For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 28, 2001
Remarks by the President in Meeting with High-Tech Leaders
The East Room
Listen to the President's
Remarks
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Remarks
2:45 P.M. EST
THE
PRESIDENT: Thanks for coming. I appreciate that
warm welcome. And welcome to the people's
house. It's a nice place to live.
(Laughter.) And I'm glad I'm living here.
I want to
thank Lezlee for all her hard work in putting together this group of
leaders from around the country. I want to thank the members
of the Cabinet who are here, some of whom you'll hear from in a little
bit -- Elaine Chao and Spence Abraham and Paul O'Neill and Don Evans
really represent the best of the country and I really appreciate the
fact that they've left their -- left the private sector to serve the
country. We've got a really good Cabinet.
One of the
lessons I learned in the private sector was it's important to set an
agenda and to delegate to good, honest people. And I have
done so.
I was going
to say, thanks for all the members of the Congress who are here, but I
see members of the Senate who are here. Thank you all for
coming. Senator Hatch, Burns, and Allen are some of the very
best public servants our country has got to offer, and I want to thank
you all for coming. I'm looking forward to working with you
on the budget. (Laughter.)
I first
want you all to know that this administration has great confidence in
the future of our technology industry. We recognize, like
you do, that the stock market may be sending a little different message
right now; that people have suffered losses and there are some
difficult times for some of the companies in the high-tech
world. But the accomplishments of the industry are
rock-solid. The future is incredibly bright.
You've
changed the way we work and communicate, and you've changed the way we
learn. You've done for America -- economic leadership in the
21st century what heavy industry did for America in the 20th
century. And all the difficulties you face today really
don't cloud a future that is so optimistic and bright.
The social
benefits from the tech industry are as sweeping as the economic
potential -- telemedicine for the sick, distance learning and assistive
technology for individuals with disabilities, for
example. Your companies symbolize the innovation and
optimism of this great nation. Your success fills us all
with confidence in the continued growth of our economy.
You make us
all a little prouder to be Americans. You've done so much
for your country, it's time for your country to do something for you.
I oftentimes say that the role of government is not to create wealth,
it's to create an environment which the entrepreneurial spirit can
continue to flourish.
First
things first: We've got to restore consumer confidence. We
can help in Washington by returning tax money to the people who pay the
bills this year. We can restore investor confidence by
building a better business environment for years to come, starting with
having a realistic, sound energy policy -- a policy that says, of
course, we can conserve better, but we need new supplies. We
need to aggressively seek new supplies. And not only do we
need new supplies of natural gas, for example, we need new pipelines to
move natural gas. We need new power plants. We
need an aggressive, forward-thinking energy policy that balances the
needs of our environment with the needs of the people of the country.
We can also
help by having a world of free trade. One of the concerns is
if the economy were to slow down like ours, the protectionist
sentiments around America might start bubbling to the
surface. Ours is an administration dedicated to free
trade. I hope the Congress gives me trade promotion
authority, as soon as possible, so I can negotiate free trade
agreements. We should not try to build walls around our
nation and encourage others to do so. We ought to be tearing
them down. Free trade is good for America. And it
will be good for your industry, as well.
And,
finally, we need to have lower taxes, instead of bigger
government. We're having a big debate here. But
one thing you can't debate is, this is an administration that has put
together a pro-growth tax relief agenda, the first one in a long period
of time. I mean, not only do we need to get money in
consumers' hands as quickly as possible, we need to reduce all rates so
that entrepreneurs can plan. I can't think of anything worse
than to say we'll get money into consumers hands quickly, and then kind
of change the rate structure.
And so I
want to reduce all rates -- the bottom rate from 15 percent to 10
percent; the top rate from 39.6 to 33 percent. People say,
why would you want to drop the top rate? Well, let's start
with this simple fact, that thousands of small businesses pay taxes at
the highest rate. The businesses who are unincorporated, the
sole proprietorships, the companies that have started in somebody's
garage pay at the 39.6 percent tax rate. And by dropping the
top rate from 39.6 to 33 percent, we will send a clear message that the
role of government is to create an environment in which the
entrepreneur can flourish. By cutting the top rate, we'll
provide more cash flow for small businesses to provide more
employment.
You know,
I've heard all the rhetoric, but the truth is, dropping all rates will
be good for our economy, good for planners, good for those who want to
think long-term. And we can afford it. That's the
thing that Congress and the people must hear, we can afford it.
There's a lot of issues with the budget, starting with this -- that you
now have a President who believes in fiscal sanity when it comes to the
people's money; that we've increased discretionary spending by 4
percent in our budget. Now, that may sound like a lot to a
lot of you all who are now managing your cash accounts and managing
your cash flow. After all, a 4 percent increase is greater
than the rate of inflation. A 4 percent increase in a budget
is greater than most working -- the raises working people have gotten
this year.
Except the
problem is, here in Washington, it's half of -- exactly half of what
was increased -- how the discretionary accounts increased last
time. You see, they had a bidding contest, a bidding war
last time. It was like, the person who bid the highest got
to go home. And, therefore, the discretionary accounts increased by 8
percent. And we can't afford that kind of spending in
Washington, D.C.
So a
President and an administration has come along and says, let's set
priorities and let's focus, and let's always remember whose money we're
spending. It is not the government's money, it's the
people's money. And for those who say we can't afford meaningful, real
tax relief that will stimulate the economy, they're the ones who want
to increase the size and scope of the federal
government. They trust the government to spend people's
money. And that's not the philosophy of this
administration.
Once we've
set priorities, we trust the people to spend their money. We
trust the entrepreneurs with enhanced cash flow. We trust
the working people to manage their own accounts. And that's
the debate here in Washington, and I'm asking for your
help. I would like for you to e-mail your
senators. You don't have to worry about the members of the
House. And, by the way, you don't have to worry about -- don't e-mail
these three. They're solid. (Laughter and applause.)
I'm
optimistic. I'm very optimistic. The terms of the
debate have somewhat shifted. I can remember campaigning in
your neighborhoods, and people would say, well, he's just talking about
tax relief and he really might not mean it; people don't want tax
relief. The debate is no longer whether or not we're going
to have tax relief, the debate is how quickly and how
big. And I'm optimistic we can get a good package.
Today, the
House is voting on the budget. Next week, the Senate will
vote on the budget; it's going to be a tough vote. But all
of us are working hard on behalf of the working people of the country
and the entrepreneurs and small business people of the country, to get
a good budget out of the Senate.
Today, as
well, I'd like to announce that -- a cochairman of the President's
Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. He is here
with us -- his name is Floyd Kvamme. And I'm honored, Floyd,
that you take on the position. (Applause.)
Science and
technology have never been more essential to the defense of the nation
and the health of our economy. I will hear the best
scientific and technological advice from leaders in your
field. And I can think of no better coordinator than
Floyd. He is an entrepreneur, he is a risk-taker, he
understands risk and reward. But, more importantly, he knows
the players, the people that can bring good, sound advice to this
administration. And I'm honored to have you on board.
As well,
I've got some good news and you may have been watching the Senate
Banking Committee. But after a lot of work with industry
leaders and the administration and members of the Senate, the Export
Administration Act -- a good bill -- passed the Banking Committee
19-1.
The
technology that you all have helped develop obviously gives us an
incredible military advantage, and that's going to be
important. And it's an advantage, by the way, that we tend
-- want to develop, to make sure we can keep the peace, not just
tomorrow, but 30 years from now. We've got to safeguard our
advantages, but we've got to do so in ways that are relevant to today's
technology, not that of 20 years ago.
The
existing export controls forbid the sales abroad of computers with more
than a certain amount of computing power. With computing
power doubling every 18 months, these controls had the shelf life of
sliced bread. They don't work.
So in
working with the Senate, we're working to tighten the control of
sensitive technology products with unique military applications, and to
give our industry an equal chance in world markets. And I
believe we've got a good bill. It's a bill that I heard from
you all during the course of the campaign. The principles we
discussed are now a part of this bill. I want to thank
Senator Phil Gramm for his hard work in working with us and industry
and some members of the Senate to make sure the bill that has been
crafted is a good bill. And I urge the Senate to pass it
quickly.
Likewise,
we want the R&D; credit to be permanent, and we're working with members
of the Senate to do so. A lot of us in this administration
have been in the world of taking risk. We understand that
one of the most important parts about government policy is that there
will be certainty in the policy. And I think making the R&D;
credit a permanent part of the tax code is part of creating certainty,
so people can more wisely make investments with cash flow in their
capital accounts.
And
finally, we have a word about education. We're making great
progress in education. I know it's a subject dear to you
all's hearts. It should be. Your industry thrives
on not only capital, dollars and cents, but it also thrives on human
capital. And our nation must do a better job of educating
all children.
The
principles inherent in the reform package that we're moving through the
Senate and the House are these. One, we expect there to be
high standards in public education. To put it this way,
every child can learn, and systems that don't believe so need to be
changed.
Secondly, I
strongly believe in aligning authority and responsibility at the local
level. I know full well when you disassociate the two, it
provides convenient excuses for failure. A school district
will say, oh, gosh, I would have done it differently, but the
centralized authority made me do it this way. It's time to
get rid of all the excuses for failure inherent in our school systems.
And one way
to do so is to pass power out of Washington, to trust local folks to
set the path for excellence for the children in the districts in which
they live, in which the local folks live. What I'm trying to
say is, the government closest to the people is that which works best.
And
finally, we need to have a results-oriented system all around the
country. Here's the way I'm doing it. I'm saying
if you receive federal money, you've got to measure. If you
receive help at the federal level, you, the local district or the
state, must measure third through eighth grade. And Sandy
Kress will describe what we're trying to do.
But the
point is pretty simple. How do you know if children are
learning unless you test? The accountability systems are not
designed to punish folks. It's designed to make sure
children just simply are -- are not simply shuffled through the
system. We've got to end that practice of giving up on
children early.
And so we
start early, we measure early, we provide money for remedial
education. Every child counts, and every child can
learn. And the whole crux of reform is
accountability. And when we measure and find success, we'll
praise it. But by measuring, you also -- one can also detect
failure, and that becomes the catalyst for reforms at the local
level. We're going to make good progress on education.
And,
finally, I believe we're making progress in Washington about changing
the culture up here. There is now a -- people are beginning
to be able to debate in a respectful tone. The country isn't
interested in the old-style -- at least, the politics of the past,
where the person who screamed the loudest or had the cutest sound byte
was the one that appeared to be the most effective. The
country wants there to be a level of respect in our
debate. And this is an administration that is working hard
to provide that.
We're not
always going to agree, but we'll agree to be -- we'll disagree in an
agreeable way, in a way that brings pride to the system. There is also
becoming a culture of accomplishment in Washington. Things
are getting done. I signed some legislation that had been
incredibly onerous for small businesses and large business,
alike. When the Congress moved quickly to get rid of an
ergonomics regulation that just -- the cost far outweighed the
benefits. It would have been harmful to the private
sector. It would have been harmful to those who want to
employ people. And they got the people's work down quickly, and got it
through.
Slowly, but
surely, we're beginning to get people to focus on
results. You see, I know there's a time for politics and
there's a time for policy, and now is the time for good public policy
on behalf of the citizenry of the country.
And,
finally, I hope we'll be able to start a culture of responsibility;
that all of us in this country must be responsible for the communities
in which we live. I see Barksdale sitting over
here. He is a person who sent a clear signal about what it
means to be a responsible citizen by supporting public
education. And I know many of you all in the audience feel
the same way.
The
responsibility is not only sharing the wealth that has been generated
in important programs, but it's also being responsible as a mom or
dad. Responsible for activities that say to a child,
somebody loves you. Responsible for encouraging mentoring
programs in your companies or in your neighborhoods or in your churches
or synagogues or mosques. And we're making good progress in
the country.
And the
reason why is because this is a fabulous country. That's
why. This is a country that has got great heart, great
spirit, great vision and great compassion. And I'm proud to
be the President. God bless you all. (Applause.)
END 2:58
P.M. EST
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