Yes, This Was The President's Kind Of Crowd
Wednesday was a big day
at Eclipse Aviation.
Even bigger than most.
While only scant weeks away from flying the production version
of their highly anticipated new Million-Dollar bizjet, the 340+
staffers of Eclipse Aviation hosted a visit from the President of
the United States.
Eclipse Aviation served as a forum for President Bush on August
11 for a community "Ask President Bush" event in which he discussed
topics ranging from the economy to the fight against terrorism.
More than 800 people attended the event, which was held in
Eclipse's bustling Albuquerque manufacturing plant. Eclipse's Vern
Raburn was singled out by the President for his "Grand Vision" and
an enthusiastic discussion of the Eclipse 500 ensued.
Below is a partial White House transcript of some of the
President's remarks during his visit to Eclipse...
THE PRESIDENT:
Fabulous. See, that's what -- that's what he's talking about. The
tax relief encouraged him to make this investment.
Good job, Rudy. Thanks for coming. Appreciate it. Thanks. Good
job. (Applause.)
We've got another entrepreneur with us, Vern Raburn. He -- he is
the -- (applause.) So here's a guy who said, I can build a better
airplane. (Applause.) That's what you call a grand vision.
(Laughter.)
Why don't you tell the folks about your company.
* * * * *
THE PRESIDENT: McCain and I will fly the first
one. (Laughter.) So how's it going? I mean, this is -- this is
--
MR. RABURN: Things are going great.
THE PRESIDENT: You've hired since I saw you
last, four years ago, how many?
MR. RABURN: Well, four years ago, at this time, we had about 18
employees. We have 342 employees now. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: That's good. And like what skill
level is required -- skill level of the worker?
MR. RABURN:
Skill levels, we have very high skill level. Most of our work force
today are engineers, manufacturing folks, white-collar workers. In
fact, our average salary of each of our employees is about twice
that of the average family income in New Mexico.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, let me stop you there. One
of the real challenges we have in our country to make sure jobs
stay here is to educate people, is to make sure the education
system works. (Applause.) You just heard what -- it's a new
business, new business. He says that we pay twice as much as the
average income, but we require high-level skills. You know what
that says to me? It says to me that we've got to make sure No Child
Left Behind works. (Applause.) We've got to make sure we keep
raising the bar, make sure the young kids can read and write and
add and subtract early before it's too late. We've got to make sure
our community colleges are able to train workers for the jobs of
the 21st century, so that Eclipse* can find a work force necessary
to make this company fly. (Applause.)
So when are we going to see the first unit take off?
MR. RABURN: Well, we'll be flying again late
this year, and we expect to have the aircraft certified in early
'06, March of '06. Today we've got orders for about 2,200
airplanes, about $2.5 billion in back -- (applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: That's good.
MR. RABURN: Good problem.
THE PRESIDENT: -- pulling to make sure this
economy stays strong. Any of them overseas?
MR. RABURN: A lot of those are overseas.
THE PRESIDENT: Let me tell you something. See,
if we get into a mode where we become economic isolationists, he
won't be able to sell these airplanes overseas. We don't need trade
wars. He wants to be able to sell this product overseas without
having to compete with government bureaucracies and unnecessary
tariffs and restrictions. That's why we believe in fair trade and
open trade.
You got workers here who are going to be working because you've
got planes being sold overseas. So when you hear them talk about
trade, you need to be thinking about jobs. Jobs exist when you're
able to trade overseas. You've got some farmers in this state don't
you? (Laughter.) Yes, the farm economy is strong around the
country. You know why? Because not only are we feeding our own
people, we're feeding other people. Other people are eating our
corn and our soybeans and our wheat, because we're opening up
markets. Still working to get that New Mexico cattle around the
world. (Laughter.) Open up markets for the Mexican cattlemen -- and
Texas cattlemen, too, I want you to know. (Laughter.)
So what else? What else on your mind, Vern? You get the chance
to tell the President something. (Laughter.) By the way, I
guarantee he's a big believer in tort reform. (Laughter.) A lot of
airline companies, a lot of manufacturers in the past got shut down
because of all kinds of lawsuits. And these lawsuits, we want good
justice in America, but when the trial bar converts the law into a
legal lottery, it begins to affect jobs. You just got to know that.
It's one thing to have justice; it's another thing to go overboard
with justice, because people start to lose work. I don't know what
your opinion is.
MR. RABURN: I agree. (Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. See, you'd think I was a
lawyer. I'm not.
* * * * *
THE PRESIDENT:
See, this is a vibrant company. And I'm excited to be here. I want
to thank you for inviting us. He's got a newly-hired employee named
Vernon Oliver (ANN Note: Oliver is a
Technical Recruiter at Eclipse Aviation--shown right).
Where's Vern? There he is. Hi, Vern. Welcome. (Applause.) So what
happens to you? So how do you end up here in the airplane
manufacturing world?
* * * * *
THE PRESIDENT: What Vernon is telling you is,
is that since 9/11, things have changed. People are getting their
confidence, jobs are coming back, and in his case, he had the skill
levels necessary to fill the jobs.
Yesterday, we were in Florida and we talked to some people that
needed to go back to community colleges, but we were happy to help
them go back to community colleges. There's all kinds of plans,
trade adjustment assistance, and NAFTA-related job loss. People who
then can get a scholarship or get direct grants to go back and
retrain for the jobs which actually exist. This fellow didn't need
to be retrained. He just showed up, and they wanted him. And he
saved $3,000 in taxes last year. (Applause.) And he's going to save
$3,000 this year.
Remember, we not only reduced income taxes on everybody who pays
taxes, but we helped people with children by raising the child
credit to $1,000, and we reduced the marriage penalty, we created a
10-percent bracket. In other words, we said we're going to help
families. And this family right here has got $3,000 in relief -- I
think that's right -- you probably can say, "Mind your own
business, Mr. President." (Laughter.)
MR. OLIVER: No, sir. (Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: But if the tax relief is not
made permanent, his taxes go up by $1,200. See, I believe
government can set priorities and fund our priorities and that
after the priorities are funded the people can spend that money
better than the government can spend it. That's what I believe.
(Applause.) And I like the fact that Vernon's got $3,000 additional
of his own money in his pocket. It's his money to begin with, of
course, and so he has it.
Well, thanks for coming, Vernon.
And Guy is with you as
well, Guy Hoisington (ANN Note: the Lead Interior Engineer at Eclipse Aviation--pictured
right). (Applause.) All right. He's a newly hired guy.
Tell us, Guy.
* * * * *
THE PRESIDENT: Here's a guy -- here's a guy who
tried out the promised land for a while, that would be Texas --
(laughter) -- changed his mind, came home to the other -- to the
enchanted land, and is working because the entrepreneurial spirit
is strong. He's able to more realize his dream, which is to raise
your family here. So the job of government is to help when needed.
The tax relief helps his family. I suspect it helped him move. I
think it -- I know it helps him raise his family.
MR. OLIVER: Yes, Vern helped me move, too.
THE PRESIDENT: He helped? That's good.
(Laughter.) You must be good at what you do.
MR. OLIVER: Yes, sir.
THE PRESIDENT: That's good. That's real good.
(Laughter.) But the point is -- that what I'm trying to tell you
is, is that when the entrepreneurial spirit is strong, when people
like Vern feel comfortable about taking a risk and expanding and
growing, people can find work. That's what we want in America. We
want people to find work. We want people to be comfortable with
their lives as best as they can.