[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: GEORGE W. BUSH (2001, Book I)]
[March 31, 2001]
[Pages 351-352]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



The President's Radio Address
March 31, 2001

    Good morning. This week the House of Representatives approved my 
budget plan, and next week the Senate will vote on it, as well. My 
budget is shaped by a simple commitment: We can address our country's 
needs and still be responsible with taxpayers' money, and we can fund 
our priorities without expanding Government beyond the bounds of 
responsibility.
    Today I want to give you a little more detail about some of my top 
priorities, the education and health and character of American children. 
My budget spends additional money on these goals and spends it in 
effective, creative ways.
    We place a new national emphasis on teaching reading with a Reading 
First program to help all children learn to read by the third grade. 
Reading First will more than triple the existing funding for Federal 
reading programs, funding for early intervention and teacher training.
    Another program called Early Reading First will put the best reading 
methods to use in preschool and Head Start Programs. Again, Early 
Reading First will triple the existing funding for Federal early reading 
programs.
    My budget increases the funding for Head Start, while giving it a 
clear mission: to prepare our Nation's most disadvantaged children to 
learn as soon as they enter school.
    My budget cares for children's health, as well as for their minds. 
In 2002, we'll spend well over $25 billion on health coverage for 
children under Medicaid and related programs. We invest more than a 
billion dollars, up 12 percent from 2001, in research into childhood 
diseases at the National Institutes for Health. We fund 1,200 new 
community health centers over the next 5 years to bring better care to 
poor children. Thirty percent of the health care center patients are 
under 12 years old. We add 94 million to the Women, Infants, and 
Children nutrition program. In 2002, that program will aid more than 7 
million people. The Centers for Disease Control will get a $22 million 
increase for their childhood immunization program.
    My budget plan increases Federal spending on childcare by 350 
million, to reach a half million additional children. We provide 200 
million extra to provide services for children, services that prevent 
child abuse and keep families together. And we offer 60 million to help 
children raised in the foster care system with the cost of college or 
vocational training.
    The values of our children must be a priority of our Nation. So my 
budget invests in abstinence education and drug treatment. We create a 
new $67 million program that will make grants to faith-based and 
community organizations who mentor the children of parents in prison.
    This is a long list, but I wanted to make a point: My budget is 
active and compassionate. Discretionary spending grows by a healthy, 
responsible 4 percent, enough to meet our needs. We fund goals like 
education, health, and defense. We reduce debt at a record rate. We set 
aside a fund for future emergencies. We then have enough money to 
provide broad tax relief, including relief from the marriage penalty and 
a doubling of the child tax credit.

[[Page 352]]

    Those of us in Washington must always understand the surplus is not 
the Government's money; the surplus is the people's money.
    My budget has the right balance, and I hope you'll encourage your 
Representatives in Congress to support my budget. And I thank you for 
listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 1:13 p.m. on March 30 in the Cabinet 
Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on March 31. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
March 30 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast.