GOVERNOR ROMNEY ADDRESSES HIS VICTORY IN NEVADA AND HIS STRATEGY TO STRENGTHEN THE ECONOMY
Boston, MA – Today, Governor Mitt Romney held a media availability in Jacksonville, Florida, on his victory in Nevada and his economic stimulus plan to strengthen our economy.
Governor Romney On His Victory In Nevada:
Governor Romney: "Ann and I are delighted to be in Jacksonville, but we are delighted to receive the news that we have received overwhelming support from the people in Nevada. Frankly, the figures seem almost unbelievable with 40 percent of the precincts in. And so I’m not going to comment on the numbers themselves, but we’re very, very heartened and we understand that people from across the state came together to support us. It means obviously a great deal to us. We love Nevada, what a great state, and they have just made a wonderful day for us.
"In the last week, that means that two of the battleground states have come out strongly for our campaign. They’ve heard our message of change. They’ve heard our message that Washington is broken, that we need to have the kind of change that will solve America’s problems. We won the primary together in Michigan, and we won this caucus process in Nevada. And if we were lucky enough to win Michigan and Nevada, that would be a pretty clear indication, in November of '08 that is, that would be a pretty clear indication we were going on to win the White House. We only have one other state that would be key – that's the state we happen to be in right now, which is Florida. If you can win those two states – Michigan and Nevada – it'd mean you've put together quite a coalition and have been able to make the kind of inroads you have to make to take the White House. It's huge for us and we're very, very pleased.
"I'd also note that this is a campaign that does intend to participate across the country. And we're not concentrating just on one region or a few states. We've made an effort to get to all of the early states, and we're going to make our best effort to get to the other key states in the days that follow…"
Governor Romney On His Economic Stimulus Plan And Change In Washington:
Governor Romney: "I do believe that our message is also the message that will connect with the voters here in Florida. What you see in Nevada and Michigan, Iowa, New Hampshire, Wyoming, the first five states that we've really concentrated on so far, is that people are very concerned about what's happening globally, but they're also concerned about what's happening here at home. And they want to know how our economy is going to be strengthened, both short-term and long-term.
"Today, I announced a plan which I'd like to see enacted within the next 30 days to provide a stimulus to our economy on a short-term basis as well as ignite long-term growth for the American economy. It calls for three major features. One is helping the housing market by loosening and relaxing some of the requirements of the FHA program so that more loans can be guaranteed and more people can stay in their homes without having them foreclosed.
"Number two, a very substantial investment to allow businesses to invest in capital expenditures and to expense those capital expenditures 100 percent for the next two years, which is a very substantial boost to purchasers of equipment and other goods for these companies, and that will stimulate the growth of companies that supply equipment to them.
"And number three, is help for individual consumers and specifically, lowering the tax rate, the marginal tax rate, at the entry level of our tax rate from 10 percent to 7.5 percent. And we'll do that not only for the '08 year, but also put a refund in place for the '07 year so that people will get a check in '07, excuse me, for '07 in April of '08, which would average approximately $400.
"I'm delighted that we have the opportunity to talk about this at a time which is timely. Our economy was strong last quarter. The growth was strong, but indications are that the economy is slowing down, and that action, if taken now, could well avert a potential recession. As we come here to Florida, we're going to be talking about our short-term plan to stimulate our economy, our long-term plan to keep America strong, and to make sure that our economy continues to lead the world, that we have great jobs for our kids.
"And of course, you're going to hear me say time and time again that Washington is broken, that it can't get the job done. It has not gotten the job done in the past. Now is the time, with regards to this economy heading for a potential economic downturn that it has to move aggressively and quickly. But there are many other issues that also have to be solved, and that includes everything from getting health care for our citizens that's affordable and portable, to improving our schools, to solving the problem of runaway spending in Washington, to finding ourselves finally on a track to becoming energy independent, and to abiding by high ethical standards in Washington.
"So there's a lot of work to be done, and our campaign is focused on bringing change to Washington, and one of those changes we'd like to see immediately is a 30-day turnaround on an economic stimulus plan."
