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.

FMI: www.eclipseaviation.com, www.whitehouse.gov