pd10de01 Contents...

	Web GovRecords.org

advantage of some of the programs you've put into place, such as the SBA 
disaster loan plan. We've been monitoring that and found out that the 
application is bogged down in the bureaucracy of the system. What can 
you do to help us, as small business, speed that process, as our window 
is closing rapidly on us? Thank you for your answer.
    The President. Well, first get your card, and find out why your case 
is bogged down in bureaucracy. I can't stand bureaucracy. I appreciate 
the hard-working people who work for the Federal Government. I 
appreciate people who care enough to work for the Government to make 
people's--to do their job. I like that. But what I don't like is systems 
that get so cumbersome that those who are trying to help you don't get 
the product out.
    I put a good man as the head of the SBA, and I believe that he's 
doing everything he can to make sure that applications don't get stuck 
in a system, that hardworking Federal employees are able to match their 
desires to help you with the ability to do so.
    So to answer your question, I need to know your case, and I'm going 
to send a man right out here to ask you. Where's Logan?

Advice to Youth

    Q. First of all, I'd like to thank you for being here today, Mr. 
President Bush. My name is Adam Hallsman, and I'm a seventh grader at 
Shelley Boone Middle School in Haines City, Florida. I'd like to know 
what the children and the small--and the young people in America, how 
can they help the economy?
    The President. Listen to your mother. I'm still listening to mine. 
[Laughter]
    I'll tell you what you can do; I'll tell you how you can help the 
economy: Study hard, learn a skill, have ambition, make the right 
choices in life so that when you get old enough, you're a productive 
citizen. That's the absolute best thing you can do.
    But there are other things you can do. I see women of cover here, 
and I want to thank you for coming from the Muslim community here in 
America. Right after the attacks, I went to a mosque to send the signal 
that the war against terror had nothing to do with the Muslim faith. It 
has everything to do with evil, evil people. What you can do to help 
America, beyond the economy, is to remind people that regardless of our 
religious beliefs, we're all, first and foremost, Americans; that this 
is a country--[applause]
    And you know what else you can do? You can find somebody in need and 
give them a hand. I'm worried about the fact that charitable giving in 
America has dropped off as a result of 9/11. It didn't drop off because 
of 9/11; it dropped off because a lot of people gave money to help the 
victims, which is great. But there's an aftermath to the attacks that 
we've got to worry about. There are still people in America who hurt. 
They were hurting before September 11th; they hurt today. And one of the 
things you can do as a seventh grader, and all of us can do, is remember 
that and give of time and money to help fellow Americans in need. I 
can't think of any way better to make sure our country remains strong in 
the aftermath of the terrorist attack, is to help; is to ask the 
question, ``What can I do''; is to not only honor the values of America 
but honor the values of a good neighborhood, which is neighbor helping 
neighbor in need.

Small Business

    Q. Good afternoon, Mr. President. First of all, it is an honor to be 
here with you, and we want to thank you for your godly leadership in 
serving this country. My name is Irma Yapur. And my question today is in 
regards also to small business and self-employment. As many Americans 
are losing their corporate jobs and are going into business for 
themselves, is the Government planning to provide assistance to the 
self-employed in small business who do not have the tangible collateral 
and livelihood to support a loan approval?
    The President. Well, we do. We've got an SBA whose job it is to 
encourage entrepreneurial growth. Evidently, it may be somewhat bound in 
paperwork, unnecessary paperwork requirements. [Laughter] It's good to 
get out of Washington to get the real story--[laughter]--but the job--
but that's what the SBA is for. It's to encourage--and you're bogged 
down in paperwork, as well, I take it? Okay, my man Logan--[laughter].

[[Page 1747]]

    Look, the Government can never guarantee success in the private 
sector. That's not what happens in a system based upon free enterprise. 
We can help people, but there are no guarantees about business. We're a 
risk and reward oriented society. And so the best thing we can do is 
help you to get your business started. But it's up to you to have a good 
product; it's up to you to understand the market; and it's up to you to 
fashion a game plan that will work. And what we can do is help there, 
and there all kinds of ways to do that.
    You're next. Yes, sir.

Tax Rebates

    Q. The first one is a thank-you from all of our employees and many 
people who have worked. When the taxpayer rebates came, for many of 
them, they said they don't know what they would have done if it hadn't 
been for those. So very much a sincere thank-you for that.
    The President. Thank you very much.

Terrorist Attacks in Israel

    Q. The second one is a question. What are we doing right now to 
assist our allies in Israel during their time of terrorist attacks?
    The President. Yes. The question is about Israel. I had the Prime 
Minister of Israel in my office on Sunday. He was coming Monday but 
decided to come sooner because of the attacks. And I commiserated with 
him, because a lot of innocent people had been killed or hurt as a 
result of terrorist activity.
    The terrorist attacks on Israel--first of all, Israel has got no 
better friend than the United States, as far as I'm concerned. Israel is 
a democracy. We share a lot of values with Israel. I have a dream; I 
can't think of anything better than to have a dream for peace for 
Israel. I think the Israeli people want to have peace.
    But we learned in such a vivid way that there are elements in the 
Middle East that hate the thought of peace and will be willing to use 
terror to derail any type of peace process. And so the spotlight now 
flashes on the Middle East in a terrible way, obviously. But it also 
reminds people around the world that if we want peace, that it's 
important for those advocates of peace to help rout out terror and to 
bring it to justice. It is incumbent upon Mr. Arafat now to respond 
forcefully, to rout out those who killed. It's incumbent upon other 
friends and allies of ours around the world to help bring those 
terrorists to justice if we want peace in the Middle East, which I do--
which I do. We've got to bring the terrorists to justice.
    We cannot let a few--we cannot let a few prevent the many from 
achieving a dream which is lasting peace in the Middle East. I hope that 
happens. I hope it happens for the sake of Israel. I hope it happens for 
the sake of the Palestinians, who suffer because of the lack of job 
opportunity and killing and war. I hope it happens. But first things 
first. We must rid the world of terror.

Worker Benefits/Economic Stimulus

    Q. Thank you, President Bush. It's great to have you here in the 
State of Florida. I work at the airport at the Hyatt Hotel. And I'm 
worried--I have, luckily, kept my job, but now we're getting our hours 
cut and stuff. And they're trying to do the best that they can, and I'm 
in jeopardy of losing my benefits. Now, I'm a single mother of three 
kids, and I can't be without benefits, like health insurance, per se.
    The President. Right. Well, I think that one of the things that we 
need to work on during the next session is how to make sure that the 
working uninsured have benefits. I proposed a plan through the tax 
credit system to provide just that--to make sure that you don't lose 
your benefits if this were to happen.
    Of course, the key thing--again, I keep harking back to this--is, 
we've got to grow our economy, is we've got to put a stimulus--security 
package--a stimulus package in place that encourages job growth.
    Now, the Government did act quickly when it came to your industry. 
After all, we provided a significant amount of loans and grants for the 
airline industry to make sure the airplanes, which were directly hit by 
the attacks, continue to fly. And I hope that the measures we have put 
in place, financial measures plus the security measures, will

[[Page 1748]]

convince the American people to get on airplanes and come down to 
Florida so that your hotel has got customers.

Education

    Q. Mr. President, I'm an educator for the Orange County Public 
School System. And, first of all, I'd like to thank you very much for 
your ethics and integrity, because that's what we're all about in 
education.
    The President. Thank you.
    Q. I'd like to share that I am very appreciative of the focus that 
you and the First Lady have brought to your administration on reading 
instruction. And we were very happy when that took place. And we can 
also appreciate the fact that since 9/11, your energy and your focus has 
been diverted to issues that are to protect our country, and we thank 
you very much for that. But the reality is that 9/11 has also impacted 
education. We are about to experience one of the biggest cuts that we 
have experienced in many years here in Florida, and we're very concerned 
about our children and about our teachers and their future, as well. And 
I would just like to hear from you where you are today with education, 
in terms of your focus and energy.
    The President. You bet. Thank you very much. I appreciate that 
question. Education needs to be the number one priority of any State. 
I'm convinced it's the number one priority of this Governor here. I 
believe that there needs to be a clear role for local people, State 
people, and a limited role for the Federal Government, because I do not 
believe one size fits all when it comes to educating children.
    Now, having said that, I do believe that the Federal Government has 
got responsibilities for providing funds for disadvantaged and for 
beefing up reading programs around the country. So one of the things 
that we're going to do is to work with Jeb and other States on enhancing 
reading programs. There's no question about it, that if a child can't 
read, all the rest of the subjects are basically irrelevant. Reading is 
the absolute gateway to knowledge, and therefore what needs to be done 
is a comprehensive national reading agenda.
    To answer your question, it's about to happen when the Congress 
passes the education reform bill and the education bill, the funding 
mechanism necessary for education. But education is a priority not only 
here, but as my good wife reminded everybody on the radio, it's got to 
be a priority around the world. There is no excuse for the Taliban 
Government to have treated women and young girls the way they have and 
not educated people.
    Education is a domestic priority. No question about it, it's a 
domestic priority. And we're increasing education spending at the 
Federal Government to help local districts. But we also have got to 
remind people around the world, if we want peace in the world, other 
nations must do a better job of treating people with respect by making 
sure that they are educated, as well.
    Speaking about education, you go to school, don't you? Let's hear 
your question.

President's Visit

    Q. Hi. My name is Ashley. I just wanted to--I don't have a comment, 
but I have a question. Actually, I don't have a question; I have a 
comment.
    The President. Okay. [Laughter]
    Q. You've been doing a good job for the United States. Can you shake 
my hand?
    The President. Yes. I will in a minute. Oh, you want to do it right 
now? I'll do better; I'll give you a kiss. You're a sweet girl. Thank 
you.
    Q. Thank you very much for coming to Florida. We love you.
    The President. Thanks.

Local Economies/International Trade

    Q. And God bless you. This area is so dependent on tourism. Since 9/
11, as you know, everyone knows it's so bad. Is there anything that the 
Government is doing to attract other industry into our area and to other 
areas that are so dependent on this?
    The President. I think--I would actually get Governor Bush to answer 
that question. [Laughter] I'm afraid to share the mike with him; he 
might never give it up, though. [Laughter] Absolutely, there is a 
diversification program. There is. And Jeb is wise enough to understand 
that this part of the world needs to be diversified. And tourism will 
always be an integral part of the central

[[Page 1749]]

Florida economy, but there is a lot of interesting diversification going 
on here.
    Now, the Federal Government's role is not to tell States how to 
diversify their economies; the Federal Government's role is to provide 
an overall picture for economic vitality and growth. Our job is to think 
about how best to grow the entire national economy and let States figure 
out and local districts and communities figure out how to diversify.
    One of the interesting battles we've got going in Congress is trade. 
We need to be able to trade freely, it seems like to me, in the world. 
We've got the best farmers in the world in the United States--the best 
farmers. It seems like it makes sense to open up other people's markets 
so we can sell our products around the world.
    Now, that is the place where the Federal Government, it seems like 
to me, has got to address job growth and diversification through large 
national issues. I'm sure the Congress--these Congressmen understand the 
value of free trade. I look forward to working with them when it comes 
to trade promotion authority, if it ever makes it to my desk. But it 
requires wise Governors and local officials to understand the 
opportunities through diversification. And I believe you've got a good 
Governor. I keep hating to tout the guy too much, because they'll think 
I'm not very objective, but I'm not. [Laughter]
    Yes, ma'am.

Health Insurance

    Q. Hi. President Bush, we'd like to thank you for coming here today. 
And just to help you out with her question about--I wanted to tap our 
Governor on about, because we do have a program for people that--I'm 
self-employed, and I don't make a lot of money, but we do have a program 
in this State for people like ourselves, who we can buy insurance 
through the State for our children, in case you lose your job. So I 
wanted to tap our Governor on that----
    The President. It's the CHIPS program.
    Q. No, it's Florida Healthy Kids here.
    The President. Same thing.
    Q. Right. [Laughter] She said she don't qualify, but if you lost 
your job, you would.
    The President. All right.
    Yes, sir.

Travel Industry/Military Tribunals

    Q. First of all, thank you. Second of all, I work in a Hard Rock 
Hotel here in Orlando, and we love to have people come through our 
doors, just as every hotel and every theme park here does. My question 
is for the Federal Government, not just for Orlando but for everywhere, 
what is being done to encourage travel? I've seen a few commercials, not 
just within the country, but abroad. We're a great place to come----
    The President. Well, there's a marketing plan. One of the things--if 
you noticed how I started off my talk here--I've got a rather large 
microphone these days, and I've been encouraging people to travel. I 
think the best thing we can do in America to--first of all, you can't 
make people do what they don't want to do. I mean, if they're not 
interested in traveling, they're not going to travel.
    On the other hand, if they're worried about security on airplanes, 
we can do something about that. That's why we've rallied guard troops 
all across the country in airports. Until we have the new security plan 
in place, we're putting guards in place. And we've sped up the training 
and placement of air marshals on airplanes. I want the American people 
to know that if you want to travel and if that's your desire, if you're 
planning to do this in your budget and you've been thinking about it, 
air travel is getting safer and safer and safer. And that's the best 
thing the Federal Government can do.
    Now, we can--we're not going to, you know, pick one part of the 
region over another. I don't think that's the role of the Federal 
Government. But--and therefore, that's why Jeb and other States, my old 
State of Texas, for example, is trying to encourage, always trying to 
compete for people who want to travel to come to our respective States. 
But the Federal Government can help by making sure things are more 
secure and people feel safe. That's really our fundamental 
responsibility right now, is the safety of the American people.

Other Popular 2001 Presidential Documents Documents:

Other Documents:

2001 Presidential Documents Records and Documents