President Bush Speaks on Immigration Reform

IRVINE, CALIFORNIA

APRIL 24, 2006

SPEAKER: GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

[*]

BUSH: Thank you very much. Thank you all. Please be seated. Thanks for letting me come by.

Tom, thanks for the invitation.

What I thought I would do is share some thoughts with you on some issues that (inaudible) may be on the TV screen these days...

(LAUGHTER)

... and then answer some of your questions. I'm interested to know what's on your mind.

First, I've had a fabulous trip to your unbelievably beautiful state. Started off in northern California, Cisco. Then I went to Stanford. Then I went to Napa Valley. Then I rode my bicycle on Earth Day in Napa Valley.

(LAUGHTER)

Then I found out the mountains are a little steep in Napa Valley.

(LAUGHTER)

I then went down and spent a fantastic time in Palm Springs.

What an unbelievably diverse state. And it's a fantastic place to end my journey here in Orange County.

I want to thank you for giving me the chance to come by and visit with you.

Laura sends her very best. I, of course, checked in with her this morning before I headed over here to see if she had any additional instructions for me for the day.

(LAUGHTER)

She said keep it short.

(LAUGHTER)

I'm a lucky man to have Laura as a wife. You can imagine what it's like to be president. There's some pressure on your family, as you can imagine. The good news is I got a 45-second commute.

(LAUGHTER)

And the better news is I got a wife who is a fantastic first lady, who shares a passion with me to do the best we can for our country.

(APPLAUSE)

I want to thank Lucy Dunn, as well as thanking Tom, for putting this event together.

I appreciate the members of the Orange County Business Council.

I want to thank Congressman John Campbell for his service. Appreciate you. He's the congressman from this district, by the way.

(APPLAUSE)

And Catherine is with us.

I thank Congresswoman Mary Bono, who is with us today.

BUSH: Mary, thank you for being here.

(APPLAUSE)

I just spent some quality time in her district, and I forgot to tell you that I had the privilege of riding my mountain bike in the desert, as well -- a national monument that she helped put together to preserve open spaces.

She's got a lot of humility. She didn't name the national monument after herself. If I were to name it, I would say "Really Hard Bike Ride Monument."

(LAUGHTER)

I want to thank Congressman Ken Calvert for joining us today.

Ken, it's good to see you. Proud of you.

(APPLAUSE)

Congressman Gary Miller is with us today.

Congressman, thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

Mayor Beth Krom of city of Irvine.

Madam Mayor, thank you for being here, thanks for serving.

(APPLAUSE)

There you are, Mayor. Thank you. Appreciate you coming. Thanks for serving.

Last night, by the way, had dinner last night with the mayor of Los Angeles and the mayor of Long Beach and the mayor of Anaheim and some other mayors that came. Real important for the president to pay attention to people, what's on their mind. That's what I'm here to do today. I want to share some things that's on mine.

First of all, Rick Warren, by the way, is here.

Where are you, Rick?

There you go.

(APPLAUSE)

I appreciate you.

Still got the calendar in the desk.

Ambassador Argyros, good to see you, George.

George served our country as the ambassador to Spain.

Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

Got a lot on my mind these days. I want to share two thoughts with you.

First, I want to talk about the war on terror. I wish I could report to you that the war on terror was over. It's not. There's still an enemy that wants to do us harm. And the most important job of the president of the United States is to protect the American people from that harm. And I think about it all the time.

As you know, I make a lot of decisions. And at the core of my decision making, when it comes to protecting America, is the lessons learned from September the 11th, 2001.

My job is to use the resources of the United States to prevent such an attack from happening again. And the first lesson of September the 11, 2001, is that we face an enemy that has no regard for innocent life, an enemy which has hijacked a great religion to suit their political needs. And therefore, the only way to deal with them is to stay on the offense, to pressure them, and to bring them to justice, which is precisely what will the United States of America is doing and will continue to do for the safety of the American people.

(APPLAUSE)

The second lesson is we must deny these folks safe haven. They need to find safe haven from which to plot and plan. We denied them safe haven in Afghanistan, and we're denying them safe haven in Iraq.

BUSH: One of the important things that a president must do is to take the words of the enemy very seriously. And when the enemy speaks, and they speak quite often, we listen carefully.

We listen to their aims and their objectives. These are not a, kind if, isolated angry people. These are folks bound together by an ideology that is totalitarian in nature.

They believe that capitalism produces weak societies. They want to spread their idea of life throughout the Middle East. They have stated so in word after word.

And they believe that, with time, they can establish a safe haven in Iraq.

And here's the danger of having an enemy with a safe haven in Iraq. Iraq has got wealth. Iraq has had weapons of mass destruction and has the knowledge as to how to produce weapons of mass destruction.

And the confluence of a terrorist network with weapons of mass destruction is the biggest threat the United States of America faces. They have said it's just a matter of time.

And they've got a powerful weapon, by the way -- the enemy does. And that is the willingness and capacity to kill innocent people.

And they understand the United States of America is a compassionate nation. They view -- I'm sure they view this as a weakness of our country. I happen to view it as a strength; that we value every life, that every person is precious.

But they know -- it doesn't take much to realize that, when you put carnage on our TV screens, it causes us to weep. It causes people, rightly, to say whether or not the cause is worth it.

It's a legitimate question for the American people. But it's very important for the American people to understand that they're trying to run us out of Iraq for a purpose.

And the purpose is to be able to have safe haven from which to launch further attacks. And I understand it. And we've got a strategy in place to achieve victory.

Yesterday I went over to Twentynine Palms. I want to tell you something about the United States military. These young men and women are incredibly dedicated.

They are motivated. They understand that we must defeat the enemy over there so that we do not have to face them here at home.

Most of them raised their hand to volunteer after September 11.

BUSH: Many of them have said, "I want to continue to serve our country."

We're lucky go have people like them willing to serve. And the United States government, whether you agree with my policy or not, must stand by our troops. When they're in harm's way, they deserve the best pay, the best equipment and the best possible support.

(APPLAUSE)

And I told them -- I told them they didn't have to worry about me. I believe we're going to win in Iraq, and a victory in Iraq will be a major blow to the totalitarian vision of bin Laden and his lieutenants -- a major blow.

One, it'll be a tactical blow. We'll deny them that which they want.

But, secondly, it'll be a major blow because in the long term, the best way to defeat an ideology of hatred is with an ideology of hope.

I base a lot of my foreign policy decisions on some things that I think are true. One, I believe there's an Almighty; and, secondly, I believe one of the great gifts of the Almighty is the desire in everybody's soul, regardless of what you look like or where you live, to be free.

I believe liberty is universal. I believe people want to be free. And I know that democracies do not war with each other. And I know that the best way to defeat the enemy, the best way to defeat their ability to exploit hopelessness and despair is to give people a chance to live in a free society.

You know, the Iraqis went to the polls last December for the third time in one year. It seems like a decade ago, doesn't it? It seems like it was just an eternity ago that 12 million people defied terrorists' threats and said, "We want to be free. We're sick and tired of a society that had been suppressed by a brutal tyrant. We want to go to the polls. We want to be self-governing."

I wasn't surprised. I was pleased, but not surprised.

If you believe that liberty exists in the soul of each person on the face of the Earth, it shouldn't surprise you that, given the chance, people will say, "We want to be free." And now the role of the United States is to stand by the courageous Iraqis as their democracy develops.

It's not easy work, by the way, to go from tyranny to democracy. We had kind of a rough go ourselves if you look back at our history. Our secretary of state's relatives were enslaved in the United States, even though we had a Constitution that said all were -- that believed in the dignity, or at least proclaimed the belief in the dignity of all.

BUSH: You know, the Articles of Confederation wasn't exactly a real smooth start for our government to begin.

And what you're watching on your TV screens is a new democracy emerging.

And I had the privilege of calling the president of Iraq, the new speaker of Iraq, and the prime minister designee of Iraq there in the comfort of my hotel room in Palm Desert -- Palm Springs.

And I can't tell you how heartened I was to hear their words. First of all, they expressed great appreciation for the American people and our troops and the families of our troops.

Secondly, to a person, this is a Kurd, a Shia and a Sunni I'm talking to. Each one of them said, "We want to have a national unity government. We're sick of the sectarian violence. We believe if you stand with us, we can achieve our objective of becoming a democracy that listens to the people."

And I believe them. And I believe them. And I told them, I said, "Look, it's going to be up to you to make it work, but you can count on the United States of America, because we believe in liberty and the capacity of liberty to change lives and to change a neighborhood for a more peaceful tomorrow."

This is a new chapter in our relationship. We had an important milestone when the unity government was formed, and now there's a new chapter in the relationship, and we're moving forward.

You know, it's really important for people to be able to connect the concept of freedom to our security. And it's hard. It's hard, particularly in a day and age when every act of violence is put in your living room. And I know that.

I fully understand the challenge I face as the commander in chief to describe to the American people why the sacrifice is worth it.

BUSH: And perhaps the best way to do so is to share one of my favorite lessons of history with you, and that is that my relationship with Prime Minister Koizumi of Japan is a special relationship. He's an interesting guy. And he's a friend.

And we work to keep the peace. When we sit down, we talk about the importance of democracy developing in Iraq. The Japanese had troops in Iraq, by the way, to help this young country. We talked about North Korea. We talk about issues of peace .

I find it so interesting and so ironic that those are the conversations that I have with him, especially since 60 years ago my dad, and I suspect, many of your relatives, fought the Japanese as the enemy.

So what happens between 18-year-old George H.W. Bush, Navy fighter pilot, signing up to fight the sworn enemy of Japan, and his son, sitting down to talk about the peace?

What happened was Japan adopted a Japanese style of democracy. Democracy can help change the world and lay the foundation for peace, and that's what's happening today. These are historic times.

My job is to lead this nation to protect you, and my job is to lay the foundation of peace for generations to come. And that is why I told those Marines yesterday that we're going to complete the mission.

(APPLAUSE)

I got a lot of other things to talk about. I want to talk about immigration. I saw my friend, Brulte (ph), ex-politician, you know? Always a friend.

He said people are wondering why you would come to Orange County to talk about immigration.

(LAUGHTER)

The answer is because that's what a leader does. I want to talk to you, tell you my thoughts about the subject.

First of all, I understand it is an emotional subject. And it's really important that those of us who have microphones and can, you know, express ourselves, do so in a respectful way that recognizes we are a nation of immigrants, that we have had a grand tradition in this country of welcoming people into our society, and ours is a society that is able to take the newly arrived and they become equally American.

I believe that immigration has helped reinvigorate the soul of America. I know that when somebody comes to our country because he or she has a dream and is willing to work hard for that dream, it makes America a better place.

Now, first and foremost, the federal government has the role to enforce our border. The American people are right in saying to the government, enforce the border. Because I was an old border governor -- I understand it's important to enforce our border.

And we are. We got a lot of good people down there working hard on the border to keep people from coming -- and contraband or whatever from coming into this country illegally.

We've increased the number of Border Patrol. And I want to thank the congresswoman and congressmen here for being wise about providing resources to increase the number of patrol on the border.

But that's not enough. We've got to have modern equipment to be able to help people find people that are coming across a very long and difficult border to protect.

BUSH: We've got infrared. Unmanned aerial vehicles, UAVs, are being deployed.

I mean, we're now beginning to modernize our borders so that the people we've asked to enforce the border have got the tools necessary to do so.

And parts of the rural border -- there need to be berms to prevent people from flying across in their SUV, smuggling people into America. And we're going to strengthen this border.

I'll tell you something that's interesting. Since 2001, 6 million people have been caught illegally trying to get in this country and turned back -- 6 million people.

So people are working down there and they're working hard. And I'm going to continue to work with Congress.

I know these people from Congress are interested in providing the border patrol and those responsible for enforcing the border the tools necessary to do their job. And I thank you for that.

Secondly, we have got a problem with -- we have a problem that we're going to solve this year, by the way, of catching people from non-Mexican illegal immigrants and just sending them back into society. There weren't enough detention beds.

So you got the people down there working hard; six million people caught since 2001 and sent home. But most of the Mexican citizens who are caught trying to illegally come into the country are just sent back to their country.

But if you catch somebody from Central America coming back, you just can't send them back, for a while, so there needs to be a place to detain them. We didn't have enough bed space and so we had catch and release.

We're asking people to go down there and do their job. And they find somebody from Central America sneaking in. And they say: Check back in with us in 45 days, you know, come and see your immigration guy down there.

(LAUGHTER)

And they weren't checking back in after 45 days.

(LAUGHTER)

They were coming to work. See, they wanted to put food on the table for their families, and they weren't interested in checking back in.

And so it meant there was a lot of wasted effort by the border patrol. We're going to change that. One of the things Congress has done is done a good job of providing additional money for bed space and money to make sure that we can send people back home.

BUSH: You got people coming up who want to work, see. They're going broke at home. They want to put food on the table. They go to unbelievable lengths to come and feed their families. We're catching them. We're putting them back in. We're stopping that.

Our job is to enforce this border. Six million people have been turned back. And we got a strategy in place to make sure that this border is as tight as it possibly can be.

Secondly, in order to make sure immigration laws work, you got to enforce the laws on the books. If it's illegal to hire somebody, then the federal government has got to enforce those laws. We're a nation of law.

And, by the way, you can be a nation of law and a compassionate nation at the same time. You don't have to be...

(APPLAUSE)

Now, the problem we have is you got some person out there in central Texas needing a worker, and he can't find a worker, an American. And so he says, "Look, can anybody help me find somebody? I got something to do."

This economy's growing; 4.7 percent unemployment rate nationwide. Pretty good numbers. But people are having trouble finding work -- work Americans won't do. And that's a fact of life.

And so he says, "Why don't you send somebody over to help me?" And they show up and they put a Social Security card out there, and it looks real.

You know, our small-business owners are not document checkers. These are people trying to get ahead, and it's impossible to...

(APPLAUSE)

... it's impossible to really affect the enforcement of our laws if people are able to use forged documents.

Now, we've increased the amount of manpower there to hold people to account for hiring illegals, but it is difficult to hold somebody, an employer to account, if they're putting false papers out.

And the truth of the matter is, what's happened is people are trying to come in this country, and we got smugglers smuggling them in. And they're putting them in the back of 18-wheelers, stuffing human beings in the back of trucks because people are coming to do jobs Americans won't do.

They're putting people out in deserts. We've lost a lot of people, a lot of decent, hard-working people trying to come in this country in the desert, losing their lives. These smugglers are coyotes. You know, they're kind of preying on innocent life. And they've got a whole document forgery industry going on.

BUSH: See, we made it such that an underground industry thrives on human beings, people coming to do work that the Americans will not do.

And so I think that the best way to enforce our border and the best way, besides making sure it's modern and we've got manpower and equipment down there -- which we do, and it's increasing every week -- is to come up with a rational plan that recognizes people coming here to work and let them do so on a temporary basis.

That's why I'm for a temporary worker program that will...

(APPLAUSE)

... that says to a person, here is a tamper-proof card that says you can come and do a job an American won't do; fill a need. A tamper-proof card all of a sudden makes interior enforcement work.

In other words, we now know who's getting the cards and we know they can't be tampered with. So somebody says, "Show me your tamper- proof card before I hire you," and if they do, fine; but if they don't, say, "I'm not hiring you." You know? You got to have the card to get work.

Secondly, we got a lot of people sneaking across the border to do jobs. It is really hard to enforce the border with people sneaking across to do jobs.

Doesn't it make sense to have a rational, temporary worker plan that says you don't need to sneak across the border, you can come on a temporary basis to do a job Americans won't do, so you don't have to sneak across, so you don't have to pay money to a coyote that stuffs you in the back of a truck, so you don't have to burden our borders.

Listen, we want our Border Patrol hunting down, you know, gun smugglers and dope runners.

BUSH: And it seems rational to me and logical to me to say: OK, fine, you can come and do a job Americans won't do for a temporary period of time with a tamper-proof card.

All of a sudden we've kind of taken the smuggling industry and, you know, dismantled it through rational policy. All the sudden we recognize that we want to treat people with respect.

I know this is an emotional debate, and I can understand it's emotional. But one thing we cannot lose sight of is that we're talking about human beings, decent human beings that need to be treated with respect.

(APPLAUSE)

Massive deportation of the people here is unrealistic. It's just not going to work. You know, you can hear people out there hollering it's going to work. It's not going to work.

And so, therefore, what do we do with people who are here?

And this is one of the really important questions Congress is going to have to deal with. I thought the senator had an interesting approach by saying that if you'd been here for five years or less, you're treated one way, and five years or more, you're treated another.

It's just an interesting concept that people need to think through about what to do with people that have been here for quite a period of time.

Now, my attitude is this: I think that people ought to be obviously here to work on a temporary basis. The definition of temporary will be decided in the halls of Congress.

Secondly, I believe that a person should never be granted automatic citizenship.

And let me tell you why I believe that -- that if you've been here, broken the law and have been here working, that it doesn't seem fair to me to say you're automatically a citizen, when somebody who has been here legally working is standing in line trying to become a citizen as well.

BUSH: In other words, there's a line for people...

(APPLAUSE)

But what I do think makes sense is that a person ought to be allowed to get in line.

In other words, pay a penalty for being here illegally, commit him or herself to learn English, which is part of the American system.

(APPLAUSE)

And get in the back of the line.

In other words, there's a line of people waiting to become legal through the green card process, and it's by nationality. And if you're citizen here who's been here illegally, you pay a penalty, you learn English, and you get in line, but at the back, not the front.

And if Congress wants a shorter line for a particular nationality, they increase the number of green cards. If they want a longer line, they shrink the number of green cards per nationality.

It's an important debate for the American citizens to conduct. It's a debate that requires clear, rational thought, and it's really important for those of us in positions of responsibility to remember that we're a nation of law, a welcoming nation, a nation that honors people's traditions, no matter where they're from, because we've got confidence in the capacity of our nation to make us all Americans, one nation under God.

So that's what's on my mind today. Got a lot of other things, if you're interested.

(APPLAUSE)

But I've got some time for some -- I'd like to answer some questions, if you've got any. I want to hear from you.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

BUSH: Pretty good. I'm doing all right.

(LAUGHTER)

QUESTION: I understand you get a lot of tough questions (OFF- MIKE) so assuming that you agree with the fact that no one's perfect...

BUSH: I agree with that -- including me.

QUESTION: Good. I'd like to get your candid response to your perspective from the outside looking in, and not the inside, looking out.

Before you became president, obviously you had some perceptions based on your family history, being governor, what it would be like to be president of the U.S.

Now, that you are president, and you've had a change to go through the experience, you're in your second term, candidly, if you had it to do over, would there be anything that you would do differently?

BUSH: I appreciate it.

The fundamental question, the threshold question is would I run, in the first place. That's really the first question that one would ask.

BUSH: You know, now that I'm here, seen what it's like, would I do it again? And the answer is: Absolutely.

I have enjoyed this experience in a way that's hard for me to describe to you.

Listen, there have been some rough moments. But it is an incredible honor to serve our country.

The second threshold question is: Would I commit troops to protect the American people? It's really a fundamental question: Knowing what I know today, would I have done anything differently with our troops?

First, you've got to know that the hardest decision for a president is to put anybody in harm's way because I fully understand the consequences of making such a decision.

I was at church yesterday in Twentynine Palms. In the pew that I was sitting in was a mother and stepfather grieving for a guy that lost his life. And I knew that I would have to deal with this as best as I possibly can.

I also want to let you know that, before you commit troops, that you must do everything you can to solve the problem diplomatically. And I can look you in the eye and tell you I feel I tried to solve the problem diplomatically to the max and would have committed troops both in Afghanistan and Iraq, knowing what I know today.

(APPLAUSE)

Obviously, as we look back -- and you know, every war plan is perfect until it meets the enemy. You know, it's fine on paper, until you actually start putting it into practice.

And there are decisions like preparing an Iraqi army for an external threat. Well, it turns out there may have been an external threat, but it's nothing compared to the internal threat.

We got started trying to build some big reconstruction projects right off the bat. And it didn't make it any sense because they became convenient targets for the enemy.

And so we started to de-centralize our reconstruction. This is, kind of -- I'm getting down to the minutiae, but there are some tactics that, when I look back, that we could have done differently.

The fundamental question on the Iraq theater, though, is: Did we put enough troops in there in the first place? That's the debate in Washington. I'm sure you've heard about it.

Let me just tell you what happened. I called Tommy Franks in with Don Rumsfeld and said: Tommy, if we're going in, you design the plan and you've got what you need.

I said, you know, I remember the era when politicians were trying to run wars, people trying to fine-tune this or fine-tune that. One of the lessons of Vietnam, it seemed like to me -- it still does -- is that people tried to make decisions on behalf of the military, which I think is a terrible precedent to make if you're the commander in chief.

BUSH: By the way, you can't run a war, you can't make decisions based upon polls and focus groups either.

And so I told Tommy, I said, "You got what you need." And then it's my -- then the fundamental question is, when I'm looking him in the eye, do I think he's comfortable telling the commander in chief what's real and isn't real.

So I spent a lot of time with Tommy, and the first time I'm with him I'm trying to figure out whether or not he has got the ability to walk in the Oval Office, which can be kind of an intimidating place, and say, "Here's what I think, Mr. President."

I was comforted by the fact that Tommy and I were raised in the same part of the world. He went to Midland Lee High School with Laura, by the way. I felt like that there was kind of a kinship to begin with, and I'm confident, sir, that Tommy told me exactly what was on his mind. I believe that. And so, therefore, the troop level that he suggested was the troop level necessary to do the job, and I support it strongly.

And I fully understand people are going to think back and could you have done something different or not different. And that's fair. And it's worthwhile.

And we still have members of Congress who are coming in, and they should, coming in and said, "Mr. President, have you thought about this or you going to do that?" And we're constantly adjusting on the ground to meet an enemy which changes.

But on the big decisions of sending the troops in, I'd have done it again.

Thank you. Great question.

(APPLAUSE)

QUESTION: I was wondering what America's going to be like in 10 years.

(LAUGHTER)

BUSH: Here's what America needs to be like -- maybe 20, you know, 10 to 20...

(LAUGHTER)

You need to be driving an automobile with hydrogen as the main source of power.

(APPLAUSE)

And at the very least, with a hybrid -- a plug-in battery of a hybrid vehicle that will let you get the first 40 miles without using gasoline.

In other words, between 10 to 20 years from now we got to get off Middle Eastern oil. It's a problem.

(APPLAUSE)

You'll be able to see a technology, a technology that will enable you to converse with somebody on long distance and it seems like the person's right there in the room with you.

BUSH: I saw that at Cisco. It's an amazing technology that will mean that education changes to the better.

You can hire a -- if you've got yourself a state like we got in Texas that's rural, you can get a chemistry professor from one of the urban centers and put him on this screen and it's like the professor's right in the room teaching -- in other words, a way to (inaudible) resources.

You'll have the capacity to interface with people around the world in a real-time basis. You'll be able to talk more clearly. Information will become even more powerful than it is today. And the fundamental question is what do we do with that information.

You'll be confronted with the very difficult choices when it comes to science. You know, the first choice we all have to deal with right off the bat is whether or not it's OK to destroy life to save life. In other words, as technology progresses, as this country of ours is more technologically advanced, you're going to be confronted with serious ethical choices. They'll be a clash between morality and science that'll present some really difficult decisions for people.

You'll be able to have a leader that can go and sit down with the duly elected leader of a major Middle Eastern country saying, "How can we keep the peace together?"

I believe you'll see there's a democracy movement moving across the Middle East over the next 10 years. Much of it's going to be led by women who don't want to be a second-class citizen in any society.

I think you'll see a relationship between the United States and other great powers that will enable us to work together to be able to provide a stable platform.

What I hope you don't see is a nation that loses its nerve and becomes isolationist and protectionist. And that's one of my concerns, so I put it in the State of the Union.

It was such a concern that instead of going with here are the 29 things we're going to do either for you or to you, it was...

(LAUGHTER)

... talked about isolation and protectionism.

BUSH: It's very important for this nation to be a confident nation and to remain a leader of the world. You cannot win the war on terror if you kind of pull back and say, "Let somebody else deal with it."

You can't do your duty as a nation that should subscribe to the theory that to whom much is given, much is required. And that duty is to help deal with HIV/AIDS, for example, on the continent of Africa. We have a duty to help feed the hungry, in my judgment.

(APPLAUSE)

What I hope you don't see is a nation that loses its confidence in the capacity to trade with countries like China.

Hu Jintao came to visit. We had a wonderful visit with him.

But I know there are some Americans who wonder whether or not it's worth the effort to try to outcompete with China. They look at the statistics, and they worry about whether or not it is possible to compete with China.

I say, "You bet it's possible to compete with China." And not only can we compete with China, if we have a level playing field, we'll do just fine.

And so, what I'm telling you is I hope you have a nation that at home is one that is able to balance technology and ethical concerns.

A nation, by the way -- I hope those taxes remain low, see. One of the things you've got to make sure is that...

(APPLAUSE)

You've got to have that proper balance between what government really needs and money in your pocket.

And, anyway, a great question, by the way, for a 14-year-old guy. I'm not so sure if I were 14 I would have been able to get that question out. I might have been a little nervous.

QUESTION: First of all, I want to thank you for coming to Orange County. I don't know who said it wasn't a good idea, but I think it's a great idea.

We love you. So thank you for being here.

(APPLAUSE)

I very much support your immigration plan. I think it's a good framework.

But the one question I have, last year, my daughter feel and broke her hip -- she's 12. And it was five hours in the emergency room at the hospital before she could see a doctor. And a lot of people in the E.R. were there because it was their primary medical facility.

BUSH: Correct.

QUESTION: So in your plan, how do you plan to address health care and schools and so forth, that are really impacted?

BUSH: Community health centers. This administration, working with the Congress, has funded the expansion of what's called community health centers.

Community health centers are places for the poor and the indigent to get primary care so to do exactly -- to address the problem that you described, which is primary care in emergency rooms are costly, they are not a cost-effective treatment -- I guess it is once you get the treatment, but it's not cost-effective overall, and, therefore, the advent of community health centers.

And I don't know if you got them here in Orange County. I hope you do. I bet you do.

You don't have any? Well, get to working, Congressman.

(LAUGHTER)

But that's the best way, really, to be able to address the issue whether it be for an immigrant who is here or anybody else that cannot afford health care. The best place to get primary care is not the emergency rooms.

And so we've got a comprehensive strategy, and we're expanding them all across the country. And I'm surprised you don't have one here. I bet you do and you just don't know it.

And, therefore, what needs to happen is there needs to be a campaign to explain what's available for people so that they don't go to the emergency rooms.

QUESTION: I immigrated from Cuba when I was about nine years old -- legally, I might add...

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

BUSH: (OFF-MIKE)

QUESTION: No.

BUSH: OK.

QUESTION: But, anyway, besides marrying a wonderful woman and having two great sons, coming to this great land is the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I appreciate your comments on immigration.

And my question to you, Mr. President is, you know, I would like to go to Cuba to travel. I want to go see my front door that was bullet-riddled when they were fighting Batista's guys, and I can't go there legally. And I don't understand, how can we trade with Vietnam -- we lost over 50,000 Americans there -- how can we trade with communist China and we can't even go to Cuba?

And I think that if the borders were open, that way Cuba and American enterprise got to go down there, I think Castro would fall like a rock off a cliff.

And my question to you, sir, is why can't we open...

BUSH: Por que? Here's why.

(LAUGHTER)

Here's why. Fidel Castro has got the capacity to arbitrage your dollars to the advantage of his administration. You pay in dollars; he pays in Cuban money and collects the difference.

So you go to a hotel in Havana, the money goes to the hotel, which is -- and they got a deal with the government in order to be there in the first place, and the workers get paid in a currency that's worthless compared to the U.S. dollar, and he makes the balance.

And so in all due respect, I have taken the position that trade with the country enables a tyrant to stay in power as opposed to the opposite effects.

Honest disagreement of opinion, I fully recognize, but that's why I made the decision I made.

And, anyway, my preacher, by the way, at St. John the Divine Church, is a guy who came from Cuba at about the same age you did. You look a little younger than he is, but nevertheless...

(LAUGHTER)

That's why. That's why.

QUESTION: As you said, you make a lot of important decisions on a day-by-day basis. I'm interested in the personal, as well as political, aspects of your counsel.

Do you know any illegal status individuals coming from Midland, Texas? What do they feel? And how do they counsel you on this?

And also, politically it's an intensely state-specific issue. Are the states most affected by illegal immigration speaking in a collective voice?

BUSH: Really good question.

No, I don't believe I know anybody who is in Texas illegally. Had I hired somebody who had been here illegally, I guarantee you'd have read about it.

(LAUGHTER)

(APPLAUSE)

Isn't that right, Elizabeth (ph)?

The interesting thing about this issue is, I want to be respectful in correcting you about the nature of the immigration debate. It is more widespread than you think. It really is. There's a lot of states who have been affected and maybe impacted in a much more different way than California and Texas has been.

Texas and California have had a history of Latino presence. It's been a part of our heritage. But there are many communities in the United States that for the first time are getting to become acquainted with the Latino heritage, and that probably impacts people even more significantly than parts of California and Texas. It really does.

And so there is a universal concern about the issue. And what's really important about this issue is to try to set aside all the emotion and think about how to solve the problem in a rational, calm way.

But, no, you know, people, obviously, if you're from -- I was talking to a congressman from -- I don't want to -- they'll start trying to find the guy, so I'm not going to give you many hints. But...

(LAUGHTER)

It's a guy. Anyway...

(LAUGHTER)

But he said, "My town was like -- you know, had a small number of minorities, and now it's 50 percent Latino, and we don't know what to do." And this is a new phenomenon, this isn't something that's been around for decades, this is a brand new phenomenon.

So there is a national concern about this issue, it really is. And, obviously, it reflects the nature of the local community. You know, it flares up one way or another around the country. But there's a lot of people talking about it.

We got to get something done. I want a comprehensive bill. I don't want...

(APPLAUSE)

QUESTION: For us to compete globally, we need to get better in math and science.

QUESTION: What do you see as the role of the federal government in that?

BUSH: First, the role of the federal government is to make sure that we get it right at the early grades. And that's why I worked hard for and was extremely proud to sign the No Child Left Behind Act.

And the No Child Left Behind Act starts with these basic premises. One: children can learn and we ought to expect them to learn. And I know that sounds simple, but that's the way it was in certain school districts.

You look like a vet. And you know full well that in certain school districts they just move them through. And what mattered was the age, not the level of knowledge.

Secondly, accountability can be used effectively, particularly if it's designed at the local level. In other words, you can use an accountability system to determine whether a curriculum is working for you. Or you can use an accountability system to determine how your school district's doing relative to the school district next door to you.

You can use an accountability system to determine whether or not we're closing an achievement gap that needs to be closed if America is going to be a promising place for all people -- not just some, but all people.

And so I worked with both Republicans and Democrats -- it actually can happen sometimes in Washington that we're able to work together -- and passed the No Child Left Behind Act, which said, "In return for federal money, in increasing amounts, by the way, particularly Title I money, we expect you just to show us. We expect you to measure."

Notice I didn't say, "We expect you to administer the test we designed." I'm a local-control-of-schools person and I knew that if a federal test were designed, it could force people to behave according to the tests. In other words, you can cause people to lose their independence if you're the test designer.

And so I said, "California, design your own test and measure three through eight and post the results for everybody to see so that concerned citizens, when they saw failure, would have something to say to you: 'Change,' or, 'Thank you for doing what you're doing.'"

And as a result of measuring, I can report to you taught math scores and science scores for fourth graders and reading scores -- math and reading scores for fourth graders and eight graders is on the rise, particularly amongst African-American and Latino students.

BUSH: Things are changing. It's amazing what happens when you say, "There's accountability in the system."

The problem is, as you know full well, but others may not, is that when a child gets to high school, our math and science skills relative to other countries in the world is abysmal. And it's not right and we're not going to be able to compete successfully for the jobs of the 21st century.

So here's the strategy: apply the same rigor in math that we've applied in reading.

And here's what happens in early grades in reading. If you don't pass the test, there is supplemental service money to enable a child to get up to speed. In other words, we diagnosed the problem and we're actually providing money to solve the problem. And it's paying off.

They ought to apply the same rigor to 8th grade math and 9th grade math: measure, find deficiencies and provide extra money for school districts to make sure children get back up to speed.

Secondly, it is very important for there to be role models in classrooms that basically says, "Science and math are cool." They weren't too cool when I was going to school, you know?

(LAUGHTER)

And therefore, one of the things we can do is have adjunct professors in classrooms.

I went to a school with Margaret Spellings, who is the secretary of education, in Maryland the other day. And there were two NASA scientists there, and part of their job was not only to work at the NASA facility close by but to go into classrooms, to say to children, "Math and science are really important for you."

Thirdly, A.P. works -- advanced placement. I bet you've got some good A.P. teachers. The advanced placement program is a way to set high standards for our children.

And so, therefore, the federal government ought to help train 70,000 A.P. teachers in classrooms that says, "We believe in setting high standards." We ought not to accept a system that doesn't continue to raise the bar and measure and to hold people to account.

Finally, we've got an additional 1 million students on Pell grants. These are grants to help, you know, people who can't afford college go to college.

BUSH: And they're very important, this is a very important tool to help people realize dreams.

But I think we ought to enhance the Pell Grants for those who take rigorous academics in high schools for years one and two. And if you maintain a 3.0 grade point average and take science, math or critical languages in third and fourth year of college, you ought to get an additional $4,000 on top of your Pell Grant.

There is a strategy. The federal government is a part of the strategy. The local school district is an integral part of the strategy.

Thanks for being a superintendent. Appreciate it.

(APPLAUSE)

QUESTION: I'm a civil engineer. And we recently put out a report card for the nation's infrastructure, by the American Society of Civil Engineers. It was abysmal, is a word that you've used.

And we're really concerned that our nation is coming to a crisis on its infrastructure. And yet we seem to have problems with the federal government coming up with the funds that we need for the various parts of our transportation and our water resources.

BUSH: I appreciate that very much.

We passed a pretty good size highway bill -- like, really big.

(LAUGHTER)

And it's a six-year bill. And so it's -- we've got five more years to run on it. But it was a pretty interesting struggle about how much to spend and how much not to spend. And I think, if you look at the history of that highway bill, pretty much the bill I signed was more than some thought was necessary.

I did talk to your governor about an important subject, and that's the levees. And I appreciated his time the other day when I was up there in Cisco Systems. And we talked about the levees. And I said we want to help.

He's committed, by the way, to rebuilding the infrastructure of California. It's a good, strong commitment, and it's what governors do, they lead.

But he said, "Look, we need to work together on this." And what he wanted -- what his office suggested is that we allow the state of California to use the Corps of Engineers to pay the federal share of levee rebuilding when the water goes down, and then, through the budget process, reimburse the state of California. I agreed to that.

In other words, the governor's concerned about being able to get started quick enough on levee repair so we don't waste time. And part of the concern is there's a sharing arrangement between the federal government and the state government.

And so I said advance the state's share -- advance the federal share through state money and we'll reimburse you. That's an important beginning. The funding match is not an excuse.

And, secondly, he needs regulatory relief from federal law and state law in order to be able to take advantage of the dry season to get the levees done. And so we're working with him on that.

But, no, I appreciate your concern. Infrastructure is always a difficult issue. It's a federal responsibility and a state and local responsibility. And I, frankly, feel like we've upheld our responsibility at the federal level with the highway bill.

There are other infrastructures we've got to get built. We need a broadband highway all across America if we're going to end up being a competitive nation. I talked about the ability to be able to converse in real time, speedy, in very fast ways, but that requires us to make sure that broadband is effectively distributed all across the country, not just in big cities but out in rural America as well.

BUSH: And we're working hard on right-of-way issues and other issues to get broadband extensively spread throughout the country.

QUESTION: In your first term, you came to Santa Ana. If you recall, we met with you at the Bowers Museum. It was a wonderful chat we had with several of the leadership.

We believe, as you know, the Latino community is America.

BUSH: Por cieto.

QUESTION: Por cieto, exactamente.

And we believe that the effort that you're putting forth as a comprehensive legislation is what we need in this country. We believe that the economy is going to be great. We believe that the issue that has been raised about the possible changes on possible funding for many infrastructures, as well as emergency services, will be there, because we're going to make these people to pay taxes just like you and I. So we thank you for that.

And we just want to ask you a question. What is it that we need to do, that you need to do to make sure Congress will pass this comprehensive immigration bill?

BUSH: Well, starting right here. You know, they've been on vacation, and now starting to work the issue.

And one way to work it is stand right here in front of these cameras in California talking about it in a candid way. And I'm going to do my part to continue to call this nation to a responsible dialogue and remind the United States Congress we need to get a comprehensive bill passed.

The state of play right now is the Senate reached an important compromise. They had a chance to get a bill, it just got caught up in, in my judgment, needless politics.

One of the problems we face in Washington is we've got too much needless politics. We've got people who aren't willing to, you know -- they want to play -- they want to make the other person look bad as opposed to making the country look good.

And I'm going to continue to call people, whether it be on Social Security reform or immigration reform, to think about the country first and put our political parties aside.

BUSH: And I'm confident, if we can do that, we'll come up with a rational plan that'll make the country proud.

I'd like to stay here all day, but I got to go Vegas.

(LAUGHTER)

Something about what goes on there stays there, or something like that, you know.

(APPLAUSE)

God bless you. Thanks for letting me come.

(APPLAUSE)

END

Source: CQ Transcriptions
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