pd09au04 Remarks to the Knights of Columbus Convention in Dallas, Texas...

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

[Page i]
 
Monday, August 9, 2004


              WEEKLY COMPILATION OF
          ------------------------------
              PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS

Published every Monday by the Office of the Federal Register, National 
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Compilation of Presidential Documents contains statements, messages, and
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[[Page i]]
Weekly Compilation of

Presidential

Documents



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

[Page i-iii]
 
Pages 1395	1500
 
 Contents

  

  
[[Page ii]]


 Addresses and Remarks

    See also Bill Signings
    Intelligence reform--1423
    Iowa, Davenport--1435
    Michigan
         Grand Rapids, remarks--1395
         Saginaw, remarks--1471
    Minnesota
         Conservation Reserve Program in Le Sueur--1442
         Mankato, remarks--1445
    New Hampshire, Stratham--1488
    Ohio
         Cambridge, remarks--1410
         Canton, remarks--1403
         Columbus, discussion--1454
         International Children's Games and Cultural Festival in 
            Cleveland--1401
    Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh--1417
    Radio address--1402
    Texas, Knights of Columbus Convention in Dallas--1430

 Addresses and Remarks--Continued

    UNITY: Journalists of Color Convention and a question-and-answer 
        session--1477
    West Virginia, Cabela's Retail Store in Triadelphia--1417

 Bill Signings

    Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2005
          Remarks--1451
          Statement--1453
    United States-Australia Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, 
        remarks--1429

 Communications to Congress

    China, letter on export of certain items--1497
    Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2005, letter on 
        designation of emergency funds--1454
    District of Columbia's fiscal year 2005 budget request, letter 
        transmitting--1471

  

  

(Continued on the inside of the back cover.)

  Editor's Note: The President was in Kennebunkport, ME, on August 6, 
the closing date of this issue. Releases and announcements issued by the 
Office of the Press Secretary but not received in time for inclusion in 
this issue will be printed next week.

[[Page iii]]

Contents--Continued

 Communications to Congress--Continued

    Export control regulations, letter transmitting notice on 
        continuation of emergency--1496

 Communications to Federal Agencies

    Waiving Prohibition on United States Military Assistance With 
        Respect to the Republic of the Congo, memorandum--1496

Interviews With the News Media

     Exchange with reporters in the Rose Garden--1423

Notices

    Continuation of Emergency Regarding Export Control Regulations--1496

Supplementary Materials

     Acts approved by the President--1499
     Checklist of White House press releases--1499
     Digest of other White House announcements--1497
     Nominations submitted to the Senate--1498

[[Page 1395]]


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

[Page 1395-1401]
 
Pages 1395	1500
 
Week Ending Friday, August 6, 2004
 
Remarks in Grand Rapids, Michigan


July 30, 2004

    The President. Thank you all. I appreciate you coming. Sit down if 
you've got a chair. I'm proud you're here. Thanks for inviting me. You 
can't come to Grand Rapids and not think about a great President, Gerald 
Ford. What a decent man. What an honorable citizen. And what a great 
example for Presidents.
    I appreciate you coming out for our Heart and Soul of America tour. 
This is going to be a great campaign. I'm looking forward to it. And 
there's going to be big differences. We'll have differences over taxes, 
how to keep the peace. And there seems to be a difference over the heart 
and soul of America. My opponents think you can find it in Hollywood. I 
think you find it right here in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
    I'm excited about traveling the country. I was in Springfield, 
Missouri, earlier. I'm going to Cleveland, Ohio; Canton, Ohio; on to 
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, tomorrow. I like traveling. I like being with 
people. The crowds are big. The enthusiasm is high. And with your help, 
Dick Cheney and I will serve this Nation for 4 more years.
    Speaking about my friend Dick Cheney, I admit, he's not the 
prettiest face in the race. [Laughter] But I picked him because he's 
steady and strong and reliable. He's got good judgment. Dick Cheney is a 
great Vice President.
    And speaking about really fine people, I am sorry that Laura is not 
here.
    Audience members. Aw-w-w!
    The President. I know it. [Laughter] Most people feel that way. They 
wish she were speaking and I stayed at home. [Laughter] But I'm really 
proud of her. She is a great lady, a fantastic First Lady. I'm going to 
give you some reasons why I think you need to put me back in office, but 
perhaps the most important reason of all is so that Laura will be First 
Lady for 4 more years.
    I want to thank Juan Olivarez for his leadership of this very 
important institution. I appreciate a fellow Tejano serving the 
community of Grand Rapids--that means a fellow Texan. [Laughter] I 
appreciate his warm words of introduction. Gracias, amigo.
    I appreciate Hoekstra--Peter Hoekstra for his service in the United 
States Congress. I'm proud to call him friend. And I appreciate my 
friend Vern Ehlers' service to the people of Michigan in the United 
States Congress as well.
    I'm honored that Terri Lynn Land and Mike Cox and Ken Sikkema are 
with us today. I've gotten to know these good souls during my trips here 
in Michigan. And they represent the State well. I appreciate Speaker 
Rick Johnson joining us as well; State Senator Bill Hardiman. I'm 
honored that these good citizens have decided to serve the people of the 
communities in the great State of Michigan. I thank them for the hard 
work they have done and are going to do to make sure we carry the State 
of Michigan this time.
    I want to thank my friend Betsy DeVos and Chuck Yob and Holly Hughes 
and the ambassador, Peter Secchia. I want to--does it strike anybody 
funny, ``Ambassador'' Secchia? No? [Laughter] We love him in our family.
    I want to thank all the grassroots activists who are here. I 
appreciate your willingness to work in the political process. I 
encourage you to get people to register to vote. Make sure people go to 
vote on election day. We have a duty in our society--in our democratic 
system, we have a duty to participate. And I want to thank you for 
getting people to participate. And when you get them headed into the 
polls, give them a little nudge our way. [Laughter]
    Every incumbent who asks for the vote has got to answer one central 
question, and that's why--why should the American people give

[[Page 1396]]

me the privilege, the high privilege, of serving as your President for 4 
more years? In the past few years, we've been through a lot together, 
and we have accomplished a great deal. But there's only one reason to 
look backward at the record, and that is to determine who will lead the 
Nation forward, who can do the job for the American people. I'm asking 
for your vote because so much is at stake. We have much more to do to 
move this country forward.
    I want to be your President for 4 more years to make our country 
safer, to make our economy stronger, to make the future better and 
brighter for every single citizen who lives in this country. From 
creating jobs to improving schools, from fighting terror to protecting 
our homeland, we've made much progress, and I'm here to tell you, we 
have got more to do.
    We have more to do to make America's public schools the centers of 
excellence we know they can be so that no child is left behind in this 
country. When we came to office 3\1/2\ years ago, too many children were 
being shuffled from grade to grade, year after year, without learning 
the basics. So we've challenged the soft bigotry of low expectations. 
We're setting high standards. We're focusing on results. We're insisting 
on accountability. We're empowering parents. And we're making sure local 
folks are in charge of their own public schools. And today, children 
across America are showing real progress in reading and math. When it 
comes to improving America's public schools, we are turning the corner, 
and we are not turning back.
    We have more to do. This world of ours is changing. Jobs of the 
future will require greater knowledge and higher skill levels. We must 
reform our high schools to make sure a high school diploma means 
something. We will expand math and science education so young people can 
compete in a high-tech world. We will expand the use of the Internet to 
bring high-level training into classrooms. With 4 more years, we will 
help a rising generation gain the skills and confidence to achieve the 
American Dream.
    We have more to do to make quality health care available and 
affordable. When we came to office, too many older Americans could not 
afford prescription drugs, and Medicare didn't pay for them. Leaders in 
both political parties had promised prescription drug coverage for 
years. We got it done. Already, more than 4 million seniors have signed 
up for drug discount cards that provide real savings. And beginning in 
2006, all seniors on Medicare will be able to choose a plan that suits 
their needs and gives them coverage for prescription drugs.
    We've expanded community health centers for low-income Americans. 
We've created health savings accounts so families can save tax-free for 
their own health care needs. When it comes to giving Americans more 
choices about their own health care and making health care more 
affordable, we are turning the corner, and we're not turning back.
    Most Americans get their health coverage through their work. But 
today's new jobs are created by small businesses, which too often cannot 
afford to provide health coverage. To help more American families get 
health insurance, we must allow small employers to join together to 
purchase insurance at the discounts available to big corporations.
    To improve health care, we must limit the frivolous lawsuits that 
raise health care costs and drive doctors out of medicine. We will do 
more to harness technology to reduce costs and prevent health care 
mistakes. We will do more to expand research and seek new cures for 
terrible diseases. And in all we do to improve health care in America, 
we will make sure that health decisions are made by doctors and 
patients, not by bureaucrats in Washington, DC.
    We have more to do to make America's economy stronger. We've come 
through a lot together. We've come through a recession and terrorist 
attacks and corporate scandals. We overcame these obstacles because the 
hard work of the American people, because the entrepreneurial spirit is 
strong, because people like our farmers and ranchers refuse to buckle. 
We overcame these obstacles as well because of two well-timed tax cuts. 
We didn't--when we provided tax relief, we didn't try to pick winners or 
losers. We didn't play politics. We did it the fair way. We provided tax 
relief to every American who pays taxes--for families with children, for 
married couples, for small businesses. And this time, the check was 
really in the mail.

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