THE PRESIDENT: Well, Dr. Sloan, thanks for having us all. And I
want you to thank all the good folks here at Baylor University for
putting on a great show. I know a lot of people worked hard.
(Applause.)
I'm really glad a lot of folks from around the country got to see
Baylor. It's a fantastic University and I want to thank the folks here
who came from all around the country. Welcome to central Texas in the
middle of August. (Laughter.)
People here are the people that really make America work: the
entrepreneurs and the visionaries, the carpenters, the union heads, the
educators, grandmothers. We're here to listen to you, to get a report
from what I call the front lines of the American economy. And it's an
important report. And the American people need to hear your report.
My economic team and I heard much of the discussion. We will read
the summaries, we'll think about it and we'll move forward to create
jobs for Americans. I want to thank all those who led the panels. I
want to thank our speakers for doing a fantastic job today.
I am so very grateful for our fellow citizens who are deeply
concerned about the direction of our country. On stage today we're
joined by four people who I mentioned during the radio address over the
weekend. I want to thank Xavier Teixido, who is the chairman of the
board of the National Restaurant Association. Xavier is an
entrepreneur who obviously runs a restaurant, and is now head of a very
important association.
Maria Sobrino, who is the founder of Lulu's. I don't know if Maria
is going to be serving us all after lunch, but I certainly hope so,
because she does a great job. Robert Landon, the driver from UPS;
Jimmie Morgan, material management at Boeing. These are four ordinary
Americans, as Phyllis called them, who have got opinions. And we heard
their opinions, and they're important opinions.
And so I want to thank the Vice President and members of my
administration for coming down here to listen, to listen to what
Americans have to say.
There's no question our economy has been challenged by a recession
that was beginning when we took office. That the terrorist attacks of
September the 11th that Phyllis talked about had a lot to do with our
economy and the state of affairs from today.
And recently we have had to deal with corporate scandals that were
long in the making -- they finally have come to light. Three factors
that affected our economy. One of the things that we heard today is
that our economy has strengths that are greater than the challenges. I
mean, after all, our workers and farmers are the most productive in the
world; that our entrepreneurs are incredibly visionary; that inflation
and interest rates are low; that today we saw a report that consumer
spending is still robust. We've had three-quarters of positive growth
after three-quarters of negative growth.
No, the foundations of the American economy are strong. Yet, the
only purpose of a strong foundation is to build on it. And that's what
we're discussing today. And we're determined, this administration is
determined to build on the long-term security of the American people.
Here's the way I put it. If somebody wants to work and can't find
a job, we have a problem. And we need to do something about it here in
America. We have heard from Americans who are concerned, but not
discouraged. We've seen problems. But we're confident in the
long-term health of this economy. We share a sense of optimism about
America, because we understand our country.
Too many Americans have lost a large portion of their retirement
funds, and they've lost a sense of security in the process. I know
that. Too many Americans have lost jobs, especially in the high-tech
world, in the manufacturing sector. Too many Americans run into
economic and regulatory barriers when they try to create a business or
expand their business. Too many construction projects have halted
because they cannot get terrorism insurance. The goal must be to
create an environment of sustained economic growth. We've got work to
do. I know that -- but we're going to do the work. It starts with
listening to our fellow Americans to find good ideas, and implement
them.
Here's one good idea to make sure we continue to grow our economy.
And that is Congress, for the long-term economic security of America,
needs to restrain spending. (Applause.) The session and the cost of
war and the cost of homeland defense have increased our deficits. Yet,
I am determined to fund the great priorities of our government while
exercising the spending restraint that will return America to the path
of a balanced budget as soon as possible. More money spent in
Washington means less money in the hands of American families and
entrepreneurs; less money in the hands of risk-takers and job
creators.
A limited and focused government is essential to a growing
economy. And if the Congress won't show spending restraint, I intend
to enforce spending restraint. (Applause.) And this work of
enforcement on spending continues today. At the end of the session,
the Congress passed an emergency spending bill to strengthen our
military, protect the homeland and to complete the commitment of $20
billion I made to the citizens of New York. But they also sent along
more than $5 billion in extra spending I didn't ask for. Some of that
$5 billion I have endorsed and will work to secure through amendments
to the '03 budget -- like AIDS prevention money and support for Israel
and Palestine.
But a lot of that money has nothing to do with national emergency,
and I'll give you one example: a new facility for storing the
government's collection of bugs and worms. I made my opposition
clear. We were pretty plainspoken about the supplemental. But those
who wrote the bill designed it so I have to spend all $5 of the extra
billion dollars or spend none of it. That's how they wrote the
supplemental. Those are the rules they placed upon my administration.
I understand their position, and today they're going to learn mine.
We'll spend none of it. (Applause.)
As I said, for truly pressing needs and priorities -- such as AIDS
prevention and resources for the Middle East -- we'll send to Congress
specific amendments to get these funds quickly. However, we're not
going to spend $4 billion we don't need in order to unlock $1 billion
we do. For the good of our economy, for the good of the people who pay
taxes, my administration will spend what is truly needed and not a
dollar more. (Applause.) Spending restraint is just one of the many
responsibilities that we accept.
In order to build on the long-term security for the American
people, we must always think about growth and jobs. I want to get
American construction workers back to work. And that's why we need to
have a terrorism insurance policy. I want those who wear the hard
hats, who are willing to take risks by suspending themselves above the
land, by building commercial projects that are significant in size -- I
want them working.
I want to thank Doug McCarron for being here. He wants them
working, too. We're working hand in hand to see to it that Congress
finally gets the message that we need a terrorism insurance bill to get
American hard hats back to work. (Applause.)
People say, does it matter? Of course it matters. There's over $8
billion of commercial construction that has been suspended last year.
That means $8 billion worth of projects in which somebody is going to
be able to work and put food on the table for their family.
And we need an energy policy, too. Listen, energy policy is not
only good for economic security, it's good for national security. We
can do a much better job of harnessing technologies to conserve more
energy. We can do a better job of finding renewable sources of
energy. But for the sake of our economic security and for the sake of
our national security, we need to become less dependent on foreign
sources of crude oil and we need to put our people to work by good
solid energy projects here at home. Congress needs to get me an energy
bill. They need to stop talking and they need to start acting by
getting a good, sound energy bill to my desk as soon as they get home.
(Applause.)
You've heard a lot about the tax relief plan we passed. Thank
goodness we passed it when we did. We cut taxes in the middle of a
recession because we believe by letting people keep more of their own
money it'll cause them to demand a good or a service, and when they
demand a good or a service, somebody will produce a good or a service.
And when somebody produces that good or service, somebody is more
likely to find work.
The tax relief was incredibly important and it's going to be
important as time goes on, because it's phased in. Now, there are some
in Washington who want to stop the tax relief, which is like a tax
increase, which would be an unmitigated disaster given the economic
situation in which we find ourselves.
But rather than me talking about let's stop the tax reductions,
what Congress needs to do is to join us in the call to make these tax
relief permanent -- (applause) -- permanent so small business --
(applause.) Make it permanent so we send a signal throughout society
that people should be able to plan; send a signal that we understand
job creation is the number one priority of economic policy out of
Washington, D.C.
In order to make sure the economy grows, we must bring the promise
of broadband technology to millions of Americans. My administration is
promoting investment in broadband. We will continue to work to prevent
new access taxes on broadband technology. If you want something to be
used more, you don't tax it. And broadband technology is going to be
incredibly important for us to stay on the cutting edge of innovation
here in America. The Federal Communications Commission is focusing on
policies to encourage high-speed Internet service for every home and
every business in America. The private sector will deploy broadband.
But government at all levels should remove hurdles that slow the pace
of deployment. (Applause.)
In order to build long-term security we will enforce the rules and
laws on the books. I say as plainly as I can to CEOs: if you break
the law, we will hunt you down, we will arrest you, and we'll prosecute
you. We expect the highest of high standards when it comes to
corporate America. I want the books open and transparent, the numbers
need to be real.
The good news for our economy and our society is by far the vast
majority of CEOs are good, honorable people; they care deeply about
their shareholders and their employees. Now that both Republicans and
Democrats have come together to pass a sound corporate responsibility
bill, my administration will take the new law and we will hold those to
account who do not uphold the high standards Americans expect from
those of us in positions of responsibility. (Applause.)
I believe -- I believe to build the long-term security of America,
we need to encourage ownership. We want to have an environment and
where people feel comfortable by starting their own business. We want
the Curtis McGuires of the world to flourish. Another way we can
promote ownership is to encourage home ownership. One of the
statistics that concerns me deeply and concerns those in my
administration is this: too many minorities do not own a home in
America. Under 50 percent of African Americans and Hispanic Americans
own a home. That's just too few, as far as I'm concerned. You see,
owning a home is part of the American experience. And so I'm promoting
policies that will encourage home ownership.
And we've set this goal, by the way, that we want there to be 5.5
million minority families owning a home over the next 10 years. Which
means government ought to have a policy that helps people with a
downpayment. People take a look at owning a home and they realize the
downpayment is a frightening thought. We ought to have a downpayment
assistance program out of Washington, D.C.
We need to make sure we have education programs, so that people
understand what it means to buy a home; so that they're educated in
what it takes to own a home. We need to make sure that we have got
money available for home ownership, minority home ownership. I want to
thank Fannie Mae, Franklin Raines for being here. He is joined with
many in the private sector to unlock millions of dollars, to make it
available for the purchase of a home. Listen, when people own a home,
they have a stake in the future of our society. If we're interested in
economic security, we must promote home ownership for all Americans.
(Applause.)
And the same for promoting asset ownership for all Americans. One
of the most heartening statistics is more and more Americans are
building their balance sheets through pension plans; they're owning
stocks and bonds; they've got a future other than their income stream.
And that's vital and that's important. But to make sure that those who
own their pensions are fully protected, we need law out of Congress. I
proposed a law, the House passed it -- the Senate needs to act -- which
says the following things.
One, people should not be forced to hold a large portion of their
accounts in a company's stock. If you're working for a company and you
own that stock, you should be able to diversify after a three year
period of time. Secondly, you ought to get sound investment advice
every quarter, not every year. Thirdly, as we pass a corporate
responsibility bill, if the CEO is able to unload the stock, so should
the employee. What's good for the boss is good for the people working
for the boss. And we need to make sure that all investment advice is
sound investment advice. And these workers have got their money and
their future tied up in these pension plans ought to get the best --
best advice possible.
These are good reforms, and Congress needs to act on these reforms,
in order to encourage what we call an ownership society. In order to
make sure that we continue to grow our economy, we need to be
aggressive when it comes to trade policy. Zoellick mentioned to me, he
said they're all looking to me. They may be looking to me, Zoellick,
I'm looking to you. (Laughter.) You're the Trade Representative,
you've now got the tools, go out there and start negotiating free trade
agreements around the world. (Applause.)
We're back at the bargaining table as a result of getting the Trade
Promotion Authority vote out of the United States Congress. It is
essential that we move aggressively, because trade means jobs. More
trade means higher incomes for American workers. Listen, a confident
nation is one which opens up markets. A nation which isn't confident
is one that closes its markets, and puts walls around.
I'm confident. I'm confident in the American entrepreneurs, I'm
confident in our high tech industry, I'm confident in our farmers and
ranchers. I'm confident that when we compete, we're the best in the
world, and therefore I want to trade. I want to open up those
markets. I want to level those playing fields. Open trade is good for
American workers and American families. (Applause.)
I agree completely with the health care panel, ably led by Tommy,
that health security is an important part of economic security.
There's a lot we need to do in Washington, but it starts with trusting
the American people to make the right decisions. That's where it
starts. There is a fundamental debate in Washington, D.C. It goes
like this -- do you trust -- who do you trust? Do you trust the
American people, do you trust the elderly to make the right decisions
for Medicare, or do you want the government making those decisions?
I know that sounds like a simple formula, but it's true, it's
true. The debate is, is that, there are some in Washington who believe
that the federal government should make all the decisions on behalf of
the American people when it comes to their health care. We don't. We
believe the government can right a check, but we believe that the
ultimate decision maker is the people of -- is the person we're trying
to help. That's the ultimate decision maker. We want our seniors to
have more choices. Medicare is a vital program, but it's old and it's
stale and it's tired. Medicine has changed, Medicare hasn't. We need
to modernize Medicare by giving our seniors more viable choices when it
comes to meeting their own specific health care needs. (Applause.)
Health care must be affordable and it must be accessible. And one
way to make it more affordable and more accessible is to have a medical
liability reform at the federal government. Too many lawsuits are
driving our doctors out of practice and are driving up the cost for too
many of our citizens. (Applause.) We have got a serious problem in
America when it comes to frivolous lawsuits. And we need to deal with
it. And I hope the members of the Congress are listening carefully
when they get -- when they're back in their districts. They need to be
talking to the people whose lives are being affected by these junk
lawsuits. And for the sake of good medicine and good health care, we
need medical liability reform out of Washington, D.C., as soon as
possible. (Applause.)
And finally, I appreciate so very much the panel's discussion about
making sure every child in America gets educated. There is no question
we need to set high standards here in America. If we have low
standards, guess what's going to happen. We will continue to get bad
results. If we believe certain children can't learn, the system will
just shuffle them through. The system will quit on them, and we've got
to stop that in America. The best way to make sure that we enforce
high standards is to say that if you receive federal dollars, you the
state must measure. You must show us whether or not every child is
learning to read and write and add and subtract. Prove it, and if not,
you've got to change the system. We cannot have children stuck in
schools that won't teach and won't change.
For the good of our economic security and for good of our children,
we must be willing to challenge the status quo when the children can't
read and write and add and subtract. And the only way to determine if
that's the case is to have strong accountability. And I can assure
you, Janet, so long as this administration is in power, we will insist
upon accountability, no matter how long, how loud the cries of those
who believe the status quo works. (Applause.)
This administration believes every child can learn. This
administration wants every child to learn. And you mark my words, by
having high standards and holding people to account, our children are
going to learn. And America is going to be a much better place for
it.
We heard a lot of things government can do. And this
administration is willing to work with Congress to do them, restrain
spending, pass terrorism insurance, protect the pensions and promote
trade, punish those who lie, cheat or steal. But there are also things
that people in America can do, people right here in this room must do.
It's time for corporate America to earn back our trust. And that
starts with having CEOs lead the way, by having open balance sheets,
fair numbers, by authorizing the numbers that are -- tomorrow, starting
tomorrow; by proving what I know -- that by far the vast majority of
those leading corporate America are good, honorable people. But I'm
calling upon you to help earn back that culture that says we trust what
we read, we trust the advice we're getting.
You need to know that I'm incredibly optimistic about America. Oh,
I know the hurdles -- Phyllis talked about hurdles we face. And we do
have hurdles. We've got a war to fight. But it's a war we're going to
win. We've got a homeland to protect. And we're doing everything we
can to protect the homeland. And we've got the economic security of
our fellow Americans to worry about.
But I'm confident in America. I'm confident in the skill of our
people. I'm confident in our spirit. I know -- I know -- that we're
the greatest nation on the face of the earth, because we're a land full
of people that are caring and decent, hard-working and compassionate.
Oh, there may be some tough times here in America. But this country
has gone through tough times before, and we're going to do it again.
And we're going to show the world how to be a prosperous and
compassionate and decent country.
Thank you all for coming. God bless you all. (Applause.)