    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2001, Book II)]
    [October 3, 2001]
    [Pages 1184-1187]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 1184]]

    Remarks Following Discussions With Business Leaders and an Exchange With
    Reporters in New York City
    October 3, 2001

        The President. It's an honor to be back in New York City. I want to
    thank the mayor and the Governor for welcoming us back. I'm pleased that Secretary
    Don Evans and Larry Lindsey from the White House staff are traveling with me, and I
    want to thank the business leaders from not only New York but others who
    have come from around the country to discuss the state of the Nation.
        And we've had a very frank discussion about the state of our
    economy. I think there's no question we all agree that the events of
    September 11th shocked our economy, just like it shocked the conscience
    of our Nation. But like those terrorists, they can't affect our soul;
    they can't affect the greatness of America. We all believe that the
    underpinnings are there for economic recovery.
        And we all must do our part, and the Federal Government has a role
    to play. Today Secretary Paul O'Neill
    testified at Congress, saying that the administration believes that we
    ought to have 60 to 75 billion dollars more of stimulus to encourage
    consumer confidence, to enhance business investment, as well as to take
    care of displaced workers.
        I have shared that with the business leaders here. They understand
    that there is a role for the Federal Government, a strong and active
    role. And I assured them it's a role that we intend to play. I know
    there are people hurting in America; there are people who have lost
    their jobs. But as I assured these leaders, that our Government will do
    everything we can to get our economy growing, to make it as strong as
    possible.
        I am saddened by the sight of the World Trade Center again, once
    again. But through my tears I do see a much better future for the
    country. This is a great nation. It's an entrepreneurial nation. It's a
    nation that has got such generous and kind people. The leadership, the
    business leadership here has contributed $150 million to the funds, the
    variety of funds here in the New York City area, to help people, the
    victims. It speaks volumes about what America is about.
        And I want to thank everybody for coming. I'm now going to ask Ken
    Chenault to say a few words.
        Ken.

    [At this point, Kenneth I. Chenault,
    chairman and chief executive officer, American Express Company, made
    brief remarks.]

        The President. Thank you, Ken.
        Betsy.

    [Betsy Holden, chief executive, Kraft Foods,
    made brief remarks.]

        The President. I appreciate that. Thanks.
        I'd be glad to take a few questions.

    Economic Stimulus Plan

        Q. What form might this stimulus take? Are we looking at tax cuts
    for individuals, corporations?
        The President. You bet. I know we need to provide more tax relief to
    individuals to boost consumer confidence. We've just finished passing
    out $40 billion of rebate checks; they were completed by October 1st of
    this year. There is going to be tax relief started next year as a part
    of the package that the Congress and I agreed to. We believe there ought
    to be more, to make sure that the consumer has got money to spend, money
    to spend in the short term.
        Secondly, there needs to be business relief as well, to encourage
    investment.
        And finally, there needs to be a displaced worker package. We've got
    to recognize

    [[Page 1185]]

    that as a result of September 11th, folks have been laid off, and we
    need to make sure they're able to survive until this economy gets going
    again.
        And I've got to tell you, I had a great conversation with the
    leadership of the Congress yesterday. We're coming together on a plan
    that I believe needs to get passed as quickly as possible.
        Q. Mr. President, is this going to eat up the rest of the surplus
    for the year, and does it matter?
        The President. Well, as I said in Chicago during the campaign, when
    asked about should the Government ever deficit spend, I said only under
    these circumstances should Government deficit spend: if there is a
    national emergency, if there is a recession, or if there's a war. And
    you know, we've now got a reason to do what it takes to not only provide
    security at home, to do what it takes to win the war on terrorism, but
    we've also got to do what it takes to make sure this economy gets
    growing, so people can find work.
        And we've got the basis for growth. We're an entrepreneurial nation.
    There's a lot of small-business growth in America. By and large, the
    banking system is very solid. The energy prices are reasonable. And now
    we've just got to be aggressive and make sure we do what we need to do
    at the Federal level to provide a kick-start to give people reasons to
    be confident. And we will do that.
        This isn't a Republican idea or Democrat idea; it's an American
    idea. And it's the right time for us to come together to get it done.
        Yes, ma'am.
        Q. Mr. President, should the country brace itself for a recession? I
    mean, one of your advisers said yesterday that he can forecast it being
    likely that two negative quarters of growth are----
        The President. We'll leave all that talk up to the statisticians.
    You're asking me about statistics, and we've got people who count
    numbers there in Washington, DC, and that's fine. Here's my attitude:
    One person laid off is one person too many. And therefore, we've got to
    do what it takes to make sure that that person who got laid off is able
    to find work.
        I'm not going to dwell on the past; I'm looking forward. And I
    believe we've got a fantastic opportunity to invigorate this economy and
    to assure the business leaders around America that the Government is
    playing a very active role and that we will take the steps necessary to
    provide growth and stimulus.
        And that's why I believe we need additional stimulus beyond some of
    the spending that we've already put in place, to the tune of about 60 to
    75 billion dollars. We'll let the accountants come up--they call it what
    they want; there's no question that the economy has been affected by
    September 11th.
        Q. [Inaudible]--signed off on that $60 billion to $75 billion----
        The President. No, they have not, yet. But they do understand we
    need to have a range, that as you go into a debate about or discussions
    about how to stimulate the economy, first and foremost, it's important
    to come up with a total figure so that we don't undershoot or overshoot
    the mark. And they do recognize that some of the actions that we've all
    taken together, including the 40 billion supplemental plus the 15
    billion for the airline, will have a positive effect on economic growth,
    and I do believe they recognize there needs to be more. And so one of
    the things that I'm doing is providing the leadership necessary to try
    to set the parameters on what the definition of ``more'' is.
        Again, I want to repeat: We've just finished with $40 billion of
    rebate from the tax package we agreed upon earlier in the year, plus
    we'll have about 70 billion in the rate reductions starting next year.
    And so, what we're looking at is how to bridge into next year.
        Q. Sir, are you confident that the size of the package you're
    talking about will do

    [[Page 1186]]

    the stimulating you need at this end, without putting pressure on
    interest rates----
        The President. That's a very good question. I finally got one--no--
    anyway--[laughter]--I believe--I think you ought to ask the--I wish you
    could have heard the discussion we had, let me put it to you that way,
    where I believe people around this table, for example, believe it's
    important to be aggressive on the front end; that the risk-reward ratio
    is beneficial to be more aggressive on the front end. And obviously, we
    agree with that; that's why we've proposed up to 60 to 75 billion. But
    we're mindful of the effect on long-term interest rates, and we think
    that number is the right number.

    Discussions With Business Leaders

        Q. Mr. President, can you tell us anything specific about these
    discussions with these men and women, specifically about did you speak
    about corporate relief?
        The President. Yes, we did. I can be very specific, just like I have
    been. They do believe we need to stimulate the economy through boosting
    consumer confidence with some kind of money in the hands of consumers.
    And there's a variety of ways to--excuse me? I'm sorry--there's a
    variety of ways to do that. There's rebates; there's acceleration of the
    tax cuts--are the two most effective ways to do that, and we discussed
    both of those.
        Secondly, we discussed a variety of options for corporate relief.
    One, we talked about ways to encourage investment through expensing of
    depreciation. Some people thought we ought to look at one-time ITCs,
    investment tax credits. People talked about the idea of corporate tax
    relief. And so we did have specific discussions about ways to make sure
    that our economy continues to grow.
        And I am most grateful for the input that we have been given here.
    It has been incredibly helpful. The thing I come away with is that these
    are men and women dedicated to America, first and foremost. They're
    dedicated to the workers that work for their company; they're dedicated
    to providing the security for their workers so they can go to work
    feeling safely. And they love their country, and they're going to do
    what it takes to join all of us together to recover from this awful
    incident of September 11th.
        You only get one question a day.

    Domestic Response

        Q. [Inaudible]--ask your average American to do besides spend, to
    help?
        The President. Well, I think the average American must not be afraid
    to travel. We opened Reagan Airport yesterday for a reason: We think
    it's safe and that people ought to feel comfortable about traveling
    around our country. They ought to take their kids on vacations. They
    ought to go to ball games. The mayor
    wants them to come to the Yankee games, of course. [Laughter]
        Mayor Giuliani. The World Series.
        The President. The World Series, yes. [Laughter] No question he's an
    incurable optimist. [Laughter]
        But people ought to--listen, we ought to be aware in America--we are
    aware; how can you not be aware that we've entered into a new era? The
    imagery is vivid in people's minds. But nevertheless, Americans must
    know that their Government is doing everything we can to track down
    every rumor, every hint, every possible evildoer. And therefore,
    Americans ought to go about their business, and they are beginning to do
    so. The load factors were up on the airlines, which means more people
    will be going to hotels and restaurants.
        I fulfilled my pledge, my promise last night to take the Mayor of
    Washington, DC, for dinner. I did--
    Morton's Steakhouse. We had a nice slice of beef--plus, I paid.
    [Laughter]

    [[Page 1187]]

    Defense Secretary Rumsfeld's Visit to the
    Middle East

        Q. Mr. President, why did you send Secretary Rumsfeld over to the
    Middle East to visit some countries?
        The President. Pardon me, John [John Dickerson, Time]?
        Q. Why did you send him, and what is he doing over there, visiting
    those countries?
        The President. John, he's visiting with our friends. As you know,
    we've put together a broad coalition of nations that are interested in
    battling, joining us to battle terrorism. And Secretary Rumsfeld went
    over to visit with the leaders of a group of nations to share with them
    information, to discuss the determination of our Nation.
        People need to be able to look us in the eye and know that when we
    say that we're in this for the long run, that we're going to find
    terrorism--terrorists and bring them to justice, we mean it; that this
    is a nation--see, it's hard for people around the world to understand
    the resolve of America. They may hear my speech occasionally, but they
    need to look at the eyes--in the eyes of members of my administration,
    because--and hear them say that not only is this President resolved, but
    America is resolved to rout out terrorism, to make sure that legitimate
    governments can survive as we head into the 21st century, and to make a
    strong stand for freedom.
        And Secretary Rumsfeld is going to do a fine job of delivering that
    message, because he knows exactly how I feel about the mission we have
    ahead of us.
        Thank you all for coming.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:20 a.m. in the first floor rotunda of
    the Federal Hall National Memorial. In his remarks, he referred to Mayor
    Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York City; Gov. George E. Pataki of New York;
    and Mayor Anthony A. Williams of Washington, DC.