Excerpts from McCain Speech in Brooklyn, New York

Excerpts From John McCain's Remarks As Prepared For Delivery

Small Business Roundtable

Windows We Are, Inc.

Brooklyn, NY

Thank you for joining me here today.  It is a real pleasure to be participating in this roundtable with so many accomplished entrepreneurs and small business owners.  You represent the engine of economic growth in America.  Small business creates the majority of new jobs in America every year – so thank you for your ingenuity, perseverance, and hard work.

For Americans, a good job is the best program for housing, education, clothing, health care and transportation ever devised.  A strong, growing economy with good jobs is central to everything we want for America.  Today our economy is weakening, and as I travel this country and meet and talk with people, I can see how things are getting tougher for many Americans.

As I see it, individuals and families are feeling real pressure in four major areas.  Housing prices are flat or declining and Americans have lost their homes or are in danger of losing them.  A credit crunch is making personal loans, student loans, or business loans harder to get.  Gas prices and food prices are threatening family budgets.  And people are worried about their jobs.

I have a plan of action to get the American economy back on track.  My plan is comprised of two parts:  First is a tangible, near-term plan to address and relieve some of the serious problems that Americans are facing right now.  The second part of the plan is to create the right medium and long-term environment for our economy to rebound and thrive.

…

So what can we do in the near term?

Let's start with the housing challenges.   There is nothing more important than keeping alive the American dream to own your home, and priority number one is to keep well meaning, deserving home owners who are facing foreclosure in their homes.

…

I believe a more robust, timely and targeted effort is my HOME plan.  It offers every deserving American family or homeowner the opportunity to trade a burdensome mortgage for a manageable loan that reflects the market value of their home.  This plan is focused on people.  People decide if they need help, they apply for assistance and if approved the government under my HOME Program supports them in getting a new mortgage that they can afford.  There will be qualifications which require the home to be a primary residence and the borrower able to afford a new mortgage.  We will combine the power of government and the private sector to find immediate solutions for deserving American homeowners.

My plan follows the sound economic principle that when markets decline dramatically, debts must be restructured.  It is built on the reality that homeowners should have an equity capital stake in their home.  Homeowners would end up with a 30-year mortgage and an equity stake in their home.  The new lender would receive a federal guarantee of the mortgage.  And the taxpayer gets a benefit if the sale value ever recovers.

The result is a restructured financial arrangement for the homeowner.  Over the long term, financial institutions must follow suit, writing off losses, restructuring their balance sheets, and raising more capital.

I am also calling for an immediate DOJ task force to aggressively investigate potential criminal wrongdoing in the mortgage lending and securitization industry. If there were individuals or firms that defrauded innocent homeowners or forged loan application documents, then the punishments of the market are not enough, and they must answer for their conduct in a court of law.

Now let me turn to gas and food prices.  We need to help everyone who relies on gas to commute or pick up the kids or get to doctors appointments.  As President, I promise to pursue a national energy strategy that won't be another grab bag of handouts and a full employment act for lobbyists.  It will promote the diversification and conservation of our energy sources, including a robust expansion of nuclear power, that will in sufficient time break the dominance of oil in our transportation sector.

Right now I think we should stop adding to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.  The SPR is intended to offset the impact of physical disruption of oil supplies.  But with oil at over $100 a barrel and an adequate supply in the SPR, it is time to suspend purchases.  This will lessen worldwide demand for oil, and if the classic laws of supply and demand hold, we should see a welcome decrease in the price of oil.  And I ask every American to consider how you can sacrifice a bit for the common good and cut back where you can on your energy use.

Job security may well be the most pressing problem of these challenging economic times.   Right now, jobs are in jeopardy and the government backstop is not up to the task.  For over a year, I have been calling for a comprehensive reform to our unemployment insurance and displaced worker programs.

In our current unemployment insurance system, benefits are the same regardless of whether a job is found quickly or slowly.  There is no reward for work, or getting to work quickly.  Training programs are duplicative, balkanized and inefficient.  The Department of Labor alone has over a half-dozen programs under different organizational umbrellas.

I propose that we build a new system so that as women and men work, their taxes help to build up a buffer account against lost earnings.  Then, if they are unfortunate enough to lose a job, they will be able to better meet their obligations.  There will also be no need to wait for a bureaucrat or obey a timetable.  Every day will count and give incentives to get back to work.

If new skills are needed, displaced workers should find quick assistance at a community college using a flexible training account that permits them to pay for training and use some of the leftover to keep their health insurance.  They will be able to get the hands-on skills needed by employers in the area and move to a new job.  And my plan contains special, targeted assistance for older workers.

…

These short term measures are designed to help people where they face the most challenges right now.  I think they could make a significant difference in the everyday lives of many people.

…

Next week I will outline my longer term vision for American economic growth and power.  But let me make it clear that in these challenging times,  I am committed to using all the resources of this government and great nation to create opportunity and make sure that every deserving American has a good job and can achieve their American dream.