    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
    [January 21, 2006]
    [Pages 99-100]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    January 21, 2006

        Good morning. This past Thursday, I visited a thriving company in
    Loudoun County, Virginia, named JK Moving & Storage. I met with the
    owners and workers and with small-business people from the area, and I
    discussed my agenda to keep America's economy growing and to help our
    small businesses stay vibrant and strong.
        Our agenda for growing the economy and helping small businesses
    starts with wise tax policy. Our economy grows when American workers and
    families can keep more of their hard-earned money to spend, save, and
    invest as they see fit. Small businesses create most of the new jobs in
    our country, and tax relief helps them as well, because most small
    businesses pay taxes at individual income tax rates.
        So after I took office, we cut taxes on everyone who pays income
    taxes, leaving more money in the hands of workers and families and
    giving small businesses more resources to expand and hire. We increased
    the tax incentives for small businesses to invest in new equipment, and
    we cut taxes on dividends and capital gains. We also put the death tax
    on the road to extinction, because farmers and small-business owners
    should not be taxed twice after a lifetime of work.
        Thanks to tax relief, spending restraint, and the hard work of
    America's entrepreneurs and workers, our economy today is strong. We've
    added over 400,000 jobs in the last 2 months and over 4.6 million jobs
    since May 2003. Our unemployment rate is now 4.9 percent, lower than the
    average rate of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Our economy grew at 4.1
    percent in the third quarter of 2005, and it has been growing at nearly
    that rate for 2 years. Real after-tax income has grown 7 percent per
    person since 2001. Productivity is high; inflation is contained;
    consumers are confident; and more Americans now own their homes than at
    any time in our Nation's history.
        Unfortunately, just as we are seeing how our tax cuts have created
    jobs and opportunity, some in Washington want to repeal the tax relief.
    Others want to just let it expire in a few years. Either way, they want
    to raise your taxes. If that happens, families across America would see
    their taxes increase dramatically. Small businesses would also pay
    higher taxes, which would mean less money to hire workers and buy new
    equipment. To keep our economy growing and our small-business sector
    strong, we need to ensure that you keep more of what you earn, so
    Congress needs to make the tax cuts permanent.
        For the sake of America's small businesses, workers, and families,
    we must also make health care more affordable and accessible. A new
    product known as health savings accounts helps control costs by allowing
    businesses or workers to buy low-cost insurance policies for
    catastrophic events and then save, tax free, for routine medical
    expenses. This year, I will ask Congress to take steps to make these
    accounts

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    more available, more affordable, and more portable. Congress also needs
    to pass association health plans, which allow small businesses across
    the country to join together and pool risk so they can buy insurance at
    the same discounts big companies get.
        Our small businesses are confronting other challenges that we must
    address. Too many entrepreneurs face the threats of costly junk
    lawsuits. Last year, we passed bipartisan class-action reform to ease
    this burden. Now Congress needs to curb abusive asbestos litigation,
    pass medical liability reform to reduce the costs of frivolous
    litigation on our doctors and patients, and penalize those who abuse the
    legal system by repeatedly filing junk lawsuits.
        Rising energy costs are also a concern for small businesses, so
    we're going to continue to work to develop new technologies and
    alternative and renewable fuels that will make us less dependent on
    foreign sources of energy. And we will continue to open up new markets
    for small businesses so they can sell their products and services
    overseas. On a level playing field, I know our workers, farmers, and
    businesses can compete with anybody, anytime, anywhere.
        America's economy is strong and growing stronger. Small businesses
    have been a driving force behind the tremendous growth and job creation
    of recent years. By adopting sound policies that help our small
    businesses continue to grow and expand, we will keep the economy moving
    forward and extend prosperity and hope in our country.
        Thank you for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 7:50 a.m. on January 20 in the Cabinet
    Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on January 21. The
    transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on
    January 20 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office
    of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of
    this address.