[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 18 (Thursday, February 17, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S1610]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 ECONOMIC REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT DATED FEBRUARY 2005 WITH THE ANNUAL 
       REPORT OF THE COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS FOR 2005--PM 6

  The Presiding Officer laid before the Senate the following message 
from the President of the United States, together with an accompanying 
report; which was referred to the Joint Economic Committee:

To the Congress of the United States:
  The United States is enjoying a robust economic expansion because of 
the good policies we have put in place and the strong efforts of 
America's workers and entrepreneurs. Four years ago, our economy was 
sliding into recession. The bursting of the high-tech bubble, 
revelations of corporate scandals, and terrorist attacks hurt our 
economy, leading to falling incomes and rising unemployment.
  We acted by passing tax relief so American families could keep more 
of their own money. At the same time, we gave businesses incentives to 
invest and create jobs. Last year, we gained over 2 million new jobs, 
and the economy's production of goods and services rose by 4.4 percent. 
The unemployment rate is now 5.2 percent, which is lower than the 
average of each of the past three decades and the lowest since the 
attacks of September 11, 2001. Our pro-growth policies are taking us in 
the right direction.
  As I start my second term, we must take action to keep our economy 
growing. I will not be satisfied until every American who wants to work 
can find a job. I have laid out a comprehensive strategy to sustain 
growth, create jobs, and confront the challenges of a changing America.
  I am committed to restraining spending by eliminating government 
programs that do not work and by making government provide important 
services more efficiently. I have pledged to cut the deficit in half by 
2009, and we are on track to do so.
  The greatest fiscal challenges we face arise from the aging of our 
society. Because Americans are having fewer children and living longer, 
seniors are becoming a larger proportion of the population. This change 
has important implications for the Social Security system, because the 
benefits paid to retirees come from taxes on today's workers. In 1950, 
there were 16 workers paying into Social Security for every person 
receiving benefits. Now there are just over 3, and that number will 
fall to 2 by the time today's young workers retire. We will not change 
Social Security for those now retired or nearing retirement. We need to 
permanently fix the Social Security system for our children and 
grandchildren. I will work with the Congress to fix Social Security for 
generations to come.

  The current tax code is a drag on the economy. It discourages saving 
and investment, and it requires individuals and businesses to spend 
billions of dollars and millions of hours each year to comply with the 
complicated system. I will lead a bipartisan effort to reform our tax 
code to make it simpler, fairer, and more pro-growth.
  We are working to make health care more affordable and accessible for 
American families. The Medicare modernization bill I signed gives 
seniors more choices and helps them get the benefits of modern medicine 
and prescription drug coverage. We have created health savings 
accounts, which give workers and families more control over their 
health care decisions. We will open or expand more community health 
centers for those in need. To help control health costs and make health 
care more accessible, we must let small businesses pool risks across 
states so they can get the same discounts for health insurance that big 
companies get. We will increase the use of health information 
technology that will make health care more efficient, cur down on 
mistakes, and control costs.
  Our litigation system encourages junk lawsuits and harms our economy, 
and the system must be reformed. I support medical liability reform to 
control the cost of health care, keep good medical professionals from 
being driven out of practice, and ensure that patient care--not 
avoidance of lawsuits--is the central concern in all medical decisions. 
I support class action reform to eliminate the waste, inefficiency, and 
unfairness of the class-action system. And I support reforms to the 
asbestos litigation system in order to protect victims with asbestos-
related injuries and prevent frivolous lawsuits that harm our economy 
and cost jobs.
  I will continue to push for energy legislation to help keep our 
economy strong. We must modernize our electricity system to make it 
more reliable. To make our energy supply more secure, we must explore 
for more energy in environmentally friendly ways in our own country, 
develop alternative sources of energy, and encourage conservation.
  I will work to further simplify and streamline federal regulations 
that hinder growth and encumber our job creators. Our economy needs to 
allow entrepreneurs to spend more time doing business and less time 
with their lawyers and accountants.
  I believe that Americans benefit from open markets and free and fair 
trade, and I am working to open up markets around the world and make 
sure that the playing field is level for our workers, farmers, 
manufacturers, and other job creators. In the past four years, we 
concluded free-trade agreements with Singapore, Chile, Australia, 
Morocco, Bahrain, Jordan, and six countries in Central America and the 
Caribbean. My Administration will continue to work to expand trade on a 
multilateral, regional, and bilateral basis, and to enforce our trade 
laws to help ensure a level playing field.
  I have a plan to prepare our young people for the jobs of the 21st 
century. We have brought greater accountability to our public schools 
and are working to improve our high schools. We have made Pell grants 
available to one million more students, and we will work to make 
college more affordable by increasing the size of Pell grants for low-
income students. We are reforming our workforce training programs to 
help Americans obtain the skills needed for the jobs that our economy 
is creating.
  I have an ambitious agenda for the next four years. During my first 
term, working with the Congress, I put policies in place to ensure a 
rapid recovery and to support strong growth. In my second term, 
together we will cut the budget deficit in half, fix Social Security, 
reform the tax code, reduce the burden of junk lawsuits, ensure a 
reliable and affordable energy supply, continue to promote free and 
fair trade, help make health care affordable and accessible for 
American families, and expand the quality and availability of 
educational opportunities. These policies will produce an economic 
environment that continues to unleash the creativity and energy of the 
American people.

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