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24 February 2003

Bush Says U.S. to Offer New U.N. Iraq Resolution Feb. 24

(Iraqi regime still is not disarming, Bush says) (3060)
President Bush, in remarks to U.S. state governors at the White House
February 24, said the United States later in the day would introduce
at the United Nations Security Council a new resolution on Iraqi
disarmament.
"Today we're going to submit a resolution to the U.N. Security Council
that spells out what the world has witnessed the last months. The
Iraqi regime is not disarming. The Iraqi regime is not disarming as
required by last fall's unanimous vote of the Security Council," Bush
said, referring to Security Council Resolution 1441.
"Saddam Hussein's refusal to comply with the demands of the civilized
world is a threat to peace, and it's a threat to stability. It's a
threat to the security of our country. It's a threat to the security
of peace-loving people everywhere," Bush said.
"We're going to work with the members of the Security Council in the
days ahead to make it clear to Saddam that the demands of the world
and the United Nations will be enforced.
"It's an interesting moment for the Security Council and the United
Nations. It's a moment to determine for this body, that we hope
succeeds, to determine whether or not it is going to be relevant, as
the world confronts the threats to the 21st century. Is it going to be
a body that means what it says? We certainly hope it does," Bush said.
"But one way or the other, Saddam Hussein, for the sake of peace and
for the security of the American people, will be disarmed."
Bush also discussed his domestic priorities, saying he wants to work
with the nation's state governors on his economic, education, and
homeland security proposals.
On the U.S. economy, Bush said: "My attitude is, since the economy is
not as good as we like it to be, we ought to accelerate the tax relief
which they've already planned. That will put about $70 billion
immediately into our economy, since I intend to ask for this plan to
be made retroactive to January 1st of this year."
Following is a transcript of the President's remarks:
(begin transcript)
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
February 24, 2003
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT TO THE MEETING OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNORS
ASSOCIATION
State Dining Room
11:00 A.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Thanks for coming back. I hope you
enjoyed our dinner last night, as much as I did, it was really a lot
of fun, thank you. (Applause.)
Obviously, we take your business seriously. I've asked my Cabinet to
show up to visit with you about ways that we can work together. What I
thought I'd do is share some things that are on my mind right now and
then answer any questions you have.
What's on my mind is to make sure this country is strong and safe. One
way to make it strong is to do everything we can to encourage job
growth. My attitude is -- I'm sure you share the same attitude -- is
that if somebody is looking for work and can't find a job, it means
we've got a problem. And, therefore, to the extent that government
influences job creation, we've got to do everything we can to create
an environment for the entrepreneur to flourish.
I believe strongly in the notion that if a person has more money in
their pocket, I know they're likely to demand a good or a service and
when they do so, in a market-oriented economy, somebody is likely to
produce that good or service, which means somebody is more likely to
find work.
That's the whole principle behind that which I laid out for the
country in '01. It's a principle which the Congress listened to -- and
passed meaningful tax relief, because we were in a recession at the
time. I worked -- we worked with Congress in '01 and they phased-in
this tax reduction plan over a period of years.
My attitude is, since the economy is not as good as we like it to be,
we ought to accelerate the tax relief which they've already planned.
That will put about $70 billion immediately into our economy, since I
intend to ask for this plan to be made retroactive to January 1st of
this year.
It's got a lot of positive effects in it. First of all, you know, I'm
always startled to talk about the marriage penalty in the tax code. I
don't know why we penalize marriage in the tax code. It doesn't make
sense. It seems like to me we ought to encourage marriage and so we
ought to accelerate that aspect of the tax relief. We've increased the
child credit to $1,000. It ought to be done this year, and not in the
out years.
And as importantly, when you reduce the tax rates at the individual
level, you also provide capital for small business growth. See, most
companies are -- most small businesses are sole proprietorships or
limited partnerships or sub-chapter S's. And, therefore, that entity
pays tax at the individual tax rate. And so the reduction of all rates
-- not just a selected few -- but the reduction of all rates provides
needed capital in the small business sector of our economy.
Secondly, I'm asking Congress to allow for the deduction of up to
$75,000 worth of capital expenditure for small businesses, which will
have a stimulative effect on our economy. And, thirdly, I believe we
ought to get rid of the double taxation of dividends. It's bad for --
when you tax something twice, it's unfair tax policy. It's fair to tax
corporate profits; it's unfair to tax the senior who receives the
dividend from the corporation you've already taxed.
I think getting rid of the double taxation of dividends will not only
help our seniors -- I know it will help our seniors -- it will be
stimulative in the sense that it gets $20 billion into our economy
this year. But, more importantly, it helps capital formation, in a
society which -- if jobs equal capital, we ought to be working on
policy to encourage more capital formation.
It's a positive -- it'll also have the positive effect of corporate
reform. After all, we went through a period of time when people said,
invest in my company because the sky is the limit, see. We may not
have any cash flow, but our story is a good one. You know, we may not
be able to show tangible assets, but we've got a wonderful story, so
buy on us.
When you have a dividend-oriented policy, the only thing you can
distribute is cash, not false promises. And so the elimination of the
double taxation of dividends will, in itself, serve as a corporate
reform measure, which is important.
So this is the plan that I'm asking Congress to pass. And I believe
we're going to get a lot of it passed. And I believe it's going to
encourage growth. As a matter of fact, you know, these economists
predicted in the blue chip forecast that the economy would grow at 3.3
percent if the Congress responded to a stimulative package. If it
responded. And so you just need to know that jobs are on my mind, and
I'm going to work hard to get Congress to pass the package. And I'm
optimistic about it.
In this town, you hear a lot of early noise which sometimes fades when
a chief executive starts taking the message to the people. And that's
what I intend to do. And I know you do the same things, when you sell
your packages at home. It's got a good effect, and I'm just beginning
to make the case.
Secondly, I understand we've got an issue with our own budget, and
you've got issues with your budgets. We can talk about that. Our
budget is in a deficit. It's because we went through a recession, and
we're at war. So I'm going to do everything I can to mitigate the
deficit by encouraging, on the one hand, more revenues coming into our
treasury through economic growth, but also limiting the spending to
reasonable amounts. And I thought a 4 percent discretionary increase
was the right amount.
And I look forward to working with Congress. As you know,
appropriators are appropriators. They live up to their name, whether
they be Republicans or Democrats. They like to appropriate. And our
jobs as chief executives is to make sure they appropriate within
reasonable levels. And I intend to work hard to encourage them to
spend within reasonable levels and set priorities.
One of the interesting things about the '04 budget I've submitted is
that there's $400 billion worth of grants to states. That's a 9
percent increase. And as a matter of fact, the grants to states have
been growing by 9 percent since I've been the President of the United
States. We can discuss whether that, in your mind, is enough or not. I
suspect I may know the answer. But, nevertheless, it put things in
perspective. Of the 4 percent increase in discretionary spending, $400
billion, or a 9 percent increase, goes directly to the states. That's
a bigger increase than 4 percent, I guess is the point I'm trying to
make to you.
I look forward to working with you on health care matters, on
Medicare. Look, Medicare is an issue that is a vital issue for our
country. It is a -- Medicare is an old system. It's hidebound with
rules, and it really doesn't address the needs of many seniors because
of it's age. I like to put it this way, medicine's changed, Medicare
hasn't. And we've got to deal with it. And we will deal with it. And
Medicaid is also an issue that we will discuss with you, and work with
you.
Tommy -- I don't know if you had the Tommy briefing yet or not. Well,
he's got a good vision, a good idea. We'll work with Congress. We got
the bill out of the House already. The welfare reform bill is out of
the House, and we hope we can get it out of the Senate this time.
This is a matter of making sure that there are proper incentives --
particularly for people to find work. We believe, in this
administration, work and dignity go hand in hand. We want to encourage
work and training for work. And at the same time, I want you to know
that I'm -- feel just as strongly about the faith-based initiative
today as when I first came into office because I understand a modern
welfare system must understand the power of our faith-based
institutions and their ability to change lives and help people who
need.
I don't talk about a particular faith. I talk about all faiths. Some
of you have done some great things -- I know that Virginia and, I
think, Jersey -- I've gone there -- Florida, I hope. Anyway, you've
done good things with the faith-based offices. I encourage you to take
advantage of this initiative. I encourage you to go into your inner
cities and find some of these neighborhood helpers and healers and
empower them. Tell them if they decide to help a neighbor in need,
government is not going to make them take the cross off the wall, or
the Star of David off their wall. Encourage their faith-based
initiative to go forward. It is an integral part of saving lives in
America.
I had a little -- Congress, they balked a little bit on the
faith-based initiative. So I put out an executive order that said
there be a level playing field for any faith-based program with
federal agencies. If you've got a housing initiative based upon a
faith-based initiative, HUD will treat you fairly. They're not going
to fund you if it's a lousy deal, but you'll be treated fairly coming
in. And I just urge you to do this. I'm absolutely confident -- well,
I know one of the great strengths of the country is the heart and soul
of the American people. And there are thousands of our fellow citizens
who will answer a call to love a neighbor in need.
I want to work with you on education. It's a subject I spent a lot of
time on as the governor of Texas. It is the most important thing a
state does, as far as I'm concerned. Today I look forward, if you've
got any questions on the No Child Left Behind bill, I'll be glad to
answer your questions.
But you're going to hear a guy who is not going to relent when it
comes to making sure we measure whether every child can read and write
and add and subtract. Because you can't cure unless you measure. And
there are too many of our children who cannot read and write and add
and subtract, and we better figure out how to not only figure out who
can't read and write, but how to cure it now, before it's too late.
(Applause.)
Margaret tells me we've talked about the Head Start Initiative, to
help you better coordinate the early childhood development programs. I
firmly believe that those children can be taught the basics for
reading now, and should be, and people ought to be held to account as
to whether or not they are being taught the basics of reading now.
I look forward to working with you on this -- our homeland security
initiative. I was disappointed that the Congress did not respond to
the $3.5 billion we asked for. They not only reduced the budget that
we asked for, they earmarked a lot of the money. That's a
disappointment, a disappointment when the executive branch gets
micromanaged by the legislative branch. You may have had that
experience yourself. (Laughter.)
But we'll do everything we can to not only get that money out quickly,
but figure out ways to get as much of the money to you in ways that
will help you respond to the threats this country faces.
I want to thank you very much for working on these joint terrorism
task forces. They're effective tools to help prevent attack. The
culture of the FBI has changed from one that said, we're going to find
criminals and arrest them, to one, we're going to do everything we can
to -- let me start over. That's still an important function of the
FBI. But it's now -- its primary function is now to prevent attack.
I say that because America is still a battlefield. You know, after
September the 11th, our perspective had to change about the world. I
remind your constituents when I travel around the country that prior
to September the 11th, oceans would protect us. That's what we
thought, at least -- that we were safe. September the 11th we learned
that we're vulnerable to attack. It's just the nature of the world we
live in. As leaders, our job is to remind the American people that --
of the reality of the dangers we face, and do everything we can to
prevent attack.
So we're doing everything here at home. I hope you feel the level of
coordination is good. If it's not, we need to hear about it, so we can
continue to button-up the homeland, to the best of our ability. The
best way to protect America is find the killers before they kill us.
And that's what we're going to do. That's why this war -- the budget I
asked for Congress had a lot of defense spending in it, because we're
on the hunt, and we're going to stay on the hunt until we bring
terrorist networks to justice. That's what we owe the American people.
As we speak today, we are not only providing help to the people of
Afghanistan, we're hunting down the remnants of al Qaeda. And they're
on the run. And it doesn't matter how long it takes, they will be
brought to justice.
The war on terror is more than just chasing down shadowy terrorist
networks. The war on terror is recognizing that weapons of mass
destruction, in the hands of brutal dictators, also threatens the
American people. I've come to the conclusion that the risk of doing
nothing far exceeds the risk of working with the world to disarm
Saddam Hussein.
I came to that conclusion because of the new realties we all face as
American citizens who love freedom and who aren't going to change.
Today we're going to submit a resolution to the U.N. Security Council
that spells out what the world has witnessed the last months. The
Iraqi regime is not disarming. The Iraqi regime is not disarming as
required by last fall's unanimous vote of the Security Council.
Saddam Hussein's refusal to comply with the demands of the civilized
world is a threat to peace, and it's a threat to stability. It's a
threat to the security of our country. It's a threat to the security
of peace leaving -- peace-loving people everywhere.
We're going to work with the members of the Security Council in the
days ahead to make it clear to Saddam that the demands of the world
and the United Nations will be enforced. It's an interesting moment
for the Security Council and the United Nations. It's a moment to
determine for this body, that we hope succeeds, to determine whether
or not it is going to be relevant, as the world confronts the threats
to the 21st century. Is it going to be a body that means what it says?
We certainly hope it does.
But one way or the other, Saddam Hussein, for the sake of peace and
for the security of the American people, will be disarmed. (Applause.)
We face common challenges. I look forward to working with you all to
meet those challenges. The country expects leaders to lead. And that's
exactly what we all are going to do for the good of mankind, for the
good of the American people.
Thank you very much.  (Applause.)
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)