    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 6 (Monday, February 13, 2006)]
    [Pages 224-225]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Remarks to the House Republican Conference in Cambridge, Maryland

    February 10, 2006

        Thank you very much. It's an honor to be back here again. Mr.
    Speaker, thank you for your leadership and your friendship. One of the
    real joys of being in Washington is to be able to work with Speaker
    Hastert. He is a straightforward--[applause]. Some of my buddies at home
    say, ``What's he like?'' I say, ``He's a straightforward, no-nonsense
    kind of guy who's here to get things done.'' And, Mr. Speaker, thank you
    for your leadership and your friendship.
        I congratulate the Majority Leader, John Boehner; looking forward to
    working with you, John. Congratulations to you. I appreciate Roy Blunt,
    he's a--right after I called Boehner from Air Force One, I called Blunt
    and I said, ``I want to say two things to you: One, thanks for waging
    the race for the Majority Leader; and second, thanks for passing the
    reconciliation package.'' He said, ``If I could count votes as good on
    my race as I did on the reconciliation package''--[laughter]. But I
    appreciate a man who is gracious in defeat. But he's still got an
    important position, and I'm looking forward to working with you, Roy.
    Thank you.
        I appreciate the rest of the folks up here. Thank you all for
    coming. It is an honor to serve our country with you. I hope you feel
    that way as well. There is nothing more heartwarming and exhilarating
    than to represent the good people of the United States of America here
    in Washington. I want to thank you all for your service. I particularly
    want to thank your families for your service to our country as well. The
    cause is noble and worthwhile.
        A couple of things I want to say, and then I'll be glad to answer
    some of your questions. First, the state of our Union is strong, and
    it's getting stronger. And I want to thank you all for putting policies
    in place that, on the one hand, spread prosperity throughout the country
    and, at the same time, spread freedom and peace throughout the world.
        You know, we've overcome a lot in this country. If you really think
    about what this economy has been through, it's amazing how resilient and
    flexible and strong our economy is. We're growing at faster rates than
    any major industrialized nation in the world. We've added over 4.5
    million new jobs since April of 2003. The national unemployment rate is
    4.7 percent. Productivity is high.
        One of the things we've been working together is to promote an
    ownership society. More people own a home than ever before in our
    Nation's history. More minority families own a home than ever before in
    our Nation's history. Small businesses are thriving. The economic plan
    we put in place is working. And it starts with saying to the American
    people, ``We trust you with your own money.''
        We've got a record, and it's a record of accomplishment. We have
    worked closely together to achieve results for the American people.
    We've been fiscally wise with the people's money. I want to thank you
    for that bill you sent me that I signed yesterday. It's hard work to cut
    out and cut back on programs that don't work. Every program sounds
    beautiful in Washington, DC, until you start analyzing the results. And
    I want to thank you for being wise with the people's money.
        You know, you hear people in Washington, DC, saying, ``Well, we've
    got to solve the deficit, and the best way to do it is raise the
    people's taxes.'' We understand that's not the way Washington works.
    What happens is, they'll raise your taxes and figure out new ways to
    spend your money. The best way to reduce the deficit is to keep
    progrowth policies in place and be wise with the taxpayers' money.
        The House passed a good piece of legislation to help us secure our
    borders, and I want to thank you for that. The House passed good energy
    legislation last year. The House passed good tort reform last year,
    including class-action reform and bankruptcy. The House passed the
    PATRIOT Act last year. The House passed CAFTA last year. Last

    [[Page 225]]

    year was a year of accomplishment for the House of Representatives,
    thanks to the leadership here at the table.
        And we're ready to lead again. We don't fear the future, because
    we're going to shape the future of the United States of America. And
    that means supporting our troops in harm's way. I want to thank you for
    supporting the troops last year, and I look forward to working with you
    to support our troops this coming year.
        We'll continue to lead. And I want to appreciate your steadfast
    support in the war on terror. Our most important responsibility is to
    protect the American people from harm. And I want to thank the Members
    of Congress for working with the administration to protect the American
    people from future attack.
        You know, in my State of the Union--thanks for paying attention to
    it when I got up there the other day--[laughter]--I talked about how
    best to keep the country competitive. You know, some would lose
    confidence in the capacity of this country to lead, and kind of hide
    behind walls. That's not what we think. We're confident in America, and
    we're confident in our people, and we're confident that we can work
    together to put good policies in place that will keep this country the
    world's leader when it comes to the economy. So I'm looking forward to
    working with you to continue to be fiscally sound with the people's
    money and to put those tax cuts we put in place in a permanent status.
        I'm looking forward to working with you on expanding health savings
    accounts so we can strengthen the doctor-patient relationship. I'm
    looking forward to working with you on making sure that we become less
    dependent on Middle Eastern oil by promoting alternative sources of
    energy. I'm looking forward to working with you on making sure our
    education system remains strong and our kids can learn math and science
    so we remain the most competitive nation in the world.
        I'm looking forward to working with you, and I'm confident we'll
    continue the success we have had together. And so I've come to say
    thanks for your hard work in the past, and thanks for what we're going
    to do to make this country--to continue to be the greatest country on
    the face of the Earth.
        God bless your work. May God continue to bless our country.

    Note: The President spoke at 12:23 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake
    Bay.