For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 6, 2001
Press Briefing by Ari Fleischer
The James S. Brady Briefing Room
Listen to the Briefing
- Personnel announcements
- China
- Budget
- Education
- Business/economy
- Middle East
- Energy
- Week ahead
12:10 P.M. EDT
MR. FLEISCHER: Good
afternoon. I have several personnel announcements I need to
make this morning, and then I have a number of items I'm going to
discuss and a statement at the top.
As far as personnel, the President intends to
nominate Douglas Jay Feith to be Under Secretary of Defense for
Policy. The President intends to nominate Kevin J. Martin to
be Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission, for a five
year term, expiring on June 30, 2006. The President intends to
nominate Kathleen Q. Abernathy to be a Commissioner of the Federal
Communications Commission for the remainder of a five year term,
expiring on June 30, 2005.
The President intends to nominate Michael J.
Kopps to be a Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission,
for the remainder of a five year term, expiring on June 30,
2004. The President intends to nominate Elizabeth Jones to
be Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs. The
President intends to nominate Thelma J. Askey to be Director of the
Trade and Development Agency.
And the President announced his intention to
nominate Craig Stapleton to be Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary of the United States to the Czech
Republic. And President Bush announced his intention to
nominate Jim Nicholson to be Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary of the United States to the Holy See.
I want to touch on one issue dealing with
China, and then two domestic issues, and then we have the week ahead
also, so let's get to that at the very end of the
briefing. But I want to make people aware of the latest
developments.
Between 10:15 a.m. and 10:25 a.m. this
morning, the President spoke on the phone with Brigadier General Neal
Sealock, who had just returned from a one-hour visit with our
servicemen and women in China. The President was very
heartened to hear that the spirits of the servicemen and women are
high. They are being well taken care of. They are
being housed in the officer quarters, where they are staying.
The President said to the general -- this is a
quote -- that "you are doing a great job for the country and for their
loved ones," referring to the loved ones, of course, of the servicemen
and women being held. And General Sealock said to the
President that the first message he conveyed to the servicemen was
that, the Commander in Chief sends his regards and he has tremendous
pride in you.
Two domestic items I want to talk about,
because they're both very much on the President's mind and he has
discussed them this morning. The President is looking
forward to the vote this afternoon in the United States Senate on the
budget for the country. The President believes that the
Senate this afternoon will move in the right direction, to provide the
American people with substantial tax relief, very much like what he
promised during the course of the campaign. After the Senate
action, of course, the measure will go to a conference between the
House and the Senate, where the House has already voted to pass the
President's plan of $1.6 trillion in tax relief.
So the President is very pleased with the
action that looks like it will unfold, and for the prospect of the
American people receiving the tax relief that they deserve.
A final item that the President noted this
morning is, there is also progress on Capitol Hill on the area that the
President has said is his top priority, and that is
education. There has been a series of actions that are very
bipartisan. The President is very pleased with the
cooperative spirit that has taken place on moving his education package
forward. He cited the work of Senator Kennedy, Senator
Lieberman, Congressman Miller, a number of Republican members of
Congress, of course, and is pleased with the action on Capitol Hill
dealing with his priorities, improving education.
Q Ari, does the
President now believe that all the major hurdles toward securing
release of the crew have been cleared at this point?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President is
pleased that events are moving forward. There remains work
to be done. Intensive discussions are continuing in
China. So the President is pleased with what is taking
place, but he's cognizant of the fact that there -- work does remain,
and the end result remains that our men and women should come home, and
our plane should be returned.
Q Can I just follow up on that? Is
there an essential agreement -- there may be details that are in
disagreement now -- under which neither country would assign blame or
take immediate responsibility?
MR. FLEISCHER: I'm not going to
discuss the specifics of something that's very sensitive that is in the
middle of being discussed, as we speak. There has been an
exchange of rather precise ideas between the Chinese government and the
United States government. That is ongoing. And
we're going to continue to monitor it.
Q Then would you
characterize the kind of work which remains to be done as the building
of a framework for both to exchange ideas, or explanations, as the
Secretary of State put it?
MR. FLEISCHER: Ideas, explanations,
work continues to be done to secure their release.
Q The idea is that once
the structure is put together and this happens, that they can be
released? Is that the understanding we have with the other
side?
MR. FLEISCHER: Bill, they all go
together. In the course of exchanging the ideas of
developing the specifics, to create the goal that the President
identified when he spoke to the nation earlier this week, about the
release of our men and women so they can come home to their families.
All the efforts in China right now are aimed
at securing that result. That's the whole purpose of the discussions
that have been underway.
Q One more, if I
may. What is it -- that's our goal, obviously. What is it
that the Chinese want? Do they continue to want some sort of
apology? They obviously want something as well as --
MR. FLEISCHER: I'm not going to
characterize what the Chinese are asking for, what the Chinese position
is. That's something for the Chinese officials, of course,
to do. Major.
Q You said just a
moment ago that you want to discuss something very sensitive that is
being discussed as we speak. Can you confirm that these
sensitive discussions are about the final deal and not about
preliminary negotiations that may lead to a final deal?
MR. FLEISCHER: I'm reluctant to put
any type of time frame on it like final, such as that. It is
ongoing and it is intense. It continues. And I
think it's important to allow them to continue their important
work. But we will see what the exact time is, sequence
is. During the course of diplomacy, of course, events
develop, items move forward, items sometimes move not forward; things
start, things pause. All of these remain possibilities.
Q But the discussions
are about the deal to get them home, right?
MR. FLEISCHER: That's correct.
Q Secretary Powell said
that U.S. officials are expected to meet again with the crew
tomorrow. Does that mean the U.S. has secured what we've
been looking for, sort of constant or regular access to the crew? And
is there any concern that that is an indication this might not be
wrapped up anytime soon, or in the next 24-48 hours?
MR. FLEISCHER: The Secretary
indicated that we would meet, that General Sealock will meet with the
servicemen and women tomorrow. We are pleased about
that. I think it's an indication, again, of how we are
moving forward.
Q Ari, a follow-up, if
I may. The Secretary also said, in answer to a question at
the end, from the AP correspondent, whether China has agreed to further
meetings. He said, yes. If we say, further
meetings, is this now an ongoing, lengthy process? Any idea
of the time table, at all?
MR. FLEISCHER: As I indicated, it
is ongoing. Diplomacy is ongoing. And it is at a sensitive
stage still. And Ambassador Prueher has been having meetings
and will continue to have meetings.
Q In the meeting this
time, the second one, were the U.S. officials allowed to meet with the
U.S. service personnel by themselves, or were they still accompanied by
Chinese officials?
MR. FLEISCHER: At this second
meeting with the General and our servicemen, they met alone; there were
no Chinese officials present.
Q And did they report
anything in particular to the President back on what they learned in
the conversations they were able to have alone with the U.S. service
personnel that might shed light on some of the disputed facts of the
collision?
MR. FLEISCHER: I'm not going to get
into some of the details of their conversation. And I
informed you of what the President discussed with the General.
Q Has there been any
exchange, whatsoever, between President Bush and President Jiang
Zemin? And is General Powell the point man at
this stage, and who is his counterpart in China? Is it the
Foreign Minister himself, or what --
MR. FLEISCHER: Ambassador Prueher
is the point man on the ground in China, in terms of the discussions
with Chinese officials. Secretary Powell of course, this is
a diplomatic effort. Secretary Powell, as Secretary of
State, is the head of the diplomatic effort, of course.
The President spoke to Secretary Powell twice
last night, just for your information. Those conversations I
think were about 9:00 p.m. or so. And the President had his first
conversation of the morning with Condi at about 5:30 a.m. this morning,
about the situation in China.
So those are the people who are doing the
talking. Of course, Condi is involved. But this
is a diplomatic effort.
Q Ari, is it accurate
to say that in these sensitive discussions right now, Chinese officials
are no longer demanding an apology in exchange for any result, because
there's been progress absent an outright apology? Is that accurate,
and how does that square with the fact that President Jiang is still
publicly saying there needs to be an apology?
MR. FLEISCHER: I'm not going to
characterize the Chinese position. I think that's a question
that you need to address to the Chinese officials.
Q I'm sorry, but is it
still accurate to conclude that that's the case, given there's been
progress, that there is still, through channels, not an explicit demand
for an apology by the Chinese? Can't we make that
conclusion?
MR. FLEISCHER: I'm not going to
characterize the Chinese position. Martha.
Q I'm just following
up. Is it accurate to say that President Bush and Jiang
Zemin have never spoken on the phone, have never had any contact since
he became President?
MR. FLEISCHER: That's a correct
statement.
MS. COUNTRYMAN: No, no, they have
exchanged letters.
MR. FLEISCHER: I'm sorry.
Q Exchanged letters?
MS. COUNTRYMAN: Yes.
Q Can I ask about what
-- the negotiators are going back and forth, Secretary Powell has
spoken of drafts. Is it the intention of the two sides to
come up with some sort of joint statement? And can you give
us a clue as to what might that entail? Might it include a
description of the event, as best we all know it, a description of a
mechanism for investigating the facts?
MR. FLEISCHER: As for the specifics
of what's being discussed, I just have to urge your
patience. I understand the question but, as you can imagine,
it is ongoing, and it is sensitive. And for us to start
publicly to discuss what is still a conversation going back and forth
between American officials and Chinese officials would not be
productive in obtaining the President's goal, which is to bring our men
and women and home.
Q Is the goal some sort
of joint statement, at least?
MR. FLEISCHER: Again, I'm not going
to discuss what is going on between the two parties as they negotiate.
Q Ari, what explanation
can you offer the American people as to the administration's view of
why our servicemen and women are over there? Why are they
being held? What can you tell the people?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, as a result of
the accident, of course, the United States crew made an emergency
landing on Chinese territory, as has been very well
described. And I think you know the facts of the matter, in
which the plane landed and the pilot of the American airplane was able
to successfully, in very difficult circumstances, save the lives of his
crew by landing on the runway.
And that is why they are
there. And, of course, the Chinese took the action they did
that has led to the situation that we are in. And that's
where we stand. I think it's all rather obvious.
Q The President has
asked that they be returned and they have not. What is the
administration's view as to why they have not honored his request?
MR. FLEISCHER: The administration
is less interested in assigning any blame and is more interested in
solving the issue, so that our men and women can come home.
Q What is China's
response now, when we ask that the 24 detained servicemen and women be
released?
MR. FLEISCHER: -- we're going to
talk to the United States government about it, and that's why there has
been this ongoing series of diplomatic exchanges.
Q China says that it
will talk to the U.S. government about it, when the U.S. government
asks for their release.
MR. FLEISCHER: I think it's fairly
obvious; China is talking to the United States government about
it. That is precisely what is happening. That's why
Ambassador Prueher has been meeting with officials in Beijing and
that's why the President has said what he said.
Q Then I ask again,
because, obviously, I didn't understand your response. What
is China's response when we ask that the service people be
released? What is their explanation for why they continue to
be held?
MR. FLEISCHER: They're aware of our
request that they be released, and that is the course of the
negotiations that we're in with the Chinese, to determine the best, as
Secretary Powell described it earlier this morning, exchanging the
precise ideas so that goal can be secured.
Q Ari, there's an
agreement in effect between the United States and China that was signed
back in January of '98, calling for maritime and aviation
issues. CBS broadcast last night that is on the table being
considered. Is it being considered as perhaps a way to solve
this problem?
MR. FLEISCHER: Again, I'm not going
to discuss any of the specific ideas that may be part of diplomatic
exchanges between the United States and China. You correctly
characterize that there is a Maritime Commission, but I'm not going to
go beyond that.
Q I have a question
about -- just to change the subject for a second -- about the
President's political philosophy. A couple months ago,
Business Week magazine did a poll, which found that three-quarters of
the American people "believe that business had gained too much power
over their lives." And in an editorial, Business Week called
on corporations to "get out of politics."
Now, this reminded me of something I read by
George Orwell, who defined fascism as an economy in which the
government serves the interest of oligopolies, a state in which large
corporations have the powers that in a democracy belong to the
citizenry.
My question is, does the President agree with
three-quarters of the American people, that business has gained too
much power over their lives and with the editorial that they should get
out of politics?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President
believes that in this nation we are all in our economy
together. I'm reminded of an old adage that you can't be for
employees if you're against employers. And the President
knows that to keep our economy strong and to make sure that the
American people have jobs, and high-paying jobs, we need to work
together in a balanced approach that protects consumers, protects
workers and helps business.
Q Are arms sales to
Taiwan or other types of equipment to Taiwan part of this discussion
with the Chinese at all?
MR. FLEISCHER: No, they're not.
Q Can I ask you, has
the President contacted Tony Blair, for example, or Kofi Annan on this
crisis? Have they had any conversation that you know of?
MR. FLEISCHER: Nothing that I'm
aware of, I don't think so.
Q Any foreign leaders
whatsoever that he's consulted with?
MR. FLEISCHER: He's been working
through the American officials, and rather productively so, giving them
direction of how to proceed in the course of the conversations, which
are bilateral -- and productively so.
Q Ari, a number of
Asian countries are worried about this stand-off in
China. And, also, Indian Foreign Minister of Defense,
Minister was here in the building, just left half an hour ago, met with
Ms. Rice. If the issue was discussed with
him? And, also, what role the United Nations is playing is
this matter?
MR. FLEISCHER: I think I just
answered that question in regard to what Jacobo was saying about what
the President's activities are. I leave it at
that. I just answered.
Q How about the Indian
Defense Minister and Foreign Minister.
MR. FLEISCHER: The Indian Defense
and Foreign Minister was in the White House this morning, meeting with
Dr. Rice. He had a brief exchange of pleasantries with the
President in the Oval Office. But his meeting took place
with Dr. Rice.
Q Any discussion on
China?
MR. FLEISCHER: I haven't talked to
Condi about her meeting.
Q Just to change to the
Middle East, for a minute. Holy Week is approaching, of
course, for Jews and Christians. Is the White House taking
any more active step to try to quell the violence? And can
you give us any general ideas about where diplomacy is going?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, as you know,
there was just a meeting this week between the Israelis and the
Palestinians. And that was facilitated by the United
States. The President has made it clear to all concerned
about the need to reduce the violence. I think that is
particularly important as we enter a holiday period.
But the President has said that the violence
needs to be reduced, that he stands ready to help facilitate the
peace. And that remains the position of the United States
government.
Q Ari, is the idea of a
U.S. apology still not acceptable? And are the negotiations
with the Chinese -- do they involve the United States' continued
operation in international waters, where we were?
MR. FLEISCHER: On the apology, the
American position has not changed. And I'm just not going to get into
any specifics that may or may not be discussed. Ron.
Q Sorry. So
if I could follow that, you can't rule out the negotiations for the
release of the Americans involving a change in our operation in
international waters?
MR. FLEISCHER: No. I
would urge you to be very careful before you reach any such
conclusion. What I've indicated earlier is that there are
specific ideas that are being exchanged. I think you know
the answer to this. I'm not going to get into what any of
those specific ideas are. That is a matter of diplomacy and privacy,
so that those ideas can be discussed productively, so that our men and
women can come home.
So when I say I'm not going to get into any
specifics, and if you offer up a specific, I'm not confirming, I'm not
indicating to you, yes, that may be possible, or not
possible. I'm giving you a blanket statement that I'm not
going to discuss any possible specifics. Because to discuss
them could impact the negotiations that are underway and I'm not going
to do that.
Q Presumably, however,
the apology, itself, is a specific and that, we understand, has been
ruled out.
MR. FLEISCHER: And you know what
the President's position is on that. Ron.
Q Ari, I wanted to go
back to your statement on the domestic issues. While it is
true that there is movement on both education and the tax cuts, in both
cases some parts of the administration's program is looking like it's
in trouble -- vouchers on education, the $1.6 on taxes.
Is your message today an indication that you
all are ready to start talking now on, you know, maybe finding some
middle ground that is not exactly what the President wanted?
MR. FLEISCHER: No, the message from
the President this morning is, look how much progress we're making on
the domestic agenda. This has been a very good week on the
domestic agenda. And the reason the President thinks that is
because his budget is moving forward, and that's what will be voted on
very soon. And let me remind you that the
history of Washington, D.C. until President Bush came to town, is that
budgets were dead on arrival on Capitol Hill. And this
budget is driving the process on Capitol Hill. The
President's idea is to provide deep, meaningful tax relief to the
American people, to limit the rate of growth to a realistic 4 percent,
as opposed to the gargantuan spending increases of the past, and to pay
down a record amount of debt that's driving the process.
So the President is cheered by what he's
seeing. He's also seen in the course of the last year a sea
change in attitudes toward tax relief, where the attitude used to be,
don't cut taxes, you'll never get it done; the tax cut should be zero
-- to a Democratic position of the tax cut should be $250 billion, then
it became $500 billion, then it became $900 billion. At last
look, it was $1.1 trillion. All the while, the President has
stayed fast at $1.6 trillion. All the movement has been in
his direction.
Now, there may be some movement that remains,
but the point the President is focused on, and look how much is getting
done, that is because he has set a tone of leadership, he fought for
something that he believes in. He has stood by it, and the
vote tonight in the Senate is going to be a harbinger of more good
things to come when this goes to a House and Senate conference
agreement where, then, the President will get to deliver the tax relief
he promised to the American people.
And education, as well. A
tremendous amount of progress is being made. And, again, the
President believes a lot of that is because he has toned things down,
he has worked in a very civil and bipartisan fashion, with Democrats
and Republicans alike, and the proof is in the pudding when it comes to
education. That pudding is rapidly being made.
Q Did you see the lead
editorial in USA Today this morning?
MR. FLEISCHER: Do you really want
to make me answer that question on the record?
Q It's titled, "More
public drilling, let's collect bills first." It says that the President
has recommended more public drilling on public lands, but there is a
history of these big oil companies not paying the
royalties. So over the past couple of years, Shell Oil has
paid $110 million in penalties -- these are penalties -- Chevron, $95
million, Exxon-Mobil $52 million. The editorial says, let's
collect from the oil companies before we open up to more
drilling. Does the President agree?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President is
working on the development of the national energy policy -- which he
has directed a Cabinet-level review to be chaired by Vice President
Cheney, as you know -- and they are taking a look at how best to
develop America's energy resources to promote conservation, to take the
steps necessary to secure America's supply of energy, particularly as
we head into the travel season into the summer.
Q Chinese television
today has run an interview with the second fighter pilot, in which that
pilot contends it was a veering, a sudden and unexpected veering of the
surveillance aircraft that caused the collision in the first place.
I wonder if the White House has any reaction,
generally, to this blame-placing by this eyewitness, which is being
described in the Chinese media as the only eyewitness to the collision,
and any assessment whatsoever about the truthfulness of that account?
MR. FLEISCHER: There has been no
change in the American position, and that's where the matter stands.
Q Which is?
MR. FLEISCHER: As you have heard
for the last several days, the American position has been clear about
that matter. And what the President -- again, he is focused
on a diplomacy that is underway to bring our men and women
home. And he's less interested in assigning blame, assigning
credit. His focus is on the diplomacy required to bring our
men and women home; and that's where he'll stay.
Q Would not it be fair
for some in this country to conclude that the absence of any specific
response from the administration about a direct accusation of fault
might leave open the question as to whether or not the U.S. plane did,
in fact, do something wrong?
MR. FLEISCHER: That would not be
accurate.
Q Why not?
Q Just on a similar
subject, one of the things that you have said about why we need access
to the crew, such as the second meeting, is to be able to ask them what
happened, to get a fuller understanding of the incident that occurred,
the accident that occurred. Were we able to achieve that in
this meeting, since the Chinese weren't present?
MR. FLEISCHER: That question came
up previously, and I said I'm not going to discuss every aspect of the
meeting that took place.
Q But you're still
confident that our understanding of events is as it was?
MR. FLEISCHER: No
change. No change in the American position.
Q Does the President
have any plans or any thought of cancelling this trip today because of
this?
MR. FLEISCHER: No. The
President has indicated all week that there are a number of events this
week that he's been focused on, including the domestic
agenda. Early this morning, he called Senator Lott, he
called Senator Domenici, to thank them for the work they've been doing
in the Senate on the budget plan. He's focused on meeting
with Americans and traveling the country, just as he went to Delaware
on Wednesday. So the President is very busy, engaged in a
variety of items that all are his duty.
Q But it's just
throwing out a baseball.
Q Ari, without getting
into specifics of the negotiations, you've already told us that the
Chinese are not seeking to link the negotiations to the issue of Taiwan
arms sales. Without getting into specifics, is there any
other issue, aside from this incident and the return of the crew
members and the plane, that either side is trying to link to any other
issues? Is there any linkage going on, on either side?
MR. FLEISCHER: Again, you're asking
me about specifics, again, that may be underway, under discussion, and
I'm not going to go into that.
Q But you did with
Taiwan arms.
MR. FLEISCHER: I gave you the
American position on that.
Q Ari, the
budget. At the outset, you said -- and maybe I'm mistaken in
hearing something -- but I think you said something. You
said the President would be delighted with the Senate if they approved
something very much like what he campaigned on. So is that
the new bar, that it's very much like he doesn't need what he
campaigned on anymore?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, again, I want
to remind you that seldom in Washington, D.C., does a President and his
budget drive the debate the way it's being driven this
year. Typically, presidential budgets are dead on
arrival. And that often happens, frankly, when it was one
President with the same Congress. And this President has
been able to accomplish something that is rather rare in this town, and
that is that the focus of the Senate's actions on the budget are really
very much what he has proposed.
So the discussions with the Senate are
continuing. The vote has not taken place yet, and we're
going to have to continue to work with a couple senators on the Hill --
and that's going on.
Q As of today, he knows
he's not going to get what he wants, he is going to get something maybe
very much like what he wants?
MR. FLEISCHER: Let me say the
President has not given up hope. He is going to continue to
work with the Senate.
Q Ari, there also have
been billions of dollars in new spending added to the budget through
amendment during the debate.
MR. FLEISCHER: Right.
Q I wonder how that
squares with his pledge to keep spending down and why he's in such a
cheerful mood with all this --
MR. FLEISCHER: The President has
noted the amendments, many of which were not agreed to. And
his reaction was, this underscores what he has been warning people
about, that if you don't cut taxes, the money will be
spent. Many people said, don't have the tax cut the size the
President proposes; use it all for debt relief.
Well, we can -- see what happens in
Washington. The money is proposed to be spent on one
meritorious program, another meritorious program,
another. It all goes to government spending if it's not cut
in taxes. So that's another reason the President feels that
the debate is moving in his direction.
We'll see what the final outcome is in the
Senate on the exact number of tax relief. But it's very much
along the lines of what the President proposed, and he is cheered.
Q He opposes these
amendments that were added, $700 million, for example, for fighting
AIDS globally? He opposes that?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, again, the
President will take a look at the budget resolution in its entirety
after it's passed and share whatever thoughts he has and let it go to
the House-Senate conference.
But I want to remind you also, not to get
technical about it, but a budget resolution sets the broad parameters
of spending. The actual work in the authorization committees
and the appropriation committees is where you determine how much actual
money gets spent on those programs after the budget resolution is put
in place.
Major.
Q Could I just
follow-up? You're not going to comment, then, on the new
spending that was added, whether or not he supports specific things
that were added yesterday onto this bill?
MR. FLEISCHER: Again, the specific
funding items will get decided later on in the process. The
budget resolution determines broad spending
categories. Major.
Q If I could engage you
again on the question of blame, the Secretary of State and others have
applauded the pilot of the EP-3 for taking -- for rescuing the crew in
what was obviously very hazardous circumstances. They have
talked about his efforts to save the plane.
Now we have a specific
allegation. The Chinese pilots have said that pilot, if he
did what is alleged, put his crew and everything that they
were trying to accomplish in jeopardy. I am just curious why
the administration doesn't want to engage in this very specific
allegation coming from the Chinese fighter pilot of what would clearly
represent hazardous flying by a U.S. pilot and placing blame on the
U.S. for this episode?
MR. FLEISCHER: I did respond to
it. I assured you that the American position is unchanged.
Q There are some
Republicans on the Hill who actually are saying that maybe the
President could have done more in lobbying, persuading members of the
Senate on both sides of the aisle, and that if he had done so the tax
cut may actually be at a larger amount than what we
think. Do you have any reaction?
MR. FLEISCHER: Let's wait and see
how the vote turns out tonight. But from the President's point of
view, things are moving very well and moving in his
direction. So he's pleased with the status of events and
let's wait to see the final vote and let it go to the House-Senate
Conference Committee.
Q Ari, some of the
rhetoric coming out of the Hill earlier this week on China was pretty
heated. It seems to have been toned down a bit in the last
few days. Did the President make any phone calls to members
up there, to tell them to cool it a little bit?
MR. FLEISCHER: There have been
conversations between people in the administration and the Hill,
emphasizing that this is a sensitive time. There are important
diplomatic exchanges underway, and a reminder of where the United
States and China stand diplomatically at this very moment.
Q There's actually --
I've listened to what you've said about the budget, but there is
actually some specific numbers that were thrown around this
morning. Top Republicans have said that $1.6 trillion tax
cut is dead. Dick Cheney has negotiated for a $1.4
trillion. John Breaux has said, you're lucky to get $1.2
trillion.
Can you talk about the specific
numbers? Is $1.2 trillion in the tax cut
acceptable? Does your previous statement apply to that, or
are you really going to press and say, if it's not $1.4 trillion, we're
not going to go along with this?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President's
position should be as close to $1.6 trillion as possible. He
believes $1.6 trillion is the right number. And the
President also knows that he will go into a conference, no matter what
the number the Senate agrees to, with a $1.6 trillion figure in the
House. And he continues to urge the Senate to take action so the tax
cut can be the right size, so the American people can have a doubled
child credit, can have the death tax repealed, can have
across-the-board income tax rate cuts for all income taxpayers.
Q What about --
MR. FLEISCHER: We have to do the
week ahead.
Q Can you comment on
whether or not Cheney is, and other administration officials are
proposing $1.4 trillion?
MR. FLEISCHER: Keith,
administration officials are working with senators of both parties to
secure a number as close to the President's number as
possible. I'm not going to discuss any of the specifics of
something that is pending in the Senate right now. It's kind
of moving pieces.
Q Ari, a question about
a personnel appointment. About two weeks ago, the President
said he was going to nominate Kay Cole James as the head of the Office
of Personnel Management, which will, among other things, enforce the
previous Clinton executive order on sexual orientation discrimination.
Now, Ms. James comes from The Family Research
Council and other groups that have vociferously opposed that sort of
thing. Could that be considered a sign the President is
backing away from that executive order by nominating this person?
MR. FLEISCHER: I would not make any
link between an appointment to somebody and a decision that the
President would make on an executive order here, as far as White House
personnel.
Go ahead, Ron.
Q Can you give us the
week ahead, please?
MR. FLEISCHER: On the week ahead,
on Monday the President will meet with his Cabinet to discuss his
budget, which will be released that morning. I also have
details on the release of that budget and this is the telephone
books. The budget will be released -- be available at GPO at
8:00 a.m. There will be one free copy per media
organization. You are requested to call the Office of
Management and Budget to secure yours.
There will be a wire embargo on the budget
until 10:00 a.m. that morning. There will be a series of
agency briefings and press conferences throughout that
morning. Contact the Office of Management and Budget press
office and they'll be able to provide you the details, or talk to the
individual agencies, wherever your interests take you.
Director Daniels will hold a briefing on the
budget at an undetermined time on Monday. We'll advise you
about that.
Q Here?
MR. FLEISCHER: Here in the White
House.
Q On camera?
MR. FLEISCHER: I haven't talked to
the Director about that, Major. That's a legitimate request.
Q Will the Treasury
Secretary come, as well?
MR. FLEISCHER: I have information
on Director Daniels. I don't have any information on the
Treasury Secretary.
On Monday afternoon, the President will meet
with the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan in separate meetings here
at the White House. Tuesday, the President will meet with the King of
Jordan, and make remarks on character education from the East Garden, a
3:00 p.m. event.
On Wednesday, the President will travel to
Charlotte and Greenville, North Carolina to discuss his education plans
and participate in a North Carolina welcome event. And on
Thursday, the President and Mrs. Bush depart in the afternoon to spend
Easter Weekend at the ranch in Crawford, Texas. They will
return to Washington on Sunday.
Q Anything at the ranch
that's public, as far as you know, or anything on the way out to the
ranch?
MR. FLEISCHER: We'll advise you
closer to it. That's the week ahead. Thank you, everybody.
THE PRESS: Thank you.
END
12:45 P.M. EDT
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