Remarks following discussions with business leaders

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, April 21, 2003

April 15, 2003

Christine, thanks for the kind words. Thank you for being a entrepreneur who was encouraging to your fellow workers to serve their country. You represent a lot of bosses across this country who encouraged the reservist or the guard, who made sure there was a job available when they came home and, at the same time, supported their family. And I want to thank you very much for that.

I want to welcome you all to the Rose Garden. It is a beautiful day. It's a beautiful day for our country too. We've got troops still fighting in Iraq, and our Nation takes great pride in the men and women who wear our country's uniform and who sacrifice for security and peace. The world has seen their skill and their courage and their humanity. They bring security to our country and, at the same time, bring freedom to the Iraqi people.

I appreciate the chance to meet with small-business leaders from around our country to discuss the challenges facing our economy. The small-business folks in America, the entrepreneurs, represent one of the great strengths of this country, the spirit of free enterprise, the willingness to take risk, the hard work required to move this economy forward.

Small-business owners and employees understand that this economy has a great deal of unmet potential. The American people have all the talent to meet that potential, and that's why I'm so optimistic about the future for our economy.

The Nation needs quick action by our Congress on a progrowth economic package. We need tax relief totaling at least $550 billion to make sure our economy grows. And American workers and American businesses need every bit of that relief now so that people who want to find a job can find one, so that people looking for work are able to put food on the table for their families.

I want to thank Christine for coming. I appreciate the fact that she is the CEO of her own business. We just had a roundtable discussion in the Roosevelt Room, and one of the things I love--told the folks there I loved about America was the fact that somebody can own their own business, that ours is an ownership society. I think that's one of the things that makes America so unique, is the entrepreneurial spirit and the drive by people from all walks of life to start their own business, succeed with their own business. And at the same time, it's that drive that makes it likely somebody is going to find work.

I appreciate Karla Aaron, who's with us as well, Hialeah Metal Spinning from South Florida, And I want to thank Tim Barrett, who is the owner of Wood World. Tim said he's got--he's about as small a business unit as you can get. He's got four employees. I said, "Well, it's four times bigger than the smallest." [Laughter] And I appreciate Frank Fillmore as the president of The Fillmore Group. Thank you all for standing up here as well.

Steve Anderson was with us today, who is the head of the National Restaurant Association. His association represents all kinds of entrepreneurs. The restaurant industry is a great place for people to get their start in achieving the American Dream.

Sal Gomez was here representing the Denver Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. The most interesting statistics about the entrepreneurial spirit is the number of Hispanic small businesses that are flourishing in our country. It's one of the great tributes to America and our open society.

I appreciate so very much Tom Donohue, who is the head of the U.S. Chamber, for joining us today. Jerry Jasinowski is the head of the National Association of Manufacturers, is with us. Karen Kerrigan is the Small Business Survival Committee--that's a pretty good name. [Laughter) Tom Musser is the National Federation of Independent Businesses, NFIB. And Terry Neese is Women Impacting Public Policy, joined us at our discussion in the Roosevelt Room; Bill Parsley of Carswell Distributing Company; Dirk Van Dongen, who is my good buddy, who represents the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors; and Melanie Sabelhaus, who represents the Small Business Administration. We had a great discussion. I want to thank you all for joining us there, and I appreciate everybody else coming today as well.

On the first day of the new Congress more than 3 months ago, I spoke to the business leaders in Chicago, Illinois. I described two great and immediate tasks facing our country: first, to meet the dangers to America wherever they gather; and secondly, to achieve a vigorous and growing economy. Those remain the highest priorities of my administration. And there's no doubt we're going to meet those priorities.

This Government is acting to protect the American people from the threats of a new era. In Iraq, the regime of Saddam Hussein is no more. A month ago--one month ago--that country was a prison to its people, a haven for terrorists, an arsenal of weapons that endangered the world. Today, the world is safer. The terrorists have lost an ally. The Iraqi people are regaining control of their own destiny. These are good days in the history of freedom.