President George W. Bush
Documents & Texts from the White House
26 January 2008
President's Radio Address
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. On Monday night, I will address the American people about the state of our union. I will report that over the last seven years, we've made great progress on important issues at
home and abroad. I will also report that we have unfinished business before us, and we must work together to get it done.
In my speech, I will lay out a full plate of issues for Congress to address in the year ahead. Two of these issues require immediate attention.
First is the economy. I know many of you are worried about the risk of an economic downturn, because of the instability in the housing and financial markets. You should know that while economic growth has
slowed in recent months, the foundation for long-term growth remains solid. And I believe that with swift action, we can give our economy the boost it needs to continue expanding and creating new jobs for our
citizens.
On Thursday, my Administration reached a bipartisan agreement with House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader John Boehner on an economic
growth package. This package will deliver direct tax relief to
hardworking Americans. It will also include incentives for businesses
-- including small businesses -- to make new investments this year. I
ask the House and Senate to enact this package into law as soon as
possible. And while I understand the desire to add provisions from both
the left and the right, it would be a mistake to undermine this
important bipartisan agreement. By working together, we can provide our
economy with a shot in the arm when we need it most.
The other urgent issue before Congress is a matter of national security.
Congress needs to provide our intelligence professionals with the tools
and flexibility they need to protect America from attack. In August,
Congress passed a bill that strengthened our ability to monitor
terrorist communications. The problem is that Congress set this law to
expire on February 1st. That is next Friday. If this law expires, it
will become harder to figure out what our enemies are doing to
infiltrate our country, harder for us to uncover terrorist plots, and
harder to prevent attacks on the American people.
Congress is now considering a bipartisan bill that will allow our
professionals to maintain the vital flow of intelligence on terrorist
threats. It would protect the freedoms of Americans, while making sure
we do not extend those same protections to terrorists overseas. It
would provide liability protection to companies now facing
billion-dollar lawsuits because they are believed to have assisted in
efforts to defend our Nation following the 9/11 attacks. I call on
Congress to pass this legislation quickly. We need to know who our
enemies are and what they are plotting. And we cannot afford to wait
until after an attack to put the pieces together.
When I go before Congress on Monday, I will speak more about how we can
keep our economy strong and our people safe. I am confident that we can
work together to meet our responsibilities in these areas -- and leave
our children a stronger and more prosperous America.
Thank you for listening.
END
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