Remarks by President Bush on the Economy

    WASHINGTON, July 2 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is a transcript of
remarks by President Bush on the economy:

    The East Room

    11:08 A.M. EDT

    THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you all very much.  Please be seated.  Thanks for
coming.  (Laughter.)  I am glad you're here.  We're here today to talk about
the economic security of our fellow citizens.  One of my most important jobs
is to help create an environment in which the entrepreneurial spirit
flourishes, because I believe that the fact that America is a heaven for the
entrepreneur is one of the real strengths of our country.  I know that when
the entrepreneur feels confident, when the small business owner invests, it's
more likely people will be able to find a job.
    I'm interested in people working.  I want people being able to go to work
and coming home, saying, I'm doing my duty as a mom or a dad to put food on
the table; or I've got an opportunity to set aside hard-earned money for my
child's education.  That's what I'm interested in.  And one way to do that is
to make sure the small business part of our economy is vibrant, strong,
energized and confident.  And I think it is.  (Applause.)
    The economy of the United States has been through a lot.  If you really
think about it, it's pretty remarkable to be able to stand up and say to you
that our economy is strong and getting stronger, that we're witnessing steady,
consistent growth.  After all, we've been through a recession, a national
emergency, a war, corporate scandals.  We've got an economy which is changing.
The nature of the job base is changing.  And all that means it's been a
difficult period of time.  Yet we're strong, we're getting stronger.  We're
witnessing steady growth, steady growth. And that's important.  We don't need
boom or bust type growth, we want just steady, consistent growth, so that our
fellow citizens will be able to find a job, and so that the small business
sector will feel confident about expanding.
    I was pleased to see that consumer confidence is at a two-year high.
That's an indication that the economy is strong, and getting better.  When
people are confident, they tend to be a part of the decision-making process
amongst millions of deciders that say the future is going to be better.
    I've just met with some small business owners.  I'm going to introduce
them here in a second.  They're confident.  The first thing I listened for
was, do they have confidence in their voices.  Were they saying to me, gosh,
I'm confident enough to make investment.  That's what you listen for if you're
somebody trying to be able to report to the economy about the nature of our
economy.  To a person, to a business, they were saying, you bet; I'm confident
about the future of the country, therefore I'm going to invest more -- which
I'm going to talk a little bit about here in a second.
    Real after-tax incomes are up 11 percent since December of 2000.  To me,
that's a vital statistic.  Real after-tax incomes  -- that means that the
amount of money in somebody's wallet is increasing.  That's what we want to
hear, isn't it; particularly is you're somebody who has got a wallet.
(Laughter.)  It's a good sign when people are working and keeping more of
their own money.  That's what we want.  (Applause.)
    Home ownership rates are at an all-time high.  That's an important
statistic, particularly if you believe the more people that own something, the
better off our society is.  That's what I believe.  We want more people owning
their own small business, we want more people owning their own home. See, when
somebody owns their own home, they can say, this is my property, welcome to my
home.  They don't say, welcome to the government's home, they say, welcome to
my home, which is an important part of not only consumer confidence, but it's
an important part of making sure people have a interest in the future of our
country.  If you own something, you want to make sure government makes the
right decision so you can continue to own it.
    And we've got -- home ownership rate is at an all-time high. And a
particularly important part of that statistic is minority home ownership rates
are at an all-time high.  See, we not only want -- (applause.)  When I'm
talking about ownership, I'm talking about ownership for all people, not just
-- not just a certain type of person.  We want ownership to be a part of every
neighborhood.  And it's happening in America.  It's really what makes us such
a wonderful country, isn't it -- when people from all walks of life can say, I
own something.  And this administration will continue to make sure the
ownership society, or the ability for people to own their own business or
home, remains strong and vibrant.
    Manufacturers are reporting increased activity more than any time in 20
years.  We've had concern in the country about whether or not the
manufacturing sector would remain vibrant and strong, and the reports are that
the activity is as good as it's been over the past 20 years.  That's a pretty
good sign, isn't it?  I was told today, reminded today that the Purchasing
Managers Index is now above 60 for its eighth straight month. That doesn't
mean anything unless you're somebody who follows all the numbers that comes
out of Washington.  But what it does mean is it confirms the notion that
manufacturing activity is as good as it's been in 20 years. And that's very
positive.
    Today we got a new job report out.  The jobs increased by 112,000 in June,
which means we've had a total of 1.5 million new jobs since last August.
(Applause.)  To me, that shows the steady growth.  It's one thing to be
reporting the GDP numbers are up; it's another thing to be able to say more
Americans are working.  And that's what we want.  We want people going to
work.  We want people to -- we want people to be able to come home and say,
boy, how was work; it was great.  (Laughter.)  I enjoy working.
    I met two good workers from North Carolina here today.  I'm about to
introduce the owners of their company.  But they were here; they said, we're
working and feeling good about it.  And that's really good news for our
economy.
    I want to thank you all for coming.  I appreciate -- I can see a lot of
members of my administration here.  I don't want to try to go through them
all, except for Secretary Evans, the Secretary of Commerce.  He's doing a
fantastic job of running a very important Cabinet office of my government.
    But thank you all for being here.  I see a lot of familiar faces.  I see a
lot of entrepreneurs, I see a lot of people who represent entrepreneurs here
in Washington.  You're doing a fine job of helping the United States Congress
understand the proper role of government is to encourage investment, encourage
business formation.  And that's why the tax relief package we passed was so
important, particularly in the face of a recession, and in the face of an
emergency.  It came at the right time. And I want to thank the people here who
worked with us to convince Congress to trust the people with their own money.
That's really what the debate was about, wasn't it?  Who do you want to spend
your own money?  Obviously, the government needs to spend some of it to make
sure we've got a military and make sure we fulfill certain functions.  But at
this point in our economic history, it made sense to let you have your own
money to spend so that the economy would grow.
    We based a lot of our decision-making on the knowledge that if you have
more money in your pocket, if there's more after-tax pay in your pocket,
you'll demand additional goods and services.  And when you do so in a market
economy, if it's functioning properly, somebody will produce the goods or
services.  And when that happens, it kind of stabilizes the job base, and
then, eventually, allows for more people to go back to work.  And that's what
we're seeing.  And that's what we're seeing.
    Much of the job growth -- the stimulus package was aimed at small
businesses, because we knew that 70 percent of new jobs are created by small
businesses.  We were aware of that.  And so, therefore, when we went to
Congress, we said, as you reduce the tax burden on the American people, make
sure you understand the effect that tax reductions can have on the decision-
makers who hire most of the new people -- that would be your small business
owner.  A vital part of our package was to encourage investment in the small
business sector of our country, and it's paying off.
    See, when the small business owners of America feel confident and feel
comfortable in investing in plant and equipment, or in new services, it
stimulates a vibrant part of our economy.  That's what happens.  The
cornerstone of our policy, if the truth be known, was to trust individuals
with their own money and to encourage the small business sector to grow so
people could find work.  (Applause.)
    And we did so in two specific ways.  One, we encouraged investment by
allowing for accelerated depreciation.  That basically is a fancy word for
saying, if you buy a plant or equipment or new computer programs, it will
really cost you less because you're able to deduct it faster from your income.
That's an important part of encouraging people to make investment decisions.
    The other thing was, is that we reduced all taxes.  You see, our theory
was if you pay taxes, you ought to get a tax relief, not if you're a certain
-- in a certain bracket you get tax relief.  If you're going to have tax
relief, the best, most fairest way to have tax relief is to say, everybody
gets tax relief, not just a few people.  And that's what we did. Here in
Washington, you know, there tends to be class warfare.  It says only certain
people get tax relief, or if you're labeled "the rich" you don't get tax
relief.  Our view was, all tax relief was the fairest way to do it.
    And all tax relief -- the theory of giving everybody tax relief who paid
taxes was especially beneficial to the small business owners, because most
small businesses pay tax at the individual income tax rate.  See, most small
businesses structure their companies as what they call Sub-chapter S companies
-- you work for a Sub-chapter S company -- or sole proprietorships.  And
therefore, when you reduce individual income taxes, you're reducing income
taxes on small businesses, as well.  And the more money a small business has
in their treasury, the more likely it is they're going to be able to expand
and hire, presuming they've got a good product.
    Now, government can't make you have a good product.  (Laughter.)  We can't
say to you, gosh, we'll help you align what you supply with demand. You've got
to figure that out yourself.  That's not the role of government. (Laughter and
applause.)  But once you figure it out, once you've figured out how to meet
demand in the marketplace, we can provide incentives to encourage you to
expand.  And that's what we've done.  And that's why the economy is steady and
strong.  I'm telling you, people are going back to work because the small
businesses sector of America is strong and vibrant and confident.  (Applause.)
    Ed Kostenski is with us.  There he is.  Ed, stand up and be recognized.
Thank you.  (Applause.)  He is from Jacksonville, Florida.  I said -- and by
the way, he's got a business called Nationwide Equipment.  I said, did you
start this business?  He said, yes, at my kitchen table.  It sounds pretty
American to me, doesn't it?  (Laughter.)  You know how many small businesses
have been started at the kitchen table or in their garage? Thousands.  By, by
the way, people from all walks of life, too.  Ed is one who did that.  He's
got an S corporation -- S corp, which means that when he sees the -- all rates
get reduced, he's really saying -- the Congress wisely reduced the taxes on my
business.
    That's an important part of encouraging Ed to move on.  By the way, he
said that his -- the tax relief we passed in '01 helped him stay in business.
And he is -- not only is he in business, he's adding employees this year.
He's added 14 this year; he'll hire another six before the year is out.
(Applause.)
    He's excited about his business.  If you don't believe me, just go ask him
after the meeting.  (Laughter.)  He's moving used Caterpillars overseas.  He
buys them, refurbishes them and finds a market and sells them, which means
we'd better not have trade barriers.  I mean, when you hear people talk about
open trade, fair trade and free trade, think about Ed.  He's able to sell
machines.  There's a need for them.  He's able to compete globally, even
though he is a small business owner.  A lot of small businesses benefit
because our government has decided to open markets, as opposed to close
markets.  It's an important part, by the way, of making sure America is a good
place to do business is to be confident in our ability to compete, so long as
the playing fields are fair across the world, which we'll make them fair.
That's part of my job.  Ed's job is to meet demand.  My job is to make sure
he's got the ability to do so with free and fair trade.
    He will invest $300,000 this year.  That's a lot of money for a small
business.  One of the reasons he says he'll do so is because the tax savings
on that investment will be about $50,000.  See, that's what -- when you hear
me talk about incentives, that's what the tax relief plan does. It says, Ed,
invest $300,000 and you'll save $50,000 from what you normally would have.
It's called an incentive.
    And our American citizens have got to understand the connection between
investment and jobs.  When Ed invests $300,000 to build a warehouse and a
painting facility, somebody has got to come and build the warehouse, somebody
has got to manufacture the material for the warehouse, somebody is going to
provide the new painting equipment for the painting facility. Investment
equals jobs.  When somebody invests, like Ed, somebody has to provide the
goods that he needs.  And when somebody provides the goods he needs, somebody
is working to provide the good he needs.  And that's how this economy works.
He says, "With that money I don't send back to the IRS, I can expand right
here."  (Laughter.)  Those are his words. (Applause.)
    What Ed is saying is what a lot of people around the country tell me is, I
can spend my money far wiser than the federal government can.  And I
appreciate that spirit and that attitude.  That's why the tax relief we passed
was so important.
    The Maxwells are here -- Joan and Owen Maxwell.  You two know them. See,
they're the boss.  (Applause.)  No, those aren't the Maxwells.  The Maxwells
are over here.  There they are.  Thanks for coming.  They're from Edenton,
North Carolina.  They've got their own boat manufacturing company. I asked
them how the fishing was off the coast of North Carolina. (Laughter.)  They
manufacture center console boats.  That's a pretty neat little business, isn't
it?  And they said their business is good.  As a matter of fact, they're
wisely trying to pre-sell their inventories. That's a smart idea.
    Demand is up for their boats, I suspect because they produce a good-
quality boat at a reasonable price.  If you make a lousy-quality boat at a
high price, no one's going to buy them.  (Laughter.)  So they're good business
people.  They've added 20 workers in the last six months.  They're expanding
their business.  (Applause.)  They're going to invest $750,000 this year in
molds for their boat-building business.  Somebody has got to make the molds.
There's some worker making the molds that they're buying. And the tax relief
plan we passed will save them $100,000 on that investment.
    You see, there's a connection between good tax policy and decision-making.
They're more likely to purchase $750,000 worth of molds when they realize they
have $100,000 worth of saving in so doing.  And that's why it's important for
our citizens to be able to draw the connection between tax relief and
decision-making that leads to more jobs.
    One of the interesting things the Maxwells have done -- and I really
appreciate this -- is that they have teamed up with a local community college
to devise a course to train them for people coming into their industry -- the
boat manufacturing industry.  That's a wise, wise use of a very important
community asset, which is the community colleges.  I've met some people in
North Carolina who, because of the changing economy, had to go from the
textile industry to the health care industry.  A lot of people in North
Carolina used to work for textiles and are looking for new work. And, wisely,
the health care industry has used the community college system to train people
for really good jobs, by the way.
    Now, the person is going to have to want to be trained.  But the community
college and the local businesses have to provide the curriculum. Government,
by the way, helps pay the salary in a lot of cases.  And it's a wise use of
taxpayers' money, and it's a wise use of local taxpayers' money, to provide
training for people so they can find work.
    One of the real bottlenecks we're going to have in America, as our economy
changes and continues to grow, is whether or not the worker is going to have
the skills necessary to fill the jobs of the 21st century. One of the real
challenges to make sure that America is the best place to do business in the
world so people will be able to continue to find work is to make sure our
education system functions well.  And one way to make it function well is for
the federal government to work with community colleges and local businesses to
devise curriculum to train people for the jobs which actually exist.  And I
want to thank the Maxwells for being a part of this kind of practical move in
education all across the country.
    Joan says, "There are a lot of opportunities where people can use these
skills.  We're literally building our work force for the future here."  That's
the way we think in the administration.  We're thinking about the future.
We're thinking about how to make sure that the momentum that we have developed
in the economy not only stays strong in the immediate years, but how is it
going to look 10 years from now.  So we've got to start planning for the
future.  We've got to understand the decisions we're making today are going to
make it more likely that the small business sector, the entrepreneurial spirit
of America will remain very strong tomorrow.
    And part of that is to make sure the education system not only teaches our
youngsters how to read, write, add and subtract now, before it is too late,
but it's also to make sure that our community colleges are able to put
curriculum in place to train people for jobs which will exist.
    So I want to thank the Maxwells for being here.  I appreciate your spirit,
and thank you for hiring people.  (Applause.)
    We've got -- John Biagas is with us.  John, thank you for coming. Newport
News, Virginia.  (Applause.)  Newport News, Virginia.  John purchased his
business in 1997.  He took a gamble and said, I'm going to buy the business
from the previous owner.  I think he said they might have had a million
dollars' worth of sales in 1997 -- they're over $14 million now.  That's
pretty good growth, isn't it, in a five-year period of time? This entrepreneur
has taken a business that had a pretty good sales base, but he's expanded it
15 times in five years.  I can't wait to see what you look like five years
from now, John.  (Laughter.)  By the way, it won't be very good if they raise
taxes on you.  See, one of the things -- if John is thinking about what his
business will look like five years from now, I can predict to him if we run up
the taxes on sub-chapter S corporations by raising, for example, the top rate,
his business isn't going to look quite as good as it would if -- when we keep
taxes low.
    John is an S corp.  In other words, all the talk about running up the top
rate affects his business.  When you hear them in Washington saying we're
going to run up the top rate, just remember this is a tax on small businesses.
And you don't want to tax small businesses, because small businesses are
providing the economic momentum necessary for us to have created 1.5 million
jobs since August.  We want that job creation to continue to go on.
    Raising taxes will make it more likely somebody won't be able to find a
job.  You know why?  Because it affects businesses like John's, that's why.
When you start taking money out of John's coffers, it means he's less likely
to expand.  He is a full service electrical and general contractor. That's his
job.  He hired eight people in the last two months.  He wants to hire eight to
10 more this year.  That's positive.  (Applause.)
    I think we're beginning to see a trend here.  (Laughter.)  Small
businesses are hiring -- eight people here, 10 people there -- but it adds up,
because there's millions of small businesses all across America.  Small
business is the cornerstone of the great American enterprise system.  Not only
that, it's the cornerstone of a hopeful country, isn't it -- the kind of
country you have where John, who was one of 14 raised in Lake Charles,
Louisiana -- the youngest of 14, I might add -- can go to the family reunion,
which I suspect is quite large -- (laughter) -- and says, by the way, my
business is doing pretty darn good.  It's a great American story, isn't it,
where somebody who has a dream and is willing to work to realize a dream is
able to do so.  Our job is to make sure those dreams stay alive, the dreams
stay alive.
    He'll save $60,000 in taxes this year on $350,000 of investment in new
trucks.  When you hear the investment numbers in small businesses, it is
heartening, because, I repeat, when people invest, they create jobs. That's
how jobs are created.  John says, "The cash we're able to keep in the business
helps a lot.  It helps us look forward to the future."  That's what he said.
That's what you want to hear.  You want to hear your CEO of a small business
saying, it helps me look forward to the future.  You don't want people saying,
oh, gosh, life is going to be miserable because when we've been able to come
through tough times.  You want to say, I'm looking forward.  Good policy in
Washington always looks forward, not backwards.
    I'm going to talk about some things we can do to make sure, as John and
others look forward, the environment is encouraging and conducive to economic
investment.  I just told you one, and that is to make sure the education
system functions well.  If you're a -- somebody trying to hire people, and you
see that the education system is working well, you'll be able to look forward
with confidence, because you know you'll be able to fulfill your workers
needs.  You can't look forward if you're worried about finding somebody to
meet a skill that you need.
    Joan Thompson is with us.  She was talking about the level of worker --
the skill level of the worker she needs.  She's an owner in a -- thank you,
Joan -- she's an owner in a -- (applause) -- part-owner of the Minnesota Wire
and Cable Company in St. Paul, Minnesota.  I say, part-owner, she's got nine
other family members who own a piece of the business?

    MS. THOMPSON:  Nine children and both parents --

    THE PRESIDENT:  Yes, 11 people, 11 owners.  (Laughter and applause.)
Family-owned business, it's got a nice ring to it, doesn't it, and it's got an
American ring to it.  There's a lot of family-owned businesses around our
country.  And one of the real difficulties for family-owned businesses is the
fact that we tax a family's assets twice because of the death tax. It's
important that Congress understand what the death tax does to capital
formation and the ability for the small business sector to invest.
    The -- and I say you tax it twice -- when the Minnesota Wire and Cable
Company makes a profit, it gets taxed.  And I suspect you pay property taxes
at the local level, as well, and state taxes.  And then when the -- mom and
dad move on, in many cases, that asset will be taxed again. And therefore, if
the asset is liquid, some people have to sell their business.  You can't pass
it on.  I believe you ought to be able to pass your business on to whomever
you choose without the federal government being in between you and the -- and
those who -- those who you designate to own the company.  (Applause.)
    And so Congress, by the way, needs to hear from small business owners and
farmers and ranchers, and to tell Congress to complete the task we started.
We put the death tax on the way to extinction.  Unfortunately, I think it's
2011 it pops up again.  That's going to make the year 2010 an interesting year
for estate planners.  (Laughter.)  How do you want to handle this one, you
know -- (laughter.)  I think I'll go ahead and keep on living.  (Laughter.)
They just need to make the repeal of the death tax a permanent part of the tax
code.  It will be a major part of the simplification of the tax code, too.  I
understand it takes up about 30 percent of the tax code, which is a real thick
book.  And it just doesn't -- to me, it's bad policy.  And it's bad policy for
the Thompson family and a lot of other small business owners around America.
    Joan's business is a custom design -- custom wire and cable assembly
business.  They've got customers with defense contractors, and particularly
health care.  She likes to say, we're a part of the -- we're part of the
armies of healers that are all across the country.  We're helping people save
lives.  That's kind of a neat way to frame your business, isn't it?
    And it's going well.  They've added 14 workers this year; tax savings of
about $80,000 on $600,000 worth of investment.  I said, what are you going to
invest in?  She said, robotics.  It's pretty interesting to hear a small
business say, robotics.  I don't know whether small businesses were saying
they were investing in robotics 20 years ago or not, but I bet they are over
the next 20 years, if the incentives are properly structured, if small
businesses are encouraged to invest, if the tax structure is such that it will
make it easier for them to survive, by making sure government doesn't take too
much of their money.
    She also invests in C&C machines.  Everybody knows what they are.
(Laughter.)  Somebody is making it.  (Laughter.)  Somebody is a part of the
manufacturing process that is making the C&C machine.  In other words, there
is a C&C machine maker -- (laughter) -- that is employing people.
    And that's how it works.  That's how the economy works.  I've asked these
four small business owners to come and see us, because I want to share with
you a couple of things.  Let me tell you what she said.  She said, "The
savings on the tax side gave us the confidence to launch another division in
our small business."  We're talking about investment in America.  Investment
equals jobs, and people are now confident to make investment, because of good
tax policy.
    The role of the government is to create a sense of confidence by doing
some smart things.  In other words, the more money people have of their own
money the more confident they'll be, particularly as this economy picks up
steam.
    These are great stories, and I appreciate you all coming and letting us
talk about your stories.  They're uniquely American stories. (Applause.)
    And as we look forward with confidence, we want to make sure that we make
good decisions.  There's a couple of good decisions we need to make. One is, a
bad decision would be to raise taxes on the American people.  And some of the
tax relief is set to expire.  And if Congress doesn't make it permanent,
that's called a tax increase.  And they will be tagged with raising taxes on
the American people.  They should not raise taxes.  We need good, consistent
tax policy.
    If you're a small business owner, you want there to be a constant in your
life when it comes to planning.  You've got too much to worry about markets,
your customer base, and you need to have certainty in the tax code.  And the
Congress needs to know that.  And raising taxes creates uncertainty and will
make it difficult for small business owners to plan and invest.
    Secondly, health care costs are on the rise, and that makes it difficult
for employer and employee.  We must not allow the federal government to run
our health care system in America.  What we must do is to put good policy and
plan in place, which will connect the patient-doctor relationship and give
people choices and decision-making powers in the marketplace.  That's why I'm
such a strong backer of health savings accounts.  These can be tailored for
small businesses.  I would urge every small business in America to look at a
health savings account.  It's a good way to help control costs, and it's a
good way to provide benefits for your workers.
    We need association health plans -- (applause) -- which will allow --
small businesses will be able to share risk, and big business are able to get
pretty good buys in health care because they're got a lot of employees. They
can spread risk across a large number of employees.  Small businesses don't
have that same ability, unless government allows them to share risk across
jurisdictional boundaries.  And that's what association health plans do.
    We need tort reform in America.  (Applause.)  Small businesses are
threatened by -- if you ask people what affects there confidence in the
future, they'll tell you, when they see junk lawsuits or have junk lawsuits
filed against them.  It threatens their existence, it makes it very difficult
for people to plan with confidence.  And, let's face it, our society is too
litigious.  There's too many lawsuits, a lot of them frivolous and junk
lawsuits.  And there is a role for the federal government in this.  We need to
have class action reform.  We need to have asbestos reform.  Congress needs to
get these bills passed and to my desk.
    We need medical liability reform, as well, at the federal level.  You see,
junk and frivolous lawsuits cause docs to practice defensive medicine. And
defensive medicine basically means I'm going to prescribe more procedure than
needed, so that when I get in a court of law, I'll be able to defend myself.
And that runs up the cost of medicine, which hurts the patients and it hurts
the federal government, because the federal government pays a lot of money for
health care in Medicare and Medicaid and our veterans' benefits.  And our
budgets are affected by frivolous and junk lawsuits here at the federal level.
Therefore, I think it is a federal problem that does require a federal
solution.  And we proposed such a solution.  The House of Representatives
passed it.  It got stuck in the Senate, because the trial lawyers are powerful
in the Senate; that's why. And for the sake of small business growth and for
the sake of having a good economy in the future, we need to convince the
United States Senate to pass meaningful and real tort reform.  It's an
important part -- (applause.)
    And, finally, if you're a small business owner, you need to know that
you're going to have reliable and affordable sources of energy.  There's a lot
of concern about the manufacturing sector in America, and there should be.
But a manufacturing sector has got a real problem if there are disruptions of
energy supply, spikes in energy prices and doesn't have reliable electricity.
    So my administration recognized this early on.  We knew that if we were
dependent upon foreign sources of energy it would create not only an economic
security risk, but a national security risk.  And so we proposed ways to
increase conservation.  We promoted new technologies that will come into play
in the out-years that will make us less reliable upon foreign sources of
energy.  We recognized that we can explore for energy in environmentally-
friendly ways that we couldn't 20 years ago.  We promoted new electricity
reliability standards.  We've done a lot of things.  And we proposed it to the
United States Congress, and, of course, it's stuck -- they're playing politics
with the national energy policy.
    But if we're interested in making sure people can find work in America, if
we want to be the best place to do business, if we want the entrepreneurial
spirit to remain strong, we've got to develop an energy policy that makes us
less dependent on foreign sources of energy. (Applause.)
    I've told you Ed relies upon trade.  He's moving used Cats, used John
Deere, and used Case equipment overseas.  He said, when you look at it, you
can't tell it's used, though, because he's got such good workers. (Laughter.)
They take a used piece of equipment and re-do it, make it look like new, make
it run like new, and sell it -- like old.  (Laughter.)  And as he said, I am a
small business guy utilizing free trade.
    America must reject economic isolationism if we're going to be a
confident, growing nation.  Listen, we're good at things.  Look at old Ed,
he's good at something.  (Laughter.)  All he needs is a chance to sell it. And
if we fall into trade wars because of politics, we will be doing a disservice
to the entrepreneur in America.  We're good at growing things. Our farmers
ought to be selling soybeans everywhere in the world,  And that's what we're
trying to make sure other countries hear this -- hear the philosophy of this
administration.  We're opening up our markets -- open up yours.  That's what
we're telling them.  (Applause.)
    See, we know what's good for consumers, when people have more choice. If
you're a consumer in America and you've got more goods to choose from, you're
going to get better quality at a better price.  That's how it works. And so
we've said -- not only have I said, but other Presidents have said, Presidents
before me have said, for the good -- for the good of the American consumer,
sell us your goods and services here in America.
    And now you've got an administration who is saying, since we do that for
you, you open up your markets.  I told Evans and Zoellick, when we need to get
tough with foreign nations that shut us out, get tough, because all we're
interested in is a level playing field.  That's what we want.  We want our
people treated fairly.  (Applause.)
    You'll hear people say, well, the best way to deal with this is to find
out ways not to trade fairly, it's to isolate us.  That would be terrible for
small businesses.  And so this administration is confident in America because
we're confident in Americans.  We know we can -- we're really good.  We're
really good at building things and growing things and selling things.  And I
intend to make sure that they have a good chance to do so, for the sake of
American workers.
    This economy of ours is steady and strong; it's steady and strong. It's
steady and strong, which means people are going back to work -- 1.5 million
jobs since last August.  That is steady growth.  (Applause.)  And it's steady
and strong because the American entrepreneur is strong and capable and willing
to take risk.  The entrepreneur is employing more people.  The entrepreneur is
investing.  And the role of government is to promote good policy that
encourages the American entrepreneur.
    And the other thing about the entrepreneurial spirit that is so wonderful
about our country, is it doesn't matter whether you're the fourth generation
to own your business, or you're a first-generation American -- either way,
you've got the opportunity to say, this is my business; I own it, I'm going to
nurture it and grow it and, therefore, help others to find work.  That's the
cornerstone of the Bush economic policy.  And it's working.
    I'm glad you all are here.  God bless your efforts, and may God continue
to bless our country.