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Skriven 2006-01-19 23:33:42 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0601191) for Thu, 2006 Jan 19
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Fact Sheet: President Bush's Pro-Growth and Small Business Agenda
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 19, 2006

Fact Sheet: President Bush's Pro-Growth and Small Business Agenda


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Today In Sterling, Virginia, President Bush Discussed His Agenda To
Maintain The Economy's Momentum And Grow Small Businesses. The President
discussed the policies needed to keep the economy strong and growing in
2006. In the last two months, the economy has added more than 400,000 jobs
- for a total of more than 4.6 million new jobs since May 2003. The 4.9
percent unemployment rate is lower than the average of the 1970s, 1980s,
and 1990s. The economy grew 4.1 percent at an annual rate in the third
quarter of 2005 and has been growing above 3 percent in each of the past
two years.

The President's Tax Cuts Have Strengthened The Economy And Created Jobs.
Because the President believes that the American people can spend their
hard-earned money better than the Federal government can, he called on
Congress to reduce taxes - and Congress responded by lowering tax rates on
individuals and families, reducing the marriage penalty, and cutting taxes
on dividends and capital gains. The Administration put the death tax on the
road to extinction and helped families by increasing the child credit. Real
after-tax income per person has risen 7 percent since 2001.
  ū The Tax Cuts Have Helped Small Businesses. Small businesses create most
    of the new jobs in America. By cutting individual income-tax rates,
    taxes were also lowered for small businesses, most of which pay taxes
    at individual income-tax rates. Because of the tax cuts, small
    businesses now have greater incentives to expand their businesses and
    add jobs. In 2006, 25 million small business owners will receive an
    estimated $93 billion in tax relief.

The President Is Committed To Restraining Federal Spending. The
Administration has reduced the growth of non-security discretionary
spending each year the President has been in office. For 2006, we cut
non-security discretionary spending below the 2005 spending level and
worked with Congress to reduce entitlement spending by $40 billion. Working
with Congress to cut non-security discretionary spending, keep overall
discretionary spending growth below the inflation rate, restrain
entitlement spending, and end or reduce low-priority or poorly performing
government programs, the Administration remains on track to cut the budget
deficit in half by 2009. In the long term, the President is committed to
addressing the challenges posed by entitlements like Social Security and
Medicare.

The President's Small Business Agenda

To Help Small Businesses, The President Calls On Congress To Make The Tax
Cuts Permanent. To maintain the economy's strength, Congress must make the
tax cuts permanent. If Congress does not act, a family of four making
$50,000 today would eventually see their Federal income taxes go up nearly
50 percent. Small business owners would also pay more taxes, which means
less money to create new jobs and buy new equipment.

The President Is Working To Make Health Care More Affordable And
Accessible. Congress needs to expand Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), which
are helping put patients in charge of their health care decisions. With
HSAs, workers and employers can put money into tax-free accounts to be used
for out-of-pocket medical expenses. Congress needs to pass Association
Health Plans that would allow small businesses to join together and buy
insurance at the same discounts that big companies receive. The President
has proposed expanding the development of health information technology.
Also, Congress needs to pass common-sense medical liability reforms that
will allow doctors to focus on patients and control medical costs.

The Administration Is Addressing The Burden Of Junk Lawsuits. The Congress
passed and the President signed class-action and bankruptcy reform, but
more work remains to be done. Congress must also pass asbestos litigation
reform that ensures victims are compensated fairly while curbing the overly
burdensome cost of lawsuits on American businesses. To help small
businesses, the President supports the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act, which
would penalize frivolous lawsuits.

The President Will Continue To Work On Making America Less Dependent On
Foreign Sources Of Energy. The President signed the energy bill to help
America conserve more energy, make cleaner and better use of existing
resources, and promote the development of renewable and alternative
sources.

To Keep The Economy Growing, The United States Must Continue Opening
Foreign Markets. To ensure economic growth and create new job opportunities
for Americans, the Administration will continue to open up new markets for
American products and services overseas. The Administration is also working
to ensure a level playing field for American products. The President
strongly believes that so long as there is a level playing field, the
American worker, entrepreneur, and farmer can compete with anybody, any
time, any place.

Training Workers To Fill The Jobs Of The 21st Century

To Help Americans Take Advantage Of New Opportunities, The Administration
Is Strengthening The Nation's Education System And Job Training Programs.
The President proposed and the Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act
to ensure America's schoolchildren improve their performance and acquire
needed skills. The President has proposed initiatives to improve American
high schools and make it easier for more Americans to receive a college
education. The Federal government will also help workers get job training
through community and technical colleges.

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