[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 49 (Monday, December 10, 2001)]
[Pages 1738-1739]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

December 1, 2001

    Good morning. This week, the official announcement came that our 
economy has been in recession since March. And unfortunately, to a lot 
of Americans, that news comes as no surprise. Many have lost jobs or 
seen their hours cut. Many have seen friends or family laid off.
    The long economic expansion that started 10 years ago, in 1991, 
began to slow last year. Many economists warned me when I took office 
that a recession was beginning, so we took quick action. We passed the 
biggest tax cut in a generation, and we imposed some much needed 
discipline on Federal spending. And by the end of the summer, we could 
see signs that the economy was responding.
    But the terrorist attacks of September the 11th hit our economy 
hard. They hurt our airlines and hotels and restaurants and undermined 
consumer and business confidence. Now we need to act boldly to protect 
America's economic security. There are two immediate priorities for 
America's recovery: We must bring quick help to those who need it most, 
and we must restore our economy's growth.
    It's the holiday season. It's a time to reach out to Americans who 
are hurting, to help them put food on the table, and to keep a roof over 
their heads. I've offered a plan to provide immediate assistance to 
those who have lost their jobs in the wake of the terrorist attack. My 
plan extends unemployment compensation by 13 weeks in the States hardest 
hit by terrorism. My plan helps States offer Medicaid to uninsured 
workers in need and their families. And my plan offers emergency grants 
to States to help displaced workers get job training and find new work 
and continue their health insurance--practical help in a difficult time.
    And I'm working with congressional leaders on more ideas to help 
Americans who have lost their jobs. In the long run, the right answer to 
unemployment is to create more jobs. I have proposed a package of job 
creating measures. I've asked Congress for tax relief for low- and 
moderate-income people to put more money into the hands of consumers and 
to put people to work making things that consumers want. I have proposed 
we lower taxes on employers who buy new equipment to expand their 
business and hire more people.
    We should reform our tax laws so that employers don't pay more taxes 
as their profits shrink. And I propose we speed up the income tax cuts 
Congress passed in the spring so that people can keep more of their own 
money to spend or pay their debts.
    I asked for this job creation package on October the 5th. The House 
of Representatives responded swiftly. Yet I'm still waiting for a bill 
to sign, and more importantly, so are more than 415,000 Americans who 
have lost their jobs since then.
    You know, after September the 11th my administration and the 
Congress made a conscious decision to show the terrorists we could work 
together. We had an obligation to show that democracy works. We've done 
that. And now we need to do it again by helping dislocated workers and 
spurring economic growth.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 10:16 a.m. on November 30 in the 
Cabinet Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on December 
1. The transcript was made available by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on November 30 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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