For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 2, 2001
President Meets with Congressional Leaders
Remarks by the President in Photo Opportunity with Speaker Hastert, Leader Daschle, Minority Leader Lott and Minority Leader Gephardt
The Oval Office
THE PRESIDENT: I want to thank
the leaders of the Congress for coming down for breakfast this
morning. We had a really good discussion, starting with the
progress we're making on the war against terrorism. I
briefed the members about the fact that we're beginning to make
progress in freezing assets -- freezing assets of the al Qaeda
organization.
I also talked about that the net we're
casting is wide and strong, that we've put together an international
coalition that is impressive and that the members of that coalition are
staying steady.
It is my desire to make sure that, as this
war unfolds, that the leaders of both the Senate and the House are
fully informed of what the government is doing. I can't
think of a better way to conduct foreign policy than to consult
regularly with the leadership.
We also talked about airport
security. I told the members that I'm going to be going to
Reagan Airport today to announce its opening, and that we need to work
together to make sure that the package that's evolving in the House and
Senate is put together pretty quickly.
We talked about economic
stimulus. There is agreement that we've got to come together
with a vision about how big the package ought to be, to make sure that
we affect the economy in the short-run in a positive way, but don't
affect it in the long-run in a negative way.
We agree on principles, that we've got to
make sure that demand for U.S. products stay strong; demand for
products throughout our economic stays strong. Therefore, we
talked about ways to stimulate demand. We understand that
investment has fallen off in the corporate sector, and we talked about
constructive ways to stimulate investments so that the manufacturing
sector, for example, of the United States has got some added wind, in
order to grow, to make sure that people find work. We talked
about worker displacement. And we had a good discussion.
And there's one thing that the American
people must understand, that as we work through these important
subjects, we will do so in a spirit of cooperation and consultation.
And, finally, all of us want to get a
budget done as quickly possible, get the appropriations process
done. We're making very good progress on coming up with the
size of the ultimate budget. And once that's decided, we
pledged to work together to get the appropriations bills moving as
quickly as possible. That would be a welcome relief from the
old budget battles of the past.
And I'm most pleased with the
conversations we've had. I admired all four
Leaders prior to September 11th; I admire them even more after
September 11th, because they're dedicated patriots, anxious to bring
our government together to make sure that we respond to the American
people in a positive way.
I'll answer a couple questions.
Q Mr. President, is
the time running out on the Taliban regime? Are you prepared, sir, to
recognize the Palestinian state as a part of a broader Middle East
peace process, itself?
THE PRESIDENT: Those are two
questions, Major.
Q It's been a while
since I've seen you.
THE PRESIDENT: Don't take it
personally.
Q I never do, sir.
THE PRESIDENT: The idea of a
Palestinian state has always been part of a vision, so long as the
right to Israel to exist is respected.
But first things first, when it comes to
the Middle East, we've got to get to Mitchell, the Mitchell
Accord. Senator Mitchell put together a viable blueprint
that most of the world agrees with is a necessary path to ultimately
solving the problems of the Middle East. And we are working
diligently with both sides to encourage the reduction of violence so
that meaningful discussions can take place.
Secondly, there is no time table for the
Taliban, just like there are no negotiations. I have said
that the Taliban must turn over al Qaeda organization living within
Afghanistan, and must destroy the terrorist camps. And they
must do so, otherwise there will be a consequence. There are
no negotiations, there's no calendar. We'll act on our time,
and we'll do it in a manner that not only secures the United States as
best as possible, but makes the freedom in the world more likely to
exist in the future.
Q Mr. President, to
follow up on the Middle East, sir. Were you prepared to
support the idea of a Palestinian state before the United Nations
conference that was canceled?
THE PRESIDENT: Oh, I read all
kinds of speculation about what this administration was or was not
going to do. What I'm telling you is, is that we are fully
committed to the Mitchell process. And we are fully
committed to working with both sides to bring the level of terror down
to an acceptable level for both. And I fully understand that
progress is made in centimeters in the Middle East. And we
believe we're making some progress.
Steve.
Q How big a
stimulus package do you think is needed, sir, and what do you think is
the best way to stimulate demand?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, the
definition -- a stimulus package big enough -- that what is needed is
big enough to get the economy moving in the short-run, but small enough
so it doesn't affect long-term interest rates, for
example. We are -- all of us are listening to the voices of
leading economists. We're all open for
suggestions. The best way to stimulate demand is to give
people some money, so they can spend it.
Q Mr. President,
out of this terror comes fear.
THE
PRESIDENT: What? Out of what?
Q Out of this
terror on September 11th comes fear. Many Americans are
still gripped with this fear, and they're buying gas masks in exuberant
numbers. And they're also looking to -- for anthrax
vaccinations. What do you say to those people? Is
their fear warranted?
THE PRESIDENT: I say that
America ought to be on alert, but we need to get back to
business. That's why I'm opening up Reagan
Airport. That's why we had Cabinet members get on commercial
airlines over the weekend. The good news is, is that some of the load
factors on American airlines looked like they increased over the
weekend. Americans know their government is doing everything
they can to disrupt any terrorist activity that may
occur. We're following every lead, we're interrogating every
possible suspect. We're on full alert in America.
But the good news is, Americans also
realize that in order to fight terrorism, they're going to go about
their lives in a normal way. And Americans are.
Q Are we in a
recession, sir?
THE PRESIDENT: Are we in a
what?
Q Are we in a
recession?
THE PRESIDENT: You let the
number-crunchers tell us that. But there's no question our
economy is hurt as a result of September 11th. And the
Leaders here understand that. These members go back to their
districts and hear the plight of families who have been laid
off. I, of course, hear it all the time, as
well. And we're going to do something about it. That's
exactly what these discussions are about.
In terms of how you call it, what the
numbers look like, we've got statisticians who will be crunching the
numbers and let us know exactly where we stand. But we don't
need numbers to tell us people are hurting.