming up. You know, in the old days a person would 
likely have one career, one job, and mom would be at home. And our 
society has changed significantly now. People have more than one career. 
Often, they change jobs several times. Women are now working in the home 
and outside the home in the workplace.
    These are different times, and yet the systems of Government have 
not changed. Health plans need to change with modern times. The pension 
plans need to change with modern times. The Tax Code needs to change 
with modern times. The worker training programs need to change. The work 
rules need to change. The labor laws are old. They were written in the 
past. We need to be thinking about the future.
    You say, ``What do you mean by that?'' Well, I'll tell you what I 
mean. Since a lot of women work outside the home, there ought to be 
flex-time and comp-time available for employees so that people can 
balance their needs of their family and the needs of the workplace. We 
need modern work rules.
    Like the Social Security fund. If you're a senior citizen, you don't 
have a thing to worry about when it comes to getting your check. You 
know, I don't care what the political rhetoric tells you, the promise is 
going to be kept. The Social Security trust has got plenty of money to 
fulfill the promise for our seniors. And baby boomers like me and a 
couple of others I see here--[laughter]--we're in good shape when it 
comes to Social Security.
    So we need to worry about our younger kids and our grandkids when it 
comes to Social Security. There's not enough--the demographics have 
changed. The Social Security trust is weak when it comes to our children 
and grandchildren. That's why I believe we ought to allow younger 
workers to take some of their own tax money and set up a personal 
savings account that will help them realize the promise of Social 
Security, a savings account they call their own, a savings account that 
Government cannot take away.
    These are changing times. The nature of the jobs are changing in 
America. You know what I'm talking about. I mean, the health care 
industry, for example, is booming in parts of our country. I suspect it 
is in this great State of Minnesota. You've got some of the great health 
care technologies in the world being developed here. But oftentimes 
there's a skills gap in America. In other words, the jobs exist, but the 
workers aren't trained for the jobs which exist.
    And that's why I'm such a big believer in community colleges, to 
make sure that workers have got an opportunity to gain the skills 
necessary to fill the jobs of the 21st century. Our worker training 
programs need to change to adapt to modern times so people can fulfill 
and realize their dreams here in this country. What I'm telling you is, 
one of the reasons I'm seeking the office is because I understand many 
of the systems of Government were designed for the past, and I think we 
need to change those systems to stand side by side with people so they 
can realize their dreams.
    Our view of Government is that Government ought to help people 
realize their dreams. I'm running against a fellow who believes that 
Government ought to dictate to people, and that's a fundamental 
philosophical difference.
    Now, I want to talk to you about our economy right quick, because we 
can change systems all we want; if people can't make a living, it's not 
going to matter, see. Now, I--as you're out gathering the vote, remind 
people what we have been through. This economy has been through a lot in 
a quick period of time.
    We've been through a recession. As a matter of fact, the stock 
market started to correct--that means go down--5 months before we came 
to office. Then the recession came.
    Then we had corporate scandals in America. And make no mistake about 
it, those corporate scandals hurt. They shook people's confidence. We 
passed tough laws now, and it's abundantly clear that this country will 
not tolerate dishonesty in the boardrooms of America.
    And then the terrorists attacked. And they estimate it cost us a 
million jobs in 3 months after September the 11th, 2001. But we're 
overcoming these obstacles. Our economy is growing. It's growing at a 
rate as fast as any in nearly 20 years. The unemployment rate in 
Minnesota is 4.8 percent. The national unemployment rate is 5.4 percent. 
Let me put

[[Page 2010]]

that in perspective for you: 5.4 percent is lower than the average of 
the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
    We're adding manufacturing jobs. People say, ``Why do you think?'' I 
say, ``Well, I'll tell you why I think: One, our workers are great; two, 
the entrepreneurial spirit is strong; three, the farmers and ranchers 
know what they're doing; and four, we cut the taxes.'' The question is 
not what we did to overcome the obstacles. The question is, what are we 
going to do to keep the growth; what is the vision to make sure this 
economy continues to grow?
    My vision is this: In order to keep jobs here in America, in order 
to make sure people can realize their dreams through working, America 
must be the best place in the world to do business. If you want to find 
work here, this needs to be a place where people are willing to risk 
capital and employers are willing to expand. That means this: Less 
regulations on small businesses; tort reforms so small-business owners 
aren't subjected to harassment in the courts; an energy policy which 
encourages conservation, uses technologies to come up with new ways to 
use and conserve energy; an energy policy which uses corn and soybeans 
in a wise way, with biodiesel and ethanol; an energy policy which 
encourages clean coal technology; an energy policy which uses latest 
technologies so we can explore wisely for natural gas. In order to keep 
jobs here in America and to keep this economy growing, we need to become 
less dependent on foreign sources of energy.
    We need to open up markets in order to keep jobs here in America. 
Listen, there is a tendency for people to say, ``Well, I'm going to put 
policies out there that will isolate us from the world.'' That's called 
economic isolationism. That would be a big mistake for workers in the 
State of Minnesota. It would be a big mistake for Minnesota farmers. 
We've opened up our markets, and that's good for you. If you're a 
consumer and you have more product to choose from, you're likely to get 
the product you want at a better price and better quality. And so, what 
I say to places like China is, ``You treat us the way we treat you.'' 
And I say that to not only China but elsewhere, because I believe 
America's small-business owners, entrepreneurs, farmers, ranchers, 
workers can compete with anybody, anytime, anywhere, so long as the 
playing field is level.
    Before we talk about health care, I want to talk about another key 
issue, and that's what we do with your money. I believe that--I know we 
will continue to be wise with how we spend your money. In other words, 
to keep jobs here, Government has got to be wise with how the people--
how the people's money is spent. That means setting priorities.
    We set priorities in Washington. The priority is defending this 
country and supporting our troops in harm's way. That's a priority. 
We've increased Federal spending on education by 49 percent since I've 
been the President. We've got plenty of money to do what we need to do 
up there if we set priorities. You'll hear me talk a little bit about 
tax relief in a minute, but I--with one of our panelists here. But the 
whole philosophy is, is that after we've set priorities, I think the 
people can spend their money better than the Federal Government can. 
It's a philosophical difference----
    Audience member. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
    The President. Yes, sir, thank you. Okay. Now, the other issue is 
taxes. This is an issue in this campaign. I'm running against a fellow 
who has promised over $2 trillion of new money so far, and we're just 
coming down the stretch. It's easy to stand up in front of audiences and 
tell them what they want to hear in politics, believe me, particularly 
when you're spending somebody else's money. And the question is how he's 
going to pay for it.
    And he's got that answer we've all heard before: ``I'm going to pay 
for it by taxing the rich.'' Now, you've heard that before. Here's the 
problem. One, you cannot tax the rich enough to pay for over $2.2 
trillion in new spending, so there's a tax gap. And generally, when 
there's a tax gap, you get to fill it. Secondly, by running up the top 
two brackets in the Tax Code, you're taxing small businesses--ninety 
percent of small businesses pay individual income taxes, because they're 
classified as a Subchapter S or sole proprietorship. Ninety percent of 
the small businesses. Yet 70 percent of all new jobs are created by 
small businesses. So when you're

[[Page 2011]]

talking about running up the top two brackets, really what you're 
talking about is taxing the job creators here in America, and that's bad 
economic policy.
    And finally, when you hear them say ``tax the rich,'' be careful. 
The rich hire lawyers and accountants for a reason, because they don't 
want to pay. And you get stuck with the tab. But we're not going to let 
him stick you with the tab. We're going to carry Minnesota in November 
and win a great victory.
    All right, let me talk about health care. The subject that we're 
going to focus on today is health care. We want health care to be 
available and affordable. We want people to be able to afford health 
care, and therefore, we need to be thinking about--need to deal with the 
rising cost of health care. And we want health care to be available. 
Here are some interesting ways to do so.
    We're going to talk about Medicare in a minute, with Jerry. Do you 
realize that over half of the unemployed in America, working 
unemployed--uninsured, working uninsured, work for small businesses. 
Think about that. That means small businesses are having trouble 
affording health care. But over half are employed. And so one way to 
make sure that small businesses can afford health care is to allow them 
to pool risk so that they can purchase insurance at the same discounts 
that big businesses get to do.
    Consumers will be protected under Federal law under this plan. It's 
a plan to help small businesses afford health care. That's what we want 
to do. We want to help them afford health care. Fifty percent of the 
people work for small businesses who are working uninsured. Why don't we 
help the small businesses?
    I'll tell you another way to help small businesses afford health 
care. It's to do something about these junk lawsuits that are running up 
the cost of medicine and running good docs out of business. This is an 
issue. See, I don't think you can be pro-doctor, pro-patient, and pro-
trial-lawyer at the same time. [Laughter] I think you have to make a 
choice. My opponent made his choice, and he put a trial lawyer on the 
ticket. I made my choice. I'm standing with the docs and patients and 
hospitals. I support medical liability reform--now.
    We need to promote health information technologies. My hope is that 
most Americans have a personal electronic health record within the next 
decade. That's a fancy way of saying that when you have a system where 
docs who can barely write--well, they can write; you just can't read 
it--handwrite every file, there's inefficiencies in the system. One way 
to help with health care costs is to modernize the health care industry. 
We've got a great project going on in Washington, DC, to bring 
technologies into the health care field. It's going to save money.
    Another way to help save money is to promote generic drugs to the 
market more quickly. We are doing that in Washington, DC.
    Let me talk real quick about a subject I know that is on your mind. 
I think it's important for me to tell you what I think about importation 
of drugs. Listen, we're studying the issue. I'll tell you why we're 
studying it. I don't want people bringing in drugs that will hurt our 
seniors, and neither do you. I know it sounds attractive to some, the 
importation of drugs. And it may work. But sure enough, if we're not 
careful, drugs manufactured in the Third World over which we have no 
control could use Canada as a way to get into this State, and then we've 
got a problem, a safety problem.
    We have a duty in the Federal Government to protect the consumer. 
And so I've got the--I've got Tommy Thompson and his crowd looking to 
make sure that before we have an importation program, that you're safe, 
that we make sure that people are--have got a safe product that does 
what it says it will do.
    And in the meantime, we're going to keep promoting the generic drugs 
quickly to the market place. And that will help hold down the cost of 
drugs. We're going to talk about another way to hold down the cost of 
drugs for seniors here in a minute.
    Let me talk about, right quick, about what we call community health 
centers. And we've got--Peggy Metzer is with us today. She is a soldier 
in the army of compassion. Community health centers are--well, I'll let 
you explain. Where do you work?
    Peggy Metzer. Thank you, Mr. President. Ladies and gentlemen, there 
is a story that

[[Page 2012]]

needs to be told, and it's about the frontline of health care happening 
every day by committed and dedicated doctors and nurses and other people 
at the grassroots level where it makes a difference. Were it not for the 
President's initiative, this would not be happening. The Cedar Riverside 
People's Center medical clinic might have closed its doors 3 years ago, 
after we'd been in service for over 30 years. Again, were it not for the 
President's vision, for his dedication and care that health care does 
get to the frontlines where it makes the biggest difference, we wouldn't 
be open today. So I want to thank you, Mr. President.
    The President. Let me ask you some questions. So who shows up? Who 
is the clientele? When you open the door, who is likely to walk in the 
door at your community health center?

[Peggy Metzer, chief executive officer, Cedar Riverside People's Center, 
made further remarks.]

    The President. What she's saying is--it just makes sense to me, 
otherwise I wouldn't be doing it. [Laughter] We're going to expand these 
community health centers so poor people have got a place to find primary 
care and preventative care. It makes a lot of sense. I think it's a wise 
use of your money to expand and increase the number of community health 
centers all across America. As a matter of fact, the goal I've set is 
every poor county in America has a community health center.
    It's much better--it's much better if folks who need help get help 
at the community health center than in an emergency room of a local 
hospital. Not only do taxpayers save money, it's a more compassionate 
way to help people.
    And the interesting thing about community health centers, the 
doctors who practice there are exempt from lawsuits because of Federal 
law. The problem is, is that since the trial lawyers are so strong in 
the Senate, we can't get any more liability protection than we've got. 
But at least your docs and you----
    Ms. Metzer. We are protected, thank you.
    The President. Yes, see, that's important. You've got people who are 
ob-gyns who feel comfortable about practicing there because they're not 
going to get sued. It seems like if we're willing to extend legal 
liability to these health centers, we ought to be extending legal 
liability to private clinics and hospitals as well, so ob-gyns can do 
their job.
    Ms. Metzer. It's such an honor to be here and to see the person who 
was able to see through the middle of the complexities and the confusion 
and the confounding situation with health care. And thank you for seeing 
through the middle and getting to the bottom line.
    The President. Glad you're here. Good job. Pass that mike over 
there.
    One of the things I went to Washington for is to fix problems. We 
had a problem in Medicare. I'll tell you why we had a problem in 
Medicare: Because medicine was changing, and Medicare didn't. Let me 
tell you what I mean. The Medicare system would pay for heart surgery, 
like $100,000 worth--that's your money--and it wouldn't pay for the 
prescription drugs that would prevent the heart surgery from being 
needed in the first place. That didn't seem to make sense to me. It 
certainly wasn't very cost-effective, but more significantly, it wasn't 
very compassionate for our seniors. After all, we would like to prevent 
the heart surgery from needing to occur.
    So I worked with Congress to change Medicare for the better, so 
seniors have got more options to choose from, so seniors, starting in 
2006, will have prescription drug coverage. And by the way, in 2005, for 
the first time, Medicare is going to pay for screenings so that we can 
prevent disease from occurring now, rather than have to treat it later. 
That seems to make sense for taxpayers.
    As we waited for the prescription drug coverage to kick in, we 
decided to send out prescription drug discount cards. If you're a poor 
senior, you get a $600 credit per year for your card. Over 4 million 
seniors have signed up for the card. Interestingly enough, it's just not 
``a'' card, there's a variety of programs from which the seniors can 
choose. You know why? I believe people ought to be making choices. I 
told you, the difference between what I believe and what others believe 
is that Government ought to stand side by side with people to improve 
their lives, not dictate to

[[Page 2013]]

their lives. If there's only one choice, it means the Government is 
dictating. If you've got choices to make, it means you've got a better 
chance of designing the program that fits your needs.
    Jerry Markie is with us--aren't you? [Laughter] So he's here for a 
reason, because he's got a drug discount card. I want senior citizens in 
the State of Minnesota to hear this story because I think you're going 
to find it very interesting.
    Ready to crank it up?
    Jerry Markie. All set to go.
    The President. All right, let's go.

[Mr. Markie made brief remarks.]

    The President. Yes, see, listen to what he's saying here. The 
cards--this is good use of--it seems like to me, good policy to enable 
this good man--I think he saved, like he told me, $350 a month because 
he's using this discount card. This is just wise policy. It's a lot 
better policy to empower him than have the Government dictate to him, 
like my opponent would like to do.

[Mr. Markie made further remarks, concluding as follows.]

    Mr. Markie. And that's the truth. If we didn't have the insurance 
card, we would be paying that out of pocket. And that amounts to $4,200 
a year. Just think of that.
    The President. You can use that, can't you?
    Mr. Markie. You betcha. That's a sizable----
    The President. Take mom out to dinner more frequently.
    Mr. Markie. More than once. [Laughter]
    The President. That's right.

[Mr. Markie made further remarks.]

    The President. I'll complete the thought--any time you can save 
money, that's good. [Laughter] Right?
    Mr. Markie. Yes. You just talked about Celebrex. I have eight drugs. 
That's just one. We take the six, as I indicated. And you save--$166--
$15, that's almost 150 bucks right there, per prescription.
    The President. See, here's what we're talking about. We're talking 
about a health care vision that empowers people, that helps people. And 
that stands in contrast to a vision that's going to increase the scope 
of the Federal Government. Now, listen to the debate in health care. I 
want our fellow citizens to listen carefully to the difference between 
the plan that I'm talking about and the plan my opponent is talking 
about.
    I'll give you an example. He believes we ought to increase the 
amount of people covered by Medicaid. All that does is crowd out people 
who have got insurance plans through small businesses and move them from 
the private sector to the public sector. I just think that's the wrong 
decision to make, because once you're on the public sector, making 
decisions for you in health care, it means you and the doctor aren't 
making your decisions. It means unelected officials are making your 
decisions. Bureaucrats are deciding health care. The nationalization of 
health care would be wrong for the American citizen.
    Let me tell you about a really interesting idea, an idea that has 
got a lot of advantages. They're called health savings accounts. We've 
got an owner of a health savings account with us, and he and I are going 
to explain to you how they work. And he's going to start. But this is 
Dan Kelly. He works for Mercury Office Supply. I just want you--as he 
explains how this works, I want you to think about a philosophy that 
says decisions will be made between doctors and patients and a 
philosophy that says, ``We want people owning their own health care 
accounts, so that if they change jobs in this changing world, the health 
care account goes with them from one job to the next.'' And as they get 
older and accumulate savings tax-free in the health savings account, 
that asset becomes something they own and can pass on to another 
generation.
    Danny Kelly, straight here from Mercury Office Supplies.
    Daniel Kelly. Thank you, Mr. President.
    The President. How is the business?
    Mr. Kelly. It's pretty good. It could be better, but----
    The President. Good. Tell us how a health savings account works.

[Daniel J. Kelly, operations manager, Great River Office Products, doing 
business as Mercury Office Supply, made further remarks.]

[[Page 2014]]

    The President. Yes, so, here's the way it works, again. He's got it 
going right. I'm just trying to add a little emphasis to it. He buys a 
high-deductible plan that says, for example--I guess yours is--the 
insurance pays for any cost over $5,000.
    Mr. Kelly. Yes, because it's a family plan.
    The President. Which means the cost of that plan is significantly 
less costly than a regular insurance plan. He or his company, whoever 
pays for it, is out a lot less money for insurance. Then, if the 
deductible is $5,000, the company and Dan put in $5,000 pre-tax. And the 
$5,000 earns money tax-free *. And the $5,000, if you have to use it for 
routine medical expenses, comes out tax-free. And if you don't spend the 
$5,000, it rolls over to the next year tax-free. So in other words, it's 
his money. Is that right?
    * White House correction.
    Mr. Kelly. It's my money. I choose how I want to spend it.
    The President. Say that again.
    Mr. Kelly. I choose how I want to spend it. I choose the doctors. I 
choose the medicine, whatever I feel is best for my family. It's my 
choice.
    The President. Yes, let me stop you there. Oh, not yet. [Laughter] 
See, the operative words, as far as I'm concerned, are, ``I choose.'' 
See, it's not somebody in Washington choosing; it's not an HMO choosing. 
Danny says, ``I choose. I make the choice.'' Now, if somebody makes a 
choice, there's a responsibility that comes with that. Think about 
this--this has got a built-in incentive, doesn't it, for right choices 
in life. I mean, for example, if you watch that money in your own 
account begin to dwindle, you may want to walk a little more on a daily 
basis--[laughter]--take to the foot in order to make yourself more 
healthy. In other words, there's kind of a preventative medicine built 
in to a plan when it says, ``My money. I choose.'' In his case, he and 
the business contribute. The business pays for the entire premium on 
the----
    Mr. Kelly. Correct, on half the deductible.
    The President. ----on the catastrophic care, and then you and the 
business share on the contributions on what goes into the account. This 
is an innovative plan. They're beginning to spread across America. If 
you're a small-business owner, look into them. Fifty percent of the 
uninsured here in America who don't have health care work for small 
businesses. And so what I think we ought to do is help small businesses 
set up HSAs through tax credits. I think the working uninsured ought to 
be given direct tax credits to set up HSAs. I believe this product is 
going to help change medicine for the better, because it keeps the 
doctor and the patient in charge of health care decisions.
    And guess what else about the--about Kelly's family that I think 
you'll find interesting is that--remember the tax relief I talked about 
earlier, that kind of got the economy going, I think--his family saved 
$2,400 in '03 and $2,400 in '04. Now, in the land where we're throwing 
around zeros like they don't matter--that would be Washington--that 
doesn't sound like a lot. It's a lot to this guy. How many kids have you 
got?
    Mr. Kelly. I have three kids.
    The President. Three. How old?
    Mr. Kelly. One is--well, 11 months, one will be turning 3 tomorrow, 
and the other will be turning 5 in about another month.
    The President. And what did you do with the money, the 2,400?
    Mr. Kelly. Buy milk. [Laughter]
    The President. Yes, good. He has a healthy baby, doesn't he? See, 
he's got extra money in his pocket. It could help meet the health 
savings accounts needs, so his family has got a health savings account 
that works. His money matters. Once Government meets its priorities, I 
believe families like the Kellys ought to have more of their own money. 
The $2,400 tax relief mattered a lot, and Congress must make the tax 
relief permanent. Running up the taxes on the American people right now 
makes no sense. [Applause]
    Okay, let me talk about one other subject. Thank you all. A couple 
of points I want to make. Changing times--in changing times, there are 
some things that aren't going to change. The values we try to live by 
won't change, courage and compassion, reverence and integrity. In 
changing times, we must support the institutions that give us stability, 
our families, our schools, our religious congregations. In changing 
times, we must not be afraid to call upon our faith institutions

[[Page 2015]]

to help people who hurt. In changing times, we must stand for a culture 
of life in which every person matters and every person counts.
    We stand for marriage and family, which are the foundations of our 
society. I'm going to tell you one other thing: I will continue to 
appoint judges who know the difference between using the bench to write 
the law and strictly interpreting the law.
    Now, I want to talk about one other subject. I'm just getting 
started here. [Laughter] I want to talk about how to make the world a 
safer place. I would like to share with you some of the lessons I 
learned from September the 11th. The first lesson I learned and I hope 
the country learned is that we're facing an enemy that has no 
conscience. It's an enemy that is just really hard for us to understand. 
They will kill like that in order to shake our will. You can't negotiate 
with these people. You can't try to sit down and have discussions with 
them. You can't--it's impossible to try to rationalize with them. And 
that's why we're using every asset at our disposal to find them around 
the world so we don't have to face them here at home.
    That's the first lesson; that's our duty. That's the solemn duty of 
our Government, to protect the American people. I wish I wasn't giving 
this talk. We didn't ask for what happened, but we're darn sure going to 
respond to it, in order to protect the American people.
    Secondly, this is a different kind of war, and it's important to 
understand that. It's a war in which the enemy will try to find a host 
nation so they can become an active parasite. And therefore, it's 
important for me to make clear a doctrine that says, ``If you harbor a 
terrorist, you're just as guilty as the terrorist.'' [Applause]
    Now, when the President says something--hold on for a minute--when 
the President speaks, he better mean what he says. I meant what I said. 
[Applause] Okay, hold on for a minute. Thank you. Hold on for a minute, 
got a lot of work to do.
    And so the Taliban heard from us, and they rejected what our 
Government said, and they're no longer in power. A lot of brave 
Americans went in and did hard work and removed the Taliban. Let me 
explain what happened as a result of that action. First, Al Qaida has no 
place to train in Afghanistan. Remember, they were training thousands of 
people--thousands--so they could burrow into societies, including our 
own, to create havoc.
    Let me step back real quick. These are people--I would call them 
ideologues of hatred who use terror as a tool to intimidate. Their 
vision is backward. The Taliban--to indicate the kind of vision they 
have for the world, in Afghanistan young girls didn't get to go to 
school because of the Taliban. That's backward. Their moms would be 
taken into the public square and whipped if they didn't toe the line of 
the ideologues of hate.
    Not only did we deal with the host that was providing safe haven for 
the parasite, Al Qaida, not only will they no longer train there, but 10 
million citizens, 41 percent of whom are women, have registered to vote 
for the upcoming Presidential election in Afghanistan. It's amazing. 
Think about that. It's an amazing thought, isn't it? You remember a 
while back when--remember when the Taliban pulled these four women off 
the bus and summarily executed them because they were involved in 
democracy? A lot of naysayers thought, ``Well, this is the end of 
democracy in Afghanistan.'' Three years--3 years time, 10 million 
citizens have said, ``I want to be a part of freedom. I want to 
participate.'' Freedom is a powerful force in this world.
    And we are better off and America is safer because we have an ally 
in the war on terror in Afghanistan. And we're safer the more freedom 
marches around the world. And we're safer when others see an example of 
what a free society is like. It's not easy work in Afghanistan. Listen, 
we had some troubles getting from point A to point B when it came to our 
own democracy. The Articles of Confederation weren't exactly a smooth-
running period here in America. But Afghanistan is headed toward 
Presidential elections. It's amazing, when you think about it.
    Third lesson, when we see a threat, we must deal with it before it 
fully materializes. That's one of the lessons of September the 11th. We 
must take threats seriously before they come to hurt us. We wouldn't 
have to say that prior to September the 11th. Prior

[[Page 2016]]

to September the 11th, when we saw a threat overseas, we could say, 
``Well, we'll deal with it if we feel like it, and we may not, because 
we're fine here at home. We're safe.'' We no longer have that safety 
anymore. That attack on September the 11th showed that we're vulnerable, 
and therefore, when we see a threat, we must take it seriously before it 
materializes.
    And so I saw a threat in Iraq. Iraq was a tough decision. I saw a 
threat--or my administration saw a threat--one, we saw intelligence that 
said weapons and the capability of making weapons. Secondly, we 
remembered he had used weapons. He'd actually used weapons of mass 
destruction against his own people. And he was a sworn enemy of America. 
He was a guy shooting at our pilots enforcing the world's sanctions. He 
had terrorist ties. Remember Abu Nidal? He was the guy that killed Leon 
Klinghoffer. He was in Baghdad, and so was his organization. Zarqawi--
he's the person that beheads people in Iraq today--he was in and out of 
Baghdad, as was the people in his organization. He paid the families of 
suicide bombers. There's terrorist ties. And of course the biggest 
threat is, somebody who could have the capability of making weapons of 
mass destruction or had weapons of mass destruction would pass that 
capability on to an enemy who would like to inflict more harm on us.
    So I look at the intelligence and remember the history and went to 
the United States Congress and said, ``This administration sees a 
threat. What do you all think?'' And Members of the Congress from both 
political parties looked at the same intelligence we looked at, and they 
remembered the same history we remembered, and they concluded that 
Saddam Hussein was a threat and authorized the use of force. My opponent 
looked at the very same intelligence I looked at, and when they said, 
``Do you authorize the use of force,'' he voted ``yes''.
    Before the Commander in Chief commits troops into harm's way, we 
must try all options. I've got to be able to say to the moms and dads 
and husbands and wives of our soldiers that I tried everything I can to 
deal with the threat before it fully materializes, in ways other than 
militarily. So I went to the United Nations. My hope was that we could 
solve this problem diplomatically. I was hopeful that the free world 
might convince Saddam Hussein to come to his senses.
    And so the U.N. debated the issue, and the U.N. Security Council 
voted 15 to nothing on a resolution that said to Saddam Hussein, 
``Disclose, disarm, or face serious consequences.'' I believe when 
international organizations speak, they better mean what they say, in 
order to make the world a more peaceful place. The world spoke.
    He didn't listen. As a matter of fact, he hadn't listened for a 
decade. This was not the first resolution that the U.N. had passed. I 
think it was like number 17, if I'm not mistaken. I can't remember the 
exact number. I believe it's in double digits at least. In other words, 
they passed a resolution, he ignored; they passed, he ignored; they 
passed, he ignored, which only strengthened Saddam Hussein.
    And so, at this point--and not only that, remember they sent the 
inspectors into Iraq, and as intelligence shows, he systematically 
deceived them. So I had a choice to make. And here's the way I view the 
choice. Diplomacy had failed. We tried what we could do to convince him 
to disclose and disarm. Do I take the world of a madman and forget 
lessons of September the 11th, or do I take action to defend this 
country? Given that choice, I will defend America every time. [Applause]
    Okay, hold on, we've got work here. We did not find the stockpiles 
we all thought were there. But we do know he had the capability of 
making those weapons and he had the capacity to pass that capability on 
to an enemy. And after September the 11th, that is a risk I believe our 
country could not afford to take. Knowing what I know today, I would 
have made the same decision. [Applause]
    Okay, hold on a minute. Thank you all. A couple of other lessons 
learned. When we put our kids in harm's way, they deserve the full 
support of the Federal Government. All of us in positions of 
responsibility must be able to say to our troops and loved ones, ``We're 
giving you what you need to do your job.'' It's a solemn duty of the 
Federal Government. That's why I went to the Congress in September of 
last year and said, ``Look,

[[Page 2017]]

we need $87 billion for supplemental funding.'' That would be funding 
for body armor and spare parts, ammunition, fuel, hazard pay, health 
benefits, that which is needed to support our troops in harm's way--a 
legitimate request. More importantly, it was a necessary request.
    And we got great support from members of both political parties. 
People understood that we have a duty at the Federal level to support 
our troops. The support was so strong that only 12 Members of the United 
States Senate voted against funding for our troops, 2 of whom are my 
opponent and his runningmate.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. Four Members of the United States Senate voted to 
authorize the use of force and then voted against funding the troops, 
and two of those four are my opponent and his runningmate. When asked 
about the vote, he said this: ``I actually did vote for the $87 billion, 
right before I voted against it.'' Now, I don't know if they're talking 
that way here in the town square of Blaine or not. I don't think so. 
[Laughter] And they pressed him further, and he said he's proud of the 
vote. He finally said, ``The whole thing was a complicated matter.'' 
There's nothing complicated about supporting our troops in combat. 
[Applause]
    Okay. That bus is warming up. I've got some more I've got to say. 
Thank you all for the generous applause. I've got something else I want 
to tell you. We're headed toward peace. I believe that liberty can 
transform societies for the better. That's what I believe. The heart of 
my conviction is I believe that liberty is a transformational power. I 
believe that this is a theme throughout our history and throughout the 
history of the world. Think about this when you're talking to your 
friends and neighbors about this campaign. Think about this when you're 
thinking about a loved one who is serving in historic times now.
    I sit at the table with Prime Minister Koizumi. We have a serious 
discussion. He is the Prime Minister of Japan. You know, my dad went to 
war against the Japanese, your dad and granddads did as well. They were 
the sworn enemy of the United States of America, and it was a bloody 
conflict. And after we won World War II, fortunately my predecessor 
Harry Truman and others in the United States believed that liberty could 
transform an enemy into a friend. And there was a lot of skeptics then. 
And you can understand why. We had just been to war. A lot of people's 
lives were harmed as a result of that war. And so there were doubters as 
to whether or not liberty had the power to transform. But nevertheless, 
there was great faith in those days about the capacity of liberty. And 
they helped Japan--our predecessors helped Japan become a democracy. And 
as a result, I sit down at the table today, talking to Prime Minister 
Koizumi about keeping the peace we all want.
    Think about that. Someday, someday, an American President is going 
to sit down with a duly elected leader of Iraq, talking about how to 
keep the peace. And our children and grandchildren will be better off 
for it. That's what's happening. That's what you're seeing right now. 
That's what you're seeing.
    These are historic times. It's essential that we have this great 
faith in the ability of liberty to transform the world. Those are the 
stakes in which we live. It's a chance to really use our influence, with 
friends and allies, to lead toward a more peaceful world. And that's why 
the American President must be clear in his thoughts, must not send 
mixed signals to the enemy or allies, must be firm in our resolve. You 
can't chase the political winds. You've got to have an unshakable faith 
in the ability of liberty to transform the world for the better. And by 
remaining resolute and firm and strong, this world will be peaceful. And 
we can look back--this generation of Americans can look back and say, 
``The world was a better place, and our children and grandchildren have 
a better chance to grow up in a peaceful, peaceful world.''
    Thank you all for coming. May God bless.

Note: The President spoke at 12:45 p.m. at the NSC Sports Hall. In his 
remarks, he referred to Senator Zell Miller of Georgia, who made the 
keynote address at the Republican National Convention; former 
Representative Vin Weber of Minnesota; Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota; 
Debbie Kennedy, wife of Representative Mark Kennedy; Mayor Randy Kelly 
of St. Paul, MN; senior Al Qaida associate Abu Musab Al Zarqawi; and 
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan.

[[Page 2018]]