[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 17 (Monday, May 1, 2006)]
[Pages 751-759]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks in a Discussion at Cisco Systems, Inc., in San Jose, California

April 21, 2006

    The President. I'm thrilled, John. Thanks for coming. This is going 
to be an interesting discussion, I hope, for you, because it's going to 
talk about how America intends to shape our future and not fear the 
future. That's what we're really here to talk about--interesting 
challenges facing the country.
    Yesterday--one reason you're so nice is because I invited him to 
lunch at the White House yesterday. [Laughter]
    John Chambers. Thank you.
    The President. He and Elaine came, and we had lunch with Hu Jintao, 
the President of China. And sitting there during the lunch, I was 
thinking about people's fears about whether or not we can compete 
against a country like China. If you really think about a global economy 
and a global world--there's some folks that say, ``Well, maybe we can't 
compete in the long run.''
    My attitude is just the opposite. Not only can we compete, we must 
compete and remain a leader of the world. And that's what we're here to 
talk about--how you do that. And before we do that, I do want to thank 
John and the good folks here at Cisco for hosting us. It's not easy to 
host the President. [Laughter]
    Mr. Chambers. That's for sure. [Laughter]
    The President. Our entourages are quite large. [Laughter] But I 
thank you for having me. I am excited to be at one of America's most 
innovative companies. And I was asking John--20 years ago, how many 
employees were there? There were zero. Ten years, maybe 6,000; today, 
47,000 highly trained, highly competent, skilled folks that are helping 
to change America and countries around the world as well. So thanks for 
having us. It's wonderful to be in entrepreneurial heaven.
    I also am honored to be here with the Governor. I cannot thank you 
enough for coming, Arnold. It's really thoughtful of you to be here. He 
is a--really an interesting man, a person--[laughter]. He didn't have to 
run for office but chose to do so, and I admire that in you. I admire 
somebody who doesn't always take the comfortable way in life, in order 
to serve something greater than himself. And I appreciate your service; 
I really do.
    Traveling with me today is Norm Mineta, a Cabinet Secretary. Mr. 
Secretary, thank you for coming. Norm Mineta is a person who has been 
able to--[applause]. He said, ``I'm glad to fly on Air Force One; I just 
wished you would have landed at Mineta Field.'' And his son, David, is 
here today. More importantly than son, David, being here, is tomorrow, I 
think, is David's daughter's birthday. So we've got the grandfather and 
the father. Thank you all for coming, and thanks for serving the country 
so well, Norm.
    I appreciate Mayor Ron Gonzales of the City of San Jose joining us. 
Mr. Mayor, thank you for being here. I appreciate your time. I want to 
thank my friend Floyd Kvamme who is the cochair of the President's 
Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, as well as George 
Scalise, who is with us as well. Thank you all for serving. I 
appreciate--there is Floyd; thanks for coming.
    And Lezlee Westine, it's good to see you, Lezlee. Thank you for 
coming, appreciate your service in my administration.
    Our economy is good. It's real good, and we intend to keep it that 
way. The fundamental question is, though, can it be that way 5 years 
from now or 10 years from now? And my answer is, absolutely, if we do 
some wise things. I happen to believe it's wise to keep taxes low so 
that people have incentive to invest and save and spend.
    I know we're going to have to do something about energy. I aim to be 
a competitive nation. Part of a competitive agenda means

[[Page 752]]

that we have got to deal with problems short-term and long-term, and 
we've got a problem when it comes to our dependence on oil. I know the 
folks here are suffering at the gas pump. Rising gasoline prices is like 
taking a--is like a tax, particularly on the working people and the 
small-business people.
    I pledge to the people here of California that if we find any price 
gouging, it will be dealt with firmly.
    I also recognize that our dependence on oil, and in the fact that we 
live in a global economy, is causing gasoline prices to go up. And the 
fundamental strategy to keep us competitive is to get off oil. Tomorrow 
I'm going to be in Sacramento to talk about your very innovative idea of 
hydrogen-powered automobiles. I'll be talking about plug-in hybrid 
automobiles that will enable people to drive on electricity for the 
first 40 miles. I'm going to be talking about our investment in ethanol 
to make sure--all of it, by the way, is aimed to making America 
competitive by changing our driving habits and our dependence upon oil.
    We have got to do so for not only economic reasons but for national 
security reasons as well. It's really important for people to understand 
that as the Indian economy grows or the Chinese economy grows, they need 
fossil fuel. And as they buy fossil fuel, it affects our price. And 
therefore, it's in our national interest to diversify as quickly as 
possible away from our reliance upon hydrocarbons--particularly oil--
when it comes to our automobiles. And I'm convinced we can do so when we 
put our mind to it.
    A flexible economy, an economy that is not over-regulated is going 
to be necessary to keep us competitive. But the most important thing, in 
my judgment, to keep us competitive, is for the United States to remain 
on the leading edge of technology and to make sure we've got an 
education system that works.
    First, let me talk about technology. I do believe it is a proper use 
of Federal taxpayer money to double the R&D commitment in--to physical 
sciences at the Federal level. I believe it makes sense to spend 
taxpayers' money on research and development out of the Federal 
Government, because I have seen what expenditure of that kind of money 
has done in practical ways. And so have you. You may not realize it, but 
it was investment by the Defense Department that ultimately led to the 
Internet, which has kind of helped your business a little bit, John. 
[Laughter]
    Interestingly enough, tomorrow I'm going to be riding my bike in 
Napa Valley. I can't wait. I'll be plugged into an iPod. A lot of the 
reason the iPod exists is because of Federal research dollars. And 
therefore, I think it makes sense to spend your money on research at the 
Federal level in the basic sciences, to make sure that the United States 
of America remains the innovative center of the world.
    Secondly, I recognize that most money spent on research comes from 
the private sector. I suspect you spend a lot of money on research.
    Mr. Chambers. About $3 billion a year.
    The President. Three billion a year. I think it makes sense to 
encourage the private sector to spend the $200 billion a year we do 
total--$3 billion right out of Cisco.
    One way to do so is through the Tax Code. The research and 
development tax credit makes a lot of sense. Interestingly enough, the 
research and development tax credit expires on a regular basis. And 
therefore, people have to come, hat in hand, to Congress and say, ``Oh, 
save us.'' Unfortunately, it is difficult to plan for some companies if 
you're worried about whether or not the research and development tax 
credit exists.
    Therefore, to keep us on the leading edge of change, to make sure 
we're the innovative capital of the world, Congress needs to make the 
research and development tax credit a permanent part of the Tax Code.
    People have got to understand that if we don't educate our children 
in math and science, jobs are going to go to other countries. It's as 
simple as that. The jobs of the 21st century are going to require a 
skill level much different from when you and I got out of college. You 
did get out of college, yes? [Laughter] Look, I don't need to be 
talking; I barely got out myself. [Laughter]
    I mean, face it, we've got to have a different set of skills. 
History may not cut it. Math and science are going to be vital to make 
sure that this country educates the engineers, the chemists, the 
physicists--the

[[Page 753]]

types of folks that John Chambers and Francois are going to be looking 
for to hire. That's what we're really talking about.
    It starts, however, with making sure the public school system does 
its job in early grades. If I might, I'd just like to take a second to 
talk about the spirit behind the No Child Left Behind Act. I believe 
that the Federal Government should continue its role of providing money 
for Title I students, the poor students. I think that is a good use of 
your money.
    However, I do believe that in return for the expenditure of that 
money, it makes sense for us to ask whether or not we're getting our 
money's worth. That means whether or not a child is learning to read and 
write and add and subtract. I believe strongly that every child can 
learn, and therefore, I believe, there must be an accountability system 
in place to make sure that every child is learning.
    And so we passed the No Child Left Behind Act. Believe it or not, it 
was a bipartisan measure. Sometimes that can happen in Washington, DC--
not enough, I fully concede. But it happened in this case, where we 
passed the No Child Left Behind Act that says to California or Texas or 
any other State: ``Develop an accountability system in return for this 
money, to show us whether or not a child can read at grade level by the 
third grade and remain at grade level.'' That's not too much to ask, is 
it?
    And so measurement is a central part, in my judgment, of holding 
people to account, of being able to figure out whether curriculum is 
working. We had all kinds of debates in Texas over the reading 
curriculum--what worked, what didn't work. The best way to determine 
what works is to have an accountability system. And that means the 
Governor or this local school board can say, ``We were doing just fine 
when we compare how we're doing to the school district next door.'' Or 
if you're not doing just fine, it gives, at least, parents and those 
concerned citizens a tool to say, ``You've got to change. Mediocrity is 
unacceptable. We're not going to accept the fact that children can't 
read by the fourth grade anymore in America.''
    If you're a reformer--Chambers is a reformer; he is unwilling to 
accept the status quo; he can't afford to accept the status quo in order 
to be competitive in this world. The accountability system gives people 
the opportunity to say, ``We demand change.''
    Interestingly enough, there is an achievement gap in America, but 
it's narrowing. Our fourth grade African American kids and our fourth 
grade Hispanic kids are beginning to improve in measurable ways, and 
that's really positive for the future of the country. And for the 
teachers who are working hard to meet the challenges of No Child Left 
Behind, the Governor and I both thank you a lot.
    We're doing fine in eighth grade math, by the way, because we 
measure. But when kids start heading into high school, the position of 
the United States relative to other countries for our beginning high 
school kids in math and science is not good enough. Like, we're 15th in 
the world, or something like that. We don't want to be 15th in the 
world; we want to be first in the world when it comes to teaching our 
children math and science.
    So here are some ideas. First, we ought to apply the same rigor to 
math that we've applied to reading. In reading, we measure early, and 
we've got supplemental service money, which means after-school tutorial 
money available for children who are not meeting standards. In other 
words, we measure, and we correct. That makes a lot of sense. We need to 
do the same thing in junior high math. So the Federal Government is 
going to make supplemental service money available for students who are 
falling behind in math right before they get into high school.
    That's one way to correct the problem, is to measure, to identify, 
and to solve. And that's what we intend to do through the new math 
initiative.
    Second, we've got to make sure that we understand what works. And so 
I put together a national math panel with math experts that will help 
develop curriculum and teaching tools so that we can say to the States 
and local school districts, here's what the experts think. Instead of 
kind of grasping for what might be relevant and might work, we're 
actually calling people together who know what they're talking about--
just like we

[[Page 754]]

did in reading--and say, here, here's what you need to try in order to 
meet the standards.
    Thirdly, there are programs which work--and I bet you've got them 
here in California--and it's called the Advanced Placement program. It's 
a program that sets high standards and has classroom rigor. One of the 
problems we have is not enough teachers know how to teach AP. I'm going 
to ask the Congress to fund enough money to help train 70,000 teachers 
so they can become prepared to teach Advanced Placement.
    I went to a great school in Dallas that--inner-city school, it's not 
one of these suburban deals; it's inner-city, and the principal claimed 
that they were the leading high school in the country in terms of kids 
passing AP. You know, Texans tend to, kind of, put it out there in a way 
that--[laughter]. Whether it's first or not, what mattered was, there 
was a group of kids from all walks of life, different neighborhoods, all 
of them passing AP in math and science. They are going to be the leaders 
of the future. They're going to be our scientists and our chemists and 
our physicists. And we've got to make sure that that opportunity is 
available in more classrooms.
    Secondly, we went to a school the other day in suburban Maryland. 
There were two NASA employees there. These guys, as part of their job at 
NASA, were detailed to junior high classroom. And the reason why is--we 
call them adjunct professors--and the reason why is, is that sometimes 
it's not cool to be in the sciences. And these people make it at least 
seem relevant. And so we're going to attract 30,000 adjunct professors 
around the country to go into classrooms to say, ``This is why science 
and math are not only cool but are the ticket to a great future for 
you.''
    We've expanded our Pell grants. There's now 5 million kids in 
America getting Pell grants. It's a million more than 5 years ago. And 
I'm a believer in Pell grants; I think they make sense. But at Tuskegee 
the other day, I announced a new initiative that provides additional 
incentive for high school kids who qualify for Pell grants to take 
rigorous course loads. As a matter of fact, in the first 2 years of 
college, if you take a rigorous course load in high school and maintain 
a 3.0 GPA, you'll get $750--up to $750 additional on your Pell grant and 
up to $1,500 additional in your second year. If you take math and 
science or a critical language in college and maintain a 3.0 GPA, you 
can get up to an additional $4,000 on top of your current Pell grant. 
And the idea is to say that we believe everybody can learn, and there 
ought to be tangible incentives to encourage children to get the skills 
necessary to fill the jobs of the 21st century.
    One of the reasons I'm so pleased the Governor is here is because 
there needs to be a collaborative effort between the Federal Government 
and the State government and the community college system and the 
private sector in order for us to achieve this important national 
objective, and that is for there to be excellence in math and science 
all throughout our society. And so the Governor is here to talk about 
California's role in--to making sure that not only California is 
competitive but that the country is competitive. When California does 
things well, it affects the country. And so when you are a part of this 
competitive initiative, it will help give confidence to others that 
we're doing the right thing.
    And so, welcome. Why don't you share with us some of your thoughts 
about what you're doing here.
    Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Well, thank you, Mr. President. 
First of all, I want to say congratulations on----
    The President. On what?
    Gov. Schwarzenegger. ----on really paying attention----
    The President. Oh. [Laughter]
    Gov. Schwarzenegger. ----to the competitiveness initiative.

[At this point, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California made brief 
remarks.]

    The President. One part of the infrastructure that John Chambers and 
I talked about today was to make sure that broadband is available, high-
speed broadband is available to nearly every American. And we're working 
it hard; we're making progress. I asked John today how we're doing. He 
said, ``There is momentum, but we've got a lot of room to

[[Page 755]]

catch up in terms of being competitive. Others countries are doing--have 
done a better job than we have.''
    We're making progress. And the reason I bring it up is, I just want 
you to know that I know it's important that we've got broadband highways 
all throughout the country so people can have access to it.
    One of the interesting things that the Governor and I just saw was 
some of the amazing innovation that's taking place here in Cisco. So we 
get on--we're looking in the camera, and all of a sudden up comes four 
people, and it's like they're right here. [Laughter] It was an amazing 
innovation that you're doing. And it just reminded me how important 
innovation is and why Cisco is doing well--it's because it's an 
innovative company with innovative people and an innovative CEO.
    And so, again, thanks for having me. I'm interested in your 
thoughts.
    Mr. Chambers. Mr. President, I think you said it right. The economy 
is good; jobs are good; and what we have today is because of our 
education from before. But we use network academies, and we put them 
around the world. It's a program that trains young people for getting 
jobs in the high-tech industry and using it in a practical way.
    The President. Network academy--what does that exactly mean? Some 
guy listening out there isn't going to know----
    Mr. Chambers. Well, there's a little bit of sizzle to it. [Laughter] 
What it is, is it trains people to build that highway that you talked 
about. And it trains people, instead of getting jobs in areas that 
really don't have much demand, you get jobs where there's a lot of 
demand. In fact, we can't meet it in this country. And they usually get 
30 to 50 percent higher pay because they've done that.
    The neat thing is, we're training 100,000 Americans in this area. 
The challenge is----
    The President. Cisco is training----
    Mr. Chambers. ----in network academies, with our colleges and high 
schools--so we generate the program. The challenge, however, is our 
competition globally is even moving faster on the math and science. 
China and India graduate 10 times the number of Ph.D.s we do. They have 
a population four times our size in each of those countries. We all--do 
the math--that creates a challenge for us. So it's about being the best 
and brightest in each of our organizations, and we have one of the 
students here who is just awesome at that. We've got to do better.

    The President. Yes. Again, so you took it upon yourself as an 
interested corporate citizen to provide employees to train others?

    Mr. Chambers. Started with a university system, an idea with one 
single employee, and we wired all of our schools, but nobody maintained 
it. So we began to train the students to maintain the system. It worked 
in one area, and then it spread globally.

    The President. What John said is really interesting. It is very 
important for our citizens to understand that education helps you get 
higher pay.

    Mr. Chambers. And jobs.

    The President. And a job, yes. It's hard to get higher pay without 
the job. [Laughter]

    Mr. Chambers. You got me. [Laughter]

    The President. I know, you're building--[laughter].

    Anyway, but people have got to understand that, one, it's not too 
late to go back to school. And secondly, there's a lot of really 
interesting opportunities to get the skills necessary to have the jobs 
that are going to be available in the 21st century. John Chambers just 
described one such avenue. You're doing 100,000 people--educating 
100,000 people here?

    Mr. Chambers. In this country--400,000 worldwide.

    The President. I appreciate that. One of the interesting things 
about America is the fact that there are corporate citizens who 
understand the problem that America faces, and they're doing their part. 
It's amazing how much training goes on within corporate America, and I 
appreciate your leadership on this. And I hope others who are interested 
in making sure this country is competitive do their part, as well, to 
reach out and train people. Use your skills and your expertise to give 
people the skills necessary, so we can remain a competitive nation.

    I suspect here in Silicon Valley there's a lot of job training going 
on, which is really important.

[[Page 756]]

    Mr. Chambers. There is. We train locally, but we also are taking 
something, Mr. President, I think you would find extremely interesting. 
We took the terrible hurricane experience in our gulf coast, and we're 
working with Mississippi to redo their education system. We're putting 
$40 million of our own money into building a 21st century education 
system. We'll start with 52,000 students, 7 school districts, and take 
one of the States whose probably 49th in terms of math and science and 
see if we can't make an example of where it goes, with the teachers 
becoming the innovators, with the students not having--[inaudible]. 
We'll put a wireless mesh over top of the whole community. And, 
literally, building our students not just to catch up but to lead in 
math and science.
    The President. I appreciate it. It's a great gesture, thanks.
    Added value in education can come in all different ways, as I said. 
And one such place is in our community college system. You've got a 
great community college system here in California. I know you're a 
strong supporter. Dr. Fong is with us, who is--tell us what you do, Doc. 
[Laughter]
    Bernadine Chuck Fong. A lot of things.
    The President. Well, you're the president of?
    Ms. Fong. I'm president of Foothill College in Los Altos Hills. It's 
right near here.
    The President. Right. Close friend, by the way, of Condoleezza Rice.
    Ms. Fong. That's right--and Stanford buddies.
    The President. She's doing well.
    Dr. Fong. Yes, she is. [Laughter] Please say hello to her for me. 
And we'll keep her out of the NFL, if possible.
    The President. That's right, yes. Please. [Laughter] I need her 
advice. [Laughter]

[Ms. Fong made brief remarks.]

    The President. Explain the academy, how Cisco works with you. I 
think people will be interested in this--I'm interested in it. 
[Laughter]
    Ms. Fong. The Cisco Academy is basically a degree program, and they 
will get a degree in network enterprise, and they will also get a Cisco 
certificate, and it trains individuals. We start, actually, with high 
school students. You've met two our students today who are Foothill 
students, but they're actually, currently also enrolled in high school. 
They want to be computer engineers ultimately, but they wanted to get a 
head start, so they're in our Cisco Academy.

[Ms. Fong made further remarks.]

    The President. And it's called Cisco Academy because you helped 
design the curriculum?
    Mr. Chambers. We designed the curriculum, but it's implemented 
through the colleges and high schools. There is no social promotion. The 
grades--everyone knows how you compare both within the States and 
globally.
    The President. See, what's interesting about the community 
colleges--and I know the Governor knows this--is that they're about as 
market oriented as you can get. Community colleges are available; 
they're very flexible. In other words, the curricula can adjust 
depending upon the local needs. They're innovative. They're willing to 
take a Cisco program, implement it in the community college. They're 
very practical. In other words, they train people for jobs which 
actually exist.
    And it's--[laughter]--it's vital, and I appreciate it. And I know 
the Governor understands that, and we understand at the Federal level. 
We've got pretty good grant money--$150 million in the '07 budget, 
coming to help train workers. I just want people to understand that if 
you're wondering whether or not you're too old to go back to college, 
you're not. There is plenty of money available to help you go back. And 
2 years of additional education can enhance your salary a lot. It makes 
you more productive, and a more productive worker is one whose standard 
of living will go up.
    The community college system is, I think, one of America's greatest 
treasures, and I appreciate you, Dr. Fong, for being here. Thanks for 
your--[applause].
    Ms. Fong. Well, the Governor is also a product of our community 
college system.
    The President. Is he?
    Gov. Schwarzenegger. Absolutely, yes. Actually, I also want to just 
add that our community colleges are doing an extraordinary

[[Page 757]]

job with career tech and vocational education. It's really amazing the 
kind of things that they do. Because I think it is so important to 
recognize that, yes, we want to stress 4-year college, and, yes, we want 
to inspire kids to go to higher education and all this. But there are 
many kids that want to do--get into different professions. They want to 
be a carpenter or plumber, or they want to be a chef or a computer 
technician or a nurse--great professions with a great future and great 
salaries and all this. I think that community colleges here in the State 
are really doing an extraordinary job to prepare them for those jobs.
    The President. Good. Thank you. Good job.
    Temp Keller.
    Temp Keller. Yes, Mr. President.
    The President. You know, you probably don't want to answer this 
question, but, like, how does a guy get named ``Temp''? [Laughter]
    Mr. Keller. She's actually sitting right over there in the third 
row.
    The President. Is she? [Laughter] Well, that's a good answer. You 
know what, I'll just wait and ask her behind the stage. [Laughter]
    Welcome. Tell people what you do. Tell people what you have done 
with your program. It's really interesting.
    Mr. Keller. It would be my honor, and thank you all for having me.
    I'm the founder and president of an organization called RISE: 
Resources for Indispensable Schools and Educators. And the fundamental 
idea behind RISE is we are going to revolutionize the way that this 
country recognizes and retains good, effective teachers in public 
schools serving low-income communities.

[Mr. Keller made further remarks.]

    The President. And so how does your deal work?
    Mr. Keller. What we do--two very simple things. We essentially, one, 
identify good, effective teachers in low-income communities. Now, I'm 
sure there's a lot of people here in the room and listening that say, 
``Well, that's not an easy thing to do.''
    The way that we do it, though, and what makes RISE truly innovative 
and truly unique is that we ask teachers. We say to them, ``How do you 
know you're any good at what you do? You went into teaching to make a 
difference. Demonstrate that you're making a difference.''

[Mr. Keller made further remarks.]

    The President. Nothing better than being around a social 
entrepreneur. [Laughter]
    Mr. Keller. That's right.
    The President. Here's your chance. How do you raise money? 
[Laughter]
    Mr. Keller. Well----
    The President. Does corporate California support your program?
    Mr. Keller. They do. We have----
    The President. It's in corporate California's interest that you 
succeed.

[Mr. Keller made further remarks.]

    The President. God, I love a guy who is enthusiastic about what he's 
doing. [Laughter] Thanks. By the way, I also know East Palo Alto. 
Vermeil, my buddy Vermeil. Actually, the students came to the South Lawn 
one time. It's a great school. Thanks, thanks for doing what you're 
doing.
    Francois, step up to the mike here, my man.

[Francois Henley, president and chief executive officer, Silicon Genesis 
Corporation, made brief remarks.]

    The President. We want people coming here, or who live here, to feel 
comfortable starting their own business. I love the fact that I am the 
President of a country where people can start with nothing except an 
idea and desire and hard work, and end up owning your own business. And 
Arnold is right--we've got to make sure the environment for 
entrepreneurship remains strong throughout our country if we want to be 
on the leading edge.
     How fantastic is it that a guy comes from Montreal to realize his 
dreams? And you're employing people--who knows, you may hit on the thing 
that makes solar energy the source--I actually believe, one of these 
days, we're going to have homes that become little power generating 
units unto themselves, and if you don't use electricity, you'll feed it 
back into the grid. And maybe you're the guy. Maybe one of these days--
[laughter]. Don't

[[Page 758]]

take this marketing too far, you know. [Laughter] One camera bank, and 
he goes crazy. [Laughter]
     Thanks for coming. I love your story. Good luck. I wish you all the 
best.
     He talked about patents. Basically he's talking about making sure 
it's easy to protect his ideas. What also I want you to know that I 
talked to President Hu Jintao about--and I know John Chambers says, as 
well, over in China--is we expect the same treatment for our products 
that are patented here in the United States, overseas. Intellectual 
property rights is a vital part of making sure a trading world is a fair 
trading world. And I spent time yesterday with the President, in a very 
respectful way, but a firm way, reminding him that if he's to be a good 
trading partner with the United States, that when Cisco sells a product 
there or Francois eventually sells a product there, that property needs 
to be--that intellectual property inherent in that property needs to be 
protected and respected.
    Final person. We're saving probably the best for the last, wouldn't 
you say, Arash? [Laughter]
    Arash Shokouh. Absolutely. Thank you, Mr. President. [Laughter] 
That's right.
    The President. You are a dash student?
    Mr. Shokouh. Yes.
    The President. Where?
    Mr. Shokouh. I'm a computer engineering student at San Jose State 
University. I'm also minoring in mathematics, as well as film acting.
    The President. Interesting. [Laughter] I got the strategy. 
[Laughter] Why did you major in the first two subjects? [Laughter]
    Mr. Shokouh. That's the first time I've been asked that. [Laughter] 
Well, I decided to do computer engineering because all my life I've been 
a complete computer nerd, always playing with computers, electronics, 
taking them apart, destroying them. I mean, my parents wouldn't really 
let me go too close to the television without somebody to supervise, but 
that's basically why. [Laughter]
    The President. And your dreams?
    Mr. Shokouh. I hope to, after I graduate from San Jose State 
University, I want to go on to pursue an MBA degree and hopefully start 
a small business designing consumer electronics components--plan A. Plan 
B, to go into a small startup where I can help lead the direction of the 
product, design the product.
    The President. And so, when did you start having this kind of notion 
about where your life would like to go?

[Mr. Shokouh made brief remarks.]

    The President. You know what's interesting--why don't you tell folks 
your family history real quick, if you don't mind.
    Mr. Shokouh. Absolutely. I'm an Iranian American, and my parents, 
who are sitting right back there, are from Iran. My mom and dad came 
here at around 1980, and me and my sister were born here in San Jose.
    The President. I love America, a country that welcomes people. We've 
got to be a welcoming society. And our soul is renewed when people 
escape societies that can be really repressive and have a son like 
Arash, who sits here with the President and the Governor, talking about 
dreams. See, this is a country that has always got to be a place where 
people can dream big dreams and achieve them.
    The question facing America is, will we lose our confidence and 
become an isolated nation? Will we lose our confidence and our ability 
to compete in the global marketplace and become a protectionist nation? 
And the answer is, absolutely not. We will not lose our confidence. And 
here is part of our strategy to make sure that the United States of 
America continues to be the leader. And it's important for people to 
understand that being the economic leader of the world means that it's 
more likely you'll have a better job, and it's more likely you'll be 
able to realize your dreams, and it's more likely our standard of living 
will continue to rise.
    And that's the challenge ahead of us. It truly is. And I want to 
thank those who are here to help make the case why our citizens have got 
to be confident about the United States of America's place in the world 
and why we should never relinquish our standing in the world because we 
fear the future. We welcome it. We welcome competition, and we know 
we've got to put a strategy in place to be able to deal with that 
competition. And

[[Page 759]]

you're hearing the foundation for that strategy here today.
    I want to thank you all for lending your expertise. Thanks for 
joining me. God bless you all.

Note: The President spoke at 1:57 p.m. In his remarks, he referred to 
John T. Chambers, president and chief executive officer, Cisco Systems, 
Inc.; George Scalise, member, President's Council of Advisors on Science 
and Technology; Lezlee Westine, Deputy Assistant to the President and 
Director of Public Liaison; and Donald E. Vermeil, member, J. William 
Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. The transcript released by the 
Office of the Press Secretary also included the remarks of Gov. 
Schwarzenegger. These remarks were not received in time for publication 
in the appropriate issue.