    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book II)]
    [July 24, 2003]
    [Pages 913-919]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following a Roundtable Discussion in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    July 24, 2003

        Thank you all. Please be seated. Thank you all very much for
    allowing us to come. John, thanks for your leadership. He's doing a
    fabulous job as the Secretary of Treasury, and I'm
    so glad he decided to join my administration.
        I want to thank you for the warm welcome, and I want to thank you
    all for helping us keep a commitment to the American people. We promised
    tax reductions for the good of American families and for the good of our
    economy. And we delivered on that promise. And soon the mail carrier
    will be delivering the checks that we promised to the American people.
    Twelve billion dollars in tax relief is on its way to more than 25
    million American families.
        And this is an appropriate place to come and talk about checks being
    mailed to American families, here at the Financial

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    Management Service. The reason why is because here and at other
    facilities, these checks are being printed, and the checks will be
    mailed. And I want to thank you all very much for working as hard as you
    are to make sure that the promise that the Government has made is being
    kept.
        I know a lot of you are putting in weekend shifts. I know a lot of
    you are working really hard. And I am grateful, but more importantly,
    the American people should be grateful for the work you do right here.
    Thank on behalf of--[applause].
        I have traveled today with two really fine men and great United
    States Senators, Arlen Specter and Rick
    Santorum. I want to thank you all for coming.
    I want to thank you for--I want to thank Mike Colarusso and Bob Mange for leading this
    fine group of folks. Thank you all for your hospitality.
        I want to thank those good workers who allowed me and the press
    corps to come and see you doing your job. It's not easy to do your job
    with a distraction, and I must confess that sometimes the Presidential
    entourage can be distracting. [Laughter] But we want to thank you all
    for your hospitality and, most of all, thank you for being such great
    Americans and working so hard on behalf of the American people.
        Today when I landed in Philadelphia, I met a lady named Valerie
    Christy. She's what we call USA--there's
    Valerie, right there. I'm sure you don't know who Valerie is, but you're
    about to, because Valerie is a person who has taken time out of her life
    to make somebody else's life better. She is a volunteer. One of the
    things she's done is she has participated in the Philadelphia Cares Day,
    which helps to paint and repair public schools in Philadelphia. She also
    volunteers twice a month in what they call Partners in Technology to
    help seniors and other special needs residents learn to use the
    technological change--learn to adapt to the technological changes of our
    society.
        In other words, and the reason I bring this up is, much has been
    made about the great strength and might of America, and we are strong,
    and we are mighty, and we'll remain that way. But the true strength of
    our country is the heart and soul of our citizens, and Valerie represents that. She represents those who have heard
    the call to love a neighbor like you'd like to be loved yourself.
        And the reason I bring this up is I want to continue to remind our
    fellow citizens that the way to change America for the better, and the
    way to make sure the great promise of our country exists for every
    single citizen, is that when we see somebody in need, we must act. If
    you're worried about children not being able to read, mentor a child. If
    you have a shut-in in your neighborhood who is lonely, provide comfort
    and love to that person. See, each of us can make a difference in
    America. America changes one heart, one soul, one conscience at a time.
    And each of us must be that some person trying to help make that change
    when we find somebody who hurts. Valerie, thank you for the example you
    set for our fellow citizens.
        You know, this country has faced a lot of challenges in the past few
    years. And I believe those challenges have brought out the best in
    America. On September the 11th, 2001, a date I will not forget so long
    as I'm on this Earth, America's enemies declared war on this country.
    That's what happened on that day. It was a declaration of war by people
    who hate what America stands for, and war is what they got.
        We are dismantling the Al Qaida network leader by leader. We are
    finding these killers one by one, and they will be brought to justice.
    We also acted in decisive ways to uphold doctrine. One of the doctrines
    said, ``If you harbor a terrorist, you're just as guilty as the
    terrorist.'' And so in Afghanistan, we recognized that there was a cruel
    and oppressive regime that had turned a nation into training camps. And

    [[Page 915]]

    so we removed that regime, and the people of Afghanistan are free.
        In Iraq, a dictator was arming to
    threaten the peace, and he defied the demands of the world. He didn't
    defy just the demands of the United States; he defied the demands of the
    United Nations Security Council, not once but many times. And so for
    peace and for the security of the free world, we removed that regime,
    and the Iraqi people are now free.
        Our military is still facing danger from elements of the fallen
    regime and other extremists. These folks hate the thought of Iraq being
    free. And we're finding those people, and we're bringing them to
    justice. Two days ago in the city of Mosul, the careers of two of the
    regime's chief henchmen came to an end. Saddam Hussein's sons were responsible for
    torture, for maiming innocent citizens, and for the murder of countless
    Iraqis. And now, more than ever, the Iraqis can know that the former
    regime is gone and is not coming back.
        Our people in uniform, our brave soldiers, are doing essential work
    in the war on terror. What they're doing in Iraq is an integral part on
    winning the war on terror. You see, a free and democratic and peaceful
    Iraq will not threaten America or our friends with illegal weapons. A
    free Iraq will not provide weapons to terrorists or money to terrorists
    who threaten the American people. A free Iraq will not destabilize the
    Middle East. A free Iraq can set a hopeful example for the entire
    region. And so the pursuits of freedom--and as the pursuits of freedom
    replace hatred and terror in the Middle East, America and our friends
    will be more secure.
        Our Nation is incredibly grateful for the men and women who defend
    us, for the men and women who serve the cause of peace and security, and
    we are incredibly proud of those who wear our Nation's uniform.
        We have risen to challenges abroad, and we are rising to challenges
    at home as well. When I took office, when my administration came into
    office, the stock market had been falling for months and the economy was
    sliding into recession. And so we acted, and we passed tax relief, which
    made the recession one of the most shallow in history. We found that we
    had some of our corporate executives--we found they weren't telling the
    truth. [Laughter] They were being dishonest, not only to their
    shareholders but their employees, and we acted. We'll punish those who
    violate the law, and we're working together with Congress--and we worked
    together with Congress, and I signed the most historic corporate's
    governors reforms in a long period of time.
        Last year, we saw that our economy was still not growing fast enough
    or creating jobs we need. So we acted. We passed meaningful, real tax
    relief. We expanded the child credit from $600 to $1,000 per child. We
    made that change retroactive to January 1st of this year, which is why
    the checks are going out of this facility soon. In other words, we said,
    ``If we've got a problem, let's get the money to the people as quickly
    as possible.'' In the Jobs and Growth Act--that was the tax relief act--
    all aimed at increasing the capacity for our fellow citizens to find
    work. We brought down the marriage penalty. You see, we believe we ought
    to encourage marriage, not discourage marriage in the Tax Code.
        We reduced all tax rates so our fellow citizens have got more take-
    home pay. That's good for the economy when people have more take-home
    pay. You see, by cutting individual tax relief, we passed tax relief as
    well for millions of small businesses, because most small businesses are
    what they call a sole proprietorship or Subchapter S, which means they
    pay taxes at the individual income tax rates. So in other words, the tax
    relief not only helped our families and our citizens, but it also helped
    the small-business sector of our economy.
        And the benefits for this tax relief will be spread throughout all
    the economy.

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    That's what's important for people to know; it's widespread benefits.
    You see, because when people have more of their own money, more money in
    their pocket, they will demand a good or a service. And when somebody
    demands a good or a service in our system, somebody will produce the
    good or a service. And when somebody produces that good or a service, it
    means it's much more likely, as demand increases, that somebody will be
    able to find a job.
        And that's what we're interested in. We're interested in creating
    jobs so our fellow citizens can find work. More than a million
    Pennsylvania families will benefit from the increased child tax credit.
    And earlier I had a chance to talk with some of the families who have
    joined us today. See, I think it's very important for our fellow
    citizens to understand, we're not just talking theory. When people get
    checks, it changes--it helps them with their lives.
        The Lonabergers are with us. Barry says
    he wants to start saving more for his retirement and for the college
    education of his two sons, Kyle and
    Brandon, who are with us today. Where's
    Kyle? There they are, back there. He will get $800 soon, because of the
    increased child credit. His tax burden will drop by--be cut by 29
    percent because of the tax relief.
        He--so what does Barry say? He said,
    ``Look, I'm interested in saving for my kids.'' He also said, ``This
    extra money will help on a summer vacation.'' And he wants to renovate
    the kitchen in his home. So--and he told me he's going on a vacation.
    See, that makes it more likely that somebody is going to find a job at
    the motel in the place where he's going. [Laughter] And I'm sure he's
    going to eat when he gets there. So he'll take some of the money, and
    he'll buy food. And that's good for the person who owns the restaurant
    and for the people that serve the food or cook the food.
        And when he renovates his kitchen, he's
    going to have to buy some equipment to help renovate it, which means
    somebody is going to have to manufacture the equipment that he buys to
    help renovate his--or the paint, for that matter. In other words, it has
    an effect throughout our economy. Increasing the child credit helps
    Barry. But it also is going to help those who deliver the goods and
    services that he now demands as a result of having extra money in his
    pocket.
        Brian Peffley is here today. Brian and his
    wife, Heather, have three sons,
    Caleb, Joshua,
    Noah. And they have got to make sacrifices.
    Every family makes sacrifices. And one of the things he wants to do is
    to obviously have more money for back-to-school expenses. People are
    beginning to think about what it means to send their child back to
    school.
        One of the sacrifices he was going to make
    in order to make sure he could--he and his family could purchase back-
    to-school expenses was he was going to delay taking a course he needed
    to get his bachelor's degree. And so what this means is, when he gets
    his check for $1,200, it will mean that he now can do both. And that's
    important. First of all, purchasing school supplies means the school
    supply manufacturer or school supply salesman has got a little extra
    business. But also, one of the things that's important in our workforce
    is for people to continually upgrade their education, so that they can
    be more productive and find a better job that pays better pay.
        One of the things we want to encourage is additional education, and
    I appreciate the fact that Brian wants to go
    back to school. Here's what he said. He said, ``This tax relief has
    eased the burden on us, and it will continue to allow us to achieve our
    goals and dreams.'' And that's what we want. We want people to have
    dreams in America and make it easier for them to realize their dreams.
        Jeanette Luna is with us today. She, by
    the way, has the hardest job in America. She is a single mom.
    Adley is with us today. Eric is not here. But she earns a modest

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    salary, and thanks to the tax relief, her refund will go from $600 to
    more than $1,100. And that will help pay for the school supplies. She's
    made the decision to send her child to a Catholic school, and that will
    help with tuition payments, which is important. It will help her buy
    clothes.
        One of the things that's important is that tax relief helps people
    from all walks of life. And one of the things I've asked Congress to do,
    by the way, is to help low-income families like Jeanette's by making more of the child credit refundable. The
    benefits of the Jobs and Growth Act should be as broad as possible,
    should be widespread throughout our society. The House and the Senate
    have passed different versions of extending the child credit. They've
    got to resolve their differences and get it to my desk as quickly as
    possible, so people can get additional help.
        Now, as John mentioned, the benefits of tax
    relief are positive. Economists--a lot of economists expect growth to
    pick up over the next 18 months. In other words, we've overcome a lot,
    and we've laid the foundation for growth. And I'll tell you why they
    believe that. First of all, home sales are rising, and that's positive.
    We want, by the way, more people owning their own home. That's one of--a
    grand objective for our economy. We've got a downpayment plan to help
    people do that. We're trying to simplify the contracts so people don't
    get discouraged by the fine print. But the best thing that's happening
    is, is that low mortgage rates have encouraged people to buy a home. And
    when you couple that with rising after-tax incomes, that's a positive
    foundation for home growth.
        The other thing is people have refinanced their homes. In other
    words, lower mortgages mean that you can refinance and put a little
    extra money in your pocket for savings or needed purchases. Inflation is
    low, and that's positive. That's part of the foundation for economic
    vitality. Retail sales are rising, and that's good. Productivity amongst
    our workers is the highest it's been in a long while, and that's
    positive. We're a more productive society.
        Investors are showing more confidence. The stock market seems to be
    trending upwards. That's a positive sign. Since we're an ownership
    society, more and more people have got different retirement plans, and
    they count on the markets as part of their assets for retirement.
        We've reduced taxes on stock dividends, and now companies have
    announced plans to increase their dividend payout. And some companies
    are going to pay dividends for the first time. And that's positive for
    our economy because billions of dollars in cash will now go directly to
    shareholders and back into the economy.
        And so we're making progress. The other thing we've done is, as I
    mentioned, small businesses get relief from tax relief, which is vital.
    And what's really important for--to invigorate small-business growth is,
    most new jobs are created by small businesses in America, and therefore,
    it makes sense to have a policy that enhances the entrepreneurial spirit
    of America.
        And so we did not only reduce taxes, but we also allowed for certain
    expensing of new equipment to encourage people to purchase new
    equipment. In other words, if there's an incentive for some small
    business to purchase a new piece of equipment, and they do, somebody's
    got to make the equipment. And when somebody makes the equipment, it is
    all part of making sure that there's job stability and job growth
    throughout our economy.
        And so we've--there are hopeful signs, good progress. But there is
    more to do. And one of the things we've got to do is to make sure that--
    you know, we've got lawsuit reform. Listen, businesses are fighting a
    lot of frivolous litigation, and it's costly to our economy. And the
    House has taken up the reform of class-action--the class-action system,
    and the Senate has not. In my judgment, in order to enhance economic
    vitality, the Senate must act on fair

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    and balanced tort reform legislation, starting with class-action
    lawsuits.
        We need a comprehensive energy bill. We've got to have a policy, a
    comprehensive energy policy if we want our economy to grow. I'm
    concerned about the costs of natural gas. The demand is strong for
    natural gas, and supplies are not as plentiful for natural gas, which
    means there's price pressure. The House has acted on this important
    piece of legislation; the Senate hasn't. We need an energy bill that
    promotes conservation, that applies new and cleaner technologies, but
    one that improves national security by making us less dependent on
    foreign sources of energy.
        We need to expand trade so our farmers and ranchers and
    manufacturers have got new markets. Listen, if you're good at something,
    you want to be able to sell what you're good at all around the world.
    And we're really good at a lot of things, and we ought to be encouraging
    markets to open up for United States products. That's important for job
    creation.
        The other thing is that as we create new job opportunities, we've
    got to help the people be prepared to fill those job vacancies. And so I
    proposed what we call reemployment accounts. It gives Americans a
    chance, particularly those who are having the greatest difficulty
    finding work, to realize their dream of work. People get $3,000 to use
    in their job search. Now, that $3,000 should be used according to the
    needs of the people, not according to what the Government thinks the
    needs are. So if a person needs child care, they ought to be able to use
    that money. If a person needs transportation, they ought to be able to
    use that money. If a person needs extra training, they ought to be able
    to use that money. If a person finds a job in another part of the State,
    they ought to be able to use that money to help them move.
        In other words, this is focus money, called reemployment accounts,
    to help people get ahead. If we want to expand this economy, we've got
    to recognize that some people need training and help to enter in that
    workforce.
        And the other thing I said, if a worker believes--a worker can find
    work within 13 weeks, and there's still money left over of the $3,000,
    they can put it in their pocket as a reemployment bonus. Congress needs
    to look at this idea, need to act. They've got to understand that as we
    expand the economy, some of our citizens need some focus and some help.
        And one of the things you hear talk about is the deficit, and we've
    got a deficit. We've got a deficit because revenues to the Treasury have
    dropped as a result of recession. And we've got a deficit as well
    because I'm spending the money necessary to win the war. My attitude is,
    when we put our troops in harm's way, they deserve the best. When we've
    got people overseas defending us--[applause]. I also firmly believe that
    as the economy--I know as the economy grows, there's going to be more
    revenue coming into the Treasury. And the tax relief, as I've described
    to you, will help the economy grow.
        The best, surest way to make sure we deal with the deficit is to
    make sure we don't overspend in Washington, is we have a reasonable
    increase in discretionary spending. And I proposed Congress stay within
    a 4-percent increase of discretionary spending. It's about the same
    amount that the average American household budget will increase this
    year. It seems to make sense to me. If it's good enough for American
    families, it ought to be good enough for the appetite of the Congress.
        The good news is they voted for that number, and now we expect them
    to hold the line. And I believe with economic growth and spending
    discipline, we can cut the deficit in half over the next 5 years, and
    that's progress.
        What I hope you come away with is that I believe in the future of
    this Nation, and I believe the economy is strengthening, is going to be
    strong, because I know the character of the American people. In 22

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    months--think about this--in 22 months, our Nation has been tested by a
    national emergency, by corporate scandals, by a recession, and by war.
    And time after time, this country has responded effectively to each
    challenge we've faced. Time after time, we have shown firm resolve and
    unshakable faith in our country.
        And the basis of the Jobs and Growth Act, the kind of fundamental
    principle of the Jobs and Growth Act, is that I've got faith in the
    American people, in the strength and the enterprise and the creativity
    of the American people. And I believe with hard work and determination,
    this economy is going to be strong. We're headed in the right direction.
    Better days are ahead for our citizens.
        Listen, thank you for letting me come. May God bless. Thank you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:14 a.m. at the Treasury Department's
    Philadelphia Financial Management Service regional center. In his
    remarks, he referred to Mike Colarusso, Regional Director, Philadelphia
    Financial Management Service Center; former President Saddam Hussein of
    Iraq; and Uday and Qusay Hussein, sons of former President Hussein, who
    were killed July 22 by U.S. military forces in Mosul, Iraq. The Office
    of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of
    these remarks.