For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 6, 2004
Press Briefing by Scott McClellan
The James S. Brady Briefing Room
1:00 P.M. EST
MR. McCLELLAN: Good afternoon. Happy New Year to you all, as
well. The President today, on behalf of our nation, called to
congratulate NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe and the jet propulsion
laboratory team on the successful landing of the Rover Spirit on Mars.
The President thanked the NASA team for their hard work and ingenuity,
and for reaffirming the great spirit of American exploration. The
President shares in the excitement of all Americans as we see the
dramatic images from Spirit's new home and we know that it is only a
glimpse of the things to come as Spirit begins its historic trek across
the Mars landscape.
The President is strongly committed to the exploration of space,
and thanks to the great work of those at NASA, America continues to be
on the leading edge of exploration and discovery. I think the Rover
embodies the best of American ingenuity, technical know-how and can-do
spirit.
And with that, I will be glad to go into your questions.
Q Speaking of the President being strongly committed to the
exploration of space, since you're on that, is there anything that the
President is going to say about -- does he have any new ideas about
space, any new goals to set?
MR. McCLELLAN: There's no update to what the President has
previously said and what I have previously said, that, as you are
aware, in the aftermath of the tragic Columbia accident, the President
asked -- or directed his administration to review our space policy, and
that is where it stands.
Q Have any recommendations come to him, or do you know where
that stands, where that process is?
MR. McCLELLAN: The review has been moving forward, and I have no
additional update at this time.
Q Will the President present outlines or legislation when he
talks about immigration tomorrow?
MR. McCLELLAN: One, I think you need to wait for the speech. But
the President has been working on this plan for a good while. As you
have heard the President say, the President believes America should be
a welcoming society. We are a nation of immigrants and we are better
and stronger for the contribution immigrants have made to our nation.
And we have been looking at meeting an important economic need.
Immigration laws should meet our economic needs. And if employers are
offering jobs to Americans that Americans are not willing to fill, then
we ought to welcome to our country those who will fill that job. And
so the President will talk more tomorrow about his plans for matching
willing workers with willing employers.
I would point out that this discussion originally began back in
February 2001 with President Fox when the President visited Mexico.
And it was part of our efforts to bring about a more orderly, more
humane, safe and legal migration policy. And that's where this comes
from.
Q But many members of Congress oppose anything that they would
see as an amnesty for a job that went to workers already in the country
illegally.
MR. McCLELLAN: I think the President has made it very clear that
he is opposed to any blanket amnesty. He said that as recently as his
last news conference before we had the holiday break.
Q But he's going to allow workers to be hired if they're in the
country, right, as long as it's all legal?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, again, he's going to have more to say about
this tomorrow. At the same time we've been moving forward on this
policy, we previously have taken extraordinary steps to improve our
border security and to strengthen our border security. We have worked
to improve our immigration infrastructure, and now we are at a point
where the President will be talking more about how we move forward on
his efforts to match willing workers with willing employers. And
that's what this is about.
Q Scott, there isn't a blank slate here. This has been complex
for a while. And in September of 2001, the President said just that --
this is a really difficult, complex issue for his own party, because
even then he acknowledged the fact that conservatives believe that even
a sort of guest worker program has the effect of rewarding illegal
immigration, perhaps being unfair to those who have followed the rules,
followed the law, and earned their citizenship after a period of time.
So what's the President prepared to do now to overcome that opposition,
and what makes him think --
MR. McCLELLAN: You will hear from him tomorrow, and he will talk
about that. But I made it very clear a minute ago, as the President
has previously made clear, that he is not talking about a blanket
amnesty here. He's talking about it meeting an economic need. There
is an economic need here in this country and this is about matching
willing workers with willing employers. That's what this is about.
Q But you still haven't answered the question --
MR. McCLELLAN: And making sure immigration laws are fair and make
sure that they are meeting our economic needs.
Q But the American people, when they hear the President lay out
a policy, it's one thing to say, here are some principles, go to it,
and if you make it, I tried -- you know, if you don't make, at least I
tried -- versus coming up with a specific proposal. So what's it going
to be? Does he have a specific plan to say to Congress, get it done?
MR. McCLELLAN: I think you will hear about his plan tomorrow. He
will be talking specifically about his plan for matching willing
workers with willing employers tomorrow. I think it is a detailed
approach to addressing this issue.
Q One other issue on North Korea. The Secretary of State came
out today and said that the response from North Koreans has been
extremely positive of late. What does the President believe about this
topic, and does he think that the six-party talks really move things
appreciably forward?
MR. McCLELLAN: We have made some progress. We had the initial
round of six-party talks. Our focus continues to be on the six-party
talks, the multilateral approach that we are pursuing when it comes to
our shared goal of getting North Korea to end its nuclear weapons
program in a verifiable and irreversible way, once and for all. And I
would say that we look forward to hearing from North Korea in the
context of the six-party talks, specifically about how they intend to
go about ending its nuclear weapons program in that way. And so we
look forward to attending a new round of talks at an early time, and
without any precondition.
Q On that point, if I may, what is your understanding of what
it is the North Koreans are now offering?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, again, I said we look forward to hearing what
they have to say about how they are going to go about ending their
nuclear weapons program in an irreversible and verifiable way, in the
context of the six-party talks. And that's why we have been working to
have another round of talks. That's where it stands. But we have been
seeking a peaceful resolution to this situation. And I think it would
be positive for North Korea to return to those six-party talks, so we
can discuss how they go about ending their nuclear weapons program.
Q Well, the Secretary of State found something more positive in
there and seemed to suggest there was more to it than what we said
here. He said, it was an interesting statement, a positive statement;
they, in effect, said they won't test and they implied that they would
give up all aspects of their nuclear program, not just their weapons
program. So they seem to be proposing or offering something specific.
MR. McCLELLAN: There are multilateral discussions that we look
forward to having, as I said, at an early date and without
precondition. We look forward to hearing more from North Korea in the
context of those six-party talks. This is a multilateral approach. We
all have a shared goal. There are five countries that have a shared
goal of ending North Korea's -- or making sure that we have a
nuclear-free peninsula.
Q Did what they have said today strike you as a --
MR. McCLELLAN: I think that those are discussions that are best
had in the next round of talks.
Q Right, but the Secretary of State obviously --
MR. McCLELLAN: And I would point out that we are interested in
action and we are interested in continuing to have the next round of
talks.
Q Does it strike the White House that what they've said today
is something new and something positive?
MR. McCLELLAN: I think I described it already.
Q No, you didn't. You described your long-standing policy,
which we perfectly understand. You want to go back to the six-party
talks, you want them to end it in a verifiable way. They seem to have
offered some new wrinkle today, and it's not clear to me if it's like
the first phase that they would do and some sort of step down --
MR. McCLELLAN: Jim, I think that it's best that we approach this
in the multilateral setting in the next round of talks; not from this
podium between me and you. That's what I was making the point, is that
we look forward to the next round of talks, so that we can discuss with
North Korea in the multilateral forum how they're going to go about
ending their nuclear weapons program, in an irreversible and verifiable
way. So that's what we look forward to.
Q Powell is sounding more hopeful about all of this. I mean,
his statement and yours are different.
MR. McCLELLAN: I said it would be positive if North Korea returned
to the next round of talks.
Q Scott, North Korea is saying not only do we want to return to
the talks, but we're willing to freeze our nuclear program in order to
facilitate an earlier --
MR. McCLELLAN: And our shared goal is a nuclear-free peninsula.
Our shared goal is for North Korea to end its nuclear weapons program
in an irreversible and verifiable way. That's what we've always made
very clear, and that's what we are seeking a resolution to in a
peaceful way, in a multilateral forum.
Q But that's not, obviously, a prelude to the talks,
themselves. And I'm just wondering -- you want early talks, North
Korea says they want early talks -- what is now the impediment standing
in the way of resumption of --
MR. McCLELLAN: I think that the Chinese have been very helpful in
working to set up the next round of talks, and I think there have been
indications expressed by the Chinese that they look forward to having
those talks, or hosting those talks in the future. So we're working to
move forward at an early date on those talks.
Q On the same topic, do you have a date, and would Secretary of
State Powell lead the U.S. delegation --
MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sorry?
Q -- lead the U.S. delegation and do you have a date yet?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, one, no, there's not a date for the next
round of talks yet. I said, an early date. We look forward to -- and
early time, we look forward to the next round of talks. And then when
that is scheduled then we can talk more about the delegation at that
point.
Anything else on this subject? Go ahead, Dana.
Q Scott, Senator Schumer released a statement today saying that
when the Justice Department asks the White House for emails, phone
records about the leaks investigation, the Counsel's Office sent a memo
to everybody saying you must comply. And in the statement, a letter he
wrote to Andy Card, he asked why is the same reaction not been seen on
the waivers for confidentiality with reporters. Can you respond to
that?
MR. McCLELLAN: Yes. This is an investigation being conducted by
career officials at the Department of Justice. And it would be
unfortunate if anyone seeks to politicize a serious matter for partisan
gain. The White House has done everything it has been asked to do.
The President made it very clear that he wants the White House to
cooperate fully in this investigation. And as I have said before, and
as the President has been very clear about, if anyone has information
relating to the investigation, they should provide that information to
the officials in charge of the investigation.
Q So do you see a fundamental difference in the request for
emails and phone records, and the request for --
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think you're making certain assumptions,
Dana, about what requests may or may not have been made. And that's
why I said on specific matters, you've got to direct those questions to
the career officials at the Department of Justice because we want to do
everything we can to help the career officials get to the bottom of
this as soon as possible. This is an ongoing investigation. No one
wants to know the truth more than the President of the United States.
No one wants to get to the bottom of this more than the President of
the United States. That's why he directed the White House to cooperate
fully with the career officials who are leading the investigation. And
that's exactly what we have been doing.
Q -- necessarily making an assumption that we've pretty much
all been told that these letters have gone to many of the White House
officials that have been interviewed.
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, if there are specific requests being made of
individuals, as I have said before, we would not necessarily know what
those requests are.
Q Schumer is trying to politicize this -- that's what you're
saying.
MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sorry?
Q Schumer is trying to politicize it --
MR. McCLELLAN: I said it would be unfortunate if people are
seeking to politicize a serious matter, like leaking classified
information, for partisan gain. The career officials at the Department
of Justice are conducting this investigation. The White House, at the
direction of the President, is fully cooperating with those career
officials.
Q Schumer is the one you have in mind when you make the
statement.
MR. McCLELLAN: I think I addressed it. I was asked about a
specific statement.
Q Can we go back to the immigration speech tomorrow? This is
the same week in which the U.S. government is now starting to
fingerprint people coming into the country. Obviously, there's great
concern, the terror alert is still raised right now. So what will the
President say to Americans tomorrow about opening the doors to
immigration at a time when there's great concern --
MR. McCLELLAN: I think you should wait for his speech and hear
specifically what he is going to say. I would point out that we have
taken significant steps to improve and strengthen our border security
in the aftermath of September 11th. One of the latest announcements
was the launching of the U.S. visit program that you just mentioned to
make sure that our doors are open to those who come here for the right
reasons, but it's closed to those who come here seeking to carry out
terrorist activity. That's what that is about.
And we've gone to extraordinary steps to strengthen our border
security. We've gone to -- we've made significant strides in improving
our immigration infrastructure. And at the same time, while we are
making sure our borders are secure, it's important to make sure that
our borders are open for those who come here for the right reasons.
And so that's what we're talking about here. America, remember, is a
nation of immigrants. And we are much better for the contributions
that immigrants have made to this nation. We are much stronger for the
contributions made by immigrants. And so we should continue to be a
welcoming society. And that's what we're talking about here. The
President has specifically talked about matching willing workers with
willing employers to meet an economic need.
Q Just one follow-up. Will the President be trying to build on
existing legislation? This does seem like something that's going to be
difficult, expanding the worker program. It will be difficult to pass
through Congress.
MR. McCLELLAN: There is some legislation that members of Congress
have put forward. The President is going to talk about his plan
tomorrow about how we move forward on an immigration policy that meets
an important economic need.
Q Can you talk a little bit about the State of the Union speech
coming up? How much planning has been going into that?
MR. McCLELLAN: The President continues to work on it. In fact, I
think I was asked earlier some of what the President might be working
on. He continues to work on the State of the Union, as well as
tomorrow's speech. But I think you can expect that the --
Q Might it be dominated by Iraq?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, again, we're not at the point where we're
previewing the State of the Union. But the President, every year, puts
forward bold proposals for the American people. And I think you can
expect the same this year.
Q Scott, is it working to the United States' detriment of being
this welcoming society, as we've seen situations like 9/11 happen and
possibly another imminent terrorist attack. Some critics are saying
that it is.
MR. McCLELLAN: Some critics are saying what?
Q It's working towards the United States' detriment in being
this welcoming society, because we're still too open. What's the White
House comment?
MR. McCLELLAN: My response is what I said a minute ago. We have
to remember that we are a nation of immigrants and that we should
continue to be a welcoming society. The President has long been
committed to making sure that we are a welcoming society that welcomes
people who seek to come here for the right reasons. At the same time,
we do live in a post-September 11th world, and it's important that we
continue to do everything we can to protect the American people. And
that's exactly what we have been doing. We've gone to extraordinary
steps to make our border more secure.
Q Can I follow up on that?
MR. McCLELLAN: Yes.
Q Some members of Congress, especially Democrats, are saying
that the President will use the President of Mexico on Monday, at their
meeting in Monterrey, to continue talking about the reform of
immigrations, with the only purpose to attract the Hispanic vote for
his re-election. Can you respond to those criticisms by --
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think you need to look at the President's
record, one, going back to his days as Governor of Texas, and two, the
fact that he has been talking about this for quite some time. The
President makes decisions based on what is the right policy for the
American people. And this policy is talking about addressing an
economic need.
Q What should be the main topic on immigration with the
President of Mexico to discuss? I mean, in September 2001, President
Fox made the announcement that he wants a big immigration accord with
the United States. And then the President broke his promises because
of September 11th --
MR. McCLELLAN: Oh, no, I wouldn't look at it that way. Obviously,
September 11th happened and there were immediate needs that needed to
be addressed, and that's exactly what we have been doing. I think
that, one, you start with the Department of Homeland Security, the
largest reorganization in some 50 years of the United States
government. That was done in order to make sure that our number one
priority is the protection of the American people, and making sure that
we are doing everything we can to prevent attacks from happening in the
first place.
At the same time, we are a free society. We are a society that was
built on people coming to this country to seek a better life. And we
must continue to be a welcoming society, a society that is open to
those who seek to come here for the right reasons, while we are, at the
same time, doing everything we can to prevent those who seek to come
here to carry out terrorist activity. And that's exactly what we have
been doing.
Q Scott, would you classify, though, what he's going to propose
tomorrow as reform, or is it minor twisting? Because reform obviously
implies -- from Congress.
MR. McCLELLAN: You've heard him talk about some sort of temporary
worker program that would match willing workers with willing
employers. I think I've given you the broad approach that the
President has talked about. We are going to be providing you more
detailed briefing information at some point, as we get closer to the
speech. And I'm not going to sit here at this podium today and preempt
the President's announcement tomorrow. I think it's an important
speech and I think you should let the President make his remarks
tomorrow.
Q -- demand for this. Where? What area?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we have other temporary worker programs,
Helen, that are already in place, because there are employers who are
seeking to fill jobs that Americans, for whatever reason, are not
willing to take. But there are people that are willing to come to this
country and fill those needs. I think you can probably talk to the
immigration folks over at the Department of Homeland Security about
some of those specific jobs. And you can look back at other programs,
like the H2A visa program and the H1B visa programs that are about
temporary workers.
Q The President, on Christmas Eve, greeted those who celebrate
Kwanzaa, which the Washington Post two days later reported "was created
by a California educator and activist in 1966." But The Post failed to
report that five years after Ron Karenga invented Kwanzaa, he was sent
to prison for torturing two black women while his gang killed two Black
Panthers. And my question, first of two --
MR. McCLELLAN: Is it a question or a statement, Les?
Q No, no, it's a question. Why did the President, who opposes
terrorism, salute anything invented by such a criminal as Karenga?
MR. McCLELLAN: I think for the reason stated in the proclamation,
as he did with other religions -- with other religions.
Q Scott, does the President fault Israel for the attack on the
USS Liberty?
MR. McCLELLAN: Les, I think this has come up before, and it's been
addressed previously by this administration. Go ahead.
Q When did they address it? What did they say, Scott? Can you
clarify?
MR. McCLELLAN: Les, we've been through this before.
Q Does the President believe there's an important distinction
between legal immigration and illegal immigration? And if so, how is
that consistent with a proposal that appeared to have at least some
kind of amnesty involved in his proposal --
MR. McCLELLAN: No, no, no. Again, I think the President has made
it very clear that we are not talking about blanket amnesty. What we
are talking about is meeting an economic need. And I think Governor
Ridge -- or Secretary Ridge has spoken about this recently, as well,
that there are a number of people that are in this country illegally,
and we need to look at addressing this issue in a way that meets our
economic needs.
Q But is there some sort of -- you used the word, blanket
amnesty.
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, one, this is not a preview of the speech for
tomorrow. We're going to let the President have -- make his remarks on
his approach, and we're going to have more to say about this as we get
closer to that speech, and we'll talk about some of those very issues.
Q What does the President want to accomplish at the Summit next
week?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, and again, on Mexico, the trip to Mexico,
we're going to be briefing on that later this week, and I think we'll
have more to say about it at that point.
Q Can you give us a quick sketch --
MR. McCLELLAN: We'll have more to say as we get closer to the trip
next week.
Q When will the briefing be?
MR. McCLELLAN: Probably Friday, but we haven't announced anything
at this point.
Q On immigration, Scott, are we talking about temporary visas
or permanent visas?
MR. McCLELLAN: Again, wait for his remarks tomorrow.
Q Scott, can I ask on the same subject? There's a pool of
illegal immigrants in this country, and there are people outside the
country who would also like to participate in a temporary working
program. Is this what this plan will entail without getting into
details?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, that's now getting into details of the plan.
Go ahead.
Q Scott, while we work on immigration reform where it changes
the immigration law, that's fine and dandy, but what pressure are we
putting on Mexico to actually seal up its borders while we patrol our
side of the border, as well?
MR. McCLELLAN: We have been working closely with Mexico on, what I
said earlier, on a more humane, safe, orderly and legal migration
policy. Now, this is something the President -- the President was
working with Mexico on these issues when he was governor of Texas.
Q Are we seeing any positive steps by Mexico that they're
actually doing anything?
MR. McCLELLAN: We continue to work on those issues. I don't have
specifics to talk to you about here today from this podium, but those
are issues we've been working very closely on with Mexico.
Q Going back to the leak investigation. What will the
President do if members of his staff are reluctant or refuse to sign
waiver forms?
MR. McCLELLAN: Again, you're asking a specific question about an
ongoing investigation. If you have specific questions, you should
direct that to the career officials at the Department of Justice. The
President has made it very clear that he wants the White House to
cooperate fully. I don't think he can be any clearer than that, when
he says, I want the White House to cooperate fully with the career
officials because I want to get to the bottom of this, I want to know
the truth.
Q The President also said fairly early on that he thought it
was unlikely that we would find out who the leaker was. Does he still
feel that way?
MR. McCLELLAN: I think we need to let the investigation continue.
And, as the President said, as well, he said anyone who has information
that can help the investigators get to the bottom of this should
provide that information to the career officials at the Department of
Justice. The President feels that it would be great if we could get to
the bottom of this, because leaking classified information is a serious
matter. That's what the President feels.
Q Scott, the Labor Department is apparently offering advice on
how to cut costs of low income -- newly eligible low income workers
into the work force, and that includes overtime pay. Some are saying
that as clearly -- just abusing these low income workers and taking
their overtime pay. What does the White House --
MR. McCLELLAN: One, I think you're talking about an economic
analysis that's required under the rulemaking process, what you're
specifically referring to there. And, remember, this is a proposed
rule -- the proposed rule by the Department of Labor would restore
overtime protections that have eroded over five decades to millions of
white-collar workers who deserve overtime protection today and are not
protected by the current rules. And this proposal would guarantee
overtime to 1.3 million more low wage workers.
It would help simplify the rules and make them more relevant to our
modern work force. It will enable the Department of Labor to be better
equipped to enforce the law to protect more workers. It will enable
the Department of Labor to make sure that workers better understand
their rights under the law, and that employers understand their
obligations and pay their employees properly.
Q So let me get this right. If you work beyond your required
hours, it's okay for the employer to take away --
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, first of all, this is relating to
white-collar workers. Let me be very clear on that. The proposed
overtime --
Q -- white-collar or blue-collar --
MR. McCLELLAN: The proposed overtime rule does not impact hourly
workers or blue-collar workers, and that would include police and
firefighters, nor would it impact the status of nurses or first
responders.
Q But, Scott, just because it's white-collar, it's still taking
away overtime. It doesn't matter if it's white-collar, blue-collar --
MR. McCLELLAN: No, no, I just pointed out that these overtime
protections would guarantee overtime to 1.3 million more low-wage
workers. I think the specific question you asked about in the
beginning was just an economic analysis that's required under the law
to provide employers with options to comply with that law.
Thank you.
END 1:28 P.M. EST
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