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Remarks by the President to Senior Corps Volunteers
Volusia County Fire Services Training Center
Daytona Beach, Florida
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all verymuch. Please be seated. Well, it's good to behere with my little brother. (Laughter.) Lastnight when we arrived, I had the honor of saying hello to it lookedlike a couple thousand citizens there. And I said I alwayslike to go to states that have got a really goodgovernor. (Laughter.) And Idid. (Applause.)
I want all the moms here to know that any success I've had, anysuccess Jeb has had, is the result of having a strongmother. (Applause.) So my advice to the young inFlorida is, always listen to your mother. (Laughter.)
Jeb and I know one thing, and that is that America can change, oneheart, one soul at a time. We understand that acompassionate tomorrow and a safe tomorrow requires Presidents andgovernors and mayors and county officials to rally the true strength ofthe country, which is our people.
You know, the enemy hit us the other day, a whileago. They didn't understand America. They thoughtwe were weak and materialistic and soft. Instead, they havefound a patient, determined, compassionate nation that stands in theway of their efforts to spread evil. (Applause.)
In my State of the Union address the other night, I chose to spendtime talking about the spirit of unity in our country. Tome, it is one of the most -- as I said, I stand in awe of the Americanpeople, individually and collectively. I know -- I know howstrong we are as a nation. And now our job is to take thatspirit and extend it for years to come.
I like to describe it this way: Our culture has said,"if it feels good, do it." Our dream, or my dream for thecountry is that we usher in a culture that says, each of us ourresponsible for the decisions we make in life. We'reresponsible for loving our children -- (applause) -- we are responsiblefor serving goals greater than ourself. And that meansbecoming involved in the communities in which we live.
And so we're here today in Volusia County to herald a Senior Corpsprogram that embodies the spirit that I was defining in my speech -- aprogram that recognizes the power of recruiting volunteers to work sideby side with police and fire and emergency rescuers, to make sure thatthis county is more secure in its future.
I want to thank Terry White, who is the Florida Secretary of ElderAffairs. I mention the Florida office because we understandat the federal government, since I had been a governor, that sometimesthe federal government can help, and sometimes it can get in theway. I want to be -- I want to have an administration thathelps, and doesn't thwart the efforts of local people. So Ilook forward to working with your Governor, and I look forward toworking with the Cabinet he's put together, to pass power out ofWashington to local governments. The government that'sclosest to the people is that which works the best, as far as we'reconcerned.
And somebody who understands that is Congressman John Mica, and Iwant to thank John for being here, aswell. (Applause.) I want to say a word aboutJohn. One of the -- obviously, right after the attack werealized the federal government had a responsibility to make sure ourair travel was more secure. And as a result of hisleadership and the leadership of others -- but John had a major role toplay -- I was able to sign a good airline security bill that madetraffic as secure as it possibly could be.
And, thanks to the result of our efforts, brother was informing metoday that people are beginning to travel more, coming back to thisgreat destination state called Florida. I'm glad they'retraveling more. I hope they travel more toFlorida. It's good for our economy and it's good for ournation when people do that. But, John, thank you for yourleadership on this important issue. (Applause.)
I also am so glad the Chairman for the Corporation for National andCommunity Service is with us, the former Mayor of Indianapolis,Indiana, a man who understands what compassionate conservatism is allabout -- a guy who did a fabulous job of revitalizing Indianapolisthrough a faith-based initiative that was strong and powerful andlocally derived, and now a man who is in charge of making sure that theinitiatives I'm outlining get instituted, and that's StephenGoldsmith. Thanks for coming, Steve. (Applause.)
And with him is the CEO, Les Lenkowski. In my speech, Italked about making sure AmeriCorps and Senior Corpsexpand. Les's job is to follow through. I'm oneof these accountability guys. I understand sometimes in thepolitical process all you hear are words. I like to backthem up with action. I like it to be known that --
AUDIENCE MEMBER: You bet!
THE PRESIDENT: Youbet. (Laughter.) I like to know that it's onething to lay it out, it's another thing to follow up. I'm afollow-up guy. Les understands that. And so, whenwe say we're going to have an active effort to recruit, I will beasking Les and John Bridgeland, who is now working for me, head of theUSA Freedom Corps -- what are the results? Have we been ableto deliver what we said? And I'm confident we will,particularly since the spirit in this country is so strong.
I'm confident -- when I stood up in front of the nation and said, Iask you to dedicate two years of your life, 4,000 hours for the rest ofyour life, to service for your country, a nd I believe America willrespond. I truly believe it. One thing we've gotto do is make sure that people understand how to respond.
Now, don't get me wrong. I understand there arethousands of Americans who are now volunteering inAmerica. And for that, I am incrediblygrateful. I know there are hundreds and thousands ofman-hours being given to make sure communities are better off, and weapplaud those efforts. What I'm saying is, to those who arealready volunteering, keep going, we need your help. Andsome aren't sure where to go. You see, some aren't sure howto help. And so we set up the USA Freedom Corps.
And I want people to understand that if they want to help, theyneed to call 1-877-USA-CORPS. If you want to be a part, justcall that number and we will help direct your heart to a program thatneeds your help. Or if you happen to be an Internet surfer,we've got a web page, usafreedomcorps.gov -- usafreedomcorps, spelledc-o-r-p-s, .gov. It will give you a chance to find out whatwe're talking about. It will give you a go-by as to how youcan help.
And there are some fantastic programs right here in Volusia Countythat others ought to recognize, that work. One is Citizenson Patrol. We basically -- we, the county, and the state,have said there are numerous seniors who have got a lot to offer --people who might be retired, but their brains haven't retired, andtheir experience hasn't been retired. So let's figure outhow to get them involved in the community.
So they've got a program called Citizens on Patrol. Morethan 200 volunteers put in 51,000 hours in the year 2001, to help serveas eyes and ears of local law enforcement. If a child ismissing, they help look. If something is odd, they helpnotice. I don't know if you remember, but I talked about,digging into those al Qaeda caves in Afghanistan, we found some oftheir aspirations, in terms of creating harm forAmerica. For example, they targeted some of our cities, orsome of our infrastructure. Citizens on Patrol here inVolusia County patrol the water treatment plants and water treatmentfacilities in this county.
I was up in Maine the other day, and I was informed that as aresult of a collaborative effort with the Coast Guard and the FBI,lobstermen now patrol the coast of Maine, looking for somethingunusual. Part of having a homeland defense is to have peopleon alert. And I appreciate this program. So ifpeople in this part of the world want to help be a part of the firstdefense on homeland security -- and that is, help patrol neighborhoods,or patrol areas, or industrial complexes, to make sure nothing unusualis happening -- a great program is Citizens on Patrol, right here inVolusia County. (Applause.)
Part of the homeland security initiative that I outlined is to makesure that there is a proper strategy in place for responding to anemergency. That's why we're focusing resources onbioterrorism, airport security, a better border -- better borderprograms. We've got to understand who's coming in and who'scoming out of the country in a better way, it seems like to me.
But one of the things we also need to do is to have emergencyresponse strategy. If something were to go wrong, thereneeds to be a collaborative strategy between city and county and alljurisdictions within that will be able to respond properly.
One of the interesting programs here through Senior Corps and thesenior programs in Volusia County is the Community Emergency ResponseVolunteers, CERV. They have got lists of seniors who theycall if there's an impending emergency. They help put kitstogether to make sure that if there's an emergency, people arewell-treated. They have been assigned schools to go to ifthere's an emergency during evacuation.
All this, by the way, is transferable to our war against terror, isto make sure the homeland of the United States is moresecure. And so I want to thank the seniors in thiscounty. And the innovative entrepreneurial spirit ofconvincing people of how to volunteer in a constructive way is so goodhere.
And America -- Americans are asking how you can help, here'sanother way you can help, to serve your nation by being a part of anemergency response team. There are retired doctors, retirednurses that can help hospitals, there are retired policemen and firementhat can help fire -- there are people that want to help, here's a goodway to help. (Applause.)
And finally, one of the things that -- the incredible parts of 9/11is that the nation understands how important compassionis. I mean, the way I view this is that we're fightingevil, and I don't see any shades of gray. And thebest way to fight evil is with acts of kindness. The bestway to fight evil is for people to love their neighbor.
People say, well, I want to be a part of the war onterror. Okay, go love a child. Find somebody whoneeds help. One thing we ought to do in the nation is tofind those children whose parents may be in prison, and team them upwith a mentor, so that that child understand there is at least somebodyin our society that says "I love you." (Applause.)
And there is an important role for seniors, people who understandthe importance of love. And so, there's a foster grandparentprogram here, as a part of Senior Corps. It's a program thatsays, if you care for children -- and most foster grandparentsobviously have had a little experience with raising children -- please,we want your help. We want you to serve as amentor. We want you to provide a part of a hopeful futurefor a child.
I'm fully aware of the importance of Senior Corps for the future ofthe country. That's why I'm here -- to herald successfulprograms within the Senior Corps fabric.
Our goal is to recruit 100,000 new Senior Corpsvolunteers -- 100,000. We've got aweb site, we've got a phone number you can call. Please passthe word. It is an initiative that will help really solidifythe spirit of compassion, a responsibility era that's beginning toemerge in our country.
I leave here to go to Atlanta, Georgia, to talk about the need forus to recruit teachers in classrooms. Part of fightingterror is to make sure our children are educated. And weneed more teachers, and particularly hard in neighborhoods where someteachers may not want to teach. And so I'm going to herald agreat program later on today that's as successful as the Senior Corpsprogram here in Volusia County.
Obviously, you can tell that I've got great optimism for thecountry, a great hope for our future.
My most important job as the President is to protectAmerica. (Applause.) Is to make sure that we'vegot a homeland defense that's well-coordinated andactive. And even though the enemy thinks they're going tohit us again, you need to know your federal government is doingeverything we can to stop them.
We are on full alert. Our FBI, for example, has got anew mission, and that is to prevent attack. Oh, they've gottheir other jobs to do, but their primary focus is, what can I do, whatcan I do as an FBI agent to gather as much intelligence as possible toprevent a possible attack from happening.
Another way, we've got to make sure we share information with localauthorities. When we get a piece of information, I canassure you we'll be on the phone notifying people about the appropriateresponse. But we're looking and we're listening and we'reactive. And the enemy knows that they have awakened a mightygiant.
But the best way to make sure we secure our homeland, the best waywe make sure that children can grow up in a peaceful world, a worldthat understands the power and promise of freedom, is to find the enemywhere they hide and bring them to justice. And that'sexactly what this nation is going to do. (Applause.)
Oh, I know some of the people around the world are saying, well,you know, he can't possibly mean that, now that they've looked likethey're successful in Afghanistan. Gosh, don't you thinkit's about time they just kind of go onhome. No. It's now time to stand for freedom andto make it clear to terrorists and/or nations that are willing todevelop weapons of mass destruction that could be used against us thatwe will not tire and we will not falter.
This great nation has been given a chance in history to make theworld more free. And I promise you we'll seize thatopportunity. (Applause.) We'll be wise anddeliberate about how we pursue our grand objective. Butwe'll pursue it.
Time isn't on our side. As these nations develop thesesophisticated weapons, they need to know -- not how, but our intentionis to hold them accountable. And the rest of the world needsto be with us, because these weapons can be pointed at them just aseasily at us. And we cannot let terror and evil blackmailthe United States or any other freedom-loving country in theworld. (Applause.)
I'm proud of our country. I'm proud of the spirit ofAmerica. I am proud to be the President of the greatestnation on the face of the Earth. (Applause.) Isaid in my speech that one way we'll overcome evil is through thegathering momentum of millions of acts of kindness and decency andcompassion. And I'm proud to be in a room of part of thatmomentum.
May God bless you all, and may God blessAmerica. (Applause.)
END 10:07 A.M. EST
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