[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 21 (Monday, May 26, 2003)]
[Pages 643-644]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following a Meeting With Congressional Leaders

May 22, 2003

President's Legislative Agenda

    The President. I just had a great meeting with Members of the House 
and Senate. The Vice President and I came up to congratulate

[[Page 644]]

the Speaker and the leader on a season of accomplishment. We've got an 
obligation to help those who suffer. America's a great, strong country. 
We're also a compassionate country.
    And I thank the Members of the House and Senate for passing an AIDS 
bill that will help the people of Africa, a really good piece of 
legislation, a great piece of work by the Speaker and the leader and 
other Members.
    I also came to congratulate them on the soon-to-be passage of an 
economic jobs-and-growth bill. This is a Congress which is able to 
identify problems facing the American people and get things done. These 
are can-do people, and I'm real proud of the work they've done.
    I look forward to signing the economic recovery bill soon. The 
principle of the bill is pretty simple, that we believe the more money 
people have in their pockets, the more likely it is somebody is going to 
be able to find work in America. In other words, the more money somebody 
has, it means somebody is more likely to demand a good or a service, 
which means somebody will produce a good or a service, which means 
somebody is likely to find work.
    This bill I'm going to sign is good for American workers. It is good 
for American families. It is good for American investors, and it's good 
for American entrepreneurs and small-business owners. These two bodies 
are fixing to go on a well-deserved break. And when they come back, 
we're going to work together on reforming of Medicare.
    Q. Mr. President?
    The President. And furthermore--[laughter]--thank you for your time. 
[Laughter] Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 9:34 a.m. outside the House Chamber at the 
Capitol. In his remarks, he referred to Senate Majority Leader Bill 
Frist of Tennessee.