For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
February 22, 2001
Press Conference by the President
The James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
Listen to the President's Remarks
2:40 P.M. EST
THE
PRESIDENT: Good afternoon. It's been about a
month now since I've taken office, and I thought it appropriate to come
by and have a press conference. Before I do so, though, I'd
like to make a few comments.
One of my
missions has been to change the tone here in the Nation's Capital to
encourage civil discourse. I think we're making pretty good
progress. I want to thank the Democrats and the Republicans
who have been coming up to the White House to hear me make my
case. I appreciate their responsiveness. I just
hope they vote for my agenda that I'll be submitting next week in a
budget address to the Congress.
I have a
reasonable and balanced budget. It meets growing needs with
a responsible rate of increase in spending. It funds
priorities. And my administration has no higher priority
than education.
Yesterday I
announced that the Department of Education will receive the largest
percentage increase of any department in the federal government, a
little more than an 11 percent increase. But with new money
will come high expectations. We must insist on results and
support programs that work. It is in the best interests of
American children that we reform our public schools by having strong
accountability at its core.
Our budget
will honor commitments of America's senior citizens. Social Security
and Medicare funds will be protected for Social Security and
Medicare. We're now spending $216 billion on
Medicare. Under my budget, Medicare spending will increase
by more than $21 billion in 2002. My budget also locks away $2.6
trillion of the $5.6 trillion surplus for Social Security over the next
10 years.
Our budget
is fiscally responsible. If enacted, it will reduce debt by
an unprecedented amount over the next four
years. Altogether, about 60 percent of the projected federal
surplus will be used to fund priorities and to reduce debt.
After we've
funded our priorities, after we pay down an unprecedented amount of
debt, we'll still have money left over, which leaves us with two
options -- first is to spend it on bigger government, or to return it
to the taxpayers who earned it. I believe it should be
returned to the taxpayers. It's the people's money, and the
government ought to be passing it back after it's met priorities.
It is also
necessary because these are uncertain times -- increasing layoffs,
growing consumer debt, lower consumer confidence -- and lower taxes
will help our economy. This will be a responsible and fair
budget that reflects the nation's priorities. I invite the
American people to listen to what I have to say to the Congress.
I will be
glad to answer any questions you have.
Q Mr.
President, in light of the latest spy scandal, should senior FBI
officials be required to take polygraph tests? And secondly, what, if
any, responsibility should the FBI Director, Louis Freeh, bear for this
breach of national security?
THE
PRESIDENT: I have confidence in Director Freeh. I
think he does a good job. I have confidence in the men and
women who work at the FBI. I am deeply concerned about the
current spy case, as is Director Freeh. He has made the
right move in selecting Judge Webster to review all procedures in the
FBI to make sure that this doesn't happen again. We ought to
be concerned about espionage in America. In the statement I
made the other day, I said we will be diligent; we will find spies, and
we will prosecute them. I am pleased that they caught the
spy. Now the courts must act.
Q Polygraphs
-- do we need polygraphs, though, to be able to catch them?
THE
PRESIDENT: I look forward to seeing what Judge Webster has
to say. I presume he's going to review that issue and will
make a recommendation to the Director and to me.
Q Mr.
President, do you believe that --
THE
PRESIDENT: It's not your turn, but go
ahead. (Laughter.) Yes, Gregory.
Q Do
you believe that pardons were for sale in the Clinton White
House? And what specifically do you think should be done to
look into, to investigate the circumstances of the President's
brother-in-law accepting money to lobby him on pardons?
THE
PRESIDENT: David, I -- as far as this White House is
concerned, it's time to go forward. I have too much to do to
get a budget passed, to get reforms passed for education, to get a tax
cut passed, to strengthen the military, than to be worrying about
decisions that my predecessor made.
I
understand there's going to be some people on Capitol Hill that are
going to be asking questions. That's their right to do
so. But I can assure you our White House is moving
forward. And to the extent the Justice Department looks into
this matter, it will be done in a non-political way. During
John Ashcroft's confirmation process, I said that the Justice
Department will conduct its business in a non-political way, and we
will do so.
Q Can
I just follow?
THE
PRESIDENT: Yes, David.
Q Other
Presidents are commenting on this matter. On the Rich pardon
specifically, former President Carter said that in his opinion, it was
"disgraceful." Do you not have an opinion on a power that is
absolute and is vested in you as the President?
THE
PRESIDENT: My opinion is I will -- should I decide to grant
pardons, I will do so in a fair way. I'll have the highest
of high standards.
But the
President made the decisions he made, and he can answer the questions
raised by the American citizens and the press corps. This
White House is moving forward. We've got a lot to
do. We've got a lot of people to convince on our
agenda. I think we're making pretty good progress, but
there's a lot of work to be done.
Steve.
Q Mr.
President, do you think that U.S.-Russian relations have been damaged
by the new spy case? And secondly, are the Russians showing
any flexibility on a missile defense system?
THE
PRESIDENT: I intend to deal with Mr. Putin in a very
straightforward way, to be up front with him on all
matters. I am, of course, disturbed about the espionage --
the alleged espionage that took place. I'm mindful that
there are people who don't particularly care what America stands for,
and people who are interested in our secrets.
Secondly, I
was pleased to see comments from Russian leadership that talked about
missile defense. It is a -- their words indicate that they
recognize that there are new threats in the post-Cold War era; threats
that require theater-based antiballistic missile systems. I
felt those words were encouraging.
When I meet
with Mr. Putin I'm going to talk to him about exactly what he meant by
those words. We have no meeting set up yet, I might add.
But I took that to be encouraging, Steve. It reminded me of
what happened after I met with Mr. Ivanov. Shortly
thereafter, Mr. Putin also talked about theater-based systems and the
ability to intercept missiles on launch. And to me, it's
indicative of his recognition of the realities of the true threats in
the post-Cold War era -- threats from an accidental launch, or threats
as a result of a leader in what they call a rogue nation, trying to
hold ourselves or our allies or Russia, for that matter,
hostage. So I was pleased with what I saw.
John.
Q Sir,
the Secretary of State is departing for the Middle East
tomorrow. One of the things that he will be discussing with
Middle East leaders is the possibility of modifying sanctions on Iraq,
and I'm wondering what message he will take from this administration to
leaders in the Middle East in the area of sanctions that matter,
sanctions that are effective on the regime, but do not carry with them
the same level of criticism that current sanctions have had in that
they affect the Iraqi civilian population more than they do the regime,
sir.
THE
PRESIDENT: We're reviewing all policy in all regions of the
world, and one of the areas we've been spending a lot of time on is the
Persian Gulf and the Middle East. The Secretary of State is
going to go listen to our allies as to how best to effect a policy, the
primary goal of which will be to say to Saddam Hussein, we won't
tolerate you developing weapons of mass destruction and we expect you
to leave your neighbors alone.
I have said
that the sanction regime is like Swiss cheese. That meant
that they weren't very effective. And we're going to review
current sanction policy, and review options as to how to make the
sanctions work. But the primary goal is to make it clear to Saddam
that we expect him to be a peaceful neighbor in the region and we
expect him not to develop weapons of mass destruction. And
if we find him doing so, there will be a consequence.
We took
action last week, and it may be on your mind as to that decision I
made. The mission was twofold -- one was to send him a clear
message that this administration will remain engaged in that part of
the world. I think we accomplished that
mission. We got his attention.
And
secondly, the mission was to degrade his capacity to harm our pilots
who might be flying in the no-fly zone. And we accomplished
that mission, as well.
Q Sir,
if I could follow up --
THE
PRESIDENT: Yes, John, go ahead.
Q How
would you characterize sanctions that work, sir?
THE
PRESIDENT: Sanctions that work are sanctions that when a --
the collective will of the region supports the policy; that we have a
coalition of countries that agree with the policy set out by the United
States. To me, that's the most effective form of sanctions.
Many
nations in that part of the world aren't adhering to the sanction
policy that had been in place, and as a result, a lot of goods are
heading into Iraq that were not supposed to. And so, good
sanction policy is one where the United States is able to build a
coalition around the strategy.
Yes,
ma'am.
Q Mr.
President, if I can go back to the controversy surrounding former
President Clinton and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton -- are you at all
concerned that these controversies are serving as a distraction for
your administration's agenda? Are you concerned that further
congressional hearings will mean that lawmakers are spending more time
on those matters than on working on your policies?
THE
PRESIDENT: I -- as I've said earlier, I've got a lot of work
to do, and I think I've got the Congress' attention. I
certainly hope so. There has been a lot of discussion about tax
relief, and I'm pleased with the progress being made on that important
subject. There's a lot of hot debate that have already taken
place, and we've just begun to make the case. I'm beginning
to travel around the country to important states -- all the states are
important, of course, but some states may be more important than others
right now in trying to convince some lawmakers to hear the message of
the people.
This is an
issue that affects everybody who pays taxes. Congress is
listening to the debate. They're participating in the
debate. There's a lot of discussion about education reform
on the Hill, and I'm confident that the focus will be the right
focus. And my speech Tuesday night I hope will help keep the
focus on the agenda.
Yes,
ma'am. You're next.
Q Mr.
President, why do you refuse to respect the wall between the church and
state? And you know that the mixing of religion and
government for centuries has led to slaughter. I mean, the
very fact that our country has stood in good stead by having the
separation -- why do you break it down?
THE
PRESIDENT: Helen, I strongly respect the separation of
church and state --
Q Well,
you wouldn't have a religious office in the White House if you did.
THE
PRESIDENT: I didn't get to finish my answer, in all due
respect. I believe that so long as there's a secular
alternative available, we ought to allow individuals who are helping to
be able to choose a program that may be run by a faith-based program --
or will be run by a faith-based program.
I
understand full well that some of the most compassionate missions of
help and aid come out of faith-based programs. And I
strongly support the faith-based initiative that we're proposing,
because I don't believe it violates the line between the separation of
church and state, and I believe it's going to make America a better
place.
Q Well,
you are a secular official.
THE
PRESIDENT: I agree, I am a secular official.
Q And
not a missionary.
Q Sir,
on the air strikes in Iraq, the Pentagon is now saying that most of the
bombs used in those strikes missed their targets. Given
that, what is now your assessment of how successful those strikes
were? How much danger do the remaining installations that we missed in
those strikes pose to our forces? And would you hit them
again if commanders in the field asked for authorization to do so?
THE
PRESIDENT: I -- we had two missions. One was to
send a clear signal to Saddam, and the other was to degrade the
capacity of Saddam to injure our pilots. I believe we
succeeded in both those missions.
The bomb
assessment damage report is ongoing, and I look forward to hear what
the Pentagon has to say as they fully assess, completely assess the
mission. And I will continue to listen to the commanders in
the field. My job as Commander in Chief is to get input from
the commanders in the field, and we will do everything needed to
protect our pilots, to protect the men and women who wear the uniform.
Q You
said that your $1.6 trillion tax cut is reasonable and responsible
within the outlines of the budget you're going to
present. If, when that gets to Congress, things start
getting layered on to it, like corporate tax cuts, capital gains, would
you still support it? And if it reached your desk at a
higher level, would you sign it?
THE
PRESIDENT: As you know, I shy away from hypotheticals,
Pancho. I'm going to resist the Christmas tree effect of tax
policy. I don't want people putting ornaments on my
plan. I have made it clear to the business interests that
the best tax policy is one that reduces the taxes on the people, and I
hope they listen to me and I hope they help me get the tax plan through
that I have proposed.
And the
reason I feel so strongly about that is, one, a marginal cut will help
the economy. Secondly, I am deeply concerned about high
energy prices and their effect on the working people in the country.
I am
concerned about consumer debt. I know there's a lot of talk
in Washington about paying down the national debt, and that's fine and
good, and our budget will do so. But I am very concerned
about the fact that a lot of consumers in our country have got high
consumer debt. And I believe we need to share some of their
money with them so they can help manage their own personal
finances. And I will resist the temptation by folks to pile
on their pet projects on to our tax cut.
Q But
if they do pile on?
THE
PRESIDENT: Well, first of all, I'm not willing to admit
defeat right here before I've begun to fight, or persuade
-- let me put it to you that way. I think I've got a pretty
good case, and I think that many of the business interests will hear
that case.
Yes, sir.
Q You've
shown a lot of interest in Latin America issues. I have a
double question for you. The first one has to do with
Colombia. There's a big meeting on Tuesday with President Pastrana,
and a lot of people are still worried about the implications of Plan
Colombia, which your predecessor set in motion, about possible future
military involvement of the United States. I want to know
your impressions of Plan Colombia.
And my
second question has to do with the Free Trade Agreement for Latin
America. You're going to be going to Quebec in
April. Are you going to ask for fast track approval so this
thing can get going again, because it's been kind of dormant lately?
THE
PRESIDENT: I appreciate that question. I'd love
to have fast track approval. I think it's going to be
important to work with our neighbors to the south, and Canada to the
north, to promote free trade throughout the Hemisphere.
I spoke to
the Prime Minister of Canada this morning, and that subject came up,
about the summit, upcoming summit. And so we're going to
begin the process in Congress. Ambassador Zoellick will be
working with members of Congress to lay the groundwork for the ability
for the President to have what they call fast track negotiating
authority.
Secondly, I
look forward to my meeting with President Pastrana. I'm looking
forward to the briefing that he'll be bringing from Colombia. And I,
too, am worried about ever committing the United States military to an
engagement in that part of the world. I know we're training,
and that's fine, but the mission ought to be limited to just
that. And so I share the concern of those who are worried
that at some point in time the United States might become militarily
engaged.
Now, in
terms of the success of the mission, the President's going to bring me
his firsthand account of what's taking place in the
country. I am concerned about the amount of acreage in
cultivation for the growth of coca leaves. We've got to do a
better job of working with the Colombia government on its eradication
program.
I had a
long talk about the Andes with President Fox. I'm convinced
President Fox will be a stabilizing influence for that part of the
world. Fortunately, we've got a good relationship so that he
will share with me his insights as things develop. He has
had meetings with Mr. Pastrana and Mr. Chavez. And I
believe Vicente Fox is going to be a stabilizing influence and a
positive influence on the Andes.
Jim.
Q Mr.
President, on Iraq, what is your understanding of the Chinese presence
in Iraq, especially with regard to constructing military
facilities? And do you see anything that you see as a
violation of U.N. sanctions?
THE
PRESIDENT: We're concerned about the Chinese presence in
Iraq, and we are -- my administration is sending the appropriate
response to the Chinese. Yes, it's troubling that they'd be
involved in helping Iraq develop a system that will endanger our
pilots.
Q That
is what they're doing, sir, you're convinced that is --
THE
PRESIDENT: We think that may be the case. Let me
just tell you this -- it's risen to the level where we're going to send
a message to the Chinese.
Let's
see. Kelly Wallace.
Q Oh,
I get a second one?
Q Mr.
President, when you campaigned -- I know you want to move forward on
this question of pardons -- but when you campaigned, you talked about
the legacy of the '60s, where leaders didn't stand up and take their
moral role and say something had been done wrong here. You
want to move forward, but on the question of these pardons, do you feel
there's any moral obligation, in terms of your office, to stand up and
say to those who may be watching this, look, something has been done
wrong here?
THE
PRESIDENT: I think the press corps will ferret out any
wrong-doings. My job is to assure the American people that
this administration will have the highest ethical
standards. And we're going to move forward. The
President made decisions he made, and I made the decision in this White
House to move forward. And we will.
Q President
Bush, given the questions that are being raised about the involvement
of Senator Hillary Clinton's brother in the pardons process, what kind
of guidance would you give members of your own politically-active
family in not only seeking pardons, but seeking any other influence on
any other issues with your administration?
THE
PRESIDENT: My guidance to them is, behave
yourself. And they will.
Q Mr.
President, to follow up on your answer on the tax question, perhaps
looking at it the other way, some people are saying that perhaps it's
too large a tax cut.
THE
PRESIDENT: Some are saying it's too small, some are saying
it's too large, and I'm saying it's just right.
Q But
are you willing --
THE
PRESIDENT: Let him have another. I interrupted
him.
Q You
were not willing to be flexible in terms of people who want to increase
the size. Are you willing to be flexible with people who
want to lower the size of your tax cut?
THE
PRESIDENT: I think it's just right. We've
thought long and hard about the right number. This is a
well-planned-out tax relief package that addresses the concerns of
working Americans. It is needed; it is necessary; it will
make a very positive difference in the lives of people who pay
taxes. And our country can afford it.
There is a
choice we have to make: Once we meet priorities, do we
increase the size of the government, or do we increase the amount of
money in the pockets of the people who are working for a
living? It is the right size, and it is the right time for
tax relief in the country.
Bill. And
then you're next.
Q And
on that same subject --
THE
PRESIDENT: Yes, sir.
Q --
your tax and budget package, how can you be sure that, as you put it,
there will be money left over? All it would take would be a
less than one percentage point drop in productivity for that out-year
surplus to dwindle, or maybe even vanish. And also, nobody,
including Alan Greenspan, thinks that it would provide much of a
current stimulus.
THE
PRESIDENT: First of all, I think given the choice between
increasing the baselines of the budget, to the extent to which it had
been increased the past, and passing money back to the people, I think
Mr. Greenspan -- not to put words in his mouth -- but it seems like --
why I don't just put some words in his mouth -- (laughter) -- it seems
like what he said in his testimony is he would rather see tax relief
rather than increasing the size of the budgets beyond the needs of the
country.
Secondly, I
believe we can do a heck of a lot better in growing our economy than
the basic assumptions in the 10-year plan. I believe that
good monetary policy, good fiscal policy, good regulatory policy, good
trade policy will enable our economy to grow beyond the scope that is
envisioned in the current budget projections.
Secondly, I
believe as well that if we don't pass some of the money back to the
people that pay the bills, it is going to be spent. And I
worry about a bloated federal government serving as a drag on economic
growth.
Q Mr.
President, you have a meeting with Prime Minster Blair tomorrow --
THE
PRESIDENT: Correct.
Q --
there are some concerns in this country about the European plan for
what they call a rapid-reaction force, their own military
capability. What will you tell Prime Minister Blair about
the American attitude to this rapid-reaction force?
THE
PRESIDENT: I, first, look forward to the
visit. I'm anxious to meet the Prime
Minister. We've had a couple of good conversations on the
telephone. I'm thankful that he's coming across the --
actually coming down from Canada -- but coming across to see, to visit
us. Laura and I are looking to having a private dinner with
he and Mrs. Blair Friday night. We'll be having a press availability
after our meeting, and --
Q I
know, but I think a lot of people would like to --
THE
PRESIDENT: Well, why don't we wait until after he and I
visit, so I don't have to give the same answer twice.
Q But
just on the whole outline of the question of the European defense
capability --
THE
PRESIDENT: You bet. I understand, you're trying
to get me to tell you the answer
twice. (Laughter.) Britain and the United States
have got a special relationship; we'll keep it that way. I
look forward to talking to the Prime Minister about the importance of
NATO. It is -- anyway, let me visit with him
first. I promise to call upon you tomorrow. Nice try.
Q Mr.
President, you've talked a lot about areas of the budget that are going
to increase -- education; today you talked about Medicare; you've
talked before a little bit about defense. You haven't talked
much about the areas where, to come in with a budget that's going to be
responsible, you'll have to do some cuts.
THE
PRESIDENT: Yes.
Q Where
might we see you take the red pen to the budget?
THE
PRESIDENT: Let me remind you, and the people who are
listening, that accounting in Washington is a little different than the
way normal -- I shouldn't say "normal" people -- the average person
accounts. This is a town where if you don't increase the budget by an
expected number, it's considered a cut.
We're going
to slow the rate of growth of the budget down. It should
come to no surprise to anybody that my budget is going to say loud and
clear that the rate of growth of the budget, for example, from last
year, was excessive. And so we'll be slowing the rate of
growth of the budget down. That, evidently, is a
cut. In my parlance, it's not a cut -- when you increase
spending, it's not a cut.
I will be
glad to explain some of the slowdowns and some of the increases and
perhaps a decrease or two after we put the budget out. Let
me submit it on Tuesday and then I'll be glad to answer your
questions.
Thank you
for this. I look forward to this -- I look forward to future
press conferences --
Q Frequently? (Laughter.)
THE
PRESIDENT: Well, yes, of course. (Laughter.)
Q Once
a week?
THE
PRESIDENT: Well, you don't want to see me once a week.
You'll run out of questions.
Q Twice
a week?
THE
PRESIDENT: Oh, twice? (Laughter.) I'll
be running out of ties. (Laughter.) Thank you
very much.
Q Thanks
for coming.
END 3:10
P.M. EST
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