[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: GEORGE W. BUSH (2001, Book I)]
[June 4, 2001]
[Pages 610-613]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at a Tax Relief Celebration in Tampa, Florida
June 4, 2001

    The President. Thank you all very much. It is good to be back in the 
Tampa area. I remember the last time I was here was right around the 
corner, at the stadium. Many of you were there. Thanks for coming then, 
and thanks for coming now.
    I appreciate my brother giving me credit for 
the rain, but the truth of the matter is, the current Governor and the 
future

[[Page 611]]

Governor gets credit for the rain, Jeb Bush. He's not only a great 
brother; he's a great Governor. He's the kind of fellow who does in 
office what he said he's going to do. We need more of that kind of talk 
in politics.
    I'm honored to be traveling today with the Secretary of HUD, Mel 
Martinez, from the great State of Florida. 
Thank you, Mr. Secretary. We're here with members of the congressional 
delegation, Congressmen Davis, Miller, Young, and Putnam, and I want you all to give a huge round of applause for 
those Congressmen who were bold enough to vote for you to have a tax 
cut. [Applause] They did the right thing. They listened to the people. 
They heard the people speak loud and clear. And when that bill came up 
in front of the Congress, some of the members from this congressional 
delegation didn't blink; they did the right thing.
    I'm honored to be here as well with Speaker Feeney and Senator McKay from the 
statehouse, hard-working members of the Florida delegation at the 
statehouse. I want to thank my friends, the Bellamy Brothers, for being here. 
It's good to see you all again. I want to thank my friend George 
Steinbrenner as well for opening 
up this beautiful park.
    A year ago, tax relief was supposed to be a political impossibility. 
Six months ago, it was supposed to be a political liability. Today, 
folks, tax relief is reality. I have the honor of signing the largest 
tax relief bill in 20 years.
    It's thanks to the American people that we're going to have 
meaningful tax relief. It's thanks to the thousands of hard-working 
Americans who made it clear at the ballot box, through phone calls, 
through e-mails, through letting everybody who is elected know that once 
we meet our needs at Washington, DC, it's important to always remember 
whose money we're spending. That surplus is not the Government's money. 
That surplus is the people's money. And in a couple of weeks, we're 
going to start sending checks back to the American people.
    This year, if you're single, you get a $300 check. If you're raising 
a family, you get a $600 check in the mail. Every taxpayer in America 
who wrote a check to the Government is going to start getting money back 
this year, as soon as possible. But that's just the beginning. That's 
just the beginning.
    We're also going to cut all rates. You remember over the course of 
the campaign, ours was a campaign that made it clear we're going to be 
fair to the American people, that we didn't believe in the Washington 
talk about targeted tax cuts, that we felt that a targeted tax cut meant 
folks in Washington got to decide who won and who didn't win, that the 
best tax policy--the best tax relief policy was to say, if you pay 
taxes, you get relief, everybody who pays taxes in America. All rates 
will be cut. Everybody who pays taxes is going to get not only tax 
relief this year but tax relief in the coming years.
    During the course of the campaign, we said how unfair the marriage 
penalty was. The marriage penalty is unfair, and we eased the penalty of 
marriage in the Tax Code coming down the road.
    During the course of the campaign, I heard from hundreds of small-
business owners and farmers and ranchers, who said loud and clear, 
``We're sick and tired of having our assets taxed twice,'' who said loud 
and clear, ``The death tax is unfair.'' Under the bill I'm going to sign 
this week, we finally eliminate the death tax in the American Tax Code.
    Tax relief is the right thing to do. It's an answer to a prayer, 
such as this one: ``Lead us not into temptation.'' The big surplus 
accumulating in Washington was one great temptation for the spenders. 
And once we met basic needs, with a reasonable growth in our budget, 
instead of increasing the size of your Federal Government, what we 
decided to do was to put faith in the

[[Page 612]]

American people. We would rather have you spend the money.
    It's a fundamental difference of opinion. For those that voted 
against tax relief, they basically said to America, ``We can spend your 
money better than you can.''
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. It's just a philosophical difference of opinion. But 
one of the things that's loud and clear in this campaign is there is a 
group of folks in Washington who now understand where the power of this 
country is; it's with the people.
    This bill is more than just tax relief. It is more than just 
preventing Washington from growing the size of Government. This bill 
reflects a philosophy that says, we trust the American people more than 
we trust Government. It's a philosophy represented in the hundreds of 
tax families that I had the opportunity of campaigning with all across 
the country.
    One such family is here with us today, the Fuller family: Stephen 
Fuller, Quita Fuller, Andrew and Anna 
Fuller. They're folks from this part of the 
world. He's a business manager. He's a hard-working man, and so is she. 
They're deeply concerned about their family and their family's future. 
This family will save $1,925 when the tax relief plan is fully phased 
in. They will receive an $800 check this year, because the child credit 
kicks in immediately and increases to $1,000 per child.
    And here's what the issue is about, folks. It's about, do you want 
the Fullers spending that $1,900, or do you want the Federal Government?
    Audience members. No-o-o!
    The President. The people who stood on the side of tax relief 
understand we met our Nation's needs. But when it came down to it, with 
their aye vote they said, ``We trust the Fullers to spend that $1,900. 
It's their money to begin with.'' We think they can better allocate that 
money than the Federal Government. We think they know how best to save 
for their children. We think they know how best to set aside money to 
make sure their family has got a safe and secure future. No, this tax 
relief bill is a victory for the American people.
    There's a new attitude beginning to develop in Washington. This 
wasn't just a Republican bill. There were some wise Democrats that came 
along, too. And this coming Thursday, when I sit there at the White 
House and sign the bill, I'll be praising not only the Republicans who 
helped, but I'll be praising those Democrats who helped, as well. 
There's a new spirit in Washington, DC. There's a spirit of 
accomplishment. There's a spirit that says we can show the American 
people that it's possible to get positive things done. And we're just 
beginning.
    We're working on an education bill that sets high standards for 
every child in America, a bill that trusts local people to run the 
schools, a bill that believes in accountability and results, a bill that 
says loud and clear, no child will be left behind in America.
    We're strengthening the military. We will boost the pay for those 
who wear the uniform. We will improve the housing. We will improve the 
health benefits. And we will have a clear mission, which is to be 
trained well enough to fight and win war and, therefore, prevent war 
from happening in the first place.
    Ours is the first administration in a long time that has laid out a 
vision for a secure energy policy for America. It talks about the need 
to conserve and to use technologies to bring more efficiencies to the 
use of energy. But it also talks about a realistic, commonsense way to 
protect our environment and, at the same time, bring new energy 
supplies, so consumers will be able to have safe and secure and reliable 
energy sources.
    Ours is an administration that talks about Medicare and Social 
Security reform. No, there's a new spirit of accomplishment in 
Washington, DC, and there's a bigger task at hand, as well.

[[Page 613]]

    It's one thing to pass legislation, and that's going to be 
important. But there's a larger calling for this country. Our Nation 
must come together to unite, to usher in what I call an era of personal 
responsibility, an era in our country where each of us who is fortunate 
enough to be a mom or a dad tells our children on a daily basis, ``We 
love you with all our heart;'' an era in our country where if you're 
fortunate, you turn to a neighbor and say to a neighbor in need, ``What 
can I do to help, brother? What can I do to help?'' We must rally the 
great faith of America and the faith-based institutions across this land 
to provide help and care and comfort to people in need.
    In order to usher in a period of responsibility, it requires all of 
us who are in positions of responsibility to understand the awesome 
responsibility we bear. It is my high honor to be the President of the 
greatest land on the face of the Earth. I take this responsibility very 
seriously. I understand people watch the office, and I can promise you, 
I will not let you down.
    We are just beginning to show the American people what's possible. 
And we're just beginning to help work with you, the moms and dads and 
hard-working honest citizens, to change our culture in America, so that 
this great land holds out its promise for every single citizen, so 
people aren't left behind, so we're united with a common purpose of one 
land, indivisible, under God.
    Thank you all for coming. God bless. It's my honor.

Note: The President spoke at 6:15 p.m. at Legends Field. In his remarks, 
he referred to Florid State Representative Tom Feeney; Florida State 
Senator John M. McKay; country/western singers David and Howard Bellamy; 
and George M. Steinbrenner III, principal owner, New York Yankees.