For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 30, 2001
Press Briefing by Ari Fleischer
The James S. Brady Briefing Room
Listen to the Briefing
- Personnel announcements
- Tee-ball/baseball
program
- Middle
East
- Armed Services Committee
review
- Slobodan
Milosevic
- Yugoslavia
certification
- Budget
- Foot and mouth
disease
- 2008 Olympic Games
- Reverend Jesse
Jackson
- Extradition of alleged murderer of abortion
doctor
- Week
ahead
1:38 P.M. EST
MR. FLEISCHER: Two personnel
announcements from the President today. The President intends to
nominate Carlos Ramirez to be Commissioner of the United States Section
of the International Boundary and Water Commission for the United
States and Mexico. And the President intends to nominate
Robin L. Higgins, to be Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for
Memorial Affairs.
Q What office is
running this baseball program? Is it the faith-based group,
as reported? And who is paying for the diamond?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, we're not
going to build a diamond. We're going to drop bases, the
White House will be dropping bases down on the South Lawn.
Q Bleachers?
MR. FLEISCHER: The White House
already has bleachers that have been used for previous events on the
South Lawn. They remain in storage, they'll be brought out
for this. The South Lawn has been home to many event over
recent years. President Clinton used it to have a carnival
on the South Lawn. There is, of course, the picnic for
reporters on the South Lawn, which will be similarly followed by
tee-ball on the South Lawn.
Q Will they carve out
base bands so it will look like a diamond? Or it will be like a --
MR. FLEISCHER: No, they'll be
running on the grass. They'll be running on the grass.
Q How often, how many
games, how do you pick the teams? What are the logistics
here?
MR. FLEISCHER: The teams will be
selected by the Little League officials in Williamsport, Pennsylvania,
the Little League organization, the official Little League
organization. The games will be on a periodic basis, maybe
some of them about monthly, along those lines.
The President is very much looking forward to
it; Mrs. Bush is, as well. And all the moms with kids and
dads with kids are looking forward to this.
Q Local teams or from
anywhere around the country?
MR. FLEISCHER: It will be local.
Q And who is running
it? What office here is organizing it on the White House
end?
MR. FLEISCHER: It's going to be a
combination of the Office of Communications and it's the office of --
let me remind you, it's community and faith-based, and this is part of
their community outreach. This really is not the faith-based
side of the office, it's the community side of that office.
Q Ari, is it assumed
that the President and First Lady will attend all of these games?
MR. FLEISCHER: I can't commit that
they'll attend all, but they will be attending. The first
game, particularly.
Q Does the President
view himself as the commissioner of tee-ball? (Laughter.)
MR. FLEISCHER: I'll have to ask him
about that. I hadn't thought about that yet. I
know he is looking forward to it. Since he can't throw out
the first pitch, placing the first tee.
Q When is the first
game?
MR. FLEISCHER: April or
May. We're still working on the exact date.
Q And will Cabinet
Secretaries and staff be coaches?
MR. FLEISCHER: I think you can
anticipate there's going to be a healthy amount of participation from
the White House, from Cabinet Secretaries. I mean, there's
just a whole lot of fun to be had with this in a good, welcoming
way. We'll have to decide who gets to sing the National
Anthem.
Q Mark
Knoller. (Laughter.)
Q Are you serious when
you say that, Ari, or no?
MR. FLEISCHER: We're working out
all the details of exactly how it's going to work out, but there's no
end to how much fun this can be for the families who
come. And we anticipate -- you know, about 15 kids on a
team, so that's 30 kids, generally. And then they'll have
their parents with them and maybe some grandparents. It
won't be opened up to everybody, but it's going to be opened up to
their immediate families.
And the President is doing this because he
thinks it's going to be a wonderful event locally for the tee-ball
teams in the region and, as I indicated earlier, for part of the
national pastime at a young age.
Q An outreach to
inner-city kids, by any chance?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President does
anticipate inviting and welcoming to the South Lawn children from
disadvantaged areas and bringing them to that beautiful lawn to play
tee-ball.
Q Has the President, in
his current capacity or previous capacity as the owner of the Texas
Rangers, stated a preference for a major league franchise in
Washington?
MR. FLEISCHER: He talked with Mayor
Williams about that when the Mayor came to visit earlier, and I think
the President would welcome that if that was possible, if it could
happen. The agreement of all of the owners is, of course,
required, but I think the President would welcome that.
Q Has he lobbied for
it, though?
MR. FLEISCHER: Not that I'm aware
of, Bill.
Q May I ask this on the
record? As for the Middle East. Is the
administration measuring with even hands? If Chairman Arafat
is lectured over the phone -- I know in diplomatic terms -- by the
Secretary of State, what should he do while Mr. Sharon is received at
the White House by the President, with pomp and
circumstance? Isn't that really a pro-Israeli feel on behalf
of the President and the administration?
MR. FLEISCHER: President Bush has
made it very clear that the violence must stop. And he has
called directly on Yasser Arafat to speak out in his own language, so
his own people can understand that the violence must
stop. He has urged all sides to use restraint and he has
called on Israel also to take action to ease the economic plight of the
Palestinians.
That is the President's position and will
continue to be the President's position, until the violence stops.
Q Does the President
have the same respect toward Mr. Arafat as to Mr. Sharon?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President views
Chairman Arafat as an important player in Middle East
peace. And the President, as you know, has a series of
meetings coming up with Arab leaders. He looks forward to
welcoming President Mubarak of Egypt here next week. The
King of Jordan will be here. And that's the President's --
those are the conversations the President has had and will continue to
have.
Q If Chairman Arafat is
an equal partner to them, why isn't he treated differently?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President will
have any announcements about any other visitors, if that's what your
question implies, at the appropriate time. And if we have
anything to share, we'll be pleased to let you know.
Q Ari, some of the
natives appear to be a little restless up on the Hill. Some
members of the Armed Services Committee, both in the Senate and the
House, are questioning why it's taking so long for the Bush
administration to revamp the military and keep the campaign promises of
both the President and the Vice President. Has the President
instructed Secretary Rumsfeld, given him a date as to when to have the
final top-to-bottom review finished? Can you give us any
guidance when you think it will be done?
MR. FLEISCHER: As the President has
said on many occasions, and is well known, he has directed Secretary
Rumsfeld to undertake the four structure review. And the
Secretary has indicated he anticipates it will be done this summer.
Q No hard and fast
drop-dead date by the President?
MR. FLEISCHER: This summer is the
date, the target date.
Q Ari, what do you know
about reports that Milosevic is about to be arrested?
MR. FLEISCHER: We have noted those
reports. The White House is monitoring events in the area
and will continue to do so. That's where we stand right
now.
Q I'm sorry, was that
Iraq? What was the question?
MR. FLEISCHER: Milosevic.
Q Do you know whether
the reports are true?
MR. FLEISCHER: Do not have any firm
indications yet. It's developing.
Q What has the United
States government said to the government of Serbia about arresting
Milosevic?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, it's been --
the United States' position is well known, stated repeatedly that we do
believe -- that United States government does believe that Slobodan
Milosevic should be arrested for the crimes he has committed against
his own people and internationally. It's an oft-stated
position.
Q Was it a condition
for the certification of Yugoslavia?
MR. FLEISCHER: Is what a
condition?
Q Human rights,
Milosevic --
MR. FLEISCHER: Congress has
specified a number of areas where progress is required for
certification. The administration will be reviewing
Belgrade's performance overall and coming to a certification
decision. As you know, the President has been discussing
that matter with the Secretary of State. No decision has
been reached yet. The Secretary has said that he will be
working on this over the weekend, and I do not anticipate any response
on that measure until Monday.
Q But to his question,
is the arrest of Milosevic in any way a condition of Yugoslavia getting
certification?
MR. FLEISCHER: As I just indicated,
the Congress has specified a number of areas that will be judged in
determining whether or not they should be certified or not --
Q In your opinion, this
one of them.
MR. FLEISCHER: It's a number of
areas.
Q Is this one of them,
though?
MR. FLEISCHER: There's no
hard-and-fast one issue. It's a series of actions that need
to be taken. And the government of Yugoslavia has taken a
number of helpful actions. But, again, that's a decision
that has not yet been made.
Q Would this be
considered a helpful action?
MR. FLEISCHER: I'm not going to
comment on events that are developing right now.
Q Is the White House
indifferent to whether or not Milosevic is arrested or not?
MR. FLEISCHER: No, the White House
position is -- as I've just said, the position of the White House is
that Slobodan Milosevic should be subject to arrest for the crimes he
has committed.
Q And that preference
has no bearing whatsoever on certification?
MR. FLEISCHER: There are many
factors that go into certification. I'm just not prepared to say
there's any one factor that is the single factor that would determine
--
Q But you say this is
one of them?
MR. FLEISCHER: That's correct.
Q Ari, same
topic? Does the White House have any indication why they're
finally taking action now, if they are, when they've been pressed for
action for ages?
MR. FLEISCHER: No. As I
indicated, these events are developing as we speak, and so I'm going to
be hesitant to talk about events that are literally developing during
the course of this press briefing.
Q Ari, on the Middle
East, thinking about Mubarak's visit on Monday. Some of the
criticisms about the way Clinton handled the whole peace negotiations
at Camp David was that he didn't talk closely enough before, during and
after with other Arab leaders. And a number of times the
President has mentioned, you know, getting other Arab leaders to put
pressure on Arafat to renounce violence and so on.
So would you say that this administration is
going to work that channel more vigorously than the previous
administration?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, the President
has made clear that he thinks the first prerequisite to securing peace
in the Middle East is that the violence must stop. And that
is the single, most important factor to begin the
process. And that's why he issued the call that he has
repeatedly issued since becoming President, and that he reiterated
yesterday. He's going to continue to have meetings and
conversations with Arab leaders. Secretary Powell has been in frequent
contact, as of course, the Secretary traveled to the region.
But the President, as you know, his approach
is that the United States cannot force a peace on the parties in the
Middle East. But the President stands ready to help
facilitate one.
Q So does he think that
in just getting the violence to cease or to ratchet down, that other
Arab leaders can be really helpful in that regard?
MR. FLEISCHER: He does think so.
Q I have a budget
question. Yesterday, the President seemed quite fond of the
phrase, look-back provisions. And the White House had
previously said that it was not interested in triggers. Is
there something about look-back provisions in a budget package that is
more acceptable to the White House and, if so, why is that considered
more acceptable?
MR. FLEISCHER: I think what the
President is saying, it depends on what a look-back provision may
entail. Clearly, he is on record when it comes to triggers,
as expressing his concerns that would need to be stopped. If
anybody wants to have a trigger, it's government
spending. He believes tax relief needs to be permanent and
should be permanent.
Tax relief is, in many ways, a trigger on
spending because you won't be able to spend the money if the government
doesn't have it. On a look-back provision, it would all
depend on what it says in there, but that's different from a trigger.
Q Why is a look-back
provision more acceptable to the President than a trigger?
MR. FLEISCHER: Some of the people
who are talking about a look-back provision are just saying that it's
appropriate every year to measure what the size of the surplus is and
to make decisions accordingly. Which, of course, the
President does believe that every year the government has a
responsibility to look at the new numbers and analyze if any changes in
existing laws need to be made.
Q But, Ari, what would
actually be accepted? Would the quid pro quo involve a
limit, then, on spending? In other words, if you cut back
the tax cut -- or you wouldn't really cut it back, you would just say
you wouldn't drop to the next level. That would require --
if that's going to be binding, then you'd have to force Congress not to
-- I'm sorry, this is convoluted, but --
MR. FLEISCHER: I'm not sure what
you mean about the tax cut to the next level.
Q Well, in other words,
if you're dropping it, let's say, from 15 to 12 to 10, you would bring
it down to 12, but you wouldn't have it go down to 10 in the next year,
say, if Congress agrees not to spend above a certain level, isn't that
the idea?
MR. FLEISCHER: No. The
President has spoken out on the record against that.
Q The Agriculture
Department announced this afternoon that a test on a hog for foot and
mouth disease was negative. Can you tell us what the
President has instructed the Agriculture Department to do specifically
to monitor livestock in this country, and if there is a heightened
level of concern about the possible infection of any U.S. livestock
with foot and mouth?
MR. FLEISCHER: That is -- you're
information is correct, the Department of Agriculture did report that
earlier today in regard to the situation in North
Carolina. But measures to keep foot and mouth out of the
United States include stepped-up measures at our ports of
entry. The President has directed that a team of 40
inspectors to Europe, to go to monitor and assist in containment
efforts. There has been increased inspection of passengers
and luggage at airports; increased inspectors at United States ports of
entry; enhanced public education.
And, of course, there are no confirmed reports
of either -- of the disease in the United States. The
President has been talking with Secretary of Agriculture Veneman on a
regular basis about this. He is concerned that the United
States does take appropriate action. He's satisfied we
have.
Q Has he been in touch
with any industry members at all, or through -- asked the Agriculture
Department to expand its contacts with industry members, to spread
communication throughout the livestock producing industry, itself, to
make sure of its heightened awareness?
MR. FLEISCHER: Major, I couldn't
tell you if the President, himself, has -- I'd have to ask
him. But, certainly, the Department of Agriculture
has. Toward that point, as well, it's worth nothing that the
Department of Agriculture has approximately 2,000 inspectors at our
ports of entry. There are another 450 throughout the United States
assisting states; and another 150 have been redirected, at the
Department of Agriculture, to help in the foot and mouth effort.
Q A two-part
question. The highly unlikely combination of Tom DeLay and
Dick Gephardt, plus 50 other members of Congress have put together a
resolution condemning Beijing's application to host the 2008 Olympic
Games, because of that country's "extra judicial killings, use of
torture, forced confessions, arbitrary arrests and detention of
prisoners." The President surely doesn't disagree with this, does he?
MR. FLEISCHER: I haven't discussed
specifically the Olympic question with the President. But,
as you know, when the Deputy Premier of China was here, the President
did discuss the human rights situation in China and made American
concerns plain and known.
Q Week ahead, please.
Q In other words, he
will not -- he will support this resolution?
MR. FLEISCHER: Again, I said that
deals with the Olympics, specifically. That's not a topic
I've talked to the President about.
Q Wait a minute, I have
a follow-up, Ari.
MR. FLEISCHER: We're going to need
to move this quickly, because the President is about to begin a photo
op at the Oval. I know you want to watch it.
Q Just one quick
follow-up. During the past week, The New York Times, Chicago
Tribute, Washington Post, New York Post have all done extensive stories
on the sexual and financial misbehavior of the Reverend Jesse Jackson;
so did The Weekly Standard, which concluded George W. Bush, too, treats
Jackson with deference. It says Mr. Jackson's use of
tax-exempt funds to pay his mistress is so similar to United Way's now
imprisoned Aramony, on his mistresses. Doesn't the President
believe Jesse should be investigated without regard to racial
favoritism?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President does
not discuss whether -- who should be investigated. That's a
matter for others to decide in the judicial process.
Q Does he hope they
will?
MR. FLEISCHER: And I don't even
know if this case rises to that.
Q Ari, does the
President, as a supporter of the death penalty, have a position on
whether the United States should waive the death penalty in the case of
the killer of Dr. Slepian in order to expedite him from France?
MR. FLEISCHER: I would refer you to
the Department of Justice and to the folks who work on extradition on
that. The President does not weigh-in on those decisions.
On the week ahead -- Wendell, let me give the
week ahead, and then there is an event in the Oval Office, and I really
can't proceed while the President is doing an event in the Oval
Office. The President's news comes first.
Let me do the week ahead. He's
going to begin it, and so I'm going to need to do this.
On Monday next week, the President will meet
with the President of Egypt. He will speak to members of the
National Restaurant Association to build support for his budget plans,
and he has a meeting with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
On Tuesday, the President will travel to
Delaware to visit a Boys' and Girls' Club to highlight his education
initiatives. On Thursday, the President will address the
American Society of Newspaper Editors Annual Convention, and he will
host the U.S. Conference of Mayors here at the White House.
On Friday, the President will attend the
Malcolm Baldrige Awards, and then he will depart in the afternoon for
Milwaukee, where he will attend the season opener between the Milwaukee
Brewers and the Cincinnati Reds.
Q Could you do energy
real quick?
Q Given the energy
crisis the President says we are in and predictions of higher gasoline
prices and shortages, and the driving season upon is. What
is the White House doing to minimize the effects of either shortages or
price rises?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President, as
you know, has directed a Cabinet-level review, which the Vice President
is chairing, to deal with comprehensive national energy
policy. As the President discussed at great length
yesterday, he believes the United States needs to develop additional
energy supplies, including the development of ANWR. He is
committed to opening up ANWR, he thinks it's in the national long-term
interest of our nation.
Q He's made clear the
review is aimed at the long-term, and obviously ANWR, as
well. What about this coming driving season?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President has
made it abundantly clear that there are no short-term
fixes. The fixes are long-term. The President
wants to make sure that five and 10 years from now, the United States
is not in a position where somebody says, what do we need to do
short-term, because he, this year, will have taken the long-term
actions necessary to prevent future problems.
Q Thank you.
MR. FLEISCHER: Thank
you. And I'm sorry I have to cut it short.
END
1:57 P.M. EST
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