[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
[April 15, 2006]
[Pages 730-732]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



The President's Radio Address
April 15, 2006

    Good morning. Monday is tax day, and that means many of you are busy 
finishing up your tax returns. The good news is that this year, 
Americans will once again keep more of their hard-earned dollars because 
of the tax cuts we passed in 2001 and 2003.
    An important debate is taking place in Washington over whether to 
keep these tax cuts in place or to raise your taxes. For

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the sake of American workers and their families, and for our 
entrepreneurs, I believe Congress needs to make the tax relief 
permanent.
    Our economy prospers when Americans like you make the decisions on 
how to spend, save, and invest your money. So the tax relief we passed 
cut taxes for everyone who pays income taxes. We cut taxes on families 
by lowering rates and by doubling the child credit. We also reduced the 
marriage penalty, because our Tax Code should encourage marriage, not 
penalize it. We cut taxes on small businesses, allowing them to expand 
and hire more workers. And we worked with Congress to phase out the 
death tax, because Government should not tax farmers or small-business 
owners twice--once when you make your money and the second time when you 
try to pass the fruits of your life's work on to your loved ones.
    So far, the tax relief I signed has left $880 billion with America's 
workers and small-business owners and families, and you have used that 
money to fuel an economic resurgence. Our economy has added jobs for 31 
months in a row, creating more than 5.1 million new jobs for American 
workers. And the unemployment rate is now down to 4.7 percent, below the 
average rate for each of the past four decades. Real after-tax income 
per person has grown by more than 8 percent since I took office. And 
that means, on average, Americans have an income that is $2,100 higher 
this year than it was at the beginning of 2001, after adjusting for 
inflation.
    Not everyone agrees that we should let you keep more of your money. 
Some in Washington said that by cutting taxes, we were ruining our 
economy. On the day that the House and Senate were finalizing the 2003 
tax cuts, one Democratic leader said these cuts 
would do nothing to create jobs. Since then, the facts have proven that 
critic wrong--5.1 million times over.
    Tax relief has done exactly what it was designed to do: It has 
created jobs and growth for the American people. Yet some here in 
Washington are now proposing that we raise taxes, either by repealing 
the tax cuts or letting them expire. These are the same politicians who 
told us that letting you keep more of your own money would be 
irresponsible and reckless and shameful. They were wrong then, and they 
are wrong now. To keep our economy creating jobs and opportunity, 
Congress needs to make the tax relief permanent.
    There's more to do to maintain America's economic strength. We're 
working to address rising energy prices and health care costs, which 
puts pressure on family budgets and the bottom lines of our small 
businesses. I have proposed practical reforms that would make health 
care more available and affordable, and I put forward an energy 
initiative that would make our dependence on Middle Eastern oil a thing 
of the past. I urge Congress to act on these important priorities, so we 
can keep America the economic leader of the world and allow more 
families and small businesses to realize the American Dream.
    America's economy is strong and benefiting all Americans. By keeping 
taxes low and adopting sound policies that help our workers to compete 
and our businesses 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 7:36 a.m. on April 13 in the Cabinet 
Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on April 15. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
April 14 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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