[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book III)]
[October 4, 2004]
[Pages 2352-2354]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks on Signing the Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004 in Des 
Moines, Iowa
October 4, 2004

    Thank you all. Thanks for coming today. Thank you all. Please be 
seated. Mr. Chairman--[laughter]--you 
probably think I've come here to sign an important piece of legislation. 
Actually, I'm here for a different reason. The South Lawn of the White 
House has a lot of grass--[laughter]--I'm looking for somebody to mow 
it. [Laughter] And so Mr. Chairman, you shall now be known as ``Grass-
mower.'' [Laughter] And by the way, when you're through using that car--
[laughter]--I've always liked an old Olds. [Laughter] I appreciate you 
being here, Mr. Chairman; proud to call you friend.
    Thanks for being here as well. It's a beautiful day here in Iowa. 
Iowa is such a beautiful place.
    Today, with my signature, Federal law will extend vital tax relief 
for millions of American families and add momentum to our growing 
economy. Today here in Des Moines, Iowa, the Working Families Tax Relief 
Act of 2004 becomes the law of the land, and I appreciate you being here 
to watch it.
    And I really do appreciate working with Mr. Chairman. He's had a remarkable tenure as chairman of the 
Finance Committee in the Senate. We have accomplished a lot together. I 
appreciate other Members of the congressional delegation who are with us 
today, the chairman of the Budget Committee in the House of 
Representatives, Jim Nussle--thank you for 
coming, Jim. Jim Leach, Congressman Jim Leach 
is with us. I appreciate my friend Jim Leach being here, as well as 
Congressman Tom Latham. I'm honored they are 
here.
    Not here is head of the Ways and Means Committee in the House of 
Representatives, Chairman Bill Thomas of 
California. I appreciate his hard work on this bill, and I appreciate 
him working with Chuck Grassley to get 
the bill done. I also want to thank minority leader in the House of 
Representatives on the--in the Ways and Means Committee, Charlie 
Rangel, Democrat from New York, for 
working on this bill, as well as Senator Max Baucus, Democrat from Montana, for working with Chuck 
Grassley on the bill as well. I want to 
thank all the Members of Congress who worked hard to get this bill done.
    I appreciate members of the ex-Governors club who've joined us 
today. I happen to be a member of that club as well. I'm a fellow 
member. [Laughter] Terry Branstad and Bob 
Ray have served your State so very well, and I 
appreciate their friendship. And I'm glad Billie Ray is with Bob. I'll tell Mother 
and Dad hello for both of you. Appreciate 
you coming.
    I want to thank all the State and local officials who are here. I 
particularly want to thank the president and CEO of the YMCA, Vernon 
Delpesce, as well as Dave Hoak, who's the chairman of the Y, for letting us use this 
facility for this bill signing ceremony.
    I want to thank the Patterson family who is with us here. They're 
beneficiaries of the tax relief. I spent some time with them backstage. 
I'll be speaking about another family here in a minute.
    The law I sign this morning comes at just the right time for 
America. Some of the tax relief provisions we passed over the last 3 
years were set to expire at the end of 2004. Unless we acted, a family 
of four earning $40,000 would have seen their Federal income taxes rise 
by more than $900. That would have been a burden for hard-working 
families across America. And it would have been a setback for our 
economy.
    Today we're acting to keep vital tax relief in place. The bipartisan 
bill I sign today

[[Page 2353]]

extends the $1,000 child tax credit, the marriage penalty relief, and 
the expanded 10-percent tax bracket. It also protects millions of 
families from having to pay the alternative minimum tax in 2005. That 
tax was designed over three decades ago to make sure wealthy Americans 
pay their fair share of taxes, but now it affects middle-income 
families. This bill will also increase the child credit refunds for 
almost 7 million low-income families in the 2004 tax year.
    Overall, 94 million Americans will have a lower tax bill next year, 
including 70 million women and 38 million families with children. The 
money they keep will make it easier to save for their retirement or 
their children's education, invest in a home or a small business or pay 
off credit card debts.
    One of those families is the Hintz family from Clive, Iowa. Thank 
you all for coming. It's a special day for Mike 
and Sharla, not because they're with the 
President or with Chairman Grassley, but 
because it's their 13th wedding anniversary. Theirs is a typical story. 
See, last year they received a child tax credit check for $1,600 for 
their four children. And under all the tax relief we've passed, they 
saved about $2,800 last year. With this extra money they bought a wood-
burning stove to reduce their home heating costs. They made a decision 
for their family. They also made home repairs and improvements. They 
took the family on a vacation to Minnesota. Next year when you get your 
check, you may want to come to Texas. [Laughter]
    Without the tax bill I'm signing today, the 
Hintzes would have paid $1,200 more in Federal 
taxes next year. Think about that. Here's a family of four, working hard 
to raise their kids; the money would have been going out of their 
pocket. I believe they can spend that $1,200 better than the Federal 
Government can.
    This legislation will have good effects throughout the economy. The 
tax relief we passed in 2001 has helped our economy overcome a lot of 
challenges, a stock market decline, a recession, terrorist attacks, and 
war. By extending key portions of that tax relief, we will leave close 
to $50 billion next year in the hands of the people who earned it, and 
that money will help keep the economy moving forward and result in even 
more new jobs for American workers.
    This act of Congress is essential, but it's only a start. Over the 
next few years, if we fail to take further action, the tax relief will 
expire and Federal income taxes will go up for every American who pays 
them. For the sake of our families and small businesses and farmers, 
investors, and seniors, we need to make all the tax relief permanent.
    We need to make sure the death tax doesn't come back to life. We 
need to keep the tax relief we enacted for investors and small 
businesses. We need to reform the Tax Code to make it simpler, easier to 
understand, and progrowth. To keep the economy growing, we need to 
reduce the burden of regulation on small businesses. To keep our economy 
growing, we need to end the junk lawsuits that keep entrepreneurs from 
creating new jobs. To keep the economy growing, we need an energy plan 
to make sure America is less dependent on foreign sources of energy, by 
using alternative uses of energy like ethanol and biodiesel. We need to 
open up foreign markets for our products and to continue to ensure that 
other countries play by the rules. We need spending discipline in our 
Nation's Capital.
    I look forward to working with the Congress to achieve all these 
goals. When we keep taxes low and trust our American families with their 
own money, they spend it far more wisely than we can. And when they do, 
they make the American economy stronger.
    I appreciate the Members of Congress who are here today. I wish 
they'd come up and join me as, in the great city of Des Moines, Iowa, I 
sign into law the Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004.

[[Page 2354]]

Note: The President spoke at 11:24 p.m. at the South Suburban YMCA. In 
his remarks, he referred to former Gov. Terry E. Branstad of Iowa; 
former Gov. Robert D. Ray of Iowa and his wife, Billie; and Vernon 
Delpesce, executive director, and David Hoak, chief volunteer officer, 
YMCA of Greater Des Moines, IA. H.R. 1308, approved October 4, was 
assigned Public Law No. 108-311. The Office of the Press Secretary also 
released a Spanish language transcript of these remarks.