September 13, 2005
JS-2714
The Honorable John W. Snow
Prepared Remarks: McDonald’s 2005 Government Relations Workshop
Washington, DC
Good morning; it's terrific to be here with all of you.
When I look around this room, I know that I'm looking at a great sample of the heart and soul of our country. The great strength of
McDonald's owner-operators are the backbone of the McDonald's corporation and as small-business owners you are the backbone of the American economy.
You're good neighbors in whatever community you're in because you create lots of jobs. And in times like these, when so many lives have been devastated by a natural disaster, you're better neighbors than ever.
I appreciate all that McDonalds – as a company and as a group of individuals – is doing to help the survivors of hurricane Katrina. From collecting funds through your Ronald McDonald House Charities canisters to taking care of your owner-operators and employees in the hurricane-ravaged area, you are reaching out and helping with a caring spirit that embodies the spirit of
It's been wonderful to see the outpouring of help from companies like McDonalds, Wal-Mart, and Home Depot, to name just a few, over the past couple of weeks.
McDonald's is supplying victims on the ground with food, water and medical help.
Wal-Mart has donated $3 million worth of essential supplies like diapers and toothbrushes to relief centers in three states, and they are doing a terrific job at keeping their area stores stocked with the things people need most, like generators, water, dry ice and readily-prepared meals.
Home Depot has offered any of their employees whose job was affected by Hurricane Katrina the opportunity to continue their employment at any Home Depot store. They made a direct cash donation of $1.5 million to support immediate relief and recovery efforts as well as long-term rebuilding – for example, they made a direct donation of $500,000 to nonprofit organizations that produce and rehabilitate affordable housing for low- to moderate-income homeowners to assist with the repair and rebuilding efforts. They are also working with their suppliers to donate materials, such as tarps, flashlights and bottled water, and generators to emergency management organizations.
Across the board, companies are giving millions in cash donations to the Red Cross and other relief groups. They're running employee donation programs and they're matching their employees' donations. They're giving millions in product donations, from pharmaceutical to technology products.
Johnson and Johnson has donated a quarter of a million dollars worth of products, for example, including 2,000 personal care kits. Pfizer has donated medicines including consumer and animal health products. Tyson Foods is providing truckloads of pre-cooked and shelf-stable meals.
This outpouring of help – both within the companies' families and externally, to the broader relief efforts – reminds us that this is a country where people take care of each other.
And although Katrina is a disaster on many levels – an event that has taken a heartrending human toll – I am confident that the residents of places like
We are committed to rebuilding the communities and as we do so we must help people rebuild their lives with a sense of hope and opportunity. Our overriding goal must be that everyone has an opportunity to build a better life for themselves and their families. Nothing less is acceptable.
The business community has also proved itself to be nimble and responsive to government action. As Treasury and other agencies announce changes in government rules or regulations, or new programs to help hurricane survivors, the business community has stepped up to play their part quickly and efficiently.
I know you see all of this as your responsibility, at McDonalds. You believe that taking care of your own family is just what you do – and, oh, by the way, that family includes your customers and everyone who works for you and their families, too.
At Treasury, we're doing our best to make sure that charitable spirit – that we see in both individuals and companies – is encouraged. Last week, we announced an action that allows employers to adopt leave-based donation programs under which employees could forego vacation, sick or personal leave, and in turn their employers would make cash contributions to charitable organizations involved in relief efforts. We believe that this will help workers and employers as they seek ways to help their fellow Americans.
The immediate responsibility of the government is to ensure that hurricane victims have shelter, food, water and medical attention. And, clearly, the private sector is playing a vital role in that effort.
Next on the list is making sure they have the money in their pockets that they need to re-build their lives.
At Treasury, we're making sure that hurricane survivors can get access to financial resources, starting with the checks they receive from the government, like Social Security and unemployment pay. This is another area where cooperation and support from private industry will help us get the job done.
I met with banking regulators last week, who are asking the institutions they oversee to consider all reasonable and prudent steps to assist customers' cash and financial needs in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina.
Many financial institutions are implementing contingency plans involving a variety of actions that will help the people of the
Treasury has also been working closely with the insurance industry which has thousands of claims adjusters who are ready to enter the area and begin to help people restore their lives.
Credit institutions are taking steps such as waiving late fees for credit card and other loan balances, easing credit card limits and credit terms for new loans and delaying delinquency notices to the credit bureaus.
I appreciate the steps that regulators and their constituents are taking to make sure that hurricane victims have access to cash and credit, and to ease worries about things like bill payments and credit status.
At Treasury and the IRS, we also know that the last thing people in the devastated areas of the
And speaking of taxes – there is a very important point that I want to emphasize: Now is not the time to increase the tax burden on the American people.
Keeping the tax burden lighter leads to innovation, economic growth and job creation. No one knows that better than the entrepreneurs here in this room today.
Katrina is having, and will have, an economic impact on us, and we need to focus on maintaining a thriving economy, not burdening it with taxes that would slow it down.
The President's economic leadership – most notably his well-timed tax cuts – really turned our economy around over the past three years. And although there is clearly no "good time" to be hit by a devastating natural disaster, I do believe that we were fortunate to be standing on very solid economic ground when this terrible storm struck.
The fact that our underlying economic fundamentals are so solid undoubtedly enhances our ability to deal with this disaster.
Over the short term, we'll feel an economic hit from Katrina. Jobs and homes have been lost, and that's a serious blow. The price of gas, already uncomfortably high, has been impacted by the storm, and that hurts, too. High fuel prices act like a tax on your business and on your family budget.
We believe that economic growth will slow in the last quarter of this year as a result of Katrina, but are optimistic that rebuilding efforts will give GDP, jobs and our overall economy a lift by the first quarter of next year.
I could already see the economic hope on the horizon when I visited the
Only the private sector can come in with the ideas, innovation, capital investment and job opportunities that the
We are committed to helping the region re-build, to helping people re-build their lives. And we want to do so in a way that is fiscally responsible. Will the relief and reconstruction be costly? Of course it will – but I want to assure you that this Administration is not, and will not stray from our course of federal deficit reduction. With continued economic strength – which we will enjoy with the continuance of the President's good economic policies – we'll be able to help our neighbors and continue to reduce our deficit.
I know and appreciate that the McDonald's family is committed to providing jobs and reopening closed restaurants in the
Thank you very much for having me here today; I hope you have a terrific meeting, and I'd be happy to take your questions now.