[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 2 (Monday, January 12, 2004)]
[Pages 42-47]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks in a Discussion With Women Small-Business Owners

January 9, 2004

    The President. Thank you all. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. You wrote 
that--you read that just like I wrote it. [Laughter] It's good to be 
here at the Commerce Department. After all, that's what we're here to 
discuss, is commerce and jobs and how to keep the entrepreneurial spirit 
strong in America.
    Let me start off by saying, first of all, thank you all for coming. 
We're going to have an interesting discussion about what it means to own 
your own business and risk capital and employ people, what it takes to 
be a businessowner. And we've got five really smart, capable women who 
are running their own businesses. Before we get to this discussion, 
though, I want to say I'm really optimistic about the future of our 
Nation's economy. This economy is strong, and it is getting stronger.
    I'm optimistic for one reason, because I just spent a little bit of 
time with five people who are on the frontline of hiring. Their optimism 
was really evident, as I think you'll soon hear. Secondly, I'm 
optimistic because I see things happening. Unemployment dropped today to 
5.7 percent. That's not good enough. We want more people still working. 
But nevertheless, it is a positive sign that the economy is getting 
better.
    I see the manufacturing orders are up dramatically. I know the 
productivity is high in America. Home construction is strong. All the 
signs in our economy is--are very strong. And that's positive for 
somebody who might be wondering about whether he or she is going to find 
a job.
    Secondly, I know what we have overcome in this country. I mean, this 
economy has got to be pretty darn strong to have come

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through what this Nation has come through. Just very quickly, in the 
beginning of 2001, the country was entering into a recession. I'm sure 
that affected you all. Recession, by the way, is when there is negative 
growth for three quarters, when things aren't going well for three 
consecutive quarters. That's a long period of time if you own your own 
business. It's a long period of time if you're looking for a job, by the 
way.
    Then, all of a sudden, as the economy was getting better, the enemy 
hit us. And make no mistake about it, the attack of September the 11th 
affected not only our national psyche, it affected the economy. It hurt. 
It hurt people who were thinking about risking capital. It made it hard 
for people to find a job.
    As well we had a problem that fall when it turned out some of our 
corporate citizens failed to live up to the responsibilities of 
leadership. They didn't tell the truth to their shareholders and their 
employees. That affected the psyche of the American investor. You know, 
capitalism is only as strong as the integrity of the people involved in 
the process. And these leaders will tell you that you've got to be open 
with your employees. Otherwise, they're not going to work for you very 
hard. In this case, these corporate criminals had a negative effect on 
the country.
    And then, of course, I made some tough decisions about how to secure 
America and keep the peace by spreading freedom, and we marched to war. 
It is not conducive to economic growth to see on your TV screens, 
``America is marching to war.'' It's not a very positive, optimistic 
message to hear if you're thinking about risking capital. Who wants to 
take risk when we're marching to war?
    Now we're marching to peace, and people feel more comfortable about 
making a risky investment. We've overcome a lot. And I'm optimistic 
because not only do I talk to people who are optimistic all the time; 
I'm optimistic because I recognized what this country has been through. 
It really speaks to the entrepreneurial spirit and ingenuity of the 
American people, is what I'm talking about. This is a fabulous country.
    The system says if you work hard, you get rewarded. You can own your 
own business, hopefully without a lot of Government interference. 
Speaking about Government interference, we made a conscious decision to 
make Government less intrusive into the pocketbooks of the American 
people in order to effect economic growth. You might remember we went to 
the Congress, not only once but three different times, to effect real, 
substantial tax relief, tax relief which left more money in the pockets 
of the working people, tax relief which encouraged spending and saving 
and investment.
    You see, we cut the taxes on everybody. We didn't try to pick and 
choose who got the tax relief. Our attitude was, if you pay taxes, you 
ought to get relief. It ought to be fair and simple to understand. And 
by the way, the tax relief had a significant impact on the 
entrepreneurial spirit of America because a lot of people who own their 
own small business pay taxes at the individual income tax rate. They're 
what you'll hear as a Subchapter S corp or a sole proprietorship. And so 
when you cut the taxes on the individuals, you're really cutting the 
taxes on business, small businesses. And after all, that's important, 
because most small businesses--or small businesses create the most new 
jobs. Seventy percent of new jobs are created by small-business owners 
and entrepreneurs. The tax relief was important.
    We had incentives in there for people trying to raise a family by 
raising the child credit. We reduced the marriage penalty. Heck, we want 
a Tax Code that encourages marriage, not discourages marriage. It 
doesn't make any sense to say, ``If you're married, you get to pay more 
tax.''
    We gave small-business owners incentives to invest by raising the 
deductibility limits. And I think you'll hear some discussion of that 
today. We reduced taxes on dividends and capital gains, which was 
particularly important for retired citizens who rely upon dividend 
income to--in their latter years.
    So we did a lot. We've done a lot. And I'm telling you, the tax 
relief came at the right time and made a big difference for economic 
growth.
    There's more to do. First of all, every one of these business 
leaders and owners will tell you that if there's uncertainty in the Tax 
Code, it will make it difficult for them to plan for the future. 
Businessowners like certainty. They want to know what the rules are.

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Much of the tax relief I described goes away soon. Congress passed the 
tax relief, but they didn't make it permanent. Job creation is vital. 
Permanency in the Tax Code will mean more job creation. Congress must 
make every part of the tax package permanent.
    These business leaders will tell you, health care costs are rising 
and are difficult to manage. We need association health care plans to 
allow small businesses to pool the risk across jurisdictional 
boundaries. Congress must act. We need medical liability reform. 
Frivolous lawsuits drive up the costs of health care. They affect the 
budgets of these small businesses. They also affect the Federal budget. 
I mean, if you think about what frivolous lawsuits do to the cost of 
Medicare and Medicaid and veterans' health benefits, you understand what 
I'm talking about. I mean, it's an enormous cost to the Federal budget. 
We got a good bill out of the House. The medical liability bill is stuck 
in the Senate. We need tort reform there; we need class action reform; 
we need asbestos reform if we expect this economy to continue to grow.
    We need an energy policy. Congress needs to give me an energy bill. 
I mean, it's hard for businesses to plan, particularly in the 
manufacturing sector, if you're wondering where you're going to get your 
next watt of energy. And so we need an energy bill. Congress needs to 
act. Congress needs to join this administration in listening to the 
voices of these entrepreneurs to figure out how to keep a progrowth 
agenda on the forefront. So long as anybody is looking for a job in 
America, this administration is going to be promoting a progrowth, pro-
entrepreneurial agenda.
    And I'm honored to be joined by entrepreneurs, strong, strong women 
who have taken the lead in their businesses and are providing a great 
service to our country. They're not only providing a wonderful example 
for people who are wondering whether or not I can own my own company but 
whether--but providing the service of hiring people and keeping them at 
work and caring about their employees.
    I'm going to start off by Nancy Connolly. She is the president and 
CEO of Lasertone Corporation, Littleton, Massachusetts. Welcome.

[At this point, Ms. Connolly made brief remarks.]

    The President. Yes, see, Nancy hires 20--there's a lot of companies 
the size of Nancy's around the country that have got this sense of 
optimism. I mean it's--I don't think we would have had Nancy sitting 
here 2 years ago saying, ``Gosh, I look forward to hiring 20.'' I 
suspect she might have been saying, ``I hope to keep the 70.'' A lot of 
small businesses were just hanging on to what they had during tough 
economic times. And now this leader and this entrepreneur are saying, 
``20 minimum,'' it sounded like to me. And that's how this economy 
works. It's very important for people to understand it's the cumulative 
effect of many, many hirings that take place on a daily basis, 
particularly in the small-business sector, that affect economic growth 
and vitality.
    Thank you for doing what you're doing.
    Catherine, tell us about yourself and your business, Knowledge 
Information Solutions.

[Catherine Giordano, president and chief executive officer, Knowledge 
Information Solutions, Inc., Virginia Beach, VA, made brief remarks.]

    The President. I'm glad you're here, Catherine, thanks. One of the 
things I think is very interesting for people to understand that 
Catherine just said--she said the tax breaks that we focused for small-
business owners caused her to buy new equipment and new software. Well, 
somebody has to make that equipment, and somebody has to design that 
software and sell it. So my point is, is that it's important for our 
American citizens to understand the ripple effect of good tax policy. 
Good tax policy encourages an owner to make a decision. That decision 
then makes it more likely somebody else is going to find a job who will 
provide--in the company that provides the product--in Catherine's case, 
equipment and hardware.
    It's very important that this incentive stay in place because it 
is--you just heard one example of the decisionmaking process that takes 
place as a result of good tax policy. If the tax policy--if Congress 
lets this lapse, the ability to deduct to $100,000 of capital equipment, 
it would then cause her to make different decisions in the out-years. 
And so the

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Congress needs to be mindful of what tax policy does to the 
decisionmakers, the job creators, people like Catherine who made a 
rational decision based upon good policy.
    It's my honor to welcome right now--why don't we go with Sharon 
Evans. Sharon is the CEO of CFJ Manufacturing, Fort Worth, Texas.

[Ms. Evans made brief remarks and concluded by saying that she 
anticipated 25-percent growth next year which she believed was due to 
tax benefits.]

    The President. I disagree. I think it's related to vision and hard 
work and the Texas spirit. The tax relief helped, but none of these 
women should discount their courage and their vision and their 
willingness to take risk and to make wise decisions.
    Ms. Evans. I do have to commend you too, as well as--we utilize and 
we are a certified women-owned business, and your support of women in 
business has increased my customer base, which has, in fact, grown my 
business as well.
    The President. Yes, I think it's very important--what she's talking 
about is contracting. For example, at the Federal Government, we ought 
to bust these contracts down to smaller sizes. The role of contracting 
at the Federal level--the proper role of contracting obviously is to get 
good service for the Government but at the same time have the added 
dividend of enhancing the entrepreneurial spirit, is encouraging small-
business ownership, is to really achieve what we want to achieve, and 
that is to expand the ownership society in America.
    And by the way, the role of Government is not to create wealth but 
the environment in which the entrepreneur can flourish. Make no mistake 
about it, the role of Government is to create the architecture in which 
people are willing to take risk and make choice. But that doesn't happen 
unless somebody's got a good idea, works hard, dreams big, treats their 
employees with respect, and is capable. So thank you for giving 
Government the credit, but we don't deserve it.
    Let me call upon Maria Coakley David. She is the CFO of C.J. 
Coakley, Inc., right here in Falls Church, Virginia. Thanks for coming, 
Maria. And thank you for the hat.

[Ms. Coakley David made brief remarks.]

    The President. Well, let me talk about job hiring, particularly in 
the construction field. It's very important for these companies to 
understand who they're hiring. I'm excited about the fact that you're 
expanding your job base. I just want to make sure that you stay legal in 
your hiring practice. And we've got a problem here----
    Ms. Coakley David. It's a big concern as well for us, and I 
appreciate you bringing that up.
    The President. It's got to be a big concern. Well, I'm talking about 
this immigration issue that I brought up. My attitude is, any time an 
employer can't find an American worker to do the job, that--in this 
case, she ought to be able to hire a willing foreign worker, so long as 
that foreign worker has got a--we're going to issue a new card, a 
temporary-worker card.
    I don't like the idea of having an undocumented economy in the 
greatest country on the face of the Earth, where people walk miles 
across deserts at the hands of sometimes these ``coyote'' border 
smugglers who treat these people inhumanely. They get into our society. 
They're doing work, but they're doing work in an undocumented way, not 
aboveboard but below the surface. They can get exploited and have no 
recourse. And it's just flat wrong in America. And we ought to recognize 
the system hasn't worked.
    And so I proposed a plan that is a worker plan. It is not an 
automatic path to citizenship, what they call amnesty. It is a plan that 
recognizes reality in a commonsense way, so that when Maria's company 
starts expanding and she can't find somebody to lay tar on a hot August 
day and somebody else wants to because they've got a family to feed, she 
can find this person, and the person will show up to work. And by the 
way, that person ought to be able to go back to his or her family 
without being harassed, to be able to take money home, which is what 
they're trying to do.
    So this is a commonsense plan. It makes eminent sense. It recognizes 
the reality of today's workplace. We want our employers to be aggressive 
at hiring people, but we don't want them breaking the law. And we've got 
to recognize, in this society, there are

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just simply some jobs that are not being filled by American citizens.
    Ms. Coakley David. You're correct, and it is definitely a big 
concern for our company. We probably have 70 percent Hispanic workforce. 
We've recently hired a bilingual receptionist to help us communicate 
effectively. We have a lot of our newsletters translated in Spanish. And 
we do have to face the facts, and we would greatly benefit from your 
plan.
    The President. Yes, this is important. The other thing what she's 
faced with--first of all, the fact that you've got a Hispanic workforce 
means you're doing well. These are fine people, we know well in Texas. 
They're great people--great people.
    But there's a lot of false documentation. What kind of society is it 
where the system allows for false documentation, falsifying these 
different papers so Maria is not sure whether or not she's dealing with 
somebody she ought to be dealing with? We need to make this aboveboard. 
And by the way, it is humane to treat people with respect, citizen or 
not citizen. We want to treat people with the utmost respect in this 
country. This is America. It's the greatest country on the face of the 
Earth. We're not giving special privilege. They don't get to butt in 
line where somebody who wants to go through the process in a legal way. 
We're just recognizing reality in a commonsensical way. It's the right 
thing to do.

[Ms. Coakley David made additional remarks.]

    The President. You know, one of the most meaningful things that's 
happened to me since I've been the Governor--the President--Governor--
President. [Laughter] Oops--[laughter]--ex-Governor. I went to Bethesda 
Naval Hospital to give a fellow a Purple Heart, and at the same moment 
watched him--get a Purple Heart for action in Iraq--and at that same--
right after I gave him the Purple Heart, he was sworn in as a citizen of 
the United States, a Mexican citizen now a United States citizen.
    It's a pretty special country, isn't it, where people are willing to 
come not only to work to provide for their families but to wear this 
Nation's uniform and to go into harm's way for our peace and security. 
And Americans have got to recognize how special America is, and how 
lucky we are to be Americans in this country, and how a lot of really 
decent people would like to join us. We've just got to make sure the 
system is orderly and fair and meets national objectives.
    Lurita--Lurita Doan is with us. She is the president and CEO of New 
Technology Management in Reston, Virginia. Welcome.

[Ms. Doan made brief remarks.]

    The President. I'm here to thank you all. I think the--I hope you 
come away with the same sense of optimism I do about the future of this 
country when you hear these five women speak. I mean, this is a country 
which speaks to five entrepreneurs here on the stage and says, ``Dream 
big and go for it. Live your dream.'' Can you imagine a country where a 
woman like Lurita walks in to Kinko's and says, ``I think I'll start a 
business by printing my first business card,'' and here she is, 13 years 
later, speaking to the Nation about a business which is thriving and is 
going to hire 75 new people.
    It's a fabulous country, where people can dream big dreams and 
people can risk--take risk and achieve their dreams through hard work, 
clear vision, and a good idea. It's hard to be a small-business owner, 
particularly in hard times. It's easier when the whole economy is 
growing, but it's even hard then. It's hard to make the right decisions. 
But obviously, I'm surrounded by success, people who have been able to 
realize their dreams and accomplish what is not easy to accomplish.
    Government can help, but we can't make these women smart; we can't 
make them dream; we can't make them compassionate. These are choices 
they've made. And our job is to stand with them and to serve as a wind 
at their back as they provide not only valuable goods and services but, 
more importantly for me right now and for the country, is to provide a 
chance for somebody to find work--find work so they can fulfill their 
obligations as a mom or a dad.
    I want to thank you all for joining us. Thank you for being great 
Americans. I appreciate you helping me to explain how our economy works 
and why we should be optimistic about our future. May God bless your

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endeavors and God bless you all. May God continue to bless our great 
country. Thank you very much.

Note: The discussion began at 10:45 a.m. at the Department of Commerce. 
In his remarks, the President referred to Secretary of Commerce Donald 
L. Evans.