For Immediate Release
Office of the Vice President
June 21, 2004
Remarks by the Vice President to Bush-Cheney Supporters
Henderson Convention Center
Las Vegas, Nevada
9:10 A.M. PDT
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you very much.
(Applause.) Or as the President would say, knock it off. (Laughter.)
Well, that was, Gustavo, as fine an introduction as I've had. And if
you need temporary employment over the next three or four months, I got
a job for you. (Laughter.) That was great.
No, I really appreciate your kind words for the President and
myself. It means a great deal. And that's what it is all about, the
kind of story that you've just heard -- in terms of his success, it's
not the government that creates jobs; it's entrepreneurs out there who
respond to the opportunities -- (Applause.)
It's great to be back home in the West, and in southern Nevada
again. President Bush was here just the other day for a terrific event
in Reno with Senator John McCain. And the President asked me to bring
you his best wishes this morning -- from the President of the United
States. (Applause.)
Of course, I did bring Lynne with me this morning. (Applause.)
All right, huh? I like to tell people that we got married because of a
great Republican electoral victory in 1952 because in those years I was
a youngster living in Lincoln, Nebraska with my folks. Dad worked for
the Soil Conservation Service. Lynne was in Casper, Wyoming. And when
Eisenhower got elected, he reorganized the Agriculture Department. Dad
got transferred to Casper, Wyoming. And I was 13 years old. That's
where I met Lynne. We grew up together, went to high school together,
and come August, we'll celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary.
(Applause.)
But I explained to a group the other night that if it hadn't been
for Dwight Eisenhower's victory, Lynne would have married somebody
else. (Laughter.) And she said, right, and now he'd be Vice President
of the United States. (Laughter and applause.)
It's an honor to be today with so many distinguished guests. I'm
pleased to report your Senator John Ensign and Congressman Jon Porter a
superb job for Nevada and for the nation. (Applause.)
The President and I are tremendously grateful for all of our
supporters here in Nevada. We were very proud to carry this state four
years ago. We know that Nevada is going to be critically important
again this year, and we're counting on your energy and your
dedication. The President and I plan to do our part, as well. We'll
work hard to earn your vote here in Nevada. And with your help, this
state will be part of a nationwide victory for the Bush-Cheney ticket.
(Applause.)
I can't think of a better place to talk about America's vibrant
economy than here in the Las Vegas area. Every month, more than 5,000
people come here to make this part of Nevada their home. Las Vegas is
growing so fast you have to print two phone books a year just to keep
up. That's not happening in very many other places.
There's a good reason why so many people are coming here. This is
one of the most confident, optimistic places in America. This is a
welcoming place: home to young families, to senior citizens, to
high-tech workers, business leaders, and even a few people who have
convinced themselves they can beat the house. (Laughter.) All of you
see a bright future ahead, for southern Nevada and for our country.
As all of us know, these past three-and-a-half years have brought
many challenges to America, and our economy has been through a lot. We
have faced recession, terrorist attack, and the uncertainties that
exist in a time of war. Yet we have come through all of these
challenges. We have acted on our fundamental convictions about the
economy. We've left more money in the hands that earned it, by passing
three measures of tax relief, in 2001, 2002, and 2003. (Applause.)
We've kept the government from overstepping its limits by simplifying
and eliminating regulations. And now we see an economy growing bigger
and better -- thanks to the steady effort of American workers, and
thanks to the sound policies and leadership of our President, George W.
Bush. (Applause.)
Here in Nevada, 845,000 taxpayers have seen their income tax burden
reduced since the President took office. More than 245,000 married
couples pay lower taxes because of the marriage penalty relief. More
than 210,000 families pay lower taxes because we increased the child
tax credit. And more than 160,000 small businesses have owners whose
additional tax savings make it possible for them to invest, to expand,
and to hire more workers.
As we learned last Friday, 3,800 Nevada workers found new jobs in
May, and more than 94,000 have gone back to work since January of '02.
Over that same period, your unemployment rate has dropped from 6.6
percent to 4.1 percent. People in Nevada have more money in their
pockets because of President Bush's tax cuts, and you are putting that
money to good use -- far better use than the federal government had
kept it. (Applause.)
We're witnessing that same upward trend all across the nation.
America added 248,000 jobs in May -- our ninth consecutive month of job
creation. American businesses have created jobs for nearly a million
workers in the last 100 days alone; and we've added over 1.4 million
jobs since last August. Manufacturing jobs have increased for four
straight months, and more manufacturers have been reporting increased
activity than at any time in the last 20 years. The national
unemployment rate is now 5.6 percent, down from 6.3 percent June a year
ago, and below the average unemployment rate for the 1970s, 1980s, and
1990s. The results are coming in -- the Bush tax relief is working.
(Applause.)
We're seeing great progress in many other areas, as well. Over the
past year, economic growth has been 5 percent -- the fastest pace since
Ronald Reagan's first term in the White House. In the past 12 months,
Americans have seen their per capita, real disposable personal income -
- the best measure of the money people actually have in their wallets -
- increase 3.3 percent, far higher than the 1.4 percent in the year
before we took office. The home ownership rate is the highest ever.
Interest rates and inflation are low. Manufacturing activity is
increasing. Productivity is high. Business investment and factory
orders have been rising. America's economy is moving in the right
direction, and President Bush's policies are making us stronger every
day. (Applause.)
President Bush and I are proud of the progress that America's
economy has made. And we know firsthand what a difference it has
made. I've had the chance to meet with small business owners and
workers all across the country -- most recently in New Hampshire,
Colorado and Ohio. They've seen some tough times in recent years, but
now things have clearly turned around. And more importantly, they're
optimistic about the future. The President and I share that basic
optimism, and we have a clear understanding of the work that remains to
be done. We need to remove obstacles standing in the way of further
growth and new jobs. We need to create a greater sense of certainty in
the economy, so families and businesses have the confidence to invest
for the future. This economy still has tremendous potential to grow.
That's why we'll keep moving forward with a comprehensive, pro-growth,
pro-jobs agenda.
We'll continue to reduce the number of mandates and unnecessary
regulations coming out of Washington, D.C. Small businesses should be
able to spend their time working to become big businesses, not filling
out useless paperwork to satisfy the Washington bureaucracy.
(Applause.)
Our economy also needs lawsuit abuse reform. (Applause.) Junk and
frivolous lawsuits can ruin an honest business. They put people out of
work. They clog the courts, delaying justice for people with real
legal grievances. It's a lot easier for America's entrepreneurs to
hire new workers if they don't have to keep hiring lawyers.
(Applause.)
A healthy, growing economy also depends on affordable, reliable
supplies of energy. Three years ago, the President sent Congress a
sound energy plan to modernize our electricity system, increase
conservation, expand the use of alternative fuels, and produce more
energy here at home in the United States. If Congress had acted on our
energy plan three years ago, today we would be well on our way to
increasing our domestic energy supply. The House has passed
legislation, yet it's hung in the Senate. It's time for Congress to
pass our energy plan, so we can make America less dependent on foreign
sources of energy. (Applause.)
As you know so well here in Nevada, we also need to make sure
frivolous medical malpractice lawsuits don't run good doctors out of
business and drive up the cost of health care. (Applause.) Congress
needs to pass medical liability reform soon because no one has ever
been healed by a frivolous lawsuit. (Applause.)
We also need to continue our efforts to break down trade barriers
and open up markets around the world. The next time you hear someone
talk about putting up barriers to trade, remind them that about 97
percent of America's exporters are small or medium-sized companies --
the kind of companies that create most of the new jobs in this
country. (Applause.) The surest way to endanger all of those jobs is a
policy of tariffs and barriers and economic isolation. We will not
give in to that temptation. For the sake of growth and jobs, and for
the good of our economic future, the United States of America must
remain a confident, successful, trading nation.
In order to generate more jobs and maintain economic growth, we
also need to create certainty in the tax code. Families and
entrepreneurs need to be able to plan for the future. But unless
Congress acts, the tax relief that has proven so successful is going to
expire. For the sake of jobs, for the sake of American families,
Congress needs to make the Bush tax cuts permanent. (Applause.)
It's pretty clear that the President's tax relief has done exactly
what it was designed to do -- add momentum to this economy and help
more Americans find jobs. Of course, some people find a way to be
pessimistic about everything, and that is the case with the President's
opponent in this campaign. (Applause.)
Every day, Senator Kerry does his best to talk down America's
economy, an economy that over the last three years has been growing at
the fastest pace of any major industrialized nation in the world.
(Applause.) As the American people have worked to overcome the
challenges of terrorist attack and recession, he's traveled all across
the country telling workers and entrepreneurs that it all reminds him
of the Great Depression. He's even trotted out the old term "Misery
Index." The problem is that by Senator Kerry's definition, things
actually got better during the Carter years. (Laughter.) And then got
worse during the Reagan-Bush years. (Laughter.) That makes a total of
two people who remember the late '70s as the golden age of the American
economy. (Laughter and applause.) And those two people, of course,
are Jimmy Carter and John Kerry. (Laughter.) By now, even Jimmy Carter
is probably beginning to have his doubts.
There's another problem with Senator Kerry's economic pessimism.
He doesn't recognize the strengths of our economy, and so it's hard to
believe he'd know how to make it any stronger. Senator Kerry talks a
lot about creating jobs, yet he hasn't outlined a plan to create a
single one. His economic plan comes down to one big goal, raising
taxes on the American people.
For example, take the vision he's laid out for America's small
businesses, which create about 70 percent of the new jobs in our
economy. Many small business owners are sole proprietors, meaning they
pay taxes on business profits at the individual income rate. When we
cut marginal tax rates, we gave needed relief to millions of small
business owners. Senator Kerry voted against that tax relief, and now
he's promising to raise marginal rates on small business owners if he's
elected.
Senator Kerry is also against the incentives President Bush has
provided to small businesses to invest in new equipment. Even though
these incentives encourage small businesses to expand and create jobs,
Senator Kerry voted against them.
And Senator Kerry wants to reimpose the death tax which we phased
out to spare farmers and entrepreneurs from an unfair burden of being
taxed twice on a lifetime's work. Senator Kerry's goal is to bring the
death tax back to life.
Senator Kerry's plan to raise taxes on small businesses would choke
growth, discourage investment, and clog the primary engine of job
creation in our economy. We should do exactly the opposite of what
Senator Kerry proposes; we should keep moving forward with a
pro-growth, pro-jobs, small business agenda. And we should make the
Bush tax cuts permanent. (Applause.)
On the future of our economy, as on so many vital matters
confronting our nation, we can see the stark choice that voters will
have this November. Senator Kerry doesn't show much faith in America's
workers and entrepreneurs. And I know his pessimistic outlook isn't
going to sit well with the people who work and vote in Nevada. Listen
to his proposals between now and November, and you'll see a clear
pattern: Every one of them would increase the power of Washington
bureaucrats, and increase the size of the government's claim on your
paycheck. Americans have seen the mind set before, in the days of
malaise, and we're not going back. (Applause.)
In Nevada and around the nation, American families, workers and
businesses have welcomed President Bush's tax relief, and used it to
drive this economy forward. And all Americans can be certain of this:
We are going to maintain our optimistic, pro-growth, pro-entrepreneur,
pro-jobs strategy in Washington, D.C. With the right policies, and
with the incredible energy and talent of American workers all across
this country, we'll keep a good thing going, and see even better days
in the greatest nation on Earth. (Applause.) I am confident that this
November, with the sharp alternatives before them, the American people
will choose the confident, steady, principled leadership of President
George W. Bush.
Thank you very much. (Applause.)
END 9:30 A.M. PDT
|