For Immediate Release
Office of the Vice President
February 18, 2005
Vice President's Remarks at Annual Conservative PAC Conference
Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center
Washington, D.C.
7:47 P.M. EST
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Good evening. (Applause.) Thank you.
(Applause.) Thank you all very much. (Applause.) Thank you.
(Applause.) Well, thank you very much.
And, Chris, I appreciate that introduction. It was very kind,
sir. And I want to thank my old friends Dave Keene and Wayne LaPierre
for their great work for the organization. And Dave, of course, is a
great dedicated conservative, but he's a lousy fisherman. (Laughter.)
No matter what he says.
But it's honor to be your guest again at CPAC. And I look around
the room and see a number of old friends -- as well as many young
folks, folks who will be the conservative leaders of tomorrow. It's
good to see all of you, and I convey best personal wishes from our
President, George W. Bush. (Applause.)
So many of you helped make this second term possible, and we're
most grateful. The year 2004 brought one of the most critical
elections in our nation's history -- presenting fundamental choices on
the direction of our nation's economy, and the course of the war on
terror. With the stakes so high, it was an intense campaign, fought
out to the last hour of the last day. All of us worked hard, gained
many new friends, and achieved a decisive outcome: a record voter
turnout and a broad, nationwide victory for the Bush-Cheney ticket.
Lynne and I had a terrific year on the campaign trail, with a lot
of memorable experiences along the way. I recall the day we stopped in
Joplin, Missouri, and had a town hall-style meeting with members of the
local community. A lady in the audience stood up and said, "Mr. Vice
President, I have a 2000 Bush-Cheney sticker. I've recycled it today.
And I want to see our President and Vice President recycled."
(Laughter.) I'd never heard it put quite that way. I made it clear
that I wanted to be re-elected, I didn't want to be recycled.
(Laughter.)
Another fine memory was the vice-presidential debate. I enjoyed
that evening -- (applause) -- though everybody agreed the other guy had
better hair. (Laughter.)
But we also remember a great week in New York City, and a superb
convention at Madison Square Garden. (Applause.) The event was
historic, because it was the first Republican convention ever to have a
Democrat as the keynote speaker. (Laughter and applause.) And, of
course, it was unforgettable, because the keynoter was Senator Zell
Miller. (Applause.)
All the hard work was rewarded in the end, and the President and I
want you to know how much we appreciate each and every person who
joined in the effort. Thanks to you, we gained seats in the House of
Representatives. Thanks to you, I am now presiding over a larger
Republican majority in the United States Senate. (Applause.) And
thanks to you, President George W. Bush won the greatest number of
popular votes of any presidential candidate in history. (Applause.)
This has been a consequential presidency -- which has revitalized
our economy and reasserted a confident American role in the world. Yet
in the election of 2004, we did more than just campaign on a record.
President Bush ran forthrightly on a clear agenda for this nation's
future, and the voters responded by giving him a mandate. In this new
term we're going to use that mandate to achieve great goals -- so we
can leave this nation better, stronger, and safer than we found it.
Our work begins with good stewardship of the economy, and
continuing a strategy that is pro-growth, pro-jobs, pro-entrepreneur,
and pro-taxpayer. (Applause.)
Four years ago, we inherited an economy that was running out of
steam. Working with Congress, we moved quickly, delivering tax relief
for every person who pays income taxes, and setting the economy on a
new course. Energized by tax relief, America pulled out of the
recession, and overcame the economic disruption that followed the
attacks of September 11th. Among the major industrialized nations, the
fastest-growing economy is right here in the United States. And in the
last year we've added more than 2.2 million new jobs. (Applause.)
To keep our economy strong and competitive in the future, we must
ensure that America remains the best place in the world to do
business. And any sound economic policy depends on limiting the size,
the scope, and the spending appetite of the federal government.
(Applause.) Last week the President sent Congress a budget that meets
the nation's priorities in a thorough, responsible way; holds the
growth in discretionary spending below the rate of inflation; actually
reduces non-security discretionary spending -- the first proposed
budget reduction since Ronald Reagan lived in the White House.
(Applause.) We've identified more than 150 programs that don't fulfill
essential purposes, or duplicate current efforts, or simply don't get
results. And out of respect for the taxpayers, those programs will be
reduced or eliminated. (Applause.)
Permanent tax relief will make it easier for America's
entrepreneurs to start new businesses, to buy new equipment, and to
hire new workers. The small business sector is the main engine of job
growth in the United States. And in every part of the country, small
companies are the path of advancement, especially for women,
minorities, and immigrant families. So to keep this economy strong
and competitive, we need to reward, not punish, the effort and
enterprise of hardworking Americans. (Applause.)
We'll keep this economy strong by enacting a sound national energy
policy. For the sake of our economic security and our national
security, Congress needs to pass the President's energy plan and to
make this nation less dependent on foreign energy. (Applause.)
We'll keep this economy strong by passing legal reform. Justice is
distorted, and the economy is harmed, when the courts have to deal with
irresponsible class actions, or frivolous claims, or junk lawsuits.
We've allowed the lawsuit culture to make our legal system the most
expensive among major industrialized nations -- with tort costs
exceeding $240 billion a year. And you can measure the effects
throughout the economy -- in the new employees who don't get hired, the
equipment that doesn't get purchased, and the better wages and benefits
that don't get paid. For the sake of economic growth, jobs, and simple
fairness, Congress needs to return common sense to the nation's legal
system. (Applause.)
Congress has already begun to move forward on today's pressing
economic issues. But our changing times also require some more
fundamental reforms.
Year after year, American taxpayers carry the burden of a federal
tax system that is out of date and incoherent -- with hundreds of
different forms and publications, and more than 60,000 pages of laws
and regulations. Millions of honest people spend billions of
nonproductive hours just trying to figure out what they owe the
government. And we now have more people in the business of preparing
tax returns than we have in the United States Army. (Laughter.) Last
month -- well, it's not a bad line. (Laughter and applause.)
Last month, the President appointed a bipartisan panel to review
the tax code from top to bottom, and when their recommendations come
in, we'll work with Congress to make the tax code pro-growth, easier to
understand, and fair to all the taxpayers in America.
One of America's most important institutions is also in need of
fundamental reform. The time has come to join together and save Social
Security for our children and grandchildren. (Applause.)
Social Security has been in steady service, uninterrupted, for
nearly 70 years -- providing income to millions of seniors, and
assuring generations of working people that their retirement years
would have some decent measure of security. For today's generation of
senior citizens, the system is strong and fiscally sound. But younger
workers are understandably concerned about whether Social Security will
be around for them when they need it. The problem is simple to state:
With an aging population, and a steadily falling ratio of workers to
retirees, the system is on a course to eventual bankruptcy.
It's also worth noting that in 1935, the average life expectancy in
America was about 60 years -- meaning that most people would not even
live long enough to become eligible for retirement benefits when the
program was established. So when the program was still new, in the
1940s, there were about 40 workers paying into the system for every
retiree drawing benefits. Over time, as more and more retirees entered
the system and lived longer, the number of workers per beneficiary
continued to decline. By the 1950s, about 16 workers paid in for each
person drawing out. Today, it's about three workers per beneficiary.
And by the time our youngest workers -- those just entering the
workforce today -- turn 65, the ratio will be down to two workers per
beneficiary.
At present, Social Security operates with a cash surplus. But very
soon, the greatest test of the Social Security system will be upon us.
In just three years, the first members of the baby boom generation will
begin retiring and collecting benefits, and the surpluses will begin to
decline. By 2018, Social Security will begin paying out more than it
receives in payroll taxes. And from then on, the shortfalls will grow
larger every year -- until 2042, when the Social Security system
trustees estimate that the system will go bankrupt. By that point,
after shortfalls in the trillions of dollars, the government would have
no option other than to suddenly and dramatically cut benefits, or to
impose a massive, economically ruinous tax on American workers.
In short, the system is making empty promises that everyone in
Washington knows cannot be met. And we have a duty to solve the
financial problems of Social Security once and for all.
To meet that duty, President Bush has outlined several principles
that will guide us to a sensible, workable, bipartisan reform. First,
out of basic fairness, there must be no changes in Social Security for
those now receiving benefits, and those close to retirement. Anyone
born before 1950 can be absolutely certain nobody is going to touch
their Social Security. The program as they know it will stay the same
for them.
Second, we must not increase payroll taxes on American workers.
(Applause.) Combined with a federal income tax burden that's already
too high, endless increases in the payroll tax would take a heavy toll
on American workers, and would hurt the economy. We cannot tax our way
out of this problem.
Third, any fix must be permanent. Real Social Security reform
requires us to move beyond quick fixes and short-term schemes, and
that's exactly what we intend to do. (Applause.)
Fourth, as we fix Social Security, we must make the system a better
deal for younger workers, and the best way to reach that goal is
through voluntary personal retirement accounts. (Applause.) Each
personal account would be under the individual worker's ownership and
control. He or she would make regular investments in bonds or stocks
over a working life, then either use those investments to meet expenses
in retirement, or leave them as an inheritance for the next
generation.
Our administration supports allowing workers to set aside up to
four percentage points of their payroll taxes in personal accounts -- a
reform to be phased in over a number of years, to ensure that it's
fiscally responsible. Personal retirement accounts will be voluntary.
We will make sure the money can only go into sound investment choices,
a conservative portfolio of stocks and bonds. And we'll make sure that
the earnings are not eaten up by hidden fees.
Here is where Social Security's future should be seen as more than
a problem to be solved -- it is also a tremendous opportunity for all
of our citizens. Personal accounts are part of a comprehensive
solution to help the nation resolve the long-term challenges to Social
Security in a way that is fair to future generations. They would
continue a great American tradition of upward mobility and individual
independence. Many low-income workers who have nothing to spare after
taxes would have a chance to begin saving for their later years. In
this way, personal accounts hold the promise of turning every American
worker into an owner, giving them a retirement fund they control
themselves and call their own. This is a wise step toward a public
policy and an approach that can unite members of both parties: Let us
give all Americans the tools they need to succeed in freedom, to grow
in independence -- with a retirement nest egg that government can never
take away. (Applause.)
To build a stronger, better America for the next generation, we
must also uphold the values that sustain our society -- limited
government, personal responsibility, free enterprise, reverence for
life, and equal justice under the law.
Under the President's leadership, we will continue reforms that
bring high standards to the public schools, but leave control in the
hands of parents and state school boards, not bureaucrats in
Washington. (Applause.)
We'll keep working to make health care more affordable for
families, to protect good doctors from unreasonable lawsuits, to
advance the system of private medicine that is the finest in the world
by investing in health information technology and accelerating the
creation of electronic medical records. We'll strive to build a
culture of life that recognizes the dignity of every person.
(Applause.) And we'll support medical research that is ambitious and
ethical. (Applause.)
And in this new term President Bush will continue nominating
federal judges who know their job is to faithfully interpret the law,
not legislate from the bench. (Applause.)
Finally, ladies and gentlemen, the President and I will never lose
sight of our primary responsibility every day we serve in office: We
will do all that is necessary to protect the liberty and the lives of
the American people.
As the President has said, we will pass along to our children all
the freedoms we enjoy -- and chief among them is the freedom from
fear. And we are fighting a global war on terror, because Americans
refuse to live in fear.
We will continue our unprecedented efforts to defend the homeland
with greatly improved security for people and cargo entering the
country, new research on defenses against biological and chemical
attack, more training for first responders, and vital reforms of our
intelligence agencies. We'll continue working with friends and allies
to counter the proliferation of deadly weapons. And we'll stay on the
offensive against the terrorist enemy -- patiently hunting them down
and bringing them to account, until this danger to America is fully and
finally removed. (Applause.)
Defending our homeland and pursuing our enemies are central
commitments in the war on terror. Yet the long-term safety of our
nation depends on eliminating the conditions that breed ideologies of
murder. If the Middle East is a place where tyrants incite hatred,
support terrorist groups, and gain the most destructive weapons, then
America and the world will face decades of violence. The only force
that can overcome hatred, resentment, and tyranny is the force of human
freedom -- and that is why the United States will stand with the allies
of freedom to promote democracy, with the ultimate goal of ending
tyranny in our world. (Applause.)
A community of free and independent nations, with governments
accountable to their citizens, will enhance the peace of future
generations. Governments that terrorize their own people do not
hesitate to support terror abroad; democracies respect their people,
and the rights of their neighbors. Dictatorships prop themselves up by
finding scapegoats for their failures; democracies succeed by
encouraging hope and peaceful enterprise. So by serving the great
ideals of America, we also serve the urgent security interests of
America. By spreading freedom, we defend our own.
Advancing freedom will require different methods in different
places. Like other great causes in history, it will require decades of
patient effort -- and it will be resisted by those whose only hope for
power is the spread of violence. Yet we live in a time of tremendous
progress, and the direction of events is clear: Afghanistan has held
the first free elections in the nation's 5,000-year history. The
Palestinian people have chosen a new President and new hopes for
democracy and peace. The citizens of Ukraine have stood strongly for
their democratic rights, and chosen a new leader for their country. We
are seeing the power of freedom to change our world, and all who strive
for freedom can know that the United States of America is on their
side. (Applause.)
Our commitment to freedom is being tested today in Iraq. That
country remains a vital front in the war on terror, and the terrorists
and insurgents will continue their violent opposition to the rise of
democracy. Yet as the entire world saw in the elections three weeks
ago, the people of Iraq are determined to defend their freedom, and
they will not permit a small group of assassins to subvert the will of
the peaceful majority.
With the dictator overthrown, their sovereignty restored, their
votes cast, the Iraqi people are now in charge of their own destiny.
Iraq's elected legislators will soon appoint a government. By next
October, a new constitution will be submitted to the public for
ratification. If it is approved, then by December the voters of Iraq
will elect a fully democratic constitutional government.
As Iraqis take up these responsibilities -- (applause) -- as Iraqis
take up these responsibilities during the coming year, America will
keep its commitment to them. The most practical way to enhance Iraq's
security is to build the skill and the confidence of its security
forces. The United States and our coalition partners have already
trained and equipped many of these forces, and we'll continue to train
more. And we are working toward a clear objective: To enable the
government and citizens of democratic Iraq to defend their own country,
and their own freedom. And when that work is done, our servicemen and
women will return home to a proud and grateful nation. (Applause.)
Freedom's advance in the broader Middle East is bringing new hope
to a troubled part of the world, and freedom's victory in that region
will make America safer for generations to come. The effort has been
difficult, and there is more hardship and hard work ahead. And our
whole nation is grateful to every member of our military, and to the
families who share in their sacrifice.
Our deepest debt is owed to the men and women who have fallen in
service to America. (Applause.) We think of young volunteers like
Jeff LeBrun, the son of Haitian immigrants, who used to ride the A
train into Manhattan -- and passed under the World Trade Center every
morning on the way to school. After experiencing the events of 9/11,
both he and his brother Stanley decided they were going to join the
military to defend the country. Jeff became an Army specialist, and
was serving in Iraq when he was killed by terrorists last month. He
was 21.
We think of soldiers like Sergeant Christian Engeldrum. He was a
New York City firefighter, and was one of those who helped raise the
flag over the ruins at Ground Zero. Last year his National Guard unit
was deployed to Iraq. He was killed in action near Baghdad, age 39.
At his funeral, the New York Fire Commissioner said that Christian
Engeldrum "gave more than most men who live twice as long."
Ladies and gentlemen, this time of challenge for our country is
also a time of rising hopes for peace in our world. May we never
forget the price that some have paid, and are paying today, for the
safety of us all, and the security of the land we love. May we always
be grateful for the skill, and sacrifice, and unselfish courage of
America's Armed Forces.
In these four years, both at home and in far corners of the world,
the American people have faced one challenge after another. We have
lived with adversity, and sometimes with sorrow, and often with
uncertainty. Yet we have never been intimidated by our tasks, and we
have shown a watching world the good, and generous, and persevering
character of this nation. Because we have taken up hard duties -- and
stayed at them without wavering -- we can be confident that our
children and grandchildren will live in a better, stronger, safer
America.
All of us know there is much yet to do, and you can be certain that
President Bush and I are eager for the work ahead. On his behalf, I
want to thank our many friends gathered here tonight. We are deeply
grateful for your support, and for the high honor of serving the
American people for four more years.
Thank you very much.
END 8:12 P.M. EST
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