For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 4, 2001
Remarks by the President in Tax Relief Celebration
Legends Field Tampa, Florida
6:15 P.M. EDT
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THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very
much. It is good to be back in the Tampa
area. (Applause.) I remember the last time I was
here was right around the corner, at the stadium. Many of
you were there. (Applause.) Thanks for coming then, and
thanks for coming now. (Applause.)
I appreciate my brother giving me credit for
the rain, but the truth of the matter is, the current governor and the
future governor gets credit for the rain, Jeb
Bush. (Applause.) He's not only a great brother,
he's a great governor. He's the kind of fellow who does in
office what he said he's going to
do. (Applause.) We need more of that kind of talk
in politics. (Applause.)
I'm honored to be traveling today with the
Secretary of HUD, Mel Martinez, from the great state of
Florida. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
(Applause.) We're here with members of the congressional
delegation, Congressmen Davis, Miller, Young and Putnam. And
I want you all to give a huge round of applause for those Congressmen
who were bold enough to vote for you to have a tax
cut. (Applause.)
They did the right thing. They
listened to the people. They heard the people speak loud and
clear. And when that bill came up in front of the Congress,
some of the members from this congressional delegation didn't blink;
they did the right thing. I'm honored to be here as well,
with Speaker Feeney, and Senator McKay from the State House --
hard-working members of the Florida delegation at the State
House. (Applause.)
I want to thank my friends, the Bellamy
Brothers, for being here. (Applause.) It's good to see you
all again. I want to thank my friend, George Steinbrenner,
as well, for opening up this beautiful park. (Applause.)
A year ago, tax relief was supposed to be a
political impossibility. Six months ago, it was supposed to be a
political liability. Today, folks, tax relief is
reality. (Applause.) I have the honor of signing
the largest tax relief bill in 20 years. (Applause.)
It's thanks to the American people that we're
going to have meaningful tax relief. It's thanks to the
thousands of hard-working Americans who made it clear at the ballot
box, through phone calls, through e-mails, through letting everybody
who is elected know that once we meet our needs at Washington, D.C.,
it's important to always remember whose money we're
spending. (Applause.) That surplus is not the
government's money. (Applause.) That surplus is the
people's money. (Applause.) And in a couple of
weeks, we're going to start sending checks back to the American
people. (Applause.)
This year, if you're single, you get a $300
check. (Applause.) If you're raising a family,
you get a $600 check in the mail. (Applause.) Every taxpayer
in America who wrote a check to the government is going to start
getting money back this year, as soon as
possible. (Applause.) But that's just the
beginning. That's just the beginning.
We're also going to cut all
rates. You remember in the course of the campaign, ours was
a campaign that made it clear we're going to be fair to the American
people; that we didn't believe in the Washington talk about targeted
tax cuts; that we felt that a targeted tax cut meant folks in
Washington got to decide who won and who didn't win; that the best tax
policy -- the best tax relief policy was to say, if you pay taxes, you
get relief, everybody who pays taxes in America. (Applause.)
All rates will be cut. Everybody
who pays taxes is going to get not only tax relief this year, but tax
relief in the coming years. (Applause.) During the course of
the campaign, we said how unfair the marriage penalty
was. The marriage penalty is unfair, and we eased the
penalty of marriage in the tax code coming down the
road. (Applause.)
During the course of the campaign, I heard
from hundreds of small business owners and farmers and ranchers, who
said loud and clear, we're sick and tired of having our assets taxed
twice; who said loud and clear, the death tax is
unfair. Under the bill I'm going to sign this week, we
finally eliminate the death tax in the American tax
code. (Applause.)
Tax relief is the right thing to
do. It's an answer to a prayer, such as this
one: lead us not into temptation. The big surplus
accumulating in Washington was one great temptation for the
spenders. And once we met basic needs, with a reasonable
growth in our budget, instead of increasing the size of your federal
government, what we decided to do was to put faith in the American
people. We would rather have you spend the money.
(Applause.)
It's a fundamental difference of
opinion. For those that voted against tax relief, they
basically said to America, we can spend your money better than you
can.
AUDIENCE: Boo!
THE PRESIDENT: It's just a
philosophical difference of opinion. But one of the things
that's loud and clear in this campaign is there is a group of folks in
Washington who now understand where the power of this country is; it's
with the people. (Applause.)
This bill is more than just tax
relief. It is more than just preventing Washington from
growing the size of government. This bill reflects a
philosophy that says, we trust the American people more than we trust
government. It's a philosophy represented in the hundreds of
tax families that I had the opportunity of campaigning with all across
the country. (Applause.)
One such family is here with us today, the
Fuller family. Stephen Fuller, Quita Fuller, Andrew and Anna
Fuller. They're folks from this part of the
world. He's a business manager. He's a
hard-working man and so is she. They're deeply concerned
about their family and their family's future.
This family will save $1,925 when the tax
relief plan is fully phased in. (Applause.) They
will receive an $800 check this year because the child credit kicks in
immediately and increases to $1,000 per child. (Applause.)
And here's what the issue is about,
folks. It's about, do you want the Fullers spending that
$1,900, or do you want the federal government?
AUDIENCE: No!
THE PRESIDENT: The people who stood
on the side of tax relief understand we met our nation's
needs. But when it came down to it, with their "aye" vote
they said, we trust the Fullers to spend that $1,900, it's their money
to begin with. We think they can better allocate that money
than the federal government. We think they know how best to
save for their children. We think they know how best to set
aside money to make sure their family has got a safe and secure
future. No, this tax relief bill is a victory for the
American people. (Applause.)
There's a new attitude beginning to develop in
Washington. This wasn't just a Republican
bill. There were some wise Democrats that came along,
too. And, this coming Thursday, when I sit there at the
White House and sign the bill, I'll be praising not only the
Republicans who helped, but I'll be praising those Democrats who
helped, as well. There's a new spirit in Washington,
D.C. (Applause.) There's a spirit of
accomplishment. There's a spirit that says we can show the
American people that it's possible to get positive things done.
And we're just beginning. We're
working on an education bill that sets high standards for every child
in America, a bill that trusts local people to run the schools, a bill
that believes in accountability and results. A bill that
says loud and clear, no child will be left behind in
America. (Applause.)
We're strengthening the
military. (Applause.) We will boost the pay for
those who wear the uniform. (Applause.) We will
improve the housing, we will improve the health
benefits. And we will have a clear mission, which is to be
trained well enough to fight and win war and, therefore, prevent war
from happening in the first place. (Applause.)
Ours is the first administration in a long
time that has laid out a vision for a secure energy policy for
America. It talks about the need to conserve, and to use
technologies to bring more efficiencies to the use of energy.
But it also talks about a realistic, common
sense way to protect our environment, and at the same time, bring new
energy supplies, so consumers will be able to have safe and secure and
reliable energy sources. Ours is an administration that
talks about Medicare and Social Security reform.
(Applause.) No, there's a new spirit of accomplishment in
Washington, D.C. And there's a bigger task at hand, as
well. (Applause.)
It's one thing to pass legislation, and that's
going to be important. But there's a larger calling for this
country. Our nation must come together to unite, to usher in
what I call an era of personal responsibility -- (applause) -- an era
in our country where each of us who is fortunate enough to be a mom or
a dad tells our children on a daily basis, we love you, with all our
heart; an era in our country where if you're fortunate, you turn to a
neighbor and say to a neighbor in need, what can I do to help,
brother? What can I do to help? We must rally the
great faith of America and the faith-based institutions across this
land, to provide help and care and comfort to people in
need. (Applause.)
In order to usher in a period of
responsibility, it requires all of us who are in positions of
responsibility to understand the awesome responsibility we
bear. It is my high honor to be the President of the
greatest land on the faith of the
earth. (Applause.) I take this responsibility
very seriously. I understand people watch the office, and I
can promise you, I will not let you down. (Applause.)
We are just beginning to show the American
people what's possible. And we're just beginning to help work with
you, the moms and dads and hard-working honest citizens, to change our
culture in America, so that this great land holds out its promise for
every single citizen, so people aren't left behind, so we're united
with a common purpose of one land, indivisible, under God.
Thank you all for coming. God
bless. My honor. (Applause.)
END
6:30 P.M. EDT
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