THE PRESIDENT: Christine, thanks for the kind words, thank you
for being an entrepreneur who was encouraging to your fellow workers
to serve their country. You represent a lot of bosses across this
country who encouraged the Reservists or the Guard who made sure
there was a job available when they came home and, at the same time,
supported their family. And I want to thank you very much for that.
I want to welcome you all to the Rose
Garden. It is a beautiful day. It's a beautiful day for our country,
too. We've got troops still fighting in Iraq, and our nation takes
great pride in the men and women who wear our country's uniform and
who sacrifice for security and peace. (Applause.) The world has seen
their skill and their courage and their humanity. They bring
security to our country and, at the same time, bring freedom to the
Iraqi people. (Applause.)
I appreciate the chance to meet with small business leaders from
around our country to discuss the challenges facing our economy. The
small business folks in America, the entrepreneurs represent one of
the great strengths of this country: the spirit of free enterprise,
the willingness to take risks, the hard work required to move this
economy forward.
Small business owners and employees understand that this economy
has a great deal of unmet potential. The American people have all
the talent to meet that potential, and that's why I'm so optimistic
about the future for our economy.
The nation needs quick action by our Congress on a pro-growth
economic package. We need tax relief totaling at least $550 billion
to make sure our economy grows. (Applause.) And American workers and
American businesses need every bit of that relief now so that people
who want to find a job can find one, so that people that are looking
for work are able to put food on the table for their families.
I want to thank Christine for coming. I appreciate the fact that
she is the CEO of her own business. We just had a roundtable
discussion in the Roosevelt Room, and one of the things I love --
told the folks there I loved about America was the fact that
somebody can own their own business, that ours is an ownership
society. I think that's one of things that makes America so unique
is the entrepreneurial spirit and the drive by people from all walks
of life to start their own business, succeed with their own
business. And at the same time, it's that drive that makes it likely
somebody is going to find work.
I appreciate Karla Aaron, who's with us, as well, Hialeah Metal
Spinning from South Florida. And I want to thank Tim Barrett who is
the owner of Wood World. Tim said he's got -- he's about as small a
business unit as you can get. He's got four employees. I said, well
it's four times bigger than the smallest. (Laughter.) And I
appreciate Frank Fillmore as the president of the Fillmore Group.
Thank you all for standing up here, as well.
Steve Anderson was with us today, who is the head of the National
Restaurant Association. His association represents all kinds of
entrepreneurs. The restaurant industry is a great place for people
to get their start in achieving the American Dream.
Sal Gomez was here representing the Denver Hispanic Chamber of
Commerce. The most interesting statistics about the entrepreneurial
spirit is the number of Hispanic small businesses that are
flourishing in our country. It's one of the great tributes to
America and our open society.
I appreciate so very much Tom Donohue, who is the head of the
U.S. Chamber, for joining us today. Jerry Jasinowski is the head of
the National Association of Manufacturers is with us. Karen Kerrigan
is the Small Business Survival Committee -- that's a pretty good
name. (Laughter.) Tom Musser is the National Federation of
Independent Businesses, NFIB. And Terry Neese is Women Impacting
Public Policy, joined us at our discussion in the Roosevelt Room.
Bill Parsley of Carswell Distributing Company. Dirk Van Dongen, who
is my good buddy, who represents the National Association of
Wholesaler Distributors. And Melanie Sabelhaus, who represents the
Small Business Administration. We had a great discussion. I want to
thank you all for joining us there and I appreciate everybody else
coming today, as well.
On the first day of the new Congress more than three months ago,
I spoke to the business leaders in Chicago, Illinois. I described
two great and immediate tasks facing our country: first, to meet the
dangers to America wherever they gather; and, secondly, to achieve a
vigorous and growing economy. Those remain the highest priorities of
my administration. And there's no doubt we're going to meet those
priorities.
This government is acting to protect the American people from the
threats of a new era. In Iraq, the regime of Saddam Hussein is no
more. (Applause.) A month ago -- one month ago -- that country was a
prison to its people, a haven for terrorists, an arsenal of weapons
that endangered the world. Today, the world is safer. The terrorists
have lost an ally. The Iraqi people are regaining control of their
own destiny. These are good days in the history of freedom.
(Applause.)
Our victory in Iraq is certain, but it is not complete.
Centralized power of the dictator has ended -- yet, in parts of
Iraq, desperate and dangerous elements remain. Forces of our
coalition will engage these enemies until they surrender or until
they're destroyed. (Applause.) We have waged this war with
determination and with clarity of purpose. And we will see it
through until the job is done.
As we press on to liberate every corner of Iraq, we are beginning
the difficult work of helping Iraqis to build a free and stable
country. The immediate tasks involve establishing order, as well as
delivering food and water and medicines. We'll help Iraqis to
restore electrical power and other basic services. We'll help
destroy the former regime's weapons of mass destruction. We'll help
the Iraqi people to establish a just and representative government,
which respects human rights and adheres to the rule of law. These
tasks will take effort, and these tasks will take time. But I have
faith in the Iraqi people, and I believe that a free Iraq can be an
example of reform and progress to all the Middle East. (Applause.)
Our victory in Iraq will be a crucial advance in the war against
terror. Yet, the war on terror continues. Our nation is still
threatened by determined and resourceful enemies. The proliferation
of weapons of mass destruction remains a danger to the civilized
world. Yet from the very day our country was attacked, we have sent
a clear message to all who would threaten us, and our friends, and
our allies. The United States of America, and our coalition, will
defend ourselves. When we make a pledge, we mean it. We keep our
word; and what we begin, we will finish. (Applause.)
Another great priority of the government is to encourage
prosperity and the creation of jobs for all who seek them. Here in
Washington, we're now determining the size and the shape of a
package to promote growth in jobs. It's not "if" we have a package,
it's how big will the package be. The "if" is over with. In this
debate, the goal is not to set arbitrary numbers for that package.
The goal is to determine what our economy needs, what small
businesses need, what workers need. And then to take actions
necessary to meet those needs. The proposals I announced three
months ago were designed to address specific weaknesses slowing down
our economy and keeping companies from hiring new workers. Those
weaknesses remain today.
All of you know that economic and job growth will come when
consumers buy more goods and services from businesses such as your
own. And the best and fairest way to make sure Americans can do that
is to grant them immediate tax relief so they have more of their own
money to spend or save. (Applause.)
In 2001, the Congress passed broad tax reductions in income
taxes. And promised much of this tax relief for future years. With
the economy as it is, the American people need that relief right
away. The tax cuts are good enough for the American taxpayers three
or five or seven years from now, they are even better today.
(Applause.)
Instead of lowering taxes little by little, the Congress should
do it all at once and give our economy the boost it needs. Instead
of gradually reducing the marriage penalty, we should do it now.
(Applause.) Instead of slowly raising the child credit from $600 to
$1,000, we should do it now. (Applause.) And we should send the
extra $400 per child to American families this year, 2003.
All together, these tax reductions will help 92 million
Americans. And a significant part of the benefit to our economy will
come within the first two years of the plan. A family of four with
an income of $40,000 would receive a 96 percent reduction in federal
income taxes. Instead of paying $1,178 per year, the family would
pay $45 a year. (Applause.) That means extra money in the family
budget year after year. That money can cover a lot of bills. That
money can help families with purchases they have been delaying. That
money will be in circulation, which will be good for our economy.
(Applause.)
And this plan will help our small business sector. The benefits
of the growth plan will come from increased consumer spending and,
as importantly, from lower income tax rates on the small businesses,
themselves. (Applause.) It is important for our fellow citizens to
understand that most small businesses pay their business taxes at
the individual rates. Most small businesses are sole
proprietorships, or limited partnerships, subchapter S's.
And, therefore, when you reduce individual tax rates, you benefit
small business formation. As a matter of fact, under this plan, some
23 million small business owners will see their taxes cut, which
leaves more money for investment, more money for growth, more money
for job creation. A growing economy also needs small business
investment, and our tax code should encourage investment. Today, a
small business can deduct a maximum of $25,000 in the year in which
they buy equipment. We need to triple the amount that can be
deducted in the year in which they buy equipment. (Applause.)
So I proposed to Congress that they ought to limit -- the limit
ought to be increased to $75,000, and that limit ought to be indexed
to inflation. By doing so, we promote greater investment in
machinery, and when a small business buys a machine, it enhances
their company's productivity. As well, it means the machinery
manufacturer is likely to have more work available. More investment
equals jobs, and what we're interested in in this administration is
helping people who look for work find a job. (Applause.)
We can also promote economic growth and job creation by removing
the double tax on dividends. (Applause.) Taxing corporate income
once is fair. It is not fair for the federal government to tax the
same money twice. The burden of double taxation falls on the
millions of individuals who receive dividends. It falls especially
hard on seniors, who receive half of all dividend income.
The removal of double taxation will put more money into the hands
of investors, it would encourage more investment in American
businesses. Economists say that this plan will help our stock
markets. And since half of American families own stock, the reform
will help them save and help our economy grow.
Now, these measures were presented to the Congress in the first
week of this year. The pro-growth package was urgent in January,
it's even more urgent today. (Applause.) It is important for you all
to understand and for our fellow Americans to understand, the tax
relief I have proposed and will push for until enacted -- (applause)
-- will create 1.4 million new jobs by the end of 2004. (Applause.)
In two year's time, this nation has experienced war, a recession
and a national emergency, which has caused our government to run a
deficit. The best way to reduce the deficit is with more growth in
our economy, which means more revenues to our Treasury and less
spending in Washington, D.C. (Applause.)
I am pleased that both the House and the Senate have passed
budget resolutions that show real spending restraint. And now the
Congress must focus on a robust and effective growth package. We
need at least $550 billion in that package because the more tax
relief that goes to the American people, the more jobs we will
create in this economy. (Applause.)
The last few months have been a time of challenge for America.
Our resolve has been tested. Yet, we have the great resources of
national strength and national character to overcome every challenge
we face. Our confidence and our optimism have never wavered. We are
defending the peace of the world. We're bringing freedom to corners
of the world that haven't seen freedom in years. We're also building
the prosperity of our country.
This is a unique moment in our history, and the American people
are rising to meet it.
I want to thank each of you for your hard work. I want to thank
each of you for the faith you have shown in this country's future.
May God bless you, and may God continue to bless America. Thank you,
all. (Applause.)