    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
    [August 13, 2002]
    [Pages 1385-1391]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the Plenary Session of the President's Economic Forum in Waco
    August 13, 2002

        Well, Dr. Sloan, thanks for having us all.
    And I want you to thank all the good folks here at Baylor University for
    putting on a great show. I know a lot of people worked hard. I'm really
    glad a lot of folks from around the country got to see Baylor. It's a
    fantastic university. And I want to thank the folks here who came from
    all around the country. Welcome to central Texas in the middle of
    August. [Laughter]
        People here are the people that really make America work: the
    entrepreneurs and

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    the visionaries, the carpenters, the union heads, the educators,
    grandmothers. We're here to listen to you, to get a report from what I
    call the frontlines of the American economy. And it's an important
    report. And the American people need to hear your report. My economic
    team and I heard much of the discussion. We will read the summaries.
    We'll think about it, and we'll move forward to create jobs for
    Americans. I want to thank all those who led the panels. I want to thank
    our speakers for doing a fantastic job today.
        I am so very grateful for our fellow citizens who are deeply
    concerned about the direction of our country. On stage today we're
    joined by four people who I mentioned during the radio address over the
    weekend. I want to thank Xavier Teixido, who
    is the chairman of the board of the National Restaurant Association.
    Xavier is an entrepreneur who obviously runs a restaurant and is now
    head of a very important association. Maria Sobrino, who is the founder of Lulu's--I don't know if Maria is
    going to be serving us all after lunch, but I certainly hope so, because
    she does a great job. Robert London, the
    driver from UPS; Jimmie Morgan, material
    management at Boeing. These are four ordinary Americans, as
    Phyllis called them, who have got
    opinions. And we heard their opinions, and they're important opinions.
        And so I want to thank the Vice President
    and members of my administration for coming down here to listen, to
    listen to what Americans have to say.
        There's no question our economy has been challenged by a recession
    that was beginning when we took office, that the terrorist attacks of
    September the 11th that Phyllis talked
    about had a lot to do with our economy and the state of affairs from
    today, and recently we have had to deal with corporate scandals that
    were long in the making; they finally have come to light--three factors
    that affected our economy. One of the things that we heard today is that
    our economy has strengths that are greater than the challenges. I mean,
    after all, our workers and farmers are the most productive in the world;
    that our entrepreneurs are incredibly visionary; that inflation and
    interest rates are low; that today we saw a report that consumer
    spending is still robust. We've had three quarters of positive growth
    after three quarters of negative growth. No, the foundations of the
    American economy are strong. Yet, the only purpose of a strong
    foundation is to build on it. And that's what we're discussing today.
    And we're determined, this administration is determined, to build on the
    long-term security of the American people.
        Here's the way I put it: If somebody wants to work and can't find a
    job, we have a problem. And we need to do something about it here in
    America. We have heard from Americans who are concerned but not
    discouraged. We've seen problems. But we're confident in the long-term
    health of this economy. We share a sense of optimism about America,
    because we understand our country.
        Too many Americans have lost a large portion of their retirement
    funds, and they've lost a sense of security in the process. I know that.
    Too many Americans have lost jobs, especially in the high-tech world, in
    the manufacturing sector. Too many Americans run into economic and
    regulatory barriers when they try to create a business or expand their
    business. Too many construction projects have halted because they cannot
    get terrorism insurance. The goal must be to create an environment of
    sustained economic growth. We've got work to do. I know that. But we're
    going to do the work. It starts with listening to our fellow Americans
    to find good ideas and implement them.
        Here's one good idea to make sure we continue to grow our economy,
    and that is, Congress, for the long-term economic security of America,
    needs to restrain spending. Recession and the cost of war and the cost
    of homeland defense have increased our budget, increased our deficits.

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    Yet, I am determined to fund the great priorities of our Government
    while exercising the spending restraint that will return America to the
    path of a balanced budget as soon as possible. More money spent in
    Washington means less money in the hands of American families and
    entrepreneurs, less money in the hands of risk-takers and job creators.
    A limited and focused Government is essential to a growing economy. And
    if the Congress won't show spending restraint, I intend to enforce
    spending restraint.
        And this work of enforcement on spending continues today. At the end
    of the session, the Congress passed an emergency spending bill to
    strengthen our military, protect the homeland, and to complete the
    commitment of $20 billion I made to the citizens of New York. But they
    also sent along more than $5 billion in extra spending I didn't ask for.
    Some of that 5 billion I have endorsed and will work to secure through
    amendments to the '03 budget, like AIDS prevention money and support for
    Israel and Palestine. But a lot of that money has nothing to do with the
    national emergency, and I'll give you one example: a new facility for
    storing the Government's collection of bugs and worms. I made my
    opposition clear. We were pretty plain-spoken about the supplemental.
    But those who wrote the bill designed it so I have to spend all 5 of the
    extra billion dollars or spend none of it. That's how they wrote the
    supplemental. Those are the rules they placed upon my administration. I
    understand their position, and today they're going to learn mine. We'll
    spend none of it.
        As I said, for truly pressing needs and priorities, such as AIDS
    prevention and resources for the Middle East, we'll send to Congress
    specific amendments to get these funds quickly. However, we're not going
    to spend $4 billion we don't need in order to unlock 1 billion we do.
    For the good of our economy, for the good of the people who pay taxes,
    my administration will spend what is truly needed and not a dollar more.
    Spending restraint is just one of the many responsibilities that we
    accept.
        In order to build on the long-term security for the American people,
    we must always think about growth and jobs. I want to get American
    construction workers back to work. And that's why we need to have a
    terrorism insurance policy. I want those who wear the hardhats, who are
    willing to take risks by suspending themselves above the land, by
    building commercial projects that are significant in size--I want them
    working.
        I want to thank Doug McCarron for
    being here. He wants them working too. We're working hand in hand to see
    to it that Congress finally gets the message that we need a terrorism
    insurance bill to get American hardhats back to work. People say, ``Does
    it matter?'' Of course it matters. There's over $8 billion of commercial
    construction that has been suspended last year. That means $8 billion
    worth of projects in which somebody is going to be able to work and put
    food on the table for their family.
        And we need an energy policy too. Listen, energy policy is not only
    good for economic security, it's good for national security. We can do a
    much better job of harnessing technologies to conserve more energy. We
    can do a better job of finding renewable sources of energy. But for the
    sake of our economic security and for the sake of our national security,
    we need to become less dependent on foreign sources of crude oil, and we
    need to put our people to work by good, solid energy projects here at
    home. Congress needs to get me an energy bill. They need to stop
    talking, and they need to start acting by getting a good, sound energy
    bill to my desk as soon as they get home.
        You've heard a lot about the tax relief plan we passed. Thank
    goodness we passed it when we did. We cut taxes in the middle of a
    recession because we believe by letting people keep more of their own
    money, it'll cause them to demand a good or a service.

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    And when they demand a good or a service, somebody will produce a good
    or a service. And when somebody produces that good or service, somebody
    is more likely to find work. The tax relief was incredibly important,
    and it's going to be important as time goes on, because it's phased in.
        Now, there are some in Washington who want to stop the tax relief,
    which is like a tax increase, which would be an unmitigated disaster
    given the economic situation in which we find ourselves. But rather than
    me talking about, ``Let's stop the tax reductions,'' what Congress needs
    to do is to join us in the call to make these tax relief permanent,
    permanent so small business--make it permanent so we send a signal
    throughout society that people should be able to plan, send a signal
    that we understand job creation is the number one priority of economic
    policy out of Washington, DC.
        In order to make sure the economy grows, we must bring the promise
    of broadband technology to millions of Americans. My administration is
    promoting investment in broadband. We will continue to work to prevent
    new access taxes on broadband technology. If you want something to be
    used more, you don't tax it. And broadband technology is going to be
    incredibly important for us to stay on the cutting edge of innovation
    here in America. The Federal Communications Commission is focusing on
    policies to encourage high-speed Internet service for every home and
    every business in America. The private sector will deploy broadband, but
    government at all levels should remove hurdles that slow the pace of
    deployment.
        In order to build long-term security, we will enforce the rules and
    laws on the books. I say as plainly as I can to CEOs: If you break the
    law, we will hunt you down; we will arrest you; and we will prosecute
    you. We expect the highest of high standards when it comes to corporate
    America. I want the books open and transparent. The numbers need to be
    real. The good news for our economy and our society is, by far the vast
    majority of CEOs are good, honorable people. They care deeply about
    their shareholders and their employees. Now that both Republicans and
    Democrats have come together to pass a sound corporate responsibility
    bill, my administration will take the new law, and we will hold those to
    account who do not uphold the high standards Americans expect from those
    of us in positions of responsibility.
        I believe--I believe to build the long-term security of America, we
    need to encourage ownership. We want to have an environment and--where
    people feel comfortable about starting their own business. We want the
    Curtis McGuires of the world to flourish.
    Another way we can promote ownership is to encourage homeownership. One
    of the statistics that concerns me deeply and concerns those in my
    administration is this: Too many minorities do not own a home in
    America. Under 50 percent of African Americans and Hispanic Americans
    own a home. That's just too few, as far as I'm concerned. You see,
    owning a home is part of the American experience. And so I'm promoting
    policies that will encourage homeownership.
        And we've set this goal, by the way, that we want there to be 5.5
    million minority families owning a home over the next 10 years, which
    means Government ought to have a policy that helps people with a
    downpayment. People take a look at owning a home, and they realize the
    downpayment is a frightening thought. We ought to have a downpayment
    assistance program out of Washington, DC.
        We need to make sure we have education programs, so that people
    understand what it means to buy a home, so that they're educated in what
    it takes to own a home. We need to make sure that we have got money
    available for homeownership, minority homeownership. I want to thank
    Fannie Mae, Franklin Raines for being
    here. He is joined with many in the private sector to unlock millions of
    dollars,

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    to make it available for the purchase of a home. Listen, when people own
    a home, they have a stake in the future of our society. If we're
    interested in economic security, we must promote home ownership for all
    Americans--and the same for promoting asset ownership for all Americans.
        One of the most heartening statistics is, more and more Americans
    are building their balance sheets through pension plans. They're owning
    stocks and bonds. They've got a future other than their income stream.
    And that's vital, and that's important. But to make sure that those who
    own their pensions are fully protected, we need law out of Congress. I
    proposed a law--the House passed it; the Senate needs to act--which says
    the following things: One, people should not be forced to hold a large
    portion of their accounts in a company's stock. If you're working for a
    company and you own that stock, you should be able to diversify after a
    3-year period of time. Secondly, you ought to get sound investment
    advice every quarter, not every year. Thirdly, as we pass a corporate
    responsibility bill, if the CEO is able to unload the stock, so should
    the employee. What's good for the boss is good for the people working
    for the boss. And we need to make sure that all investment advice is
    sound investment advice. And these workers who've got their money and
    their future tied up in these pension plans ought to get the best--best
    advice possible. These are good reforms, and Congress needs to act on
    these reforms in order to encourage what we call an ownership society.
        In order to make sure that we continue to grow our economy, we need
    to be aggressive when it comes to trade policy. Zoellick mentioned to me, he said they're all looking to me.
    They may be looking to me, Zoellick; I'm looking to you. [Laughter]
    You're the Trade Representative. You've now got the tools. Go out there
    and start negotiating free trade agreements around the world.
        We're back at the bargaining table as a result of getting the trade
    promotion authority vote out of the United States Congress. It is
    essential that we move aggressively, because trade means jobs. More
    trade means higher incomes for American workers. Listen, a confident
    nation is one which opens up markets. A nation which isn't confident is
    one that closes its markets and puts walls around. I'm confident. I'm
    confident in the American entrepreneurs. I'm confident in our high-tech
    industry. I'm confident in our farmers and ranchers. I'm confident that
    when we compete, we're the best in the world. And therefore, I want to
    trade. I want to open up those markets. I want to level those playing
    fields. Open trade is good for American workers and American families.
        I agree completely with the health care panel, ably led by
    Tommy, that health security is an
    important part of economic security. There's a lot we need to do in
    Washington, but it starts with trusting the American people to make the
    right decisions. That's where it starts. There is a fundamental debate
    in Washington, DC. It goes like this: Do you trust--who do you trust? Do
    you trust the American people? Do you trust the elderly to make the
    right decisions for Medicare? Or do you want the Government making those
    decisions?
        I know that sounds like a simple formula, but it's true. It's true.
    The debate is, is that there are some in Washington who believe that the
    Federal Government should make all the decisions on behalf of the
    American people when it comes to their health care. We don't. We believe
    the Government can write a check, but we believe that the ultimate
    decisionmaker is the people of--is the person we're trying to help.
    That's the ultimate decisionmaker. We want our seniors to have more
    choices. Medicare is a vital program, but it's old, and it's stale, and
    it's tired. Medicine has changed; Medicare hasn't. We need to modernize
    Medicare by giving our seniors

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    more viable choices when it comes to meeting their own specific health
    care needs.
        Health care must be affordable, and it must be accessible. And one
    way to make it more affordable and more accessible is to have a medical
    liability reform at the Federal Government. Too many lawsuits are
    driving our doctors out of practice and are driving up the cost for too
    many of our citizens. We have got a serious problem in America when it
    comes to frivolous lawsuits, and we need to deal with it. And I hope the
    Members of the Congress are listening carefully when they get--when
    they're back in their districts. They need to be talking to the people
    whose lives are being affected by these junk lawsuits. And for the sake
    of good medicine and good health care, we need medical liability reform
    out of Washington, DC, as soon as possible.
        And finally, I appreciate so very much the panel's discussion about
    making sure every child in America gets educated. There is no question
    we need to set high standards here in America. If we have low standards,
    guess what's going to happen. We will continue to get bad results. If we
    believe certain children can't learn, the system will just shuffle them
    through. The system will quit on them, and we've got to stop that in
    America. The best way to make sure that we enforce high standards is to
    say that if you receive Federal dollars, you, the State, must measure.
    You must show us whether or not every child is learning to read and
    write and add and subtract. Prove it, and if not, you've got to change
    the system. We cannot have children stuck in schools that won't teach
    and won't change. For the good of our economic security and for good of
    our children, we must be willing to challenge the status quo when the
    children can't read and write and add and subtract. And the only way to
    determine if that's the case is to have strong accountability. And I can
    assure you, Janet, so long as this
    administration is in power, we will insist upon accountability, no
    matter how long, how loud the cries of those who believe the status quo
    works. This administration believes every child can learn. This
    administration wants every child to learn. And you mark my words, by
    having high standards and holding people to account, our children are
    going to learn. And America is going to be a much better place for it.
        We heard a lot of things Government can do, and this administration
    is willing to work with Congress to do them: restrain spending, pass
    terrorism insurance, protect the pensions and promote trade, punish
    those who lie, cheat, or steal. But there are also things that people in
    America can do, people right here in this room must do. It's time for
    corporate America to earn back our trust. And that starts with having
    CEOs lead the way by having open balance sheets, fair numbers, by
    authorizing the numbers that are--tomorrow, starting tomorrow--by
    proving what I know, that by far the vast majority of those leading
    corporate America are good, honorable people. But I'm calling upon you
    to help earn back that culture that says, ``We trust what we read. We
    trust the advice we're getting.''
        You need to know that I'm incredibly optimistic about America. Oh, I
    know the hurdles--Phyllis talked about
    hurdles we face. And we do have hurdles. We've got a war to fight, but
    it's a war we're going to win. We've got a homeland to protect, and
    we're doing everything we can to protect the homeland. And we've got the
    economic security of our fellow Americans to worry about.
        But I'm confident in America. I'm confident in the skill of our
    people. I'm confident in our spirit. I know--I know that we're the
    greatest nation on the face of the Earth, because we're a land full of
    people that are caring and decent, hard-working and compassionate. Oh,
    there may be some tough times here in America. But this country has gone
    through tough times before, and we're going to do it again. And we're
    going to show the world how to be

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    a prosperous and compassionate and decent country.
        Thank you all for coming. God bless you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 12:05 p.m. in Jones Concert Hall at Baylor
    University. In his remarks, he referred to Robert Sloan, president,
    Baylor University; Maria de Lourdes Sobrino, founder and owner, Lulu's
    Desserts; Phyllis Hill Slater, president, Hill Slater, Inc.; Douglas J.
    McCarron, general president, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and
    Joiners of America; Curtis McGuire, owner and chief executive officer,
    Redleg's Lumper Service, Inc.; Franklin D. Raines, chairman and chief
    executive officer, Fannie Mae; Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy
    G. Thompson; and Janet Baker, superintendent, Hamilton City Schools,
    Hamilton, OH. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish
    language transcript of these remarks.