President Discusses the Future Technology at White House
Forum Remarks by the President at the 21st Century
High Tech Forum Presidential Hall Dwight David Eisenhower
Executive Office Building
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. So I give Kvamme a salary, and he
leads a standing ovation. Thank you. (Laughter.)
Thank you all very much. I'm honored you're here. I particularly
want to thank our panelists for sharing their wisdom. And I want to
thank you all for taking time to come and visit about how to make
sure our nation is secure and strong and hopeful. I want to thank
the members of my Cabinet who are here, Evans and Elaine Chao. I
want to thank John Marburger for being here, as well.
You know, we -- these are extraordinary times. I remember
campaigning and somebody said, would you ever deficit spend? I said,
only if there was a war, or a recession, or a national emergency.
(Laughter.) I didn't think we were going to get the trifecta.
(Laughter.) But there's no doubt in my mind we can and will solve
all three. And one of the keys to recovery on the economic side is a
strong and vibrant high-tech industry. I know that; I understand the
importance of productivity gains and what it means for average
Americans.
My attitude is as long as somebody's not working, we've got a
problem. I know people here in Washington like to look at
statistics, and that's fine. But so long as somebody wants to work
and can't find work, people in government need to think about ways
to expand economic opportunity.
And one way to do so is to make sure that our country is still on
the cutting edge of productivity gains. There's a practical
application to high-tech, by the way, one that's really come home to
roost recently. And that is, you know, when it comes to the defense
of our country, our high-tech gains have made an enormous
difference.
Let me take a step back. We fight an enemy which is cruel and
heartless and relentless. You just need to know that. And even
though we've made some progress -- and we have; as I said the other
night, we and our friends have hauled in about 2,400 of them --
there's still a lot of them out there, which means this country is
in for a long war. Particularly -- and it's necessary because we're
defending freedom. That's what you've got to know. And it's real,
and we're going to have to deal with it.
And we can deal with it diplomatically, which we'll do. We've got
a great coalition we've put together, and we'll keep the coalition
together. We'll share intelligence, which we will continue to do, to
make sure that we can find these killers wherever they try to hide.
And at the same time, we'll continue to fight a guerilla war with
conventional means, because we're the best in the world with high
technology.
The first battle in the war -- the first war of the 21st century
-- was in Afghanistan, as you know. And a lot of people said, well,
it's impossible to fight that war there because of past experiences.
And, of course, we were somewhat mindful of history. And yet what
people didn't realize was that, because of precision-guided weapons,
we were really accurate, which was bad news for the enemy, good news
for the civilian population and coalition forces.
We fly a Predator airplane. Probably some of you all designed the
programming and all the materials that make it work. We fly a
Predator airplane now that has got the capacity on a real-time basis
to send signals back to the United States about what's going on on
the ground. It can fly at night, it flies at day. It gives people a
pretty good look about what the enemy may or may not be doing.
This Predator saves time, saves lives, is an incredibly important
part of fighting a guerilla war with conventional means. It means
our targeting is a heck of a lot more accurate. It means the
information to people in the field receive is timely and real and
fast, thanks to the high-tech industry of America.
Our high-tech advantage will make it easier for us to keep the
peace. We talk about weapons of war, but I want you to know, they
are used to keep the peace. That's the dream of this administration,
is to make the world more peaceful. And we're going to have to
continue to use high-tech means and high-tech equipment to chase the
killers down one by one.
It is fortuitous that America is on the cutting edge of high
technology at this time in history, because of the nature of the
war. In the old days, there would be columns of tanks and artillery
moving here and airplanes flying there. And now we're facing
sophisticated killers who hide in caves, who communicate in shadowy
ways, and who are plenty lethal. And we're going to win the war
because of our resolve and our determination and our love for
freedom. But we're also going to win the war, thanks to the
incredible technology and technological breakthroughs that we have
achieved here in America.
And we're going to win -- protect our homeland in a better way,
as well, because of technology. And that's important for Americans
to know. Listen, I fully - you probably can tell by now, I believe
the best defense is a good offense. So we're going after them. But
in the mean time, we've got to do a better job of securing the
homeland.
And I can envision a lot of new technologies that enable us to
communicate with first responders, and to be able to communicate
between the federal and state and local governments. As you probably
have read, we've had a -- we can do a better job of gathering
intelligence and sharing intelligence between different agencies of
our government. All of this is going to require, by the way, in
order to do so, new technologies within the FBI and the CIA, and the
ability to communicate with each other, and the ability to filter
out what information should go from one agency to the next, all
aimed at protecting the homeland.
And so when you hear me talk about homeland security, and the new
Department of Homeland Security, it's -- one of the missions is
going to be to make sure it's a modern agency that actually
functions the way modern corporate America functions. And that's one
of the reasons I have asked for the Congress to put all the agencies
under one head. I mean, this is 100 different groups here in
Washington trying to defend the homeland. You can imagine, there's
not a lot of accountability when they're scattered all over D.C. And
I'd like to streamline this agency, not to create bigger government,
but to create a government that actually work, and work in a way
that protects the homeland.
We've got a lot of work to do, but I'm confident if we're wise
about how we use technologies and the advantages of e-government,
that the country will be more secure.
So I want to thank you for your contributions to national
defense. You probably never dreamt, by the way, a year and a half
ago, or two years ago that a President of the United States would be
addressing a high-tech conference, thanking you for your
contributions to the defense of the United States and the defense of
our homeland. But that's the realities of the new world. And,
fortunately, our country has been smart about how we have -- how our
economy has developed.
I was interested to read that our government plans to spend $53
billion on information technology next year. Now, if you're one of
the recipients of that $53 billion, make sure that the product
actually works, please. (Laughter and applause.) It is important.
It's important to make sure government functions better, but more
importantly, it will help our taxpayers have better response to
democracy and get better information more quickly. And so I'm
pleased that we're working on e-government. I just urge people to
focus on results and not process.
The other thing that I want you all to understand is I think I've
got a pretty clear vision of the role of government. And it's not to
create wealth; that's not the role of the government. The role of
government is to create an environment in which people who've got a
good idea and are willing to work for it can make a living, and
expand their businesses and employ people.
I've met many of you before, and I told you if you gave me a
chance to be here in Washington, I would work to cut taxes.
Fortunately, I kept my promise, and it was good for the American
economy that I did so and that the Congress acted. The tax relief
came at the right time.
Now, some don't subscribe to that theory here in Washington, but
they read a different economic textbook than I do. Their view is we
ought to not lower taxes in times of recession. In essence, their
view is we ought to keep as much money in Washington, D.C., as
possible. That doesn't lead to economic recovery. My view is -- and
you know what it is, which is if you let people keep more of their
own money, they'll spend it. And when they spend it, they're going
to demand a good and service and then somebody's got to provide the
good and service. This tax cut was the right thing to do.
It's important that the Congress now make the tax cuts permanent.
I saw we had a setback when the Senate unwisely didn't make the
elimination of the death tax permanent. The death tax is a bad tax.
It's a bad tax for entrepreneurial America. It's a bad tax for
people from all walks of life. It's a bad tax if you're worried
about urban sprawl. It's a bad tax if you're a farmer or a rancher.
And yet they don't want to make it permanent. I don't know why; I
guess it's politics. I think the reason why you make tax relief
permanent is because it's important that there be predictability in
the tax code.
The other thing that was interesting about this tax relief
package is that most small businesses in America, a lot of start-ups
are unincorporated businesses or limited partnerships. They pay tax,
the people involved with the corporation pay tax on the personal
income tax level. And by cutting taxes on everybody who pays taxes,
it is a stimulus to economic vitality in many sectors of our economy
in which we want there to be economic vitality, particularly in the
minority sectors, where business ownership is increasing
dramatically. Tax relief was good for the entrepreneurial spirit of
America.
In order to enhance the ability for people to make a living, we
must open up markets around the world. We've had a battle here on
trade. There are people who don't believe in free trade, people who
believe that kind of walling off America from the world would lead
to more job growth. I completely disagree. The more we trade, the
more jobs there will be in America. The more we are willing to sell
our markets and work where we've got a competitive advantage, the
better off the work force will be. The more likely it is an
entrepreneur will be able to succeed. And so I have worked hard to
get Congress to pass what they call trade promotion authority, which
will give me the ability to negotiate trade treaties. And we're
making progress.
Now, I'd like your help to convince both the members of the
Senate and the House to reconcile their differences in the
conference committee and get me a trade promotion authority as
quickly as possible. And with that trade promotion authority, not
only will I work to expand free trade throughout our hemisphere, my
attitude is good foreign policy starts with a neighborhood which is
democratic, free, prosperous, and strong. But I will work in other
parts of the world to open up markets -- markets for high-tech
products, markets for our agricultural people. And I'll be
aggressive at it. I will. And if I find unfair trade practices, by
the way, I'm going to enforce the law, the laws on the books.
And so I want to thank you for your support on trade promotion
authority. We're also working to reform the Export Administration
Act, known as the EAA. We've got a bill out of the Senate; we're
working to get a bill out of the House. And I want you all to
understand -- you've probably been told this already, but I want to
tell you what else we've done. We've raised the control limits for
computer systems, and I'm eliminating outmoded controls on computer
chips. The idea is to understand the difference between national
security and free trade. And I think we've brought some common sense
to this issue.
One of the things I spent a lot of time listening about was
education. And many of you all have been very much involved in
education reform; I want to thank you for that. And the bill we
passed is a good bill, it really is, because it sets high standards,
it refuses to accept the fact that -- we challenge the idea that
certain kids can't learn -- let me just put it to you that way.
It's easy to quit on kids. It's easy to say, well, there's a
certain group of kids that can't learn, so why don't we just shuffle
them through the system? And for the first time, the federal
government said, in return for federal money, you must measure. You
must show us.
Some people were squawking about that because they didn't want to
be held accountable. You know, if you believe every child can learn,
then you have no problem saying, show us if every child is learning.
And so we've done that, and it's a good, it's a really, really
interesting reform.
I know many of you are involved with the reform movement in your
respective states, whatever that may mean -- charter schools or
choice programs. The best way to stimulate reform is to demand
accountability. It's hard to cover up failure. And it's hard to
justify failure.
The bill also passes power out of Washington. It really -- pretty
darn good job of aligning authority and responsibility at local
levels. So I'm proud of the piece of legislation, and we'll continue
to stay focused on education.
We're also spending a lot of money on research and development,
which I believe is a legitimate federal function. We spend a lot of
money at the NIH, which is good for health care in America, and
we're spending over about $100 billion in research and development
for your fields.
And one of the things I hope Congress joins me on is making the
R&D tax credit permanent, as well. You see, research has made a
huge difference for product development. And I like to remind our
fellow Americans that research -- expending their research -- their
tax dollars on research will yield the interesting jobs, interesting
opportunities.
And so, which really leads me to an interesting question that I
know is on your mind, and that is broadband technology. This country
must be aggressive about the expansion of broadband; we have to.
(Applause.) I used to travel around our state of Texas a lot. I saw
some really innovative health programs. I remember going to the
Texas Tech Medical Center, and seeing a fellow have his ear examined
by a nurse practitioner in I think it was Alpine, Texas. And the
picture was clear and the specialist was able to diagnose the
disease.
We have virtual classrooms in Texas, virtual school districts in
Texas, where we've hooked up a fairly wealthy school district with
rural or poor school districts. It made a huge difference. It would
have been a heck of a lot better if there had been broadband
technology, however, to make the process move a lot quicker.
I get -- when I'm down at Crawford, I'm in constant contact with
our administration. We've got secure teleconferencing capacity
there. And it's pretty good. It can be better. (Laughter.) It can be
more real-time. It's an important part of life and it's time for us
to be -- time for us to move, move with an agenda.
Hopefully, we're doing a pretty good job of working to eliminate
hurdles and barriers to get broadband implemented. I've fought off
-- or worked with Congress, is a better way to put it -- (laughter)
-- to prevent access taxes on the Internet. It ought to be a
tax-free environment in order to encourage use. And, of course, a
lot of the action is going to come through the FCC. I know that, you
know that. And I'm confident that the chairman and the board is
focusing on policies that will bring high-speed Internet service,
will create competition, will keep the consumers in mind, but to
understand the -- kind of the economic vitality that will occur when
broadband is more fully accessible.
And so I want to thank you for giving me a chance to come and
talk about how to make America safer and more prosperous. But I also
want to spend some time talking about another important subject, and
that's how to make America a better place.
On my wall, there's a painting that says -- the painter, a guy
named Tom Lee -- he's a friend -- he says, "Sarah and I lived on the
east side of the mountain. It is the sunrise side, not the sunset
side. It is the side to see the day that is coming, not to see the
day that has gone."
I have that on the wall because it's a fine Texan who wrote it,
and the painting is a beautiful painting. But that's how I see
things. I believe that a tough and strong America will lead to
peace. And I think we're going to be able to achieve peace in parts
of the world where people don't believe peace is possible. I believe
that. And it's going to require a kind of patient, steadfast
strength. And the good news is, our country is patient and steadfast
and strong. We really are.
I also believe that out of the evil done to America will come
some incredible good, particularly as our fellow Americans love
their neighbor like they'd like to be loved themselves. And we spent
time today talking about how people in corporate America can lend a
hand about attacking pockets of hopelessness and despair, which
exist in America.
If you run your business, encourage your employees, through wise
incentives, to mentor a child or to build a home, to give time
consistently to loving your neighbor. It is a central part of making
America a complete and whole country. It is a key ingredient to
winning the war against terror. We can fight evil with military
might and weapons devised by high-tech world. As significantly, we
can fight evil by doing acts of kindness and decency.
Out of this evil will come, I believe, a culture which is going
to herald personal responsibility, and shift the culture of some of
our generation, which has said if it feels good just go ahead and do
it, and if you've got a problem it's somebody else's -- where each
of us are responsible for the decisions -- we're responsible for
loving our children if you're lucky enough to be a mom or a dad.
You're responsible for the misery in the community in which you may
live, of doing something about it.
If you're running your company, by the way, you're responsible
for fully disclosing your assets and your liabilities. And that's
what -- and it's happening, it's happening.
The enemy hit us. They must have thought we were so weak and
self-absorbed, so materialistic, that all we would do was file a
couple of lawsuits, if you know what I mean. (Laughter.) Instead,
they found that this mighty nation will defend our freedom at all
costs. And this mighty nation is going to show the world the true
heart of a great country.