[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1992, Book I)]
[January 30, 1992]
[Pages 170-174]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks to the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce

January 30, 1992
    Thank you all very, very much for that welcome back. Please be 
seated, and thank you. Please be seated. I don't want to keep Boris 
Yeltsin waiting later on. [Laughter] Thank you, Joe. Senator Specter and 
Joan, laboring in the vineyards of the city council here, we're 
delighted to be with you. And coming up with us from Washington were two 
of our great Congressmen from this area, Larry Coughlin and Kurt Weldon, 
over here.
    May I, too, salute the Mayor. I asked Joe earlier on how was it 
going, realizing that, as in Washington, things have been tough, and 
across the country in many ways. But I said, knowing a little bit about 
history in Philadelphia, I asked this question, ``How's the Mayor 
doing?'' And Joe and everybody else I've spoken to has said he's really 
hit the ground in a wonderful way, going forward, bringing out the best 
in this city. So, I want to salute Ed Rendell and his wife, Midge.
    Joe Paquette, who introduced me, is the chairman of the Greater 
Philadelphia Chamber. That was a very enthusiastic presentation he made 
about how things were going. So much so that maybe he can make a little 
loan to those of us in Washington, DC, who cannot have quite that 
optimistic a report. [Laughter] But I like that can-do spirit of this 
chamber, and I'm grateful to Charlie, to Charlie Pizzi, and to Joe and 
all the rest of you that have put together this opportunity for me, all 
of you at the chamber.
    And so, thank you very much. I am happy to be here in Philadelphia. 
As you can imagine, these last few weeks in Washington have been pretty 
high pressure, high pressure time for me, what with all the experts and 
the instant analysis and the columnists giving unsolicited advice. Thank 
goodness the Super Bowl is over. [Laughter]
    I am very pleased to be here, particularly pleased to be here today 
because American businesses, as represented by this group gathered here, 
have a unique perspective on the tough times we've been going through 
recently. And as businessmen and businesswomen, you can separate the 
sensational from the sensible, the sweet-sounding quick fixes from real 
solutions. When it comes to America's economy, we can't accept empty 
symbols and slogans. We need to work together--that's what I like, what 
Joe was saying about the way the Mayor and you all are approaching it in 
this city--we've got to work together nationally and turn this economy 
around.
    Tuesday night, I came before the American people to outline a 
program for doing just that. And we all know this is an election year. 
The air back in Washington has been thick with feel-good gimmicks that 
have nothing to do with true prosperity and everything to do with 
politics. We need to get down to business, literally. In the critical 
weeks ahead, common sense must replace partisanship. And I came here to 
ask for your help.
    The plan that I put before Congress and the American people 
contained several action steps. And one of the most critical was this, 
to free up American businesses by clearing away the obstacles to growth: 
high taxes, overregulation, and Government deficits. And I've offered 
the only comprehensive plan that doesn't raise taxes, doesn't throw away 
the spending discipline now in place on the Congress, these spending 
caps, and doesn't cut defense beyond what's necessary for this country's 
security. But let me tell you the three words that really separate my 
plan from what I think of the rest of them: It will work. Those three: 
It will

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work.
    Each of us has a role to play, so I am moving forward with steps I 
can take right now. You may remember I divided that State of the Union 
Message into steps I can take, short-term areas where we need 
legislation and then a longer term program. Right now, I have instructed 
every Cabinet Department to speed up progrowth expenditures. And we 
estimate that will be as much as $10 billion worth in the next 6 months. 
We don't have to go to Congress to get them to do that; we just 
accelerate the spending plans to try to give this economy an extra kick.
    I directed the Secretary of the Treasury to change the Federal tax 
tables so that millions of Americans can choose to have the Government 
withhold less from their paychecks. Now, that's a large number. That 
could pump as much as $25 billion into the economy this year alone. That 
is money in the pockets of working men and women to help pay for 
clothing or to help save for college or to help buy a new car. And after 
all, it is their money. And there has been this schedule where really 
there has been overwithholding. And this I think will give, for those 
who elect to do it--if everyone elected to do it, it would be $25 
billion, and I think that will give the economy a jolt.
    I have asked Cabinet Departments and Federal Agencies to institute a 
90-day moratorium on new Federal regulations that could hinder growth. 
We'll undertake a top-to-bottom review in the fields of energy, the 
environment, transportation, exports, financial services, and 
communications, among others. Here's the test: We will accelerate any 
regulations that encourage growth and the creation of jobs. And whenever 
possible, we will scrap those that tie the hands of business and impede 
growth. I know that I have regulatory responsibilities affecting safety 
in the workplace, for example, health, environmental protection. And I 
will not neglect those responsibilities.
    But you know as well as anyone how Government, sometimes with the 
best of intentions, can hobble innovation and risk-taking, the lifeblood 
of a successful business. Government naturally tends to expand ever 
outward, its redtape oblivious to anything standing in its path. It 
touches everyone. Every regulation that reduces efficiency slaps a 
hidden tax on the consumer as well. From the tab on a bag of groceries 
at the checkout line to the sticker price on the showroom floor, every 
American takes a hit when the Government overregulates.
    American business men and women need this freedom to experiment, to 
compete without looking over their shoulders for Washington's approval. 
Small businesses and those just starting up feel the sting of 
overregulation most of all. Yet these businesses drive America forward. 
They create most of our new jobs. They reinvigorate our communities. 
They embody the power of the American dream. I make this pledge: We will 
set America's dreamers and doers free and put an end to this regulatory 
overkill.
    In some of this area I will need the help of the Congress, and I 
promise I will take the message as strongly as I can to the Congress in 
this regard. Even now, an untold number of hard-working, responsible men 
and women go without needed bank loans for starting up a new business or 
for investing more in an existing one. We've got to ease the credit 
crunch and give these people a chance. That's why we've given the bank 
regulators more than 30 policy changes and clarifications to restore 
common sense and balance to the regulatory system.
    I've mentioned this before, but in regulation, again, we have a 
responsibility. We don't want to go back to what is known as 
forbearance, where we neglect the soundness that is required. But there 
is regulatory overkill. The people are afraid, I think, in some 
instances in the financial community because of the excesses of 
regulation. And we're going to try very hard to achieve a better 
balance.
    Now, I've mentioned some of the things that I can do, and there's a 
few more. But Tuesday night I told Congress, directly challenged it, 
told it directly what it must do. And I started with the obvious: No 
investment, no new jobs. Congress must reward investment and stop 
punishing success.
    For 3 years now, I have asked the Congress to lower the capital 
gains tax. And for 3 years, that essential growth measure has

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been pilloried and parodied as a windfall for the rich. Now, you and I 
know that claim for what it is. It's nonsense. Sixty percent, sixty 
percent of the people who benefit from lower capital gains have incomes 
under $50,000. A windfall for the rich? By freeing up investment, a cut 
in the capital gains tax creates new jobs for those looking for work and 
better jobs for those who want to move up. A lower capital gains tax 
helps anyone who owns a small business or a farm, anyone who owns a 
home, anyone who has a single investment. We're talking about helping 
every working man and woman and every retired person in this country.
    We don't have time now for any more of this demagoguery on this 
question. Let me remind you, in Japan the effective capital gains tax 
rate comes to about one percent. Germany doesn't tax long-term capital 
gains at all. To create jobs, to restore a vibrant economy for all 
Americans, Congress must lower the capital gains tax, and it must lower 
the capital gains tax now, 15.4 percent.
    With a few simple steps, taken right now, Congress can help get the 
housing industry, builders, investors, buyers, and sellers, back on its 
feet. To those young families who want to buy their first home but can't 
quite afford it, I say this: We can help put your dream within reach, 
and we will. I have offered a plan to allow first-time homebuyers to 
withdraw savings from IRA's without penalty and to provide a $5,000 tax 
credit for the first purchase of a home.
    I might say parenthetically that Senator Specter, your Senator, has 
been in the forefront of fighting for the change on how IRA's are 
treated. He understands what this can mean in terms of stimulating the 
economy and helping the homeowner.
    I have asked Congress to mark the calendar. They must put this 
recovery plan in place by March 20. Yesterday, right after--the State of 
the Union was the night before, and yesterday morning I went up to the 
Congress. And I met with the leaders of both the House and the Senate up 
on Capitol Hill, and I urged them to meet this timetable. I set the 
deadline because of a simple fact: The American people want action. They 
deserve action. Our States are working overtime; so are thousands of 
communities across the country. They're tightening their belts, 
aggressively facing the future. And every day, individual Americans are 
working hard to get this economy back on its feet, and it's time for 
Congress to do the same thing. It can be done in that timeframe.
    What troubles me is if we let it drag on, it's going to get really 
caught up in the rough-and-tumble of 1992 national politics. People are 
crying out for help now, and the Congress can move. We've seen them do 
it on a wide array of legislative initiatives, and they can do it on 
these stimulative tax changes. So, I ask every Member of Congress--and 
please tell them the same thing--to set aside now partisanship for just 
51 days and give this plan a chance. Get the plan; put it to work.
    Immediate growth, as I mentioned at the outset, is just one part of 
the picture, one part of our program. We've got to look even further 
ahead to ensure that when the American economy regains its strength, and 
inevitably it will, it stays strong.
    We start by opening markets to American goods. In our trade 
negotiations, we will continue to push for open trade, pulling down the 
barriers that stand in the way of international competition.
    To guarantee that American goods and services are the world's 
finest, we must guarantee America's preeminence in another field, in the 
field of education. Our America 2000 strategy will revolutionize 
education in this country, will create new American schools, places 
where our kids will learn the lessons they need for a new century. And 
it will allow parents to choose their children's schools. Choice means 
competition, and you understand as well as anyone what comes from 
competition. Competition inspires innovation and creativity. It inspires 
excellence. And that's why we are going to push for our program; we're 
going to push for school choice.
    As I look at education and the fact that we are not where we should 
be in world standing, it isn't a question of a change here and there. It 
isn't a question of adding to programs that have failed, programs 
mandated in Washington. It is a question, liter-

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ally, of revolutionizing. And that's what we tried to do when we set the 
education goals, working with Republican and Democrat Governors. That's 
what we're trying to do with Lamar Alexander in the lead for us, our 
Secretary of Education, as we take this America 2000 program all across 
the country. We need your help. It is the best possible investment for 
the future of this country.
    Now, we need a healthy America, and that means reforming health 
care. I think everyone would agree we cannot afford our present system. 
But we've reached a fork in the road. We can either go the way of 
greater Government mandates, leading inevitably to a state system of 
nationalized care, with the long lines and indifferent service that such 
a system creates. Or we can reform our private system, preserving the 
greatest possible patient choice, maintaining the quality of care which, 
for all its faults, is still the best in the entire world. That's the 
approach I outlined in a rather broad detail Tuesday night, and that's 
the approach that I will take when we announce the full detail of our 
plan next week.
    We've proposed another reform, one that is crucial to creating jobs. 
America has become the most litigious society on Earth. Frivolous 
lawsuits are exhausting our ability to compete. If we were as good at 
rewarding success as we are at suing each other, we would be a century 
ahead of the rest of the world. Lawsuit madness gums everything up. 
Needed new products never reach the marketplace because of concerns over 
liability. In many areas, businesses are forced either to drive prices 
into the stratosphere or literally close shop.
    My Competitiveness Council that's chaired by the Vice President, 
Vice President Quayle, has offered 50 concrete recommendations to 
restore sanity to our civil justice system. I've enacted some of these 
recommendations by Executive order. Others, however, require Congress to 
act. And with all respect, there are 62 lawyers in the United States 
Senate, a lot of lawyers up there on Capitol Hill. I realize that might 
present a problem, but it also presents an opportunity. And I'd like to 
see them move forward now with these changes to cap some of these 
outrageous areas of unlimited liability. It's driving our small 
businesses right flat into the ground and costing American workers jobs.
    And finally, I can use Congress' help in another all-important area. 
We must get the Federal deficit under control. Now, let's face the 
facts: The Government in Washington is too big, and it spends too much. 
I have proposed a freeze on all domestic discretionary budget authority 
as well as a freeze on Federal domestic Government employment. And I 
have asked Congress to get rid of 246 federally funded programs. Now, 
some of them have very noble titles. But in these times, none of them is 
indispensable, and I'm going to call on Congress to get rid of them. I 
think we're talking about something like $4 billion in this regard.
    For too long, Congress has been violating an important principle of 
good government: Do no harm. It's been imposing its own habits on State 
and local governments, and the taxpayer ends up, as you may all know, by 
footing the bill. These unfinanced Federal Government mandates, as 
they're called, require the cities, require the States to provide new 
services or institute new programs, but the Congress doesn't provide the 
money to pay for them. That means the local governments must pass along 
Congress' wish list to the taxpayer in the form of higher taxes at the 
local level.
    Now, the National Governors' Association, made up, obviously, of 
Republicans and Democrats, continually urge the Congress to stop these 
mandates which are killing innovation, killing savings at the State and 
local level. From now on, if Congress passes a mandate, it shouldn't 
pass the buck. Congress must pay for the mandates it imposes without 
heaping on new taxes.
    I've spared you some of the detail. But taken together, these and 
other steps that I've outlined will, in my view, reinvigorate our 
economy, give it the boost that it needs now, and ensure that it 
continues to provide opportunity and create jobs for all who want to 
partake. That is the promise America makes to her citizens. They have a 
right to expect no less.
    Almost two centuries ago, Philadelphia's

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merchants gathered together at the city tavern to form this Chamber of 
Commerce. They looked out on a Nation almost limitless in possibility. A 
special kind of faith brought them here, that if they worked hard and 
worked together, their young country would allow them to fulfill their 
dreams.
    America has changed dramatically in those 200 years. And yet, the 
essentials remain. The pessimists are wrong; the pessimists are wrong. 
We are going to pull out of these tough times. Inflation is down; 
inventories are down. The market has been expressing optimism in the 
future. Interest rates are down. This is no time for gloom and doom. It 
is time for action in Washington to restore confidence and get this 
economy moving again.
    And here's where you come in. We need your help. You can affect the 
way Congress approaches this program that I have outlined in some 
detail. We need your help. And with your help, we'll get that action, 
and we will reaffirm our country's rightful place as the world's leader 
for this decade and for the next century.
    Thank you all very, very much for this opportunity. Thank you.

                    Note: The President spoke at 12:11 p.m. at the 
                        Wyndham Franklin Plaza Hotel in Philadelphia, 
                        PA. In his remarks, he referred to Joan Specter, 
                        Philadelphia city councilwoman, and Charles P. 
                        Pizzi, president of the Greater Philadelphia 
                        Chamber of Commerce.