[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 12 (Monday, March 26, 2001)]
[Page 463]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

March 17, 2001

     Good morning. For several months, economic indicators have pointed 
toward a slowdown, and now many Americans are beginning to feel its 
impact in your lives. The stock market is causing worries; high energy 
prices are straining family budgets; and some American workers and 
small-business people have been directly affected by layoffs and slowing 
retail sales. We have been hearing too much troubling economic news. It 
is time for the United States Congress to give Americans some good 
economic news: tax relief for everyone who pays income taxes.
     This would be good news for families struggling to pay off debt and 
to save for the future. It would be good news for small businesses that 
need customers with money to spend. And it would be good news for our 
broader economy; good news for economic growth and job creation and 
consumer confidence.
     The House of Representatives has already passed a large part of my 
tax relief plan. Now it is up to the Senate. It is only common sense to 
give our economy a boost in a slowdown. Yet tax relief is more than 
common sense; it is a matter of principle. My tax relief plan is also a 
tax reform plan. It corrects some of the worst, most unfair abuses in 
our current tax system. And I would be recommending these changes in any 
economic circumstance.
     On principle, our Tax Code should reward hard work and overtime by 
men and women struggling to enter the middle class. Right now they face 
some of the highest marginal rates in the Tax Code. So we lower those 
rates to encourage their dreams.
     On principle, our Tax Code should honor family. That's why we 
double the per-child tax credit and reduce the marriage penalty.
     On principle, no one in America should have to pay more than a 
third of their paycheck to the Federal Government. So we reduce tax 
rates for everyone in every bracket.
     On principle, every family, every farmer, and small-business person 
should be free to pass on their life's work to those they love. So we 
abolish the death tax.
     These are not Republican principles or Democratic principles; these 
are principles that are shared by Americans in both parties, and 
Americans in no party. This is the reason my tax relief plan has so much 
momentum. Americans want our Tax Code to be reasonable and simple and 
fair. These are goals that unite our country, and these are goals that 
have shaped my plan.
     The Senate should act quickly on my plan for two good reasons: 
First, tax relief is good news for our economy, which needs some good 
news. Second, my tax reform plan will treat everyone fairly.
     If you agree with me, I hope you'll tell your Senator that you 
agree. Together we can help make our Nation more prosperous and our tax 
system more fair.
     Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 1:06 p.m. on March 16 in the Oval 
Office at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on March 17. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
March 16 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast.