For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
September 4, 2003
President Bush Outlines Six Point Plan for the Economy
"A full agenda for the creation of jobs in America"
Today's Presidential Action
President Bush visited Kansas City, Missouri today to outline
a six point plan to ensure a full economic recovery and create jobs in
America. America's economy is recovering and our Nation is enjoying
accelerated economic growth. But job creation is lagging even as
output accelerates because employers remain cautious about adding new
workers.
President Bush has provided bold and active leadership to end
the recession and help people find work. America's economy experienced
the unprecedented triple shock of a recession, economic disruption due
to September 11 and the War on Terrorism, and corporate accounting
scandals. President Bush acted promptly to help America's workers by
providing tax relief to put more money in families' pockets and
encourage businesses to grow and invest. Tax relief brought
substantial savings to families and helped fight back the effects of
the recession. Without it, as many as 1.5 million additional Americans
could have been out of a job. The President also proposed a major new
initiative to help unemployed workers receive assistance that best
meets their needs and get the necessary training to find new jobs.
The steps we have already taken are already producing
results, but new actions are needed to reinforce economic growth - and
translate that growth into jobs for America's workers. President Bush
has proposed six specific steps to build employer confidence and create
momentum to hire new workers.
The President's Six Point Plan for the Economy
Making Health Care Costs More Affordable and Predictable.
Health insurance costs for employers have been rising by 10 percent per
year since 2000, causing businesses to hire fewer workers and too many
families to go without insurance. President Bush proposes to allow
small businesses to pool together to purchase health coverage for
workers at lower rates; expand medical savings accounts to give workers
more control over their health care insurance and costs; and reduce
frivolous and excessive lawsuits against doctors and hospitals that
drive up insurance costs for workers and businesses.
Reducing the Lawsuit Burden on Our Economy. President Bush
has proposed, and the House has approved, measures that would allow
more class action and mass tort lawsuits to be moved into Federal court
- so that trial lawyers have a harder time shopping for a favorable
court. The President's reforms would also ensure that, in a class
action lawsuit, most of the benefits of a settlement will actually go
to the people who were injured. These reforms will help businesses
focus on creating jobs, rather than fighting junk lawsuits.
Ensuring an Affordable, Reliable Energy Supply. Businesses
depend on affordable and reliable energy supplies. Energy shortages,
price spikes, and blackouts disrupt the economy and discourage
businesses from planning with confidence and adding new workers.
President Bush has proposed a comprehensive national energy plan to
upgrade the Nation's electrical grid, promote energy efficiency,
increase domestic energy production, and provide enhanced conservation
efforts, all while protecting the environment. It's time for Congress
to finish its work and pass legislation based on the President's energy
plan.
Streamlining Regulations and Reporting Requirements.
Government has a responsibility to ensure that its regulatory actions
are reasonable and affordable. Too often, government regulations and
compliance burdens discourage, rather than promote, job creation. The
President will continue to work to simplify and streamline regulations,
along with ensuring that well-intentioned compliance requirements do
not have the unintended effect of killing jobs. The Administration
also recently streamlined tax reporting requirements for small
businesses, helping 2.6 million small businesses save 61 million hours
of unproductive work.
Opening New Markets for American Products. American workers
can compete with anyone in the world when given a chance.
Unfortunately, foreign taxes and tariffs drive up the costs of American
products in too many countries, making our products more expensive and
less competitive than those produced elsewhere. For example, in Chile,
some kinds of American-made heavy machinery (such as motor graders)
produced by American workers cost $11,200 more than those produced in
the European Union or Canada solely because of tariffs. President Bush
recently signed into law new free trade agreements with Chile and
Singapore that will enable U.S. manufacturers to compete on a level
playing field - and he will continue to work to open new markets to
American products.
Enabling Families and Businesses to Plan for the Future with
Confidence. To make important spending, saving, and investment
decisions, America's families and businesses need to be able to plan
for the future. Right now, some key elements of the tax relief passed
by Congress and signed into law by President Bush - such as the
increase in the child tax credit, the elimination of the death tax, and
the new incentives for small business investment - will expire in a few
years. For example, a married couple with two children and an annual
income of $40,000 would face a $922 tax increase (112% increase) in
2005 if these and similar provisions in the Jobs and Growth Act are not
made permanent. President Bush urges Congress to make these vital tax
reductions permanent so America's families and businesses can make
decisions for their financial futures.
These specific steps will help us build on our economic
recovery and move on to the next stage of economic progress - the
sustained expansion of employment. The President looks forward to
working with the Congress to pass a full agenda for the creation of
jobs in America.
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