For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 14, 2001
Remarks by the President in Joint Meeting of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce
East Brunswick Hilton East Brunswick, New Jersey
12:35 P.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Well, Governor,
thank you very much. I appreciate your kind words, and I
appreciate your friendship. I got to know Donny and his
wife, and I respect them a lot. And I know the people of New
Jersey do, as well. (Applause.)
It's good to see my friend, the
Speaker. (Applause.) I had him down to the
Governor's Mansion in Texas, and I want you to know he didn't spill.
(Laughter.)
I'm honored to be traveling with members of
the New Jersey congressional delegation today. We flew down
on Air Force One. I am thrilled that members of the House of
Representatives came -- Rodney Frelinghuysen and Marge Roukema, Jim
Saxton, Chris Smith, Rush Holt, and the newly elected Mike
Ferguson. And I want to thank you all very much.
(Applause.)
I'm also very pleased the Senator Corzine and
Senator Torricelli came, as well. (Applause.) I
have been most pleased with the comments Senator Torricelli has been
making. It shows that -- (applause) -- I don't want to
single anybody out. (Laughter.) Not one vote is
more important than any other vote. But he has shown a lot
of common sense as far as I'm concerned. (Applause.)
I am thankful they're here; it gives me a
chance to sing the praises of those in Congress who are joining my
administration in changing the tone in Washington. We'll
have a lot of debates on important issues. And we're in the
middle of one that I want to talk about today. But we're
going to show, Senator Torricelli and me, Senator Corzine and me,
Senator Holt and me, that Republicans and -- I mean, Congressman Holt
and me. (Laughter.) Don't want to be rushing your
career. (Laughter.) But we can show that
Republicans and Democrats can differ, but we can do so in a civil
way. We can set a better example for people who look at our
government than the example that had been set in the past; that we can
have disagreements -- (applause.)
So I like to tell people I'm beginning to see
a culture of respect develop in our Nation's Capital, and also, by the
way, a culture of achievement that I hope people will judge us based
upon results, not how we say things. And recently, the
Congress has shown their willingness to focus on
results. The ergonomic regulation reform that took place
shows a positive development and our willingness of people to get
things done. (Applause.)
We got a good piece of legislation moving out
of the Senate in terms of education, which I'll talk about in a little
while. I mean, we're showing people around the country that
it's possible to have a culture of positive achievement in the Nation's
Capital. And for that I'm grateful. And I want to thank the
members of Congress who are willing to work together to get some
positive things done on behalf of the people.
Joan, I want to thank you very much for
inviting me, and I want to thank all the folks who worked so hard to
put this event on. We didn't give you very much
notice. (Laughter.) But you responded, and I
appreciate your hard work. And I appreciate those who spent
hours over the weekend making sure that this event gave me a chance to
come and talk about an incredibly important issue, and that's the
people's budget. (Applause.)
I like to remind people it makes sense to have
common sense in Washington. Particularly when it comes to
spending your money. And the first principle involved with
budgeting is for our government to remember whose money it is that
we're spending. (Applause.) We're working with
the taxpayers' money. It's not the federal government's
money. I like to remind people that the surplus is the
people's money, and we better be wise about how we spend it.
And it means setting
priorities. It's important for the President to
set priorities, to set clear priorities so that Congress doesn't
overspend or get exuberant in their attempts to get reelected with your
money. And so some of my priorities are
these: education is a priority. I think it's
incredibly important. (Applause.) So we've
increased the education budget by a significant amount of money.
But lest you forget where I came from, I also
strongly believe in local control of schools. I believe
we've got to trust the people in New Jersey to run the schools of New
Jersey. (Applause.) I also believe, though, in
return for federal money, states and local jurisdictions should measure
to determine whether or not children are learning to read and write and
add and subtract.
I believe the cornerstone of reform is not
only to insist upon local control of schools -- which means flexibility
and authority at the local level, when it comes to spending federal
money -- but it also means that if you receive help, you and the
citizens of New Jersey must devise accountability systems to show us
all whether or not children are learning to read and write and add and
subtract. And, if so, the teachers need to be praised, and
the principals and superintendents. But if not, if our
society finds children trapped in schools that will not teach and will
not change, instead of standing by and saying it's okay, good public
policy demands something to challenge the status
quo. (Applause.)
Oh, I've heard all the arguments about
accountability. Some say, well, we can't measure; the
federal government does not have a role in education and, therefore,
should not insist upon results. I disagree. We're
results-oriented people in this country. And in return for
taxpayers' money, we ought to insist upon results.
And I don't believe in a national test, nor do
I believe the federal government ought to tell New Jersey how to test
its students. If you believe in local control of schools,
you trust your governor, and you trust the local folks. But
I darn sure believe in asking the question, are the children learning.
I'm told some say, well, it's racist to
test. It's racist not to test -- (applause) -- because the
people who generally are left behind in a system that does not measure
are those who it's so much easier to quit on. It's so much easier to
say that an inner-city child can't learn, let's just move him through,
let's have no accountability. It's so much easier to quit on
a child whose parents may not speak English as a first language.
No, we need accountability in the public
school system. We need results. And we'll herald
success and we need to be bold enough to blow the whistle on failure by
giving parents different options if their children are trapped in
failing schools. (Applause.)
A priority of mine is to keep the
peace. And it starts with making sure the military is
well-paid and well-housed. (Applause.) So in the
budget I submitted to Congress we increased the pay of the people who
wear the uniform. (Applause.) And we've got a
housing initiative to make sure they're well-housed.
It's one thing to pay people well; it's
another thing to make sure the mission is clearly
defined. In order to increase morale in the military, we
must have a clearly defined mission, which is to be able to fight and
win war and, therefore, prevent war from happening in the first place.
A priority of mine is to make sure the
retirement systems in the country work well, which basically means that
all the money going into the Social Security system be spent only on
one thing -- and that is Social Security. There is universal
agreement with Republicans and Democrats in the Congress that we're not
going to use the payroll taxes for anything other than Social
Security. And that makes sense.
It not only makes sense, good fiscal sense, it
also makes sense because a substantive reform that I look forward to
working with Congress on is to make sure the Social Security system is
vibrant and strong, particularly as we head into the 21st century --
which means not only will we guarantee payments to the seniors who rely
upon Social Security today, but we need to think differently and let
younger workers manage some of their own money in the private markets,
to make sure there is a Social Security system around
tomorrow. (Applause.)
Another priority is the health care
system. And as an example, the budget I submitted to
Congress doubles the Medicare payments over the next 10 years -- got
over hundred-and-something million new dollars of spending in
Medicare. And that makes sense, because we must fulfill the
obligation to our seniors, meet the promise of a health care system
that works for seniors. It's one thing to spend money, but
the system also needs to be reformed. And we need to give
seniors a variety of options from which to choose, all of which will
include prescription drugs, in order to make sure the Medicare system
works as we go into the 21st century. (Applause.)
So we're setting
priorities. Community health centers is an incredibly
important part of the health care mix in America. It's a
place where the poor or near-poor can find primary care. The
budget I submitted doubles the number of people who will be served in
community health centers over the next five years.
It's also a budget that understands the great
role of faith programs in our society. I went to one today,
run by Reverend LaVerne Ball of the Youth Entertainment Academy, housed
in the basement of a church in Plainfield, New Jersey. It's
a place that is staffed by people who have heard the universal call to
love a neighbor like they would like to be loved
themselves. I've expanded in my budget the amount of money
for after-school programs and have said loud and clear, if you're a
faith-based program you ought to be able to access that money in order
to provide after-care programs for children who are looking for
something other than just the standard old way of conducting
after-school programs; who are looking for somebody to put their arm
around them and say, I love you and I care. (Applause.)
Now, this is a budget that meets
priorities. We grow the discretionary spending in the budget
by 4 percent. Now, that's where the friction is coming in
Washington, because the discretionary spending at the end of last year
grew at 8 percent. And when you're talking in terms of
trillions, that's a huge amount of the increase of -- the role of
federal government.
So we say to the Congress, there are not many
workers in America who got a 4 percent pay raise last year; surely, you
can live within 4 percent discretionary spending. By
focusing on priorities, surely the members of Congress, both
Republicans and Democrats, can live within a 4 percent increase of
discretionary spending. (Applause.)
I have made it clear that debt reduction is a
priority of this administration. And so we pay down, in the
budget I submitted, $2 trillion of debt over the next 10
years. That's all the available debt. That's all
the debt that becomes available to pay off during that period of time.
That's $2 trillion; that's the largest debt repayment of any nation at
any time in any history. (Applause.)
So the be sets priorities. It grows
discretionary spending at 4 percent, considerably less than the
spending orgy that took place last year, but nevertheless, enough to
meet the needs. It pays down $2 trillion of
debt. It sets aside the payroll tax for Social
Security. It doubles the Medicare budget. And
there's also a trillion dollar contingency fund, so there's another
trillion over 10 years that's set aside for
contingencies. It may be an agricultural issue that we need
to deal with. We may need to bolster the payment of FEMA, the Federal
Emergency Management Agency. There's money set
aside. It makes common sense not to spend all the money, and
so, therefore, we've got money set aside. We pay down debt;
we meet discretionary spending; and there's still money left
over. And that's where the battle is.
And the fundamental question is what to do
with it. My belief is that once we meet priorities, instead
of increasing the size and the scope of the federal government, we
better remember who pays the bills in America. We better remember the
working people. (Applause.) We better remember
who created this surplus in the first place.
And so I submitted a plan that says, instead
of increasing discretionary spending, let's give people more of their
own money back. And it makes sense to do so. It makes sense
to do so. Our economy is beginning to sputter. I
believe -- I was asked about the markets today; I'm sorry people are
losing value in their portfolios. That worries me. But with
the right policies, I'm confident our economy will
recover. The right policies -- fiscal
policies. And that means giving people money back, in plain
language. (Applause.)
Or, better yet, don't take it in the first
place. (Applause.) And we're making good progress
on this issue. We're making good progress -- the House
passed the cut on marginal rates. And I want to thank the
members of the House who were with me on that. It makes
sense.
Let me tell you the principles behind that
part of the tax relief plan. I don't believe the proper role
of government is to try to pick and choose winners when it comes to tax
relief. See, I don't think there's a right American or wrong
American when it comes to those who pay taxes. I think if
we're going to have tax relief all Americans ought to get tax
relief. (Applause.)
So we reduced all the rates on everybody who
pays taxes, and simplified the code. Reduced the rates from
5 to 4; we dropped the bottom rate from 15 percent to 10
percent. I'm asking Congress to increase the child credit
from $500 to $1,000 per child. And let me give you the
benefits.
The benefits of that are -- is
this: We have a tax code that is unfair for people who are
trying to get ahead in life, people who are struggling on the outskirts
of poverty. If you're a single mom raising your children --
two children, for example, and you're making about $22,000 a year, for
every additional dollar you earn in working the toughest job in
America, raising those kids -- for every additional dollar you earn,
you pay a higher marginal rate than a Wall Street
banker. And that's the facts. As you begin to
lose your earned income tax credit and go in the 15 percent bracket,
and pay payroll taxes, the hardest dollar you earn is taxed at nearly
50 percent.
And, folks, that isn't
right. That's not what the American experience should
be. It seems like to me the harder you work, the more money
you ought to put in your pocket. And our tax code ought to
reflect that, and that's why we dropped the bottom rate from 15 to 10,
and increased the child credit.
But we also dropped the top rate, from 39.6 to
33 percent. And I know there's a lot of people that are
hollering about that part of the tax package. First, if you
pay taxes you ought to get relief. But I want the members of
Congress to understand that part of this plan is to stimulate the
growth of small businesses and entrepreneurs, and that thousands of
small business owners in America are unincorporated or sole
proprietors, or sub-chapter S's, and pay taxes at the highest marginal
rates. And by cutting the top rate we stimulate the growth
of small business in America. (Applause.)
Those who would like to leave your money in
Washington try to make us feel bad about cutting the top
rate. But I come from the school of thought that the
American Dream must be alive and well. The role of
government is not to create wealth, but an environment in which the
entrepreneur can realize his or her dreams; in which the small business
owner can find capital in order to fuel an idea. And cutting
that top rate is an infusion of capital for the small business owner in
America, and it makes good economic sense. And it makes good
sense to reenforce the American Dream through good tax
policy. (Applause.)
This tax code is not only unfair to people
struggling to get ahead at the bottom end of the economic
ladder. It sends the wrong signals -- it doesn't make sense
and it's unfair to tax marriage in America. We need to do
something about the marriage penalty in the tax code. And
it's unfair to tax a person's assets twice, and we ought to get rid of
the death tax in the tax code, as well. (Applause.)
This plan is fiscally sound. It
makes common sense. We meet priorities; we pay down debt; we
set aside money for Social Security. But we also remember
who pays the bills. It makes sense for our economy to give
people their money back, and that's why I look forward to working with
Congress to make sure this tax relief package is retroactive.
Senator Corzine and I on the plane talked
about how we make sure money gets in the economy as quickly as
possible. And I appreciate his thoughts along those
lines. This is part of an economic recovery
plan. But this plan is also good for American
families. And the Dietrich family is with us
today. Where are you? There you
go. Thank you for coming. (Applause.)
Mark and Kim and Mark, Jr. and
Christopher. And I've asked them to come because oftentimes
during the course of these tax debates and budgets, all you hear are
numbers. But it's important for me to remind people in
America that there are lives affected by our discussions.
And there's a lot of focus, for example, on
debt at the national level, and that's fine, that makes
sense. But I also want the policymakers to understand
there's debt at the local level, too. That a lot of
hardworking Americans have got credit card debt. And when
you couple credit card debt, for example, with high energy prices, it
puts people in a bind. And good public policy frees
Americans to be able to make more decisions for their families.
These good folks pay $5,700 in federal income
taxes. When our plan is fully implemented, they will save
$2,000. Now, that may not sound like a lot --
(applause.) Oh, I know, in this land of big numbers, $2,000
may not sound like a lot. But it's a lot to
them. It's a lot to a family who is worrying about high
energy bills. It's a lot to a family who wants to put aside
money for their children. It's a lot for moms and dads who
are concerned about the future of their family. It's a
lot. And my attitude is, once we made basic needs, I'd
rather have these good people spending the $2,000 than the United
States Congress spending it. (Applause.)
It's a fundamental decision where we put our
trust. And that's what I want this debate to focus on, who
do you trust. Oh, I love dealing with the members of the
Congress, and they're good folks, they care a lot about their
country. But we ought to trust the people of
America. We ought to trust them to spend their own
money. We ought to trust them to make the right decisions
for their families. We ought to have a limited and focused
and energetic federal government that, when it's all said and done,
holds the people up in our trust.
And, after all, that's not only important for
good economic policy, that's important to make sure America fulfills
its promise for everybody who is fortunate enough to live
here. Because, you see, the great strength of the country
really doesn't exist in the halls of our governments; the great
strength of America is in the hearts and souls of the American
citizens. (Applause.)
One of the biggest honors of my job is to be
able to travel the country and say thanks to those social entrepreneurs
who literally change America, one face at a time. People who
don't wait for government to act and who say to a neighbor in need,
what can I do to help; what can I do, brother or sister, to help you on
your walk. I think of Catholic Charities, that provide such
incredible service all around America. I think about
homeless shelters staffed by volunteers who feel the need to help
somebody in need. No, the great strength of this country,
folks, exists in neighborhood after neighborhood after neighborhood,
where people of religion and people who don't give a hoot about
religion say, what can I do to help a neighbor in need.
My job is not only to argue good policy on
behalf of the people, and argue on your behalf to make sure your money
ends up in your pocket after needs are met; my job is also to lift the
spirit of the country and to call upon the best. To work to
unite our nation, but always remember that the true strength of America
is our people and the hearts of our people and the compassion of
America.
I'm fortunate to the be President of the
greatest land on the face of the
Earth. (Applause.) It's an unimaginable
honor. And I want to thank you all for giving me the chance
to come and talk about a common-sense policy for the budget, but to
remind you that if you see somebody in need, put your arm around them,
tell them God loves them.
Godspeed to you all and God
bless. (Applause.)
END 1:04
P.M. EST
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