pd10de01 Contents...

	Web GovRecords.org

terror. Today we take further steps to suppress it inside our borders. I 
am confident that most of the donors to the Holy Land Foundation, and 
perhaps even some of the individuals who are associated with the 
Foundation, had no idea how its money was being used. They wanted to 
relieve suffering in the region of the world that has suffered too much. 
But the facts are clear, the terrorists benefit from the Holy Land 
Foundation. And we're not going to allow it. Our action today is another 
step in the war on terrorism. It's not the final step. There are more 
terrorist networks of global reach and more front groups who use deceit 
to support them. The net is closing. Today it just got tighter. And now 
it's my honor to welcome to the podium the Secretary of the Treasury, 
Paul O'Neill.

Note: The President spoke at 10:58 a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White 
House.


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

[Page 1742-1743]
 
Pages 1737-1769
 
Week Ending Friday, December 7, 2001
 
Remarks in a Tour of the Operation Paycheck Center in Orlando

December 4, 2001

    I, first of all, understand that the attacks on September the 11th 
affected a lot of people. Not only did we lose a lot of life, not only 
are Americans worried about future attacks, but a lot of people lost 
their jobs.
    And I'm here at this program to assure the American people and 
yourselves that our governments, both Federal and State governments, 
want to help you help yourself. I've just come from a little discussion 
with people who find themselves in the same position you're in, about 
how best to use resources to enable them to retrain for jobs that 
actually exist.
    Today we announced a grant for the State of Florida for over $3 
million to encourage programs in one-stop centers such as this, so that 
they're available for people who are looking for new skills. And the 
other thing that makes it important is, the Federal Government can write 
checks, but it seems like, to me, it makes sense to empower the local 
folks to design the programs to meet the needs so that you can train for 
jobs that actually exist in your neighborhood.
    And that's why I'm so proud of my little brother for seizing this 
initiative to develop a program that will meet your needs and the needs 
of people that are looking for workers. I want you to know that I'm 
optimistic about the future of the country. There's no question in my 
mind we will win the war on terror. There's no question that those who--
the evil ones who murdered innocent citizens will be brought to justice.
    I believe that we're making--taking everything we possibly can to--I 
know we're doing everything we can to prevent further attacks. It's 
going to be important for the economic vitality of our country to 
prevent future attacks. And we're taking the steps necessary within our 
Constitution to do just that. If we get any whiff or any sniff that 
somebody is going to harm an American again, we're acting--just the way 
you would want us to.
    And I believe that we've got in place the framework for economic 
growth: We've got good fiscal policy; interest rates are low; energy 
prices are reasonable. But I hope the Congress does pass legislation 
that will take care of displaced workers for the short term, provide the 
short-term help necessary for you all--extending unemployment insurance, 
national emergency grants to help with the health care payments, and 
then put other stimuluses in place to encourage job creation.

[[Page 1743]]

The long-term solution is more jobs, and I believe, acting together, we 
can do that.
    There seems to be a little bit of a logjam in Washington, DC, right 
now. And I know that Senators from both parties, if they could hear the 
stories about--and I'm sure they do; I'm sure they listen when they go 
home. But they need to act. They need to stop fussing and stop talking 
and get something to my desk that will take care of the workers and 
provide stimulus to this economy.
    I wish you all the best. I'm an optimist. We live in a great 
country, a resilient country, a country that will rise to the task. And 
I believe that the effects of 9/11 will--when we do our job, will be 
mitigated with job increases for you all. I really wish you the best. I 
hurt, that coming into the holiday season, that you're not working. But 
I admire your courage for going out to try to improve yourselves so you 
can find jobs around here.
    God bless you all. Thank you for letting me come by to say hello. I 
wish you all the best.

Note: The President spoke at 2:26 p.m. In his remarks, he referred to 
Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida.


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

[Page 1743-1754]
 
Pages 1737-1769
 
Week Ending Friday, December 7, 2001
 
 Remarks at a Townhall Meeting in Orlando

 December 4, 2001

    The President. Thank you very much. Please be seated. Thank you all 
very much. I'm really happy to visit Florida. The weather is beautiful. 
There's a lot of interesting things to do here. I recommend people from 
outside of Florida to come and take a look at Florida. It's a nice place 
to visit and a great place to live. One reason why is because you've got 
a great Governor. I'm not very objective. [Laughter]
    I also--I'm proud to be traveling today with two members of my 
Cabinet. First, somebody who made a living and raised his family right 
here in Orange County, and that's Mel Martinez of the Housing--
[applause]. There's no better person to help promote a significant part 
of the American Dream, that being homeownership, than somebody who came 
to our country from a country that doesn't encourage homeownership, 
somebody whose parents had the foresight to encourage him to be 
extricated from a tyrannical society, somebody who understood Fidel 
Castro doesn't trust people to own property. And that's Mel Martinez. 
We're working together to make sure homeownership becomes a reality for 
any citizen in America who shares that dream, regardless of where they 
live or their background.
    I'm also traveling today with the Secretary of Labor, Elaine Chao. 
And there's a lot of Members of the United States Congress who have 
traveled here: homegrown Congressman Ric Keller; Ander Crenshaw is with 
us--thank you for coming, Ander; Congressman Mark Foley, I appreciate 
you; Congressman John Mica.
    I recently worked closely with John and other Republicans and 
Democrats to forge an airport security bill which will allow the Federal 
Government to supervise the security of our airports, to make sure that 
those who travel are comfortable with the fact that we're doing 
everything in our power to make air travel as safe as it can possibly 
be. Thank you, John, for your leadership on that issue.
    Congressman Adam Putnam--I had to check to make sure he was old 
enough, but Adam, thank you; Congressman Dave Weldon--thank you, Dave, 
for being here; Congressman Cliff Stearns, from Florida, as well.
    And finally, I want to thank the mayor, Glenda Hood, and all those 
who helped encourage you all to come so that I can answer any questions 
you may have about what's going on in the country and the world today.
    Before I answer a few questions--and I thought it was right. I know 
a lot of citizens in Florida and around our country may have some 
questions to the President, and I'm more than happy to answer some. 
Before I do, I do want to say a few comments.
    One of the other reasons I came here is to herald a program called 
``Operation Paycheck.'' It's a program that Jeb has put in place to help 
displaced workers find the training necessary to find work, to help 
displaced workers around this part of the world, to help those who want 
to help themselves find the training necessary to allow them to learn 
new skills to find work again.
    There's nothing that hurts me more than to know, as we head into the 
holiday season,

[[Page 1744]]

that some of our citizens and some of their families hurt because 
they've been laid off as a result of 9/11. And we have a role in the 
Government--in the State Government, in the Federal Government--to 
provide immediate help as part of an economic security package, is to 
provide immediate help. And so one of the things I did was announce a 
grant for the State of Florida to encourage programs like Operation 
Paycheck, one-stop centers for people to find help. And today I was 
pleased to announce that grant on behalf of the Federal Government, but 
there's more to be done.
    You probably read about the fact that we're working with Congress. 
And I must say, relations with Congress are a heck of a lot better than 
they have been in the past, because Congressmen and Senators of both 
parties are interested about what's doing right for the American people.
    And part of an economic security package is to make sure that we 
extend unemployment insurance benefits for those who have been laid off 
as a result of 9/11 and provide money--monies to help those who have 
been laid off with things such as child care or health insurance or 
transportation to a community college, to enable them to learn a new 
skill. We have a role to play. And I urge the United States Congress to 
stop talking and to get an economic security bill to my desk.
    The House has acted, and for that I'm grateful. And there's always--
the Speaker can tell you--there's always a difference of opinion 
sometimes between the House and the Senate, whether it's at the State or 
Federal level. But the Senate needs to get a bill, get it reconciled, 
and get it to my desk, so we can say we're doing the people's business 
in a way that will make you proud.
    The truth of the matter is, economic security, however, the long-
term, depends upon our ability to get our economy cranked up again, so 
new jobs are being created. We've got to think about how to stimulate 
job creation. The question that needs to be answered is how to create 
more jobs, and I've laid out a blueprint to do just that.
    I think we ought to--and help people with more money as we head into 
the Christmas season, by making sure that those who filed but didn't pay 
taxes get a rebate, just similar to the rebates you all have just 
recently received. That will help low- and moderate-income Americans. We 
ought to accelerate the tax cuts that we have in place. More money in 
people's pockets mean more economic activity.
    We ought to reform the corporate income tax system. This current 
system says that as you lose money, you begin to pay more taxes. That 
doesn't make any sense if we're worried about job creation. I don't 
think we ought to be looking back for a decade, but I do think we ought 
to reform the system as we head forward, to make sense. And finally, I 
think we ought to provide incentives for corporate America to buy more 
plant and equipment. That will encourage job creation.
    We ought to ask the question in Washington, what's it take to create 
more jobs, so hardworking Americans can be able to put food on the 
table? That's what we ought to be asking.
    Two other points I want to make before I answer your questions is, 
there's no question, as well, that in order to make sure our economy 
recovers and people are able to find work, we've got to do everything we 
can to prevent the enemy from hitting us again. We've got to be 
diligent. And so we're following every hint, every lead, every 
possibility, within the confines of the Constitution. My job is to 
provide security for the American people. My job is to make sure that we 
use the assets at our disposal to ferret out those who might hurt 
America and to bring them to justice.
    We can protect our homeland by beefing up law enforcement, by 
encouraging the FBI to focus on prevention, by working closely with 
local authorities, and we're doing that. But in the long term, the best 
way to make sure America is safe is to find those who would commit 
terror against America, no matter where they run or where they hide, and 
bring them to justice. And that's exactly what we're doing.
    For those of you who are the parents or the spouse or the brother or 
sister of a member of our military who may not be home during the 
holiday season, first, I want to thank you for your sacrifice but let 
you know that the cause is just. And I know you're as

[[Page 1745]]

proud as I am of how our military is fighting the war on terror.
    We rescued humanitarian aid workers. We're slowly but surely 
demolishing the Government that felt comfortable in housing and abetting 
and feeding and hiding those who committed murder in America. And slowly 
but surely we're tightening the net on Usama bin Laden and Al Qaida.
    They think they can run, and we'll tire. They think they can hide, 
and we will tire. But they have sorely misunderstood America. They don't 
understand our will and our determination. This great land is united to 
bring freedom to the world. We will bring them to justice, and we will 
prevail.
    And so I'm honored that such a huge crowd would turn out. I want to 
thank you all for coming. I look forward to answering your questions. I 
want to thank you for your prayers, thank you for your love for the 
country. And now, if you've got any questions, I'm here to answer them.
    Yes, sir.

Job Training and Unemployment Benefits

    Q. Thank you, Mr. President. Since the September 11th tragedy, many 
Americans with college degrees, including myself, have been laid off. 
What are some of the things you're doing to help people like me, who 
have been out of work for the past few months?
    The President. Well, first of all, there's a lot of money spent from 
the Federal level to help--to help with reeducation. And one of the 
programs that I just mentioned is the use of Federal monies to empower 
State Governments to provide opportunities for reeducation.
    I just went by a center today. I sat next to a TWA pilot, highly 
skilled, college-educated man who got laid off as a pilot. His dream is 
to go back to a local community college, become reeducated to become a 
computer programmer. In other words, the idea is to mate those with 
skills with jobs that actually exist.
    The problem with the kind of Federal approach and only Federal 
approach is, is that we may encourage you to become trained in a job 
that doesn't exist. And so the real thing is, is there money available 
for job training? Is there money available from the Federal Government 
to say to Governor Bush of Florida, ``Here is some dough. Set up a 
system that will actually match people with skills and jobs that 
exist.'' There are jobs in Florida, and the fundamental question is, how 
do we encourage those with skills, to funnel those with skills into 
those jobs?
    Secondly, I do believe we ought to extend the amount of time one can 
receive unemployment insurance benefits. I think that's important. And I 
also believe that we need to have what's called national emergency 
grants, which are basically Federal expenditures to States to allow 
people to help, for example, make health care payments. And one of the 
things I worry about and I'm deeply concerned about is, somebody who has 
had a good health care plan is no longer able to afford health care. And 
so we ought to help people be able to afford those premiums and those 
benefits until they're able to get back to work.
    The long term, though, is--and I keep repeating it--is, let's 
stimulate job growth. The best thing for you to be able to find a job is 
for there to be more jobs available. And I believe--I believe we're on 
the verge of doing just that.
    I mean, we've got great tax policy in place. We cut taxes this year; 
we've got taxes cut for the next years coming, which will stimulate 
economic growth. Alan Greenspan has got monetary policy in such a shape 
that interest rates are low. Energy prices are reasonable. And so, we've 
got the framework for growth. And by the way, the same entrepreneurial 
spirit that existed in America prior to September 11th still exists 
today. They can't take that away from us.

Responsive Government

    Q. Mr. President, we appreciate you coming to the community and 
putting a great spotlight on the tourism industry. For the past 16 
years, I own a small transportation company here, 10 of which I operate 
at the Orlando International Airport. Due to the slowdown in the economy 
and certainly the events of September 11, I was forced to close my 
doors, putting 252 employees out of work, not to mention their families 
and others who support my business. We have taken

[[Page 1746]]

Other Popular 2001 Presidential Documents Documents:

Other Documents:

2001 Presidential Documents Records and Documents