[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 52 (Monday, December 27, 2004)]
[Pages 2994-2995]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

December 18, 2004

    Good morning. This week my administration hosted an important 
conference on America's economic future. We heard from businessowners, 
workers, economists, and many other Americans who are seeing hopeful 
signs throughout our country. Our economy has come through a lot these 
past 4 years, and now our people are benefiting from solid economic 
growth, steady gains in new jobs, record homeownership, and rising 
family incomes.
    We also discussed some of the fundamental challenges facing our 
economy, from junk lawsuits and burdensome regulation to the complicated 
Tax Code to the need for vital reforms in education, health care, and 
entitlements. I will work with members of both political parties to 
confront these problems so we can keep our economy flexible, innovative, 
and competitive, and so America

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remains the best place in the world to do business.
    Excessive litigation is one of the biggest obstacles to economic 
growth. The tort system now costs America's economy more than $230 
billion a year, and no other country faces a greater burden from junk 
lawsuits. Our litigious society deters job creation and consumes 
billions of dollars that could be better spent on investment and 
expansion. Frivolous lawsuits put American workers at a competitive 
disadvantage in the global economy and have a devastating impact on the 
medical community. When Congress convenes next year, the House and 
Senate need to pass sound reforms on our medical liability, class 
action, and asbestos litigation systems.
    Another challenge in our economy is the rising cost of health care. 
More than a half of all uninsured Americans are small-business employees 
and their families. And while many businessowners want to provide health 
care for their workers, they just can't afford the high cost. To help 
more Americans get care, we need to expand tax-free health savings 
accounts, which are already making a difference for small businesses and 
families. We should encourage health information technology that 
minimizes error and controls costs. And Congress must allow small firms 
to join together and buy health insurance at the same discounts big 
companies get.
    To grow their businesses and create jobs, small-business owners also 
need relief from excessive taxes and regulation. The tax relief we 
passed has been critical to our economic recovery, and Congress needs to 
make that tax relief permanent. We also need to reform our complicated 
Tax Code to encourage investment and growth and reduce headache for 
taxpayers. And to promote innovation in hiring, we must lift the burden 
of needless Federal regulation on hard-working entrepreneurs.
    As our businesses create advanced, high-paying jobs, we must ensure 
that workers have the education and skills to fill those jobs. We've 
made a good start with the No Child Left Behind Act, which is already 
helping students make progress in the early grades. Now we need to bring 
high standards and accountability to high schools and make sure job-
training programs prepare workers for the innovative jobs of the 21st 
century.
    To help our young people, we must also fix the long-term problems in 
the Social Security system. Workers in their mid-twenties today will 
find Social Security bankrupt when they retire, unless we act to save 
it. As we reform and strengthen the system, we will deliver all the 
benefits owed to current and near retirees. We must not increase payroll 
taxes, and we must tap into the power of markets and compound interest 
by giving younger workers the option of saving some of their payroll 
taxes in a personal investment account, a nest egg they can call their 
own, which the Government can never take away.
    The week's conference provided a good opportunity to discuss our 
economic challenges with Americans from many backgrounds and to set the 
issues clearly before Congress. I'm open to good ideas from Democrats 
and Republicans. I will work with any who shares our goal of 
strengthening the economy. But I will not ignore these challenges and 
leave them to another day. We have a duty to the American people to act 
on these issues, and we will get results.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 7:44 a.m. on December 17 in the 
Cabinet Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on December 
18. The transcript was made available by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on December 17 but was embargoed for release until the 
broadcast. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish 
language transcript of this address.