For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
February 14, 2002
Press Briefing by Ari Flischer
- President's schedule
- Campaign finance reform/Shays-Meehan
- President Musharraf/Daniel Pearl
- China/Falun Gong arrests
- Afghanistan/CIA role
- President's climate change strategy
- AIDS/donations
- Al Qaeda/possible new leader
- Olympics
- Boy Scouts of America
- Valentine's Day/President's gift
The James S. Brady Briefing Room
12:32 P.M. EST
MR. FLEISCHER: Good afternoon. I want to fill
you in on the President's day, and then I'm pleased to take
questions. The President began with two phone calls this
morning -- one, he called Prime Minister Orban of
Hungary. The two had a very friendly
conversation. The President congratulated the Prime Minister
for the honorary degree that he received on February 11th from the
Fletcher School of Tufts University. The President discussed
the importance of the freedoms and values that our nations hold dear
and the importance of the Hungarian contribution to regional
stability. And the President expressed his determination to
rout out terrorist groups, and expressed appreciation for Hungary's
support for the war on terrorism.
The President also called President Aznar of Spain, in his capacity
as the President of the EU, the European Union. The
President called to brief President Aznar on the announcement he will
be making this afternoon on global climate change. It was a
very productive discussion, both leaders emphasizing their common
purposes.
Along those same lines, Secretary Powell and Dr. Rice have also
been calling world leaders, filling them in on the President's
announcement this afternoon.
The President then had his briefings this morning, the CIA briefing
and FBI briefing; had various other meetings with staff. He
is currently having lunch with the Vice President. And he
will depart the White House, where he will travel to the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, where the President will make a
new announcement about global warming and ways that the President is
proposing to reduce the amount of emissions of greenhouse gases into
the atmosphere, as well as making an announcement where the President
will be the first President ever to propose a multi-emission strategy
for power plants that will lead to cleaner air for every community and
for people everywhere in America. It's a proposal that is
focused on reducing three pollutants from power plants. That has never
been made before; goes beyond anything previously proposed, which will
be a high-water mark in cleaning the air in communities across our
country.
The President will return to the White House. He'll have
a credential ceremony for newly-appointed ambassadors. And
then this evening the President will participate in a salute to gospel
music, celebrating America's cultural and musical heritage.
And with that, I'm happy to take your questions.
Q Ari, does the President believe that the
Shays-Meehan bill that passed the House early this morning improves the
system? And would he discourage Senate Republicans from
filibustering it to death?
MR. FLEISCHER: John, the President has been very clear
that he wants to sign a bill that improves the current
system. Parts of that legislation surely
do. Other parts are not as fully consistent with the
President's principles, but parts do.
As for what the Senate is going to do, the President understands
that the senators have historically had very strong feelings about it,
and the President has made it clear that he would like to have
something sent to his desk that he can sign.
Q Is this something that he could sign?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, we don't know what the ultimate
outcome will be yet. It all depends on what action the
Senate takes. So I think it's a little early to get
declarative, but the President has sent a very clear signal to the
Congress that he wants to sign something that improves the system.
Q Sure, but Shays-Meehan in its current
form, does he believe that's enough?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, the President will wait to be
declarative until he sees what the final bill is. As you
know, the House passed something; the Senate now has to take up what
the House passed. We don't know what the ultimate outcome
will be in the Senate, so it's a little early to get declarative.
Q If I could --
MR. FLEISCHER: Third question. (Laughter.)
Q -- then I'll sit back for most of the rest
of the briefing. Does the President have any particular
objection to Shays-Meehan? Is there anything in the current
bill that's a deal-breaker for him?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I've not heard the President use
the word, "deal-breaker," but I know that the President has six
principles which you know that the President is dedicated to in
campaign finance reform. The President wants to get soft
money -- union and corporate soft money out of
politics. The President wants to have more disclosure.
The President has outlined a series of items, and the President is
very pleased that one of most pernicious elements of the Shays-Meehan
bill was removed at his request at 2:45 a.m. in the morning, this
morning. And that was a provision that was put in at
midnight the night before, which would have allowed for the first time
to have soft money collected to pay off hard money
debts. The President objected to that provision, and the
President is gratified that the House did the right thing and took out
that giant soft money loophole.
Q And is he willing to compromise on
paycheck protection?
MR. FLEISCHER: That's four. We'll come back
to you later.
Q Yes, Ari. Yesterday General
Musharraf, having President Bush at his side, pretty much implied that
Daniel Pearl is still alive. Today we're hearing reports
that the person who has been captured in Pakistan has been saying that
he believes he's dead. What is the latest thing the White
House knows about?
MR. FLEISCHER: We've heard those
reports. There's no confirmation of that. We
cannot confirm that, and have no indication. Obviously, the
President hopes very deeply that Mr. Pearl is still
alive. And we continue to do everything possible with
Pakistan to bring him home where he belongs.
Q In the conversation that General Musharraf
held with President Bush yesterday, was there any time an indication
that he had some basis on which to base his optimism that he was still
alive?
MR. FLEISCHER: I think he shared with you everything
that he said when he participated in the news conference.
Q Ari, back on campaign finance reform, are
you concerned at all that if there is a GOP-led filibuster in the
Senate that this could slow some movement on some of the White House's
priorities, for instance, trying to get the Senate to take up a
stimulus package?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, filibusters come and filibusters go
in the Senate, and it's become a modern day common
occurrence. Filibusters used to be very rare
events. Filibusters also used to be unruly, disorderly
things, in which people would have to stand on the floor of the Senate
and speak for 24 or 48 or 72 hours. Now filibusters are so
routine that you don't even have to speak on the floor.
Q That's true, but at the same time, you do
have an agenda that you want to pursue. And to repeat the
question, are you concerned that a GOP filibuster on this issue will
hurt the White House?
MR. FLEISCHER: Again, I think you -- in understanding
what a modern day filibuster means, it's all become a nice little
orderly device where you file something called cloture. And
it doesn't literally tie up the floor, you just have to get 60
votes. They've really taken the filibuster process and made
it so routine that it really doesn't tie up the floor anymore.
Q Yesterday, you were --
MR. FLEISCHER: Third question.
Q It's
two-and-a-half. (Laughter.) Yesterday, you were
very concerned that the Democrats or the proponents of Shays-Meehan had
inserted something into the bill at midnight --
Q Soft money. (Laughter.)
MR. FLEISCHER: Money is falling on the floor here from
-- (laughter). If those are contributions, I am no longer allowed to
accept them, thank you.
Q At the same time, we had legislation that
some people considered pretty important, considered at about 2:50 a.m.
this morning, or the final vote was wrapped up about
then. What's the White House's opinion on the fact that the
vote had to be taken in the middle of the night when most of America,
unless you were up watching the replay of the Olympics, missed it?
MR. FLEISCHER: It's fairly typical in the House and in
the Senate. The schedule of votes often slides and it's just a
function of the procedures that are used on the floor of the House and
the Senate.
Q Ari, why are you being so noncommittal
about this? Because in the past, if there are other measures
that you support, even if the process is not complete, you have said
that the President would sign a bill or would veto a
bill. Why not in this case?
MR. FLEISCHER: Kelly, I think as a result of the manner
in which the President has approached campaign finance reform -- the
President has for the first time made this a real debate that has a
chance of getting signed into law -- I think that in a case where both
parties were doing a fair share of posturing over the last decade on
this issue, that there was substantial risk involved if the President
had boldly come out for one or the other, as opposed to outlining the
principles he outlined and worked productively with members in both
parties to move things forward to improve the system.
I think it could have led to a system where, again, Democrats would
have said, well, let's do the opposite of what the President says,
because we'd rather have the issue than the reform.
The President has made it real this year as a result of the
outline, of the principles that he has outlined and the path that he
has chosen to pursue. And I think that's why you're seeing
something move forward that for the first time has a real chance of
going somewhere. Let's see what the Senate does, but that's
the reason why.
Q How does the President view the recent
arrests of the Falun Gong activists in Tiananmen Square?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President obviously is concerned with
any arrests for religious purposes in China. I anticipate
that when the President goes to China, this will be, again, a topic
that the President raises directly.
There have been indications of improvements on some levels of human
rights and religious rights issues in China. There have been
other examples or arrests that run contrary to that improving
trend. So it's an important topic; the President remains
very committed to taking this up personally and directly with Chinese
officials.
Q Going back to Mr. Pearl, the Prime
Minister of India today said that General Musharraf is misleading the
world and the United States. First he was blaming India for the
abduction of this Wall Street Journal, but now the person who has been
arrested in Pakistan is a terrorist organization -- or the chief of a
terrorist organization. Now, do you think General Musharraf
is withholding some kind of information back until he gets out of the
United States? Because if they have arrested the chief of
the abductors, the ones who abducted Mr. Pearl, then where is Mr.
Pearl? So that means he's holding something back and he's not telling
the truth to President Bush or to the United States.
MR. FLEISCHER: The President is satisfied with the
actions that the Pakistan government has taken in a very difficult
circumstance. I think everyone's heart goes out to the
family and coworkers at the Wall Street Journal. And the
President is gratified by the actions Pakistan has taken in the wake of
a kidnapping.
Q Ari, yesterday the President said, he
specifically said, that he wanted the reform bill to take effect
immediately.
MR. FLEISCHER: Correct.
Q Has that been cleared up because of the
debts matter that has come down on the side that the President
wanted? Has that been cleared up at all? He
hasn't changed that opinion?
MR. FLEISCHER: Clearly, the combination of the two in
delaying the effective date and then allowing a giant soft money
loophole to be created for the duration of this year was
problematic. But the President does believe that if it's a
good reform, put it into effect.
Certainly, when it passed in the United States Senate, Senator
McCain's proposal would have been effective 30 days after signature by
the President. So, in other words, it would go into effect
this year -- not after the election, but prior to the
election. It was good enough for the senators and its
sponsors at that time. Now, the House had a provision in
there which would have made it immediately effective until they changed
that two nights ago. So, clearly, the sponsors of reform
have in the past seen very good reason to make it effective
immediately. The President agrees with those reformers.
Q Is this an issue that still might be a
veto matter?
MR. FLEISCHER: I addressed that yesterday and gave no
such indication.
Q As you may know, the Pentagon acknowledges
that it does not control the CIA's actions in
Afghanistan. It also admits that the CIA does not always
coordinate what it does in real time with the Pentagon. So
the implication is that the CIA is really running its own war, so to
speak, in Afghanistan. Does the President know
this? Does he condone it? Or would he prefer that
all military activities come under the Pentagon?
MR. FLEISCHER: I don't believe that's what the Pentagon
has said. I don't believe anybody at the Pentagon has said
the CIA is running their own war. The President has created
a system where the CIA, the Department of Defense are working
hand-in-hand and working very productively in a way that has resulted
in quick victories through Afghanistan. And that's exactly
the type of operation that's continuing.
Q Can I do a follow-up? It
doesn't seem to always work. You have the case -- still
undecided, of possibly three peasants or three al Qaeda killed by a
CIA-fired Hellfire missile. The Pentagon says it was not
aware of this, it didn't know about it until after the
fact. So, in a sense, the CIA is doing its own thing of
controlling its own firing on targets without telling the Pentagon.
MR. FLEISCHER: I think they are all working very well
together, from the President's point of view.
Q Have the President's advisors already
determined that he's got to sign the bill, the campaign finance bill,
whatever one comes here, for political reasons?
MR. FLEISCHER: Again, the President is going to wait to
see what the final form is once it comes out of the Senate, and then he
will have something declarative to state. Until then, I'm
just not going to presume what action the President would take.
Q Do you deny, though, the beliefs of many
Republicans, including some who work here, that he-- the decision's
already been made that he will sign the bill?
MR. FLEISCHER: Ron, I get my information on this
directly from the President, so I don't presume to speak for everybody
on the staff. I can tell you what the President said.
Q Has he made a tentative decision?
MR. FLEISCHER: No. But, as in any case, with
the legislation, the President wants to see what it's going to say in
the final form. I mean, you just don't know what the Senate
is going to do. There's a lot of talk about will the Senate
try to amend it, will they be unsuccessful in amending
it? Will the Senate basically take the House bill and put it
in a photocopier, and, therefore, send it directly to the
President? Those are --
Q Well, answer that -- if they did photocopy
the House bill, what would happen?
MR. FLEISCHER: I don't answer
hypotheticals. As I said --
Q Yes, you do.
MR. FLEISCHER: What's that?
Q You don't answer this one. But
you do answer hypothetical questions.
MR. FLEISCHER: It would be hypothetical if I told you
what type of hypotheticals I'd answer. (Laughter.)
Q Does he support the Senate
bill? I mean, of the two bills that have been passed, is
there any reason to veto either one?
MR. FLEISCHER: We're going to go around in circles on
this. I think I made it clear that the President wants to
sign legislation that improves the system.
Q Ari, on the campaign finance bill, a lot
of people have already given their money for the 2002
election. So if Senator McCain's deal were to come through,
what would -- has the President considered what would happen to all the
people who have already given soft money and other money to the 2002
election?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, again, given the view that many
people hold, including the President, that soft money should be taken
out of the system, that would be an appropriate reform. And
obviously it was good enough for many senators when they voted on an
effective date 30 days after enactment, and it was good enough for the
sponsors of Shays-Meehan until two nights ago to have it
immediate. So I think the question should go to the
sponsors, in terms of what would change that would make them change
their position. The President's position is consistent with
what the reformers previously held.
Q On the environmental proposals the
President is making today, on power plant emissions, the President is
calling for mandatory reductions. On global climate change and dealing
with greenhouse gases, he's talking about voluntary
reductions. Why the difference between the two?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, both are patterned after existing
success stories. And on the climate change proposal that the
President has made, I would refer you to EPA 33/50, which is the toxics
reduction program. That's a program that has been successful, that has
been supported by people from industry, from the
environment. And industry has met the targets laid out in
that.
On the 3P's, or the multi-emissions strategy that the President is
announcing today in terms of the reductions of targeted levels for SOX,
NOX, and mercury, that's patterned after the acid rain cap and trade
program, which has also been hailed by people.
In terms of what the President has announced today on global
warming, if we're getting any indications thus far from various
constituency groups, it's a classic case of where some in the
environmental community say the President doesn't go far enough, and
many in the business community say the President is going too
far. I think that's probably a good indication that the
President may have gotten it just right.
Q You would, on the global climate change,
you would actually allow an increase in greenhouse gases, rather than
seeking some sort of decrease.
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, let's be clear on whether or not
there is an increase or decrease under Kyoto and under what the
President is proposing today. Because Kyoto exempts so many
nations around the world, such as India and China, there is no
reduction in pollutants under Kyoto. It still is an increase
in Kyoto. They've exempted so many nations that on a
worldwide basis, emission of greenhouse gases continues to go up,
albeit at a slower rate.
So what the President is proposing is to decrease that rate of
growth. And under what the President is proposing, if the entire world
worked on slowing the growth in emissions, we would get more reductions
than anything that would be agreed to under Kyoto. So the
President is proposing something that is actually complementary to
Kyoto. Other nations in the world will still be free to
pursue the Kyoto manner of reducing greenhouse gases, if that's what
they think is best for their nations. President Bush,
because he wants to protect America's workers and America's economy,
has proposed a different way to arrive at the same goal. And
the President welcomes the debate on this now. He thinks
it's the best thing for America's workers, for the environment, for the
economy.
Q You can only control what the U.S.
emits. Which plan, under Kyoto or your plan, would result in
the greatest decrease in U.S. emissions? If we follow
Kyoto, or if we do what the President proposes?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I don't think -- it's an academic
question, because the President has indicated he is not going to pursue
a policy that would cost 5 million jobs and do up to $400 billion worth
of damage to the economy. So that's not a question I can
answer because the President is not pursuing that.
Q What kinds of indications, if any, have
you had from other countries that they're going to follow the
President's lead on this?
MR. FLEISCHER: I think it's a little early, since the
President himself hasn't announced it yet. I mean, there are
phone calls that are being made, and I think people are looking forward
to hearing what the President says in a full-throttled way.
So far what we're hearing is people think it's thoughtful, they're
saying they hope it can be productive. But I'll let the
other nations speak, and then both the State Department and the
National Security Council are going to be collecting information from
around the world. You'll probably hear it, as well, through
your sources throughout the world. People have not been shy on this
topic.
Q You discussed it with them ahead of time?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, Dr. Rice, Secretary Powell, and the
President have been making phone calls. The President made
the call I reported to you this morning. Secretary Powell
and Dr. Rice have made other calls. And most of the leaders said that
it sounds thoughtful, it sounds good. We'll listen to the President
and we'll let you know. I mean, he hasn't even announced it
yet.
April? And, Les, I wasn't mad at you
yesterday. The magic "thank you" came before you asked your
questions, so I'll do my best to get back to you today. But
we're on April right now. And then Connie.
Q Thank you.
MR. FLEISCHER: You already got one.
Q Thank you.
Q Apparently some at the U.N. are having
some words about the issue that the -- what is it, the AIDS, the global
AIDS foundation is not getting the kinds of donations that once were
expected, in light of 9/11 and things of that nature. What
is the White House saying, especially as they are leading the charge to
fund this U.N.-backed AIDS issue in Africa?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, the fact of the matter is that the
United States is the globe's leading donor of funding to fight AIDS
worldwide. We far surpass any other country in our
contributions to the global fund. Our $200 million proposal
that's in the budget will bring our total contribution over two years
to half a billion dollars.
The President has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Secretary General
Kofi Annan of the United Nations to pledge America's commitment to
leading the funding source for the worldwide effort to combat
AIDS. And that's for the global, worldwide fight against
AIDS. Domestically, the President's budget calls for $144
million for Health and Human Services Global AIDS Program, beyond our
contribution to the global fund. And that's in addition to
all the funding increases that the Centers for Disease Control is going
to receive in the President's budget. So the President is
very proud the United States leads the world in fighting AIDS.
Q Yes, understood. But the
critics there at the U.N. are saying that it's falling short of its
expected goal, and -- you know, and the United States --
MR. FLEISCHER: April, all I can say to you is I don't
think you will ever see a situation in the world where after the United
States does the most and leads the way, there will be some who say the
United States is not doing enough. I think we've all grown
used to those criticisms. The President will just continue
to be proud of the fact the United States is leading the world.
Q Is that U.N. fund on the back burner now
because of 9/11?
MR. FLEISCHER: No, it's on the front burner, thanks to
the contributions.
Q Do you have any information on this New
York Times report about the Palestinian who might be taking over al
Qaeda? And what is the latest on this high state of security
alert?
MR. FLEISCHER: On the New York Times report, in
reference to someone who is reported to now have taken over the role of
Mohammed Atta -- I'm sorry, Mohammed Atef -- we're aware of his
background. The United States does know about
him. As the President has said, the threat is not over that
al Qaeda, which exists in more than 60 nations, is going to try to
reconstitute itself in the best manner that it possibly
can. And they do have abilities. And that's why
the President is determined to continue to pursue action across a
variety of fronts to disrupt, to block, to stop and, if necessary, to
kill them so they are not able to take actions against our country.
The reason that there are threats and threat alerts across our
country is exactly because of people like Mr. Zubaydah, who we don't
know exactly what his role is in al Qaeda, particularly given the
disruptions that have taken place with al Qaeda. But it does
remain an ongoing concern. I can't get more specific than
that because nobody knows what his exact role is.
Q Ari, to get back to Mark Smith's question,
I think he was asking and what we may want to know is, to what extent
was there some consultation before the global warming decision that the
President will make later on, and if this comes in the context of
extending the war on terrorism beyond Afghanistan. We're
hearing some concern from other capitals that maybe this administration
is swinging back toward a more unilateralist approach. I think that's
the context in which the question was being posed.
MR. FLEISCHER: Okay --
Q I must say that I was asking if there was
some consultation ahead of time. I kind of thought there
would be, since it impacts a lot of other countries.
MR. FLEISCHER: There have been conversations, of course,
as you know, back and forth between the United States and nations
around the world on Kyoto, because this is part of the U.N. framework
on reductions of greenhouse gases. The United States has
been present at all the conferences that have been taking place on
global warming. So even as we differed with the method that
other nations were using to meet their Kyoto goals, we were part and
parcel to those conversations, even though we clearly told them we
differed in the manner in which they were going to reduce greenhouse
gases.
As for the development of this policy, this was developed by the
President as an alternative to Kyoto, and I think the world knows
that. That was shared directly. It's not a
surprise. And then, yesterday, today, phone calls were made
to leaders around the world to inform them of the decisions the
President made.
Q Back on the subject of religious rights,
is the President still convinced that engaging China, whether it's
through trade or other means, is still the best way to advance
religious freedom in that country?
MR. FLEISCHER: Yes, absolutely.
Q And has he seen measurable progress
pursuing that strategy?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, as I indicated, there have been
some very newsworthy and notable problems. And the President
will discuss those problems. On the other hand, there have
been some encouraging signs and the United States is going to continue
to push for increasing religious freedom in China. So it's a
complicated picture. I think sometimes it moves forward,
sometimes it moves backwards. But as far as the President is
concerned, he will be consistent in always pushing for it to move
forward.
Q Is it a difficult issue to raise
forcefully, especially when he's a visitor?
MR. FLEISCHER: That's an interesting
question. You know, during the visit to Shanghai, when the
President raised it directly with President Jiang and his leaders who
were sitting at a table with him, the habit of this President is to
just raise issues directly and in a straightforward
fashion. He speaks about as plainly and bluntly in private
as he does in public. And the President believes that's an
effective way to engage in good diplomacy. He doesn't want
anybody to misunderstand what he thinks.
And so, I was there when the President made his case about the
importance of religious freedom, and the values that are attached to
it; and how, as a result of encouraging people to be free in their
practice of religion and free in their day-to-day lives -- he also
talks about the importance of a free press -- he believes that
societies prosper more, and therefore have more economic
development. And that's the type of message that the
President has said directly.
Q Would you specify what proposals President
Bush will bring to South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung to put weapons
of mass destruction by North Korea under --
MR. FLEISCHER: Let me do this. On any
questions pertaining to the President's upcoming trip, Dr. Rice is
going to be briefing this afternoon on the record and on
camera. So I think you will get that from the President's
National Security Advisor.
Q Ari, on the Kyoto global warming thing, if
the concern about the Kyoto protocols was the exemption of all these
developing nations, how does the President's plan today deal with
that?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, if you're going to exempt nations,
Kyoto just doesn't get the job done. But the United States
still has to face a decision about what its role will be in honoring a
U.N. framework to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, because the
President believes that we do need to adopt a strategy to slow down,
reverse, halt the emissions of greenhouse gases. So the fact
that other nations are exempt is a symbol of the flaws of
Kyoto. But because Kyoto is flawed, it doesn't mean that the
United States should stop from doing its part to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. And that's why the President proposed it.
Q Well, why this route? Why not
work through to try to reform some sort of a modified Kyoto to maybe
erase the exemptions, or have --
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, it's the judgment of the President
that this is the most practical and achievable way to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions, and it's also a recognition of the fact that you have a
United States Senate that voted 95-0 against the framework of the Kyoto
agreement when it was presented to them by the previous
administration.
Kyoto was never very well-supported in the United States by people
in both parties. But it still is important to make
environmental progress.
So I think what you're going to have in this debate, you're going
to have some very vociferous noises from some people in the
environmental community and other places who are going to say that this
is insufficient, it doesn't get the job done, all the while failing to
recognize that Kyoto was going nowhere under both parties in
Washington, D.C.
Instead, what you have here is a President who is willing to break
the log jam to get something done to protect the environment and to
protect America's economy.
Q Has the President been watching the
Olympics and is he familiar with the scandal involving the outcome of
the figure skating event between the Russians and the
Canadians? And does he have --
MR. FLEISCHER: Campbell, it's a topic I haven't
discussed with him. I imagine, knowing him, that he has watched it and
followed it, but I don't have anything to report. Can I
fudge on that? (Laughter.) Let me see. I'll ask
him.
As promised.
Q You said you would take the question as to
why the State Department should be allowed to try to stop a Marine
sergeant who was held hostage in Tehran for 444 days from suing the
Iranian frozen assets in the United States of $9
billion. What happened to it when you took
it? And what is happening now?
MR. FLEISCHER: It remains in taking.
Q You will get us the answer?
MR. FLEISCHER: Yes. No, I think you asked a
legitimate question.
Q Concerning the President's recent meeting
with seven representatives of the 3.9 million Boy Scouts of America, of
which I gather he's the honorary president, the President doesn't
believe that any Boy Scout policy is wrong or evil, or he would, as a
man of ethics, resign as their honorary president, wouldn't he, Ari?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President was very proud and pleased
to welcome the Boy Scouts to the White House and to receive their
annual report.
Q He doesn't think that any of their
policies are evil or wrong?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President, as I said, was proud to
receive them here. They are a private organization who have
rights under the law.
Q My question -- he doesn't believe any of
their policies are wrong?
MR. FLEISCHER: I think I've answered it.
Q On the President's climate change,
environmentalists are not only saying they think it doesn't go far
enough. They think by not having any mandatory reductions in
greenhouse gas emissions is a sign of the impact of the coal and oil
industry on this administration. What's your response to
that?
MR. FLEISCHER: I just think that is unfortunate
rhetoric. That is what contributes to Washington getting
nothing done. I mean, that type of attack the motives, link
it to something sinister is exactly why policies break down in
Washington. The question of how to protect the environment
is something that really needs to be done in a way that brings people
together. That type of rhetoric only serves to drive people
apart.
As I mentioned, the Kyoto protocols are submitted to the United
States Senate in a test vote of its general nature. And it
was rejected 95-nothing. So it's important for some in the
environmental community-- we know that not all are going to join, just
because they won't -- but it's important for some in the environment
community to want to work productively with the White House because we
can get a lot done if they're willing to work together.
Q And they say, voluntary controls, getting
corporations to reduce their carbon pollution have not worked in the
past, so why will they work now?
MR. FLEISCHER: I think that they have said it works very
well in the toxic reduction program. And so there is a
prototype that works well, and that's what the President is committed
to.
Q Ari, the Shays-Meehan bill passed this
morning with what, by this White House's measure, would be
extraordinary bipartisan support. Given your historic
cheerleading for bills that have passed with broad bipartisan support,
which isn't the President encouraging the Senate to pass this one?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President has said he has several
principles that he wanted to see satisfied in campaign finance
reform. The Shays-Meehan legislation satisfies some of those
principles, not all. And the President will wait to see what
the Senate does and then I think you'll have more on the topic.
Q Does he want a strong bill passed?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President wants a bill passed that
meets his principles. (Laughter.)
Q Can you tell us what the President gave
Mrs. Bush for Valentine's Day?
MR. FLEISCHER: Yes, I can. For Valentine's
Day --
Q -- what the President gave the First Lady
for Valentine's Day?
MR. FLEISCHER: And I hope the press will be willing to
be forthcoming in what the press got from different people for their
Valentine's Days, as well. There is equal curiosity.
The President sent Mrs. Bush some tulips. And Mrs. Bush
surprised the President in the middle of a riveting domestic policy
briefing, and sent Barney and Spot in, and around Barney's neck was a
ribbon that contained a heart-shaped cookie that said "Mr. President"
on it. And she sent in a plate of chocolates and cookies, as
well, to the President and to the lucky staffers who happened to be
meeting with him at the moment. So the two enjoyed a pretty
nice little Valentine's gift for each other.
So, thank you.
END 1:04 P.M. EST
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