[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book II)]
[August 2, 2007]
[Pages 1038-1039]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks Following a Cabinet Meeting
August 2, 2007

    Good morning. I just had a--I finished a Cabinet meeting. One of the 
things we discussed was the terrible situation there in Minneapolis. We 
talked about the fact that the bridge collapsed, and that we in the 
Federal Government must respond, and respond robustly, to help the 
people there not only recover but to make sure that lifeline of 
activity, that bridge gets rebuilt as quickly as possible.
    To that end, Secretary Peters is in 
Minneapolis, as well as Federal Highway Administrator Capka. I spoke to Governor Pawlenty and Mayor Rybak this morning. I 
told them that the Secretary would be there. I told them we would help 
with rescue efforts, but I also told them how much we are in prayer for 
those who suffered. And I thank our fellow--my fellow citizens for 
holding up those who are suffering right now in prayer.
    We also talked about--in the Cabinet meeting--talked about the 
status of important pieces of legislation before the Congress. We spent 
a fair amount of time talking about the fact that how disappointed we 
are that Congress hasn't sent any spending bills to my desk. By the end 
of this week, Members are going to be leaving for their month-long 
August recess. And by the time they will return, there will be less than 
a month before the end of the fiscal year on September the 30th, and yet 
they haven't passed 1 of the 12 spending bills that they're required to 
pass. If Congress doesn't pass the spending bills by the end of the 
fiscal year, Cabinet Secretaries report that their Departments may be 
unable to move forward with urgent priorities for our country.
    This just doesn't have to be this way. The Democrats won last year's 
election fair and square, and now they control the calendar for bringing 
up bills in Congress. They need to pass each of these spending bills 
individually, on time, and in a fiscally responsible way.
    The budget I've sent to Congress fully funds America's priorities. 
It increases discretionary spending by 6.9 percent. My Cabinet 
Secretaries assure me that this is adequate to meet the needs of our 
Nation.
    Unfortunately, Democratic leaders in Congress want to spend far 
more. Their budget calls for nearly $22 billion more in discretionary 
spending next year alone. These leaders have tried to downplay that 
figure. Yesterday one called this increase, and I quote, ``a very small 
difference'' from what I proposed. Only in Washington can $22 billion be 
called a very small difference. And that difference will keep getting 
bigger. Over the next 5 years, it will total nearly $205 billion in 
additional discretionary spending. That $205 billion averages out to 
about $112 million per day, $4.7 million per hour, $78,000 per minute.
    Put another way, that's about $1,300 in higher spending every second 
of every minute of every hour of every day of every year for the next 5 
years. That's a lot of money--even for career politicians in Washington. 
In fact, at that pace, Democrats in Congress would have spent an extra 
$300,000 since I began these remarks.
    There's only one way to pay for all this new Federal spending 
without running up the deficit, and that is to raise your taxes. A 
massive tax hike is the last thing the American people need. The plan I 
put forward would keep your taxes low and balance the budget within 5 
years, and that is the right path for our country.
    I want to thank OMB Director Rob Portman for his hard work in developing this plan. This was 
Rob's last Cabinet meeting. Laura and I wish him 
and his family well. And I call on the Senate to confirm his successor, 
Jim Nussle, so we can work together to keep 
our Government running,

[[Page 1039]]

to keep our economy growing, and to keep our Nation strong.
    Thank you for your time.

Note: The President spoke at 10:54 a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Gov. Timothy J. Pawlenty of 
Minnesota; and Mayor R.T. Rybak of Minneapolis, MN. The Office of the 
Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of these 
remarks.