BUSH URGES NOTRE DAME GRADS TO LEAD LIVES OF SERVICE

NOTRE DAME, Indiana (CNN) -- President Bush urged graduates of Notre Dame
University Sunday to use their idealism in the war against poverty and make
a commitment to public service.

Wearing a blue gown, the president told the 2,500 graduating students to
"revive the spirit of citizenship" and "marshal the compassion of our
people" in meeting the nation's needs.

Bush praised his predecessor when he said the nation has won one battle in
the war on poverty: ending welfare dependency. "That is a tribute to the
Republicans and Democrats who agreed on reform, and to the president who
signed it, President Bill Clinton."

But he called on the students to help win the war. In a 21-minute speech,
Bush urged public obligation and personal responsibility in fighting
poverty. He praised volunteering and public service, saying great societies
are also caring societies.

"Mother Teresa said that what the poor often need -- even more than shelter
and food, though these are desperately needed as well -- is to be wanted,"
Bush said. "And that sense of belonging is within each of us to provide."

'Compassion Capital Fund'

Bush said government also has a responsibility to support the work of
charities and poverty programs. To that end, Bush said, he created the
White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.

First on the office's agenda is a "compassion capital fund" to match
private donations with federal money. A second proposal would allow all
taxpayers to deduct charitable contributions, including those that are not
itemized on tax returns. And last, Bush said, the office is working to
implement and expand "charitable choice," to ensure faith-based
organizations aren't discriminated against when competing for social
service contracts.

"Government should never fund the teaching of faith, but it should support
the good works of the faithful," Bush said. "The federal government will
not discriminate against faith-based organizations."

The president also proposed two new initiatives in the areas of housing and
drug treatment. The first, which Bush said will be included in his budget
next year, is a three-fold increase in federal funding for groups like
Habitat for Humanity, in order to expand home ownership.

The second is a proposed $1.6 billion in new funds for drug treatment -- to
close the gap, the president said, "between the 5 million Americans who
need drug treatment and the 2 million who currently receive it."

Presidential 'Domer'

Bush left the students with a charge to have concern for their fellow
citizens. "Serve a neighbor in need," he said, "because a life of service
is a life of significance."

Onstage, Bush was joined by National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, a
former trustee of the school who also holds two Notre Dame degrees. Sitting
in the audience was first lady Laura Bush, in whose name a new Notre Dame
scholarship was established.

Bush also was presented with an honorary doctor of laws degree. He joked in
his speech that while his brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, may be the
family's only Catholic, the degree made him the only "Domer," or holder of
a Notre Dame degree