[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 22 (Monday, June 4, 2001)]
[Pages 826-830]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks to the Los Angeles World Affairs Council in Los Angeles, 
California

May 29, 2001

    Mr. Mayor, thank you very much. I think what he's saying is there's 
some pretty big shoes to follow when he leaves office. [Laughter] Mayor, 
I appreciate your leadership. Thank you for your friendship. Tell Shaq 
they don't fit. [Laughter]
    Governor Davis, thank you so much for being here. I'm looking 
forward to our meeting today. I'm honored by your presence. Secretary of 
State Jones, thank you for being here. Members of the congressional 
delegation--David Dreier, Buck McKeon, Ed Royce, and Stephen Horn are 
here, and I'm honored that you came.
    I want to thank Bruce so very much for your invitation and putting 
together this august crowd of fellow citizens. I want to thank Stephen 
Bollenbach, as well, all the officers. I especially want to thank you 
all for coming and giving me a chance to talk about important issues 
facing our Nation.
    Some people say, ``What brings you out here?'' [Laughter] Well, 
there's a lot of reasons, and one is particularly profound: My cat lives 
here. [Laughter] When Laura and I moved to Washington we, unfortunately, 
had to find another home for our cat, Ernie. We loved him a lot, but we 
were not sure

[[Page 827]]

that he was the sort of cat who could be trusted around the historic 
furniture in the White House. [Laughter]
    Our good friend Brad Freeman, had developed a close relationship 
with Ernie--[laughter]--and he adopted him and brought him out here to 
L.A. I figured it was time to check up on both of them. [Laughter] I'm 
pleased to report that Ernie is doing fine. He loves Los Angeles. He's 
dating. [Laughter] He has an agent--[laughter]--and for some reason, he 
looks 10 years younger. [Laughter]
    Laura and I had the wonderful honor of moving into the White House, 
but Ernie may be a little luckier. He gets to live in California.
    I'm glad to be here today to talk about our economy and a prosperity 
agenda for America. These are uncertain times for our economy at home 
and for the economies of our friends in different parts of the world, 
including the Pacific rim. Yet, I know we have an opportunity to build 
an enduring prosperity through principled leadership and sound public 
policy.
    So we're reducing taxes to create jobs by speeding up economic 
growth and encouraging capital formation. We're enacting sweeping 
reforms to improve our public schools and prepare our people to succeed 
in a high-tech economy of the future. We will negotiate open trade to 
find new markets for American products, from movies to electronics to 
California farm produce. And we will secure our Nation's energy future 
by generating clean and reliable power on which high-tech economy 
depends.
    There's no better place to talk about this prosperity agenda than 
right here in California, our largest State and the sixth largest 
economy in the world. California is our Nation's biggest exporter. It 
receives more foreign direct investment than any other State in our 
Union. More than 40 percent of the Nation's venture capital is sourced 
here, and California is home to more than one-quarter of our computing 
manufacturing industry.
    Our prosperity agenda is designed for the economy of our whole 
Nation and for the 13 percent of that economy that is located right here 
in the great State of California.
    One important element of our prosperity agenda is now complete, the 
biggest tax cut in 20 years. A year ago, tax relief was supposed to be a 
political impossibility. Six months ago, it was supposed to be a 
political liability. Now, it's reality. That's an achievement that is 
good for our economy. It's an achievement that's good for California. 
It's an achievement that's good for America.
    For taxpayers, tax relief will mean more money to spend and save. 
For parents, tax relief will make it easier to raise a child. For 
farmers and business owners, death tax relief will protect your property 
for your loved ones. And for small business, tax relief creates jobs and 
new opportunities.
    The vast majority of small businesses pay taxes on the personal, 
rather than the corporate tax schedule. By cutting the rates many small 
businesses pay, we're putting American Government on the side of the 
entrepreneur, on the side of the inventors of Silicon Valley, on the 
side of the Korean businesspeople who have revived long blocks of 
Wilshire Boulevard, on the side of hundreds of thousands of Latino-owned 
businesses in Los Angeles alone.
    Tax relief reverses one of the most ominous economic trends of 
recent years, a trend toward Government consuming a larger and larger 
share of the national income. Last year the Federal Government took a 
larger share of our national income than it did in 1945. We were paying 
wartime prices for peacetime Government. Once we fund our priorities and 
meet our Nation's important needs, we should return tax dollars to the 
people who earned them. And that's exactly what we're doing.
    Tax relief is supported by Members of Congress from both political 
parties, who work together to serve the American people. And here, let 
me pay special tribute to one of the hardest working of those Members, 
the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, the first 
Californian ever to hold that influential post, my good friend from 
Bakersfield, Bill Thomas. Thanks to his leadership and the leadership of 
others, April 15th will be a less taxing experience for Americans.
    Another item on the prosperity agenda is education reform. And here, 
too, the spirit

[[Page 828]]

of cooperation and the spirit of getting things done in Washington is 
producing results for the American people. The House has passed, 
overwhelmingly--and I hope the Senate will pass soon--the most 
significant education reform in 35 years. These bipartisan reforms will 
require testing of all schoolchildren in grades three through eight to 
make sure that they are learning.
    These reforms will direct additional resources to those who need 
help. They will give new options to parents of children in persistently 
failing schools. They will reduce Federal bureaucracy and strengthen 
local control of schools. They will help local schools reach a 
significant goal by funding early childhood reading programs. We will 
more likely make sure that no child is left behind in America. Education 
reform is essential to keep faith with our country's promise of equality 
of opportunity, and education reform is essential to our economic 
progress.
    We're grateful that the world's most skilled workers want to come to 
the United States. Our technology advantage rests on the contributions 
of immigrants from places like India or China, Russia, Iran, and 
hundreds of others of countries. But while we're importing the world's 
best, too many Americans are locked out of the economy of a future by 
schools that don't teach and won't change. Our prosperity agenda will 
equip every American child with the skills he or she needs to do 
valuable work and earn a good wage.
    Our prosperity agenda also includes the opening of world markets. 
The United States has been hamstrung at the world's negotiating tables 
for too long. In the 1980s and early nineties we negotiated one 
important trade agreement after another: the U.S.-Israel Free Trade 
Agreement; U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement; NAFTA; and the Uruguay 
Multilateral Round. These trade-expanding agreements enriched America 
and strengthened democracy around the world and in our hemisphere.
    But in 1994 Presidential trade promotion authority lapsed. Since 
then, our trade progress has faltered. We have few better friends in the 
world, for example, than Chile. Yet, American goods are burdened with a 
higher tariff in Chile than Canadian goods. Canada has negotiated a free 
trade agreement with Chile; America has not.
    The growth of the world economy depends on world trade. The growth 
of world trade depends on American leadership. And America will lead 
toward freer trade, toward wider and more lasting prosperity for 
ourselves and for the world.
    We need to advance free trade globally, regionally, and bilaterally. 
It is time to initiate a new global trade round, just as we have 
launched negotiations in our own hemisphere with the Free Trade Area of 
the Americas. We need congressional action on trade agreements with 
Jordan and Vietnam. We want to complete our free trade agreements with 
Chile and Singapore.
    To demonstrate American leadership on all these issues, I'm asking 
the United States Congress to approve U.S. trade promotion authority 
this year. And because trade creates prosperity, and prosperity promotes 
democracy, I will notify Congress on June 1st that I intend to extend 
normal trade relation status with China for another year.
    Open trade is a force for freedom in China, a force for stability in 
Asia, and a force for prosperity in the United States. And this is not 
just my personal view. The institutions and individuals in China who are 
the least friendly to freedom are often the least friendly to trade. The 
institutions and individuals most sympathetic to freedom are often the 
most friendly to trade. They know what I know: Free trade supports and 
sustains freedom in all its forms.
    Free trade has expanded the portion of China's economy that is 
independent of the State. Free trade has swelled the ranks of 
independent businessmen. Free trade has introduced new technologies that 
offer Chinese people access to uncensored information and democratic 
ideas.
    When we open trade, we open minds. We trade with China because trade 
is good policy for our economy, because trade is good policy for 
democracy, and because trade is good policy for our national security.
    California benefits greatly from trade. More than a million jobs in 
this State are supported by manufactured exports alone. In

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addition, California is the Nation's largest agricultural exporter. Long 
Beach and Los Angeles handle more traffic than any other ports in the 
country. This State is the headquarters of our entertainment industry, 
which also draws more and more of its earnings from overseas sales. 
Altogether, California's exports grew by more than 20 percent in the 
year just ended. When the world trades in freedom, it buys what 
California sells.
    And our prosperity agenda makes a priority of energy security. We 
can get everything else right, but if we--if our energy supply is 
unreliable or unaffordable, our economy cannot thrive. For too long, 
America has neglected energy. The neglect ends now.
    My administration has developed a comprehensive national energy 
policy, more than 100 recommendations to promote conservation, expand 
energy production, improve energy transmission, and protect the 
environment. We put conservation first because we have seen the 
important difference conservation can make. Our economy has grown by 126 
percent since 1973, adjusting for inflation. Our energy use has grown by 
only 30 percent. To add one dollar to our gross domestic product takes 
only about a half as much energy as it did 30 years ago.
    These are the achievements of conservation. Yet, progress on 
conservation slowed in the 1990s. Our energy plan will renew and 
reinvigorate conservation by supporting productive research into energy-
saving efficiency and by offering businesses and consumers incentives to 
switch to new energy sources that consume less fuel and emit fewer 
pollutants.
    Conservation is an important part of the energy equation, as 
Californians know. California is already an impressive conservation 
leader, one of the most energy-efficient States in the Union. And I 
commend and salute your achievement. But even California's admirable 
conservation effort was not, by itself, enough to keep pace with your 
growing demand. So our energy plan encourages to produce a diverse 
supply of energy in an environmentally friendly way, through safe and 
clean nuclear power; wind, solar, biomass, and other renewables; 
hydropower; clean coal; and using new technologies to tap oil and 
natural gas in ways that tread lightly on the Earth. Our energy plan 
promotes new technologies to ensure this new supply is produced cleanly 
and with respect for our environment.
    And Mr. Governor, I will honor my commitment to you to uphold the 
moratorium on new drilling leases off the coast of California.
    We must do all our part to conserve energy. On May the 3d I called 
on all Federal agencies to take extra steps to conserve energy. And the 
Department of Defense immediately committed itself to reducing its 
electricity consumption by 10 percent at peak hours.
    I visited Camp Pendleton this morning and saw the contribution our 
military is making. I was impressed. We estimate that Federal 
conservation efforts will save this State at least 76 megawatts per hour 
during peak periods. Seventy-six megawatts in a peak hour is enough 
power to supply the entire city of Pasadena.
    And we must bring new supply on-line as quickly as possible. My 
administration has worked with your good Governor and Californian 
authorities to speed the approval of new powerplants, expand electricity 
production, and to increase the flow of natural gas into your State. But 
for too long, too often, too many have wasted energy, pointing fingers 
and laying blame. Energy is a problem that requires action--not 
politics, not excuses, but action. Blame shifting is not action, it's a 
distraction. My administration will continue to work to help California 
through the difficult months ahead.
    All our efforts are guided by a simple test: Will any action 
increase supply at fair and reasonable prices? Will it decrease demand 
in equitable ways? Anything that meets that test will alleviate the 
shortage, and we will move swiftly to adopt it. Anything that fails that 
test will make the shortage worse. We will not take any action that 
makes California's problems worse. And that's why I oppose price caps. 
Price caps do nothing to reduce demand, and they do nothing to increase 
supply. This is not only my administration's position; this was the 
position of the prior administration.

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    At first blush, for those struggling to pay high energy bills, price 
caps may sound appealing. But their result will ultimately be more 
serious shortages and, therefore, even higher prices.
    I want to assure Californians that the Federal Government takes very 
seriously our responsibility to make sure that companies are not 
illegally gouging consumers. I have publicly called on Federal agencies 
to investigate all complaints of illegal gouging and, if those 
complaints are justified, to take strong and appropriate action. I'm 
pleased that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has done just 
that. It has rolled back a record amount of overcharges where objective 
investigation has found abuses.
    My administration is committing to doing our part to help California 
as it confronts its energy problems. We'll protect consumers from 
abuses. We'll do our part to conserve energy and to speed up the issuing 
of permits for new energy projects. We're committed to a new approach 
for a new century. Energy and the environment do not have to be 
competing priorities. They are shared goals, and both are important to 
all Americans.
    For decades, California has been the place where the future happens 
first. Your continuing success is essential to the success of our 
national economy. Our shared success will come from a pro-growth tax 
policy, schools that teach, an open and vibrant world economy, and an 
abundant, affordable energy supply.
    This is the agenda for every State and for all our people. We must 
get these fundamentals right. Yet the purpose of a strong foundation is 
to build something greater. Just as every individual must look for a 
fulfillment deeper than wealth, our Nation must seek purposes beyond 
prosperity. This is our history, a heritage of idealism. We want to 
build more than the wealth of our country; we want to build the 
character of our children. We want to expand more than the influence of 
a Nation; we want to expand the compassion of our Nation.
    Our country faces problems that seem immune to affluence--addiction 
and abuse, fragile families and brittle values. These problems have 
often been immune to the policies of the past. They call America to a 
deeper renewal, a renewal of the soul. They challenge our political 
leadership. We must find creative new ways to promote the compassion of 
charities and communities to meet the needs of our country. And we must 
do more to take the side of parents as they struggle to raise 
responsible, decent, motivated children. These problems also challenge 
every citizen to be responsible for your families, for your lives, and 
for loving a neighbor like you'd like to be loved yourself.
    We want our wealthy Nation to be a decent, generous, and 
compassionate Nation. These are the goals that unite our country. These 
are the goals that inspire my administration. And these are the goals, 
when achieved, that will continue America's greatness.
    It is my honor to be here. God bless California, and God bless 
America.

Note: The President spoke at 1:10 p.m. in the Los Angeles Ballroom at 
The Century Plaza Hotel & Spa. In his remarks, he referred to Mayor 
Richard J. Riordan of Los Angeles; Shaquille O'Neal, center, NBA Los 
Angeles Lakers; Gov. Gray Davis and Secretary of State Bill Jones of 
California; and Bruce E. Karatz, chairman, and Stephen F. Bollenbach, 
vice chairman, Los Angeles World Affairs Council.