pd05au02 Monday, August 5, 2002...

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Members of the House of Representatives from the Republican Party have 
done a really good job on behalf of America. They've had a very strong 
agenda. They passed a lot of legislation that has been positive for our 
country.
    I can't say the same thing for the United States Senate. A lot of 
good legislation is stuck--no more important piece of legislation than 
the homeland security bill. The reason why we need a homeland security 
bill is because there's an enemy out there which hates America; enemy 
out there still lurking around; enemy out there that hates us because of 
what we love. And we're not changing what we love. We love freedom.
    We love the idea of our fellow Americans being able to worship an 
almighty God any way you see fit. We love that. We love our democracy. 
We love our free press. We love every aspect of our freedom. And so long 
as we hold those freedoms dear to our heart, there's an enemy out there 
which is trying to hurt us. And so our biggest job now is to protect the 
American people. I take that seriously. It's a solemn obligation. 
[Applause] You all go ahead and sit down.
    It's even more solemn now that--that we're no longer protected by 
two oceans. It used to be, of course, that we could depend upon our 
geography to protect us from hatred, that there might be a turmoil 
somewhere in the world or there might be a threat somewhere in the 
world, and we could contain that threat if we choose to do so, or we 
could be involved in the conflict if we chose to do so. But we felt 
pretty comfortable about our security because of our--because of the two 
oceans which protected us.
    And we learned a rough lesson on September the 11th, 2001, that when 
there's hatred and people trying to hurt us, the battlefield can end up 
right here at home. And we've always got to remember that. I'm certainly 
going to remember that, that the stakes

[[Page 1871]]

are different and that they're higher. In order to protect the American 
people, we must see clearly the threats we face. We can't have any 
fuzziness anymore, because the oceans aren't there.
    And there's a true threat that we face in the form of Saddam 
Hussein. It's a real threat; it's not an imagined threat. It's a 
threat--it's a threat because he's shown the world what he's like.
    He said he doesn't have any weapons of mass destruction, said he 
wouldn't have weapons of mass destruction, and he does. He's not only 
got weapons of mass destruction; he's used weapons of mass destruction. 
He's used them against his neighbors. He's used them against his own 
citizens. This is a man who can't stand America and what we believe in. 
Nor can he stand some of our friends and allies. He's a danger; he's a 
threat.
    And so I went to the United Nations, and I said, ``You've told this 
guy for 11 years in 16 different resolutions to disarm, and he hasn't 
done it. And for the sake of world peace, why don't you show us whether 
or not you're going to be a body which can act in the name of peace, or 
whether you're going to be something like the League of Nations. You 
have a choice to make,'' I said to them. ``Show us whether or not you 
can be effective. We want you to be effective in the name of peace. We 
want you to have people listen to your word. If you say, `Disarm,' we 
want people to disarm. If you come together as an organization that puts 
out a decree that the free world speaks, we want you to be effective.'' 
I think it's going to make the world a more peaceful place as we head 
into the 21st century, particularly as we face these new threats. I's 
their choice to make.
    And at the same time, we said the same thing to Saddam Hussein: 
``You said you would disarm. Now disarm. The choice is yours.''
    But my fellow Americans, for the sake of peace and security, for the 
sake of making sure the Middle East is peaceful, for the making sure 
that the true threats don't come to our shore in the form of a terrorist 
organization which may have obtained weapons of mass destruction from 
this man, I believe we owe it to our children and our children's 
children to lead a coalition. If the U.N. won't act, if Saddam Hussein 
will not act, if he continues to defy the world, the United States, in 
the name of peace, will lead a coalition to disarm Saddam Hussein.
    No, the threat is real. The threat is real. It's important to be 
clear-eyed. It's also important to do everything we can here at home to 
protect you, and a lot of good people are working hard to do so. Anytime 
we find a hint, any kind of evidence of a plot, we're doing everything 
we can to disrupt or deter or deny. We've got a lot of good people at 
the Federal level and the State level and the local level working a lot 
of long hours.
    You see, we are on alert; we're aware. We weren't aware prior to 
September the 11th about this enemy that--how evil they are. But now we 
know they're out there. And we're doing good things here at home, but we 
can do better. And that's why I've asked the Congress to join me in 
creating this Department of Homeland Security, so that the agencies 
involved with protecting you have got the capacity to have as their 
number one priority and their number one focus and a culture which says 
protecting America is the most important thing we'll do.
    And the House of Representatives passed a good piece of legislation 
that enables this administration and future administrations to be able 
to have the management capacity to protect the homeland. The Senate is 
stuck. See, they want me to give up some power, power that has been in 
the Presidency since John Kennedy was the President, the ability to 
suspend work rules in the name of national security, the capacity to say 
it's in our national interests to suspend certain work rules so that you 
put the right people at the right place at the right time to protect the 
American people. And I'm not going to accept a lousy bill out of the 
United States Senate.
    And the reason why is, this is a task that we'll be involved with 
for a while. And so the best way to protect the homeland is to hunt 
these killers down, one person at a time, and bring them to justice, 
which is exactly what the United States of America is going to do.
    Last week I signed a defense bill which is the biggest increase in 
defense money

[[Page 1872]]

since Ronald Reagan was the President. People ought to read two things 
in that defense bill. One, anytime we put our troops into harm's way, 
they deserve the best pay, the best training, and the best possible 
equipment. We owe that to our troops, and we owe that to the loved ones 
of the troops. And for those of you who have got a relative in the 
military, you've just got to know, this Commander in Chief has all the 
confidence in the world in the men and women who wear our uniform.
    It's a different kind of war--oh, the second message that we're 
sending, by the way, is that we're in this deal for the long haul, that 
there's no time certain where we've got to quit. In other words, this 
isn't a--defending freedom doesn't have anything to do with the 
calendar; it has everything to do with success. And so we're going to 
stay the course until we defeat the agents of terror.
    The coalition is strong. The doctrine still stands that says, 
``Either you're with the United States and freedom-loving people, or 
you're with the enemy.'' That doctrine still stands. And the message of 
that defense bill says it's going to stand for quite a while.
    And we're making progress--we're making progress. It's a different 
kind of war we fight. So I like to spend time, whether it's in the midst 
of the campaign, or Governor Salmon's time, or any other speech, to help 
educate the American people about the nature of this war.
    The best way I like to describe it is, in the old days, you could 
determine whether or not you were making progress against the enemy by 
the number of tanks that you destroyed or the number of aircraft you 
shot out of the air or the number of ships you sunk. This bunch we 
fought, they don't have ships. They hide in caves and send youngsters to 
their suicidal death. These are the kind of people that have hijacked a 
great religion. They have no regard for innocent life, and they're 
nothing but a bunch of coldblooded killers, and we're going to treat 
them like that.
    So we're after them. We're after them one at a time. And that's why 
intelligence-sharing is incredibly important. That's why it's important 
to work with others to cut off their money. I just came up from Cabo San 
Lucas, where I was meeting with APEC nations. These are nations that 
border the Pacific. And yesterday the first agenda amongst the leaders 
was terrorism, counterterrorism. I was the first speaker. I reminded 
them that the war goes on. I reminded them they have an obligation to 
join with us. And when we find somebody that we know is a part of this 
terrorist network, they go get them, or we go get them. Either case, 
we're going to get them.
    The other day, one guy popped his head up. His name was bin al-
Shibh. He's not a problem anymore to America. He's now--he was--this is 
the person that was going to be the 20th hijacker, and he was in 
Pakistan, hiding. But we found him. See, there's no cave deep enough to 
hide. There's no corner of the world dark enough. Slowly but surely, 
America and others who love freedom are hunting them down. We've 
probably hauled in a couple of thousand of them so far. A like number 
wasn't as lucky.
    And it's going to take a while. It's going to take a while. We've 
got brave troops still on the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan. 
They've got--I was with--I talked to the President of the Philippines, 
Gloria Arroyo, who has been such a strong supporter. I said, ``We'll 
continue to provide you help, and thanks for going to get the head of 
the Abu Sayyaf,'' who was the person that led a group of killers that 
kidnaped Americans and just tried to wreak havoc--they're terrorists.
    Slowly but surely, we're going to bring these people to justice. 
There's no doubt in my mind. See, the enemy didn't understand who they 
were hitting. They thought they were hitting somebody that--somebody 
that was so selfish and materialistic and so self-absorbed that, after 
September the 11th, 2001, we'd take a step back and file a lawsuit or 
two. [Laughter] That's what they thought. And they found out something 
differently. They found out the mighty United States of America loves 
freedom, and we're relentless when it comes to the pursuit of justice. 
And we're not backing down.
    I believe strongly that out of the evil done to America is going to 
come some good. I believe that because we're such a great nation and a 
strong nation and a compassionate

[[Page 1873]]

nation, that out of the evil done to the country will come some good, 
starting with peace.
    You've got to understand, and I hope you tell your loved ones, that 
amidst all the talk about war is a deep, abiding desire for peace. I 
long for peace for our own country. But because this Nation says 
everybody matters--in contrast to the enemy, this Nation believes every 
life counts; everybody has worth. I long for peace around the world. I 
long for peace in places where people have quit on peace. And I believe 
we can achieve it. I believe by being strong and tough, by being true to 
our love of freedom and understanding that freedom isn't America's gift 
to the world, it is a God gift, and that freedom is universal, it is 
applied to everybody--if we remain true and strong and diligent, we can 
achieve peace. We can achieve peace.
    And here at home we can achieve a better America, too, an America 
that--that the great hope of America, the great bright light of America 
shines in every neighborhood. See, amongst our plenty, there are people 
who hurt. There are some who say, you say, ``American Dream,'' and they 
don't even know what you're talking about. ``American Dream, what is 
that?''
    And so long as one of us hurts, we all hurt, as far as I'm 
concerned. And we have a chance--we really have a chance. The Government 
can help; we can do things, of course, to make sure that people's lives 
are better. I talked about education. I talked about Medicare. Another 
thing Government can do to make sure lives are better is to make sure 
that tax cuts we passed are permanent. You see, when you let people have 
more money--if you let people have more money in their pocket, it's 
going to encourage economic growth. And so long as somebody is looking 
for work, who wants to work and can't find a job, we've got a problem.
    And therefore, one of the things Government can do is be pro-growth, 
is do everything we can to encourage the vitality of the economy to go 
forward. I'm optimistic about our economy. Interest rates are low. 
Inflation is low. Productivity is up. But in order to make sure small 
business flourishes and the entrepreneurial spirit is strong, Congress 
needs to make the tax cuts permanent. Congress needs to make sure we get 
rid of the death tax, once and for all--another reason to make sure that 
we change the Senate and keep Denny Hastert as the Speaker.
    But one of the things we've got to remember is that Government can 
do certain things. Government can hand out money, for example. And 
sometimes we do a pretty good job of it. But what Government cannot do 
is put hope in people's hearts or a sense of purpose in people's lives.
    See, we can change America, one heart and one soul at a time, if all 
of us understands that we can make--each of us can make a difference. 
When you put your arm around somebody who hurts and somebody in need--
who's in need, and say, ``I love you,'' you're part of changing America. 
If you're a Boy Scout leader or a Girl Scout leader, you're changing 
America. If you work in a Boys or Girls Club, you're changing America. 
If you're involved in the quality of education in your neighborhood, 
you're changing America. If you just walk into a shut-in's house and 
say, ``I love you; can I help you,'' you're changing America.
    No, the enemy hit us. They didn't know who they were hitting. They 
didn't understand America like I do. Not only are we strong, we are 
compassionate. Many of our fellow citizens have taken a step back, and 
they said, ``What is life all about? What is the true definition of a 
patriot?'' I think we're all beginning to understand, serving something 
greater than yourself in life, serving your Nation by helping a neighbor 
in need, is the definition of the American spirit that is alive and 
well.
    I want the youngsters here to realize that you live in the greatest 
land in the face of the Earth. It's a land that we can never take for 
granted. That's why voting is incredibly important. But as a citizen of 
this land, in order to make sure it continues to remain great, you have 
an obligation--we all have an obligation to do what we can do, to do 
what Government cannot do, and that's to help people, one person at a 
time.
    Perhaps the most vivid reminder--I think history will show this is a 
vivid reminder of what I'm talking about, the American spirit that is 
alive and well--took place on Flight 93. People were flying across the 
country--people were flying across the country that

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day. They weren't sure what was going on. They were on cell phones, 
using the modern technology to learn that the airplane they were on was 
being used as a weapon.
    Some of them didn't panic. Probably all of them didn't. They were on 
the phones to their loved ones. They said goodbye. I'm sure they said, 
``I love you.'' They used the word ``love.'' They said a prayer. One guy 
said, ``Let's roll.'' They took the airplane into the ground to serve 
something greater than themselves in life.
    That's the American spirit that is alive and well and strong. It is 
a spirit of sacrifice. It is a spirit of compassion. It is a spirit of 
decency. And it is the spirit that allows me to boldly predict that out 
of the evil done to America is going to come an America that is more 
hopeful, more decent for every single person who's fortunate enough to 
live in this country.
    No, you're looking at one of the greatest optimists ever to hold the 
office of the Presidency, because I understand America is the greatest 
nation, full of the most decent people on the face of the Earth.
    Thank you all for coming today. May God bless you, and may God bless 
America.

Note: The President spoke at 4:54 p.m. at the Dodge Theater. In his 
remarks, he referred to gubernatorial candidate Matt Salmon, who 
introduced the President, and his wife, Nancy Salmon; Rick Renzi, 
candidate for Arizona's First Congressional District; Gov. Jane Dee Hull 
of Arizona; Cindy McCain, wife of Senator John McCain, and their son 
Jack; Trent Franks, candidate for Arizona's Second Congressional 
District; President Saddam Hussein of Iraq; and Ramzi bin al-Shibh, an 
Al Qaida operative suspected of helping to plan the September 11, 2001, 
terrorist attacks, who was captured in Karachi, Pakistan.


<DOC>
[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents]
 [frwais.access.gpo.gov]
                         

[Page 1874]
 
Pages 1865-1925
 
Week Ending Friday, November 1, 2002
 
Statement on Signing the Medical Device User Fee and Modernization Act 
of 2002

October 26, 2002

    Today I have signed into law H.R. 5651, the ``Medical Device User 
Fee and Modernization Act of 2002.'' The Act protects patients from 
inappropriate reuse of medical devices, strengthens the inspection 
regime for medical device manufacturing facilities, modernizes Food and 
Drug Administration (FDA) medical device operations, and establishes a 
program under which the users of the FDA's medical device review 
services pay for those services.
    Section 201(a) of the Act enacts section 704(g)(10) of the Food Drug 
and Cosmetic Act, which purports to make the operation of the 
``accredited persons'' inspection provisions for medical device 

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