February 3, 2006
JS-4007

The Honorable John W. Snow
Prepared Remarks: The North Carolina
Research Campus

We have a vibrant, dynamic economy in this country that is made up of all those ingredients: business, education, and government. When all three excel in their purpose is when our naturally resilient economy does its best.

We had terrific economic news this morning: the unemployment rate has now dropped to 4.7 percent – the lowest it has been since July of 2001 – and 193,000 new jobs were created in January. On average, 200,000 jobs have been created each month over the past three months and 4.7 million new jobs have been created since May of 2003. These are uniformly good numbers. In addition to the numbers for January, there were also revisions to the prior months, December and November, which added some 80,000 additional jobs.

The fact that the unemployment rate has fallen to 4.7 From the 4.9 is a really a very positive indicator about the strength of the labor markets. Also, the duration of unemployment is dropping and dropping fairly smartly. What this all tells us is that our labor markets are performing well and that we can expect rising employment and we can expect rising wage levels for Americans.

It's important to stay on this positive economic path, this path of job creation, and I commend the Senate for action they took last night on tax cuts. They moved the process forward, voting to extend some of the President's tax cuts, but I really want to encourage Congress to go further by making the President's tax cuts permanent. I hope the United States Congress will look closely at the good direction of our economy and resist calls to increase taxes on the American people.

I know I don't need to tell this crowd about the dynamism of the American economy. Changes in the job market here have been recent and swift. Ultimately, I believe, each decade of economic success brings better jobs and a better quality of life to American citizens, but it is possible for workers to get overwhelmed in the tide of change. Centers like this work to ensure that people are benefiting from a rising tide instead.

Where there was once fear of old jobs being lost, this center represents new jobs found. Research on health, nutrition and biotechnology holds incredible promise for the quality of life for the people of this country and of the world.

I hope you were as excited as I was to hear President Bush's dedication to innovation in his State of the Union address this week. First, he told America about our healthy economy, which is performing far better than other major economies. But he also acknowledged that we live in a new world and are facing competition from new economic players like China, India, and other "emerging market" countries. In order for America to continue to be a dynamic engine of growth, President Bush is outlining action in three key areas: health, energy, and America's competitiveness.

The President's reform agenda will help to make health care more affordable and accessible. Health Savings Accounts – putting patients in charge of their health care – will contribute to this goal. We need to make health insurance portable, make the system more efficient, and lower costs.

President Bush believes that the best way to break America's dependence on foreign sources of energy is through new technology. That's why he is proposing an Advanced Energy Initiative that would provide for a 22 percent increase in clean-energy research at the Department of Energy and would build on the energy legislation finally passed by the Congress last year that encourages and rewards energy conservation activity.

In his Tuesday night address, the President also talked about an ambitious strategy we are calling the American Competitiveness Initiative. It would significantly increase federal investment in critical research, ensure that the U.S. continues to lead the world in opportunity and innovation, and provide American children with a strong foundation in math and science.

With a focus on these and other good policies, and the work of terrific centers of innovation like this one, we'll keep America competitive in the world and keep our economy strong as it has been for some time now, with excellent GDP growth, steady job creation and low unemployment.

I'm happy to be sharing the President's economic policy proposals with you today, but I'm also looking forward to hearing your thoughts, observations and questions about the economy. America's economy is the envy of the world, but we'll only maintain that status if we keep working on it, every day.

I'd be delighted to take your questions now.