pd05fe01 Remarks in a Meeting With Catholic Charities...

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Volume 37--Number 5
Pages 231-255
 
Week Ending Friday, February 2, 2001
 
Remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast

February 1, 2001

    Well, thank you all very much for that warm welcome. Laura and I are 
honored to be here this morning. I did a pretty good job when it came to 
picking my wife, by the way. She's going to be a fabulous First Lady.
    Mr. Vice President, it's good to see you; of course, your wife, 
Lynne. And I want to thank the members of my Cabinet who are here. I 
appreciate you, Senator Frist, for your commitment and strong comments. 
And Zach, thanks for your introduction. And thank you both for 
organizing this important event.
    I want to thank the Members of the House and the Senate who are 
here. I appreciate the number of foreign dignitaries who are here. It 
just goes to show that faith crosses every border and touches every 
heart in every nation.
    Every President since the first one I can remember, Dwight 
Eisenhower, has taken part in this great tradition. It's a privilege for

[[Page 246]]

me to speak where they have spoken and to pray where they have prayed. 
All Presidents of the United States have come to the National Prayer 
Breakfast, regardless of their religious views. No matter what our 
background, in prayer we share something universal, a desire to speak 
and listen to our Maker, and to know His plan for our lives.
    America's Constitution forbids a religious test for office, and 
that's the way it should be. An American President serves people of 
every faith and serves some of no faith at all. Yet, I have found my 
faith helps me in the service to people. Faith teaches humility--as 
Laura would say, I could use a dose occasionally--[laughter]--a 
recognition that we are small in God's universe, yet precious in His 
sight. It has sustained me in moments of success and in moments of 
disappointment. Without it I would be a different person, and without it 
I doubt I'd be here today.
    There are many experiences of faith in this room. But most of us 
share a belief that we are loved and called to love, that our choices 
matter, now and forever, that there are purposes deeper than ambition 
and hopes greater than success. These beliefs shape our lives and help 
sustain the life of our Nation. Men and women can be good without faith, 
but faith is a force of goodness. Men and women can be compassionate 
without faith, but faith often inspires compassion. Human beings can 
love without faith, but faith is a great teacher of love.
    Our country, from its beginnings has recognized the contribution of 
faith. We do not impose any religion; we welcome all religions. We do 
not prescribe any prayer; we welcome all prayers. This is the tradition 
of our Nation, and it will be the standard of my administration. We will 
respect every creed. We will honor the diversity of our country and the 
deep convictions of our people.
    There's a good reason why many in our Nation embrace the faith 
tradition. Throughout our history, people of faith have often been our 
Nation's voice of conscience. The foes of slavery could appeal to the 
standard that all are created equal in the sight of our Lord. The civil 
rights movement had the same conviction on its side, that men and women 
bearing God's image should not be exploited and set aside and treated as 
insignificant. The same impulse over the years has reformed prisons and 
mental institutions, hospitals, hospices, and homeless shelters.
    The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., said this: ``The church must 
be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state but 
rather the conscience of the state.'' As in his case, that sometimes 
means defying the times, challenging old ways and old assumptions. This 
influence has made our Nation more just and generous and decent. And our 
Nation has need of that today.
    Faith remains important to the compassion of our Nation. Millions of 
Americans serve their neighbor because they love their God. Their lives 
are characterized by kindness and patience and service to others. They 
do for others what no government really can ever do--no government 
program can really ever do: They provide love for another human being; 
they provide hope even when hope comes hard.
    In my second week in office we have set out to promote the work of 
community and faith-based charities. We want to encourage the inspired, 
to help the helper. Government cannot be replaced by charities, but it 
can welcome them as partners instead of resenting them as rivals.
    My administration will put the Federal Government squarely on the 
side of America's armies of compassion. Our plan will not favor 
religious institutions over nonreligious institutions. As President, I'm 
interested in what is constitutional, and I'm interested in what works. 
The days of discriminating against religious institutions, simply 
because they are religious, must come to an end.
    Faith is also important to the civility of our country. It teaches 
us not merely to tolerate one another but to respect one another, to 
show a regard for different views, and the courtesy to listen. This is 
essential to democracy. It is also the proper way to treat human beings 
created in the divine image.
    We will have our disagreements. Civility does not require us to 
abandon deeply held beliefs. Civility does not demand casual creeds and 
colorless convictions. Americans have always believed that civility and 
firm resolve could live easily with one another. But civility does mean 
that our public debate

[[Page 247]]

ought to be free from bitterness and anger and rancor and ill will. We 
have an obligation to make our case, not to demonize our opponents. As 
the Book of James reminds us, fresh water and salt water cannot flow 
from the same spring.
    I am under no illusion that civility will triumph in this city all 
at once. [Laughter] Old habits die hard, and sometimes they never die at 
all. I can only pledge to you this, that I will do my very best to 
promote civility and ask for the same in return.
    These are some of the crucial contributions of faith to our Nation: 
justice and compassion and a civil and generous society. I thank you all 
here for displaying these values and defending them here in America and 
across the world. You strengthen the ties of friendship and the ties of 
nations. And I deeply appreciate your work.
    I believe in the power of prayer. It's been said, ``I would rather 
stand against the cannons of the wicked than against the prayers of the 
righteous.'' The prayers of a friend are one of life's most gracious 
gifts. My family and I are blessed by the prayers of countless 
Americans. Over the last several months, Laura and I have been touched 
by the number of people who come up and say, ``We pray for you''--such 
comforting words. I hope Americans will continue to pray that everyone 
in my administration finds wisdom and always remembers the common good.
    When President Harry Truman took office in 1945, he said this: ``At 
this moment, I have in my heart a prayer. I ask only to be a good and 
faithful servant of my Lord and my people.'' This has been the prayer of 
many Presidents, and it is mine today.
    God bless.

Note: The President spoke at 9:10 a.m. in the International Ballroom at 
the Washington Hilton Hotel. In his remarks, he referred to 
Representative Zach Wamp.


<DOC>
[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents]
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[Page 247-249]
 
Monday, February 5, 2001
 
Volume 37--Number 5
Pages 231-255
 
Week Ending Friday, February 2, 2001
 
Remarks Announcing the New Freedom Initiative

February 1, 2001

    Steven, you were brilliant in your introduction. Little did we 
know--we kind of thought we'd be sitting here during the California 
race, didn't we? But here we are, and thank you so much for being here.
    I'm so honored that you all are here. I appreciate the folks who 
served on my coalition for people with disabilities. There's one hero 
here that I got to know during the campaign. His name is Jim Mullen. Jim 
is from Chicago. He's a police officer, wounded in the course of duty, 
who is a courageous, fine American. And Jim, thank you so very much for 
coming today.
    I'm glad the First Lady is here. It's an unusual job where all 
you've got to do is walk down from your living room to come to work. 
[Laughter] I'm really proud of Laura.
    It's good to see Members of the Congress who are here. Thank you all 
for coming as well. I'm especially pleased that people from all around 
the country have taken time to help kick off this important initiative.
    One of the things I enjoy most about my new job is the walk I get to 
take every single morning, up the Colonnade from the Residence to the 
Oval Office. I say ``up,'' because the path rises just slightly. It's 
been that way since they took out the steps so that Franklin Roosevelt 
could make it to his place of work.
    This house is among the first places in America to accommodate 
people with disabilities. And we have come a long way since the days 
when only a President could hope for that consideration. We are more 
mindful now of the hardships that come with disability, more generous in 
responding to the needs of our citizens, more grateful for the 
contributions you make to our society.
    Old misconceptions about physical and mental disability are being 
discredited. Old barriers are falling away. Our task is now clear: We 
must speed up the day when the last barrier has been removed to full and 
independent lives for every American with or without disability.
    I am proud that the last great reform in this cause, the Americans 
with Disability Act, bears the signature of my dad. I see many in this 
audience who helped him get this important legislation through Congress, 
and I want to thank you for coming. Because of that law, millions of 
Americans can now compete for jobs once denied them, enter buildings 
once closed to them, travel in buses and trains once unequipped for 
them.

[[Page 248]]

    For those who have hearing or visual impairments, for those who use 
walkers and wheelchairs or have mental retardation and mental illnesses, 
your own country now seems a more welcoming place as a result of that 
law. Eleven years after the ADA we are a better country for it.
    But there is more to do, and today I propose we move forward. This 
morning I sent to Congress a set of proposals called the New Freedom 
Initiative. It is an important step in ensuring that all Americans with 
disabilities, whether young or old, can participate more fully in the 
life of their communities and of our country.
    Wherever a door is closed to anyone because of a disability, we must 
work to open it. Wherever any job or home or means of transportation is 
unfairly denied because of a disability, we must work to change it. 
Wherever any barrier stands between you and the full rights and dignity 
of citizenship, we must work to remove it--in the name of simple decency 
and simple justice.
    Often, as you know, such barriers are unintentional. One is the high 
cost of assistive technologies. For many people with disabilities, new 
technologies are helping to defeat dependence and frustration and 
isolation: text telephones for those with hearing impairments; computer 
monitors with Braille displays for those with visual impairments; 
infrared pointers for people who cannot use their hands, allowing them 
to operate computers by pointing at functions on the monitor or the 
keyboard; lighter wheelchairs; lighter artificial limbs.
    These modern wonders make the world more accessible; yet, they are 
often inaccessible to people who need but cannot afford them. These 
technologies were once beyond the dreams of Americans with disabilities. 
Today, they're only beyond their means, and we can help.
    In our New Freedom Initiative, we're asking Congress to 
significantly increase Federal funding for low-interest loans so that 
more Americans with disabilities can purchase assistive technology. And 
to ensure that even better technologies are available in the future, 
we're asking Congress to increase Federal investment in assistive 
technology research and development.
    My administration will also work with businesses to bring more 
assistive technologies to the marketplace. Once available, these 
technologies will allow Americans with disabilities to use more of their 
own gifts, make more of their own choices, and lead lives of greater 
independence.
    Many Americans with disabilities work or would like to have more 
freedom to do so. And you know that the greatest challenges are often 
not in the job itself but in the distance between your job and your 
home. For some people with disabilities, this challenge means no job at 
all, no opportunity to work and to contribute and to use their talents.
    This is changing as more Americans work at home. Yet here, too, the 
cost of computers and telecommuting are sometimes beyond the means of 
those with disabilities. And we can help. In our New Freedom Initiative, 
we are asking Congress to create a fund to help people with disabilities 
to buy the equipment they need to telecommute. We will provide tax 
incentives to encourage employers to provide such equipment. And we will 
protect home offices from needless OSHA regulations.
    Some 40 million Americans today work out of their homes. For most, 
it is a convenience. For workers with disabilities, it is a revolution. 
And we want as many Americans as possible to share in this revolution of 
independence.
    Our plans also include transportation solutions for people with 
disabilities. Specifically, we're asking Congress to fund pilot programs 
for innovative transportation plans that serve people with disabilities. 
And we'll provide Federal matching grants to community groups to provide 
alternative methods of transportation.
    There are several additional proposals in this package, but let me 
just mention one more. We will provide additional funding each year to 
help churches, synagogues, mosques, and other civic groups become more 
fully accessible to all Americans. In many houses of worship and civic 
centers, intentions are good, but resources are scarce. We can help make 
these community places open to all.

[[Page 249]]

    I've often talked about the goal of a welcoming society, a nation 
where no one is dismissed or forgotten. Our progress toward that goal is 
really the great American story. It is a story of inclusion and 
protection extending across our history to more and more Americans.
    And that story's not over. There is still work to do. We must all do 
our duty and play our part. And I hope today we have made a good 
beginning.

Note: The President spoke at 1:10 p.m. in the East Room at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Steven J. Tingus, director, 
Resource Development for the California Foundation for Independent 
Living Centers, who introduced the President.


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

[Page 249]
 
Monday, February 5, 2001
 
Volume 37--Number 5
Pages 231-255
 
Week Ending Friday, February 2, 2001
 
Letter to Congressional Leaders Transmitting the Blueprint for the ``New 
Freedom Initiative''

February 1, 2001

Dear Mr. Speaker:  (Dear Mr. President:)

    Enclosed please find the blueprint for my ``New Freedom Initiative'' 
to increase investment in and access to assistive technologies and a 
quality education, and help integrate Americans with disabilities into 
the workforce and into community life. I look forward to working with 
the Congress to ensure that these proposals are enacted into law and to 
working together to ensure that every American with a disability has 
access to the American dream.
    Sincerely,
                                                George W. Bush

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