THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much. Good afternoon, and
welcome to the White House. Today we are taking essential action to
strengthen the American economy. With my signature, the Jobs and
Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 will deliver substantial
tax relief to 136 million American taxpayers.
We are helping workers who need more take-home pay. We're helping
seniors who rely on dividends. We're helping small business owners
looking to grow and to create more new jobs. We're helping families
with children who will receive immediate relief. By ensuring that
Americans have more to spend, to save, and to invest, this legislation
is adding fuel to an economic recovery. We have taken aggressive
action to strengthen the foundation of our economy so that every
American who wants to work will be able to find a job. (Applause.)
I want to thank the members of my team who have worked so hard to
get this bill to this desk. (Laughter.) I particularly want to thank
Secretary John Snow and Secretary Don Evans for their tireless efforts
to convince members of both political parties what we're doing today is
the right thing to do on behalf of all Americans. (Applause.)
I want to thank Steve Friedman for his good work and his staff. I
want to thank Mitch Daniels, the "Blade". (Laughter.) I want to
thank members of my Cabinet who are here -- Secretary of Labor Elaine
Chao and Mel Martinez. Thank you both for coming.
I particularly want to thank the members of the United States
Congress who worked closely with the administration to do what was
right for the American people. Speaker Hastert -- Speaker Denny
Hastert isn't with us, but he put forth a monumental effort to get this
bill done, as did Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.
I'm particularly pleased that not only did Majority Leader join me
up here, but so does the Chairman of the Ways and Means, Chairman Bill
Thomas. He got the job done -- (applause) -- along with Senator
Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the Finance Chairman in the Senate. These two
good men worked out differences in a quick period of time, and got the
bill to the respective bodies quickly. where both Republicans and
Democrats supported this major piece of legislation.
I want to thank the members from the United States House of
Representatives who are with us today, as well as Senator Thad Cochran,
representing other members of the Senate. We're honored you all are
here. I want to thank all the members who voted for this bill. We had
great support in the House. Senators Miller and Nelson also supported
the Republican majority in the Senate, so that we can say loud and
clear to the American people, you got more of your own money to spend
so that this economy can get a good wind behind it. (Applause.)
I want to thank Dirk and members of the Tax Relief Coalition who
rallied the grassroots all across the country to remind members of the
House and the Senate that there are people out there that understand
that with tax relief will come more jobs for the American people.
I appreciate members of the roundtables we had all around America.
I see a lot of familiar faces from people that allowed me to come and
listen to their stories, and then translate those stories into the
public arena so that our Congress people and citizens knew that behind
every number there was a story to be told. I see small business
entrepreneurs and taxpayers and people who need dividends to help with
their retirement. All of them stood up as we went around the country,
and spoke clearly -- much more clearly than I can -- about the need
for tax relief. And I appreciate you all being here. And I want to
thank you for your care for our country, and welcome to the White
House. (Applause.)
The Jobs and Growth Act reduces federal income taxes across-
the-board. And today the Internal Revenue Service will post new
withholding tax tables so that employers can begin leaving more money
in the pay checks of American workers, starting next months.
The Jobs and Growth Act increases the per child tax credit from
$600 to $1,000. So today I'm directing the Department of Treasury to
issue checks of up to $400 per child to 25 million eligible families.
And those checks will begin arriving in July. (Applause.)
This combination of income tax rate reductions, a higher child
credit and a reduction in the marriage penalty will make a difference
for families in every part of this country. A family of four with a
total income of $75,000 will receive a 19 percent reduction in federal
income taxes, saving $1,122 per year, per family. (Applause.) A
family of four with an income of $40,000 will see their income taxes
drop from $1,178 to $45, a 96 percent tax cut. And under this new law,
3 million individuals and families will have their federal income tax
liability completely eliminated. Altogether, 34 million families with
children, including 6 million single moms, will receive an average tax
cut of $1,549 per year.
Jenny Theisen, from Omaha, Nebraska, is here with us today.
Jenny's husband, David, is a staff sergeant based at Offutt Air Force
Base, and right now on duty in the Pacific and the Indian Ocean. Jenny
and David work hard to provide for their children, just like a lot of
other Americans do, as well. And right now, Jenny says, she tries to
save $200 a month for her girls' college savings account. But
sometimes other bills have to be paid first, is what she says. Under
this proposal, under the bill I sign, it's going to be a lot easier for
the Theisen family to save for the future because they will keep an
extra $1,300 a year of their own money.
Tax relief matters a lot to the average citizen here in America.
This tax bill will make it easier for moms and dads to save for their
children's education, and that's vitally important for the future of
this country. (Applause.)
The benefits of the Jobs and Growth Act will also go to investors.
The top capital gains tax rate will be reduced by 25 percent, which
will encourage more investment and risk-taking, and that will help in
job creation.
The bill also allows for dividend income to be taxed at a lower
rate. This will encourage more companies to pay dividends, which, in
itself, will not only be good for investors, but will be a corporate
reform measure. It's hard to pay dividends unless you've actually got
cash flow. The days when people could say, invest with me because the
sky's the limit, will be changed by dividend policy. It's hard to
promote the sky being the limit and pay dividends unless you're
actually profitable and have cash flow. Getting -- reducing the tax
rate on dividends will also increase the wealth effect around America
and will help our markets.
And the good news is a lot of senior citizens rely on dividend
income to meet their daily needs. And under this legislation, 12
million seniors will receive an average tax reduction of $1,401. We're
delivering substantial tax relief to small business owners and
entrepreneurs.
Most small business owners are subchapter S -- own subchapter S
corporations, or sole proprietorships, or limited partnerships, so the
small business pays taxes at the individual tax rate. By cutting
individual tax rates and by delivering other incentives for investment
in new equipment, 23 million small business owners will receive an
average tax cut of $2,209.
This law reflects a common sense economic principle: The best way
to have more jobs is to help the people who create new jobs, and those
are the small business owners of America. (Applause.)
Scott Harding is with us today. He's the CEO of a family-owned
electrical contracting business in Rockville, Maryland. Scott's
company is a sub-S company. He spends more than $100,000 a year in new
equipment. His savings under the tax relief will let him keep $7,300
of his own money, and his business will save at least $12,000 because
of this legislation's increased expensing rules. His savings, plus
those of the other people who own this company, will help this company
buy more equipment for their 50 employees, which will make the
employees more productive, which will make it more likely that he'll be
able to expand the number of employees who works for him.
Scott says, "The more money we make, the bigger bonuses there are
for workers. It's that simple." No matter how complicated tax policy
may seem here in Washington, people like Scott understand it all too
well. If businesses keep more of their own money, their workers
benefit right away. By leaving families and entrepreneurs more to
spend, more to save, more to invest, these reforms will help boost the
entire economy and create jobs.
When people have more money, they can spend it on goods and
services. And in our society, when they demand an additional good or a
service, somebody will produce the good or a service. And when
somebody produces that good or a service, it means somebody is more
likely to be able to find a job.
Increased hiring happens gradually, but we're on the path to
greater job creation across this country. We know that tax relief is
going to help this economy because it has done so in the past. The tax
relief we passed in 2001 helped make the recession one of the
shallowest in American history. It gave millions of families needed
relief during a difficult time for our country. It helped many
entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams.
I recently got a letter from Rusty Loiselle, who lives in
Illinois. Rusty had seem some hard times, but he always had a dream to
start his own business and to be his own boss. He says the tax relief
in 2001 helped him create a small custom painting business. He bought
a computer, some air brushes, lights, and sanders, and he's done well.
He's done well enough to be able to buy himself a home for he and his
son. He said, "It probably doesn't sound much like -- sound like
much to you all, but it means a lot to my son and me."
That's what America's all about, providing opportunity. The bill
I'm going to sign provides opportunity for millions of Americans across
this country. And the more opportunity there is, the more likely it is
somebody is going to find work in this country. (Applause.)
This legislation is a major step forward in our economic agenda.
Yet other steps are also needed. We must hold federal spending to a
responsible level. (Applause.) Our budget for this year calls for
discretionary spending to rise only 4 percent, or as much as the
average household income will go up this year. Government should
follow the example of American families by setting clear priorities and
by staying within them.
We must act in other areas to ensure the economic security of
American families and workers. There could be no economic security
unless people can count on affordable health care. Critical measures
before Congress would address this issue. Our country must get a
handle on rising health care costs. So we must pass reforms to end the
junk lawsuits that drive good doctors out of practice and drive the
costs up for everybody.
The biggest threat to economic security of our seniors is the
affordability of prescription drugs. We must make available a
prescription drug benefit to all our seniors. And we must assure that
the commitments of Medicare are kept to every future generation of
Americans.
To enhance economic security for working people throughout the
economy, we must reduce the burden of regulation and litigation on
small businesses, as well. Employers don't want to spend their time
and resources filling out forms, or fighting junk lawsuits. They want
to be out on the shop floor, or behind the cash register, creating
profits and jobs. And that is why this administration has launched a
task force to find ways to reduce paperwork for small business owners in
America. We must enact regulatory and lawsuit reforms so that our
business owners can do what they do best, create jobs. (Applause.)
We must also help build economic security for workers by preparing
citizens to fill the new jobs this economy will create. We're
aggressively implementing higher standards in our public schools so
that every child -- every child -- learns to read and write and add
and subtract. We've increased funding for Pell grants, making higher
education a possibility for more young Americans.
I've proposed innovative reemployment accounts to help unemployed
workers cover the cost of job training or relocation. For those
currently unemployed, earlier today I signed legislation extending
unemployment insurance benefits for an additional 13 weeks. And when
we reauthorize welfare reform, we must make sure that more and more
Americans are set on the path of work, which is the path of dignity and
independence.
I'm confident we can make progress in all these areas, because the
Congress is showing the goodwill and hard work that makes progress
possible. Already we've achieved many of the goals that I outlined
last January. Congress passed a budget resolution that follows my call
to restore spending discipline to Washington, D.C. We passed a focus
supplemental spending bill to support our brave men and women in
uniform. We passed a global AIDS initiative to help millions of people
fighting for their lives. And now we have passed a bold package of tax
relief for America's families and businesses which will help turn our
recovery into a lasting expansion that reaches every single corner of
America.
I believe in the future of this economy, in our nation, because I
know the character of the American people. In 20 months, Americans
have been tested by a national emergency, corporate scandals, war, and
recession. And time after time, we've responded effectively to the
challenges we have faced. Time after time, Americans have shown a firm
resolve, and an unshakable faith in our future.
And now, with this bold legislation, we're sending a clear message
to the doubters, the doubters that Washington can respond. We can
respond. We can respond in a positive way. We're building on the
strengths of our economy so that everybody who wants to work can find a
job in this great country.
Congratulations to the members of the United States Congress for
rising to the challenge. May God bless America. (Applause.)