[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 46 (Monday, November 17, 2003)]
[Pages 1566-1567]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

November 8, 2003

    Good morning. This week, we heard some good news about the effects 
of tax relief on the American economy. The Department of Labor reported 
that our economy added 126,000 new jobs in October. And over the past 3 
months, there were 286,000 new jobs. The unemployment rate fell to 6 
percent. The 4-week average for jobless claims has declined in 6 of the 
past 7 weeks, and manufacturers reported that orders and shipments are 
both rising.
    This news comes one week after we heard that economic output rose at 
a 7.2 percent annual rate in the third quarter, the fastest pace of 
growth in nearly 20 years. America's economy is getting stronger every 
day. American companies are investing. Americans are buying homes at a 
record pace, and homeownership is near record levels. Stock market 
values have risen, adding about $2 trillion in wealth for investors 
since the beginning of the year.
    We can all be encouraged, but we cannot be satisfied. These are 
early signs of progress. Now we must turn this progress into broad and 
lasting gains for all Americans. Our improving economy is also a 
changing economy,

[[Page 1567]]

and some workers need help preparing for new jobs and new industries.
    In Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where I traveled this week, 
manufacturing jobs have been declining for decades. The textile industry 
and furniture makers and farmers are hurting. In Winston-Salem, I also 
saw a good program at a community college that is training unemployed 
workers for new jobs in industries which are growing, such as 
biotechnology. Local businesses, along with the Department of Labor, are 
supporting this job training program. We must give more workers the 
opportunity to learn new skills so they can get ahead and provide for 
their families.
    My administration is investing more than $15 billion each year in 
job training and employment services. Americans can go to more than 
1,900 one-stop career centers around the country, where, in a single 
location, they can check job listings, get help with a job application, 
and sign up for job training programs.
    We're also helping more students attend community colleges, where so 
many people find new skills. We boosted our request for Pell grants, 
which help adults of all ages pay for college, by 45 percent since I 
took office. And I've asked Congress to establish personal reemployment 
accounts for out-of-work Americans to help them in their job search. 
These accounts would give up to $3,000 to unemployed workers to get 
training, to find child care, or to relocate to a city where there is a 
job.
    The most important thing we can do to help those looking for work is 
to make sure our current economic growth results in more new jobs. I 
have proposed a six-point economic plan to encourage companies to expand 
and hire workers. We must bring health care costs under control, reform 
our civil courts to end the junk lawsuits hurting small businesses, cut 
needless regulations so that small-business owners can focus on pleasing 
their customers instead of pleasing bureaucrats. We must pass a national 
energy policy to ensure an affordable and reliable supply of energy to 
our economy, promote free trade agreements that bring good jobs to 
America, and make tax relief permanent, so the gains we have seen do not 
disappear when tax relief is scheduled to go away.
    The tax relief of the past 2 years was based on a principle that 
when Americans keep more of their own earnings, they spend more and 
invest more and move the economy forward. We're now seeing that happen. 
Our economy is on a rising road, and now we must take the remaining 
steps to ensure that our economy becomes a lasting expansion and our 
prosperity extends to every corner of America.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 9:20 a.m. on November 7 in the Cabinet 
Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on November 8. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
November 7 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office 
of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of 
this address.