[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book I)]
[March 7, 2008]
[Pages 335-336]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks on the National Economy
March 7, 2008

    Earlier today I spoke with members of my economic team. They updated 
me on the state of our economy. This morning we learned that our economy 
lost 63,000 payroll jobs in February, although the unemployment rate 
improved to 4.8 percent.
    Losing a job is painful, and I know Americans are concerned about 
our economy. So am I. It's clear our economy has slowed. But the good 
news is, we anticipated this and took decisive action to bolster the 
economy by passing a growth package that will put money into the hands 
of American workers and businesses.
    I signed this growth package into law just 3 weeks ago, and its 
provisions are just starting to kick in. First, a growth package 
includes incentives for businesses to make investments in new equipment 
this year. These incentives are now in place, and they are starting to 
have an impact. My advisers tell me that investment in new equipment 
remains solid thus far in the first quarter.
    And as more businesses take advantage of these new incentives as 
well as lower interest rates, we expect investment will continue to grow 
and that businesses will begin creating new jobs in the months ahead.
    Secondly, the growth package will provide tax rebates to more than 
130 million American households. These rebates will begin reaching 
American families in May. And when the money reaches the American 
people, we expect they will use it to boost consumer spending, and that 
will spur job creation as well.
    We believe that the steps we've taken, together with the actions 
taken by the Federal Reserve, will have a positive effect on our 
economy. So my message to the American people is this: I know this is a 
difficult time for our economy, but we recognized the problem early and 
provided the economy with a booster shot. We will begin to see the 
impact over the coming months. And in the long run, we can have 
confidence that so long as we pursue

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progrowth, low-tax policies that put faith in the American people, our 
economy will prosper.
    Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 1:55 p.m. on the Colonnade at the White 
House. A portion of these remarks could not be verified because the tape 
was incomplete.