[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book II)]
[September 20, 2008]
[Pages 1222-1224]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



The President's Radio Address
September 20, 2008

    Good morning. This is a pivotal moment for America's economy. 
Problems that originated in the credit markets and first showed up in 
the area of subprime mortgages have spread throughout our financial 
system. This has led to an erosion of confidence that has frozen many 
financial transactions, including loans to consumers and to businesses 
seeking to expand and create jobs.
    As a result, the Government is acting to protect our Nation's 
economic health

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from serious risk. Our free enterprise system rests on the conviction 
that the Federal Government should intervene in the marketplace only 
when necessary. Given the precarious state of our financial markets and 
their vital importance to the daily lives of the American people, 
Government intervention is not only warranted, it is essential.
    In recent weeks, the Federal Government has taken a series of 
targeted measures designed primarily to stop the problems of individual 
firms from spreading more broadly, but more action is needed. We must 
address the root cause behind much of the instability in our markets. 
America's economy is facing unprecedented challenges, and we're 
responding with unprecedented action.
    My administration is working with Congress on legislation which will 
approve the Federal Government's purchase of illiquid assets such as 
troubled mortgages from banks and other financial institutions. This 
decisive step will address underlying problems in our financial system, 
and it will allow financial institutions to resume lending and get our 
financial system moving again.
    The Department of the Treasury is also acting to restore confidence 
in a key element of America's financial system by offering Government 
insurance for money market mutual funds. For every dollar you have 
invested in an insured fund, you'll be able to take a dollar out.
    The Federal Reserve is also providing more liquidity to money market 
mutual funds, which will help ease pressure on our financial markets.
    The Securities and Exchange Commission has issued new rules 
temporarily suspending the practice of short-selling on the stocks of 
financial institutions. This is intended to prevent investors from 
intentionally driving down particular stocks for their own personal 
gain.
    Finally, when we get past the immediate challenges, my 
administration looks forward to working with Congress on measures to 
bring greater long-term transparency and reliability to the financial 
system.
    These measures require us to put a significant amount of taxpayer 
dollars on the line, but I'm convinced that this bold approach will cost 
American families far less than the alternative. Further stress on our 
financial markets would cause massive job losses, devastate retirement 
accounts, further erode housing values, and dry up new loans for homes, 
cars, and college tuitions.
    In this difficult time, I know many Americans listening may be 
wondering about the security of your finances. Through the FDIC, every 
savings account, checking account, and certificate of deposit is insured 
by the Federal Government for up to $100,000. The FDIC has been in 
existence for 75 years, and no one has ever lost a penny on an insured 
deposit. And this will not change.
    In the long term, Americans can have reason to be confident in our 
economic strength. America has the most talented, productive, and 
entrepreneurial workers in the world. This country is the best place in 
the world to invest and do business. And as we've seen repeatedly over 
the past 8 years, we have a flexible and resilient system that absorbs 
challenges, makes corrections, and bounces back.
    We will weather this challenge too, and we will do it together. This 
is not a time for partisanship. I'll work with Democrats and Republicans 
alike to steer our economy through these difficult times and back to the 
path of long-term growth. Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 1:25 p.m. on September 19 in the 
Cabinet Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on September 
20. The transcript was made available by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on September 19, 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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