Andrew said to me on Wednesday, you know, we've got a busy week and I know how busy you are, Mr. Secretary. But do you think you could find time on Friday afternoon to drop by USAID? And I said, yeah, okay man, what's going on? And he said, it's their fortieth birthday, don't you want to drop by and say hello? And I said to Andrew, I wouldn't miss it. I wouldn't miss the opportunity to drop by and express my thanks, my admiration to the wonderful people who work at USAID, for the absolutely fantastic job you do around the world every day of the year in support of America's foreign policy.

I want to be your friend. I am your friend. But I want to be more than your friend. I want to be more than the guy that Andrew comes and reports to. I want you to know that I want to be your champion. I want to take your case to the Congress. I want to take your case to the world. (Applause.)

You know, it is easy to say in very bureaucratic terms, USAID is an important part of our foreign policy apparatus. Doesn't that sound lovely? Or USAID is an important part of our international security agenda. That's what you put in articles.

But you are so much more than that, and those words really don't do justice to what you do, they don't do justice to what those who founded you 40-odd years ago, they don't do justice to what they had in mind, and those kinds of words don't do justice to what my predecessor and a man with whom I like to identify with, but was so many levels above me, George C. Marshall, had in mind when he launched the Marshall Plan.

They don't do justice to what you do, because what you do is you bring hope to people. You are more than an element of American foreign policy. You bring hope to people. You bring the American value system to the darkest corners of the world. You take out to the world, you speak of hope, you speak of light. It may come in the form of a bundle of food, it may come in the form of a warm coat, it may come in the form of an immunization, it may come in the form of the doctors you have arranged to come travel. It may come in the form of the wonderful work that you are doing to fight the pandemic of HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases. It may come in the form of the USAID worker or contractor who is helping to drill a well in a village that has never known clean water. It may come in the form of just a smile of an American who is far away from home who is at that location to give the vision of a better future to people who did not think they had a better future.

In this world of the 21st century, we talk about globalization, we talk about incredible levels of wealth that exist in some parts of the world, such as our part of the world. We know that there are places where people don't want to hear about globalization. They think it means nothing to them because they can't put food on the table, they don't have seeds to put the next crop in. They can't educate their children, they can't put a roof over their heads, they have no shelter when it's cold and wet. You are the ones who give them hope, you are the ones who will give them those things they need so that they can believe in something. Could there be more noble work? Could there be more important work? Could there be a better reflection of what America is all about? Could there be a better way to take our story to the world?

In the state of the world, here we are, America, Americans, a wealthy people, a generous people, a people who want to share, a people who want to give to others, a people who want to show others what you can achieve, where you can go, if you will believe in democracy, if you will believe in the dignity of the individual, if you will believe in taking care of your fellow citizens.

I love making this case to our Congress. I love telling the story of what you do to world leaders, to the people who come and sit in my office. You get less than one percent of the federal budget. I wish you had 10 times that amount; you deserve it! (Applause.) Not only do you deserve it so that you could do more, but the rest of the world needs it so that we can take our message, our message of hope that you see in these products before you, out to the rest of the world.

We now have a great challenge before us, a challenge that was put before us by the al-Qaida organization, led by this man, Usama bin Laden, the man responsible for killing not just thousands of Americans in the World Trade Center and at the Pentagon and in the field in Pennsylvania; he killed hundreds of Muslims, he killed people from almost 80 countries around the world. It wasn't just an attack against America; it was an attack against the world. And he launched that attack from Afghanistan. Afghanistan, a place that is suffering, a place with a regime that does not understand what is required to be successful in the modern world.

And while he was using the money that he could get for his purposes in Afghanistan to invade that country, to suppress those people, to help the Taliban suppress those people, he was not feeding them, he was not providing them clothing, he was not doing anything to help his fellow Muslims. We were doing that, the major food provider to Afghanistan, during the same times he was hatching plots to kill innocent people around the world. He was evil; we were doing that which was right.

And the campaign we have under way now will bring him and others like him to justice. We will prevail, we will be persistent, we will not get tired in this race. And when the race is over, when we have accomplished our mission, when the people of Afghanistan have put in place a new government, more reflective of their desires and hopes, and more reflective of all the people of Afghanistan, we will be there then. We will be there to help them rebuild. We will not abandon them. We have already made this political, strategic choice, and you are the ones who will make it happen.

And you have a great challenge before you now, as the winter approaches, in making sure that we do everything we can in the way you know how, working with the World Food Program, the United Nations, and so many wonderful NGOs. We are going to mount a campaign to make sure we do everything we can to bring hope, to bring nourishment, to bring some expectation of a better life to the people we can get to in Afghanistan, while this man and this evil regime, the Taliban regime, does everything they can to cause suffering and death.

The work you are doing in Afghanistan, the work you are doing in the Sudan, the work you are doing in dozens of countries all over the world is an important part of our foreign policy effort. It is an important part of what we do in the State Department. It is all of those things you read about. But, above all, it is touched with nobility. It is touched with the American spirit of generosity and greatness and a belief in the dignity of man and woman and a belief that every one of God's children has the right to live a better life. It is touched with a belief that that is our destiny as Americans, to help others, to help those in need, to share the blessings that we have received with others.

You do this every day. And today, as we pause on this Friday afternoon, let us think about those people in need and let's rededicate ourselves to the purpose for which USAID was created. And I just, as your supervisor, want you to know what a deep admirer I am of everything you do. And there isn't a day goes by that I don't think about you, that I don't think about your work.

I can also tell you that President Bush has the same enthusiasm and passion for everything you do. Andrew briefed the President just day before yesterday on the important work you're doing.