• Mercury Marine - your company's name speaks of freedom on the open water, of cruising a lake on a summer afternoon, of enjoying the beauty of our great country. The motors and other products you make here allow people to experience the great outdoors -a favorite fishing hole, an amazing national park, a beautiful river, or even simply a place that they have never been before.

• Your products allow Americans to fulfill a basic right and a fundamental privilege - that of being free.

• You are seeing that freedom. Mercury Marine is one of the most respected leaders in the boating industry. You are the source of quality products and good jobs. You are proof that given a fair playing field, the American worker can out-compete workers anywhere in the world.

• I will recognize the accomplishments of your workers in a few minutes. You have much to be proud of on emissions, ergonomic design, four-stroke engines and lost foam - alum.

• The President's pro-growth, pro-freedom policies are working across the country. More than 1.9 million jobs have been created, and the national unemployment rate is the lowest it has been since October 2001.

• Having more money means having more freedom to enjoy the outdoors, to explore this great country of ours.

• You do your part by making environmentally friendly products that people can enjoy on our nation's lakes, rivers, and oceans. President Bush and I are doing our part by making sure that you have access to our waterways, and that they are well cared for.

• It is hard to overstate what the marine boating industry means to America's economy. With nearly 13 million registered boats and more than 72 million boaters nationwide, the recreational boating industry contributes some $30 billion annually to the nation's economy. It improves the quality of life for Americans and their families in communities nationwide.

• Recreational boating also draws millions of Americans to recreation and tourism annually, contributing billions in spending and sustaining hundreds of thousands of related jobs for people who work in hotels, restaurants, marinas, gas stations, grocery stores, and other retail shops in those local economies.

• President Bush recognizes how vitally important it is to ensure that boaters continue to be able to enjoy our rivers, streams, lakes, and oceans. He is working hard to support you by ensuring more access for boaters and improved facilities.

• The Interior Department, through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, undertakes numerous initiatives that both directly and indirectly support recreational boating. In fact, the Service is the No. 2 federal agency, behind the Coast Guard, in terms of providing funds for recreational boaters. The Service provides approximately $60 million a year of grant funds that are dedicated to boating each year.

• The Service's Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration program (aka Dingell-Johnson or Wallop-Breaux program) provides about $45 million annually to state fisheries agencies for their efforts with the development and operation of boating facilities.

• Thousands of boat ramps, parking areas and other facilities have been developed or maintained by the State fish and wildlife agencies with these funds. Marinas have been built with these funds and recently the state of Kentucky used these funds to build a fishing lake whose access is primarily for boaters.

• The Fish and Wildlife Service's Clean Vessel Act grant program provides up to $10 million annually to State agencies for the installation and maintenance of sewage pumpout facilities at ramps and marinas. The program has helped to clean up some of America's waterways and has allowed some areas to become open for commercial oystering that were not previously available because of high sewage levels.

• The Fish and Wildlife Service's Boating Infrastructure Grant program provides up to $8 million annually to states for the development of docks and other facilities for large, transient boats. With America's baby boomers retiring and upgrading to larger boats, this program is helping to meet the needs of American boaters. Many cities and local communities are capitalizing on this program to create facilities to attract boaters.

• Boaters also are vital to our conservation mission. They support conservation in a variety of ways and have repeatedly shown their willingness to support our conservation programs.

• For example, boaters contribute more than $220 million a year in excise taxes on motorboat fuels to the Aquatic Resources Trust fund. These funds help to support the conservation of wetlands, fisheries management and conservation efforts, and also the development and maintenance of boating facilities throughout the nation.

• President Bush also has been supportive of opening access and improving visitor facilities at our National Parks and National Wildlife Refuge System.

• Boating is an important recreational activity in our National Parks. One hundred of our 388 park units have boating programs, including here in Wisconsin at Apostle Island National Lakeshore and St. Croix National Scenic Riverway.

• Nationwide, National Park visitorship is up by 5 percent this year. Those who come are seeing a lot of construction signs. In the past three years, we have planned and undertaken about 4,000 projects to repair and restore aging infrastructure such as leaking water tanks and crumbling trails.

• The President has committed $4.9 billion to restoration and repair projects at National Parks. He has also requested a near-doubling of funding to repair roads in them.

• The National Park Service's annual budget is 20 percent higher than when the President took office. We are now spending more money per acre, per employee and per visitor in the National Park system than at any time in its history.

• We have expanded fishing access at many National Wildlife Refuges. Today, 270 are open to fishing.

• In addition to expanding access, we are also improving it. The Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service have signed an agreement with 17 sportsmen organizations to improve hunting and fishing access to federal lands.

• Waterways are ours - to be cared for, also to be enjoyed. The products you make here provide that freedom to millions of Americans.

• America has so many beautiful places - majestic purple mountains and waves of amber grain, deep blue lakes and leafy green forests. It is the proud land of a free people.

• All of what is represented here - access to public lands; increased personal income; enjoyment of Mercury Marine products and other recreational vehicles and equipment - they all speak to the same fundamental value of freedom.

• Thanks to you, the horizons are just as wide as they were when the first Mercury engine roared to life on the open water in 1939.

• Thank you.

[Explain Take Pride]

Marine Manufacturers Association is a charter partner.

Clean Marinas program

TPIA awards go to:

Dave Michaelson: VP of Manufacturing Mercury Marine on behalf of the National Marine Manufacturers Association.

John Norgren: He is on the Board of Directors of the Marina Operators Association of America.