George W. Bush 2004 On The Issues

The President’s Compassion Agenda

In his Inaugural Address, the President called on Americans to become citizens, not spectators – to work together to improve our communities and reach out to our neighbors. For the past two-and-a-half years, compassionate conservatism has been the President’s governing philosophy as the Administration has tackled some of society’s toughest assignments, such as educating our children, helping those in need, and fighting poverty at home and abroad.

In a compassionate society, people respect one another and take responsibility for the decisions they make in life. The President believes that as Americans, we have responsibilities. There are millions of men and women across the nation who want to end their dependence on government and improve their lives. The Administration is committed to applying the best and most innovative ideas to the task of helping our fellow citizens in need.

In a responsibility society, each one of us is responsible for respecting our neighbors and taking ownership of our actions and words. Under the President’s leadership, we have seen the culture of service and responsibility grow around us.

A Record of Commitment and Achievement

The President believes the truest kind of compassion comes from helping citizens build lives of their own. The aim of this philosophy is not to spend less money, or to spend more money, but to spend on what works. The measure of compassion is more than good intentions – it is good results.

The President’s vision of compassionate conservatism is effectively taking on some of society’s toughest problems – educating our children, fighting poverty at home and abroad and aiding poor countries around the world.

Educating our Children: Public schools are America’s great hope, and making them work for every child is America’s great duty. The President’s historic education reform is compassionate because it requires schools to meet new, high standards of performance in reading and math. The new reforms also give local schools and teachers the freedom, resources and training to meet their needs. It is conservative to let local communities chart their own path to excellence. It is compassionate to make sure that no child is left behind.

The federal government is investing more money in elementary and secondary education than at any other time in American history. The President’s budget for next year boosts education funding to $53.1 billion – an increase of nearly $11 billion since he took office. Funding for Title 1, a program that helps the nation’s most disadvantaged students, has increased 33 percent, to $11.6 billion. And since President Bush took office, the amount we're spending on effective reading programs has tripled, to more than $1 billion.

Fighting Poverty at Home: Compassionate conservatism offers a new vision for fighting poverty in America. For many Americans, welfare once was a static and destructive way of life. In 1996, welfare was reformed to include work and time limits and since that time America’s welfare rolls have been cut by more than half. More importantly, many lives have been drastically improved. A job is more than a source of income – it is also a source of dignity. The President is committed to building on the success of welfare reform to bring work and dignity to the lives of more Americans.

One of the President’s first official actions in office was to establish the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. The purpose of the initiative is to recognize our greatest strength -- the hearts and souls of the American people -- and apply that strength to help solve problems which afflict many of our citizens. The Office is on the front lines in the fight against poverty and focuses its efforts on helping the following groups – the homeless, prisoners, at-risk youth, addicts, elders in need, and families moving from welfare to work.

Encouraging Community Initiatives: The President believes that the indispensable and transforming work of charities, community groups and faith-based institutions must be encouraged. Government should view Americans who work in faith-based charities as partners, not as rivals. When it comes to providing resources, the government should not discriminate against these groups.

The White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives is working together with the Departments of Health & Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Education, Labor, and Justice, to remove these barriers. The new Office has worked to change needless rules and regulations that discourage these organizations from working with the Federal government to serve those most in need. The Administration has taken a fresh start and bold new approach to government's role in helping those in need.

In his second year in office, the President created the USA Freedom Corps to help all Americans to answer his call to service. As a Coordinating Council housed at the White House and chaired by the President, the USA Freedom Corps is working to strengthen our culture of service and help find opportunities for every American to start volunteering. To accomplish this, they are bringing together the resources of the federal government with the non-profit, business, educational, faith-based and other sectors to begin that process and to measure our results.

Helping Poor Countries Around the World: Nearly half of the world’s population live on less than two dollars a day. When we help them we show our compassion, our values, and our belief in universal human dignity. America is feeding the hungry around the world – the United States gives more to those in crisis than any other country in the world. In Afghanistan and Iraq, we helped liberate an oppressed people. The President is determined to continue helping them secure their country, rebuild their society, and educate their children. His vision for peace and prosperity extends to the Middle East, where he is working for peace between a secure Israel and a democratic Palestine.

President Bush's proposed budget more than doubled education assistance from $115 million in 2001, to a record $265 million in 2004.

• U.S. programs in Africa have helped 12.5 million children go to school who would otherwise have been deprived of a basic education.

U.S. global leadership in education promotes real growth, reduces poverty, and brings hope to millions around the world.

• In Afghanistan, the U.S. recently printed and distributed 15 million textbooks - now in the hands of nearly three million students - and 3,600 teachers have been trained in the latest teaching methods.
• In 2002, more than 580,000 foreign students were enrolled at U.S. universities and community colleges to obtain skills needed to build a better world--a 6.4 percent increase over the previous year.
• Last year alone, U.S. training programs provided needed job skills to more than 430,000 citizens in the developing world.
• The U.S. is a major bilateral donor for the global Education for All Initiative (EFA), now active in 39 countries.

Fighting the Global HIV/AIDS Pandemic: In his State of the Union Address, President Bush announced creation of the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a five-year, $15 billion initiative to turn the tide in the global effort to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic. This initiative virtually triples U.S. support for combating international HIV/AIDS. The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is a sharply focused model of prevention, treatment and care targeted to the regions of the world where the need for treatment is greatest

The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is intended to:

• Prevent 7 million new HIV infections: The initiative will involve large-scale HIV prevention efforts, like voluntary testing and counseling and behavior change that follows the "ABC" model (Abstinence, Be faithful, or use Condoms, in that priority). These and other prevention efforts are aimed at preventing 60 percent of the projected 12 million new infections in the 14 target countries. The availability of treatment will enhance prevention efforts by providing an incentive for individuals to be tested.
• Treat 2 million HIV-infected people: Capitalizing on recent advances in antiretroviral (ARV) therapies, this historic initiative will be the first global effort to provide advanced ARV treatment on a large scale in the poorest, most afflicted countries in Africa and the Caribbean.
• Care for 10 million HIV-infected individuals and AIDS orphans: The initiative will provide a range of care services, including support for AIDS orphans.

Helping the Addicted: Addiction to drugs is another cause of hopelessness. Addiction crowds out friendship, ambition, moral conviction, and reduces a life to a single destructive desire. In his State of the Union Address, President Bush announced a three-year, $600 million federal treatment initiative to help addicted Americans find needed treatment from the most effective programs, including faith-based and community-based organizations. This new investment will make treatment available to help 300,000 more Americans combat their addiction over the next three years, by providing vouchers to individuals identified as needing assistance.

Last year, approximately 100,000 men and women seeking treatment for drug addiction did not receive the help they needed. The President's plan is designed to complement existing programs and ensure that Americans struggling with addiction have access to a comprehensive continuum of effective treatment and support service options, including faith-based and community-based programs, and ensure that these options are more readily available.

Encouraging a New Compact for Global Development: Greater humanitarian aid contributions from America must be linked to greater responsibility from developing nations. President Bush has urged other nations to follow America's lead by increasing donations or contributing for the first time, as well as by establishing their own emergency response funds to respond quickly and effectively to severe food crises. The United States is working with the G-8 on this multilateral effort.

In his May 21, 2003 commencement address at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, President George W. Bush announced "Volunteers for Prosperity," a new volunteer-based initiative to support major U.S. development initiatives. Volunteers for Prosperity, a program of the USA Freedom Corps, encourages highly skilled American professionals in a variety of fields to volunteer for a flexible term in developing countries and emerging economies. Working with federal government agencies, the USA Freedom Corps will match doctors, nurses, teachers, engineers, economists, computer specialists, and others with organizations working on specific U.S. development initiatives including: the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief; the Millennium Challenge Initiative; the Trade for Africa Development and Enterprise Initiative; the Water for the Poor Initiative; the Digital Freedom Initiative; and the Middle East Partnership Initiative.

As the President explained to the graduates that day, “These goals -- advancing against disease, hunger and poverty -- will bring greater security to our country. They are also the moral purpose of American influence. They set an agenda for our government, and they give idealistic citizens a great cause to serve."

Source: George W. Bush for President 2004 Web Site