For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 23, 2001
Press Briefing by Ari Fleischer
The James S. Brady Briefing Room
Listen to the Briefing
- Personnel announcements
- President's phone calls to Arafat and Sharon
- Presidential travel
- Tax bill in the Senate
- Senator Jeffords/possible party change
- Governor Davis/California energy
- Senator Zell Miller/possible party change
- White House invitation to Senator Daschle
- Visit of the Dalai Lama
- Middle East/call to Chairman Arafat
- Clean Air safeguards
- Education bill/vouchers
- Vietnam trade agreement
1:35 P.M. EDT
MR. FLEISCHER: Good
afternoon. I have a series of announcements to begin today,
several personnel and several other items. The President
intends to nominate Douglas Alan Hartwick to be Ambassador of the
United States to the Lao People's Democratic Republic. The
President intends to nominate Alberto Jose Mora to be General Counsel
of the Department of the Navy. The President intends to
nominate Everet Beckner to be Deputy Administrator of Defense Programs
for the Department of Energy. The President intends to
nominate Thomas C. Hubbard to be Ambassador of the United States to the
Republic of Korea. The President intends to nominate William
Riley to serve as judge on the United States Circuit Court of Appeals
for the 8th Circuit. And the President intends to announce
-- or today announced his intention to nominate Nancy Goodman Brinker
to be Ambassador of the United States to the Republic of Hungary.
The President has made several foreign policy
calls this morning -- two calls specifically. He spoke with
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat this morning, and Israeli
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon about the situation in the Middle East and
about the Mitchell Committee report. The President urged both leaders
to seize the opportunity offered by the Mitchell Communication report
to end the violence in the region. And the President urged
both leaders to work with the United States to develop a framework for
implementation of the report's recommendations.
I want to give you a brief overview of next
week, and then there's an important tax matter pending before the
Senate I want to touch on briefly. And then I'll be happy to take your
questions.
On Friday, the President will deliver the
commencement address to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis
before he heads to Camp David for the weekend. In that
address he'll talk about the importance of military service; he'll
discuss the valor, the honor and the commitment to country that comes
from those who serve.
And on Monday, Memorial Day, the President
will host veterans at the White House for a breakfast before he goes to
Arlington National Cemetery, where he will lay a wreath at the Tomb of
Unknown Soldiers, and he will deliver remarks to commemorate Memorial
Day. That afternoon the President will depart for Mesa,
Arizona, where he will make remarks at a Memorial Day event
there. He will overnight in Los Angeles.
On Tuesday, the President will travel to the
Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, near Oceanside, to visit the Marines,
to tour their facilities, and to talk about how the federal government
is going to be a strong partner to the state of California in the cause
of energy conservation, to help ease the burden in California as they
go through the summer months, when demand is high and blackouts are
most at risk.
Following that event, the President will
return to Los Angeles to give a speech on the economy to the Los
Angeles World Affairs Council, and then he will fly to Fresno to
overnight. We'll have more details on Wednesday's visit
shortly, and we return late to Washington on Wednesday night.
Also during his visit to California, the
President has invited Governor Davis to meet with him, to get together
to talk about issues important to California including, of course,
energy. And the President looks forward to meeting with
Governor Davis.
And, finally, the tax bill remains pending
before the United States Senate. The President urges the
Senate to take action as quickly as is possible. The
President hopes that the Senate will be able to take action so that the
bill can still be conferenced, hopefully, still, this week.
The President is very concerned that any
delays in getting tax relief passed will harm the economy, will cause
the economic slowdown to continue longer, and the President urges the
Senate to take this action immediately.
With that, I'm happy to take your questions.
Q What is the President
doing to try to keep Senator Jeffords in the Republican Party?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, Bill, the
President met with Senator Jeffords yesterday in the Oval Office for
about half an hour, where the two discussed in a private fashion what
was on Senator Jeffords' mind, and as you know, Senator Jeffords has an
announcement scheduled for tomorrow, and we will all wait and hear what
Senator Jeffords says. The President clearly hopes that
Senator Jeffords will remain a Republican.
Q Did you offer him any
incentives to stay in the party?
MR. FLEISCHER: Bill, it was a
private meeting, but it was a discussion that was based on no offers,
but it was based on just good dialogue between the two.
Q Can you rule out, now
that you've gotten a 24-hour reprieve, can you rule out that the
President won't try to reach out to Jeffords again?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I'm not going
to rule anything in or out. Senator Jeffords will make an announcement
tomorrow. Senator Jeffords has always been an independent
thinker. The Senator has his own ideas about what he wants
to do, what he intends to do, and in all cases President Bush and the
White House will be very respectful of him.
Q Does the President
have plans to call or see Jeffords again?
MR. FLEISCHER: As you know, Sondra,
anytime we have anything that the President does, we'll try to fill you
in to the best of our ability.
Q Has Jeffords told the
White House what his decision is?
MR. FLEISCHER: Again, it was a
private meeting yesterday, and I think the next step, of course, is to
wait and listen to Senator Jeffords.
Q How much would a
shift in leadership in the Senate complicate the Bush agenda there?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, it's an
interesting question. You know, the Senate is 50-50 right
now. It's a uniquely close Senate. And given its
close makeup, the President has been tremendously successful in getting
things done in the Senate. And I anticipate that the
President is going to continue to focus on the manner to get things
done.
He believes he was elected to get things done,
and he believes that members of the Congress, whether they're Democrat
or Republican, have an interest in getting things done. If
you take a look at the bipartisan coalitions that he has formed with
the given 100 members of the Senate, you will see that from issue to
issue, he's been able to assembly healthy governing bipartisan
coalitions that allow the nation to move forward with his
agenda. And he has not been dependent on party line votes;
it's very hard to in a 50-50 Senate. So that's the
President's outlook as he faces whatever the future in the Senate would
be.
Q This wouldn't change
any votes on any issues, but it would certainly change the way bills
are brought to the floor, and particularly the way judicial nominations
are treated and the way they're not brought to the floor.
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, in all cases,
the President is going to continue to work very respectfully and
productively with members of Congress from both parties. As
you know, in the judicial nominations, as you indicated, the President
sent up an initial round of nominations that were very well received by
Democrats and Republicans alike.
When you have a 50-50 Senate, it's important
to work closely with everybody, which is what the President has always
done. It's also what the President has always done as the
Governor of Texas. In Texas, of course, he had a Democrat
legislature and he worked very productively and very closely with the
Democratic legislature. So, regardless of any decisions that
are made, the President will always govern in that style, which is to
keep things toned down and to keep things productive and to keep things
moving.
Q When you have a 50-50
Senate, Ari, a lot of Senate Republicans are saying today that you
don't, despite your displeasure with any one senator over any
particular vote, not invite him to the White House when a teacher from
his state is being awarded the Teacher of the Year Award. A
lot of criticism from Republican senators specifically aimed at Nick
Calio and Karl Rove, but at the White House in general, that playing
hardball was a mistake here.
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, first of all,
nobody played hardball, and certainly not the two people you mentioned,
and no one did. On that event specifically, we've heard no
complaints, for example, from Senator Jeffords. But I want
to remind you, every morning, I share with the press in this room what
events the President is going to hold. And you're talking
about specifically, of course, April 23rd when the President honored
the Teachers of the Year, who came from all 50 states.
Let me just cite a couple of other examples
for you. I want you to reflect on these if you think there
is an issue here. On April 6th, the President hosted 59
youth winners from across the United States for the VFW Youth
Awards. They came from all across the
country. There were no members of the Congress invited to
the White House at that time, either. That's often the case where
people are honored and receive awards that they get at the White House
where no members of Congress come, because if you were to invite one,
you would have to invite literally hundreds.
On May 7th, Multiple Sclerosis Parents of the
Year were here. I think you all remember; you attended the
event. The mother of the year was from Tennessee and the
father of the year was from Colorado. Again, no members of
Congress were invited. It's not always practical, possible
or desirable to invite members of Congress; they don't always want to
be able to leave the Hill to come down to the myriad of events at the
White House where citizens are honored. And that's the case
in this event as well.
That event had 50 Teachers of the Year
honored. And if everybody had gotten invited from Congress
who represents those 50, you would have had 100 senators and 50 members
of the House, or 150 members of Congress. So I dismiss
that. I don't think that's an issue, and it's not something
an issue that Senator Jeffords has made --
Q There was one primary
Teacher of the Year. The answer is extremely disingenuous,
if you'll forgive me.
MR. FLEISCHER: And so for the
Multiple Sclerosis Parents of the Year, Bill? Is there an
issue there?
Q One Teacher of the
Year.
MR. FLEISCHER: The point is the
same. If you're going to honor somebody from a state for a
distinction, whether they're a Parent of the Year or a Teacher of the
Year, there's a pattern. It is not always common to have all
members of Congress invited down. We have heard no
objections from Senator Jeffords on that. I know one
Democrat senator raised objections and tried to create an issue with
that, but I dismiss that.
Q Is there not a flip
side, though, when you're in a 50-50 Senate and you're looking for
opportunities to make friends, you, say, have a Rose Garden reception
for Joe Moakley, something the President did not have to go out of his
way and do, or, say, invite Senator John McCain to dinner tomorrow
night here at the White House, someone you've had some issues with in
the past -- there are some people you have decided to be extra generous
to, extra friendly to, and others who would argue that you haven't.
MR. FLEISCHER: John, I think you're
searching for something that is just not there in the way this
President treats members of Congress from both parties. This
President has a history of reaching out, working very closely and
cooperatively with Democrats and Republicans, people who agree with
him, people who disagree with him. And that's what he'll
continue to do.
And again, the President has not heard any
complaints from Senator Jeffords on that account. I know
you're all looking for a juicy story line, but I respectfully submit to
you in this case, it's not there.
Q To follow up on what
John was asking, is it the case that the President never asked Senator
Jeffords about this story, about the Teacher of the Year slight that's
been in the papers for days? The President did not say to
him, Senator Jeffords, Jim, I'm sorry?
MR. FLEISCHER: Again, it was a
private meeting that the two had. But as I just indicated,
there were no complaints received from Senator Jeffords on that.
Q I'm asking a
different question. Did the President extend any kind of
acknowledgement of this story or apology to him?
MR. FLEISCHER: As I indicated,
there are all kinds of events down at the White House that honor people
from various states where no members of Congress are
invited. It's --
Q That's not the
point.
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, you're asking
if the President apologized for doing something that is routine and
ongoing.
Q Did he acknowledge
the story in any way?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President's
conversation with the Senator is going to remain
private. But as I indicated to you, the Senator did not
raise any objections to what the White House had done.
Q Ari, you're saying he
didn't raise any objections, but are you assuring us the decision not
to invite, not to have him at this event had nothing to do with any
vote that he cast, or any other reason related to him?
MR. FLEISCHER: I can assure you of
that just as unequivocally as I assured you of the fact that the
Multiple Sclerosis Parents of the Year came to the White House and no
member of Congress from Tennessee, or no member of Congress from
Colorado were invited for that. It is not at all unusual for
people to be honored at the White House without inviting members of
Congress to the White House. That is a pattern and a
practice of White Houses, going back many a year, that will
continue. And there are no slights when events like that
happen. Members of Congress don't expect to spend all their
time down at the White House. It's not always practical.
Q What about the larger
issue here, Ari, that a moderate Republican, one of the leading
moderate Republicans, feels uncomfortable in a conservative party led
by this conservative President?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I think it's
important to let Senator Jeffords speak for himself, and I think
everybody will listen to him. But I want to make that point
again -- if you take a look at the coalitions that the President has
assembled on the Hill, and if you take a look particularly at the
education bill that's moving forward in the House, for example, you'll
see a President who has governed and will continue to govern in a
fashion that brings people together. And he'll be respectful
of those who agree with him, and he'll be respectful of those who
disagree with him.
One example on specifics, the patients' bill
of rights. Two weeks ago, the President announced his
support for a patients' bill of rights provision. That
patients' bill of rights was authored by Senator Jeffords, Senator
Breaux and Senator Frisk, a bipartisan coalition. I submit
that to you as proof perfect that the President is going to continue to
work with people, regardless of their party, regardless of their views,
on where he sees common ground. And that's going to be the
ongoing pattern.
I know that Senator Jeffords, for example, is
pleased to work with the President on their mutual support of a
patients' bill of rights.
Q Doesn't the President
take this as something of a warning sign?
MR. FLEISCHER: Again, I think it's
important to listen to Senator Jeffords, to hear what he says, what his
reasons are for whatever action he ultimately decides to
take. But you're dealing with a President who has a history
and a pattern of governing in a bipartisan way, and nothing will change
that. He'll continue to govern in a bipartisan way, with big
results. Look at the tax bill that's
pending. Look at the number of Democrats who support him on
the tax bill. That's a governing bipartisan
majority. Look at the education bill. That, too,
is a governing bipartisan majority. That's going to be the
continuing pattern that the President seeks to adhere to.
Q Did Senator Jeffords
specifically request to attend the Teacher of the Year event?
MR. FLEISCHER: No, I have no
information that he did.
Q He did not?
MR. FLEISCHER: That's correct.
Q Ari, the White House
Chief of Staff, out of the blue, called the AP reporters in Vermont
during the pendency of the budget resolution and said, just wanted to
let Vermonters know where the President is and where Senator Jeffords
is on this. Isn't that putting the muscle on Senator
Jeffords in a rather crude way?
MR. FLEISCHER: Terry, the White
House is always going to reach out and talk to reporters in the various
50 states. The President represents those states, as
well. And the President traveled to various states, as you
know, with great results. There are a number of Democrats
who support the President's tax provision. I don't know what
the ultimate outcome will be, but I understand today, just watching the
news, that Senator Jeffords will support the tax bill.
So, obviously, the President's approach is
going to be continuing to be respectful and courteous. The
staff will continue to reach out, talk to reporters from all 50
states. And that wouldn't surprise me if it continues.
Q Who arranged this
meeting with Davis, and was it in response to his request for a
meeting? His people have been saying they were preparing to
be snubbed by Bush out in California. And exactly what are
they going to talk about?
MR. FLEISCHER: I think it's
mutual. I imagine Governor Davis wanted to meet with the
President; the President obviously wants to meet with Governor
Davis. That's why he's invited the Governor to meet with him
during this trip. California is a very big
state. It represents one-sixth of the United States and it's
the sixth largest economy in the world. And the President is
very pleased to sit and talk with Governor Davis. That's
important.
Q Are they going to
focus on energy, or what --
MR. FLEISCHER: I think, clearly,
energy is going to be one of the topics they discuss. It
wouldn't surprise me if the President wanted to talk about education,
maybe taxes. There will be a series of issues they want to
talk about, but energy will, of course, be at the top of the list.
Q Will the President
have anything new in terms of offers for federal help for California on
energy?
MR. FLEISCHER: We'll keep you
advised. Obviously, one of the reasons he's visiting a
military facility in California is the President has already taken the
action to help Californians by directing our military facilities in
California to cut back on their use of energy by 10 percent, to help
Californians get through a hot summer.
Q Has anybody been in
touch, anybody from the White House been in touch with Senator Zell
Miller to talk to him about --
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I think Zell
Miller has already addressed that issue. The Senator has
said that he is not going to change parties. I think it's
fair to say the White House is going to be in ongoing conversations
with any number of senators about continuing their support for the
Republican agenda and for the President's ideas. But Senator
Miller, I think, has laid that issue to rest.
Q But that was
today. We're told that White House people worked him over,
overnight.
MR. FLEISCHER: I'm not going to --
(laughter) -- what were the verbs? I'm not going to characterize any
of the conversations that may or may not be happening between
individual people at the White House and anybody on the
Hill. But I think it is fair to say that the Senator has
laid that issue to rest.
Q Ari, you talked about
the President's approach being respectful and
courteous. He's talked a lot about civility, about
disagreeing in an honorable way. Clearly, Senator Jeffords
felt that he was considered a traitor for disagreeing in an honorable
way and for voting his conscience. If the President did not see him
that way, does the President realize, did anyone at the White House
realize that that's the way he was being treated on Capitol Hill?
MR. FLEISCHER: Jim, I think it is
very important for everybody to allow Senator Jeffords to speak and
explain what it is he may or may not do. So I would urge you
all just to, if you can, give it 24 hours. Let's listen to
Senator Jeffords. Let's listen to the reasons he gives for
whatever action he may take. And I think these are fair
questions, but they should come up after the Senator has spoken.
Q Was there any sense
here -- I mean, this has been talked about around town for quite
sometime now -- was there any sense here that he was being mistreated
by the Republican leadership in the Senate? Is there any
sense that the President needs to step in?
MR. FLEISCHER: As I indicated at
the beginning, Senator Jeffords has always been an independent
thinker. The Senator has always exercised his
mind. He has a history of voting and thinking independently,
and again, let's listen to the Senator.
Q Ari, along the lines
of invitations, when was the last time Tom Daschle was here at the
White House, and how soon, how quickly will he get an invitation,
assuming he becomes majority leader?
MR. FLEISCHER: As you know, the
President very often has meetings with members of the House Democrat
and Republican, and he'll often meet with people in the residence, just
as he did in Texas where he would often, unannounced, drop by and visit
with various legislators of both parties. The President has continued
that pattern here in Washington. He likes to keep those
meetings private, so I think you could ask Senator Daschle if he would
like to answer that question, but the President will continue to meet
with and talk with people. Sometimes you will find out about
those meetings, and sometimes you won't.
Q You won't say the
last time when he's been here?
MR. FLEISCHER: I don't know it off
the top of my head.
Q Ari, you said that
the President's meeting with Jeffords yesterday was based on nothing on
the table in terms of an offer from the White House or -- do you mean
to suggest that there has not been and will not be any specific kind of
offers to him from this White House as a whole? Or is it possible that
the Vice President or other White House aides have talked to him along
those lines, but it just didn't -- with the President?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President, the
Vice President, the White House, they all hope the Senator -- we all
hope that Senator Jeffords remains a Republican. But that's
based on agendas, that's based on ideology, that's based on merits of
ideas and proposals, and it's based on their desire, our desire to make
sure the Senate remains in Republican hands so our agenda can continue
to move through. But in all cases, the President will
continue --
Q So what are you
doing?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President met
with him yesterday. Their conversation was private as I
indicated, but --
Q But you've got
another 24 hours. What are you doing to keep him in the
Republican Party?
MR. FLEISCHER: I think it's only
fair to let the Senator think about where he is and what he wants to
do.
Q Are White House
people talking to the Senator today?
MR. FLEISCHER: I'm just not going
to get into anything further right now. It's time to listen
to the Senator.
Q Are you denying that
there's been no offers made to him?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, when you say
offer, if you're saying -- I'm not sure what you
mean by offer. The President uses
good reason, and good reason the President
believes that Senator Jeffords should remain a Republican is because
that's the best way to get through an agenda that improves education,
that cuts taxes, that saves Social Security, for
example. The President's focus is on merits, it's on
policy.
Q The argument to him
remains purely on the power of ideas, on the President's personal charm
and charisma -- purely on those kinds of things, not on any "we could
do this for you," "we could do that for you"?
MR. FLEISCHER: It's on the power of
ideas.
Q Ari, has the White
House taken a position, or is it going to, on the Northeast -- the
dairy cartel? And could the Jeffords case influence that?
MR. FLEISCHER: No, Jeffords
decision will not influence that at all.
Les Kinsolving has had his hand up for many,
many minutes. It's Les time.
Q This morning the AP
in Montpelier confirmed my recollection that in February of 1999,
Senator Jeffords, on talk radio, was asked by a listener about Juanita
Brodderick's charge that she was raped by the former Attorney General
of Arkansas, to which Senator Jeffords replied -- and this is a quote
-- I think that the kinds of things like that are supposedly private
affairs and should stay that way. My first part question --
does the President believe that Democrat Senators Mikulski, Feinstein,
Boxer, Cantwell, Murray, Stabenow and Lincoln, as well as the ladies in
this room agree with Senator Jeffords historic contention that rape is
a private affair?
MR. FLEISCHER: Les, that's a very
tangled question and I'm really not sure what you're asking.
Q You don't believe
that rape is a private affair, do you?
MR. FLEISCHER: Les, if you're
asking about any of the allegations about things that took place before
the President got here, he's not commenting.
Q One -- do you and the
President know that when Senator Jeffords made this statement on talk
radio, within minutes the TV cameras arrived, proving once again that
TV listens to talk radio for breaking news? (Laughter.)
MR. FLEISCHER: Never ceases to
surprise me what TV does.
Q Is the President
concerned that losing Senator Jeffords will adversely affect his
legislative agenda in any way?
MR. FLEISCHER: I think the
President clearly hopes that Senator Jeffords will remain a
Republican. But no matter what decision the Senator makes,
it won't change the 100 people who are on the floor of the United
States Senate. And the President has already proven his
ability to work in a very productive fashion to create bipartisan
coalitions with those same 100 senators to get things done for this
country. And the proof is in the pudding when it comes to
tax relief and when it comes to education reform. And that will be the
President's continued focus.
Q Why would he care
then, if it's not going to adversely affect his agenda, why would he
care whether he jumped from one place to another?
MR. FLEISCHER: Because as I
indicated, the President would prefer to have the Senate remain in
Republican hands. It affects the process of the
Senate. The votes on the floor are still cast by the same
100 senators, but there would be effects on process and certainly
chairmanships.
Q Aren't you going to
have to nominate more moderate judges than you would have otherwise,
with the Democrats controlling the floor?
MR. FLEISCHER: Again, let's wait to
see what Senator Jeffords does, but take the initial round of
nominations the President proposed. They were
well-received. And the President is going to do in all cases
what he thinks is right for the country, and then he will fight through
the power of his ideas to get his ideas through. And I think
when you take a look at the makeup of the Senate, there are a number of
Democrats who are willing to work with the President. And
they will break with party lines and continue to work with the
President. And I think that's true with many appointments,
as well as it is on policy.
Q Ari, while we're on
judges, can you just give a brief background on Riley, the 8th Circuit
judicial nomination for today?
MR. FLEISCHER: I do not have
anything further with me other than that announcement. Let
me try to post something on that after the briefing.
Q Ari, is it not true
that your success, though, in the Senate, whether the issue be tax
cuts, quick action on education, the promise of an energy bill by the
July 4th recess, is because you have a Republican Majority Leader who
has accepted, I think almost without exception, the President's request
of which issues to bring to the floor at any given moment?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, first of all,
on the energy bill by July 4th, I'm not aware of a statement by any of
this administration that there is a target of July 4th.
Q Senator Lott said he
wanted to do that.
MR. FLEISCHER: Okay. The
timing of what the Senate does is always determined by the
senators. And as you know, the Senate works as closely as
they can, the Minority Leader and the Majority Leader --
Q The Majority Leader
has exceptional powers.
MR. FLEISCHER: The Majority Leader
does. And I think it's -- let's wait and hear what Senator
Jeffords says, and then I'll be prepared to answer that question.
Q Ari, is the President
prepared to press China on Tibetan rights? And why didn't he meet with
the Dalai Lama in the Oval Office, why in the Roosevelt?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President met
with him in the residence in connection with the visit from a spiritual
and religious leader. The President thought it was the
appropriate place to have the meeting. It's interesting,
too, it came up this morning about the previous administration used to
have drop-bys, for example, with the Dalai Lama, as opposed to a
meeting. Going back to administrations before the Clinton
administration, there used to be meetings. So the President
is maintaining the longstanding tradition of meeting with the Dalai
Lama.
I've issued a statement in regard to what the
meeting covered. I won't bother to go through the statement
again; you have that at your disposal, you can read that. It
addresses your question, Campbell.
Q Ari, you keep
referring to him repeatedly as a spiritual leader. Does that mean you
do not believe he has a temporal voice, as many of his people do?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, Tibet is not
seeking and is not viewed as an independent nation. Tibet is
a part of China.
Q He does have strong
political views about autonomy, and it's something that he campaigns
for.
MR. FLEISCHER: And I've addressed
in the statement that you have what the President's reaction was to the
meeting.
Q And as a spiritual
leader, does the President believe that people who follow him in Tibet
are being religiously persecuted by the Chinese government?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President has
spoken out on many occasions about human rights and religious freedom
in China, and he'll continue to do so.
Q And that would
include Tibetan Buddhists?
MR. FLEISCHER: You had that all in
the statement.
Q Does the President
accept the fact that China -- that Tibet is a part of China?
MR. FLEISCHER: I've just indicated
that.
Q Ari, whatever
Jeffords does tomorrow, we're at a point where he's almost in the
Democratic Party, if not, in fact, there. Is there anything
the President thinks, retrospectively, that he should have done or
wishes that he didn't do with respect to Senator Jeffords?
MR. FLEISCHER: Keith, again,
Senator Jeffords has always been an independent thinker, an
independent-minded fellow. And the President is going to
continue, no matter what Senator Jeffords decides, to treat him well,
to respect him and to work with him. He supports the
President and is a leader of President's initiative on patients' bill
of rights, for example. He indicated to the
press today that he would vote for the tax relief
package. So regardless of any decision the Senator makes,
the President continues to see good, productive signs in the United
States Senate that his agenda will be able to get through.
Q Did you sense any --
did anybody at the White House sense any warning signs? I
mean, what we're trying to get at is, you have, in an evenly-divide
Senate, somebody moving out of the Republican Party, and it's hard to
tell how hard the White House fought keep a Republican Senate.
MR. FLEISCHER: I think you need to
be fair to Senator Jeffords, and I think you need to allow the Senator
to speak and to hear his words, his reasons for whatever action he
takes, and I think he'll be in the strongest position to answer your
question.
Q Will you answer these
questions after he speaks?
MR. FLEISCHER: I will.
Q No matter how hard
the White House tries to keep --
MR. FLEISCHER: As I indicated this
morning, you're asking good questions, but out of respect for Senator
Jeffords, I think you should allow him to answer those questions
first.
Q But what we do know
is that he's been a happy Republican moderate, more or less, even if an
independent thinker for a decade. Now, at the very least,
he's an unhappy Republican moderate, if not a happy
independent. (Laughter.) What
happened? Why now? What happened now that the
White House or the Senate leadership changed the environment so
dramatically that this man has been independent, but happy within the
Republican Party, is considering changing?
MR. FLEISCHER: Terry, I think
that's a question you will want to address to Senator Jeffords
tomorrow. I think in fairness to the Senator, that's a
question that he'll want to answer.
Q On the guest list for
the Teacher of the Year and these other kinds of events, on that one in
particular, when somebody here mentioned the names Rove and Calio you
said, oh, no, they weren't involved. Who would have made up
that list? And these events typically have political
audiences of some kind or some political makeup to the
audience. Aren't those decisions run by the President's top
political allies?
MR. FLEISCHER: The question is
inviting members of Congress to the White House. And as I've
indicated, there have been and there will continue to be, a number of
Americans who are honored in this White House and on the grounds of the
White House at public events which you all will be in attendance at,
and you will see that there are times when members of Congress are
simply not there. Yet, we will still honor those
individuals, often whom are unique, who have won an award as somebody
of the year for some cause, and some good reason, and there will be no
members of Congress there.
And if you think that there was something
untoward here, then I think you would think there was something
untoward with Tennessee and with Colorado. Clearly, that's
not the case.
Q I'm just wondering
about the process. Is it true that sort of a low- or
mid-level person makes a decision on the guest list, and that is never
run by anybody at a higher level? It's just sent out and --
MR. FLEISCHER: It's a combined
decision by a group of medium-level planners who meet every morning to
discuss every event on the President's schedule. We have
routine meetings to talk about the President's events. And you can go
back through the records that you have and the events that you've
witnessed with your own eyes, and you will see how often it is that
members of Congress are here, and how often it is they are not here to
honor people.
These are the types of events that, as you
know, when I announce them at the gaggle in the morning, very few of
you have any interesting in covering. And as you know, it is
not uncommon to have members of Congress who are not here for those
events. So I think that this is much ado about nothing, and
that this is something that was started by a Democratic
senator. And I would urge you to evaluate very carefully
before you attribute any deep meaning to this event.
Q Let's take that one
event -- let me try this one more time. You have grumbling
from House conservatives about the education bill. And the
leadership is brought down here and told the President expects you to
keep your guys in line, this bill is important to
him. Specific members are brought down to meet with the
President to discuss their concerns about the education bill.
Senator Jeffords goes south on the President
from the White House view on tax cuts, and there are quotes attributed
to White House officials about this guy doesn't understand we have a
Republican President, he doesn't get it, and gee, maybe we'll take a
look at the dairy programs.
MR. FLEISCHER: I'm not aware of
anybody who said that about dairy programs. The two stories
I saw on that are absolutely unattributed. There was never any
statement by anybody at the White House. And I think that
the press has to be careful before you draw causal connections to
events where you do not see anybody named, either on background or on
the record. So be careful there, please.
Q Should the Republican
senators blaming the White House be looking in the mirror?
MR. FLEISCHER: The point is, the
President is going to continue to meet with people who disagree with
him, and whether they're conservatives or whether they're liberals, and
try to persuade them to come aboard. There are going to be times when
senators, such as Senator Jeffords or other senators or congressmen
agree and don't agree.
The education bill moving through the House --
it won't surprise me if there are a number of Republicans who clash
with the President and do not support it. The President is
going to continue to push for it, because he thinks it's the right
thing to do. The patients' bill of rights. There
are some Republicans who don't like what Senator Jeffords is doing,
because Senator Jeffords is working with the White House on a patients'
bill of rights. That won't stop the President from working
with Senator Jeffords. And that's going to be the President's
continued approach.
Q Can I try one more
time on --
Q Is there any
soul-searching at all going on here about what we might have done
differently or a different approach in the future?
MR. FLEISCHER: I think, again, you
need to allow Senator Jeffords to explain what it is he's doing and why
he's doing it.
Q I'm talking about
what's going on here among all the officials here. What is
the talk in the hallways here.
MR. FLEISCHER: The talk in the
hallways is we hope Senator Jeffords remains a Republican.
Q Ari, are you assuring
us that Karl Rove and Nick Calio had no role in the preparation of the
guest list which did not include Senator Jeffords for this Teacher of
the Year --
MR. FLEISCHER: I said there are
medium-level staffers who are responsible for those
decisions. If any of the medium-level staffers, as a matter
of routine, bounced their recommendations off of their bosses, I can't
speak to each and every decision. But these are obvious
routine events that you see all the time here in the White House, and
that's why I say I think you're making much ado about nothing.
Q But on this specific
event, did Karl Rove or Nick Calio play any role in the preparation of
the guest list?
MR. FLEISCHER: I do not go back to
each and every event and ask every single member of the White House
staff, including Nick and Karl.
Q But this has been in
the news for days.
MR. FLEISCHER: And I submit to you
that that's wrong. And when people say --
Q But there must have
been discussions in the White House about it.
MR. FLEISCHER: I think you need to
talk to Senator Jeffords and see if the Senator, himself, raised any
concerns with the White House about it. And I think you will find he
did not. Isn't that the issue, if the Senator thought that it was a
problem?
Q I talked last night
with a Vermont Republican who has known Senator Jeffords for 20 years;
he said he's very upset about it.
MR. FLEISCHER: I think, again, did
the Senator raise any issues with the White House?
Q Well, he raised it
with some people that he knows pretty well. So, again, the question
is, you don't know if Karl Rove -- that's the bottom line, is that you
don't know --
MR. FLEISCHER: I know that the
decisions for those meetings are made at a routine morning meeting by
medium-level staffers. That's where the planning for all
White House events takes place.
Q Just to button this
down, you're certain that Senator Jeffords did not -- or his office --
did not request to come to the Teacher of the Year ceremony?
MR. FLEISCHER: It's never been
brought to my attention that he did, and I know that the White House
did not receive any complaints from Senator Jeffords about
it. I can imagine if he had requested to come and then was
not allowed to come, we would have received a complaint.
Q What if he becomes an
independent, Ari, like Bernie Sanders, who will not join the Democratic
Party? He's from Vermont. What if Senator
Jeffords becomes an independent?
MR. FLEISCHER: I think, again,
that's another wise reason to wait to see what Senator Jeffords decides
to do and why he decides to do it.
Q Ari, aside from
whatever Jeffords may say about what he's doing or what the reasons
are, the White House has known for sometime that he was disgruntled,
that he felt he wasn't being treated right. Is there -- we
sometimes get the sense from you that there was sort of a laissez-faire
notion here -- well, he's an independent thinker and he'll decide what
he wants to do -- did the White House try to do everything it could to
keep him from switching parties? And if so, what can you
tell us about that?
MR. FLEISCHER: I think that's a
question I will be happy to talk about tomorrow. But, as you
know, this is a topic that really arose in substantial form for the
first time this week. This is not something that you all
were talking about two and three weeks ago. This is
something that arose in substantial form this week. And, as
you know, the President met with Senator Jeffords
yesterday. So, too, did the Vice President.
Q But, I mean, this
story has been floating around for weeks. Surely, you knew that
Jeffords was upset. He has come to at least the leadership
on a number of issues saying he disagreed, he wanted the White House to
put more money into special ed, for instance.
MR. FLEISCHER: And, clearly, as the
White House worked with Senator Jeffords, there were areas in which the
White House and Senator Jeffords disagreed, and there were many areas
where we agreed, such as the patient bill of rights. I think
it's a very productive thing for the nation that Senator Jeffords is on
a patient bill of rights that has the White House
support. It is a good sign of good things to come, the White
House hopes.
Q Ari, on California
energy, in a letter that Governor Davis sent to the President dated
today, he not only asks for a meeting, but he wants to introduce the
President to business leaders and some consumers. Is that
what you have accepted for next week when the President is in
California?
MR. FLEISCHER: Our staff has been
in touch with Governor Davis' staff and we are working out the exact
modalities of such a meeting.
Q Is President Bush
open to meeting with California energy consumers?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President has
several events on his schedule that already include business leaders
and energy consumers, so it very well may happen that we are each
suggesting similar things, which would be a healthy sign.
Q Who took the
initiative in setting up this meeting? Governor Davis has
not exactly been shy about airing his differences.
MR. FLEISCHER: As I indicated
earlier, I think this is a case of they both wanted to meet with each
other and we are very pleased to be able to make it work out.
Q Does he feel that in
any sense Governor Davis has been sort of villainizing the Bush White
House on this issue?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, you know, I
think the President's focus is going to be on solving problems; he is
not interested in finger pointing.
And that's what the President has done on
energy policy in this country, whether people agree or disagree with
the specifics of his energy plan. I think most Americans and
most Californians are very pleased to see a President who is leading
and taking action in addressing the issue head on.
Q On the Middle East
call, it has been about three months since the President talked to
Yasser Arafat. What prompted him to call
today? Was it the release of the Mitchell report
specifically?
MR. FLEISCHER: It's the release of
the Mitchell report. The President believes that the parties
in the Middle East should seize this opportunity provided by the
release of the Mitchell report to come together at long last, to cease
the violence, to engage in constructive conversations so that the
recommendations of the Mitchell report can be accepted.
Q In the final days of
the Clinton administration, a series of regulations under the general
title of the Clean Air and National Parks Safeguards were put in
place. They were frozen at the beginning of this
administration, presumably for 90 days, and yet apparently there had
been no movement. Can you tell me what the administration is
going to do about those recommendations? Will they be
allowed to go forward?
MR. FLEISCHER: Let me get back to
you on that. I'll have to look into that one.
Q On the education
bill, what's commonly known as the voucher component of the President's
plan is going to be voted on and expected to go down. How
big of a disappointment is that to you, or have you given up on it a
long time ago?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President would
be disappointed if it was not approved. The President
believes that it's a helpful part of education reform, to allow parents
who have children in schools that are failing to have additional
options. And those options should include being able to go
to a different public school. Those options should include
private tutors. Those options should include being able to use a
portion of the federal money to go to a private school, if that would
be more helpful in parents eyes, to educating that child.
The President believes in that
proposal. That's why he's made it. He's urged members of
Congress to support it. He did so yesterday in the meeting
with the House Republicans who came down here. We'll just
have to see what the vote is.
Q Is that one of the
things that he talked to the conservatives yesterday, about putting in
a separate bill further down the line?
MR. FLEISCHER: It did not come up
in the matter of putting it in a separate bill, if I recall.
Q So he has no plans to
bring it up again after it dies in the spring?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, again, I think
you have to see what the vote is. And, obviously, if the votes aren't
there, the votes aren't there. But the President believes in
it. But the President is very satisfied that the core of the
reforms that he has proposed are focused on mandatory testing in grades
3 through 8, and a stricter accountability and a consolidation so that
the federal -- the state governments can do more with the resources
they have, with less federal strings. All of those key
provisions are moving forward, and doing so nicely in a bipartisan
way.
Q Ari, when are you
going to send up the Vietnam trade agreement? There are reports you'll
do it by June 1st. Apparently, Pete Peterson's resignation
was made with the understanding that the track is now smooth for that.
MR. FLEISCHER: You know, there's
not a hard date on that, but it will be soon.
Q If I may go back to
Dalai Lama's visit, please. China is very angry on both
visits, the President of Taiwan and Dalai Lama's visit to the
U.S. Do you see any policy change? And also, does
Dalai Lama have a sympathizer in the White House today for his people
in Tibet who say they have been suffering for the last 50 years?
MR. FLEISCHER: No, there's no
policy change. The President continues to believe that he
can work with China on issues where we have agreement, such as trade,
with the other areas, such as human rights and religious persecution,
where the United States and China will differ. And the
President will not hesitate to discuss those differences in an effort
to ameliorate them. Previous Presidents, of course, have met
with the Dalai Lama. So there's no change in the United
States policy.
Q Is he still going to
China?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President is
still going to China, correct.
Q Ari, you mentioned
the Middle East call was prompted by the Mitchell
report. What prompted the President to invite Senator
Jeffords here yesterday?
MR. FLEISCHER: Talk that Senator
Jeffords may leave the Republican Party.
Q Anything in
particular? Why not a week ago or a month ago when the same
issues were already out there?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I think the
issue took on a sense of greater importance this week. And I
think that's why Senator Jeffords is thinking about what steps he's
going to take.
Q Ari, did he call up
and say, hey, can I come on over? Did you guys call
him? How did it happen?
MR. FLEISCHER: I'd have to find out
exactly. I know he met with the Vice President, and then the
President had the Senator down here after his meeting with the Vice
President.
Q You don't know whose
initiative this was?
MR. FLEISCHER: I believe it was a
White House initiative, but I'll have to check on that.
Q What time of the day
was it, Ari?
MR. FLEISCHER: At 3:30 p.m.
Q Were they alone?
MR. FLEISCHER: Just the two of them
in the Oval Office.
Q Ari, as part of his
energy plan, the President has proposed renewing the Price-Anderson
Act. That would limit the liability of nuclear companies in
the case of a nuclear meltdown or a disaster, and the government would
step in and pay the excess lawsuits. This has been labeled
corporate welfare, because the government comes in and subsidizes the
nuclear industry. Why would the President, who is a
supporter of the free market, support this kind of corporate welfare
reform?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I differ with
you on the characterization of it. There have been a series of
impediments that have been put in the path of nuclear power which now
seem to be changing. And nuclear power provides 20 percent
of the electricity for homes in this country. In other
words, one out of every five homes is powered -- receives its
electricity from nuclear power.
And the President is concerned, as he looks at
the energy situation broadly, that we need to have a comprehensive
policy that uses natural gas, that uses clean coal, that stresses
conservation, that uses nuclear power, as well.
Q Well, why not look at
the nuclear companies to pay the costs if there is a nuclear
accident? Why should the government step in? Why
should the people step in to pay for it?
MR. FLEISCHER: I think the report
addressed that directly and why the President took the actions that he
did.
Q One more quick
one. As far as foreign policy concerned, how often is the
President in touch with his father, like China policy or on any foreign
policy?
MR. FLEISCHER: As I've talked about
this many times before, the President talks to his father and he's
asked that those conversations be private and I will keep them
private.
END
2:18 P.M. EDT
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