For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 29, 2001
Press Conference by the President
The James S. Brady Briefing Room
Listen to the President's
Remarks
10:32 A.M. EST
THE
PRESIDENT: Good morning. I first want to say how
pleased I am that the House yesterday passed on a realistic,
common-sense budget to the Senate. I appreciated the
vote. They did the right thing. It's a budget
that meets our nation's priorities. It's also a budget that
leaves ample room for meaningful, real, long-lasting tax
relief. I look forward to working with the Senate to get a
budget passed.
I'm also
deeply concerned about the escalating violence in the Middle
East. It is claiming the lives of innocent civilians on both
sides. The tragic cycle of incitement, provocation and violence has
gone on far too long.
Both sides
must take important steps to calm the situation now. The Palestinian
Authority should speak out publicly and forcibly, in a language that
the Palestinian people -- to condemn violence and terrorism. It should
arrest those who perpetrated the terrorist acts. It should
resume security cooperation with Israel.
The
government of Israel, for its part, should exercise restraint in its
military response. It should take steps to restore normalcy
to the lives of the Palestinian people by easing closures and removing
checkpoints. Last week, Prime Minister Sharon assured me
that his government wants to move in this direction, and I urge Israel
to do so.
I'll be
meeting with Egypt's President Mubarak next Monday, and Jordan's King
Abdullah the week after, to seek their help in defusing the
tensions. Egypt and Jordan are two of our most important
partners in the region, and their role is crucial.
I've asked
Secretary Powell to call Chairman Arafat today, and contact other
leaders to urge them to stand against violence. Our
diplomats in the region are fully engaged in this effort.
Our goal is
to encourage a series of reciprocal and parallel steps by both sides
that will halt the escalation of violence, provide safety and security
for civilians on both sides, and restore normalcy to the lives of
everyone in the region. A lasting peace in the region will
come only when the parties agree directly on its terms.
This week I
vetoed an unbalanced U.N. resolution, because it tried to force the
adoption of a mechanism on which both parties did not
agree. My approach will be to facilitate the party's work in
finding their own solution to peace. We seek to build a
stable foundation for restoring confidence, rebuilding security
cooperation, and resuming a political dialogue between the parties.
I'll be
glad to answer some questions. Ron.
Q Mr.
President, the Senate, as you know, is finishing up legislation to ban
all soft money. What do you think of the bill, particularly
the ban on individual contributions that you forcefully opposed in the
campaign? And specifically, sir, would you sign it?
THE
PRESIDENT: This is a bill in progress. It's a
bill that continues to change. And I'll take a look at it
when it makes my desk. And if it improves the system, I'll sign
it. I look forward to signing a good piece of legislation.
Q Could
you sign a bill that bans individual soft money contributions?
THE
PRESIDENT: I'll look at the whole bill, and I'll make my
determination as to whether or not the bill improves the
situation. And I appreciate the hard work that's being done
on the legislation. And I'm going to wait until I see the
final version.
Q Mr.
President, is your administration reviewing U.S. aid to Russia to stop
the spread of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons? Are
you considering reducing that aid, and if so, why?
THE
PRESIDENT: Well, we're reviewing all programs, those related
to de-escalating potential nuclear problems. We want to make
sure that any money that is being spent is being spent in an effective
way -- have the obligation to the taxpayer is to make sure that the
money, for example, going to the Russian program, part of Nunn-Lugar,
for example, is effective. And so we're putting a full
review on the programs.
And we
fully intend to continue to cooperate with the Russians. It's in our
nation's best interest to dismantle -- work with Russia to dismantle
its nuclear arsenal. I was pleased to see that Senator Nunn,
one of the authors of the Nunn-Lugar bill, agreed with our approach to
take a look to make sure the programs are efficient. And we
will continue to do so.
Helen.
Q Mr.
President, in the last few weeks you have rolled back health and safety
and environmental measures proposed by the last administration, and
other previous administrations. This has been widely
interpreted as a payback time to your corporate donors. Are
they more important than the American people's health and
safety? And what else do you plan to repeal?
THE
PRESIDENT: Well, Helen, I told people pretty plainly that I
was going to review all the last-minute decisions that my predecessor
had made, and that is exactly what we're doing. I presume
you're referring to the decision on arsenic in water. First
of all, there had been no change in the arsenic -- accepted arsenic
level in water since the '40s. And at the very last minute,
my predecessor made a decision, and we pulled back his decision so that
we can make a decision based upon sound science and what's realistic.
There will
be a reduction in the acceptable amount of arsenic per billion after
the review in the EPA.
Q How
about stopping the black lung benefits for families? This is sort of
-- to increase some of the benefits of these minors?
THE
PRESIDENT: We will work with members of the delegation and
make sure people are properly treated. Ours is going to be
an administration that makes decisions on science, what's realistic,
common-sense decisions.
For
example, circumstances have changed since the campaign. We're now in
an energy crisis. And that's why I decided to not have
mandatory caps on CO2, because in order to meet those caps, our nation
would have had to have had a lot of natural gas immediately flow into
the system, which is impossible. We don't have the
infrastructure able to move natural gas.
We need to
have an active exploration program. One of the big debates
that's taking place in the Congress, or will take place in the
Congress, is whether or not we should be exploring for natural gas in
Alaska, for example, in ANWR. I strongly think we should in
order to make sure that we've got enough gas to be able to help reduce
greenhouse emissions in the country. See, gas is clean, any
yet there is not enough of it. And we've got pipeline
capacity problems in the country. We have an energy
shortage.
I look
forward to explaining this today to the leader of Germany as to why I
made the decision I made. We'll be working with Germany;
we'll be working with our allies to reduce greenhouse
gases. But I will not accept a plan that will harm our
economy and hurt American workers.
John.
Q Mr.
President, new figures out today show that the economy grew at an
annual rate of one percent for the last three months of the year
2000. My question to you, sir, is, what are you prepared to
do to immediately stimulate the economy? Because it would
appear that your long-term tax package does not do it, yet you dismiss
out of hand attempts from the Hill to give back a rebate of some $60
billion this year unless it's tied to longer-term tax
relief. Why can you not sign a short-term package and then
pursue your long-term package separately?
THE
PRESIDENT: Well, John, first of all, I support the efforts
on the Hill to provide immediate tax relief. I've been
calling for immediate tax relief. I think it makes sense to
do so. But we've got to have long-term relief, as
well. Part of building confidence in our economy is not only
give the consumers a boost, but to have a plan that reduces rates for
the long-term, so that people who make investments -- small business
owners, the entrepreneurs -- will have certainty that the cash flows of
the future will be enhanced, so they can expand their job base and make
new capital purchases.
I
appreciate very much what the leadership in the Senate have -- Tom
Daschle, for example, talked about immediate tax relief or immediate
rebates, plus reducing rates permanently. We just need to
reduce more rates than the ones he suggested.
There is a
debate going on here in Washington, and it's really, do you want to
increase the size of the federal government, or do you want to give --
let people keep their own money. And there's a philosophical
divide. And I'm going to continue to stand on the side of
the people, and make it as clear as I can that we've met our priorities
in the budget I submitted, and it's not only good for the economy,
though, to give people their money back, it's good for working
families, so they can have more money to manage their own accounts.
There's a
lot of focus about national debt in Washington. But it's
important for Congress not to forget a lot of folks have got consumer
debt, as well. And when you couple high energy prices with
consumer debt, a lot of folks are in a squeeze. And I look
forward to continue to make the case.
Q But
with respect, sir, as this debate continues, consumers are not seeing
any more money back in their pockets.
THE
PRESIDENT: That's exactly right. And you've got a
good point -- consumers haven't seen any money back in their
pockets. That's why it's important for the Senate to act
quickly on the budget. I hope there's no delay next week
when it comes to the budget considerations. I look forward
to working with both House members and Senate members, once the budgets
have been passed, to get tax relief enacted quickly, and to get money
as quickly as possible into the people's pockets.
Q Mr.
President, you're no longer negotiating with yourself on tax
cuts. There are a lot of other approaches that are out
there. Why not say today exactly what you're willing to do
to appease both moderate Republicans and Democrats who fear that those
projected budget surpluses won't materialize, and they want some way to
cut off a tax cut, if that's the case, if we can't afford
it. What will you do?
THE
PRESIDENT: Listen, I'm anxious to talk to members of the
Senate about the so-called look-back provisions. But I'm
going to remind people that one way budget surpluses will not
materialize is if Congress overspends. And so any look-back
procedure has got to make sure that there are restraints to government
spending. The surest way to eat up the surplus is to have
the kind of spending that took place during the last fiscal year, when
discretionary spending increased by 8 percent.
And by the
way, I'm still negotiating with myself. People keep -- I get
a suggestion from here, and a suggestion from
there. So-and-so suggests something. And good
Americans such as yourself are trying to get me to negotiate with
myself.
Q Let
me just bring up another suggestion. (Laughter.)
THE
PRESIDENT: Another chance to negotiate with myself?
Q Will
you sign or veto tax cuts that exceed $1.6 trillion, even if it would
result from -- that increase would result from an immediate stimulus to
the economy this year?
THE
PRESIDENT: David, I hope that Congress does not diminish the
size of the tax relief package that I've sent up there, nor increase
the size of the tax relief package I've sent up there. The
$1.6 trillion is the size that I think is right. We've had a
lot of discussion here in Washington about whether it's too big or too
small. Nothing has changed my opinion as to whether or not
-- about the size of the package I sent. It's the right
size.
Don't worry
about the beeper violation. (Laughter.) It's a
new approach. Gordon taught me a lesson.
Q On
the Middle East, sir. For a couple months, both you and
officials in your administration have indicated you wanted to step back
from constant involvement of the U.S. and the President in the conflict
and in the peace process. Was that a mistake, given the
escalation in both violence and the rhetoric over there? And
is what you're doing today essentially an admission that the
involvement of the United States and the President of the United States
publicly and personally is necessary for the parties to succeed?
THE
PRESIDENT: Terry, I have said all along that this nation
will not to force a peace settlement in the Middle East, that we will
facilitate a peace settlement. It requires two willing
parties to come to the table to enact a peace treaty that will
last. And this administration won't try to force peace on
the parties.
That's what
the U.N. tried to do the other day. They tried to force a
situation in the Middle East to which both parties did not agree.
That's why I vetoed their suggestion.
We have
been fully engaged in the Middle East. We're on the phone
all the time to the leaders. I'm welcoming leaders to
come. In order for there to be a peace, this country must
develop a -- what I call a broad foundation for peace. That
means we've got to have good, strong relations with the Egyptians and
the Jordanians and the Saudis.
As you may
remember, the Secretary of State went to Syria to sit down with
Bashar. And we've got a lot of work to do in order to build
that foundation for peace, but we're going to make a full-time effort
to do so.
But our
fellow citizens have got to realize that in order for there to be a
peace, there has to be two willing parties. And we will
continue to try to convince the parties to become willing to sit down
and negotiate a lasting peace. But this country cannot
impose a timetable, nor settlement on the parties if they're unwilling
to accept it.
Q But
merely to contain the violence, sir, do you personally need to get more
involved? Is that what you're doing today?
THE
PRESIDENT: I am involved on the telephone. I met
with Prime Minister Sharon. I'm talking to our allies and
friends in the Middle East. I've instructed the Secretary of State to
call Mr. Arafat. And implicit in your question is the first
step, and that is the violence must cease in order for there to be any
meaningful dialogue in the Middle East. And so we're in the
process of trying to bring calm to the region. And it's
going to require more than just one voice.
Obviously,
our voice is an important voice for bringing calm to the Middle East;
so are other nations. And I look forward to visiting with
President Mubarak and King Abdullah to lend -- to rally them to try to
convince, particularly in their case, Mr. Arafat to speak out against
violence in a language that the Palestinians can understand.
Q Mr.
President --
THE
PRESIDENT: Major.
Q You
have mentioned today that there is an energy crisis --
THE
PRESIDENT: Yes.
Q --
and yet the budget resolutions that have passed the House and are due
to be considered in the Senate next week do not include any revenue
from the drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. I
have talked to the people who have made that decision and they said it
was a political fight, they believe unwinnable, that you could not, nor
could they, create the majorities in either the House or the Senate to
bring about drilling in ANWR, your number one solution, or one of the
top solutions to dealing with the energy crisis. Does this
not represent a rejection from your own party in dealing with the
energy situation?
THE
PRESIDENT: Well, Major, first of all, there are other areas
in the United States on which we can find natural gas. I
think it's important for us to open up ANWR. Whether or not
the Congress sees it that way is another matter. That's not
going to deter me from having, for example, the Interior Secretary look
at all lands that are not -- not to be fully protected, for
exploration. We've got a plan to make sure that gas comes --
flows freely out of Canada into the United States. I talked
to the Prime Minister about that.
What I find
interesting is that I think -- we have meaningful discussions about
exploration in the Northwest Territories, right across the line,
admittedly miles away, as ANWR. But nevertheless, it's a
big, vast region of natural gas. And it's important for us
to explore, encourage exploration, work with the Canadians to get
pipelines coming out of the Northwest Territories to the United
States.
I've talked
to the President of Mexico about a policy. There's going to
be a lot of areas where we can find natural gas in America other than
ANWR. It would be helpful if we opened up ANWR. I
think it's a mistake not to. And I would urge you all to
travel up there and take a look at it, and you can make --
Q On
energy --
THE
PRESIDENT: Let me finish please -- and you can make the
determination as to how beautiful that country is.
Q If
I may follow up.
THE
PRESIDENT: Yes, Major.
Q If
the American people, looking to you to deal with the energy
crisis, and
you cannot look to your own party to deal with what you and your own
advisors have said is a crucial area in which to explore, how can the
American public have confidence in your ability to deal with Congress
to address the situation you have called today a crisis?
THE
PRESIDENT: There's a lot of other areas we can explore,
Major, and one of them is to work with the
Canadians. There's gas in our hemisphere. And the
fundamental question is, where's it going to come from? I'd
like it to be American gas. But if the Congress decides not
to have for exploration in ANWR, we'll work with the Canadians.
I'm
interested in getting more energy supply so that businesses can grow
and people can heat their homes. We've got a shortage of
energy in America. And it doesn't matter to me where the gas
comes from, in the long run, just so long as we get gas moving into the
country, so long as we increase supply of natural gas.
And we also
need to have clean coal technologies, as well. And we need a
full affront on a energy crisis that is real in California and looms
for other parts of our country if we don't move quickly.
Q Mr.
President, as I'm sure you've been aware, there are stories
consistently about tensions, persistent tensions between you and
Senator John McCain, dating back to your rivalry in the
primaries. I wonder if you could address that, not just on
the campaign finance reform bill, but also on the patients' bill of
rights, which McCain supporters believe you don't want to sign a
patients' bill of rights with McCain's name on it.
THE
PRESIDENT: Well, look, this is Washington, D.C. gossip, is
how I view it. I respect John McCain. I like him
a lot. That doesn't mean we're going to agree 100 percent of
the time. Obviously, we've got some differences; that's what
a primary was all about, airing our differences. But I
respect John. I realize -- it's a game in Washington to try
to create tension between John McCain and me. And I'm not
going to let it happen.
I can't
control the stories that seem to be popping up all the time -- faceless
aides that are out there trying to stir the pot. I can just
give you my perspective. I like him, he's a good
man. We have some differences, and I think the idea, for
example, of having a $5-million cap on punitive damages is just not the
right public policy. But that shouldn't surprise you.
After all,
I signed a bill in the state of Texas with a $750,000 cap on punitive
damages. It's nothing personal, just a difference of
opinion. And the idea of the President laying out a
framework for debate and some guidelines is perfectly acceptable
practice in Washington, D.C.
Q Just
to follow on that. When you sent the signal, and your aides
did, to Congress that they could not count on you to veto a campaign
finance reform bill, what message were you sending? A lot of
people interpreted it that you're saying to Congress, if you don't like
it, kill it, because I won't.
THE
PRESIDENT: No. As I said, I look forward to
signing a bill that makes the process better. Sometimes the
legislators will say, oh, don't worry, we've got the
President. I'm not sure exactly what that means, except if a
bill that improves the system makes it to my desk, I'll be inclined to
sign it. I, of course, reserve all options to bills that are
forever changing, and as those who follow the process know, that I'm
going to -- I will make my decision once the bill makes it to my desk.
Q Can
I ask about the Palestinians, sir? Why is it that you have
not decided to invite Yasser Arafat here? Have you concluded
that he's part of the problem, not part of the solution?
THE
PRESIDENT: Well, we're going to work with all
parties. As I mentioned, the Secretary of State is calling
Chairman Arafat today to urge him to stop the violence and to call upon
those over whom he's got influence to stop the
violence. I've got quite a crowded calendar of leaders who
are coming to see me, and I'm looking forward to visiting with
President Mubarak and King Abdullah.
Mike.
Q I'm
sorry, can I follow, sir?
THE
PRESIDENT: No. Just teasing. Go
ahead. Just testing. (Laughter.)
Q The
Palestinians think you're sending them a signal. Are you?
THE
PRESIDENT: The signal I'm sending to the Palestinians is,
stop the violence. And I can't make it any more
clear. And I hope that Chairman Arafat hears it loud and
clear. He's going to hear it again on the telephone
today. This is not the first time the message has been
delivered. It's so important, in order for there to be any
kind of discussion about peace, that we stop the violence in the Middle
East.
Q Mr.
President, allies of the United States have complained that you haven't
consulted them sufficiently on your stance for negotiations with North
Korea, Kyoto Treaty; we have deteriorating relations
elsewhere. If you read the international press, it looks
like everyone is mad at us. Mr. President, how do you think
that came to be, and what, if anything, do you plan to do about it?
THE
PRESIDENT: Well, I get a completely different picture, of
course, when I sit down with world leaders. I'm looking
forward to sitting down with Mr. Schroeder here in about 30
minutes. I've had very honest and straightforward visits
with many of the world's leaders. There's -- I'm sure there
were some concerns initially, because they didn't know
me. And they heard all kinds of rumors about what our
administration would be about. And now I have the chance to
sit down and talk to them, face to face.
I'm a
pretty straightforward fellow, Mike. I don't mind making my
case, and it's important. It's important for world leaders
to know exactly where the United States is coming from.
On missile
defense, for example, I've assured our allies that we will consult with
them. But we're moving forward to develop systems that
reflect the threats of today. I mean, who knows where the
next terrorist attack is going to come from, but we'd better be ready
for it. And I believe I've got the opportunity to convince
our friends and allies that our vision makes sense. It
brings a lot of common sense to an old, stale debate, the old arms
control debate.
In terms of
the CO2 issue, I will explain as clearly as I can, today and every
other chance I get, that we will not do anything that harms our
economy. Because, first things first, are the people who
live in America. That's my priority. And I'm
worried about the economy. I'm worried about the lack of an
energy policy. I'm worried about rolling blackouts in
California. It's in our national interest that we develop a
strong energy policy, with realistic, common-sense environmental
policy. And I'm going to explain that to our friends.
It is in
their interest, by the way, that our economy remain
strong. After all, we're a free trading
administration. We trade with each other. People
are beginning to learn what my administration is like. And they're
going to find we're steadfast friends. But a friend is
somebody who's willing to tell the truth, and if there's a
disagreement, to be able to state it clearly, to make it clear where we
disagree.
But for
those who worry about our willingness to consult, they shouldn't
worry. We are. We're going to be open minded, and
we'll have open dialogue.
Yes, sir.
Q Mr.
President
Q Mr.
President, you gave me the floor.
THE
PRESIDENT: You're next. No, next to
next. Let me rephrase it -- you're
last. (Laughter.)
Q No
problem.
Q Just
to clarify on tax cuts, I wanted to clarify the linkage that you feel
is necessary. You have said that you want to have a tax cut
rate reduction, and you also support the efforts to try to do a quick
retroactive tax cut. When you speak of those two things,
will you insist upon one package of bills that includes the rate
reduction and any kind of quick short-term stimulus, or would you
except some kind of verifiable promise that they'll get to your tax
cuts later?
THE
PRESIDENT: That's the old "trust
me"? (Laughter.) Look, it is in our nation's best
interest to have long-term tax relief. And that has been my
focus all along. I'm confident we can have it, get it
done. I believe not only can we get long-term tax relief in
place, since there were countries running some surpluses in spite of
the dire predictions about cash flow, I believe we have an opportunity
to fashion an immediate stimulus package, as well. The two
ought to go hand in hand.
Those who
think that they can say we're only going to have a stimulus package,
but let's forget tax relief, mis-underestimate -- excuse me,
underestimate -- (laughter) -- just making sure you were paying
attention. (Laughter.) You
were. (Laughter.) Underestimate our
administration's resolve to get this done.
Q Can
I ask a follow up real quick?
THE
PRESIDENT: No. (Laughter.) Go ahead.
Q Just
quickly. The Democrats have demonstrated some flexibility on
reducing the lower end of the tax rate reductions. How do
you feel about the top? There's talk about the top rate not
being as big as you proposed --
THE
PRESIDENT: Of course, we ought to talk the top
rate. But, see, you're trying to do what Gregory tried to
get me to do, which is negotiate with myself again.
Q What's
wrong with that?
Q I
negotiate with Gregory over this --
THE
PRESIDENT: Please do. When you all come up with a
solution, let me know. Gregory is in the top 1
percent. (Laughter.) If not, you should be,
David.
Last
question.
Q Thank
you, sir. Mr. President, you spoke about free trade at the
last press conference. You've mentioned it
today. You'll be meeting tomorrow with the President of
Brazil, Fernando Henrique Cardoso. He is the one person -- at least
Brazil is the one person in the continent, or the one country, who is
not in a rush to come to a free trade agreement. They prefer Mercosur,
the free trade agreement in South America. Is your
administration interested in getting the free trade agreement by 2003
year instead of the 2005 year that's been agreed? And how do
you expect to convince Mr. Cardoso tomorrow to follow that?
THE
PRESIDENT: Well, I -- the sooner we can get a free trade
agreement in the hemisphere, the better. As to whether or
not it's 2003 or 2005, that's -- we'll just have to see if we can't
convince our friends in South America the wisdom of doing it as soon as
possible.
The meeting
tomorrow is going to be an important meeting. Brazil is a
huge country. It's got a significant role in our hemisphere,
and it's got a very bright future. To the extent that the
country is skeptical about our intention to have free and fair trade, I
have a chance to undermine that skepticism, and I'm going
to. I'm going to look the man in the eye and say, we are
free traders.
I will work
with, and I'll have Bob Zoellick work with his counterpart, to assure
him that trade with America will be done in a free and fair
way. I think we can make some progress. But we'll
see after the meeting.
Thank you
all. See you tonight. Look, I'm just testing a
few lines on you, by the way. (Laughter.)
Q Let's
hear a few.
THE
PRESIDENT: You just heard one, but you'll see when you hear
me. (Laughter.)
END 11:01
A.M. EST
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