Deputy Secretary's Speech

Deputy Commerce Secretary David A. Sampson
Northern Community Investment Corp. (NCIC) Annual Luncheon
Whitefield, New Hampshire

Thank you for that kind introduction. It's a pleasure to be here today on behalf of President Bush in Whitefield, especially this time of the year. The fall colors may have peaked, but this is still one of the most beautiful areas in America.

To all the members of this association, thank you for your unfailing leadership in developing and building stronger communities across New Hampshire's "North Country" and Vermont's "Northeast Kingdom."

• The citizens of New Hampshire can also be proud to have representatives in Washington who have consistently supported creating conditions that allow American companies and workers to remain competitive.
• Sens. Sununu and Gregg, and Reps. Bass and Bradley have worked hard to keep our economy strong and moving in the right direction.
• Their leadership in Congress has helped our businesses to expand, invest in new equipment and create new jobs. The economic environment that they have helped to create will translate into more opportunities and prosperity in America.

Tax Relief
With the help of their support, President Bush's tax cuts are putting more dollars into your pockets, letting you choose how to spend, save, and invest your hard-earned money.

• 536,000 taxpayers in New Hampshire--over 40 percent of the population--have lower income tax bills;
• In Vermont, 247,000 taxpayers are benefiting--also over 40 percent of the population.
• 127,000 of New Hampshire's married couples and single parents are benefiting from an increase in the child tax credit;
• In Vermont, 58,000 benefit.
• 125,000 taxpayers in New Hampshire also are benefiting from reduced tax rates on capital gains and dividends.
• In Vermont, 52,000 benefit.

Tax relief and other economic policies supported by President Bush are spurring growth across the nation and creating jobs.

Successful economic development is truly driven at the local level--by leaders like you here today.

Economy
But it's worthwhile to consider the national context in which you are working, and to remind ourselves of what we have achieved as a nation in the past few years:

• We have over 6.6 million new jobs since August 2003--51,000 in September and 188,000 in August.
• The unemployment rate is 4.6%, which is below the average for the past four decades;
• Wages are growing, gas prices are dropping, and real, after-tax incomes have risen 9% since January 2001;
• Consumer spending is up 3.7 percent so far this year, and consumer confidence remains strong going forward.
• Overall, the economy grew a solid 3.5 percent over the past year and we've experienced strong growth for 19 straight quarters. The American economy is strong, growing and as resilient as ever, despite the recent challenges of devastating hurricanes and higher energy costs.

Regional/Local Development
A growing national economy provides the folks in New Hampshire and across the Northeast a better opportunity to realize economic growth right here at home. It takes both smart national policies and smart local initiatives to ensure that the American dream reaches all parts of our great nation.

It's extremely gratifying to see the progress being made here, and the great partnerships that are being formed.

Commerce's Economic Development Administration (EDA) invested some $380 million in over 800 projects in the Northeast over the last five years. That seed investment attracted $6.1 billion in private investment, creating or saving 114,000 jobs throughout the region.

In New Hampshire we invested nearly $10 million in 40 projects, creating or saving 2,600 jobs and attracting over $100 million in private investment.

In Vermont we invested over $13.3 million in 23 projects, creating or saving 4,600 jobs and attracting $121 million in private investment.

These are excellent results. And one of the best examples of private- and public sector collaboration is this majestic hotel we're privileged to be visiting today.

The Mountain View Grand Hotel was restored to greatness and beauty with the help of a $400,000 investment by the EDA in water and sewer infrastructure improvements, and $16 million from the private sector. And in the process, we created or saved over 200 jobs. You have exceeded all expectations for this project.

We're also investing in businesses and other ventures for the future to keep the nation, and communities like this competitive and innovative in the years to come.

One of the greatest success stories is bringing high-speed Internet service to rural Vermont.

Working with Northern Enterprises, Inc., we invested $3 million for the construction of a six-county broadband telecommunications network, which would create a 500-mile fiber optic route in Caledonia, Essex, Franklin Grand Isle, Lamoille and Orleans counties.

This project brought affordable high-speed Internet service to these rural areas of Vermont where a lack of large numbers of customers made private sector investment alone, cost prohibitive.

Now that the region has this service, which is so vital in today's 21st century economy, it can foster the growth of high-tech industry and create a globally competitive economic base. We expect it will create over 900 new jobs and attract $78 million in private investment.

So it's most fitting that in a few minutes we'll be recognizing Ohmer Corbin, chairman of the Economic Development Council of Northern Vermont, for his role in bringing the Internet to Northern Vermont.

Closing
Ohmer is the kind of successful leader we need to keep the nation headed in the right direction. He understands that our future lies in keeping America competitive and innovating, as we've always done since the earliest days of the Republic.

President Bush has read the compass and set a clear direction with his pro-growth economic policies. We have an incredibly strong and resilient economy, the greatest in the world.

But our work isn't finished. We need to work on a number of critical issues that are crucial to securing our future. We need comprehensive immigration reform, to keep America competitive and innovating by closing the skills gap in math and science and investing in R&D, and in winning the war on terrorism.

Looking at our history, there is every reason to be optimistic about our future. Optimists take risks. And they see the "opportunity in every difficulty," as Winston Churchill said.

So w e need to have everyone realize that what we have in front of us are tremendous opportunities to make this a stronger country, an even better country, a more prosperous country. America is a nation that can continue to be a shining example to the world of innovation and opportunity that comes with freedom and liberty.

So I ask that you commit to being a part of that bright future, to be part of the solution to the challenges we face.

I thank you very much for your leadership. And with that, I'll take any questions you have.