Remarks at St. Stephen's Community House in Columbus, Ohio

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, May 13, 2002

May 10, 2002

Thanks for that warm Columbus, Ohio, welcome. It's nice to be back home-well-- [laughter]--I say "home" because my grandfather was raised here, Prescott S. Bush, raised right here in Columbus, Ohio.

I want to thank you all for coming. I'm here--I want to talk about welfare today. I want to talk about how we make sure that we continue on the progress that we have made since 1996. Millions of Americans no longer are dependent upon Government, and that's incredibly positive not only for America but, more importantly, for each individual. It brings dignity to someone's life when they're on their own and successful.

The Congress is going to take up a reauthorization, they call it in Washington-speak, of this legislation. And I've got an idea how best to make it work, continue the reforms, and how to make it work better for Americans.

We're really here to talk about the dignity and worth of each individual American. And joining me today is a man who understands that, is my Secretary of Health and Human Services, Tommy Thompson. Tommy was the Governor of Wisconsin, who in 1996 helped lead the Nation in getting a welfare reform bill that helped people but also showed what is possible when you trust local officials, when you give them the flexibility necessary to design a program to meet the needs of the citizens of a community or a State. Tommy did a fabulous job as the Governor of Wisconsin in helping people, and he's doing a great job as the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

I want to thank your Governor. He's a longtime friend of mine. He's a man who, when we look out of Washington--which we need to do a lot of, by the way--and look down at the States, it gives us great comfort to know that Governor Taft would be in a position to help implement and start and encourage the programs necessary to help people, whether it be in education or in helping people become less dependent upon Government. And I want to thank you, Bob, for your service and thank you for your leadership. I'm honored to call you friend, and the people of Ohio are honored to call you Governor.

I want to thank my friend, former Governor, a man with whom Tommy and I served as Governors, who is now the United States Senator from the State of Ohio, George Voinovich. George is traveling with us today. I'm honored that you're here, George.

Deborah Pryce, Pat Tiberi, Bob Ney, David Hobson, and Rob Portman, all members of a fantastic congressional delegation, are with us today as well. I want to thank you all for traveling here today and thank you for your friendship. I want to thank Michael Coleman, the mayor of Columbus, for joining us today. Mr. Mayor, thank you for being here; appreciate you coming. I want to thank the executive director of St. Stephen's Community House for letting us come.

Today, when I landed at the airport, I was greeted by a fellow named Gabe Wilson, who is a high school senior here. He's a fellow that takes time out of his day to help educate younger kids about the dangers of drug use. The reason I welcome Gabe and introduce him is because he understands that America can be better off, one person at a time. I like to put it this way: One person can't do everything, but one person can do something to help. He's a member of the army of the soldiers--he's a soldier in the army of compassion. Where are you, Gabe? Gabe, thank you for coming. [Applause]

You know, we've got big challenges ahead of our Nation. Obviously, one of the great challenges is to make sure that we protect our homeland, is to prevent the killers from harming any American, to do everything we can to chase them down and bring them to justice. That's a key priority, obviously, for me and my administration. It's a key priority to make the world peaceful, to seek the peace.

It's probably going to have to be a little tough to get there--have to defend our values, stand up for what we believe, not let people harm us. But we seek the peace. We seek the peace. We work to make the world more secure. But as we do so, we need to make--work hard to make the world better, too, a better place.

The best place to start is here at home. The best place to start is to make sure every child gets educated in America--I mean every child. Got good legislation that we passed. Believe it or not, actually, Republicans and Democrats worked together to get it done. We put aside our political parties and focused on what was right for America. And that's important--that's important.

And we need to do the same thing on helping people who are on welfare. We need to set aside our political parties and focus on what is best for the American people. Let's do what works. Let's make sure that we help people.

So today I do want to talk about welfare reform. We've come to St. Stephen's Community House because it is a living example of flexibility in the welfare law, what it means. It is a living example of what we call a one-stop center, where people who need help are able to come and find help to help themselves. I understand that this is a--kind of a welcoming center for people who are transitioning, a place where people can find all-important job training or childcare or counseling--just the help they need.