[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 30 (Monday, July 28, 2003)]
[Pages 945-946]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

July 19, 2003

    Good morning. Next week, the United States Treasury will begin 
printing and mailing more than 25 million child tax credit checks, 
putting over $12 billion back into the hands of American families. These 
rebates are the result of the Jobs and Growth Act I recently signed into 
law, which increases the child tax credit from $600 to $1,000 per child. 
And because this new law reduced income tax rates, businesses earlier 
this month lowered tax withholding for worker paychecks. Now, those 
workers and their families have a lighter tax bill and more take-home 
pay.
    With the child tax credit rebates and the lower tax rates taking 
effect, America's families will have more of their own money to make 
purchases, pay their bills, save for their children's education, and 
invest in a new home or business. There are hopeful signs that our 
actions are contributing to economic growth. Individual investors are 
showing greater confidence, leading to a significant rise in the stock 
market. And thanks to our efforts to reduce taxes on stock dividends, 
dozens of major companies have announced plans to either increase their 
existing dividend payout or pay dividends for the first time, putting 
billions of dollars in cash into shareholders' pockets.

[[Page 946]]

    Earlier this week, I met with leading private economists who see a 
faster rate of economic growth in the coming year-and-a-half. The U.S. 
housing market is robust, strengthened by low mortgage rates and rising 
after-tax incomes. Inflation is low. Retail sales have been rising, and 
productivity growth, the most important indicator of economic strength, 
remains high.
    My administration remains focused on faster economic growth that 
will translate into more jobs. Now that Americans can keep more of what 
they earn, we can expect to see rising demand for goods and services. 
And as demand increases, companies will need more workers to meet it.
    We will continue to take action on a broad agenda for more growth 
and jobs. We are pressing the Senate to join the House of 
Representatives in passing an energy bill to assure stable and 
affordable energy supplies. And we're pressing the Senate on litigation 
reform, so small businesses and manufacturers can focus on creating jobs 
instead of fighting frivolous lawsuits. I'm asking both Houses of 
Congress to create reemployment accounts for those seeking jobs, so they 
can pay for job training and child care and other costs of finding work.
    Faster economic growth will bring the added benefit of higher 
revenues for our Government, and those new revenues, combined with 
spending discipline in Washington, DC, are the surest way to bring down 
the deficit. My budget for fiscal year 2004 calls for a modest increase 
in discretionary spending of only 4 percent, or about the same increase 
as the average American household budget. I urge Congress to make 
spending discipline a priority, so that we can cut the deficit in half 
over the next 5 years.
    Government does not create prosperity. Government can, however, 
create the conditions that make prosperity possible. The Jobs and Growth 
Act of 2003 was based on the fundamental faith in the energy and 
creativity of the American people. With hard work and daily 
determination, entrepreneurs and workers are moving this economy 
forward. The American economy is headed in the right direction, and we 
can be confident of better days ahead.
    Thank you.

Note: The address was recorded at 10:50 a.m. on July 17 in the Cabinet 
Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on July 19. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
July 18 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office of 
the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of this 
address.