http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/03/20060306-3.html MR. MCCLELLAN: Let me begin with an announcement on the President's schedule. The President will welcome President Toledo of Peru to the White House on March 10th. The visit will be an opportunity for the President to underscore his appreciation for President Toledo's leadership in promoting democracy in the Western Hemisphere and expanding free trade and economic growth. The two leaders will also discuss continuing cooperation in areas of mutual interest.
Secondly, let me just kind of touch on some of what the President talked about earlier today. The President was pleased to participate in the swearing-in ceremony for our new Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, Ed Lazear. As the President indicated, he has great confidence that Ed will do an outstanding job in that position.
The President also talked about our current economic situation. Our economy is the envy of the world. Last year our economy grew at a strong 3.5 percent, faster than any other industrialized nation. Nearly 4.8 million new jobs have been created since the summer of '03. The unemployment rate is the lowest it's been since July of '01, at 4.7 percent -- that is also below the averages of the '70s, '80s and '90s. Home ownership is at an all-time high. Minority home ownership is at record levels. Real after tax income is up more than 8 percent since 2001. We've seen 33 straight months of growth in the manufacturing sector, and productivity growth is strong.
We need to continue to build upon the pro-growth policies that we put in place. The President talked about that earlier. We need to act to make the tax relief permanent so that people can have more to save, spend and invest. We also need to fund cutting-edge research into cleaner and more reliable technologies, like hydrogen and ethanol, so that we can change the way -- really transform the way we power our homes and our cars and our businesses.
We also need to continue to act to make health care more affordable and available through expanding health savings accounts and associated health plans. And the President also talked about the importance of making sure we have an educated, skilled workforce for the 21st century.
Following the swearing-in ceremony, the President stopped by a meeting of the Academic Competitiveness Council, and the President talked about the importance of their work. This is chaired by our Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings. And he talked about needing -- making sure that we have an educated workforce to keep America the most competitive and innovative economy in the world. And that means investing in research and development and our sciences and math -- and making sure we have more teachers for math and science, and making sure that we have good job-training policies in place so that workers have the skills to fill those high-paying, high-growth jobs.
But one of the most important steps that we need to take to keep our economy growing is to restrain federal spending here in Washington. And the President talked about that in his remarks. The President is serious about reducing wasteful spending. He wants to make sure that we are spending taxpayer dollars wisely. That is a high priority for the President. Our nation is at war. We must fund our priorities, and then we must work to hold the line on spending elsewhere in the budget.
And this President has acted to reduce growth in non-security discretionary spending. We cut it last year. In the 2007 budget, he has proposed cutting that spending again so that we stay on track to cut the deficit in half by 2009. And the President also talked about the importance of longer-term entitlement reform to slow the growth in our entitlement programs. And that's the way to really rein in spending over the long-term. In 2006, we were able to -- or just this year, for the 2006 budget period, we were able to pass nearly $40 billion in mandatory savings over the next five years. In 2007, the President wants to build on that, and he has proposed an additional $65 billion in savings.
The American people want their leaders in Washington also to act on earmark reform. Congress has expressed a willingness to do so, and the President, today, is sending up to Congress line-item veto legislation that will allow us to reduce wasteful spending. This will give the President authority to strip special interest spending and earmarks out of spending bills and send it back to Congress for an up or down vote. The President talked about that in his remarks.
He believes that this is an area where there is strong bipartisan support, and we can work together to reduce wasteful spending, cut the deficit, and save -- and make sure that we are spending taxpayer dollars wisely. It's important that we have accountability, and the President believes that this is a way to really shine the light on some of the most questionable spending here in Washington, D.C., and provide the kind of accountability that the American people expect here in Washington.
Q Scott, do you have a reaction to the announcement today that Bill Thomas is not going to seek reelection? And, in particular, how do you see that, losing such a strong ally on the tax --
MR. McCLELLAN: I didn't know if he had announced anything before I came out. Did it just happen?
Q Yes.
MR. McCLELLAN: I expect that we will probably have a statement from the President, then, coming out a little bit later today. Chairman Thomas is someone we've worked very closely with to advance important priorities for the American people. And he has been a great leader. We will continue to work with him during his remaining time in Congress. We appreciate all that he's done. But I expect we'll have more to say on it in the form of a presidential statement later. I had not seen that announcement before I came out here.
Q Do you see it as a setback for the President's initiatives on reforming the tax code and Social Security?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, there's a lot we're trying to get done this year, and a lot that the President believes we can get done this year. We have a record of accomplishment over the last four or five years, and the President wants to build upon that. That's why he outlined some very specific initiatives when it came to addressing important priorities that the American people are most concerned about -- those include making sure we continue to advance our goals in Iraq and that we succeed in Iraq and supporting our troops, to making sure that we address the root causes of high energy prices. And that's why the President has outlined an initiative that would really transform the way we power our homes and our business and our cars. And we need to move forward on advancing those cutting-edge technologies that will help us do that. And that's why the President has outlined a Competitiveness Initiative, to keep America the most competitive and innovative economy in the world, and make sure our workers have the skills they need to fill the jobs of the 21st century. And those are a lot of areas where we can work together to get things done.
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