[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
[August 18, 2006]
[Pages 1524-1527]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks Following a Meeting With Economic Advisers and an Exchange With 
Reporters at Camp David, Maryland
August 18, 2006

    The President. Thank you all for coming. We've just finished a 
really informative meeting with my economic team. I want to thank them 
for their service to the country. I'm really proud to be serving the 
American people alongside them. I've put together a really good team of 
people; smart, capable, decent, honorable people who are serving America 
with great distinction.
    We discussed the state of the economy. We discussed where our 
economy is headed, and we discussed the steps that we're going to take 
to ensure that our economy continues to lead the world. The foundation 
of our economy is solid, and it's strong. Because of the tax cuts we 
passed, American workers and families and small businesses are keeping 
more of the money they earn. And they're using that money to drive this 
economy of ours forward.
    The economy grew at 4 percent annual rate during the first half of 
2006, and this means that our economy is maintaining solid growth and 
performing in line with expectations. Our solid economic growth is 
creating real benefits for American workers and families and 
entrepreneurs. Since August 2003, we've added more than 5.5 million new 
jobs. The unemployment rate is 4.8 percent. Productivity growth is 
strong. Behind the numbers are stories of hard-working Americans who are 
realizing their dreams. The entrepreneurial spirit in this country is 
strong, and that's good for America.
    You know, in Miami a couple of weeks ago, and I met a fellow named 
Nelson Gonzalez. Ten years ago, he and a 
friend started a computer business in a garage 
with $10,000. Their revenues are $192 million today. They employ about 
750 people around the world.
    I visited a fellow in Wisconsin named John West. He runs a manufacturing company. Over the past 2 years, 
John's factory has expanded from 65 employees to 90 employees. He told 
me he's receiving more orders than he can fill, and he's looking for 
more workers.
    The other day I went to York, Pennsylvania, to visit the Harley-
Davidson plant. They're selling motorcycles all over the world. Harley 
has doubled its workforce in the past decade. In other words, things are 
good for American workers and good for

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the entrepreneurs, and that's good for the country.
    The economic growth has had a positive impact on the budget, and 
that's good for the taxpayers. Last year, economic growth pushed up 
Federal tax revenues by 14.5 percent; it's the largest increase in 24 
years. This year tax revenues are projected to increase by another 11.4 
percent, and at the same time, we are working with Congress to restrain 
Federal spending. We're meeting our priorities, and we're restraining 
Federal spending.
    We recently learned that this year's deficit is projected to be 30 
percent lower than we initially thought, and that means we're on track 
to cut the deficit in half by 2008, a full year ahead of the original 
goal.
    We've got to keep this economy growing through progrowth economic 
policies. Taxes need to be kept low. We're working with Congress to 
restrain spending. Congress needs to pass the line-item veto so we can 
work together to cut out wasteful and unnecessary spending. We're going 
to work to make sure health care is more affordable for our businesses 
and our families. We will continue to invest in new energy technologies 
so we can promote alternative sources of energy and be wise stewards 
with the environment. We'll continue to work to stop the spread of junk 
lawsuits, and we'll continue to open up markets for American products.
    We also discussed ways to keep this economy of ours competitive, 
flexible, and dynamic into the future. We discussed ways to make sure we 
improve education and job training. It's really important for our 
workers to have the skills necessary so we can remain a competitive 
country. It's really important for Congress to fully fund the American 
Competitiveness Initiative to make sure this country remains the 
economic leader we want it to be.
    And we also talked about the need for this administration to work 
with Congress to really deal with the biggest challenge facing our 
budget and a huge challenge for our economic growth in the future, and 
that is the unsustainable growth of spending on programs like Social 
Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. These programs need to be reformed so 
that they will be available for our children and our grandchildren. It's 
a difficult issue, I know, for Members of Congress. The people here with 
me clearly see the problem, and we look forward to working with both 
Republicans and Democrats to do our duty, and that's to solve the 
problem.
    All of us here are confident about the future of this country. Over 
the past 5 years, our economy has faced unprecedented challenges, from 
recession to corporate scandal to terrorist attack to natural disasters. 
And through it all, our free enterprise system has proved to be the most 
resilient and responsive in the world.
    With hard work and wise policies, we'll meet every challenge that 
comes. And in so doing, we'll help more Americans realize their dreams 
and continue to make this country a grand--a land of great 
opportunities.
    And now I'll answer a couple of questions. Deb [Deb Riechmann, 
Associated Press], you got any?

Situation in the Middle East/United Nations Security Council Resolution 
1701

    Q. Mr. President, on Lebanon, how can you say that Hizballah has 
suffered such a bad defeat when it's rebuilding--helping rebuild in 
southern Lebanon and it remains intact? And secondly, are you 
disappointed at all about France's decision to scale back its support of 
the international force?
    The President. I think when people take a sober look at what took 
place in Lebanon, they'll realize that the destruction was caused by 
Hizballah. Hizballah caused the crisis. It was Hizballah's kidnaping of 
Israeli soldiers as well as Hizballah's launching rockets that caused 
Israel to defend herself from an action that the Lebanese Government 
didn't support.

[[Page 1526]]

    Hizballah acted as a government within a government, and the world 
came to that recognition very quickly. I remember--I don't know if you 
traveled to St. Petersburg with us, but one of the first things that 
happened in the G-8 after this crisis occurred was that we all sat 
around the table and came to the conclusion very quickly, this type of 
behavior from a state within a state is intolerable for peace.
    The first reaction, of course, of Hizballah and its supporters is, 
declare victory. I guess I would have done the same thing if I were 
them. But sometimes it takes people a while to come to the sober 
realization of what forces create stability and which don't. Hizballah 
is a force of instability. I appreciate the Siniora's Government's efforts to make it clear to the Lebanese 
people that they are the legitimate Government of Lebanon and they will 
work to rebuild that country. Prime Minister Siniora gave a very, I 
thought, a very interesting speech the other night, and a powerful 
speech, about how it's now time for the duly elected Government of 
Lebanon to do its duty and help rebuild. And they're getting help from 
around the international community to do so.
    Other part of your--oh, the peacekeepers. Diplomacy takes a while, 
as you know. You watched the unfolding of the U.N. resolution necessary 
to get a cease-fire in the first place--it took a while. And we will 
continue to work with friends and allies to make it clear to them, now 
is the time to address the root causes of the problem, and that's being 
Hizballah's state within a state, particularly in southern Lebanon. And 
we'll work with nations to step up to the plate and do what they voted 
to do at the United Nations, and that is to provide robust international 
forces to help the Lebanese Army retake the south.
    Hizballah, they're pretty comfortable there in south Lebanon. 
They're now going to find themselves not only that which caused the 
destruction, but they'll find themselves with now a Lebanese army, with 
U.N. help, making it clear they won't have the safe haven necessary--
that they think is necessary to launch attacks.
    The issue is broader than just Hizballah. The issue is also Syria 
and Iran, two nations that supported Hizballah in its attempts to create 
enough havoc so that, I guess, people feel like they could take 
political advantage of the situation; we just can't let them do it.

French Role in Lebanon

    Q. But what about France, though?
    The President. France has said they'd send some troops. We hope they 
send more. And there's been different signals coming out of France. 
Yesterday they had a statement. Today they had a statement. We're 
working with France. France is a friend. France is an ally. France has 
got a great stake in the future of Lebanon.
    President Chirac has made it very clear 
that he believes that democracy in Lebanon is very important--been 
supportive of the Siniora Government like we 
have. France and the United States cosponsored 1559. That's the U.N. 
resolution that was the beginning of the end of Syria's involvement in--
or Syria's occupation in Lebanon. So we have common interests with 
France, and they are a very important part of the international scene 
and will be a very important player in Lebanon.
    Toby [Tabassum Zakaria, Reuters].

North Korea

    Q. Mr. President, are there indications that North Korea is 
preparing to conduct its first nuclear bomb test? And if that were to 
occur, how would the United States respond?
    The President. Well, it's a hypothetical question, and you're asking 
me to divulge any intelligence information I have, and I'm not going to 
do that, as you know. I'm not going to break tradition.
    If North Korea were to conduct a test, it's just a constant reminder 
for people in the neighborhood, in particular, that North

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Korea poses a threat. And we expect there to be--we expect our friends 
and those sitting around the table with us to act in such a manner as to 
help rid the world of the threat.

War on Terror/Terrorist Surveillance Program

    Q. Mr. President, the Federal ruling yesterday that declared your 
terrorist surveillance program unconstitutional--the judge wrote that it 
was never the intent of the Framers to give the President such 
unfettered control. How do you respond, sir, to opponents who say that 
this ruling is really the first nail in the coffin of your 
administration's legal strategy in the war on terror?
    The President. I would say that those who herald this decision 
simply do not understand the nature of the world in which we live. You 
might remember, last week, working with the--with people in Great 
Britain, we disrupted a plot. People were trying to come and kill 
people. This country of ours is at war, and we must give those whose 
responsibility it is to protect the United States the tools necessary to 
protect this country in a time of war.
    The judge's decision was a--I strongly 
disagree with that decision, strongly disagree. That's why I instructed 
the Justice Department to appeal immediately, and I believe our appeals 
will be upheld.
    I made my position clear about this war on terror. And by the way, 
the enemy made their position clear yet again when we were able to stop 
them. And I--the American people expect us to protect them, and 
therefore, I put this program in place. We believe--strongly believe 
it's constitutional.
    And if Al Qaida is calling in to the United States, we want to know 
why they're calling. And so I made my position clear. It would be 
interesting to see what other policymakers--how other policymakers 
react.
    Listen, thank you all very much.

Note: The President spoke at 11:33 a.m. In his remarks, he referred to 
Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, Israeli soldiers captured and held 
captive by militants in Lebanon since July 12, 2006; Prime Minister Fuad 
Siniora of Lebanon; President Jacques Chirac of France; and U.S. 
District Court Judge for the Eastern District of Michigan Anna Diggs 
Taylor.