    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book I)]
    [January 3, 2007]
    [Pages 2-4]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following a Cabinet Meeting
    January 3, 2007

        Thank you all. We just finished our first Cabinet meeting of 2007. I
    want to thank my Cabinet officers for joining me here. We discussed our
    priorities for the next 2 years and how we plan to achieve them. The
    Congress has changed; our obligations to the country haven't changed.
        Tomorrow Members of the 110th Congress will take their oaths of
    office, and I congratulate them. I welcome their arrival

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    into town. I'm looking forward to working with them and so are members
    of my Cabinet. We've all been entrusted with public office at a
    momentous time in our Nation's history, and together we have important
    things to do. It's time to set aside politics and focus on the future.
        I've been encouraged by the productive meetings that I've had with
    many of the new leaders of Congress, people from both parties. I want to
    thank them for coming down to the White House and talking to me about
    their ambitions and their goals for our country. I'm hopeful that
    Republicans and Democrats can find common ground to serve our folks, to
    do our jobs, to be constructive for our country.
        One area where we must work together is that we've got to make sure
    we spend the people's money wisely. Over the past few years, progrowth
    economic policies have generated higher revenues. Together with spending
    restraint, these policies allowed us to meet our goal of cutting the
    budget deficit in half 3 years ahead of schedule. We did so without
    taxing the working people. We kept taxes low.
        It's now time to take the next step. Next month I will submit a 5-
    year budget proposal that will balance the Federal budget by 2012. This
    budget will restrain spending while setting priorities. It will address
    the most urgent needs of our Nation, in particular the need to protect
    ourselves from radicals and terrorists, the need to win the war on
    terror, the need to maintain a strong national defense, and the need to
    keep this economy growing by making tax relief permanent.
        By balancing the budget through progrowth economic policies and
    spending restraint, we are better positioned to tackle longer term
    fiscal challenges facing our country, namely the entitlement programs.
    These programs need to be reformed for the sake of younger Americans. We
    need to reform Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid so future
    generations of Americans can benefit from these vital programs without
    bankrupting our country.
        Another area where we can work together is to reform the earmark
    process. One important message we all should take from the elections is
    that people want to end the secretive process by which Washington
    insiders are able to get billions of dollars directed to projects, many
    of them porkbarrel projects, that have never been reviewed or voted on
    by the Congress.
        Some of the earmarks are not even included in the legislation. They
    are stuffed into committee reports that have never been passed and are
    never signed into law. Earmarks often divert precious funds from vital
    priorities like national defense, and each year they cost the taxpayers
    billions of dollars.
        I appreciate the fact that Senator Byrd
    and Congressman Obey, the Democrats who will
    lead the appropriations process in the new Congress, heard the same
    message. For this year's budget, they pledged to maintain current levels
    of spending without additional earmarks. They agreed to a temporary
    moratorium on all earmarks. And this is a good start, and I appreciate
    their position. I also appreciate the fact that House Republicans last
    fall passed strong earmark reform ideas--put forth earmark reform ideas.
    And I appreciate their hard work, but we need to do more.
        Here's my own view to end the ``dead of the night'' process:
    Congress needs to adopt real reform that requires full disclosure of the
    sponsors, the costs, the recipients, and the justifications for every
    earmark. Congress needs to stop the practice of concealing earmarks in
    so-called report language, and Congress needs to cut the number and cost
    of earmarks next year by at least half.
        To help rein in wasteful spending and restore fiscal discipline in
    Washington, I call on Congress to give the President the tool that 43
    Governors have, a line-item veto.

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        These are just a few of the issues that we're going to need to work
    on in the year ahead. This new year brings new opportunities for
    progress, and I'm looking forward to working with the new Congress.
        Thank you for your time.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:19 a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White
    House.