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| REMARKS BY: | TOMMY G. THOMPSON, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES |
| PLACE: | The American Legislative Exchange Council's Spring Taskforce Summit, In Partnership with the Taxpayer's Network, Las Vegas, Nevada |
| DATE: | April 12, 2002 |
Thank you so very much, Cate (Zeuske), for those kind words and for your wonderful work as Secretary of Revenue in our great home state of Wisconsin ... and now with the Taxpayers Network.
Senator (Jim) Dunlap, thank for your principled leadership in Oklahoma and in ALEC. You're exactly right -- we don't need higher taxes. We need fewer regulations. That would be a novel thought to some of my friends in Washington, but we'll leave that for another time....
It's good to see so many friends from Wisconsin here -- Cate's husband, State Representative John Gard ... State Representatives Phil Montgomery and Dan Vrakas ... and State Senator Bob Welch. We produced remarkable successes together back in Madison and I know you're continuing to do good work back home.
The Taxpayers Network was founded in the great state of Wisconsin, so in addition to being a terrific organization in its own right, its got a special place in my heart. But so does ALEC. As I look out at all of you, and think of all the things we've been able to do for America, I know our efforts have been very well worth it.
You picked quite a site for your convention -- Las Vegas. If I were a meeting organizer, perhaps I would try someplace with fewer distractions, perhaps someplace with less to do so your members will attend all the meetings.
Which reminds me of a priest from my hometown who woke up one Sunday morning and realized it was an exceptionally beautiful and sunny early spring day. He decided he just had to play golf.
So... he told another priest at the church that he was feeling sick and convinced him to say mass for him that day. The priest immediately headed out of town to a golf course about 40 miles away. This way he knew he wouldn't accidentally meet anyone he knew from his parish.
Setting up on the first tee, he was alone. After all, it was Sunday morning and everyone else was in church. At about this time, Saint Peter leaned over to the Lord while looking down from the heavens and exclaimed, "You're not going to let him get away with this, are you?"
The Lord sighed, and said, "No, I guess not." Just then, the priest hit the ball and it shot straight toward the pin. Dropping just short of it, the ball rolled up and fell into the hole. It was a 375-yard hole-in-one. A truly miraculous shot.
St. Peter was astonished. He looked at the Lord and asked, "Why did you let him do that?" The Lord smiled and replied, "Who is he going to tell?"
So, if you see some of your friends trying to sneak through the lobby later with golf clubs in tow, you'll have an idea of what they've been up to.
I'm pleased to be here with each of you in Las Vegas and am happy we were able to reschedule this event, which had to be postponed in the aftermath of September 11th.
America is a different place than it was just seven months ago, and -- on behalf of President Bush -- let me say how especially grateful I am for all you at the state and local level did in the immediate aftermath of September 11th.
State governments responded quickly and well, reviewing their emergency plans, providing aid to people affected directly by the terrorist attacks, affirming their commitment to stamping out terrorism and uniting as seldom before in our history.
The terrorists' victims were civilians and military personnel. They were ordinary men and women in the daily course of their lives. And they were diligent protectors of freedom, so proud to be Americans.
On that dreadful day, they shared more than a common fate. They died for a single reason -- they were Americans. When they perished, they did so not as New Yorkers or Pennsylvanians or Virginians, but simply as citizens of the greatest country on earth.
Today, we are fighting for a new birth of freedom, not just for America, but for the entire world. We are fighting the hate, evil and tyranny that scuttle in the shadows, waiting to snuff out the light of freedom.
I am so proud of our President. He is a leader at home and abroad. He fights for the security of Americans from terrorist attack. His visionary leadership shines forth not by the accident of history -- but because of a purpose that is firm, a character that is straight, and a heart that is true.
Every morning, I receive an intelligence briefing from the CIA. It's pretty sobering. Our enemies are really. They are scattered all over the world. The terrorist network is extensive.
That's why President Bush is committed to winning this war against international terrorism. He knows that if we don't succeed now, we'll have to fight it again and again, for long years into the future.
Our adversaries have been put on notice: We will protect our people. We will stand for freedom and justice and the security of our nation.
Yet, even in the pain and even amidst the evil of what the terrorists have done, some good has come. There is a wonderful new spirit in America.
That spirit was brought home to me in a way I'll never forget during a trip I made earlier this year to Ground Zero in New York. I spoke with an older man in a firefighter's uniform who was walking near the site. He told me he had lost two sons in the collapse of the Twin Towers, one a firefighter, the other a police officer. He goes to ground zero every day to pray and to feel closer to his sons.
He gave me a badge with his son's photos on it and asked me to pass it on to the President. I took that badge and was so deeply honored to hand it to President Bush.
I will never forget that dear man. Neither will our country, because President Bush mentioned him in his State of the Union speech in February.
We in the Bush Administration are doing everything we can to help you prepare for what might happen should our adversaries strike again. As many of you know, earlier this year, we released $1.1 billion to the states to help them strengthen their capacity to respond to bioterrorism and other public health emergencies resulting from terrorism.
To prepare further, President Bush and I are requesting an additional $4.3 billion - an increase of 45 percent over the current fiscal year -- to support a wide variety of critical activities to prevent, identify and respond to incidents of bioterrorism.
Together, these are the largest one-time investments in America's public health system, ever. President Bush and I are committed to ensuring that doctors, hospitals, communities and states are as prepared as possible to meet any emergency that should arise. You have my commitment on this. We are your partners in this effort.
As important as bioterrorism is, it's only one facet of the Bush Administration's full court press for America's health. Two others of particular relevance to the states are the Administration's proposal for health care credits and our commitment to continue with the next step in welfare reform.
The President's budget includes $89 billion in new health credits to help American families choose, buy and own their health insurance. This is a tremendous initiative -- it does not involve government funding but, instead, encourages personal responsibility by empowering people to make wise and necessary choices about their own health care.
We are eager to work with states to give many Americans the option of using the health credits through state-sponsored purchasing pools, to help ensure that they too have access to a broad range of affordable coverage options.
The credits will enable 6 million Americans who would otherwise be uninsured during a year to get coverage, and will help many more who are struggling to pay for their own health insurance with little or no government help.
The President also supports legislation to provide $15 billion in health credits to provide quick help for workers who have lost their jobs during the recession. The credits would pay 60 percent of the cost of keeping their health care coverage and would assist over 4 million displaced workers.
These are dynamic proposals, and I hope the President and I can count on you to help us advance it through the Congress.
And we continue to move forward to help the uninsured. Since January 2001, we've approved state plan amendments and Medicaid and SCHIP waivers that have expanded opportunity for health coverage to 1.8 million Americans and improved existing benefits to 4.5 million individuals.
And the President's budget includes $89 billion in new health credits to help American families buy health insurance. The program will support purchase of health insurance as well as affordable expansions in state and federal programs and will provide states the flexibility to set up state-sponsored purchasing pools to harness the economies of group purchasing.
Welfare also is a major issue we are tackling this spring. Over the past five years, welfare reform has exceeded our most optimistic expectations. The 1996 law dramatically shifted national welfare policy by promoting work and encouraging personal responsibility.
We restored an essential principle that had long been lost -- that welfare assistance was designed to be temporary, to help families in crisis, and that dependence and poverty were not permanent conditions.
As a result, nearly seven million fewer people are on welfare today than in 1996. 2.8 million fewer children are in poverty. Poverty rates for minority children have decreased dramatically. These things have occurred, in large part, because welfare has been transformed.
Yet states still face many challenges. Our proposal seeks $16.5 billion for block grants to States and Tribes and more than $320 million each year for Supplemental Grants for states with growing populations.
In addition to the requirement for universal engagement, we will increase the direct work requirement. Our proposal requires welfare recipients to engage in a 40 hour work-week, only 24 hours of which must be in direct work, including employment, on the job training, and/or supervised work experience.
This is an important step, since 40 hours is the normal work period for all Americans, and we want the men and women who are transitioning from welfare to understand what will be demanded of them in the real world.
A full 16 of these 40 hours can be used for training and education, the very things that will equip former welfare recipients for success in their future. This means 3 days of work, 2 days of school. That's an excellent deal -- and an even better opportunity for families striving to climb the career ladder.
We will also allow substance abuse treatment, rehabilitation, or work-related training for up to 3 months within any 24-month period. And we will also gradually increase minimum participation rate requirements of five percent per year.
And one final note: Let me thank so many of you for your wonderful work on organ donation. Since you passed your resolution supporting the organ donation we passed last year, three states -- Minnesota, Ohio and Virginia -- have passed organ donation legislation similar to what we have in Wisconsin. Legislation is pending in Massachusetts and Illinois. And I know that this year, ALEC is presenting a model organ donor bill here in Las Vegas so that all of you can have a template to use in your home states.
Organ donation is critical. Please, if you haven't declared yourself as a donor, sign an organ donor card. If you have signed a card, share your decision with your loved ones so they will be supportive of it.
Well, there's much more we can discuss during our question and answer time. But whether we're discussing organ donation, welfare reform, health care, bioterrorism and or any other endeavor, you are our partners. We are joined in a common effort to promote good health and a higher quality of life for the American people. If you have ideas, please send them to me. If you have problems, let me know, and suggest solutions and ways my department can help.
It's only fitting that here in the ESPN Sports Zone, I close by quoting someone we think very highly of in my great home state of Wisconsin, the former coach of the Green Bay Packers, Vince Lombardi. Coach Lombardi said, "People who work together will win, whether it be against complex football defenses, or the problems of modern society."
That's so true of all of you. You are committed to working together to build a stronger America where everyone can better realize his or her dreams and hopes.
I thank you so very much for all you are doing. I'm honored to be a partner with you as we move ahead with policies and programs that make America even greater than it is. May God bless you, and may God bless America.