Mike, you control how close the footer is to the bottom of the page using
Page Setup. From the File menu, choose Page Setup and select the Layout tab.
On that tab, you'll find controls for setting the header and footer; the
numbers in those controls specify how close the header and footer are to the
edge of the page. Set the footer for the minimum amount of clearance you
want between it and the bottom edge of the paper, then click OK. You'll be
able to see the results most easily if you view your doc in Print Layout
view and, from the View menu, choose Header and Footer. (Header and Footer
is a toggle control; select it once to view headers and footers, again to
hide them.)

There's one caveat to setting your header and footer: Word checks their
position against the maximum printable area for your current printer. Don't
be surprised if Word warns you your footer is outside the printable area of
the page; if it does, you'll have to adjust the footer to fall within that
area, or choose a different printer.