For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 30, 2001
Press Briefing by Ari Fleischer
The James S. Brady Briefing Room
Listen to the Briefing
- Personnel
announcement
- Missile
defense
- Vieques
- China
- ANWR
- Gun show
loopholes
- First 100
days
- Partisanship
- IMF/World
Bank
- Argentina
- Energy
2:04 P.M. EDT
MR. FLEISCHER: Good
afternoon. We have one personnel announcement
today. President George W. Bush today announced his
intention to nominate Clark Randt Jr. to be Ambassador to the People's
Republic of China.
One other note for you. The
President made a series of five phone calls to international leaders
today, in advance of his speech tomorrow on missile
defense. The President spoke with Chancellor Schroeder of
Germany; with President Chirac of France; with Prime Minister Chretien
of Canada; with Prime Minister Blair of England; and with NATO
Secretary General Robertson; to begin the consultation process, as he
promised he would do in conjunction with the President's desire to
think in a new direction about how to protect the United States from
rogue and accidental missile launch in the post Cold War era.
He had conversations with each of these
leaders. As you know, our consultation teams will depart
next week for Europe and the President will have more on this topic in
his speech tomorrow.
And with that, I'm pleased to take your
questions.
Q How long did he speak
to each one, Ari?
MR. FLEISCHER: It
varied. Some of the calls were -- several were about 10
minutes, some a little bit less, some a little bit more.
Q Does he intend to
call President Putin?
MR. FLEISCHER: We'll advise you on
all the phone calls he makes, Terry.
Q So there are more
phone calls to come?
MR. FLEISCHER: Always is possible.
Q What will be his
message to Russia?
MR. FLEISCHER: His message to
Russia is that the development of a missile defense system,
so we can think beyond the confines of the Cold War era is the best way
to preserve the peace.
Q And why come out with
this tomorrow? What's the significance of the timing?
MR. FLEISCHER: Because as the
President said during the campaign, it's very important as he moves
forward with this new thinking about how to protect the American people
and our allies from missile threats, consultation is
key. And the President reached out today to talk to allied
leaders and to talk to American people tomorrow; as our teams will soon
depart the United States to meet with their European counterparts, to
engage in those consultations.
The consultations are an important and
promised part of what the President said he would do in the development
of a missile defense system.
Q Is this driven by the
need to have consultations in advance of the President's meetings with
European leaders in June?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, it's driven by
the need that the President believes we have important relationships
with our allies and that in the development of such an important phase
of planning for protecting the United States and protecting our allies,
consultation is vital.
Of course, it is going to be a part of our
future discussions when the President travels abroad in June and July,
so this is the right moment to begin the consultations in the
President's opinion.
Q Ari, what sort of
feedback is he getting from talking to these leaders?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, as you know, I
won't speak for the foreign leaders. The President tomorrow
in his remarks will have a little bit on that, but he is pleased to
proceed.
Q Your proposed budget
for next year doesn't include any money for this. But there
has been held out the possibility either for a missile defense or after
Secretary Rumsfeld's review, that the administration would come back
and ask for more money.
Is the speech tomorrow, the timing of that, an
indication that you are now prepared to move aggressively on this and
does that include a request for money in the short-term?
MR. FLEISCHER: No, I would not read
anything into the timing of a possible SOP as a result of the speech
tomorrow. That will be something that will be determined
down the road.
Q Ari, did the
President ask for any advice or suggestions from the leaders, or just
tell them what the United States' proposal is?
MR. FLEISCHER: He is listening to
their ideas. And as you know, the President, when he met
with Prime Minister Blair and when he met with Chancellor Schroeder,
their joint communiques, talked for the first time about the need to
develop defensive systems to protect our allies and protect our
nations. So the President has been encouraged by the
progress to date.
And if you recall in the news conference the
President held with Prime Minister Blair after their meeting at Camp
David, when the President was asked about the Russian statement, about
willingness to work with Europe on a missile defense, the President was
encouraged by the statements made by President Putin.
So the President is doing exactly what he
promised and said he would do on the campaign, and he is moving forward
with the development of the missile defense system that he'll outline
tomorrow. They have a consultation process that must begin
with our allies to have things go well and to have things go right.
Q Is the President
going to abrogate the ABM treaty, and if he intends to do so, why does
he think that after all this time it's appropriate?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I would refer
you to his speech tomorrow. I think after you hear the
speech tomorrow, you'll have a good understanding about what the
President is doing and why. But I would urge you not to rush
to any conclusions like that.
Q What should we make
of the speech to the Danish parliament, which sure seemed to indicate
that he's ready to --
MR. FLEISCHER: I would urge you to
listen to the President's words himself tomorrow, and I think you'll
have a very fine understanding of what he's doing, what action he's
taken specifically, and why he's taking it.
Q Speaking of defending
the United States, is the President getting involved at all in the
current dispute between the Navy and Puerto Rico over Vieques?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, the President
wants to make certain that our troops are able to carry out their
mission, which is to protect the peace, by being ready and able to
carry out their missions. He's directed DOD to engage in the
operations that they deem necessary to do so. And DOD is --
I would refer you to DOD for anything further on that.
Q May I do a
follow-up? There is an agreement in place, as you know,
between the last administration and the former governor of Puerto
Rico. Does the President feel that agreement is the way he
wants to go and -- and he will abide by it?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President's
concern is making sure that American troops are able to carry out their
missions. And the line of responsibility for making certain
that our troops are able to carry out their missions falls to the DOD.
Q Ari, what's the
latest with the plane in China, please?
MR. FLEISCHER: As you know, a team
of Americans will be heading to Hainan Island to inspect the airplane,
an assessment team, to determine how best the plane can be brought back
to the United States. That was part and parcel of the
process that we discussed several weeks ago, when the crew was -- it
was announced that the crew would be able to return home.
The actions by the Chinese officials are
viewed by the President as constructive. And the crew will
be there -- I would refer you to the exact time of when the crew is
going to be there. This, too, is a DOD operational
matter. They'll be able to give you the best play-by-play on
where the assessment team is, and when they'll be
landing. But the President views this as a constructive step
by China.
Q Ari, if I could take
you back on missile defense for just a second. When the
President spoke with all of the foreign leaders, is it his view that
these leaders have an active role in the decision making, or is it his
view that these leaders will just be consulted and informed ahead of
time about what the U.S. position will be?
MR. FLEISCHER: From the President's
point of view, he views it as a question of leadership. He
believes that if the United States leads and that we consult wisely,
our allies and friends will find good reason to follow and to join with
us.
And that's why, as I indicated earlier, when
he met with Schroeder and when he met with Blair, this topic, of
course, came up and in the joint communiques afterwards there was some
encouraging language in there about the need to develop defensive
weapons.
So that's the President's mind set as he
discusses this with these leaders.
Q As far as missile
defense is concerned, do you have any comments on the Washington Post
article that now U.S. is shifting its aim from Russia to China, that
means there is a threat from China in the future?
MR. FLEISCHER: No, I think the
point the President makes repeatedly about the need to develop a
missile defense is that the Cold War is over and the United States
needs to protect itself and our allies and our troops that are
stationed abroad from a different nature of threat. And the
paradigm that existed in the Cold War is no longer the most imperative
paradigm that should guide America's defense structures.
That's why Secretary Rumsfeld is conducting a
four structure review, as well, to assess our needs in this post Cold
War era. And that's the reason the President wants to
proceed.
And where is your tie today? No
tie? (Laughter.)
Q So how would you
frame what the President is going to do tomorrow? Is he
going the make the same case he's made to the foreign leaders to the
American people? Is he going to try to explain why we need
this?
MR. FLEISCHER: In his remarks
tomorrow the President will present this as his view of the best way to
preserve the peace in the post Cold War era; and how to work with our
allies and work with other nations in the development of a missile
defense system that can not only protect the United States from rogue
or accidental missile launch, but to protect our allies, as well, and
our troops stationed abroad.
The President views this as a new way of
thinking in the protection of our nation. And that's what
you'll hear tomorrow.
Q What do you mean by
"new way of thinking"?
MR. FLEISCHER: A new way of
thinking reflecting that the fact that the Cold War is over and that
the threat to peace comes mostly from rogue nation missile launches or
accidental missile launches -- which is very different from what the
threat was in the 1980s, when conversation about a missile defense was
about a much broader defense that could protect the United States from
a launch of multiple warheads, for example.
This is much more focused on protecting the
United States and our allies from accidental or principally rogue
missile launches.
Q Ari, the President
said that drilling should be allowed in the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge because he's convinced it can be done in an "environmentally
friendly fashion." But the Wall Street Journal on April 13th
ran a lengthy front-page article, and it reported that days before Gail
Norton's trip to Prudhoe Bay, state inspectors found that almost a
third of the safety shut off valves tested at one drilling platform
failed to close.
Now, the President is close friends with Bob
Malone, who is the VP/executive in charge, apparently, Malone helped
him pick out the ranch in Texas. The question is, did the
President see this article which said that a hundred workers say
because the oil fields are operating in a slipshod manner, it could be
a jeopardy to the environment? Did he see the article? And
what are the chances that his decision was unduly influenced by Bob
Malone, his friend?
MR. FLEISCHER: I haven't asked the
President about his particular reading habits with regard to that
article. But, as you know, Vice President Cheney is giving a
speech right now about the importance of developing a way to secure
America's energy needs and America's energy supplies.
In regard to the specific question of ANWR, of
course, the Vice President will get into this today. ANWR is
19 million acres, and the amount of area that the President is
proposing to open up for exploration is 2,000 acres. Another
way to put it is ANWR is the size of South Carolina. The
area that the President is proposing to use new technology to develop
the resources is the size of Dulles Airport, 2,000
acres. It's a very small part of the Alaska National
Wildlife Refuge that could develop a lot of resources.
Q Ari, if I could
follow up, they're not saying -- it's not a question of
size. What these hundred workers in the Wall Street Journal
were saying is these shutoff valves which would prevent disaster, oil
spills in ANWR, are inherently flawed, there are design
flaws. And they're saying it's not a question if it's as big
as Dulles or National. It's a question that BP, which is
operating Prudhoe, will be operating ANWR and you've got the same kind
of slipshod manner.
MR. FLEISCHER: If you're asking me
a question about shutoff valves, I would refer you to the agency that
handles shutoff valves; it's not the White House press platform.
Q What is the current
thinking on when the task force will release its recommendation?
MR. FLEISCHER: When the President
announced the task force, he indicated that the time would be this
spring. As the Vice President will announce in his remarks
today, it will be in the next couple weeks.
Q Ari, there are a
couple of versions of legislation in the Senate to close the gun show
loopholes. Does the White House have a position on that?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President in the
course of the campaign -- Scott, refresh my memory on that, but in the
course of the campaign --
MR. MCCLELLAN: He's always
supported closing the gun show loophole. And as far as the specific
legislation, we haven't seen that specific legislation.
Q I didn't hear that.
MR. FLEISCHER: In the course of the
campaign, the President said he would support closing the gun show
loopholes. As always, he would reserve the right to view any
specific legislation. And that's where that stands.
Q Ari, if I could go
back to Vieques. It seems to me, in response to the last
question, you left open the possibility that the agreement between the
last administration and the former governor might not hold up and that,
in fact, there might not be a terminal point to testing. Is
that what you meant to do?
MR. FLEISCHER: No. What
I indicated is that you need to talk to the Department of Defense for
the operational matter at hand in Vieques. They are out
conducting this operation. The President's priority is to
make certain that our troops receive the training they
need. And DOD is handling it.
Q But, Ari, it would be
the President who decided whether this -- whether he continues to
support the idea that there should be an end to testing on
Vieques. Are you saying he will rely on the advice of --
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, obviously,
there is testing going on in Vieques this weekend. So that
would not be an end to it.
Q No,
no. There's an end point in that agreement that at a certain
point next fall it stops. And the question is, is he still
committed to that, or might that end point no longer exist?
MR. FLEISCHER: He's continuing to
work with DOD and Puerto Rico.
Q A page one story in
yesterday's Washington Post quotes Senator Kerrey and five of his SEAL
squad men as saying "one of the men in our squad remembers that we
rounded up women and children and shot them at point-blank
range. That simply is not true." And my question
-- I have one follow-up -- does the President believe these six
veterans are telling the truth, or does he believe what is reported by
the New York Times Magazine and CBS?
MR. FLEISCHER: Les, that's not a
topic that I've gotten into with the President and talked about.
Q It was page one,
Ari.
MR. FLEISCHER: It's just something
I have not talked with the President about. His focus this
week has been on passage of his agenda in the Congress and that's where
he's focused.
Q This past October
29th, the Associated Press quoted candidate Bush as saying, I support
the current don't-ask-don't- tell policy crafted by General Colin
Powell regarding homosexuals in the military. Has the
President in any way changed from that campaign policy promise and does
he expect that all Pentagon civilian appointees will support this
policy?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President
continues to believe the don't-ask-don't-tell policy is the best
policy.
Q And that applies --
those people appointed as civilians in the Pentagon are expected to
support that policy, correct?
MR. FLEISCHER: Of course, it's the
position of everybody in all the agencies that when the President has
taken a position, that should be the administration's position.
Q Ari, two
clarifications on the consultations. Did you -- you said
that he is going to be listening to and at the same time showing
leadership on the issue. Is there anything that our allies
can say to the President that would persuade him not to move forward
with missile defense?
MR. FLEISCHER: I think, frankly,
that's not where the focus has been. I think you've already seen since
President Bush got elected that there has been a change in tone, as far
as the development of a missile defense system. You've seen
our allies listen carefully to the arguments that President Bush is
making. And the President has been encouraged by their
response and continues to be so.
Q Secondly, is he
shedding any light in these conversations on his proposals to draw down
the U.S. nuclear defense capability -- I mean, offensive capability?
MR. FLEISCHER: Again, I would
suggest you wait until he gives his speech tomorrow and you'll have
more specifics.
Q Ari, can we get a
price tag tomorrow or a time frame on the missile defense system?
MR. FLEISCHER: Again, wait until
the speech tomorrow and you'll get more information. Don't
take that to be a yes or a no, but it's just within 24 hours of a
speech and it will be up to the President to make the news.
Q On today's luncheon,
were there any members of the Congressional Black Caucus attending
today's luncheon?
MR. FLEISCHER: I would have to take
a look at the list. I know at the President's table, Senator
Breaux was at the President's table, Congressman Condit. I
would have to go back and take a look.
Q Do you think that the
number of no-shows is sending the President a message?
MR. FLEISCHER: Absolutely
not. The number of shows is sending the nation a message and
that message is that the President is serious about governing in a
bipartisan way, in a way that brings a little more civility to
Washington. And the President is very encouraged by the
gracious showing of 200 members of Congress who came back early from
recess to be with him. There are no votes in the House of
Representatives or the Senate tonight, for example.
Yet, members of Congress came back early,
which is unusual, to be here and to accept an invitation for really a
first event of its nature in the White House. So that's the
President's approach. He's very encouraged by the number of
people he was able to spend time with today.
Q Ari, Congressman
Armey said that the President -- he was a little exorcised about the
number of Democrats who did not show up. He said the
President must be getting courtship fatigue.
MR. FLEISCHER: I assure you, this
President will have no fatigue from courtship. He will
continue it. It's what he did in Texas and, frankly, if it's
a question of should Washington act more like Texas and be bipartisan
or should state capitals around the nation be more partisan like
Washington, the President will choose the path of bipartisanship every
time.
Q Particularly in the
Senate, in the Senate, especially, does he think the right Democrats at
least showed up today?
MR. FLEISCHER: He thinks all
Democrats are the right Democrats.
Q Is 200 a precise
number, and are you going to release the list of people who came?
MR. FLEISCHER: The number that we
had as of this morning was 193. And there's always the possibility, of
course, of people who are on the list just actually didn't make it, for
various reasons. There's always a possibility that people
who weren't on the list were able to get here, and showed
up. So those are the best numbers we have. We
didn't take attendance at the meeting.
Q Are you going to
release a list?
MR. FLEISCHER: Let me talk to
Congressional Affairs, and see if that's something we can
do. I know we put out the head table list. We
have that. You should already have that. We'll
have to talk to Congressional Affairs.
Q Did the President
believe there were any actual tangible results from the lunch?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President
believes that every day that takes some of the partisanship and the
poison out of Washington is a tangible event, a tangible
result. He understands that this is going to be a slow
process.
He also understands that there will be people
in both parties who are going to engage in excessive
partisanship. And when they do, he will urge all parties to
remember that we are all here as elected officials -- all elected
officials are here to do the people's business and to work
together, rather than just point fingers.
So that's how he governed in
Texas. And if you recall, just last Friday, he was at the
dedication of the Bob Bullock museum in Texas. And much of
his success there as a governor was thanks to his ability to work with
Democrats, and the willingness of Democrats to work with the
President. So that is his approach, and that will continue
to be his approach.
He also recognizes there are going to be some
issues that attract more support from Democrats, other issues that
attract less. For example, he's very encouraged in the
Senate that they passed his education plan by a vote of 19-0 in the
Senate Education Committee. There will be times when the
votes are narrower.
But one of the most interesting things that's
changed in Washington since he got here a hundred days ago is you can
hear the sound of gridlock breaking. And not only is
Washington becoming slowly less partisan, but I think you're going to
see a lot more legislative results and signing ceremonies than was the
case for the years of division that took place here.
Q Is this a one-time
hundred days event, or will there be future lunches, annual, more than
that? I mean, anything --
MR. FLEISCHER: I think in a variety
of ways, the President is always going to look for ways to do the same
thing. I don't know that he'll always be able to have an
invitation extended to all 535 members of Congress. That's
rather unusual. But, Mimi, very often, the President hosts
dinner in the residence for members of Congress, that don't get
announced. And very often those are Democrats who come to
visit and spend a lot of time with him, or often they bring their
wives. In a lot of ways, he reaches out and finds way to do
this.
One last point on this, then I'll end my
filibuster. I've heard the President reflect that in Texas,
when he was governor, the Office of the Governor and the Office of the
Legislators was housed in the same building, so he could very easily
just pick up and quietly go and visit with members. I think he misses
that. He misses the opportunity just to quietly drop in on
people and see people. He views that as an effective way to
help bring consensus about issues.
In its place, what he does is he invites
members up to the White House, to the residence, to have dinner with
him and Laura, and do so in a quiet, gracious way.
Q Ari, what is the
sound of gridlock breaking? (Laughter.)
MR. FLEISCHER: It kind of sounds
like a rolled up newspaper going "swat." (Laughter.)
Q Ari, regarding
missile defense, aside from the opposition by many of our allies and
Russia, aside from the very expensive cost of this system, up to now
the basic problem is that it doesn't work. Is the President
going to say tomorrow that he knows something we don't know, that there
is now a missile defense system that will work?
MR. FLEISCHER: Clearly, the
operational details of the missile defense system are crucial, and
that's why Secretary Rumsfeld has been at work on this project and the
United States is going to continue to proceed with the research efforts
that have been underway for a number of years to make certain that's a
workable system.
But the President believes that it is his
fundamental duty to protect the citizens of this country and our allies
abroad from war, or from harm, from missile launch. And,
therefore, he is determined to proceed with an effort that he views as
a way of securing the peace.
Q But does he feel
that, or has the -- has the Secretary of Defense told him so that he's
happy and comfortable with the fact that the United States can build a
missile defense system that will work?
MR. FLEISCHER: Ivan, you only have
24 hours to wait, and you will be able to hear from the President.
Q I'm sorry, on the ABM
Treaty. As you know, there is a school of thought that says
the Soviet Union doesn't exist anymore, so the treaty doesn't exist
anymore. Has the President expressed a view on that point?
MR. FLEISCHER: Again, I'm going to
let the President express this in his own words tomorrow, and you will
be able to make those interpretations yourself after hearing his
reasons for proceeding with the missile defense system.
Q Ari, on the
partisanship front, have you discussed with the President the
Democrats' ad where the child says, "More arsenic in my water, more
salmonella in my cheeseburger, please"?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President
understands that both parties, from time to time, are probably going to
engage in excessive partisanship. But the President is going
to continue to rise above that and to do his best to bring people
together to get things done on behalf of the American people.
Q Did you discuss with
him that Senator Daschle and 17 other Democrats had voted to extend the
arsenic deadline until this June, and whether that represents a problem
for the Democrats?
MR. FLEISCHER: I'm not sure I
understand your question.
Q In terms of the
perception of a double standard, that they were willing to wait until
June for a new arsenic standard if the President wasn't a Republican?
MR. FLEISCHER: I'm sorry, I don't
-- what's your question?
Q Basically, whether
you and the President have discussed this issue and this advertisement,
and whether he would be decrying this excessive partisanship.
MR. FLEISCHER: The President is
aware of the advertisements, and he shrugs his shoulders and moves
forward on the business that the people elected him to
do. And he understands that there will be people who just
have not gotten the message that the voters have sent about the
importance of changing the tone of working together.
He believes that's a message that people in
both parties need to hear loud and clear; and for those who don't,
they're exercising their prerogatives. But the President is
going to continue to do what he thinks the American people expect him
to do, and he hopes that others will get that same message.
Q What was for lunch
today?
MR. FLEISCHER: It tasted like filet
mignon.
Q Was there chicken,
too? Was it a buffet? Tell us.
MR. FLEISCHER: It was a
buffet. There was rice, there was filet, there was salad,
bread.
Q Was there chicken,
too?
MR. FLEISCHER: If there was
chicken, I didn't see it.
Q What was dessert?
MR. FLEISCHER: Dessert was
something chocolate with something ice cream inside
it. (Laughter.)
Q What wines?
MR. FLEISCHER: This must be the
classic definition of a slow news
day. (Laughter.) I'm new here, but --
Q Ari, first of all, I
have a question --
MR. FLEISCHER: You still don't have
a tie on. (Laughter.)
Q Yes. The
reason I don't have a tie is because I have an Indian outfit
on. The question is, that the IMF and World Bank just
concluding their meetings this afternoon. Now, they're
considering the forgiveness of debt, billions of dollars for 22
nations. One, this administration, what is the
view? And, two, the U.S. has not yet paid their U.N.
dues. And this debt forgiveness for these nations, most of
the debt, many people believe that it goes in corruptions and goes to
corrupt politicians in those countries. So how can you
control that?
MR. FLEISCHER: I want to take your
question on the debt agreements and get back to you on that this
afternoon. As far as the payments to the United Nations, as
you know, an agreement was reached involving the Congress and the
United Nations earlier this year that settled a longstanding dispute on
the funding and the President supported that agreement.
Q Ari, when President
of Argentina was here a few days ago, one of the things he stressed is
he did not come here asking for money from the U.S.
government. But the President, I believe, expressed interest
in having a healthy economy in Argentina with the help of international
lending institutions. Argentina and the IMF seem to have
reached a deal. It just has a few details just to finish.
Has the President been briefed on what this
agreement is about?
MR. FLEISCHER: He has and he
strongly supports the IMF agreement with Argentina. You will
note in there, that it does not include bilateral United States
assistance to Argentina. It is an IMF agreement with them.
Q Ari, on the energy
task force, there is a fairly recent precedent of a task force in the
White House working largely in secret on a big issue and didn't do very
much work, lay out public support. Is there some concern
that that hasn't been done here in this case in terms of consultation
with the public and laying public grounds for public support?
MR. FLEISCHER: I would refer you to
the Vice President's speech today and the reason the Vice President is
giving the speech today, which will be the first of a series of events
that the Vice President will be undertaking, as well as others in the
administration, is to discuss with
the American people the seriousness of the problem that people are
facing in terms of energy.
I was reminded by a congressman at the lunch
today how low income Americans are particularly hit by the rising price
of energy, the rising price of gasoline to pump in their car, the
rising price of home heating fuel for their homes. Natural
gas prices that go up hit low income Americans the
hardest. And across the country, particularly in California,
people are worried about rolling blackouts. And certainly if
your lights go off, there's no need to be prepared, no groundwork needs
to be laid. That's plenty.
And nobody wants their lights to go off, but
it's an increasing problem for California and that's why the President
is determined to focus on long-term solutions, so that it won't happen
to the rest of America down the road.
Thank you.
END
2:30 P.M. EDT
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