[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 41, Number 1 (Monday, January 10, 2005)]
[Pages 7-9]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Reception for Newly Elected Members of Congress and Their 
Spouses

January 3, 2005

    The President. Thanks for coming. Welcome to the White House. Hope 
you're feeling pretty excited about what's about to take place. We are 
excited for you. After all, we ran together. [Laughter] And there's 
nothing like winning. [Laughter]
    I want to welcome you all here. Laura and I are so thrilled you're 
here. We want to welcome your spouses. I particularly want to say a 
thanks to your spouse for having supported your run for the Congress or 
the Senate. Laura and I know how hard it is on a family to be in the 
political arena. It's the ultimate sacrifice, really--sacrifice your 
privacy, sacrifice time with your kids. But you're going to find it's 
worthwhile. Serving this great country is an unbelievable honor, and 
both the elected official and the spouse are serving our great country.
    The Vice President and I share something else in common with you, 
besides having run together in 2004, is that we've all run for the 
Congress. I'm the only one who never won. [Laughter] I ran in 1978, came 
in second in a two-man race. [Laughter] The Vice President won, as did 
Dan Lungren. Welcome back.
    Representative Dan Lungren. Thank you.
    The President. Thanks for agreeing to serve your great State and our 
country once again.
    Also elected that year was a young attorney from Sacramento, 
California, named Bob Matsui. Bob went on to serve with distinction and 
integrity in the House of Representatives for more than 25 years. He was 
a principled advocate for the people of northern California, and he will 
be deeply missed.
    We're also saddened to learn about the passing of former 
Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm of New York. She was a fine lady, a 
pioneer in education and public service, and the first African American 
woman elected to the Congress. Laura and I send our condolences to both 
the Chisholm and the Matsui families. May God rest their souls.
    One of Matsui's colleagues was Lungren, as I mentioned, and he is 
typical of what is a pretty interesting group of folks who've run and 
won in 2004. I mean, after all, there are former House Members who are 
coming back to the Capitol with a new job--that would be Senators Coburn 
and Thune--and two Members of the Congress, like Dan, who has served 
once and are now returning, Inglis and McKinney. Welcome back.
    There are some familiar names. After all, four new Senators have 
moved over from their House seats, and Senator Martinez was in the 
Cabinet. Welcome, Mel. It's good to see you and Kitty.
    There are new Members of the House who were preceded in Congress by 
their mom or dad. That would be four Members of the House. I get a 
little nervous when that son follows the father. [Laughter] The State of 
Colorado has sent two brothers. I know something about having a brother 
in politics too. [Laughter] In the 2004 class, we've got

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ranchers and farmers; we've got attorneys, physicians, educators, 
entrepreneurs, and a sheriff from King County, Washington. It's a 
diverse group, a widely talented group, and there's no doubt in my mind, 
some of your finest achievements lie ahead of you.
    You know, I've learned about Washington in 4 years. This town is 
sometimes too partisan and too political. People sometimes say, ``What's 
more important than the country is my politics.'' And my hope is, is 
that we can show the Nation that we can come together to achieve big 
things for the good of the country. After all, we've--we did some of 
that in my first 4 years here. The election, obviously, is a political 
event, and so sometimes that obscures what did take place in the first 4 
years of my time here.
    I mean, we were able to find common ground. After all, I'll never 
forget signing the education bill at a high school in Boston because Ted 
Kennedy helped carry the bill in the United States Senate, along with 
George Miller in the House and Judd Gregg in the Senate and John Boehner 
in the House. And on big issues, it is possible--and not only possible, 
important for the Congress and the White House to work together, issues 
like war and peace, issues like homeland security, issues like making 
sure seniors are treated well.
    I think it's important, as we head into a new session, to confront 
problems, to not pass them on to future Congresses or a future 
President. I don't know about what your timeframe is for the amount of 
time you anticipate spending here, but mine is about 4 more years, and 
then I'm going home. And so I want to confront problems, and I will. 
I'll call upon Congress to take on big issues. And I look forward to 
working with members of both parties to do just that.
    The first order of business is going to be to provide disaster aid 
for the millions of people devastated by the tsunamis in the Indian 
Ocean. Today my dad and President Clinton and Laura and I went to the 
four embassies of the countries most affected. And I told them, I said, 
``This is a compassionate country, and we will help, and we will help in 
a way where the aid makes a difference.'' I know Presidents Clinton and 
Bush went on TV afterwards and called upon our fellow citizens to 
contribute in a wise way. The most effective way for U.S. citizens to 
contribute is to contribute cash dollars to agencies which are on the 
ground and are able to assess the needs and able to direct that money to 
make sure the people get help.
    We'll help, and you'll hear us call upon--I see my OMB man, Josh 
Bolten, here--we'll call upon the Congress to contribute, to help make 
good on our pledges of $350 million in cash grants, to help make whole 
our military, which is providing a lot of important relief efforts right 
now. But the American people are generous and compassionate people. And 
I know they want to step forward and help. And we've now got a mechanism 
for them to be able to do so.
    We've got to make sure that we win the war. We've got to make sure 
we support our troops. We've got to make sure we simplify the Tax Code. 
I don't know whether that's an issue in your district or in your State; 
I suspect it might be. It's a complicated mess. It takes millions of 
man-hours to fill out the Tax Code. I think we ought to work to simplify 
it, to make it easier to understand.
    We've got to make sure health care is more accessible and affordable 
for our families, got to make sure we reform the legal systems. We've 
got to make sure we raise standards for schools, including high schools, 
in America. I look forward to working with you to pass a budget that 
fits our times.
    And I look forward to working with you to make the Social Security 
system work for future generations. I know you've heard a lot of 
discussions about Social Security. I ask you to keep an open mind as we 
move forward to make sure the system works. Seniors have nothing to fear 
when they hear talk about reforming the Social Security system. Every 
senior in America will get their check. And the fundamental question is: 
Do we have the will necessary to make sure the Social Security system is 
sound and available for future generations of Americans, for younger 
generations of Americans? I'm going to call upon Congress to take this 
issue on, and I look forward to working with you to modernize the 
system.
    I look forward to your energy and your ideas. I'm ready to work with 
you. And

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there's no doubt in my mind we can accomplish big things for our 
country. The work begins tomorrow for you. And when you're sworn in, I 
hope you'll take a moment to appreciate that you're a part of our 
history, that when you made a decision to put your name on the ballot 
and ask people for the vote and became successful, that you're a part of 
a small, distinguished group of men and women who've had the honor of 
serving the United States of America in the Congress.
    So I want to congratulate you on your victory. I wish you great 
success in your career. If you're so interested, Laura and I are willing 
to--would love to have a picture with you in the Blue Room, and then 
we'd like to share some of our food with you.
    Good luck tomorrow, congratulations, and may God bless you all.

Note: The President spoke at 3:39 p.m. in the East Room at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Kitty Martinez, wife of Senator 
Mel R. Martinez; and Senator Ken Salazar and Representative John T. 
Salazar of Colorado.