    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book I)]
    [January 6, 2007]
    [Pages 11-13]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    January 6, 2007

        Good morning. Earlier this week, the newly elected Members of the
    House and the Senate took their oaths of office and became part of the
    110th Congress. I congratulate them all, and I look forward to working
    with them over the next 2 years.
        Since the November elections, I've had a number of productive
    meetings with the new leaders in Congress, including Speaker of the
    House Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader John
    Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Harry
    Reid, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch
    McConnell. I was encouraged
    by our discussions, and I'm confident that we can find common ground in
    our efforts to serve our fellow citizens and to move our country
    forward.

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        One area where we are already finding agreement is in our effort to
    spend the people's money wisely. This week, I announced that I will
    submit a 5-year budget proposal that will balance the Federal budget by
    2012, while making the tax relief we passed permanent. Some Democrats
    have indicated that balancing the budget is a top priority for them as
    well. By holding the line on spending and continuing our progrowth
    policies, we can balance the budget and address the most urgent needs of
    our Nation, which are winning the war on terror and maintaining a strong
    national defense, keeping our economy growing and creating jobs.
        We also see bipartisan agreement emerging on reforming the earmark
    process in Congress. Earmarks are spending provisions that are often
    slipped into bills at the last minute, so they rarely get debated or
    discussed. Many earmarks divert precious funds away from vital
    priorities like national defense and education to wasteful porkbarrel
    projects. I appreciate Democratic leaders who have pledged to maintain
    our current levels of spending without additional earmarks this year.
    And I support the temporary moratorium on all new earmarks announced by
    the Democrats.
        This is a good start, but I believe we can do more. This week, I
    proposed my own earmark reforms, which would make the earmark process
    more transparent, end the practice of concealing earmarks in so-called
    report language never included in legislation, and cut the number and
    costs of earmarks by at least half. These commonsense reforms will help
    prevent billions of taxpayers' dollars from being spent on unnecessary
    earmarks.
        Another area where Democrats and Republicans can work together is in
    the effort to improve our schools. We have done so before. In my first
    year as President, Democrats and Republicans saw that our schools were
    failing too many students, so we worked together to pass the No Child
    Left Behind Act. This good law gave our schools new resources, and in
    return, we asked them to show results. By setting high standards and
    measuring student progress, we're holding schools accountable for
    teaching every student to read, write, add, and subtract.
        Since No Child Left Behind was passed, we have seen major
    improvements in student achievement all across America. In reading, 9-
    year-olds have made larger gains in the last 5 years of the test than in
    the previous 28 years. In math, 9-year-olds and 13-year-olds earned the
    highest scores in the history of the test. And in both reading and math,
    African American and Hispanic students are scoring higher and starting
    to close the achievement gap.
        This year, the No Child Left Behind Act is up for reauthorization.
    I'm confident that both parties can work together to help our Nation's
    students. By reauthorizing this important legislation, we can help make
    our schools a gateway to opportunity for every child.
        With this new Congress and new year, Democrats and Republicans will
    have many opportunities to serve the American people. We must rise to
    meet those opportunities and build a stronger and more compassionate
    nation for generations to come.
        Thank you for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 7:50 a.m. on January 5 in the Cabinet
    Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on January 6. The
    transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on
    January 5, 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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