    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book I)]
    [January 10, 2004]
    [Pages 43-45]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    January 10, 2004

        Good morning. As the year 2004 begins, America's economy is strong
    and getting stronger. More Americans than ever own their own homes. More
    businesses are

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    investing. More manufacturers are seeing increased activity than at any
    time in the last 20 years. Stock market wealth has increased by more
    than $3 trillion over the past year. And over the past 5 months, more
    than a quarter-million Americans started work at new jobs. In December,
    the unemployment rate fell to 5.7 percent, from a high of 6.3 percent
    last June.
        This latest report underscores a choice about the future of our
    economy and the future of those who are looking for work. We can
    continue on the path to prosperity and new jobs, a path marked by a
    progrowth agenda that has cut taxes on paychecks for 109 million
    American taxpayers, or we can reverse the course by raising taxes on
    hard-working Americans. The choice is clear. Tax relief has got this
    economy going again, and tax relief will keep it moving forward.
        In my budget for the upcoming fiscal year, I will call on Congress
    to make permanent all the tax relief we have delivered to the American
    people and our Nation's small businesses. If Congress fails to act, this
    tax relief will disappear, and millions of American families and small
    businesses would see tax hikes starting in 2005. For the sake of our
    economic expansion and for the sake of millions of Americans who depend
    on small businesses for their jobs, we need Congress to act and to make
    tax relief permanent.
        Every American who pays income taxes got a tax cut. They should keep
    that tax cut in the future. American families saw the child credit
    double to $1,000 per child. They should keep that higher credit.
    American investors, including millions of seniors, saw taxes fall on
    dividend income and investment gains. They should keep that tax relief.
    American small businesses received new tax incentives to invest in
    equipment and software. They should keep those incentives. Every
    American family, including every farmer, rancher, and small-business
    owner, will see the death tax disappear in 2010 then reappear in 2011.
    But the death tax should stay buried.
        Now is not the time to turn our backs on America's families and
    workers and entrepreneurs by letting much-needed tax relief expire.
    Making tax relief permanent is a simple step that would keep our economy
    growing so that every American who wants to work can find a job.
        We must continue to take other steps to promote growth and job
    creation throughout our economy. We must promote free and fair trade,
    reform our class action system, and help businesses and their employees
    address the problem of rising health care costs.
        To serve the economic needs of our country, we must also reform our
    immigration laws. Reform must begin by confronting a basic fact of life
    and economics: Some of the jobs being generated in America's growing
    economy are jobs American citizens are not filling. This past week, I
    proposed a new temporary-worker program that would match willing foreign
    workers with willing American employers when no Americans can be found
    to fill the jobs. If an American employer is offering a job that
    American citizens are not willing to take, we ought to welcome into our
    country a person who will fill that job.
        This temporary-worker program represents the best tradition of our
    society. It will help strengthen our economy, return order to our
    immigration system, and secure our homeland.
        Thank you for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 9:54 a.m. on January 9 in the Cabinet
    Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on January 10. The
    transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on
    January 9 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office
    of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of
    this address.

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