pd05au02 Digest of Other White House Announcements...

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September the 11th, the more likely it is people would forget the 
horror. But the coalition is still strong. And the reason it's strong is 
because the American people are strong. The American people are united; 
the American people are resolved. The American people understand the 
stakes, that we're fighting for freedom itself, that we're fighting for 
civilization.
    A good example of that came in the Philippines a while ago. The 
President of the Philippines asked for some help, would we help her--she 
asked if we'd help her train some of her troops, and I said, ``You bet. 
Either you're with us, or you're with the other guys, and we're willing 
to help.'' And as a result of the bravery of the Philippine troops and 
the skill of our troops training them, they brought to justice, in the 
ultimate way, the leader of the Abu Sayyaf * group, which is an Al-
Qaida-related organization.
    * White House correction.
    In other words, what I'm telling you is, is that we're denying them 
sanctuary. We routed them out of--we routed the Taliban. If you harbor a 
terrorist, you're a terrorist. The Taliban found out what we meant. We 
got them on the run. Sometimes they light, and we figure out where they 
are, and the brave United States military will chase them down. 
Sometimes they're scrambling around. But wherever they try to go, we're 
going to get them, no matter how long it takes, because you see, history 
has called us into action. This is a defining moment. The 21st century 
will be decided as to how the United States responds. And so long as I'm 
the President, we're going to respond in a determined, focused, 
effective way--by defending freedom, no matter what the cost.
    And that includes understanding we cannot let the world's worst 
leaders blackmail the United States or our friends and allies with the 
world's worst weapons. And so I want to share with you my thinking. My 
thinking is, we owe it to our children and our grandchildren to do 
everything we can to disrupt known terrorist groups, to find folks that 
think they want to team up with terrorist groups, that we owe it to our 
future to use our standing and our might and our wealth to define the 
21st century as one which will be peaceful and hopeful and, most 
importantly, free.
    Out of the evil done to America is going to come some incredible 
good. I truly believe that. I can say that with confidence. I believe 
that, when we remain strong and forceful and tough and resolved, that we 
can bring peace not only to the United States but into parts of the 
world which may never dream they'll have peace. I believe, by the United 
States taking a leading role and standing on principle and speaking 
clearly, that we can help achieve peace in the Middle East or in South 
Asia. You need to go home and tell your kids or your grandkids that the 
reason we fight the way we fight is because of peace. And this can 
happen, and I believe it will happen.
    And here at home, you've got to understand--and I know you do--that 
in spite of our wealth, in spite of our prosperity, there are pockets of 
despair and pockets of hopelessness, pockets of addiction, pockets where 
people say, ``America's not meant for me.'' But I believe out of the 
evil done to America, this good will happen: that our fellow citizens 
will understand that by loving a neighbor like they'd like to be loved 
themselves, they can help eradicate that despair; that by unleashing the 
great faith-based institutions which exist all across America, we can 
bring hope where there's darkness; by calling upon the best of America, 
the great character of the American citizens, the understanding that 
when one of us suffers, all of us suffers, that we can change this 
country one heart, one soul, one conscience at a time.
    You saw the great spirit of America recently in Pennsylvania. When 
their miners were trapped, people prayed for their deliverance. 
Americans spent hours trying to figure out how best to save those 
miners, came up with a plan, successfully got each and every one of them 
out. I want to thank God for the prayers of the American people for 
helping them, and thank God for their savior--their saving. That's the 
kind of country we live in. It's a country fundamentally strong and 
great.
    I believe out of the evil done to America, the culture of our 
country is changing from one which has said, ``If it feels good, go 
ahead and do it, to--if you've got a problem blame

[[Page 1282]]

somebody else,'' to a culture which says, ``Each of us are responsible 
for the decisions we make in life.''
    You see, there's an understanding after September the 11th, after 
the evil people hit us, that serving something greater than yourself is 
a part of being a patriotic American. That came home most clearly to me, 
most vividly to me, when I heard the story of Flight 93, where average 
Americans were flying across the land. They found out their plane was 
going to be a weapon. They told their loved ones they loved them. They 
said a prayer. One guy said, ``Let's roll.'' They took the plane in the 
ground to serve something greater than themselves in life. That example 
will shine brightly for a lot of Americans, including me, that in order 
to be an American, in order to understand and help people realize the 
full potential of our country, it's important to serve something greater 
than yourself. Now, out of the evil done to America is going to come 
incredible good, because this is such a good and compassionate and 
decent country.
    Thank you all for coming to help Mark. May God bless you all, and 
may God bless America.

Note: The President spoke at 12:30 p.m. at the North Charleston 
Convention Center. In his remarks, he referred to Iris Campbell, wife of 
former Gov. Carroll Campbell of South Carolina; Ann Edwards, wife of 
former Gov. Jim Edwards of South Carolina; David H. Wilkins, speaker, 
South Carolina House of Representatives, and his wife, Margaret Susan 
Wilkins; Gov. Jim Hodges of South Carolina; and President Gloria 
Macapagal-Arroyo of the Philippines.


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[Page 1282]
 
Pages 1271-1300
 
Week Ending Friday, August 2, 2002
 
Statement on Proposed Legislation To Implement the Clear Skies 
Initiative

July 29, 2002

    Today I am pleased to announce that Environmental Protection 
Administrator Whitman has submitted legislation to Congress to implement 
the Clear Skies Initiative I proposed in February. Since February, my 
administration has been working to develop legislation that meets our 
common commitment to cleaner air for all Americans. I also am pleased 
that Chairman Billy Tauzin and Chairman Joe Barton introduced this 
legislation in the House on Friday and that Senator Bob Smith will 
introduce it in the Senate today on behalf of the administration. Clear 
Skies will cut powerplant emissions by 70 percent--much further, faster, 
more certainly, and more cost-effectively than current law.
    America has made significant progress over the last 30 years in our 
quest for cleaner air, and we have learned a lot about what approaches 
work best. Now is the time to put those lessons to use. Building upon 
the success of our most effective clean air program, we have crafted a 
new ``Clean Air Act'' for the 21st century, one that will do more to 
clean up emissions from powerplants than ever before. In the next decade 
alone, Clear Skies will eliminate 35 million more tons of pollution than 
the current Clean Air Act, bringing cleaner air to millions of 
Americans. Clear Skies will also help save our forests, lakes, streams, 
and coastal waters from acid rain and nitrogen and mercury deposition. 
And Clear Skies will do this through the use of a market-based system 
that guarantees results while keeping electricity prices affordable for 
the American people. Administrator Whitman and I look forward to working 
with Congress to deliver the health and environmental benefits promised 
by passage of Clear Skies legislation.


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[Page 1282-1283]
 
Pages 1271-1300
 
Week Ending Friday, August 2, 2002
 
Proclamation 7581--The Bicentennial of the United States Patent and 
Trademark Office, 2002

 July 29, 2002

 By the President of the United States

 of America

 A Proclamation

    For two centuries, the United States Patent Office has played a 
vital role in the scientific, technical, and economic development of our 
Nation by granting inventors patents for their inventions. As Abraham 
Lincoln once stated, patents ``added the fuel of interest to the fire of 
genius.''
    The first Patent Act of the United States was signed into law by 
President George

[[Page 1283]]

Washington on April 10, 1790. Under this legislation, patent applicants 
petitioned the Secretary of State for the grant of a patent. The 
Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of War and the Attorney 
General, determined whether the invention or discovery was 
``sufficiently useful and important.'' At that time, both the President 
and the Secretary of State signed patents.
    As the number of applications for patents grew, it became necessary 
to develop an organized review process to handle the increasing volume. 
In 1793, the law was changed to eliminate examinations, and the job of 
receiving and granting patents was given to clerks in the Department of 
State.
    On June 1, 1802, the Secretary of State appointed Dr. William 
Thornton to serve as the first clerk at the Department of State. In that 
position, Dr. Thornton was solely responsible for receiving and 
recording patent applications and issuing patents, and his office 
effectively became the first patent office. From this simple beginning, 
the Patent Office has grown to become a modern institution of ideas and 
innovations.
    For 200 years, millions of inventors have sought to protect their 
inventions through the American patent system. These patented inventions 
include Thomas Edison's electric lamp, Alexander Graham Bell's 
telegraphy, Orville and Wilbur Wright's flying machine, John Deere's 
steel plow, George Washington Carver's use of legume oils to produce 
cosmetics and paint, and Edwin Land's Polaroid camera.
    In 1881, the functions of the Patent Office grew to also include the 
registration of trademarks. Today, the United States Patent and 
Trademark Office annually receives more than 326,000 patent applications 
and 232,000 trademark applications. Since the signing of the first 
Patent Act over two centuries ago, more than 6.3 million United States 
patents have been issued. The United States Patent and Trademark Office 
represents one of the largest repositories of scientific and technical 
knowledge in the world, and much of this information is available on the 
Internet. Similarly, 2 million current trademark registrations are also 
available online.
    As the Patent Office enters its third century, we commend the 
important work of the United States Patent and Trademark Office that 
supports scientific, technological, and intellectual property 
developments; promotes growth in our economy; and encourages increased 
prosperity for our Nation.
     Now, Therefore, I, George W. Bush, President of the United States 
of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution 
and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim the Bicentennial of 
the United States Patent and Trademark Office. I call upon all Americans 
to recognize this anniversary with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and 
activities, thereby honoring the Office's many scientific, economic, and 
cultural contributions to our Nation and the world.
     In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth 
day of July, in the year of our Lord two thousand two, and of the 
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
seventh.
                                                George W. Bush

 [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., July 30, 
2002]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on July 
31.


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[Page 1283-1285]
 
Pages 1271-1300
 
Week Ending Friday, August 2, 2002
 
Remarks on Signing the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

July 30, 2002

    Thank you very much. Welcome to the White House, and welcome to this 
historic occasion.
    During the past year, the American economy has faced several sudden 
challenges and proven its great resiliency. Terrorists attacked a center 
and symbol of our prosperity. A recession cost many American workers 
their jobs, and now corporate corruption has struck at investor 
confidence, offending the conscience of our Nation. Yet, in the 
aftermath of September the 11th, we refuse to allow fear to undermine 
our economy, and we will not allow fraud to undermine it either.
    With well-timed tax cuts, we fought our way out of recession and 
back to economic growth. And now with a tough new law, we

[[Page 1284]]

will act against those who have shaken confidence in our markets, using 
the full authority of Government to expose corruption, punish 
wrongdoers, and defend the rights and interests of American workers and 
investors.
    My administration pressed for greater corporate integrity. A united 
Congress has written it into law. And today I sign the most far-reaching 
reforms of American business practices since the time of Franklin Delano 
Roosevelt. This new law sends very clear messages that all concerned 
must heed. This law says to every dishonest corporate leader: ``You will 
be exposed and punished. The era of low standards and false profits is 
over. No boardroom in America is above or beyond the law.''
    This law says to honest corporate leaders: ``Your integrity will be 
recognized and rewarded, because the shadow of suspicion will be lifted 
from good companies that respect the rules.''
    This law says to corporate accountants: ``The high standards of your 
profession will be enforced without exception. The auditors will be 
audited. The accountants will be held to account.''
    This law says to shareholders that ``the financial information you 
receive from a company will be true and reliable, for those who 
deliberately sign their names to deception will be punished.''
    This law says to workers: ``We will not tolerate reckless practices 
that artificially drive up stock prices and eventually destroy the 
companies and the pensions and your jobs.''
    And this law says to every American: ``There will not be a different 
ethical standard for corporate America than the standard that applies to 
everyone else. The honesty you expect in your small businesses or in 
your workplaces, in your community or in your home, will be expected and 
enforced in every corporate suite in this country.''
    I commend the Congress for passing a strong set of reforms. I 
particularly thank Senator Paul Sarbanes and Congressman Mike Oxley. 
Both are very thoughtful and were persistent voices for reform. They are 
true advocates of corporate integrity. I appreciate their working 
together to send a signal to the rest of the country that it's possible 
in Washington, DC, to set aside partisan differences and to do what's 
right for the American people. I also appreciate the bipartisan 
leadership in the Congress, and I particularly thank Senator Daschle and 
Senator Lott who are with us here today.
    I want to thank members of my Cabinet who worked on this bill: 

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