FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
September 13, 2004
JS-1910
The Honorable John W. Snow
Prepared Remarks to:
The National Restaurant Association’s 19th Annual Public Affairs Conference
Washington, DC
September 13, 2004
Thank you, Skip, and thank you all for having me here today. The National Restaurant Association is fortunate to have Skip Sack and Steve Anderson at its helm. I had a terrific meeting with Skip, Steve and Lee Culpepper just a few weeks ago and it was clear to me how much passion they have for the jobs they're doing.
They have every reason to be proud of their work, considering how important the restaurant industry is to the American economy as well as to the American way of life.
From your impact on GDP to your job-generating strength, you are an economic powerhouse. But your business is also about the heart of
It's a lot of work to provide your customers with a memorable experience… while also making sure your employees are taken care of, the bills are paid, your taxes are paid, the regulations that apply to you are followed, the liability insurance you need is acquired… and so on!
I understand, and the President understands, that when you're running a small business like a restaurant, your work day is endless, your responsibilities are enormous, and all you really want from your government is fairness and freedom.
It's not fair when you have to shoulder the burden of regulations that were written with big companies in mind. The President and I understand that what you want is the freedom to start up your business, the freedom to grow it, and the freedom to close the door and go fishing if that's what you want to do.
And in exchange for fairness and freedom, your unspoken promise, your great gift to your country is to create lots of jobs and keep fueling
We are fortunate that this country has always encouraged entrepreneurship… and that it became an early and lasting building block of our economy, which is the strongest and most dynamic in the world.
Individually, each business, each restaurant or florist or manufacturer, benefits its community by providing jobs. And in times like these, when we're recovering from a recession, every new job has the potential to change a family's life.
The good that businesses like yours bring to our economy is the reason why the President's tax cuts were designed with you in mind.
A few years ago, the direction of our economy needed to be turned around. It was in steep decline when the President took office, then September 11th and the corporate scandals literally kicked us when we were down.
The President knew that letting Americans keep more of their own money was the key to reviving the economy, and he knew that small businesses in particular would respond to the oxygen provided by tax cuts.
So everyone who paid taxes got tax relief; every taxpayer got to keep more of their hard-earned money, and spend it how they saw fit.
Because of the President's tax legislation, small-business owners like those of you in this room today invested in equipment or increased pay for employees, or even hired new ones.
Because of that legislation, workers had more money in their pockets so they could afford a payment on a new car or replace old household appliances with new ones. And the legislation reflected important American family values – the value of marriage, children and families. All benefited from the legislation.
The tax cuts made a difference – individually and collectively. Those tax cuts – coupled with the actions of the Federal Reserve - are a critical part of the reason why I am able to report that our national economy has found its footing. It is expanding and creating jobs.
Growth among businesses like yours is strengthening our economy on both the local and national levels. And it shows: we've had 12 straight months of job creation, totaling 1.7 million new jobs since August of last year.
Overall homeownership is at the highest level in the history of the country, as is minority homeownership. Increasing numbers of Americans are working and keeping more of what they earn… all because of the President's tax cuts.
Keeping your taxes low is the challenge that lies ahead, and it is critical at a time like this, when we need more growth and continued job creation.
I know that you've come to town this week to meet with your members of Congress. And this is the perfect time to remind them that you want your taxes kept low, permanently. Remind them that we need to bury the death tax, we need AMT relief and fundamental tax reform… and that the President wants to work with them on all of these goals.
Remind your lawmakers how tough it is for you to comply with a tax code this complicated. The President, as he indicated a couple of weeks ago, wants to make the code simpler and more fair… and he wants to make sure that it encourages economic growth and job creation.
Raising your taxes right now would be terrible news for our economy, and for every American who seeks work. It would take us in the wrong direction, imperil the recovery and put the American economy at risk.
We need to keep the burden of taxes as light as we can on individuals and businesses like yours if we want to encourage the creativity and innovation that leads to job creation.
Because when individuals and small-business owners are able to keep more of their own money to spend or invest the way they see fit, good economic news follows.
We still have challenges, to be sure. The price of oil is causing an economic headwind, and it's critical that the Congress act to pass the President's energy plan which has been stalled in the Senate. The Senate needs to act, and act now.
Another issue that we care about is the deficit. Deficits matter. It's a concern. It
We need to enact the President's energy policy because it will make us less dependent on foreign sources of energy and help to keep and create energy industry jobs here in
High health care costs are another challenge for individuals, families and employers like you. The recently enacted Medicare prescription drug bill contained an innovative new program to empower consumers to make better health care choices. Health Savings Accounts, or HSAs, are really super-charged IRAs that put patients back in charge of their health care. You own it, you control it, you can leave it to your heirs.
The President also needs Congress to act and pass Association Health Plans, so that the National Restaurant Association can offer you a more affordable health plan than the ones you have to choose from today. AHPs would allow you and your employees to band together with other businesses and their employees, across state lines, and it would make health insurance a lot more affordable.
The final issue I want to talk about today is one that I know haunts you every day: baseless, abusive lawsuits.
I am concerned with their economic impact, especially on smaller businesses and our medical community. As you well know, the threat of frivolous suits is a disincentive for expansion and hiring, and many good doctors are leaving their practices because they are fed up, frustrated. And while justice for victims must always remain as the ultimate goal of the system, we can and must make changes that make it harder for wealthy lawyers to make their own financial gain the primary outcome of personal injury suits.
Again, we call upon the Senate to pass essential reforms, including medical malpractice and class action reform.
I imagine tort reform will be a hot topic of conversation among you and your representatives this week… I don't need to remind you of its importance, but I do want you to know that you have the President's full support in this area.
I wish you well with your conference, and your Capitol Hill visits. And I thank you sincerely for the work you do to keep our economy strong.
There is still work to be done in many areas to shore up our economy, and to spur increased job creation. We are not yet satisfied. But we are fortunate that our economy is the most open, flexible, adaptive and resilient in the world… and we are fortunate to have entrepreneurs like you fueling our engine of growth.
As long as we continue on the path of freedom, making sure that individuals and small-business owners have an environment in which they can work and grow, our best days will remain ahead of us, all across this great country.
Thank you again for the work you do to keep our economy strong, and thank you for having me here today.