[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book I)]
[June 16, 2007]
[Pages 763-764]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



The President's Radio Address
June 16, 2007

    Good morning. This week, Congress began to debate its annual 
spending bills. The American people expect us to spend their tax dollars 
wisely, or not at all, and to pursue progrowth economic policies that 
will allow us to reduce the deficit while keeping our economy strong.
    Since my administration's tax relief was implemented 4 years ago, 
our economy has added more than 8 million new jobs, and we've 
experienced 45 months of uninterrupted job growth. With more Americans 
working and more businesses thriving, our economy has produced record 
tax revenues. The Treasury Department recently reported that this year's 
Federal revenues are up 8 percent over last year. As a result, our 
Nation's budget deficit is about one-third lower than it was at this 
time last year.
    In addition to pursuing progrowth tax relief, my administration is 
working to reduce the Federal deficit through strict fiscal discipline. 
Over the past 3 years, we have met the urgent needs of our Nation while 
holding the growth of annual domestic spending close to 1 percent, well 
below the rate of inflation. I've also proposed policies that would slow 
the unsustainable growth of our most serious long-term fiscal challenge: 
entitlement spending. By keeping taxes low and restraining Federal 
spending, we can meet my plan to have a balanced budget by 2012.
    The Democrats in Congress are trying to take us in a different 
direction. They've passed a budget that would mean higher taxes for 
American families and job creators, ignore the need for entitlement 
reform, and pile on hundreds of billions of dollars in new Government 
spending over the next 5 years. This tax-and-spend approach puts our 
economic growth and deficit reduction at risk.
    For months, I've warned the Democrats in Congress that I will not 
accept an irresponsible tax-and-spend budget. I put Democratic leaders 
on notice that I will veto bills with excessive levels of spending. And 
I am not alone in my opposition. In the House, 147 Republicans have 
pledged to support fiscal discipline by opposing excessive spending. 
These 147 Members are more than one-third needed to sustain my veto of 
any bills that spend too much.
    Another key area of difference between my administration and the 
Democratic leadership in Congress is my support for meaningful earmark 
reform. Earmarks are spending provisions that are slipped into bills by 
individual Members of Congress, often at the last hour and without 
discussion or debate. It's not surprising that this leads to unnecessary 
Federal spending. And the problem is growing. Over the last decade, the 
number of earmarks has more than tripled.
    In January, I proposed reforms that would make the earmark process 
more transparent, end the practice of concealing earmarks in so-called 
report language that is never included in legislation, and cut the 
number and cost of earmarks by at least half. My administration has also 
developed the Government's first public database of earmarks, and we've 
posted them on a web

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site: earmarks.omb.gov. On this web site, we will also be releasing 
information on new earmarks, because this administration wants you to 
see where your tax dollars are being spent.
    After I announced my earmark reforms in January, the House passed a 
rule that called for full disclosure of earmarks. But in the past few 
weeks, Democratic House leaders announced that they were abandoning this 
commitment. Instead of full disclosure, they decided they would not make 
public any earmarks until after Members had already voted on the 
spending bills. This change would have allowed a small group of 
lawmakers and their unelected staff to meet behind closed doors to 
decide how and where to spend your tax dollars. I'm pleased to report 
that earlier this week, a group of House Republicans stopped this plan 
and extracted a commitment from House Democrats to list all earmarks in 
advance and give lawmakers a chance to strike them. The American people 
need to hold House Democrats accountable for keeping that commitment.
    In the weeks ahead, my administration will continue pushing for 
earmark reform and holding the line on Federal spending. The American 
people do not want to return to the days of tax-and-spend policies. They 
expect accountability and fiscal discipline in Washington, DC. And I 
will use my veto to stop tax increases and runaway spending that 
threaten the strength of our economy and the prosperity of our people.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 7:15 a.m. on June 15 in the Cabinet 
Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on June 16. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
June 15, but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office 
of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of 
this address.