08 February 2002

President Bush on Terrorism, Farm Bill, Trade Bill

President Bush says his administration will work patiently to rid the world of terror and defend freedom.

In February 8 remarks to a cattlemen's convention in Denver, Colorado, Bush also described his goals for major farm legislation now pending in Congress.

On terrorism, the president said the United States aimed not only at terrorist networks but also at countries developing weapons of mass destruction that pose a threat to future generations of Americans.

"I intend to find the killers wherever they may hide, and run them down, and bring them to justice," Bush said. "They think there's a cave deep enough, they're wrong. They think they're going to run out of patience, they are wrong."

On the farm bill, Bush said he would accept a program that spent $73,000 million over 10 years, that amount spent fairly evenly over the years. He opposed any bill that spent most of the money at the beginning.

Bush said the program should not promote overproduction by setting loan rates too high.

The president took another opportunity to press the Senate to pass a bill giving him trade promotion authority (TPA), otherwise known as fast track, to negotiate trade agreements in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and elsewhere.

"It's good for America to have that authority," Bush said. "It's also going to be good for the world because America's great producers will help feed the hungry."

Following are excerpts from a transcript of Bush's remarks:

(Note: In the transcript "billion" equals 1,000 million and "trillion" equals 1,000,000 million.)

Office of the Press Secretary February 8, 2002

2002 Remarks By The President To The Cattle Industry Annual Convention And Trade Show Denver Convention Center Denver, Colorado 9:41 A.m. MST

The President:

And make no mistake about it, this nation is being tested. You know, when the enemy hit us on September the 11th, they must have not figured out what we were all about. See, they thought we weren't determined, they thought we were soft. They obviously had never been to a National Cattlemen's Convention before. (Applause.)

Now what they're finding out is this great land is determined and patient and steadfast and strong to defend freedom. (Applause.) We've been called into action. History has called this government and our nation to action, to defend freedom. And make no mistake about it, that's exactly what I intend to do. (Applause.)

I intend to find the killers wherever they may hide, and run them down, and bring them to justice. They think there's a cave deep enough, they're wrong. They think they're going to run out of patience, they are wrong. Those who hurt America and those who continue want to harm America will not be able to escape the long reach of American justice. (Applause.)

I'm sure there's many out in the audience today who have got a relative who serves in the United States military. I want to tell you how grateful we are for the sacrifice and the honor the military has brought to the United States. I sent them on a tough mission, and my, have they made us proud. (Applause.) We haven't been at this very long, but we've accomplished a lot in a short period of time. As you remember, I laid out a doctrine for our foreign policy that said, if you harbor a terrorist, if you feed a terrorist, if you hide a terrorist, you're just as guilty as the terrorists. And the Taliban found out what that meant. (Applause.)

Our military not only upheld the doctrine, but in so doing, I'm proud to report, we liberated a people. We have freed women and children from the clutches of one of the most barbaric regimes in the history of mankind. I'm so proud of the United States military. (Applause.)

And we're just beginning. Afghanistan is the first theater in the war against terror. This nation cannot afford, and must not rest, until we have done everything in our power to rally our coalition and rid the world of terror. That not only means those who are associated with the terrorist networks of global reach; it also means nations which develop weapons of mass destruction aimed at destroying America and attacking our friends and our allies. Nations that have had, as a result of their past, have shown us clearly that they hate freedom, they hate transparency, they hate rule of law. Nations which, if they were able to couple their mad designs with global terrorism, would threaten our children and our children's children's future. I will not let it stand, and neither will the United States of America. (Applause.)...

And part of making sure we've got a healthy economic outlook is to have a healthy agricultural sector. (Applause.) Our farm economy, our ranchers and farmers provide an incredible part of the nation's economic vitality. I mean, if you're not vital, the nation's economy will suffer. A lot of Americans have got to understand this, that food and fiber accounted for nearly $1.3 trillion of gross domestic product in the year 2000; $1.3 trillion of our economy came from farmers and ranchers and all the people associated with helping people raise crop and raise beef. And so we've got to make sure that our farm economy is strong.

The farm economy employs nearly 24 million people. That's a lot. And, therefore, when we work on the farm bill in Washington, we must understand that we've got to have a good bill that not only enhances our nation's security by making sure we've got ample food, but that we, by having good farm policy, good agriculture policy, we can help create jobs all across America.

And so I want to talk to you quickly about the farm bill. One bill passed the House [of Representatives], one bill looks like it's getting ready to pass the Senate. It will go to what they call conference. And we're going to work hard to get a good farm bill out. I'm really looking forward to working with [Representative] Larry Combest and the conferees in the House, as well as looking forward to working with the conferees in the Senate to get a bill that meets these principles.

First, I want farm policy that is generous in our appropriations and affordable. Now, we've agreed that our farm bill should cost $73.5 billion over the next decade. My administration will honor that agreement. I know the folks on this stage will honor that agreement. It looks like that's pretty well settled in, and that's good for the farm sector. But we've got to spend the money without -- I guess you could call it politically gimmickry.

You see, what we don't want to have happen is they take the bulk of that money and spend it early, so that in the out years, the farm economy suffers. What we want is to make sure that when the bill is passed, that the $73 billion is spent evenly, or relatively evenly over the decade. In other words, to put it bluntly, what we don't want to do is over-promise to farmers, and under-perform. What we don't want to do is use the taxpayers' money to try to cobble together a loose coalition to get votes early on which will ultimately hurt the agricultural sector of the United States of America. (Applause.)

A good farm bill must provide a safety net for farmers, without encouraging over production, and thereby depressing prices. By setting loan rates too high, we could easily worsen a problem that loan rates were supposed to correct. I favor farm policies that strengthen the farm economy over the long run, policies that promote independence. But what I don't want to do is to provide incentives into the marketplace that will hurt farmers. And so we've got to have good loan policy. And I look forward to working with the members on the stage to provide that.

I want a farm bill that supports trade. Oh, I know there's a lot of controversy around America on trade. Let me tell you how I look at it. Our ranchers and farmers are the best in the world at what they do. (Applause.) We can grow crops better, we can grow things better, and we can raise beef better. (Applause.) And if that's the case, it seems logical to me that we want a more -- want more opportunity to sell that which we're best at all around the world. We want people in China eating U.S. beef. (Applause.)

No, I know there's some skepticism. People are always saying, every President comes along and he talks about agriculture, and then when it comes time to negotiating international trade agreements, they seem to forgot. Well, so far, our administration hasn't forgotten. I told the people who are interested in this subject when I was campaigning, we were going to make sure agriculture remained at a cornerstone of U.S. economic policy, not only at home, but internationally.

I sent a team over there, with Ann [Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman] and Zoellick [U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick] to talk to the Chinese. And I -- just look at the record. There's huge amounts of opportunity for American farmers and ranchers in that vast market. There's been some discussions about world trade, and look at the record: the United States stood strong when it came to protecting the agriculture interests. We want to open up markets, and at the same time, we want to make sure others open up their markets for us, and to make sure that we open up markets in places like Europe for America's healthy beef. (Applause.)

You can help by making sure the Senate hears that message, that the Senate passes a trade promotion bill which gives me the authority to work hard to open up markets all around the world for those who work hard. I need that authority. It's good for America to have that authority. It's also going to be good for the world because America's great producers will help feed the hungry.