For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 30, 2001
Press Briefing by Scott McClellan
The James S. Brady Briefing Room
- Travel, personnel announcements
- Visits
of
foreign leaders
- Phone calls to
foreign leaders
- Cynthia Johnson/last
day
- Tax cut
plan/retroactivity
- Campaign finance
reform/McCain plan, Hagel plan
- Real IRA/terrorist
organization?
- Bankruptcy
bill
- Visit with Irish
leaders/Ian Paisley
- Carol Keaton
Rylander
- OPEC/oil cut, energy crisis
- Clean Power Act of
2001
- Week
Ahead
- Meeting with
Prime Minister Mori
- Secretary Abraham's
speech
1:35 P.M. EST
MR.
MCCLELLAN: Good afternoon. Let me start with a
few announcements. The President today announced his
intention to nominate three individuals to serve in the
administration. The President intends to nominate Samuel W. Bodman to be Deputy Secretary of Commerce. The President
intends to nominate Ann Laine Combs to be Assistant Secretary of
Labor. And the President intends to nominate Kathleen B.
Cooper to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs.
I've a few
other announcements. The President will be traveling to
Quebec City April 20 through 22 for the third Summit of the Americas.
The summit will provide an opportunity for the democratically elected
leaders of the hemisphere to meet together to discuss our shared
interest in strengthening democracy and promoting prosperity through
free trade.
The
President's trip to Canada will also afford him the opportunity to
discuss bilateral and regional priorities with hemispheric partners.
President
Bush will also travel to Asia in October. The President will
visit Japan and the Republic of Korea, before continuing on to China
for the APEC summit in Shanghai and subsequent travel to Beijing.
Itinerary details are not finalized at this time.
And the
President will meet with His Majesty King Juan Carlos, I of Spain on
March 22. Spain is a close NATO ally, making important
contributions to stability, security and prosperous in the
Euro-Atlantic area, and the visit will reaffirm the strong bonds of
friendship and cooperation between Spain and the United States.
I have
three calls to announce. The President made three additional
introductory telephone calls. He spoke with the Amir of
Bahrain yesterday. This morning he spoke with the Syrian
President Assad and with the Swedish Prime Minister
Persson. In all three, the calls were the first time the
President has had occasion to speak with the leaders, and they were
get-acquainted calls.
And I have
one more announcement before I open it up to
questions. Cynthia Johnson, as many of you know, with Time
Magazine, has covered the White House for the better part of the past
couple of decades, will be -- this will be her last day
here. And where is Cynthia? Is she in
here? Well, sorry that she missed this. But we
wish her all the best and we will definitely miss her.
With that,
I will be happy to take questions. (Applause.)
Q Scott,
on tax cuts, is the White House amenable to what appears to be growing
momentum in the Senate at least to front-load the tax cut perhaps in
the first year, even if that were to increase the overall size of the
package to provide more of a stimulus?
MR.
MCCLELLAN: Well, again, it won't necessarily make it bigger,
because you can make adjustments along the way. The
President submitted, as part of his budget, submitted a $1.6 trillion
tax plan over a 10-year period. And he is committed to
passing that tax cut. The President, at the same time,
believes that we need to get more money in people's pockets
quicker. And that's why he supports making the tax cut
retroactive, to give the economy a needed boost.
And as you
will probably notice, in that same article today, I saw where even a
number of the Democrats agree. Specifically, Senator Conrad
mentioned that he believes we need to get more money into people's
pockets quicker.
Q Okay,
let me just follow on that, because you're right, there is some
bipartisan agreement on that. But what's been talked about
in terms of retroactivity so far has been at least fairly
limited. I mean, this would be a kind of consolidation of
the first five years. Rather than phasing in in 2006 all the
income rate cuts, you could actually do that effective to 2001, which
would cost a little bit more than $100 billion. So is that on the
table?
MR.
McCLELLAN: Well, let me tell you what is on the table, and
that is that we are going to continue to work with Congress to make the
tax cut retroactive. So these are ongoing discussions as we
work through the legislative process. And we are committed
to making that happen.
Now, as I
pointed out, the adjustments could happen in the
phase-in. You can adjust the phase-in to make it fit within
that $1.6 trillion. But again, President Bush is going to
continue pushing for a $1.6 trillion tax plan over a 10-year period.
Q But
it also could ultimately make it more expensive?
MR.
McCLELLAN: Well again, not necessarily, because of the
adjustments that are possible. So we'll continue to work
with Congress on this issue.
Q Scott,
was there anything inaccurate about that article that you're referring
to?
MR.
MCCLELLAN: I think I've addressed the question, and I'm
speaking for the President's position. And we look forward
to work with Congress and to give this economy a needed boost by
getting that money into the people's pockets quicker. This is about
providing meaningful relief to the American people.
The
President understands the concerns of the American people, the concerns
about their savings, the concerns about their financial situation at
this state. And we need to do everything we can to help get
more money into their pockets as soon as possible.
Q Nobody
is denying this article or the suggestion that --
MR.
MCCLELLAN: Let me come back to you.
Q Isn't
it a major break between the Republican Party if Senator McCain's name
would be taken off from campaign finance reform just because the
President was not really more able to cut a deal with him?
MR.
MCCLELLAN: I'm sorry, you're saying --
Q Wouldn't
that be a major break in the Republican Party if Senator McCain's name
would be taken off campaign finance reform just because he wasn't able
-- or the President wasn't able to cut a deal with him?
MR.
MCCLELLAN: Well, again, the President submitted his
principles yesterday so that the Congress would know where he stands on
campaign finance reform. And we look forward to signing a
fair and balanced campaign finance reform that is based on those
principles. And so we will work with Congress.
Q It
certainly won't be McCain-Feingold any longer. It may be
Hagel, may be something else. Do you think McCain's ideas
could be incorporated into the President's proposal?
MR.
MCCLELLAN: Well, again, the President put forth his
principles yesterday so that the American people would know and the
Congress would know exactly where he stood on this
issue. These are principles he outlined during the
campaign. He supports campaign finance reform, and we look
forward to signing a fair and balanced bill that is based on those
principles. And we will continue working with all members of
Congress to do that.
Q Since
I remember you being designated to answer questions on justice, in this
case of United States versus --
MR.
MCCLELLAN: And I notice that we have Mindy Tucker here
today. She's probably going to go hide back
there. (Laughter.)
Q In
this case of United States versus Aramony, this one-time CEO of United
Way, is serving a 7-year prison sentence, among the reasons because he,
and I quote, improperly used nonprofit organization money to further
Aramony's relationships with various women and personal travel expenses
incurred by him and one of his girlfriends so she could join him in
London on a business trip. That's a quote. And my
question is, given President Bush's constitutional obligation to take
care that the laws be faithfully executed, without regard to race, of
course, why is Jesse Jackson not even investigated by the Bush
administration when he used similarly nonprofit funds to give to the
mistress that he impregnated?
MR.
MCCLELLAN: Well, again, I think on that question, if you're
talking about an ongoing investigation there at the beginning --
Q Is
there any investigation? Does the Bush administration care
about this, or not?
MR.
MCCLELLAN: Any questions relating to any investigation or
potential investigation would be handled by the Justice Department.
Q Is
the President concerned?
MR.
MCCLELLAN: I haven't addressed that with him, but I'll be
glad to take that up.
Q Could
you address Senator Daschle's comments yesterday that the White House's
position on campaign financing and its apparent suggestion that the
Hagel bill might be a better alternative is actually, in his words, a
Trojan horse, that if Hagel becomes the vehicle, Democrat support will
fall off, campaign finance will, in effect, go nowhere, and at the end
of the process there won't be a signable bill. Could you
explain that assessment of Senator Daschle?
MR.
McCLELLAN: Well, I think we believe that the President will
be able to sign a fair and balanced campaign finance reform bill, and
we'll look forward to doing so. And we will continue to work
with members on that effort. But it's early in the process
right now. The debate begins next week, and this is an
important debate to have.
Q The
British papers are reporting that you guys are ready to name the Real
IRA a foreign terrorist organization. Do you have anything
on that?
MR.
McCLELLAN: I don't. If you have something to
bring to my attention, let me know, and we'll check on it for you.
Q On
the bankruptcy bill, Scott, the President's view of its passage now and
its potential impact?
MR.
McCLELLAN: Well, as I addressed earlier today, the President
is very encouraged by the common sense -- by the quick action by the
Congress and the common-sense reforms that are moving along the way to
end the abuses in our bankruptcy protections. So it's an
important bill. They had bipartisan compromise on this bill
previously. And we'll look forward to seeing it when it
reaches his desk.
Q Scott,
there is some suggestions from Democrats in the Senate that a
conference committee may not proceed on that because of some objections
they had if the House determines that they're not receptive to some of
the last-minute amendments the Senate passed. Does the
administration have an opinion on some of those last-minute amendments,
as to whether or not they should be incorporated into the final bill,
and the President would sign those?
MR.
McCLELLAN: It's still early in the process, as it heads to
conference committee. So we need to see what happens
there. But again, the President is encouraged that Congress
is moving quickly and passing common-sense reforms that will end abuses
in the system. That's an important --
Q But
if there's no conference committee, you could have a very protracted,
drawn-out process. If the President believes it's such a
priority, does the administration have an opinion on what should or
should not be in the conference report to get the bill to his desk as
soon as possible?
MR.
McCLELLAN: Well, we'll work with members of Congress and
make our views known. But we need to -- but again, it's
early in the process.
Q Scott,
the debate is largely going to be John McCain's show next
week. How much concern is there over here about potential
attacks from him?
MR.
McCLELLAN: The President has discussed campaign finance
reform with Senator McCain, as you're aware, and with other members of
Congress. And I believe, like I said earlier, that this is
an important debate to have. And we're going to continue to
work closely with members to pass what we hope will be a fair and
balanced bill that is --
Q But
if McCain goes after him on the Senate floor next week, how might you
all respond?
MR.
McCLELLAN: Well, I think that's a hypothetical, and I'm not
going to get into that hypothetical. Senator McCain's a good
friend, and we will work with him.
Q Yes,
well, your good friend has been a champion for campaign finance reform
since way back when he wasn't such a good friend, in the course of the
primaries. And now, what message do you think it sends that
the President says he wants a campaign finance bill, but to get it,
he's going to back another horse in the fight?
MR.
McCLELLAN: I don't think he said that. He
submitted his principles to Congress, and said that -- and we made it
clear that we're going to work -- continue working with members of
Congress on this legislation.
Q But
he backs the Hagel bill, doesn't he?
MR.
McCLELLAN: We said that we look forward to working with
members of Congress --
Q I
know what you said, but the reality is --
MR.
MCCLELLAN: -- and the principles that he outlined yesterday
--
Q Yes,
but those principles are in line with the Hagel bill.
MR.
MCCLELLAN: -- to strengthen the ability of individuals to
have more of a say in the process, to strengthen parties, and to
promote full disclosure, instant and rapid disclosure.
Q Most
of those principles are anathema to the McCain effort, right?
MR.
McCLELLAN: We believe there's common ground to build upon,
and we think it will be based on those principles.
Q Scott,
give us a readout on the meeting today between Ireland's Prime Minister
and the President?
MR.
McCLELLAN: I think I'll leave that to NSC to address later.
But, I mean, the President spoke earlier. He did meet, let
me point out, with the entire Northern Ireland delegation as well, in
the Blue Room at the beginning of the reception. I think
he's made his remarks earlier today.
Q Did
that include Ian Paisley?
MR.
McCLELLAN: Yes, it included a number of individuals.
Q I
understand you ran a campaign in which you suggested that Carol Keaton
Rylander is one tough grandmother. And I'm wondering if you
can square that with --
MR.
McCLELLAN: Actually, I don't know that I can take credit for
that suggestion, but --
Q Can
you square that with President Bush's pledge to change the tone and
increase civility? (Laughter.)
MR.
McCLELLAN: She's probably watching. I imagine
that my nieces and her grandkids may be as well. But she's
not -- her grandkids would dispute the toughness
of her.
Q How
tough a grandmother is she? Were you responsible for that
line?
MR.
McCLELLAN: She's a pretty tough
leader. (Laughter.)
Q Will
she be running for lieutenant governor next year? (Laughter.)
Q How
did you get the nickname, Scooter? Could you tell us that?
MR.
McCLELLAN: I believe -- I've had other people previously
refer to me as that, but I believe during the campaign, Mr. Burman
there started that one.
Q Scott,
since I remember you also being designated to answer questions on
education, in which the President has great interest. You
may remember that his fellow Republican presidential candidate, Steve
Forbes, cut off all of his substantial financial support to his alma
mater, when they hired Professor Peter Singer, who advocates permission
for infanticide up to 40 days after birth, which I presume, that
President Bush opposes. My question is --
MR.
MCCLELLAN: I'm sorry, could you repeat that part.
Q No,
no --
Q I
presume the President opposes allowing infanticide 40 days after birth,
right? Does the Bush administration --
MR.
MCCLELLAN: Just making sure I'm following you.
Q Does
the Bush administration believe that Mr. Forbes was wrong to do this to
his alma mater, or should $80 million in federal funding continue to be
given to Princeton, whose Professor Singer, the Weekly Standard
reports, has now publicly supported bestiality, as well as
infanticide?
MR.
MCCLELLAN: I'm not familiar with it. I think I'd
refer you to Mr. Forbes if you have a question of him.
Q No,
I want to know, does the President --
MR.
MCCLELLAN: I'm not familiar with what you're referring to.
Q Well,
it was in The Washington Times and here it is. Does the
President feel it's right that --
MR.
MCCLELLAN: I'm not familiar with it. We're going
to move on. Let me move on. Go ahead.
Q With
everything that's been said, I'm confused. Does the
President still back some sort of a repeal of the inheritance tax and
the marriage tax?
MR.
MCCLELLAN: Absolutely. The plan he submitted is
what we're are pursuing and will continue to work to pass that
plan. When the President developed his tax plan, what he did
was look at the inequities in the tax code and the unfairness in the
tax code, and then the $1.6 trillion figure fit that
plan. The first thing he did, though, was look at the
inequities and unfairness in the tax code. And he believes
it's important to pass this tax plan not only to give a boost to the
economy and provide all American taxpayers with tax relief now, but to
make the tax code fairer.
Q So
this is a reduction in the marriage tax --
MR.
MCCLELLAN: Right, and repeal of the estate tax.
Q And
reduction or killing of the estate tax.
MR.
MCCLELLAN: That's right.
Q And
both retroactive to the first of the year?
MR.
MCCLELLAN: Well, the retroactive part we're referring to are
the marginal rate cuts.
Q This
morning OPEC General Secretary Ali Rodriquez said that a million-barrel
cut may in fact not be enough. OPEC next week may have to
cut by more. In light of the President's comments on the
energy crisis, what's the U.S. stance going into this OPEC
meeting? Do we have a viewpoint on what a cut should be?
MR.
MCCLELLAN: I don't think we're going to comment in advance
of every single OPEC meeting. The President is going to --
and I'll address this in the week in advance when I get to it in a
minute -- but the President is committed to pursuing a comprehensive
energy policy that will reduce our reliance on foreign oil by promoting
domestic exploration and production. But, again, every OPEC
meeting I don't think you're going to see us commenting in advance of
it. If there's something to say after it, we will be glad to
discuss it then.
Q Also,
during the conversation with the Amir of Bahrain, did oil prices, oil
cuts come up as part of the discussion?
MR.
MCCLELLAN: It was an introductory courtesy call, and I don't
have any more than -- if I have any more, I will let you know.
Q You
can't give us any idea about whether you're trying to head off this
cut, or what you might be doing, or even if you're doing anything about
it?
MR.
MCCLELLAN: Head off what cut?
Q Cut
in the --
MR.
MCCLELLAN: For OPEC? Well, again, the President
is going to focus on a long-term energy strategy. That's
what we're doing. And we're just not going to weigh in, in
advance of every single OPEC meeting.
Q Are
you doing anything --
MR.
MCCLELLAN: But we talk to OPEC representatives all the time,
OPEC officials.
Q When
are we going to see the energy policy?
MR.
MCCLELLAN: Let me get to the week in advance and give you a
little bit of an update. I will talk about that on Monday.
Q Are
you lobbying against the output cut that OPEC is talking about, in
advance of the meeting?
MR.
MCCLELLAN: Well, again, I think I've addressed the
question.
Q Scott,
in light of the administration's reversal on CO2 emissions, does the
administration have a position on the Clean Power Act of 2001, which
would regulate other types of emissions, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen
oxides, mercury --
MR.
MCCLELLAN: Absolutely, that's part of his multi-pollutant
strategy. This is a bold, important step forward on the
multi-pollutant strategy he's committed to, that will significantly
reduce emissions. It's a very strong and positive step
forward in our efforts to make the air cleaner, and to improve the --
Q With
the exception of CO2, all the other things and all the other regulatory
moves undertaken by Congress under the Clean Power Act the
administration supports --
MR.
MCCLELLAN: The three pollutants you just mentioned are part
of what the President has outlined in his energy plan to reduce
emissions.
Q Well,
CO2 was at one time also, so I'm just double-checking.
MR.
MCCLELLAN: Well, we've addressed that. If you
want me to do that again, I'll be glad to.
Q What
the decision was on campaign finance issue, just principles and not
some sort of detailed legislation, or a more detailed proposal if this
is a priority of the President's?
MR.
MCCLELLAN: Well, he outlined a plan very early on in the
campaign and continued to talk about it throughout the
campaign. So he support campaign finance reform, but
believes that that reform must be fair and
balanced. Otherwise, you won't have a level playing field
across the board.
Q Can
I come back to the oil question one more time? It's hard to
imagine anything having a more immediate impact on the price and
availability of energy in this country than a sudden large cut in
OPEC's output.
MR.
MCCLELLAN: Absolutely.
Q President
Clinton took a lot of hits, frankly, in this room over the fact that he
wasn't working hard enough to lean on America's allies in the Gulf to
produce more oil.
MR.
MCCLELLAN: And we are talking with our allies and OPEC and
we are going to continue to pursue a comprehensive national energy
strategy here that will help reduce our dependence on foreign
oil. But, again, I mean -- every OPEC meeting that goes on,
I don't think we're going to weigh in, in advance. But if we
have more to say when they meet, then we will update you at that time.
Q Are
you at least willing to say that you're talking to the OPEC -- our
allies in the Gulf, and telling them, look, you cannot go for something
this big?
MR.
MCCLELLAN: We talk to our OPEC folks all the time.
Q Can
you at least tell us, Scott, who's talking for the
administration? At least the Clinton administration would
tell us the Energy Secretary, other people would at least identify --
wouldn't go into great detail about the sum total of the conversation,
but would at least identify who the main administration representatives
were in conversation with OPEC. Can you at least tell us
that?
MR.
MCCLELLAN: If I have more information on that I'll get that
to you later today.
Q Scott,
during the campaign, the President -- or then-governor said that the
OPEC nations should open their spigots. He said that --
MR.
MCCLELLAN: Absolutely.
Q Is
that still the policy of the administration, that he wants the OPEC
nations to open their spigots?
MR.
MCCLELLAN: He's committed to what he said during the
campaign, sure.
Q Scott,
in light of the fact that the President has said that we are nearing an
energy crisis, or in an energy crisis, would a 1 million barrel cut
concern him gravely?
MR.
MCCLELLAN: Well, if we have more to say after the meeting,
we will talk about it then. But, remember, the energy
working group that we have working on the issue of our national energy
strategy -- and I want to get to that, but not until the end, when we
talk about the week ahead.
Q But
if you're not telling us any more, then I guess we're just left to
infer from what we know about the President's positions when he was
campaigning that you ought to remind the allies who their friends were,
and that they should open up their spigots, and that this kind of cut
would be considered a major blow.
MR. MCCLELLAN: Look, we had a problem of neglect before the President
took office on developing a national energy strategy. And so we are now faced
with a serious energy shortage, which the President talked about -- he talked
about the other day when he announced his multi-pollutant strategy. So it's
going to be important to continue to pursue the plan that he outlined during the
campaign. And we will have a little more to say at a meeting on Monday about
the energy situation in America.
Q Scott, why don't you do the week-ahead now?
MR.
MCCLELLAN: Well, I want to wait until the end, but if you
all would prefer -- I'll go ahead now if you would prefer.
Q This
is relevant to the week-ahead. What about the meeting with
Mr. Mori? Can you give us any heads-up on that?
MR.
MCCLELLAN: Let me start with the week-ahead and that will
take us into that.
Q Specifically,
there are rumors in the financial market that foreign exchange will be
high up on the agenda. I don't think --
MR.
MCCLELLAN: Let me go down the week-ahead and I'll get to --
here's the rundown, the week-ahead. The President will
continue to talk about his budget priorities including his economic
recovery plan, and his priorities to improve the quality of health
care. Before I get into Monday, the President's radio
address tomorrow will focus on his economic recovery plan that will
help give our economy a needed boost and provide tax relief for all
taxpayers.
Monday, the
President will meet with Prime Minister Mori of Japan. He
will stop by the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce meeting at
the White House. And the National Energy Policy Development
group will meet with the President to provide an analysis, an
assessment of the current energy shortage in the United States.
That same
day, Secretary Abraham will also be speaking at the National Chamber
Foundation, part of their national energy summit meeting, and he will
talk about the need for a comprehensive energy strategy and what we
were just discussing a minute ago.
Q He
will lay out the plan or --
MR.
MCCLELLAN: Let me keep going through the week ahead, and
then I'll take some more questions.
Tuesday,
the President will meet with Prime Minister Sharon of
Israel. The President will also meet with women business
leaders at the White House, and he will visit CIA headquarters where he
will make remarks to employees, do a tour and have a briefing.
Wednesday,
the President will travel to Orlando, Florida to speak to the American
College of Cardiology Annual Convention. He will talk about
the importance of passing a strong patient protection law.
Thursday,
the President will meet with the Vice Premier of China. The President
will address the National Newspaper Association 40th Annual Government
Affairs Conference. And he will tour and dedicate the Pope
John Paul II Cultural Center.
On Friday,
the President will travel to Portland, Maine, to address the Greater
Portland Area Chamber of Commerce. And he will meet with the
Secretary General of the United Nations.
Q Where?
MR.
MCCLELLAN: That will be here. And on Saturday,
the President will attend and address the Gridiron Dinner.
Q Going
back to Mr. Mori, can you say what's on the agenda for the
talks? Also, there's some thoughts that this was kind of a
hurry-up trip to get Mr. Mori to the White House before the President
met with the Chinese Vice Premier, to emphasize the U.S. commitment to
Japan. Is there any truth to that?
MR.
MCCLELLAN: Let me talk -- go back to your first part of
that. The two leaders will address a range of economic and
security issues, both global and regional. And this is a
working visit lunch. And the U.S.-Japan alliance is key to
regional stability in Asia. So our cooperation is
wide-ranging and advances many mutual interests in Asia and around the
world.
Q On
Sharon, do you have a time for that?
MR.
MCCLELLAN: Sharon, do you have a time for
that? About noon. I believe it's a meeting and a lunch.
Q Is
there any truth to the rumors in the financial markets that foreign
exchange will be high up on the agenda on the talks between Mr. Mori
and Mr. Bush?
MR.
MCCLELLAN: Let me say, it is in our interest that Japan be
economically strong and prosperous. As you're aware, it is
the second largest economy in the world, so Japan's slow growth has
implications for the United States and the rest of the
world. So I expect the leaders will discuss economic
challenges and opportunities that we face.
Q But
is foreign exchange one of them?
MR.
MCCLELLAN: If we have a further readout, we will talk to you
later.
Q Scott,
so is Abraham then going to actually unveil the energy plan on Monday?
MR.
MCCLELLAN: What it is, is to talk about the scope of the
problem and provide an assessment of the energy shortage we're in and
where we are today. So that's what this is
about. This is an ongoing group that is continuing to work
on implementing the comprehensive energy plan the President outlined
during the campaign.
Q Who
makes up that group?
MR.
MCCLELLAN: It's headed by the Vice President, and you have
the Secretary of Energy, Secretary of Treasury, EPA
Administrator. So it's a diverse group.
Q So,
basically, you're going to tell us what we already know, there's a
problem, right?
MR.
MCCLELLAN: It's a broader assessment of the problem, so we
know exactly what the problem is and we can begin to address that
better.
Thank you.
END
2:03 P.M. EST
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