Good morning. It is a pleasure to join the Portland Chamber of Commerce today. There's nothing more refreshing for me than getting away from Washington to meet with the people who actually make our economy happen - people who get out there, make decisions, and work every day.

This week I'm traveling through New England to see for myself how the economic recovery is progressing. I'd also like to tell you a little about what we've been doing in Washington to support your efforts on the front lines of our economy, and ask what we can do better.

In the past eighteen months, we've seen some tough times for the American economy. We've suffered through a bursting stock market bubble, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, and discoveries of corporate fraud. People have lost jobs, and a lot of retirement accounts are hurting. Economic security is on all our minds.

The economy was in recession when President Bush took office last year, and we've been focused on recovery since inauguration day. From the beginning of his Administration, the President has embraced economic freedom and individual accountability as the foundation for continuing prosperity. His economic plan creates jobs, improves education and expands opportunities to save and invest.

And today it looks like we are on the road to recovery - a bumpy road, but the right road nonetheless. The latest indicators look good. Interest rates at 40-year lows are providing a boost to both the auto market and housing. Auto sales soared to the fifth highest monthly level on record in August and housing sales in July surpassed the 1 million mark for the first time in history. Besides cars, consumers are also buying furniture and other goods, as evidenced by retail sales growth over 1 percent a month in the three months from June through August. Capital spending on equipment and software rose in the second quarter for the first time in seven quarters and looks even better for the third quarter. And the unemployment rate fell to 5.7 percent in August from 5.9 percent in the previous two months.

The recession would have been deeper and longer without the President's early action to reduce taxes. The President's historic tax relief program last summer reduced taxes for the average family of four by $1,040 a year, and put cash in consumers pockets when the economy needed it most: last August and September.

Then in March, he signed the Job Creation Act to stimulate investment in our economy - a second major accomplishment. By the end of 2002, these two tax relief programs will have allowed the private sector to create an additional one million jobs with resources that would otherwise have gone to Washington. Our estimates now show that without that tax relief, the recession would have been deeper, and the recovery slower.

Our third victory for the economy has been new standards for corporate accountability. These ensure that people saving for their future can get accurate information for sound investment decisions. We are holding corporations accountable for telling the truth to investors and employees, so Americans can save for college tuitions and comfortable retirements with greater confidence.

And the most recent major step forward for our nation's prosperity is passage of Trade Promotion Authority, which the President will use to open international markets to US exports, creating jobs here at home. One in eleven working Americans - 12 million people - already work at jobs that depend on exports. World competition also spurs American companies to higher levels of productivity and innovation, even as it reduces product costs and raises quality for American consumers. Lower trade barriers work the same way as any other tax cut - by one estimate, reducing trade barriers by one-third would save $2,500 a year for every family of four in America.

Today, key economic fundamentals such as inflation, real wages, productivity, interest rates, business profits, and the housing sector are all strong because of the resilience and determination of the American people. I am confident that we will return to 3 to 3.5% growth rates by the end of this year, and that growth will create jobs and renew our prosperity.

But to a lot of folks out there watching, it doesn't feel like a recovery yet. And the President won't be satisfied until everyone who wants a job has a job. He's advancing the rest of his economic agenda to strengthen the recovery.

Since the attacks of September 11, the President has been asking Congress to enact terrorism risk insurance. At the President's Forum in Waco, the President of the Carpenter's Union told me that $8 billion in construction projects are on hold because the financing is stalled for lack of insurance against terrorist attacks. That's thousands of people in hardhats who aren't working because Congress hasn't passed that bill.

Congress right now is trying to finalize this legislation. We have to do it right, so that we insure American enterprise against unforeseeable attacks, while also avoiding a bottomless trough in which trial lawyers could cash in on American taxpayers.

And we need President Bush's Homeland Security plan, because the physical security of our nation is essential to prosperity. The brief economic freeze immediately following September 11 demonstrated that reality all too well. We are working with Congress to complete the new Department of Homeland Security, which would better organize and deploy our resources toward preventing further attacks.

We'll also work with Congress to restrain wasteful government spending, because overspending in Washington burdens our economy with higher debts and taxes. Chairman Greenspan reminded us of that risk in his address to Congress last week.

And the President has called on Congress to protect individuals' control over their 401(k) holdings without undue constraints from employers. Your retirement nest egg is yours alone - you earned it, and you should have full legal rights to control it.

In my view, the issue for our new era is leadership: how can leaders of business and government incorporate the best aspects of the 90s - growth, productivity, and innovation - into the emerging decade, while actively working to make this new era a time of both personal responsibility and public integrity? How can we reaffirm the link between value and values, and restore public confidence in American enterprise?

In my view, the answer is simple: honesty and accountability. With leadership that respects and promotes these values, everything is possible. Without it, nothing is possible. That is as true for American corporations as it is for American government. In my experience, the example from the top becomes the model for everyone below.

The President's leadership at home and abroad is smoothing our road to recovery, and increasing the prospects for peace and prosperity around the world. We will continue to pursue our vision, in which Americans have the greatest possible opportunity to live the lives we dream of: pursuing our chosen professions, owning a home, raising our children to be happy and successful, engaging in our communities, and attaining financial independence.

Thank you.