[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 9 (Monday, March 6, 2006)]
[Pages 354-356]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks to the National Governors Association Conference

February 27, 2006

    Good morning. Thanks for coming. I enjoyed it last night; I hope you 
did too. It was a lot of fun. And thank you all for giving me a chance 
to come by. What I thought I'd do is say a few things and then answer 
some questions, if you have any.

    We have got a chance to achieve some big things for the country, to 
lay the stage for peace and to keep America in the lead. And these are 
goals that both Republicans and Democrats should share. You know, 
there's a lot of politics here in Washington, so it's--when you say, 
``Well, you know, it's a Republican goal to make America competitive,'' 
I just don't agree with that. It should be a national goal. It's a 
national goal to protect our people. And therefore, it requires a lot of 
collaboration throughout all aspects of government. And no better 
collaborators to implement good policy than our Governors. So thanks for 
giving me a chance to come and share some insights with you.

    First, one question that ought to be confronting everybody is, how 
do we keep this economy of ours strong? A couple of notable exceptions, 
like our friends in Michigan and Ohio in particular--maybe Washington 
State--the overall economy is in great shape. People are working; 
productivity is up; people own their homes; small businesses are 
flourishing. And the fundamental question is, what can we do together to 
keep it that way? Part of it is to be wise with taxpayers' money.

    I congratulate the States that have done a good job of increasing 
their surpluses; it's a good thing. I can remember a couple of years ago 
when we were a little worried about deficits at the State level. That's 
changed. Surplus and tax policy--wise with people's money--all go hand 
in hand in terms of making sure America remains competitive. I believe 
if you take money out of people's pockets, it hurts economic vitality 
and growth.

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    I know full well that in order for us to be competitive, two other 
things have to happen. One is, we've got to be less dependent on foreign 
sources of oil. Told the people, shocked them pretty much when I was 
standing up there as the guy from Texas saying our dependency upon oil 
creates a problem. But I meant it. Dependency upon oil has created an 
economic problem for us. It challenges our economic security, because 
when demand for oil goes up relative to supply worldwide, it causes the 
price at the pump to go up. It's like a hidden tax on our people when 
gasoline prices go up. Dependence on foreign sources of oil creates a 
national security problem. You hear parts of the world where there is 
disruption in oil supply as a result of local politics, for example; it 
affects the United States of America.
    I spend a lot of time worrying about disruption of energy because of 
politics or civil strife in other countries or because tyrants control 
the spigots. And it's in our national interest that we become less 
dependent on oil. And so we've laid out a strong initiative to encourage 
Congress to continue to spend research and development money to enable 
us to power our automobiles through additional uses of ethanol; to 
expand E-85 beyond just the current regional--the region where it's 
being--where the corn is being grown, to be able to use other types of 
biomass to fuel our cars. We think we're very close to that kind of 
breakthrough. Hybrid batteries are going to make an enormous difference 
in our capacity to drive the first 40 miles in urban centers without the 
use of any gasoline. Hydrogen automobiles eventually are going to make a 
huge difference in enabling us to become less dependent on foreign 
sources of oil.
    We've got to expand solar power. I went to a facility there in 
Michigan to see a fantastic company called United Solar. I don't mean to 
be pushing them, but nevertheless, they're making a great product. I 
remember going out to Colorado to the facility out there, the research 
facility on alternative uses of energy. We've got fantastic chances to 
advance this really important agenda, and we look forward to working 
with you to do so. It's one of these issues where when we continue to 
make these technological breakthroughs, we'll leave behind a better 
tomorrow for our children and grandchildren.
    The other issue that I know we can work together and must work 
together is to make sure our children are not only educated in reading 
and writing but also in math and science. America must be competitive in 
the out years. We've got to have our--we've got to be educating the 
future physicists and engineers. And we look forward to working with you 
to help make math and science in our classrooms more of a reality.
    As well, we're planning on doubling the amount of Federal research 
dollars for basic sciences. And recognizing that most of the research in 
the United States is done at the corporate level, to make the research 
and development tax credit a permanent part of the Tax Code. It's really 
hard to get our companies to invest in research and development if 
there's uncertainty in the Tax Code, and Congress allows the R&D tax 
credit to lapse, and when it lapses, planners say, ``Well, I'm not sure 
it's going to be around, so why do we want to make investment?'' So 
making the R&D tax code [credit] * a permanent part of our Tax Code will 
help spur continued research and technology. Technology is going to help 
us stay competitive; it'll help us be the most productive society in the 
world, which means our people's standard of living is going to go up.
    * White House correction.
    So here are some things we can work on, to get rid of all of the 
kind of needless politics that tends to be dominating the landscape 
these days and focus on things that will help this country remain the 
leader in the world when it comes to the economy.
    I also want to thank those of you who have set up faith-based 
offices. I'm sincere about working with State and local governments to 
rally the great armies of compassion. And I know that some 32 States 
have set up faith-based offices, and I appreciate you doing that. It's 
really an important part of making sure our social agenda is 
comprehensive and complete.
    I wish I could report to you that the war on terror is over. It's 
not. An enemy still lurks. They're dangerous people, and it requires a 
comprehensive strategy to defeat,

[[Page 356]]

and part of it, of course, is making sure our homeland is secure. If you 
have any questions on the NSA decision, I'll be glad to give it to you--
be glad to answer them.
    The other part of the offense--of the strategy is to stay on the 
offense, is to keep them on the run. And to this end, I want to thank 
you for supporting our Guard troops. Many of you have been overseas and 
have seen our Guard troops in action. And I can't thank you enough for 
not only supporting the troops in harm's way but providing great comfort 
to their families as well.
    Ultimately, the defeat of the terrorists is not only defeat them 
overseas so we don't have to face them here at home but as well, it's to 
spread liberty and freedom. And the freedom agenda is a powerful part of 
our country's desire to lay the foundation for peace. And it's making a 
difference. It's making a difference. I know one of the debates about 
the freedom agenda is, ``Well, elections cause certain things to happen 
that you may not want to happen.'' No, elections are only the beginning 
of the process; they're not the end. Elections, plus a focused foreign 
policy effort that helps build the institutions of democracy, is what is 
going to be necessary to ultimately defeat the hateful ideology of those 
who would do our country harm.
    It's an interesting debate that's going to take place here in 
Washington, or is taking place in Washington: Do elections cause 
radicalism or empower radicals? My answer is, the status quo empowered 
radicals. This notion that somehow the Middle East was a safe place for 
the last 30 years--because we didn't see, kind of, the turmoil that 
happens with elections, meant we were safe, I just totally disagree with 
that, kind of the--beneath the surface that appeared placid, the 
policymakers, was resentment and hatred and planning and plotting, all 
of which came home on September the 11th.
    And I believe this country has got to be aggressive in our pursuit 
of democracy and liberty, based upon our firm belief that there are such 
things as the natural rights of men and women. After all, that's what 
caused our founding, that there is universality to liberty. And we 
shouldn't be surprised when 11 million Iraqis go to the polls and demand 
freedom in the face of unbelievable terrorist attacks. That shouldn't 
surprise America. We ought to say, we recognize that spirit. And it is 
that spirit that's ultimately going to be able to say, we've kept the 
peace for our children and grandchildren.
    And so we can work together on these important issues, and I thank 
you for giving me a chance for me to come by and visit with you about 
them. Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 11:05 a.m. in the State Dining Room at the 
White House.