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Remarks Prepared for Delivery by
U.S. Secretary of
Labor Elaine L. Chao To
Excellence in Public Service
Capital Hilton
Hotel
Washington, D.C.
Wednesday, May 12, 2004
Thank you, Cathy [Bailey]. It’s good to see you, again.
Thank you for all you have done to help bring this group together, today. And
let me give a special welcome to the others in the Kentucky delegation.
I also want to recognize Carla Weiss, from the Office of Public Liaison
at the White House, and Judie Singleton, the co-Founder of this national
program.
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Washington.
It’s always a delight to speak to women leaders. Women are creating
new small businesses at a faster rate than men. And women are surging ahead in
the professions—women now comprise more than 50 percent of all
professionals in the workplace. We’ve come a long way!
You’ve heard from Dina Powell about the tremendous number of women
the President has appointed to high-level positions in this Administration. At
the Labor Department, we’re following his lead, and half of the top
leadership is women. This is more than any other Cabinet department in the
Administration and a record for the history books!
From the Assistant Secretary of the Employment Standards
Administration—which covers everything from fairness in contracting to
wages and hours worked—to the Assistant Secretary of the Employment and
Training Administration—which spends most of the Labor Department’s
$72.6 million budget—women head 7 of the Department’s key agencies. I
am very proud of each one of them.
As women leaders, you’ve come to Washington to hear about the
important issues of the day. So, let me touch on two very important
ones—the war on terrorism and the outlook for our economy. In both cases,
the reality is better than the headlines.
As the President has said, we are winning the war on terrorism, slowly
but surely.
In this post-9/11 world, the President knows that the old strategy of
containment is not good enough. Terrorism is not a matter of law enforcement or
intelligence; it’s a new kind of war that requires a military
approach.
The President’s strategy to win the war on terrorism is proactive.
He has taken the battle to our enemies on their native soil, instead of waiting
for them to attack the U.S. again.
When I visited Iraq in January, I was so impressed with our men and
women in uniform and what they have done. But our soldiers and U.S. civilians
working with them are upset that only bad news is being reported and no one
knows about the good work they are doing.
Let me tell you about Captain Stacy Symms from New York. Shortly after
arriving in Iraq, the captain was given charge of a small Iraqi boy who was
found wandering the streets. The boy’s parents were dead and he had no
home. Captain Symms found an orphanage for the little boy, but it had been
badly neglected by Saddam Hussein. One thing led to another, and this selfless
army captain and his fellow soldiers completely refurbished the 17 orphanages
in Baghdad. They restored the electricity, delivered fuel and other supplies so
the staff could feed and clothe the children. This is just one of the many
stories of heroism that you won’t hear on the evening news.
During my trip, I also visited the women’s rights center in Hilla,
one of 19 women’s rights centers this Administration is establishing
throughout Iraq.
Although they are very conservative Shi’ites, the women in Hilla
believe their religion is no barrier to exercising their political rights. They
are determined to have a voice in rebuilding their country. At the center they
are learning skills in computers, sewing and catering. They are building
businesses so that they can better support and provide for their families.
I gave the Hilla women’s center a gift before I left—a picture
of all the women leaders of the U.S. Department of Labor. I wanted to give them
something that would inspire them to dream big.
As we approach the deadline to hand over civil authority to the Iraqis,
the road is getting very rough but we must hold on.
There are those who seize on the transgressions of a few to condemn the
whole of what we are trying to accomplish in Iraq. But we cannot let the acts
of a few individuals poison the support for our men and women in uniform. We
must never forget the sacrifices our troops are making to keep us safe from
terrorists.
There is still a lot of work to do, and the price of freedom is high. It
will test our courage and resolve as a nation. But it is the right thing to
do.
Who would have thought, a year ago, that public policy focus would have
shifted from the domestic economy to foreign policy?
Remember where we were in May of last year—at 6.1 percent
unemployment. Remember where we were when this Administration first took office
in early 2001?
The economy had already begun to slow down and was entering a recession,
although it was not widely reported at the time. The President pushed through a
tax cut package and just when the economy started moving again the terrorists
attacked our country. We lost more than 3,000 precious lives on 9/11. And the
aftermath of that terrible day cost millions of people their livelihoods as
well. 1.5 million jobs were eliminated as a result of the 9/11 attacks.
Then, we suffered another blow—this time from within. Some of our
leading corporate citizens forgot their responsibilities and did not tell the
truth about their corporate earnings. Companies failed, workers lost their jobs
and confidence in our financial institutions was shaken. But thanks to the
President’s corporate accountability reforms and jobs and growth package,
we’re on the path to recovery again.
We have had eight straight months of job creation, with 1.1 million jobs
being created since August 2003. The unemployment rate is 5.6 percent.
That’s lower than the average of 1970s, ’80s or ’90s. Contrast
that with the nine percent unemployment rate in Germany and France.
In addition:
- Inflation is negligible;
- Interest rates are at their lowest levels in nearly 40 years;
- Real wages, adjusted for inflation, rose 3.1 percent from 2000 to
2004;
- We’ve begun to reverse the decline in manufacturing employment
for the first time in 42 months, and
- Unemployment rates in the African-American and Hispanic American
communities are falling, as well.
This is great news for America’s workers and for our economy. These
strong indicators are proof that the President’s economic plan is working
and that the gains are widespread.
Another economic issue you will hear a lot about is outsourcing. Some
believe that economic isolationism is the answer to outsourcing. They want to
erect barriers around our country and shrink opportunities for growth and
investment with more regulations and restrictions.
This Administration believes that free and fair trade is the way to
create more jobs for Americans. We want to reduce the excessive taxation,
litigation and regulation that is stifling job creation. We want to retrain our
workers and remake our companies so they can grow and create more jobs here at
home. Free trade is a two-way street—6.4 million Americans work for U.S.
subsidiaries of foreign corporations.
So you see, America is moving forward. And all across this
great country, the American spirit of compassion, generosity and service to
others lives. It lives on Main Street, the soccer fields of the suburbs and in
the halls of government. And it takes people like you to make a difference.
I commend you all on your interest in our government and in public
service.
Thank you for inviting me here, today.
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