23 October 2002
Bush Signs Two Defense Appropriation Bills
(Praises "bipartisan spirit" in Congress for bills' passage) (1560)
President Bush signed into law the Department of Defense and military
construction appropriations bills October 23, saying the legislation
"will make our country more secure, make our military forces more
prepared, and reward military families for their sacrifice in
service."
The Defense spending measure provides more than $355,000 million for
the current fiscal year which began October 1 -- an increase of more
than $37,000 million over the previous year's defense budget. The
military construction measure adds $10,500 million to build and
upgrade military installations and military family housing.
The defense and military construction spending bills are the first two
of 13 spending bills Congress must pass each year and send to the
president for his signature.
"Since September the 11th, Americans have been reminded that the
safety of many depends upon the courage and skill of a few," Bush said
at a signing ceremony. "We're asking young Americans to serve in many
places far from home and at great risk. We owe them every resource,
every weapon, and every tool they need to fulfill their missions."
"We're matching increased funding with clear priorities," the
president said. Those priorities are:
-- a 4.1 percent military pay raise;
-- increasing funding for operations and maintenance by more than
$5,000 million, and for weapons procurement by $11,000 million (to
nearly $72,000 million); and
-- developing the "next generation" of weaponry by spending nearly
$58,000 million for research and development.
The president praised "the bipartisan spirit" in Congress that
resulted in the passage of the two military spending bills. He then
chided the legislative branch for failing to act on his proposal to
create a Cabinet department of homeland security, and for failing to
pass enhanced funding for homeland defense, including "unprecedented
funding levels for police and firefighters and emergency medical
personnel who are on the front lines of defending our citizens."
(Note: In the text, "billion" means 1,000 million.)
Following is the transcript of the president's remarks:
(begin transcript)
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
October 23, 2002
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT IN SIGNING THE DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS BILLS
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Please be seated.
The security of the American people is the first commitment of the
American government. Our nation faces grave new dangers, and our
nation must fully support the men and women of our military who
confront these dangers on our behalf.
The Department of Defense and the Military Construction Appropriations
bills I sign today will make our country more secure, make our
military forces more prepared, and reward military families for their
sacrifice in service.
These bills, passed with bipartisan support, send a message: America
is united; America is strong; and America will remain strong.
I appreciate so very much Vice President Cheney joining me today. He
is a great Vice President. I appreciate Secretary of Defense Donald
Rumsfeld joining me today. He's a great Secretary of Defense. I
appreciate Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz coming. I want to thank Tom
White, the Secretary of the Army. I want to thank the members of the
Congress who have joined us today, both Democrat and Republican --
Senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota; Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania;
Bill Young of Florida; Dave Hobson of Ohio; and, Jim Moran of
Virginia.
I want to thank the service chiefs who are here. They've done such a
good job for our country. I want to thank their senior enlisted
advisors. I want to thank the friends of the United States military
who are here in the Rose Garden today. I want to thank those who wear
the uniform who are here. And I welcome my fellow Americans.
Since September the 11th, Americans have been reminded that the safety
of many depends on the courage and skill of a few. We've asked our
military to bring justice to agents of terror. We've asked our
military to liberate a captive people on the other side of the Earth.
We've asked our military to prepare for conflict in Iraq, if it proves
necessary. We're asking young Americans to serve in many places far
from home and at great risk. We owe them every resource, every weapon,
and every tool they need to fulfill their missions.
The best military in the world must have every advantage required to
defend the peace of the world. And the best military in the world is
making good progress on this, the first war of the 21st century.
It's a different kind of war. Our military knows it. After all, we're
on an international manhunt. We're chasing cold-blooded killers down,
one killer at a time. And we're making good progress. We've hauled in
or arrested -- thanks to our military and our friends and allies --
over a couple of thousand killers, and like number weren't as lucky.
In either case, they're no longer a threat to the American people.
Sometimes the American people will see the progress we're making, and
sometimes they won't. They just need to know that the United States
military is after them -- one person at a time.
The bill I sign today also sends a clear signal to friend and foe
alike, that it doesn't matter how long it takes to defend our freedom;
the United States of America will stay the course. There is no
timetable in the Oval Office here behind me that says at a certain
period of time, we no longer care deeply about our freedoms and,
therefore, we're going to quit. There's no such timetable. The bill
today says America is determined and resolute to not only defend our
freedom, but defend freedom around the world; that we're determined
and resolute to answer the call to history, and that we will defeat
terror. (Applause.)
This year's defense bill provides nearly $355 billion to protect our
country, more than $37 billion increase from fiscal year 2002 -- for
fiscal year [2003]. We're matching increased funding with clear
priorities.
First, this legislation takes care of our men and women in uniform and
their families. We provide the money for a pay increase of 4.1 percent
for service members; provide for additional full-time support
personnel for the National Guard and Reserves; continue to reduce the
out-of-pocket cost for housing for our service members and their
families.
The Military Construction Appropriations bill adds $10.5 billion for
building and upgrading military installations and for military family
housing. We're taking care of our people. We want the people who wear
the uniform to know America appreciates their service.
Secondly, this year's defense bill will ensure that our military is
ready and well-equipped. We increased funds for operations and
maintenance by more than $5 billion, provide nearly $72 billion for
weapon procurement, an $11-billion increase. Today's American forces
are ready and able to deploy to any point in the globe to defeat any
foe, and we're going to keep it that way.
Third, this legislation begins developing the next generations of
weaponry that will win battles in the future. We invest almost $58
billion in research and development. At the same time, the bill ends
some weapons systems that aren't going to meet the needs of the
future, and that's an important contribution to our military. To have
the willingness to say this program works and this one doesn't is
important. So we ended the Crusader artillery program, a program that
was designed for a different era.
Instead, we will fund new systems, systems that will enable our
military to do a more effective job at defending America and our
freedoms, systems such as the unmanned aerial vehicles like the
Predator and the Global Hawk that we've used so effectively in
Afghanistan.
We fund efforts to adopt Cold War systems like the Trident submarine
to meet the new 21st century missions. We fund over $7 billion to
protect America and our friends from the threat of ballistic missiles.
I'm grateful that Congress completed its important work on defense and
military construction appropriations bills. I want to thank them for
working hard on these two important pieces of legislation. I
appreciate the bipartisan spirit.
There's still important work to complete. For example, Congress has
yet to act on my proposal to nearly double overall funding for
homeland defense, including my request for unprecedented funding
levels for police and firefighters and emergency medical personnel who
are on the front lines of defending our citizens.
In addition, our new homeland -- department of homeland security is
stalled in the Senate. The defense bill I will sign today funds our
soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines, all of which exist in a single
department. That department was created by President Harry Truman when
he reorganized our nation's defense structure to meet the security
threats of a new era.
Today we are, once again, in a new era. Yet our homeland security
activities are spread among more than a hundred different government
agencies. America needs a single department of government dedicated to
protecting our people, and to protecting our homeland. We can't wait
any longer. The threats to America are simply too great. Providing for
the security of our country is a broader task than just keeping our
military strong. I look forward to working with Congress on all the
measures needed to build the strength and security of the greatest
nation on the face of the Earth.
Is it now my honor to sign the Department of Defense Appropriations
Act and the Military Construction Appropriations Act. (Applause.)
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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