Remarks in a discussion at the Liberty Community Center in Liberty

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, June 21, 2004

June 14, 2004

The President. Thank you very much. Thanks for coming. We're glad to be in Liberty, aren't we? What a great town. Gosh, I want to thank the citizens for lining the street and waving to us coming in. [Laughter] I really appreciate it. Mr. Mayor--I know the mayor is here, Steve Hawkins. Mayor, thank you for--please thank the citizens of your city for being so kind, and it's really great to be here.

You're wondering why I'm on stage with some local citizens, important Washington, DC-type personalities--[laughter]--it's because we're going to talk about something really important that's happening in the country, and that is, we're going to talk about how to make sure our seniors get the best health care possible. That's what we're here to talk about. We've got some--this is going to be a very interesting discussion, one that I think you'll find to be educational, one that will help illuminate what's going on with a good piece of law in a practical way. Before I do, I want to say something about my friend Sam Graves. Congressman Graves, thank you for coming. I asked him what he did to lose weight. [Laughter] He looks a lot prettier now than he used to. [Laughter] He said he quit eating sugar. But he is a fine Congressman. I really enjoy working with him. And I appreciate you being here, Sam. He's from a farming background. He's plenty capable and plenty smart. And I'm saving that because I want him to feel good as he gets back in the limousine. I'm giving him a ride on Air Force One back to Washington. [Laughter]

I'm with my friend Mark McClellan. I'll tell you about him in a minute.

Today when I landed, I met a lady named Ruth Blake. Where are you, Ruth? Yes, there she is. Ruth, thank you for coming. You're probably wondering why I'm introducing Ruth. The reason why is she's from Shepherd's Center, which is a--[applause]sounds like you brought your family. [Laughter] Ruth is a volunteer. She manages the adult education program that educates and empowers seniors. And the reason I bring that up is I just want our fellow citizens here in Liberty, Missouri, to understand that I know the great strength of the country is the heart and souls of the American people--that our greatest strength--[applause].

I see some of our military folks here. That's a strength of America. We'll keep the military strong. And we've got to keep the military strong to make the word--to help the world be a peaceful world. It's incumbent upon America to lead and work with other nations to spread freedom. Free countries are peaceful countries. And I believe we have an obligation to work toward freedom and peace, not only for our own security, not only because we must never forget the lessons of September the 11th, but because, in this Nation, we understand that freedom is not America's gift to file world. Freedom is the Almighty God's gift to each man and woman in this world.

Another strength of America is the fact that we're a wealthy nation, and that's important. It's important that we stay that way, so people can find work; they can put food on the table; people can do their duty as a morn or a dad.

But our true strength is the fact that we've got loving citizens who are willing to volunteer to help change America, one heart and one soul at a time. My call to our fellow citizens is to join the army of compassion, which exists in every neighborhood in every city of our great land. Make a difference by teaching a child or an adult to read, by providing food to the hungry, shelter to the homeless, and together, we can make sure the great promise and hope of America is extended to every corner of our great country.

I'm honored you're here. Thanks for coming. Thanks for representing the best of America.

Nearly 39 years ago, not far from here, President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the Medicare law, the first Medicare law. And interestingly enough, the first Medicare card was handed to Harry Truman. You might remember him--[laughter]--a fine President, I might add. But Medicare, which had done a great job for many years, got stuck in the past. In other words, medicine began to change, but Medicare wouldn't change with it.

For years, politicians talked about modernizing Medicare. Nothing got done, though. As a matter of fact, as you might remember, it became, in political parlance, "Mediscare." In other words, somebody would talk about it, and they'd use it against him as a political weapon. And it was time to get rid of that kind of talk because Medicare is too important a program for our seniors.

We were willing to provide money for operations, but we weren't willing to pay for the drugs that would prevent the operation from needing to happen in the first place. See, it was stuck in the past. The procedures were too old, and it required bureaucratic action to make sure that the modern medicine was available to our seniors. It kind of crept along. It wasn't doing its job. So we called Congress to task--I called Congress to task. I said, "Let's do our duty as elected officials to make the system work better on behalf of our senior citizens." Congress passed the law. I proudly signed it, and it's going to make a positive difference, a big difference in the lives of our seniors.