布什就紧急经济稳定战略发表讲话(2008-10-7)

President Bush Discusses Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. (Applause.) Thank you very much. David, thank you for the introduction, and thank you for the warm welcome. I'm pleased to be here at Guernsey Office Products. I want to thank all of you all for working hard to make this visit as comfortable as it is. It's not easy to host the President; I understand. (Laughter.) But thank you very much, David, for being an entrepreneur, a dreamer, a doer, and for providing people stable work.

It's interesting to know that Guernsey is a trusted name throughout the Washington area. You sell everything from office supplies to coffee products to furnishings. David is a good marketer; he said, listen, I understand you're going to be retiring here pretty soon. (Laughter.) Do you need some furniture in your new digs in Texas? (Laughter.)

I met David at the White House earlier and it was my honor to welcome him to the White House compound. And I appreciate you welcoming me here to your business.

I know that small businesses like Guernsey around the nation are feeling the impact of the financial crisis. And I appreciate you giving me a chance to come and visit with you about what the government is going to do, how we're going to address the challenge, and how we're going to get this economy back on track.

There's no doubt that people from all walks of life and all aspects understand that we're having serious times. Families are squeezed by the high price of gasoline, and feeling the pinch of food prices and monthly mortgage payments. Workers are anxious about whether their paychecks will stretch. Some workers are anxious about whether or not they're going to keep their jobs.

We also know that we're the most dynamic economy in the world, that we have been through tough times before, and that we're going to come through this time again. Our entrepreneurial system has delivered unparalleled levels of productivity and growth and prosperity. During my presidency, we have faced tough times after the terrorist attack of 9/11 and we came through strongly. And we're going to come through this. No question the times are tough, but no question America will emerge. And yet, we got some work to do, and that's what I want to share with you.

The immediate challenge facing the economy is a lack of credit. The problem became clear when the housing market declined, and complex financial assets related to home mortgages dropped in value. People put together securities based upon mortgages, and when the mortgage's value went down, so did those securities. And this led banks that owned the securities to suffer losses. And then they found themselves short on capital. Some banks have failed. And other banks, in reaction, have restricted lending to businesses and to each other. And that's the definition of a credit crunch: people just are not lending.

Nations around the world, especially in Europe, are facing severe shortages of their own. So this isn't a problem just in the United States; it's a problem that is worldwide.

To some people, the credit crunch might sound simply like technical talk; it's a technical matter. But the people who work in Guernsey, you understand that credit is the fuel that drives economic expansion and job creation. And here's how: See, when credit runs dry in one part of our economy, there's a chain reaction. So you want to sell a desk to somebody. That person needs to borrow the money in the short term to buy the desk. And yet, because the credit has tightened, because some banks are lending, a potential customer doesn't have the money to buy your desk, and that affects you. So a lot of the talk that you're hearing about credit crunches applies directly to your business here at Guernsey. It hurts your suppliers. It affects the entire economy.

Similar stories play out not only in businesses like Guernsey, but all across the economy. And if the credit crunch were allowed to worsen, the outcome would become much worse, with widespread job losses, and this country could be in possibly a painful and deep recession.

So I decided to do something about it. As you know, I'm a market-oriented person. I believe markets ought to be allowed to work -- until I was convinced that this time the government needed to act, and needed to act boldly, in the face of a significant problem. So I went to Congress and I asked Congress to pass a rescue package. And there were some tough moments in the negotiations, as you might remember. Nevertheless, Republicans and Democrats did come together to pass a good bill that will enable us to handle this challenge head on.

Now, the plan will provide the government a range of tools to help banks rebuild capital, for example, so they can help move credit that will enable people to buy your desks; that it will make it more likely people are going to have less job insecurity. When you're building desks and selling desks, you find work and you keep work.

The bill ensures that responsible, hardworking Americans are protected. I mean, one thing is for certain, we don't want your money to reward failed executives. There's oversight as the bill gets implemented. In other words, people in Washington will worry whether there's too much power in the Treasury, therefore, let's have reasonable oversight. And I agree, I think that makes a lot of sense.

It temporarily expands federal insurance; bank and credit union deposits of up to $250,000. That's important. In essence, it's a safeguard for a lot of small businesses and a lot of families. In other words, if you've got cash in a bank of up to $250,000, it's safe. The FDIC has never failed to make good on its promise, and it won't fail to make good on its promise.

These are urgently needed steps. They will help bring stability to the volatile markets. They'll help protect 401(k)s and retirement accounts. And as the markets begin to stabilize, it will help markets overseas.

I have been in close contact with European leaders -- I was on the phone with them this morning -- to ensure that our actions are closely coordinated. We live in a globalized world. We want to make sure that we're effective at what we do. Once we made the decision that there is a role for the federal government to move to stabilize the markets we want to make sure that all of us move in the best coordinated way as possible.

Interestingly enough, the finance ministers from the G7 and other leading nations will be here in Washington this weekend to make sure that the response is coordinated.

It's going to take time for these actions that I've described to you in the bill to have full effect. You want to make sure that when we move, we move effectively. You want to make sure that the plan is well thought-out and well delivered. Thawing the freeze in the financial system is not going to happen overnight, but it will be a process that unfolds over several stages. And obviously the first stage began last Friday, when I signed the rescue package into law.

And so the Treasury Department is moving aggressively to implement the new authorities. In the meantime, the Federal Reserve and the FDIC will use their powers to help stabilize the markets. Just this morning, the Federal Reserve announced action to provide additional liquidity to credit markets. The federal government moved -- Federal Reserve moved to try to free up liquidity so that this credit crisis begins to unwind.

A few weeks from now the main elements of the new legislation will begin to kick into gear. And as banks rebuild their capital, they'll be able to increase lending to each other and begin approving new loans for families and businesses. It's not going to happen all at once; it will be a gradual process and it's going to take time to have its full effect.

As the banking sector and the market for troubled assets recover, the government will begin to recoup some of the taxpayers' funds invested in the recovery. In other words, some of these assets that were taken are at a depressed value. Home ownership -- homeowners -- home prices are down, the value of the assets are down. Eventually, we expect that much, if not all, of the tax dollars will be recouped.

The financial troubles are the most urgent challenges facing our economy today, but they're not the only ones. And we'll spend a little time talking about them, and then I'll be glad to answer some questions if you have any.

One pressing concern is obviously the cost of energy. The cost of energy affects families, but it affects businesses as well, like Guernsey, which rely on energy to ship and make your products. High energy costs obviously are attributable to the high price of oil and natural gas. And that's why this administration, in working with Congress, has dramatically expanded funding for research into alternatives, including hybrid car batteries, fuels like ethanol and biodiesel, solar and wind power, and safe and nuclear power -- safe and clean nuclear power.

The rescue package I signed last week extended tax incentives to alternative energy sources. In other words, the rescue package was just not aimed at dealing with the financial issues; it was aimed at dealing with the energy issues, too, to help encourage alternative energy so we become less dependent on foreign oil. However, in the meantime, we need to be drilling. I mean, I'd rather us drill here than send our money overseas. And we can do so in environmentally friendly ways. Congress responded to the will of the people by lifting the ban on offshore energy exploration, which is good. It's going to take a while to go through all the permitting and all the environmental regulations, but nevertheless, a step was -- a positive step was taken to become less dependent on foreign oil.

Another issue is home foreclosures, and there's a smart way to deal with that. The truth of the matter is, people -- some people bought home far beyond their means. Some people bought homes to simply speculate. But there's also a lot of sensible homeowners who can make ends meet with just a little bit of help, and that's what we want. We want people -- to help people stay in their homes. And so we've created what's called HOPE NOW, which brings together homeowners, lenders, mortgage services and others to find ways to prevent foreclosures, to help people work through the current mortgage issues.

I told you that mortgages were bundled up into securities that banks bought, and as those securities went down in value, it affected the banks' balance sheets. Well, interestingly enough, when you securitize mortgages and sell them, it means that the people who originated your mortgage is -- no longer owns the paper. And so a lot of people say, who can I talk to to help me refinance my home? Where do I go? And so the HOPE NOW allowance -- Alliance is an opportunity to say to folks, here's how you can find ways to renegotiate your paper -- renegotiate your note. And it's working.

And by the way, we got another initiative out of the Federal Housing Administration, and all these programs have so far helped more than 2 millions Americans stay in their homes. In other words, there's an ongoing attempt to help people who need just a little help to be able to pay off their mortgages. And by the way, most people are paying off their mortgages, which ultimately means these mortgage-backed securities, the value that we may end up owning will be recouped. And that's why I say there's a good chance the taxpayers will get their money back.

Every American knows the burden of taxes. During the tough economic time, that burden falls especially hard. A lot of people are wondering whether or not their taxes are going to go up. One of the interesting things about the package I signed is that it does prevent the Alternative Minimum Tax from kicking in, which would have cost 26 million Americans $2,200 apiece. During this economic uncertainty, we don't need to be raising taxes.