For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 26, 2001
Remarks by the President in Photo Opportunity with Governors
The Roosevelt Room
3:00 P.M. EST
THE
PRESIDENT: Let me -- first of all, I want to thank my
governor friends for coming. From all around the country
people came -- from Idaho, from the South. The head of the
National Governors is here, and of course, the soon to be head of the
National Governors. I'm honored you all
came. It's good to see you in a new setting -- for me, at
least.
And
we had a long discussion about education. These governors
made education their number one priority in their state, and obviously
they're keenly aware of the role of federal government. And
we've had a really good discussion about how to make their jobs
easier. And their job is to make sure every child gets
educated, which is the noblest of all calling in America.
So I
appreciate your coming. It's always good to be talking to
people who know what they're talking about. And when it
comes to public education, governors really understand the
subject. So I'm grateful you're here. I'll be
glad to answer a few questions.
Q Mr.
President, are you offended, sir, by the reports of vandal -- acts of
vandalism by outgoing members of the Clinton administration?
THE
PRESIDENT: I'm so happy to be here --
(laughter) -- that I'm looking
forward. There might have been a prank or two, maybe
somebody put a cartoon on the wall -- that's okay. It's time
now to move forward. It's time to focus our attention on what's
possible and how to get children educated. I'm excited about
what this week has brought. I'm excited about my job.
Q Mr.
President, do you believe that federal money should be used or spent on
fetal tissue or stem cell research derived from induced abortions?
THE
PRESIDENT: No, I don't.
Q Will
you have an executive order to that effect?
THE
PRESIDENT: I believe there's some exciting -- I believe
there's some wonderful opportunities for adult stem cell
research. I believe we can find stem cells from fetuses that
died a natural death. But I do not support research from
aborted fetuses.
Q I
assume that you'll sign an executive order to that or make that the law
of the land?
THE
PRESIDENT: I'll let you know when I decide all policy
decisions. But I do not -- to answer your question, the
answer is no.
Q Mr.
President, have you responded to President Putin's
letter? And do you plan to review Russian relations with the
United States before you go forward in any arms control talks?
THE
PRESIDENT: I have not responded to the letter
yet. I will, of course. I read about it -- I
might have even read about it before it hit
Washington. (Laughter.)
What was
the second half of your question?
Q Do
you plan to review the U.S. relations with the Russians before you
start up on arms control talks?
THE
PRESIDENT: Well, you may remember in the campaign I talked
about two aspects about arms. One was that I am going to go
forward with, along with Secretary Rumsfeld, about plans for a missile
defense system. But I also said that I think it's important for us,
commensurate with our ability to keep the peace, to reduce our nuclear
arsenal on our own. And I'm going to fulfill that campaign
promise.
That may --
we'll see how that affects possible arms talks. My point is,
is that I want America to lead the nation -- lead the world toward a
more safe world when it comes to nuclear weaponry. On the
offensive side, we can do so. And we can do so on the
defensive side, as well.
Q Mr.
President, it's the end of your first week.
MR.
JOHNDROE: Thank you. Lights.
THE
PRESIDENT: Wait a minute, this may be this -- (laughter.)
End of my first week? Yes.
Q It's
the end of your first week. How do you think it's
going? How are you settling in? And were there
any surprises?
THE
PRESIDENT: Oh, let's see. Well, first of all,
it's been a great week. I'm excited about my
job. I really appreciate -- I guess the biggest, most
pleasant surprise, if you'd call it that, was how receptive members of
Congress are to come here to the White House to talk about how we can
work together. I really appreciate both Republicans and
Democrats coming. I think we've met with 90 members of
Congress here in the first week. And I think, to a person,
that they're interested in figuring out if we can't exceed the
expectations that now exist around the country that nothing is going to
get done.
I'm honored
to be here, and I'm looking forward to welcoming former President Bush
back to his old residence. He's just not going to be
sleeping in the master suite this time around. (Laughter.)
Q When's
he coming? When's he coming?
THE
PRESIDENT: He's coming today.
Q How
about settling in on a personal basis, on your personal
life? Are you settling in --
THE
PRESIDENT: My personal life, we're great. The
dogs -- the best news is the dogs seem to have adjusted. The
cat that was howling on the first night is now more comfortable with
her territory, and so she's sleeping through the night. My
wife is going to make a great First Lady; she is just as comfortable as
she can be with people, no matter if they're with a fancy title, or
not.
And
the White House staff is just remarkably generous people. And we're
settling in. And it's a huge honor to live in the people's
house. And I understand the honor. And I'm going
to uphold the honor.
THE
PRESS: Thank you, Mr. President.
END 3:08 P.M. EST
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