    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
    [May 5, 2006]
    [Page 865]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on the National Economy
    May 5, 2006

        The President. Listen, I thank you for your hospitality. I'm here to
    talk about our economy. Today we've got some good news: 138,000
    additional Americans found jobs over the last month, which is good. The
    national unemployment rate is 4.7 percent. This economy is strong.
        And one of the hopeful things about our economy is, small businesses
    are doing well. Small businesses provide most of the job growth in our
    country. The small-business sector is doing well; so is the American
    economy.
        One thing we've got to make sure is that we keep the people's taxes
    low to keep this economy growing. Raising taxes will hurt small
    businesses; raising taxes will hurt consumers; raising taxes will
    particularly affect working people, now that the price of gasoline has
    gone up. So one of the things Congress has got to do is be mindful that
    the economic growth we're seeing, the strong economic growth, is
    dependent upon good tax policy.
        At the same time, Congress should be wise about how they spend the
    people's money. They've got to make sure the supplemental comes to me at
    a rate that I'll accept--$92.2 billion--plus money for the pandemic flu.
        We've got a plan to make sure this economy keeps growing, but
    today's news is good news for the American people.
        And I want to thank you--let me thank you for coming by here to say
    hito you.
        John Weintraub. All right, I thank you.
        The President. It's a good place to shop, by the way. I just spent
    some of my hard-earned money on Barney. I bought him a couple of toys to
    chew on--but don't let him know until I get over there; it's a surprise.
    [Laughter] Thanks for letting me come by.
        Mr. Weintraub. Okay. Thank you, Mr. President.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:08 a.m. Participating in the visit was
    John Weintraub, coowner, Frager's Hardware.