Remarks in Hedgesville, West Virginia

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, August 23, 2004

There's more work to be done in health care. To make sure that people get quality care, we've expanded community health centers for low-income Americans. We've established health savings accounts so families can save tax-free for their needs. Most people get their health insurance through their jobs, and many small businesses are having trouble affording health care for their employees. We must allow small businesses to pool their risk so they can buy insurance at the same discounts that big companies are able to do.

We got to make sure we have technology in health care so--reduce the costs and reduce medical errors. And one thing is for certain: To make sure you've got health care which is affordable and available, we need medical liability reform. See, I don't think you can be pro-patient and pro-doctor and pro-plaintiff attorney at the same time. I think you have to choose. My opponent made his choice, and he put him on the ticket. [Laughter] I made my choice. We need medical liability reform now. In all we do to improve health care in America, we will make sure that the health care decisions are made by patients and doctors, not by bureaucrats in Washington, DC.

Listen, we've got more work to do to make this economy stronger, We've been through a lot. We've been through a recession, corporate scandals, and a terrorist attack. Yet, this economy is strong, and it's getting stronger. And the reason why is because we've got great workers in America. We've got great farmers in America. The entrepreneurial spirit is strong in America, and so is the spirit of our fellow citizens. We've overcome those obstacles, and I think one of the main reasons why, besides the spirit of our country, is because of well-timed tax relief.

We didn't pick winners or losers when it came to tax relief. We said, "If you're paying taxes, you ought to get relief." And we're helping our families by raising the child credit. We're doing something about the marriage penalty. Listen, the Tax Code has got it wrong. We ought to be encouraging marriage, not penalizing marriage.

We're helping our small businesses, and this time the check was actually in the mail. [Laughter] Because we acted, our economy, since last summer, has grown at a rate as fast as any in nearly 20 years. We've added 1.5 million new jobs since last August. The national unemployment rate is 5.5 percent. The unemployment rate in this important State is 5.3 percent. The people of this State are working.

I'm not going to rest until somebody who wants to work can find a job. There's more work to be done. In order to keep jobs here in America, we need an energy policy. That includes using West Virginia coal. We need more conservation, more renewable. We need to use the resources we have in environmentally friendly ways. What I'm telling you is, to keep jobs here in America, we need to become less dependent on foreign sources of energy.

We need tort reform. We need to be wise about how we spend your money in Washington. And we need to keep your taxes low. You know, you've heard the talk in this campaign. I'm running against a fellow who has made over $2 trillion of new spending promises, And so they asked him the other day, they said, "How are you going to pay for it?" He said, "Well, I'm going to tax the rich." You can't raise enough money by taxing the rich to pay for all his promises. So guess who is going to end up paying? Yes. But we're not going to let him. We're going to win in November.