[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 28 (Monday, July 16, 2007)]
[Pages 914-920]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks to the White House Conference on the Americas in Arlington, 
Virginia

July 9, 2007

    The President. Thank you all. Please be seated. Thanks for coming 
today. In my recent trip down to Central and South America, I told the 
folks that we were going to host a conference here in Washington, a 
conference to promote best practices, which really says, how best can 
the United States help people in our neighborhood.
    Laura and I had a magnificent trip to Central and South America. It 
reminded me of the importance of having a peaceful and prosperous 
neighborhood. It's in our interests, in the interests of the United 
States that our neighborhood be healthy and educated. And so this 
conference is an attempt to bring together key people of my 
administration and faith-based groups and private sector groups from the 
United States, as well as our neighborhood, to discuss how we can work 
together to promote social justice, to help people realize a better life 
through good education and good health care.
    I do thank members of my administration who have joined us. I 
understand after this event there's going to be a series of breakout 
groups, led by members of my Cabinet--Hank Paulson is here, the 
Secretary of the Treasury. As a matter of fact, he's heading down to, I 
think, Brazil tomorrow. Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, Secretary of 
Commerce, will be leading a group. Mike Leavitt will lead a breakout 
session--he's the Secretary of Health and Human Services; and then 
Margaret Spellings, who is the Secretary of Education. I think you're 
going to find these folks to be concerned, compassionate Americans who 
care about the lives of our citizens in our neighborhood. And I 
appreciate them, certainly.
    And then you get a speech from my wife, which is, like, really smart 
to have her speak. [Laughter] You're stuck with the B team right now, 
and then the A team will be coming for--[laughter].
    I want to thank all the folks who have joined us. Thanks for coming. 
As you can see, we've got an interesting way of making a variety of 
points. What I hope to accomplish at this breakout session is to, first, 
explain to our fellow citizens how important it is that the United 
States be active in the neighborhood in which we live.
    Secondly--and, by the way, thanks, ambassadors, for coming. I 
appreciate you all being here. It's very kind of you to take time out of 
your busy schedules to be here. We're honored you're here. Secondly, 
it's important for us--for me to explain to our fellow citizens some of 
the work we're doing in the neighborhood. I think our citizens will be 
pleased to know, for example, that we're working very hard to get trade 
agreements through our Congress, because the best way to help defeat 
poverty is to encourage commerce and trade.
    We've got trade agreements we've reached with Peru and Panama and 
Colombia. It's really important for the United States Congress to pass 
these trade agreements. If you're interested in prosperity in our 
neighborhood, if you want to help improve the lives of others, then the 
United States Congress must honor the agreements we've negotiated with 
these important countries and pass this legislation.

[[Page 915]]

    I'd like to see the Peruvian deal done by the beginning of August. 
They've got time to get the bill done. Members of Congress have got 
ample days on the calendar to pass this important piece of legislation 
so we can send the clear signal to our neighborhood that we want you to 
be prosperous; that we want to help you realize your potential through 
trade with the United States of America. Trade agreements are good for 
both sides--it's good for U.S. workers, and it's good for Peruvian, 
Colombian, or Panamanian workers. And it's in our interest to promote 
trade.
    Secondly, we're doing a lot to promote health. One symbol of our 
commitment is a Navy medical ship called the Comfort that is traveling 
the region but, more importantly, is providing basic and sophisticated 
health care to people in need. I mean, the United States, we're strong, 
no question about it, but our greatest strength is our hearts. Tenemos 
corazones grandes aqui en este pais. We care deeply about the plight of 
other people, and when we see their suffering, we want to help. And the 
Comfort is a way for us to send a clear message that we care about the 
people that live in the neighborhood that we occupy together.
    You know, Laura and I had an amazing experience in Guatemala. That's 
Maria's country. We went to the highlands. We first saw a small-business 
guy, who was formerly a subsistence farmer who put together a 
cooperative of fellow farmers that now have got access to the U.S. 
markets, and they're making a living. The most important thing was, he 
said, ``I'm saving money so my child can get a higher education.''
    But we also went to an outpost where the U.S. military was providing 
basic health care for people. Now, we've expanded on that health care 
initiative by setting up a nurse's training center in Panama. That's 
what Leavitt will be discussing, Secretary Leavitt. The reason I bring 
this up is that we understand how important it is for people to have 
good health. We understand that a healthy society is one that will--is 
one in which people will be more likely to realize their full God-given 
potential. And we want to help, and we want to be involved. And part of 
our discussions today will be how best to--how best can the United 
States and faith-based groups and private groups and NGOs work 
collaboratively to achieve important objectives.
    A third objective is education. As I mentioned, Margaret Spellings 
will be here. She's the Secretary of Education. But the United States is 
deeply involved in people-to-people projects, all aimed at improving 
literacy. We believe strongly in helping teachers teach, and therefore, 
teacher schools make a lot of sense. But the purpose of the groups 
today--of this meeting today is to help us better focus our resources 
and do a better job of helping people in our neighborhood realize their 
potential.
    I happen to be a person who does believe in an Almighty, and I 
believe the Almighty implants in each soul great human potential. And 
it's in our interest to help people realize their full potential. And 
two ways to do so--and two practical ways to do so is for the United 
States to be involved in health issues as well as education issues, and 
we are. And we're spending a fair amount of taxpayers' monies to achieve 
those objectives. And so one of my objectives is to explain to the 
American people, it's in your interest to help people in our 
neighborhood become better educated, and it's in your interest that we 
help people get good health care because a healthy and educated and 
prosperous neighborhood is in the long-term interests of the United 
States.
    It is also in our interest to help a neighbor in need. It renews our 
soul. It lifts our collective spirit. I believe to whom much is given, 
much is required. We've been given a lot as a nation, and therefore, I 
believe we're required to help--help people realize their potential.
    So that's why I've come. I've also come to hear some of the folks on 
our panel. You're probably glad I'm about to quit talking so you can 
hear some of the folks on the panel too. We're going to start with 
Shannon. He's worked for me at the NSC in the White House, now is at the 
State Department. He is the main guy when it comes to South and Latin 
America--I don't know if that's a diplomatic term, ``main guy,'' or not. 
[Laughter]

[[Page 916]]

    Assistant Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere Tom Shannon. 
It works for me, sir.
    The President. That's right. Welcome.

[At this point, Assistant Secretary Shannon made brief remarks.]

    The President. Yes, thank you, Thomas.
    Before I call on Maria, I do want to say something about our 
expectations, and that is, we expect governments to be of and by and for 
the people. We don't--and we expect governments to be honest and 
transparent and open. We reject the notion that it's okay for there to 
be corruption in government. We really believe that open, transparent 
societies are those that lead to hopeful tomorrows.
    And so part of our foreign policy--for example, through the 
Millennium Challenge Account--is to set expectations, expectations that 
most people want: the expectation of a government that invests in the 
health and education of her people; the expectation that there will be 
no corruption, that there will be transparency, that people will be able 
to express themselves in an open forum without fear of reprisal.
    And so, no question we want to be involved on the people-to-people 
programs, but we also have the objective of enhancing good government as 
well, which we believe strongly will lead to more hopeful futures.
    Anyway, Maria is here. Where are you from, Maria?
    Maria Pacheco. I'm from Guatemala.
    The President. Que bueno. Bienvenidos.
    Ms. Pacheco. Muchas gracias.
    The President. And so what do you do for a living?

[Ms. Pacheco, founder and general manager, Kiej de los Bosques, S.A., 
made brief remarks.]

    The President. Por favor. You speak in English, and I'll speak in 
Spanish. [Laughter]
    Ms. Pacheco. Bueno. Esta bien.
    The President. Except I'll ruin the language, and you won't. 
[Laughter]

[Ms. Pacheco made further remarks.]

    The President. Let me ask you a question. So, you started this group 
initially to--what's the name of it?
    Ms. Pacheco. Kiej de los Bosques.
    The President. Si. [Laughter]
    Ms. Pacheco. It's a Mayan word. [Laughter]
    The President. You started it when, in 2001?
    Ms. Pacheco. In 2004.

    The President. In 2004, good. How many members?
    Ms. Pacheco. We have--well, there's 22 people in the company, but 
we're working now with more than a thousand women in Guatemala from 
different regions.

    The President. Yes. So, lesson one, by the way, there is such thing 
as social entrepreneurs. It is somebody who says, ``I'm going to help 
somebody else,'' and takes time, talent, energy, and as a result, you're 
affecting a thousand lives--a thousand primary interfaces, which 
affects, no telling, how many lives.

    One of the messages, I hope, that comes out of this meeting is that 
you can make a difference. It doesn't take much. And as a matter of 
fact, societies change one heart at a time, and therefore, if you're one 
of those persons changing hearts, you're part of societal change for the 
better.

    And so I hope that we can inspire our fellow citizens to become 
involved with the NGOs or the faith-based groups or the community-based 
groups, all helping our neighborhood, and hopefully inspire people, like 
in Guatemala, to step up and do the same thing that Maria has done.

    So, are you pretty upbeat? Optimistic? Pessimistic? Tell me how 
you're looking these days.

[Ms. Pacheco made further remarks.]

    The President. I appreciate it. Look, it's very important for my 
fellow citizens to understand that when we open up markets in a fair 
way--in other words, we treat our producers the same as producers in 
other countries--it benefits us. It particularly helps lift people out 
of poverty. And that's what we want. We want people prosperous in your 
neighborhood. If you're living in a neighborhood, you want there to be 
prosperity in your neighborhood. So I appreciate you bringing

[[Page 917]]

up the importance of markets and providing--giving people just a basic 
opportunities in life, and it will make it--it's a transforming 
strategy. And so thanks for coming.
    Maria, it says here you're an organic farmer.
    Ms. Pacheco. Yes, I was an organic farmer for 12 years.
    The President. What were you farming?
    Ms. Pacheco. I was farming vegetables.
    The President. Vegetables, yes. I'm not big on vegetables, but 
thanks. [Laughter]
    Ms. Pacheco. Broccoli especially. [Laughter]
    The President. Don't tell my mother that. But thank you very much 
for coming.
    Ms. Pacheco. Thank you, Mr. President.
    The President. Yes, I appreciate your time.
    Matthew, what do you do?
    Matthew N. Clausen. I work for Partners of the Americas.
    The President. And what is that?
    Mr. Clausen. Partners of the Americas is an organization--we've been 
around for over 40 years now, and we connect people with other people in 
our hemisphere.
    The President. Really. What does that mean, connect people with 
other people?
    Mr. Clausen. It means we have volunteer groups in almost every State 
of the U.S. that are partnered with similar groups in almost every 
country in the region.
    The President. That's great.

[Mr. Clausen, vice president for partnership development, Partners of 
the Americas, made brief remarks.]

    The President. So are you looking for volunteers?
    Mr. Clausen. We are always looking for volunteers.
    The President. And how would one who might be interested in 
volunteering find information about ways to help? Do you have a web 
site, for example?
    Mr. Clausen. We do. We have partners.net, is a great place to start.
    The President. Partners.net. What would one find there?

[Mr. Clausen made further remarks.]

    The President. So what happens if somebody wanted to become a 
teacher for the summer or wanted to take a trip, and part of the 
experience of the trip was to make an impact on somebody's life? Can 
they find that kind of program on your web site?

[Mr. Clausen made further remarks.]

    The President. And so is there a common web site? Do we have a web 
site, for example, as a result of the meeting? I might ask my friend 
Karen Hughes to think about this. She probably has already thought about 
it, knowing her--and that is to think maybe about a listing of different 
ways our fellow citizens can get involved in helping different programs, 
either financially or through time and effort. Maybe we ought to think 
about that. I know you already have.
    Good, thanks. Anything else you want to say, Matthew, while you've 
got the floor here?
    Mr. Clausen. Well, I can't pass up that opportunity.
    The President. Here's your chance, man. [Laughter]

[Mr. Clausen made further remarks.]

    The President. Thank you. A healthy society is one in which people 
are responsible for their behaviors. A healthy capitalist society is one 
in which corporate America, in this case, is responsible for--becomes a 
responsible citizen. And we have got such a soul here in Vivian Alegria. 
She is from Mexico.
    Vivian Alegria. Yes.
    The President. Welcome. You work for?
    Ms. Alegria. For the Coca-Cola Foundation in Mexico.
    The President. Coca-Cola Foundation. And what does the Coca-Cola 
Foundation do?

[Ms. Alegria, director, Coca-Cola Foundation, Mexico, made brief 
remarks.]

    The President. So you're building schools?

[Ms. Alegria made further remarks.]

    The President. I think one of the things that our citizens have got 
to understand here, there's a lot of corporate America that are very 
much involved in the communities, of which they're active. And that's 
important.

[[Page 918]]

And I would encourage our companies that do business in the neighborhood 
to understand that it's one thing to sell a product, it's another thing 
to help people be able to buy the product and become involved in the 
communities in which they're doing business. And I'm confident a lot of 
our companies are. I know Microsoft, for example, is very much involved 
with education programs. Laura and I are working on a very important 
initiative to help eradicate malaria in parts of the world, and 
corporate America is helping there too. So for those of you who 
represent corporate America, thanks for coming, and thanks for being 
involved.
    And if you're not, get involved. It will not only help your 
business, it will help your country, because I want to keep saying this 
over and over again, an objective of our country and this Government is 
for there to be a healthy, educated, and prosperous neighborhood. It's 
in our interests. America does better when people in the neighborhood in 
which we live are feeling better, can read better, and are making more 
money. Prosperity is--and health and education are just essential to a 
peaceful community around us.
    Anyway, so thanks for coming, Vivian. It's good to see you.
    Gilberto. You are from Brazil. Great country.
    Gilberto Dimenstein. Great country. Great, great country.
    The President. I'm proud to report that relations with Brazil are 
improving a lot. I've got a very close relationship with President Lula; 
we've worked hard to make it that way. And one of the interesting 
initiatives we're working on is a alternative fuel initiative, where the 
United States and Brazil can work and share technologies, not only 
between our two countries but in the neighborhood, so that we can all 
become less dependent on oil.
    And anyway so relations are good. And so, what do you do for a 
living, Gilberto?
    Mr. Dimenstein. So, I'm a journalist.
    The President. A journalist? That's good. [Laughter]
    Mr. Dimenstein. Very good?
    The President. Yes.
    Mr. Dimenstein. Or not very good?
    The President. No, it's great, believe me. [Laughter] Isn't it? Yes. 
[Laughter]

[Mr. Dimenstein, founder and academic director, Associacao Cidade Escola 
Aprendiz, made brief remarks, concluding as follows.]

    Mr. Dimenstein. And then the almost last 20 years, I've been writing 
about violence against kids and the lessons in Brazil----
    The President. Thank you. Thank you.

[Mr. Dimenstein made further remarks.]

    The President. Fantastic. And when you say countrywide, first, 
you've got a big country. This will be promoted by the Federal 
Government in cooperation with the private--with your group----

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

    Mr. Dimenstein. And we've learned that when we put people together, 
it's very easy to make the education improve. One instance, we create 
one model, the neighborhood that I live because I believe if you want to 
change the world, first try to change your neighborhood.
    The President. That's right.

[Mr. Dimenstein made further remarks.]

    The President. So part of the purpose of this gathering is to 
analyze best practices. And by that I mean what works. Gilberto has just 
described a program that works, and hopefully somebody will be inspired 
by this idea and try it out in another part of our neighborhood.
    And so I appreciate you coming. Thanks for bring something that----
    Mr. Dimenstein. Thank you very much for the invitation.
    The President. You're not only a social entrepreneur, you're an 
educational entrepreneur. And we appreciate your vision and your hard 
work to make your country a better place.
    An individual can make a significant difference in the life--in 
somebody else's life. And when you can motivate and encourage millions 
of individuals to make a difference in somebody's life, then the impact 
becomes pretty profound. And here's an example of one fellow who is 
working hard to improve his country. Thanks for coming.

[[Page 919]]

    Dr. Marie. How are you, Doc?
    Marie Marcelle Deschamps. I'm doing fine, thank you. It's an honor 
to be here.
    The President. What kind of doctor are you?

[Dr. Deschamps, technical director, Haitan Study Group on Kaposi's 
Sarcoma and Opportunistic Infections, made brief remarks.]

    The President. So she's from Haiti, obviously. She's a doc. She's 
deeply concerned about HIV/AIDS and malaria.
    You know, our Government and the people--the generosity of the 
Americans, American people can be--as manifested by just money, spending 
money. Up to now we have talked about how American citizens spend time 
and effort to help improve lives. We also spend money. And this is an 
area where I feel very strongly that America should be involved and make 
a difference, and that is fighting the pandemic of HIV/AIDS and dealing 
with malaria.
    And so, to this end, I'm asking Congress for $30 billion expenditure 
over the next 5 years. She mentioned PEPFAR. That's, like, initials for 
the AIDS initiative, and we're making a big difference.
    The reason I bring this up again is that--I'm not bragging, I'm just 
telling the American taxpayer that through your hard work and your tax 
dollars, we're helping programs like Maria's that are saving lives. We 
can measure the lives being saved. We can measure the amount of 
antiretroviral drugs ending up in people's systems. We can measure how 
many different groups there are involved. This is an area, for example, 
where the faith-based community has made a significant difference, not 
only in our own hemisphere but in other affected countries as well.
    Maria mentioned that it's amazing what happens when they start 
networking; when one group attracts another group, that attracts another 
group, and all of a sudden, there's a grassroots organization in place 
to deal with this terrible pandemic.
    And so I want to thank you for going back to your country, for 
lending your skills to help solve a significant problem that can be--
that at least, we can arrest the race. At least we can help--and we save 
children through the mother-to-child transmission--programs that prevent 
that transmission of AIDS.
    So, good going.
    Dr. Deschamps. Thank you. Thank you.
    The President. Yes. You upbeat? You feeling all right about things?

[Dr. Deschamps made further remarks.]

    The President. That's one thing that Secretary Paulson's going to 
discuss in the break-out session that he is going to be leading, and 
that is, our view of the importance of microloans--microcredit, as a way 
to help people, again, help themselves and realize their potential. So 
thanks for coming.
    Dr. Deschamps. Thank you.
    The President. Glad you're here.
    Dr. Deschamps. Thank you.
    The President. Our last panelist is John Howe, formerly of the great 
State of Texas. Once a Texan, always a Texan, John. [Laughter] He is the 
president and CEO of Project HOPE. Why don't you explain what that is 
and tell us what you're doing.

[John P. Howe III, made brief remarks, concluding as follows.]

    Dr. Howe. We're legally chartered here in Washington as the People-
to-People Foundation, doing business as Project HOPE.
    The President. Good.

[Dr. Howe made further remarks.]

    The President. Thanks, John. You know, it's interesting, our country 
has got certain images that--some are true, some aren't true. And it's 
very important, as part of our diplomacy, diplomatic effort on behalf of 
the American citizens, to remind people about some of the great generous 
acts that our citizens are doing. And they do it out of the goodness of 
their hearts. There's nothing better than being a volunteer. It's 
probably one of the great acts of kindness that somebody can do, is to 
volunteer to save somebody's life or just to add a little love in 
somebody's heart.
    And we've got millions of our citizens who do that on a daily basis 
here at home. And it's in our interest that citizens who so want to can 
do that outside, in our neighborhood. And part of the purpose of having 
this gathering today is to remind our citizens of that

[[Page 920]]

which we're doing and to call upon our citizens, if they've got time, to 
help somebody in need. As you said, the doctor from Wyoming benefited 
just as much as the woman in Guatemala did. And that's the beauty of 
giving.
    And so I thank you all for joining today. Our panelists did a 
magnificent job, like I knew they would. I thank you all very much for 
your interest in coming. To my fellow citizens, I appreciate you taking 
time. I appreciate you being involved. Thank you for caring about the 
plight of our fellow human beings in the neighborhood in which we live. 
For those of you from other countries, welcome to America. You'll find 
this to be a loving country, full of decent, caring, fine people. And it 
is an honor to be the President of such a country.
    Que Dios les bendiga. May God bless you. Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 10:30 a.m. at the Hyatt Regency Crystal 
City at Reagan National Airport. In his remarks, he referred to Mariano 
Canu, cofounder, Labradores Mayas; and President Luiz Inacio Lula da 
Silva of Brazil. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a 
Spanish language transcript of these remarks.