Ambassador Rob Portman's acceptance speech as Director of Mgt & Budget
19 Apr '06
3 min read
Rob Portman
United States Trade Representative (USTR) issues statement of Ambassador Rob Portman from White house Rose Garden:
Thank you, Mr President, for those kind words and for your confidence. I have been honored to serve you and our country as U.S. Trade Representative. I now look forward to working even more closely with you – and I am excited about this new opportunity to help shape the future of our government and our economy.
As the President has said, it's a big job. The Office of Management and Budget touches every spending and policy decision in the federal government. I have the great advantage of having watched Josh Bolten in action. No one has done the job better. His extraordinary grasp of policy, his honesty and his sense of humor under fire will now serve him well as Chief of Staff.
I'm particularly happy that in this new position I will continue to work closely with my former colleagues in Congress, whose feedback, collaboration and friendship I highly value.
Among the main reasons I ran for Congress back in 1993 was to cut the Federal deficit and make government work better and be more responsive to the taxpayers. The common-sense, fiscally conservative values of southwest Ohio guided my priorities then, as they guide me now. If confirmed, I'll be able to advance these same issues from the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue.
Over the past five years, our nation's budget hasendured tough challenges with a steep stock market decline, an economic recession and the 9-11 terrorist attacks. President Bush acted responsibly to immediately safeguard our homeland while promoting pro-growth policies to ensure our economy got back on its feet. We chose the smart path of reducing the tax burden on families, on workers, small businesses. And it's worked.
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