[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 10 (Monday, March 12, 2001)]
[Pages 417-421]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at North Dakota State University in Fargo

March 8, 2001

    The President. Thank you very much. The air may be cold, but the 
reception is unbelievably warm. Thank you all for that warm reception. 
Governor, thank you very much. I appreciate you and Mikey meeting me at 
the airport. It's good to see public servants, such as your Governor, 
who are willing to do what they think is right. He follows the footsteps 
of a good friend of mine, a man who did a fine job as the Governor of 
North Dakota over the past years, and that's Ed Schafer. It's good to 
see Ed here, as well.
    I don't want to jump the gun on my speech here, but I just got off 
the phone with the Speaker of the House. He informed me that the House 
of Representatives just took a major vote on--a vote on a major portion 
of my tax relief package, and by the margin of 230 to 198, the tax rate 
cut passed the House of Representatives. The American people--the 
American people had a victory today. The American family had a victory 
today. The American entrepreneur had a victory today. One House down, 
and now the Senate to go.
    I'm here for a lot of reasons. One is to ask for your help. I wasn't 
sure how many folks were going to show up to hear a budget speech. It 
seems like a lot of people are interested in the national budget and, 
more particularly, your own personal budgets. And so I'm here to ask for 
you--if you like what you hear today--to maybe e-mail some of the good 
folks from the United States Senate from your State. If you like what 
you hear, why don't you just give them a call or write them a letter and 
let them know that the people are speaking. You see, one of the 
important things for the President, if the truth be known, people who 
hold Federal office, to make sure you get out of Washington, DC, on a 
regular basis.
    It is important to make sure you get outside the DC scene and listen 
to the people. I'll tell you, I love traveling our country. I'm so proud 
to be landing in Air Force One and getting off the airplane and driving 
into this hall and seeing people lining the streets, waving at the 
office of the President. It makes me proud to be your President. Now, 
they wave because they respect the office. And sometimes, at least in 
this State, it seems like the people like the occupant, too. It's a huge 
honor to be your President. It's a huge honor.
    One of the things I hope the people figure out about me is that I 
like to bring commonsense approaches to our Government. Take budgeting. 
It seems like we need to have a commonsense approach on how we spend the 
people's money, which means it's important to set priorities. You set 
priorities in your family budgets; the Federal Government ought to set 
priorities with your money.
    Let me describe some of our priorities. Educating our children is a 
priority. But lest you think I forgot where I came from, I want you to 
understand I firmly believe that the people who are best able to run the 
schools in North Dakota are the citizens of North Dakota. I believe in 
strong--mine is an administration--mine is an administration that 
strongly supports local control of schools. But we also understand in 
Washington that we need to set high standards, that every child, 
regardless of his or her background, can learn, that we must have the 
highest of high expectations, and that we must work with States and 
local jurisdictions to measure so that we know whether or not we're 
leaving any child behind in America today.
    Not only today do we have good news out of the House of 
Representatives, but the Senate Education Committee passed our education 
reform package 20 to 0. We're making progress because these pieces of 
legislation are right for America. These aren't political documents; 
this is public policy that's good for American families and American 
children. So education is one of our priorities.

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    We've increased spending for education, but we've also insisted upon 
more flexibility so Governors and local folks can use Federal dollars to 
meet their specific needs. One size does not fit all when it comes to 
the education of American children.
    Secondly, a priority is to keep the peace. In order to keep the 
peace, our military must be well paid and well housed and well trained. 
So my budget sets aside money for increasing military pay, but as 
importantly, it is important to have a Commander in Chief who sets a 
clear mission for the military. And the mission of the United States 
military must be well--to be well trained and well prepared to fight and 
win war, and therefore, prevent war from happening in the first place.
    Another priority is the health care of our citizens. We've set aside 
money in the budget to make sure the working uninsured have got the 
capacity to purchase health insurance. We've set aside money in the 
budget to make sure we fulfill the promise to our senior citizens, by 
doubling the Medicare budget over the next 10 years. We've set aside 
money in the budget to increase the number of community health centers 
around America, to make sure the poor have got access to primary care. 
We've set our priorities, and the health care of our citizenry is a 
priority.
    Another priority is the retirement accounts of the U.S. citizens. 
We've set aside all the money--all of the money aimed for Social 
Security will be spent on only one thing: Social Security. The days of 
the Congress dipping into the Social Security Trust for other programs 
are over. And by the way, down the road, we're going to be thinking 
differently about Social Security. You see, the Social Security Trust 
now only earns 2 percent on your money.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. Yes. I'd be booing, too. [Laughter] What we need to 
do is to give younger workers the option of taking some of your own 
money and managing it in personal savings accounts.
    Ours is a budget that sets priorities. We've actually grown what 
they call the discretionary spending by 4 percent. That's greater than 
the rate of inflation. That's greater than the increase in disposable 
income. That's a significant increase in expenditures.
    But the debate is, it's not as big as some of the big spenders in 
Washington would like it to be. You see, they're used to a different 
attitude out of the White House. The discretionary spending at the end 
of last year increased by 8 percent. So we're saying we're going to meet 
our needs, but we're just not going to spend the people's money quite as 
extravagantly as has been done in the past. That's called commonsense 
fiscal responsibility. That's the kind of message the people in North 
Dakota like to hear.
    I was in Council Bluffs, Iowa, the other day, taking this message 
around to the people. And a grandmother gave a speech--or talked a 
little bit, and she said, she's had a lot of children go through her 
house, and a lot of grandchildren go through their house, and every time 
she has left cookies on the table, they got eaten. [Laughter] That's 
kind of how I view the Federal budget. If we leave money sitting around 
on the table, it will get spent. And so what we need to do is set 
priorities and clear priorities and work to achieve those priorities.
    Another priority is to pay down debt. In our budget we've submitted, 
we've increased discretionary spending by 4 percent, but we've paid down 
$2 trillion of debt over 10 years. It's the biggest amount of debt that 
any nation has ever paid off that passed in history, in the history.
    Increased spending, we've paid down debt, and we set aside another 
$1 trillion over 10 years for contingencies. An important contingency 
could be making sure that we get money into the ag sector, like we've 
done in the past year. We certainly hope that's not the case. We hope 
that the ag economy recovers. We hope that we can increase demand for 
North Dakota products all around the world.
    By the way, my attitude is this: If given a level playing field, if 
we have free trade, true free trade, North Dakota farmers can compete 
anywhere, any place, any time. I would like our farmers in America to be 
feeding the world. And therefore, I am going to work hard to open up 
markets. When it comes to international trade discussions, the American 
farmer is not going to be treated

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like a stepchild anymore. The American farmer--the American farmer will 
be a primary concern. We shouldn't use food as a diplomatic weapon from 
this point forward. We ought to implement the Food-for-Peace Program. 
But if we have an emergency in the farm economy, we've set aside 
contingency money to do that--contingency money.
    Audience member. [Inaudible]
    The President. There you go. [Laughter] And guess what, though? By 
not overspending on the discretionary count, there's still money left 
over, and the fundamental debate in Washington is, what do we do with 
it? What do we do with your money? The fundamental question is, do we 
increase the size of Government?
    Audience members. No-o-o!
    The President. Or do we remember that the surplus is not the 
Government's money; it's the people's money? The other day, I noticed 
that the cash flow into the country--the surplus for the first 4 months 
was $72 billion. That's significantly higher than the first 4 months of 
last year. It tells me that the American people are overtaxed. That's 
what that says.
    When you're running surpluses that big--when you're running 
surpluses that big, particularly with your economy beginning to sputter, 
it ought to say something loud and clear, if you take a commonsense 
approach to Government. And that means the folks are overtaxed, and if 
you're overcharged for something, you ought to demand a refund. And I 
stepped in front of the Congress and demanded a refund on your behalf.
    And so, as I mentioned--so, as I mentioned, the United States House 
of Representatives began the process, the long, arduous process of 
providing tax relief for the American people. Today they took a hold of 
our plan to reduce marginal rates on everybody who pays taxes, and as I 
mentioned, they passed that piece of legislation. I want you to hear 
some of the principles involved.
    First of all, my administration did not believe in what they call 
targeted tax cuts, because I don't believe that the Federal Government 
ought to try to pick and choose winners in the Tax Code. Everybody who 
pays taxes ought to get tax relief.
    So we cut all rates. We drop the top rate from 39.6 to 33 percent. 
And there is a lot of squawking about that, but let me explain to you 
the rationale. First of all, there ought to be some principles involved 
at the Federal level, and a principle is the Federal Government should 
take no more than a third of anybody's check.
    But also, a principle is--a second principle is the role of 
Government is not to create wealth; the role of Government is to create 
an environment in which the entrepreneur and the small-business person 
and the dreamer and worker can realize his or her dreams. And the facts 
are--and the facts are, by far, the vast majority of small-business 
people in America, the backbone of our economy, pay the highest rate 
possible, because most small businesses are unincorporated. Most are 
Subchapter S--many are Subchapter S. And so by dropping the top rate 
from 39.6 percent to 33 percent, we're sending a clear message to 
America that the small-business person, the entrepreneur is the backbone 
of the future of this country.
    Our Tax Code is unfair. It's unfair to the small-business people. 
It's unfair to people struggling to get into the middle class. You're on 
the outskirts of poverty, and you're working hard to get ahead, and 
you're trying to raise children--and by the way, being a single mom, 
raising children, is the toughest job in America. That's the toughest 
job in this country. And we penalize those on the outskirts of poverty 
trying to get ahead, trying to get into the middle class.
    If you're making $20,000 a year and you're earning money, for every 
addition--you're raising two kids--for every additional dollar you earn, 
the way they've got the earned-income tax credit and the way they've put 
you in the brackets, is that you pay a higher marginal rate on that 
dollar than someone who's successful. That's the facts in the Tax Code. 
For every additional dollar you earn, if you are making $22,000 a year 
raising two children as a single mom, you pay nearly 50 percent on that 
dollar. That's not right in America. That's not what this country stands 
for.
    And so our Tax Code not only serves as a stimulus to foreign capital 
and the private sector for small-business growth; ours also

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makes the Tax Code fair for people struggling to get ahead. We dropped 
the bottom rate from 15 percent to 10 percent. We doubled the child 
credit from $500 to $1,000. We made the code fair for people working to 
get ahead.
    The marriage penalty is unfair. And the Congress will be taking that 
up pretty soon to make sure the marriage penalty is fixed. But let me 
tell you what else is unfair. And if anybody understands it, it's the 
good people of this State.
    The death tax is unfair. It is particularly unfair for American 
farmers and ranchers. That's particularly unfair. There is a lot of talk 
about making sure that we have green spaces and open spaces, and that's 
good, and that's important. But probably the best reform to make sure 
that happens is to eliminate the death tax so family farmers aren't 
forced to sell their farms before they want to.
    With us today is the Wightman family. You probably--maybe you know 
them, maybe you don't. But they're here for a reason, because behind 
every tax relief plan are real Americans, Americans who will benefit. 
These good folks both work; they've got Melissa and Paige. Melissa's 14; 
Paige is 10. They right now pay $3,700 in Federal income taxes. When our 
plan is fully implemented, these good folks will save $1,900.
    The reason I bring up the Wightmans is because I want America to 
know what our philosophy is when it comes to the people's money. Once we 
set priorities, once we pay down debt, once we set aside contingencies, 
it's important for Congress and the United States Senate to send this 
message to the American people: We trust you with your own money. It's 
your money to begin with.
    Instead of figuring out new programs or new ways to get reelected, 
why don't we figure out ways to let the Wightmans plan for their future? 
Now, I know some say, ``Well $1,900 isn't a lot.'' Just ask them what it 
means. Ask the people who are paying higher energy bills what it means. 
Ask the people who are struggling under consumer credit card debt what 
it means to have their own money back. As a matter of fact, we shouldn't 
take it in the first place.
    I'm here with a message. My message is with fiscal discipline, with 
planning, with leadership, our Nation can fund important priorities. We 
can pay down debt. We can meet emergencies or contingencies. But in 
order to make sure this economy gets a second wind, we better start 
passing money back quickly. And so not only should we have tax relief; 
we need to make a lot of it retroactive.
    We need to get money in the pockets--so the President gets to make 
some suggestions, gets to make some phone calls on occasion to Members, 
but the best way I can garner support is to come to you and ask for your 
help and to say, there is nothing more powerful than the voice of the 
people. There is nothing that will get anybody's attention more than 
good, hardworking people, standing up, saying, ``Let's have some common 
sense up in the Nation's Capitol about our money.''
    And it's so important to trust the American people, so important for 
our Government to trust people, because the people are the strength of 
this country. This is a fabulous land. It's the greatest country on the 
face of the Earth, not only--not only because of the fantastic 
principles--we believe in freedom of religion, freedom of press, the 
freedoms to achieve your dream, regardless of where you're from--but 
it's the greatest land on the face of the Earth because of our people. 
God-fearing, hardworking, neighborly citizens all across America, that's 
the true strength of the country.
    I'll be involved a lot--part of my job is to argue for fiscal sanity 
in Washington. Part of my job is to represent your interests when it 
comes to how your money is spent. A big part of my job will be to work 
to keep the peace by making sure our military is strong. But a 
significant part of my job is to invigorate the American spirit, that 
spirit that says, when a neighbor sees somebody in need, ``What can I do 
to help?'' You see, the strength of America, if it is in the hearts and 
souls of our citizens, it must be used to make sure people aren't left 
behind, that the downtrodden is lifted up, that people in need get help. 
Oftentimes we turn to Government, but the true love and true compassion 
in this country begins when neighbors help neighbors in need.

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    So if you've got a mentoring program in the State of North Dakota 
that needs some help, say, ``What can I do to help?'' If you've got a 
church program that's trying to help people that are hungry, take the 
extra step and see if you can't help. If you know some people that are 
wondering whether or not somebody loves them, take a little extra time, 
put your arm around them, and say, ``We do.'' I also want you all to 
remember that the most important job any of us will have, the most 
important job if you happen to be a mother or dad, isn't President or 
Governor, is to love your children with all your heart and all your soul 
and all your mind.
    Now, we're a blessed nation. We can achieve anything we set our mind 
to. We can have sound fiscal policy. We'll work hard to keep the peace, 
but most of all, we can make sure this great American experience shines 
brightly for every citizen, everybody in this great country. People are 
willing to role up their sleeves and work, because we've got a country 
of people who are willing to roll up their sleeves and help.
    I can't tell you what an honor it is to be your President. I am so 
grateful--I am so grateful that so many came out to say hello.
    God bless you all, and God bless America.

Note: The President spoke at 5:18 p.m. in Bison Arena. In his remarks, 
he referred to Gov. John Hoeven of North Dakota and his wife, Mikey.