    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book I)]
    [June 17, 2004]
    [Pages 1068-1078]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks to the National Federation of Independent Businesses
    June 17, 2004

        The President. Thank you all. Go ahead and be seated. Thanks for
    coming. Please be seated. I'm honored you're here. Thanks for coming.
    Welcome to the Nation's Capital. I'm honored to follow Denny
    Hastert. He is a fabulous Speaker of the
    House of Representatives. I enjoy--he is a good friend and a really good
    leader, and I've enjoyed working with him.
        And I've enjoyed working with the members of the NFIB as well. I
    love to be in the presence of entrepreneurs. Wait, who's minding the
    store? [Laughter] I think if you look back on your record, you'll find I
    was an NFIB member in Midland, Texas, way back when. You're 600,000
    strong. You have a good voice here in Washington. I want you to know
    that, and you need to make sure you continue to speak it clearly,
    because the policymakers need to hear from you about the need for less
    regulation,

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    good taxation, and less litigation in order for you to be able to do
    your job.
        I know you know this: You've got friends on Capitol Hill. You have a
    friend in the White House too. There is a practical reason why I'm your
    friend. One of the practical reasons is, most new jobs--by far, the vast
    majority of new jobs are started by small businesses in America. See,
    I'm interested in our people working. I want the American people to be
    at work so they can fulfill their responsibilities as mothers and dads.
    And during a time of slowdowns, which we have been through, it's really
    important to make sure the small-business sector of the American economy
    is strong.
        And so I'm about to talk about some policies we put in place to help
    you do your job better. The way I look at it is: What is good for small
    business is good for America.
        We're here at a time of great promise and great opportunity. The
    economy is shifted into high gear, and that's good news. It's good news
    if you're trying to make a living. It's good news if you're trying to
    make a living, and it's good news if you're trying to meet a payroll.
    [Laughter] Factories are busier. Families are earning more.
    Homeownership rates--the homeownership rate is the highest ever in
    America. See, that is good news if you're interested in promoting an
    ownership society in our country. We want people owning their own
    business. We want people owning their own homes. You and I know this,
    that if you own something, you have a vital stake in the future of our
    country. The more ownership there is in America, the more vitality there
    is in America, and the more people have a vital stake in the future of
    this country.
        We've got economic challenges. We've got economic momentum, and
    that's good. Because of the good policies, but more importantly, because
    of your hard work, because of working to realize your dreams, because of
    the spirit of the small-business owner in the country, the economy is
    strong, and it is getting stronger.
        I want to thank Jack Faris for inviting me
    here. I'm honored to come right around the corner. I appreciate Tom
    Musser, the chairman of the board. I want to
    thank Dan Danner. He does all the work.
    [Laughter] But most of all, I thank you all. I've seen many of you as
    I've traveled the country. Part of my job has been to sell a pro-growth,
    pro-entrepreneur economic stimulus plan. And I was able to do so in your
    presence in different parts of America. And I want to thank you for
    showing up then and for showing up now. It's good to see you again.
        I think every one of you knows full well what this economy has been
    through, and it's important for our country to remember what we have
    been through, because we have been through a lot. That's why I'm so
    optimistic about the future, because I've seen where we have come from.
        Audience member. Four more years!
        The President. I might as well quit on that note. [Laughter] Let me
    just remind you where we have been through--what we have been through.
    When I was the President-elect, sitting in Austin, Texas, I had a group
    of business leaders come down and see me, including Jack Faris. The universal message from those leaders was this: The
    economy was in trouble. In early January, when we showed up here to go
    to work, the economy was heading into a recession. The stock market had
    been declining. Factories were laying off workers, and these were tough
    times. And you know it as well as I. It's hard to be a small-business
    owner during a recession. It's hard to make your payroll. It's hard to
    fulfill your obligations to your workers when the economy is not
    growing. I understand that.
        We began to recover somewhat, and then the enemy hit us on September
    the 11th. The attack not only affected our psychology; the attack
    affected the economy, and the two go hand in hand, as you know. Parts of
    our economy came to a standstill

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    right after September the 11th, 2001. Remember, airports were shut down.
    The stock market closed. We lost nearly a million jobs in 3 months.
        And then we began to recover, because of policy and the spirit of
    America, and then we discovered some of our corporate citizens forgot
    what it meant to be a responsible American. They didn't tell the truth
    to their shareholders and their employees. We came together here in
    Washington, passed tough laws, and made it clear we're not going to
    tolerate dishonesty in the boardrooms of America. We will hold people to
    account.
        There is no question that we--the economy was affected by recession
    and attacks and emergencies, the march to war, corporate scandal, but we
    acted. We acted. I want to thank you for your help. We acted together.
    We went to Congress and said, ``Let's lower the taxes on the American
    people. In order to get this economy moving, let's make sure people have
    got more of their own money in their pocket.''
        See, I believe--I think you may agree with me--that the people can
    use their money far better than the Federal Government can. And so we
    cut rates across the board. We said to Congress, ``If we're going to
    have tax relief, let's make sure it's fair. If you're going to have tax
    relief, let's make sure everybody who pays taxes gets relief.'' And they
    listened, fortunately. The good news about reducing the individual tax
    rates across the board was that it helped small businesses.
        You know what I know: Most small businesses pay tax at the
    individual income-tax rate. Because either being a Subchapter S
    corporation or other types of structures that, on the one hand, limit
    your liability and, on the other hand, cause you to pay tax at the
    individual rate level, about 90 percent of the small businesses across
    America pay tax at the individual income-tax rate level. And that's
    important. In other words, if you're interested in trying to get out of
    recession and recover from an attack, it's important to stimulate the
    small-business sector. And the definition of ``stimulate,'' for people
    out there who are trying to understand--when I say ``stimulate,'' the
    definition of ``stimulate'' means more money in your pocket. That's how
    you stimulate growth. That's how you encourage confidence.
        We also helped families by doubling the child credit. We reduced the
    marriage penalty. I've never understood a society which penalizes
    marriage. It seems like you want to encourage marriage. [Laughter] But
    we reduced the marriage penalty.
        And very important for the small-business owner in America, we put
    the death tax on the road to extinction. We had an interesting debate
    here in Washington about whether we needed a death tax or not. My
    position is, you shouldn't tax a person's assets twice, once while
    they're living, once when they move on. [Laughter] I mean, it's your
    property. You built your business, and you ought to be able to leave
    your business to whomever you choose.
        And secondly, the people here in Washington must understand that
    many times, when a small-business owner passes on, the estate must be
    liquidated, the company must be liquidated in order to pay the burden of
    the taxes. Many times the asset base is illiquid. There's good capital
    worth, but they're illiquid. And the taxes are such that people have to
    sell their business, sell something they've loved, sell something
    they've tried to build up for the future.
        Many moms and dads have got dreams about a--of leaving their
    businesses to generation after generation after generation. It's become
    one of the great parts of the American heritage, isn't it--whether it be
    a small business or a farm. People like that asset base in their own
    family. And yet the death tax makes it, in some cases, virtually
    impossible to do so. And getting rid of the death tax is a very
    important part of making sure the entrepreneurial spirit is strong in
    America.

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        We also created new incentives for the small businesses by
    quadrupling the annual expense deduction for equipment, up to $100,000,
    and that's important. See, that's important. It's an important part of
    stimulating the economy. We say, ``Look, we're going to encourage you to
    invest.'' And our fellow citizens must understand that when small
    businesses invest, it means really what you're doing is you're
    purchasing something that somebody has to manufacture for you. And when
    they manufacture it for you, somebody is more likely to find work. It
    has a ripple effect throughout our economy.
        The tax plan, that stimulation--the economic stimulation plan we
    passed was based upon a certain principle. It was based upon my optimism
    about people making the right decisions throughout our economy. See, I'm
    optimistic about our future because I've got great faith in the small-
    business entrepreneurs of America and the workers of America. And the
    economic plan we put forth to Congress, which they passed, is based upon
    that great trust and optimism and knowledge about how the small-business
    sector works and affects the future of the country.
        Some looked at the problems--we had a debate here in Washington, of
    course, and that's good, and that's healthy for democracy. You like
    debates. You also like to win the debates. [Laughter] Some looked at the
    problems and offered familiar solutions. They said, ``Look, what we
    really shouldn't have done is we shouldn't have cut the taxes on the
    American people. We shouldn't let people have more of their own money.''
    It's kind of the old age--it's the age-old argument, ``Do you want more
    Government or more money in people's pockets?'' I came down on the side
    of more money in the people's pockets. Others would have had it that
    they want to increase the size of the Federal Government. I just don't
    think that increasing the size of the Federal Government will help you
    recover from a recession or emergency or corporate scandals.
        They said they would--probably best to isolate America from the
    world. It was kind of a knee-jerk reaction to tough economic times to
    say, ``Why don't we become isolationists, economic isolationists.'' I've
    rejected that point of view because that's too pessimistic, as far as
    I'm concerned, and I'll discuss that in a minute.
        In other words, they were quick about pointing out the problems, but
    frankly, they didn't come up with many good solutions. And in my
    judgment, there wasn't a better solution than letting people have their
    money, stimulating the small-business sector, and it's paying off. The
    policies we have put in place have made sense.
        Of course, recoveries don't happen overnight. Tax relief takes a
    while to have an impact, and people got impatient. The critics got
    impatient. You know, there was a lot of gloomy predictions around our
    country. Let me take a look at a few of them with you and see what's
    actually happened, thanks to tax relief.
        We used to hear it said that America was in a jobless recovery. That
    term seems to have fallen out of use lately. [Laughter] Since August our
    policies have helped American businesses create 1.4 million new jobs.
    We've seen 4 straight months of manufacturing job gains. It's a clear
    sign of a broad and strong recovery. Even after the recovery began, some
    doubted whether it would really take hold. They predicted what they
    called a ``double-dip'' recession: There would be a recession, recovery,
    and then another recession. Yet in the past year, the economy has grown
    at the fastest pace in almost two decades. Since last summer, we now
    have the fastest growing major industrialized economy in the world. And
    the recession was one of the shallowest in modern American history,
    thanks to you, thanks to your hard work, thanks to the entrepreneurial
    spirit being revived.
        The critics made a few other predictions. They said businesses and
    households would not spend their tax savings. Turns out business
    investment is up more than 9 percent

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    in the last year. Businesses are investing. They're spending capital. An
    NFIB survey shows nearly two-thirds of all small firms had capital
    spending projects in the last 6 months. Households have used their tax
    relief to help drive our economy forward as well. Consumption remained
    strong through the rough times and has accelerated since the tax relief
    was passed.
        Some of the pessimists looked at this economic progress and claimed
    that the American families are still falling behind. Well, they didn't
    offer much evidence, because, in fact, as our economy has come back,
    American families are doing a lot better. Higher growth and higher
    productivity are leading to better paying jobs across America. Families
    are keeping more of their own money.
        Since the beginning of 2001, real after-tax incomes, which are what
    people earn after inflation and taxes, have increased by 11 percent.
    That figure matters a lot. Let me see if I can put it in west Texas
    terms. That means you've got more money in your pocket. [Laughter] And
    it's your money to spend. You get to decide what to do with it, not the
    Federal Government.
        Turns out when people have more money in their pocket, they make
    decisions that suit their own needs and at the same time has the
    cumulative effect of stimulating our economy. It's the millions of
    decisions by consumers and small-business owners and investors which
    drives our economy forward. It's not the decisions by bureaucrats in
    Washington, DC, that creates economic growth.
        At every stage of our recovery, people were always looking for a
    cloud to stand under--or some were looking for a cloud to stand under
    here. One of my--I read something interesting that I'd like to share
    with you about an attitude that sometimes can take hold. On the morning
    after D-day in 1944, the Wall Street Journal ran a headline that read:
    ``Invasion's Impact: Marks Beginning of End of War Economy; New Problems
    for Industry.'' [Laughter] That's kind of an interesting way to look at
    the liberation of Europe. [Laughter]
        The economic--there are modern-day economic pessimists around who
    are quick to offer dire predictions and complaints. But you know what?
    They do not offer pro-growth economic policies. They can find the dark
    cloud, but they can't see the sunshine because they don't know where to
    take the country and they don't know where to lead.
        You can't lead unless you understand the strengths of America. And
    one of the great strengths of our economy is the small-business sector
    of our economy, and I intend to keep it strong and vibrant and alive.
        According to the NFIB, the small-business optimism has reached a 20-
    year high at the end of 2003, and that's good. Things are working. In
    your jobs survey, the last one you had, about half your members were
    looking to hire. Half your members are saying, ``I see a better future,
    and I need somebody to help me make my business grow.'' And that's
    positive news for American workers. It's positive news when the small-
    business sector feels a wind at its back, where the owners are saying,
    ``I see a better day. Therefore, I'm going to take a little more risk,''
    or ``I see a better day. I'm going to help--find somebody to help me
    make my business work better.''
        A guy named Mike Baldino from Fremont,
    Nebraska--he's a NFIB member--he owns Kelly Klosure Systems. They make
    steel buildings and enclosures. He's a Subchapter S--his company is a
    Subchapter S. He's a Subchapter S CEO. You know what that means. It
    means when you lower income taxes at the individual level, it affects
    his cashflow. He saved $30,000 last year. He's a small-business guy, has
    30,000 more dollars in his pocket. He says he's going to invest. He's
    going to buy a conveyor system, a new conveyor system. Our citizens must
    understand that when Mike makes a decision like that and says, ``I want
    to buy a new conveyor system,'' because

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    of the tax relief Congress passed, somebody's got to make the conveyor
    system. And somebody's got to provide the parts for the person who makes
    the conveyor system. In other words, has a ripple--Mike's decision has a
    ripple effect throughout our economy. He said this--he said, ``I've been
    dragging my feet. The tax bill gave me the incentive.''
        See, the tax bill--and it's essential for our citizens to
    understand--when we passed the tax bill, it changed the decisionmaking
    process of millions of small-business owners. It changed the attitude of
    the decisionmakers in the small businesses of America. Not only are you
    more optimistic than you had been in the past, you've got a little more
    money to spend too, which makes you optimistic. And it's your
    decisions--it's the millions of decisions in the marketplace that have
    helped define the economic recovery we're going through, and Congress
    must understand that.
        Mike added four new jobs. Now, that
    doesn't sound a lot to people who think in terms of a lot of zeros. But
    it meant a lot to the four people he hired. It meant a lot to Mike.
        And when you think about it, there are a lot of Mikes out there who
    own their own small business. It's the cumulative effect of small-
    business hiring practices that have helped create this momentum in job
    hiring across the country. You know what I'm talking about. You've hired
    1 or 2 or 3, 10, 20 people. And it's had an enormous effect. It's
    changing the dynamic of our economy. People are getting back to work.
    Small businesses are hiring. The future looks bright, and the
    fundamental question facing the country is, how do we make sure we
    continue to grow?
        See, we've still got some problems. I want to discuss a few of them
    with you. I'm going to ask for your help in convincing your elected
    representatives to perhaps listen to our point of view about how to make
    sure this growth that we have going today not only lasts throughout the
    political cycle, more importantly, lasts throughout the decade. That's
    what we want, and the way I like to put it is, one way to do so is to
    make sure America is the best place in the world to do business. The
    best place for people to risk capital, the best place for people to try
    to realize their dreams must be America if we want our people working
    throughout the next decade.
        And there are some things we must do. First, there must be certainty
    in the Tax Code. If you're a decisionmaker at a small business, you want
    to know what the future tax--your future taxes are going to look like.
    That's what you want to know. It's hard to make a decision if you're
    uncertain about what next year's taxes will look like, what the rates
    will look like, and so therefore, it's very important for Congress to
    understand and listen to the decisionmakers. As you know, some of tax
    relief is set to expire this year, and Congress must hear from you.
    They're going to continue to hear from me. Instead of raising taxes on
    the American people at this point, we ought to make sure the taxes stay
    where they are and stay low.
        We need to make sure the child credit stays where it is, the
    marriage penalty stays down, the 10-percent rate stays in place. That's
    what we need to make sure. It will send a signal. It will send a signal
    that we intend to make the tax relief we put in place a permanent part
    of the Tax Code so our small-business owners can plan for the future.
        And by the way, the death tax could conceivably come back to life.
    It's being phased out. It's going to be an unusual year--I think it's
    2011 that it--see, it fades out to 2010. Then all of a sudden, it shoots
    back up in 2011. I guess a lot of people are going to have to be making
    some decisions in 2010. [Laughter] Congress needs to hear from you on
    this issue, I'm telling you. It's important to make sure that the death
    tax goes away forever--forever--that there's permanency.

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        One of the challenges that we have as our economy shifts is to make
    sure that we have a skilled workforce to fill the jobs of the 21st
    century. We're not going to be able to grow throughout the decades
    unless we make sure our workforce can do the jobs that are being
    created. In other words, if you can't find workers to be able to do the
    jobs that are necessary to compete in the 21st century, you'll look
    elsewhere. And so one of the economic realities is to make sure the
    education system works well. And I've worked with Congress to pass the
    No Child Left Behind Act. It is a strong piece of legislation. I'll tell
    you why. It sets high standards. And for the first time, it says, ``In
    return for Federal money, show us whether or not a child can learn to
    read and write and add and subtract.''
        See, you live with accountability all your life, don't you? It's
    called the balance sheet and the income statement. A small-business
    person is held accountable every day. If you're in retail sales, you're
    held accountable when you close the register that evening. If you're in
    construction sales or building homes, you're held accountable every day,
    based upon progress you've made on a project that you've got.
        The school systems need to be held accountable as well. And in
    return for money, we've said all we expect is for a child to read at
    grade level, starting at the third grade. That's not too much to expect.
    As a matter of fact, it's necessary to make sure the workforce works.
        But we've got other programs to make sure our kids are ready. We've
    had a system, as you know, that has just simply shuffled some through
    the system without asking the hard question about education achievement,
    and they need help now. And so we've got programs for middle school kids
    and high school kids and intervention programs in English and math.
    We're working hard to promote science and engineering programs, both in
    high school and college.
        But one of the most important initiatives that we have put forth
    here in Washington is to match up our community colleges with employers
    looking for workers, is to say to the workforce, ``You can go back to
    school for a period of time--we'll help you in most cases--and train for
    jobs which actually exist.'' I don't know if you're having problems
    finding workers in your respective industries, but I can tell you, the
    health care industry's looking for nurses. I mean, there are a lot of
    jobs where people are looking to fill jobs, and one reason why they
    can't fill those jobs is because the education system hasn't responded.
    The education system must be flexible, available, and affordable. And
    the best place to do that is in the community college campuses all
    across America.
        We're not going to be able to compete in the world and create the
    jobs we want to create over the next decades if we strangle our small-
    business owners and large-business owners with needless paperwork and
    regulation. The governments--and I say ``governments'' because I know
    the Federal Government has got a lot of paperwork you need to fill out,
    but so does the State government and local government. I can't guarantee
    you that we read all the forms we ask you to fill out. [Laughter] I
    would bet they don't read all the forms. [Laughter] And we've got to be
    mindful about what paperwork does to the job creators. We want you
    hiring people, not hiring--not filling out paperwork. That's what we
    want. The Treasury Department has simplified some tax forms, for
    example.
        There's some practical things we must continue to do at the Federal
    level to make sure that we can compete and make sure people can find
    work. Our workers must understand that if we overburden our people, our
    entrepreneurs with paperwork, they're less likely to find a job. The
    Government has the responsibility to have oversight but not oppressive
    oversight.
        In order for America to be a competitive place, the best place to do
    business, in

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    order for people to be able to find work over the next years, we must
    have a legal system that is fair and balanced. Today's legal system is
    not fair, and it's not balanced.
        I want you to remind the people on Capitol Hill, you cannot be pro-
    small-business and pro-trial-lawyer at the same time.
        And the Federal Government can set an example of good tort reform by
    passing a class-action reform, a reform where trial lawyers can't shop
    for courts all around the country and a reform that, if there ever is a
    verdict, the people who benefit are those who got injured, not the
    lawyers. That bill is stuck. We need to help get it unstuck, and you can
    help. You can help by contacting your United States Senators.
        And we also need to reform our medical liability system. Now, when I
    came to Washington--when I came up here, I said, ``Well, gosh, I think
    the best place to have reform on medical liability reform is at the
    State level.'' And then I looked at the impact of what the frivolous
    lawsuits were doing to Federal budgets. You see, if you're a doc and
    you're getting sued all the time, then you're going to practice
    defensive medicine. It means you practice more medicine than you need so
    if you ever get into a court of law, you can say, ``I've done everything
    I could possibly do''--some of which was not necessary except for legal
    defense. And as a result of the lawsuits or the threat of being sued or
    the settlements that happen as a result of filing lawsuits, docs'
    premiums go up too. And therefore, so does your cost, and so does the
    cost to the Federal Government.
        So I decided medical liability reform was a Federal issue that
    required a Federal solution and worked with the United States House of
    Representatives to get a good bill out, which says if you're truly
    harmed by a doctor, you're going to be compensated. But these outrageous
    settlements and these egregious awards must cease for the sake of our
    small-business owners.
        I fully understand the pressure you're under when it comes to the
    cost of health care. You've got employees that you want to take care of.
    You have an obligation as an employer to make sure that somebody working
    with you has got good health care. That's what you want more than
    anything. And yet you know, like I know, the cost is going up. And one
    way, a part of controlling the cost of health care, is for the United
    States Congress to get rid of those frivolous and junk lawsuits that's
    running up the cost of health care and pass Federal medical liability
    reform.
        Another way to help small businesses is to pass association health
    plans. Association health plans, see, they're necessary. If you're a
    small-business owner, a restaurant owner, say, and lucky enough to be in
    the great State of Texas--[applause]--there you go--it seems like you
    should be able to pool risk with a restaurant owner in the State of
    Florida. Except in many States, you can't do so. You know what I'm
    talking about. Big businesses are able to spread risk, because they've
    got a lot of employees over which to spread risk. Small businesses don't
    have that same purchasing power in the marketplace. It makes sense to me
    to allow small businesses to bind together in order to be able to better
    afford insurance for their company.
        As well I want you to look into health savings accounts. This is an
    innovative new product that has emerged as a result of me signing the
    Medicare reform law. It's an interesting way for small businesses to
    take care of their employees. Employees basically are able to contribute
    tax-free into an account to help with routine medical expenses, and you
    pay for catastrophic care. The combination of the two will save money.
    It also makes sure that the decisionmaking process in medicine is
    between the doctor and the patient, not between Federal bureaucrats and
    the rest of the population. See, we must not allow the Federal
    Government to run the health care system of America.

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        In order for us to be competitive, in order for America to be a
    great place to do business, we need an energy policy. We need to become
    less dependent on foreign sources of energy. I proposed a plan to the
    United States Congress several years ago and said, ``Look, we have got
    to do a better job of modernizing our electricity system, of exploring
    for more energy in environmentally friendly ways in our own country, by
    developing alternative sources of energy, biodiesel, ethanols.'' I mean,
    listen, I would love to be able to leave behind a legacy that says,
    ``Gosh, the corn crop is up, and we're less dependent on oil from
    overseas.'' That would be a good thing to have happen, wouldn't it?
        And it's very possible. It's very possible. We must continue to push
    research and development along those lines. And we've got to encourage
    conservation. But we need--the Congress needs to pass this bill. I mean,
    all they've got to do is go to the gas pumps and take a look at the
    price of gasoline, and you begin to understand what it means to be
    reliant upon foreign sources of energy. We need clean coal technology.
    We need to be exploring for natural gas. We need to have--be able to
    deliquefy liquefied natural gas off our shores. We need more energy in
    order to be able to have our economy strong and, at the same time, make
    sure we're strong from a national security perspective.
        And finally, I want to talk about trade right quick. Do you know
    that 97 percent of all U.S. exporters are American small businesses?
    See, if you're good for--good at something, we want to encourage you to
    be able to sell your product everywhere. We're really good farmers and
    ranchers in America. We ought to be selling beef and corn and soybeans
    everywhere there's a market. We ought not to be afraid of competition in
    America. I don't like unfair competition. And so, the job of the
    President, it seems like to me, is to reject economic isolationism, is
    to say to countries, our markets are open for you, you open up your
    markets for us.
        You see, all we want is a level playing field. Just give us a chance
    to compete. The chance to compete will be good for small businesses. A
    level playing field will be good for you. It will open up markets. It
    will give you more opportunity to sell that which you make in places
    other than the U.S.
        In my judgment, good trade policy means better jobs for the American
    people. It's essential that we not become isolated from the world. It's
    essential we be confident in our ability to compete. Give us a level
    playing field, and America's entrepreneurs, small-business owners,
    farmers, ranchers, and workers can compete with anybody, anyplace,
    anywhere in the world.
        What I'm telling you is, is that the economy's strong; it's getting
    stronger. But it's important to keep thinking down the road, and it's
    important to recognize that which is necessary to make sure we can
    compete. You want to be not only vibrant over the next 4 or 5 years; you
    want to be vibrant over the next 20 years. The role of the Government is
    not to create wealth but an environment in which the entrepreneur can
    flourish. And I've just laid out five or six ways to make sure that the
    entrepreneur can flourish in America.
        We've got other challenges as well. I want to talk about two of them
    right quick. One, we will win the war on terror. [Applause] Thank you.
    We will win it in the short term because our troops will protect America
    from harm. We've got great troops. Sergeant, I'm glad you're here. The
    chief of staff of the NFIB's son is with
    us. He has served in Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Iraq. I'm honored you're
    here, Sarge. Thank you for your service.
        Thanks to Sarge and others like him, we're running down Al Qaida;
    we've removed terror regimes who defied ultimatums; and we're doing the
    hard work now of defeating terror in the long run

    [[Page 1077]]

    by spreading freedom and democracy. It's not easy work; I understand
    that.
        It's hard to go to from tyranny to freedom. It's hard to be--to go
    from a country which had mass graves and children being tortured in
    front of their parents, guys whose hands were chopped off because the
    currency was devalued. I remember the other day, seven people came to
    see me, and they had had their arms--their hands cut off. They were
    small-business owners, just like you, in Baghdad. And the currency had
    devalued, and Saddam Hussein needed to blame
    somebody. So he found these seven poor souls, and he cut off their
    hands, and he marked their foreheads with a X.
        Fortunately, a filmmaker captured their story.
    And a guy in Houston named Marvin Zindler--
    he's a TV guy--put a foundation together and--had a foundation in place
    and saw the story, and he flew them over to the United States. And they
    came with their new hands to see me. A guy took his hand and put the pen
    in there and wrote ``God bless America'' in Arabic. That's the kind of
    society that used to exist. These seven people were overjoyed with the
    compassion of America and thrilled with the thought of living in a free
    society.
        This is hard work, but we've done hard work before. After World War
    II, there were a lot of pessimists who doubted whether or not Germany
    could ever rise from the rubble or whether or not Japan could ever be a
    democracy. Fortunately, we had optimists in our country in those days
    who refused to listen to the pessimists. Fortunately, we had people in
    those days who had great faith in the values of America and great
    confidence that people deep in their souls want to live in free
    societies.
        And that's the challenge we're faced with today. The killers and
    suiciders want us to leave Iraq, Afghanistan. They want us to renege on
    our word. They want us to lose confidence. They will fail. America will
    not be intimidated by these killers. We understand the stakes. We
    understand that our long-term security depends on the spread of free
    societies in parts of the world that are desperate for freedom. We have
    great confidence in our belief that freedom is the gift of the Almighty
    to every man and woman in this world.
        We live in historic times. We live in historic times. This economy
    of ours is changing, and as it changes, it's getting stronger and
    providing fantastic opportunities for people, opportunities for those
    who dream the big dream and who work hard and take a risk. And we have a
    chance to leave behind a legacy of peace by spreading democracy and
    freedom. These are the challenges that have been placed before us. We
    accept the challenges, and we know that for our great country, the best
    days lie ahead.
        Thank you for coming, and may God bless you.

    Note: The President spoke at 1:20 p.m. at the J.W. Marriott Hotel. In
    his remarks, he referred to Jack Faris, president and chief executive
    officer, Thomas Musser, chairman of the board, Dan Danner, senior vice
    president for public policy, and Mary Blasinsky, chief of staff,
    National Federation of Independent Businesses; Mike Baldino, president
    and chief executive officer, Kelly Industries, Inc.; S. Sgt. Michael
    Blasinsky, USAF, son of Ms. Blasinsky; former President Saddam Hussein
    of Iraq; Don North, video producer; and Marvin Zindler, member, board of
    directors, Agris-Zindler Children's Fund. A portion of these remarks
    could not be verified because the tape was incomplete.

    [[Page 1078]]