For Immediate Release Office of the
Press Secretary November 26, 2002
Fact Sheet: A Record of Accomplishment for America
President George W. Bush has made great progress on bringing
people together to enact his agenda for a safer, stronger, and
better America. The end of the 107th Congress marks a remarkable
time of bipartisan accomplishment on the issues that matter most to
Americans, including:
- Strengthening Homeland Security: The President proposed
and signed into law legislation to create a new Department of
Homeland Security -- the most significant transformation of
our government in half a century. President Bush has also signed
legislation to increase aviation security, enhance
border security and port security, improve protections
against bioterrorism, and expand the ability of law
enforcement to prevent terrorism. Already, President Bush's
leadership in creating a new Transportation Security
Administration has resulted in significant improvements in
aviation security.
- Expanding Economic Opportunity: Immediately upon taking
office, the President took steps to address the nation's economy.
The President proposed and signed tax relief that boosted
our economy so people could find jobs, strengthened small
businesses, and put more money in people's pockets when they
needed it most. The President also signed an economic
stimulus bill giving short-term help to displaced workers and
long-term stimulus to help businesses create more jobs. The
President signed into law terrorism insurance legislation
that will help building projects nationwide to move forward again
-- creating thousands of good hard hat jobs. And, the President
signed Trade Promotion Authority legislation to boost our
economy and jobs by opening foreign markets to U.S. products and
services.
- Winning the War on Terrorism: The President signed
legislation to help win the war against terrorism, pay our
troops, and help New York City recover from the terrorist attacks.
And, the President signed into law historic increases in
defense spending to boost national security. This increase in
defense spending will meet new and emerging threats; modernize our
military; improve intelligence; fund new high-tech weapons;
protect our troops against chemical and biological attacks; and
give our troops and their families a well-deserved pay raise and
important quality of life improvements.
- Improving Education for Every Child: As he promised,
the President proposed and signed the most historic education
reforms in a generation that will hold schools accountable for
improvement and ensure that no child in America is left behind.
The President's education reform agenda will improve reading
and math instruction, establish clear standards and
accountability for results, require a quality teacher in
every classroom, and increase parental involvement and
control over their children's education.
- Building a Global Coalition for a Safer World:
President Bush called on the United Nations to live up to
its founding purpose and confront the "grave and gathering danger"
of Saddam Hussein's outlaw regime. He worked with other world
leaders to secure passage of a strong, principled Security Council
resolution that makes clear what the Iraqi regime needs to do to
meet its obligations to the international community. President
Bush also worked to secure a bipartisan Congressional
resolution that told the United Nations, and all nations, that
America is united in its resolve to stand up to Iraqi aggression.
- Maintaining Fiscal Discipline: The President worked
with Congress to fund key priorities and meet national challenges,
and held the line on unnecessary spending.
- Making Prescription Drugs More Affordable: In addition
to launching a Medicare Prescription Drug Discount Card
program, the President announced a new FDA rule to lower
prescription drug costs by improving access to generic drugs,
which are safe and effective and can be much less costly
alternatives to brand-name prescription drugs. The proposed rule
is expected to lead to savings in drug costs of over $3 billion
per year for millions of consumers. When the new Congress convenes
in 2003, President Bush will continue working to modernize and
strengthen Medicare, including adding a Medicare
prescription drug benefit for seniors.
- Strengthening Health Care for All Americans: The
President signed into law legislation to help meet his goal of
providing health care for 6.1 million more Americans
through 1,200 new and expanded community health center
sites. And, he signed legislation that will give patients
quicker access to innovative, life-saving technologies and
greater options to choose health are products that best meet their
individual needs.
- Cracking Down on Corporate Corruption: The President
proposed and signed tough corporate accountability
legislation that will expose and punish acts of corruption,
restore confidence in corporate America, and protect small
investors.
- Protecting Family Farmers and Promoting Agriculture: On
May 13, 2002, the President signed legislation creating a safety
net for the American farmers who feed our Nation and much of the
world. The Administration also put forward an aggressive plan to
open international markets for U.S. farmers, while reducing
subsidies.
- Reforming the Campaign Finance System and the Elections
Process: The President signed legislation to improve our
campaign finance system, and he signed historic election
reforms to help states and localities update their systems of
voting and ensure the integrity of elections in America.
- Protecting the Most Vulnerable Members of Our Society:
President Bush signed the Born Alive Infants Protection Act,
important and bipartisan legislation to ensure that every infant
born alive is considered a person under federal law.
- Cleaning Up Our Environment: The President signed
brownfields legislation that will encourage the restoration
and redevelopment of old industrial properties - cleaning up our
environment, creating new jobs and protecting small businesses
from frivolous lawsuits. The President signed important new
conservation measures into law, and he launched a new
Healthy Forests Initiative that will significantly step up
efforts to prevent the damage caused by catastrophic wildfires. He
proposed the Clear Skies Initiative, an effort to
aggressively reduce air pollution from power plants by 70 percent
and improve air quality throughout the country. He announced an
aggressive new Global Climate Change strategy to cut the
growth in greenhouse gas intensity by 18 percent over the next 10
years.
- Issuing a National Call to Service: The President
issued a call to all Americans to engage in volunteer service and
created the USA Freedom Corps to foster a culture of service,
citizenship, and responsibility. The USA Freedom Corps is
working with government agencies, the non-profit sector,
businesses, schools, and other institutions to achieve this goal.
Through the largest clearinghouse of volunteer opportunities ever
created, it is matching volunteers with opportunities in record
numbers to prepare for crises at home, help those in need, and
extend American compassion around the world.
- Leading the Fight Against HIV/AIDS: President Bush has
requested record levels of funding for care, treatment,
prevention, and research to find a cure or vaccine for HIV/AIDS.
The President has expanded America's leadership role in tackling
the global HIV/AIDS crisis, proposing a full 82% increase in
funding over FY 2001 levels to fight global HIV/AIDS. The United
States government made the founding contribution to the Global
Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria and is one of only
two countries to date that has made a second donation. And, this
spring, President Bush announced a $500 million initiative to
prevent maternal to child transmission of HIV and to care for
women and families in the most heavily impacted countries in
Africa and the Caribbean.
- Expanding Homeownership Opportunities for All Americans:
In June 2002, President Bush announced an aggressive announced
homeownership agenda to increase the number of minority homeowners
by at least 5.5 million by the end of this decade. The President's
homeownership agenda will dismantle barriers to homeownership by
providing down payment assistance, increasing the supply of
affordable homes, increasing support for self-help homeownership
programs, and simplifying the homebuying process. The President
also issued "America's Homeownership Challenge" to the real estate
and mortgage finance industries to take concrete steps to tear
down the barriers to homeownership that face minority families.
Making Progress on Other Key Issues: President Bush also
worked to make important progress in Congress on other key issues,
such as:
- Developing a comprehensive national energy strategy to
reduce America's dependence on foreign oil and expand
conservation, encourage energy efficiency, and increase
domestic exploration and production.
- Rallying the Armies of Compassion by working to
increase support for America's charities, faith-based
organizations, and community groups, as well as creating a
level playing field so faith-based and community
organizations can help more people in need; and
- Protecting the pensions of America's workers.
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