For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 24, 2001
Radio Address by the President to the Nation
The Cabinet Room
Listen to the President's
Remarks
THE
PRESIDENT: Good morning. Just over two weeks ago,
the House of Representatives passed a large part of my tax relief
plan. Now the House is about to vote on my budget, the
funding we provide for the needs and goals of our
government. I have sent the Congress a budget plan that
reflects our values as a people.
My budget
is compassionate. It dedicates $238 billion to Medicare next
year alone, enough to fund all current programs and to begin a new
prescription drug benefit for low-income seniors. It
protects all $2.6 trillion of the Social Security surplus for Social
Security, and for Social Security alone.
It
increases spending on education substantially. It provides
tax credits to help low-income people buy health
insurance. It adds funding for medical
research. And it gives our men and women in uniform a
$1-billion pay increase.
My budget
is also responsible. It pays down the national debt faster
than any country has ever repaid its debt before. It
establishes a contingency fund for unexpected needs. And it
provides a reasonable 4-percent increase in discretionary government
spending -- that is, 4 percent after we have paid every promised dime
for Social Security and Medicare. Then, after meeting all
these priorities, we return about $1 out of every $4 in the surplus to
the American taxpayer.
Some in
Washington do not think a 4-percent spending increase is
enough. They want government to take a much larger part of
the surplus. But think about it: For the past few years,
average hourly wages have risen at a rate of about 4
percent. If the taxpayer can get by on a 4-percent raise,
the tax collector ought to be able to make do with 4 percent, as well.
There's a
lot at stake here. Last year, federal discretionary spending
grew at a massive 8 percent. If this spending spree were to
continue, we would drain the surplus by funding a permanently larger
government. This would be bad for the taxpayer, and bad for
the economy. It would make significant debt reduction and tax relief
much more difficult.
My budget
plan doesn't slam the brake on spending; it slows the growth of
spending. It makes our increases in spending more realistic
and reasonable. All in all, my budget will provide the
government with $100 billion more to spend in 2002. Even by
Washington standards, this is a lot of additional money, and it is
enough.
This debate
illustrates a point I've been making for a while -- when money is left
in Washington, there is a tremendous temptation for the government to
use it. The point is simple: If you send it, they
will spend it. And this is why we need a balanced approach
of moderate spending growth, debt reduction, and meaningful tax
relief.
This is the
plan that Congress is now considering, and I hope you'll give it your
support. Thank you for listening.
END
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