    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
    [July 11, 2006]
    [Pages 1377-1378]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at Allen-Edmonds Shoe Corporation in Port Washington, Wisconsin
    July 11, 2006

        The President. John, thanks for the
    shoes, and thanks for----
        John J. Stollenwerk. You're welcome.
        The President. ----employing people.
        Mr. Stollenwerk. You're welcome.
        The President. We're at one of America's great companies. It's a
    privately held company that is making a good product. This is a company
    that has benefited because of the tax cuts. It's a subchapter S company.
    You've often heard me talk about cutting taxes on individuals benefits
    small businesses; this is a company that had benefited from the tax
    cuts. It's also a company that made additional investments because of
    the tax relief we passed.
        And when you make investments, it makes your company more
    productive. And when you're more productive, it makes you more
    competitive. And so the tax cuts we passed have helped this company. It
    made a lot of sense. They've also helped our country. This economy of
    ours is growing. The unemployment rate is 4.6 percent nationally, and
    that's good news for workers. People are making more money, and that's
    good news for workers.
        And as a result of a growing economy, we collected more money for
    the Treasury. I told the American people we would keep spending down and
    keep progrowth policies in place to help cut the deficit in half by
    2009. As a result of the Mid-Session Review, the numbers that came out
    of the Mid-Session Review, I'm able to tell the American people, we'll
    cut the deficit in half by 2008. The projected budget deficit over--of
    over 420 billion is now assumed to be 296 billion. See, what happens is,
    when you grow the economy by cutting taxes, more tax revenues come into
    the Treasury, and that's what we're seeing here.
        I'm looking forward to working with Congress to make sure that we
    continue to hold spending down, to set priorities, and to be wise about
    how we spend the money. And one of the problems we have in Congress is,
    sometimes Congressmen and Senators stick unnecessary spending into
    bills. And I believe the President needs a line-item veto to help make
    sure that there's fiscal responsibility in Washington, DC.
        I'm traveling with Congressman Ryan. He is the
    sponsor of the House bill, and I appreciate his leadership on this
    issue. The United States Senate needs to get the line-item veto to the
    President's desk so that the American people can have confidence in our
    ability to be wise about how we spend the money. This practice about
    stuffing stuff into these bills that never gets a hearing or the light
    of day is just--it's just not right. And one way to bring fiscal sanity
    to Washington and fiscal discipline to Washington is to give the
    President the line-item veto.
        I'm thrilled to be here at Allen-Edmonds. I'm thrilled with my new
    shoes. [Laughter] I wish I had them on the Fourth of July. [Laughter]
        Mr. Stollenwerk. You're a little late.
        The President. But these shoes last a long period of time. I intend
    to be wearing them for a lot of Fourth of Julys in coming. This is an
    American-based company making good American products. And I'm proud of
    what you're doing here, John.
        I'll tell you something interesting. So we're working the floor out
    there, talking to the people who make this company go, and
    he knows everybody's name. That's a good
    sign. That's a caring chief executive officer who cares first and
    foremost about the people here on the floor. And guess what happens when
    you have somebody like that who takes care of his workers? They make
    good product. And so I'm

    [[Page 1378]]

    proud to be an Allen-Edmonds customer, and I'm proud to be here at this
    factory, and thanks for having me.
        Mr. Stollenwerk. Thank you.
        The President. Yes, sir.
        Mr. Stollenwerk. And a paying customer
    at that.
        The President. Oh, yes. [Laughter] Part of the accountability system
    in Washington. [Laughter] Thank you all.
        Q. Do you have a comment on India?
        The President. No comments today. Thank you very much. Thank you.
    Good to see you.

    Note: The President spoke at 4:24 p.m. In his remarks, he referred to
    John J. Stollenwerk, president and chief executive officer, Allen-
    Edmonds Shoe Corp.