News Conference

BODY:

SPEAKER: GOVERNOR GEORGE W. BUSH, TEXAS

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(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

BUSH: ... appreciate your wise leadership as well. Chairman Genelle (ph) is a Democrat, but first and foremost he's a Texan and a friend. He and I have worked closely together over the last three sessions to set clear budget priorities, starting with public education. When we had money left over, we worked together to pass tax cuts, which we have done. After adjusting for inflation and population growth since 1994, the state budget has grown by 3.6 percent.

Let me repeat that: After we've adjusted for inflation and population growth, we've met the basic needs of the state of Texas and our budget has grown over the past six years by 3.6 percent. That's as a result of the leadership of Chairman Rod Genelle (ph), as well as Senator Bill Ratliff (ph) in the Senate.

During the State of the State, I urged lawmakers—or informed lawmakers that I thought a national spotlight would shine on Texas, that because of speculation about me and perhaps my future that people would come down here and look at our state government in action. I asked them to seize the moment to show people across our nation—if anybody was paying attention— that people could come here for 140 days, people from both political parties could come to Austin for a brief period time, 140 days out of every two years, focus on a few things which are right for Texas, get the people's business done and go home and live under the laws they passed. That's exactly what happened during the last 140 days.

A lot of the credit of this successful session belongs to Lieutenant Governor Rick Perry, who did a fine job in the state senate, and Speaker Pete Laney, who did an excellent job of managing 149 sometimes rebellious, always open-minded, very straightforward legislators.

Democrats and Republicans worked together for what was best for our state. This was a successful and substantive legislative session. We met the basic funding needs, we substantially increased funding for our number one priority—the public schools of Texas—and we returned money to the folks who earned it, the taxpayers of our state. The clear results of this session will be better schools and lower taxes.

BUSH: I'm proud that Texas is leading the nation when it comes to improving our schools. We have raised standards. We have strengthened the accountability systems. And now we're funding early intervention to make sure that every child learns to read every child learns to read. And no one in this state gets left behind as we go into the 21st century.

Legislators adopted a sweeping proposal to end social promotion in Texas schools by funding early intervention and teacher retraining programs.

This afternoon I'm going to go to San Antonio where the first of the kindergarten teachers are being retrained in the most up-to-date science of reading. They're being retrained in the curriculum that we just enacted in which phonics is an integral part of teaching our children how to read.

Those teachers will literally have the future in their hands. This fall's kindergarten classes will be the first to benefit from the historic social promotion plan approved by the legislature.

I also commend the legislators for adopting a balanced and responsible package of tax cuts and tax relief. The tax cuts and tax relief will total nearly $2 billion.

For the score keepers, there's an additional $200 million taken out of worker's compensation unspent balances that will be passed back to Texas businesses. We will reduce school property taxes. We will eliminate sales tax on over-the-counter medicines. We'll provide a three-day sales tax holiday for back-to-school shopping. And we will encourage job growth by enacting business cuts, a research and development tax cut, a substantial change in our franchise tax that will literally fill hundreds of thousands of small—thousands of small business from having to pay the franchise tax much less file the form. And we've eliminated the Internet access tax in the state of Texas.

Texas will see a lot of other positive results as well. As Rod mentioned, we enacted a children's health insurance program. It will substantially increase the number of children covered by health care in the state of Texas.

We will have cleaner air through reduced emissions from grandfathered plants. We will have safer streets and neighborhoods by lowering the blood alcohol limit to drivers to .08.

We'll implement the spotlight program to pair police with probation officers in high-crime neighborhoods. And we'll require automatic detention for juveniles caught illegally carrying a gun and/or committing a crime with a gun.

The session will mean lower electric rates for people all across the spectrum.

I want to compliment Senator Sibley of the Senate and member Steve Woolins (ph) of the House—one Republican and one Democrat—for enacting some of the most far reaching electric deregulation of any state in this United States.

BUSH: I'm going to sign a parental notification bill that will involve parents in the major decisions of minor daughters. We've got enhanced welfare reforms. We funded additional child protective workers. We passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. And we began the process of restoring Texas courthouses.

This is a session that we all can be proud of, both Republican and Democrat. The results will make Texas a better place for years to come.

Any questions?

QUESTION: Governor, the legislation was able to accomplish what it did because of the Texas economy and forecast for the next biennium. Would your commitment to education remain as strong if that had not been true, if tax increases would have been necessary to do what we've done?

BUSH: The facts are the facts, that given the state economy today, I prioritized public ed. But I've prioritized public ed ever since I've been the governor of the state.

When I got elec—when I ran in '94 against Governor Richards, I said to the people of Texas: Give me a chance, give me a chance to make public education the number one funding priority. We did so in the '95 session, we did so in the '97 session, we did so in the '99 session. Whether the economy was good or bad, it's important for the state—at the state level to prioritize public education.

Yes.

QUESTION: Governor, with all this bipartisan goodwill and accomplishment, why would you want to go to Washington?

(LAUGHTER)

BUSH: My mother asked.

I am going to test the waters, Mike. We just finished the legislative session. I'm going to start traveling the country.

As I said when I announced my exploratory committee, I want to make sure that we're prosperous in America, but I want to make sure prosperity has a purpose. The purpose of prosperity is not only to allow entrepreneurs and newly arrived to America to realize their entrepreneurial dreams. The purpose of prosperity also is to make sure America's strong so that we can seize the moment and enhance the peace.

But prosperity without a purpose is simple materialism, simply materialism.

BUSH: And so it's important for us to educate children to make sure people don't get left behind. It's important to rally the armies of compassion to make sure people can find help in the neighborhoods. It's important that as we head into the 21st century that prosperity be purposeful and meaningful, and so that's why I'm considering to run.

Yes, sir?

QUESTION: Governor, you just said you're going to test the waters. Are you fully committed to a run for the presidency?

BUSH: I'm fully committed to start traveling the country and I've got—I'm here for another I think 10 days or 11 days, and then I'm going to start traveling around. And I want to look people in the eye and shake their hands and let them know what's on my heart and hear what they have to say as well.

I've had a pretty good indication that behind the polls there's some pretty good support. Evidently the financial operations seems to be going well. There's a lot of work to do, but I look forward to starting to move around the country and to feel the pulse myself.

Yes?

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) what would it take for you to make up your mind? You said—as you said, the support is there ...

BUSH: You talking to me?

(LAUGHTER)

QUESTION: The financial backing is apparently there ...

(LAUGHTER)

I don't think he was talking to you (AUDIO GAP) but thanks anyway.

BUSH: I know the man well.

QUESTION: But at this point, what is it that you need to hear or see from the people of America?

BUSH: I just need to get out and start moving around some and make sure that—make sure the sentiment that I'm told is out there is out there, and the best way for me to do is to go look.

I'm a person who—I think I can relate to people well. I like to listen to what the people have to say. I like to shake people's hands and look them in the eye.

I understand these polls and expectations are out of sight. As my daughter said: Hey, Dad, you're not as cool as they think you are.

But I—and so I need to go and I need to start traveling around. You've got to understand, I've been here doing my job. This is a big state and it's an important state. And I told the legislators and I told the leadership—like Chairman Genelle (ph) -- that I'd stay home and that I'd work on an agenda with both members of the House and Senate for what I thought was right for Texas. That's what people elected me to do.

And so I've read all the stories and I've seen the TV about politics in the year 2000. But I've been focused on the 1999 legislative session. Now I need to go out and look people in the eye and hear what they have to say.

QUESTION: You talked about how you were able to thrive and succeed in an atmosphere this uniquely bipartisan— nonpartisan, if you will.

QUESTION: How can you convince those that you'll be able to thrive and succeed in an atmosphere that is absolutely nothing like that?

BUSH: I had asked—I asked myself this question: Can an administration change the tone of Washington, D.C.? Is it possible for a leader, along with an administration, to go up to Washington—good, honest, decent, hard-working people—and to change the tone so that we don't think about zero-sum politics, but we put what's best for the country. Add a partisan politics and I believe an administration can change the tone. And that's what I intend to try to convince people that I'm going to do.

See one of the amazing things I've learned is that you can listen to somebody else without sacrificing principle, that you can stand on principle and yet find common ground for what's best for Texas and hopefully what's best for America.

(END AUDIO FEED)

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