For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 19, 2001
Press Briefing by Ari Fleischer
The James S. Brady Briefing Room
Listen to the Briefing
- Personnel/travel announcements
- President of
Taiwan/visit to the United States
- Energy Committee/international embargoes
- Environmental policy/public
perception
- Middle East
- U.S.-China discussions
- Taiwan arms
sales
- On-the-record
briefings
- Fundraising/President's
involvement
President Assad conversation
2:06 P.M. EDT
MR. FLEISCHER: Let us commence. The President intends
to nominate Richard Hauser to be General Counsel to the Department of
Housing and Urban Development. The President intends to
nominate Jenna Dorn to be Federal Transit Administrator within the
Department of Transportation. And the President intends to
nominate Allen Frederick Johnson to be Chief Agricultural Negotiator
for the Office of the United States Trade Representative with a rank of
ambassador.
I want to
give you a little bit of travel information for next week to help you
get started on your plans for next week. The President will
travel to Jacksonville, Florida; New Orleans, Louisiana; Little Rock,
Arkansas; and Crawford, Texas next Wednesday, April
25th. The President and the First Lady travel to Houston,
Texas for the Celebration of Reading on Thursday, April
26th. The Celebration of Reading is an annual event
highlighting the importance of reading. It's sponsored by
former First Lady Barbara Bush.
And on
Friday next week, the President and the First Lady attend the opening
and the dedication of the Bob Bullock Texas History Museum in Austin,
Texas. The President and the First Lady will return to
Washington on Saturday, April 28th to attend the White House
Correspondents Association Annual Dinner. I highly recommend
it.
And the
final announcement is, considering the President's travel plans abroad
in June, President Bush will visit Spain during his June trip to
Europe. And with that --
Q Do
you have a hard date on when the June travel starts?
MR.
FLEISCHER: Not quite yet.
Q What
will he be doing in Spain, Ari?
MR.
FLEISCHER: Additional details on who he'll be meeting with
will be forthcoming. I just want to give everybody the
country information. So that means for this trip, we have
announced to date the President will travel to -- in June, he will
travel to Spain, he will travel to Brussels, he will travel to
Goteburg, and he will travel to Poland.
Q In
that order?
MR.
FLEISCHER: I'm sorry -- in that order? I think
so. That's right.
Q Spain,
Brussels, Sweden and Poland?
MR.
FLEISCHER: Sweden. That's correct.
Q The
President of Taiwan has expressed an interest in possibly traveling to
the United States late May, early June. Does President Bush
plan on approving his transit plans through the United States?
MR.
FLEISCHER: As you know, previous presidents of Taiwan have
transited through the United States. It's not
unusual. That's something that is handled at the consular
level. The State Department handles that and will be
handling it again this year.
Q --
last time it happened.
MR.
FLEISCHER: That's the procedure and that's how it's worked
in the past, and that's how it will work this year.
Q Will
he be invited to the White House?
MR.
FLEISCHER: As you know, we will always advise you about any
plans.
Q Do
you have any views on the proposal of the committee looking into energy
resources that the United States ease up on the embargoes in Libya,
Iraq, in order to import more oil?
MR.
FLEISCHER: There are a variety of issues that the task force
is taking a look at. I think it's just a tad forward-leaning
to call that quite a proposal at this time. There are a
variety of drafts of ideas that have been circulated. No
decisions have been made on that. And there's no indication
yet on that particular one, whether that would be included in the final
document or not. So no decisions are made at this time.
Q If
I can follow up, doesn't this have all the appearances of a traditional
Washington trial balloon to see what the reaction would be to this
idea?
MR.
FLEISCHER: You're asking me how something appeared in
print. I can't give you that answer. As you know, this is
not a very trial-balloony administration.
Q Maybe
some people didn't get the message yet.
MR.
FLEISCHER: That's always possible.
Q The
administration's done something green every day this week, and it seems
to get more and more trumpeted with each step of the way, with this
morning's event in the Rose Garden. How much of that is
because of concern that some of the early actions by the administration
dealing with what Clinton administration did gave the President an
image as an anti-environmentalist?
MR.
FLEISCHER: I want to just remind you of what the President
did, during the course of the campaign, for example, when he announced
some of the major funding increases, the land- water conservation fund,
he heralded it in an announcement very much like today. He
went to Tahoe, in Nevada, and announced that initiative.
So the
President has a pattern of having significant announcements made in
events where he brings attention to his environmental
initiatives. And this is part of a continuing
pattern. You have seen a variety of different manners and
different styles of making announcements this week. I think
the one consistent theme in all the variety of announcements this week
is the President is going to pursue a balanced approach to
environmental initiatives that's based on science.
And it's an
approach that he believes is going to sometimes find appeal to the
business community and the environmental community, sometimes it will
find opposition. In all cases, the President is going to do
what he believes is the right balanced approach to protecting the
environment.
Q If
I can just follow up, there are polls, including ours and others, which
show that the public regards him on the environment, that's his worst
issue, and that they see him as more serving the interests of business
than the interests of the environment. Is that fair, and why
not?
MR.
FLEISCHER: Just before I came out here, I was doing a little
reading, and I happened to be reading the wire. And the wire
is reporting there is a Gallup poll out that shows just the
opposite. It shows that the public perceives the President
very favorably -- favorably, on the environment, I
think. The number, if I recall was, one month ago 51 percent
of the public thought the President was doing a good job on the
environment. Now, the number after a month of coverage is
the same. It's 49 percent; virtually
unchanged. And that's a plurality of Americans think the
President is doing a good job on the environment.
But I want
to stress, the President is going to take the actions he's taking not
because of polls, but because of what he thinks is the right thing to
do. And you can -- you're going to continue to see that type
of balanced approach throughout this administration.
Let me
repeat something I said yesterday, in the case of many of these
regulations. Many of these regulations were put in place two
days before the outgoing administration left office -- three days
before they left office. So there is a review process that's
underway, and in many cases, this administration will go beyond what
the previous administration did in protecting the environment.
Q Is
he a green President, then?
MR.
FLEISCHER: He's a balanced President. He's a
President that will continue to bring --
Q It's
not easy being green. (Laughter.)
Q Ari,
I think the question was more to what we've seen in the last four days
than as to the question about the President's policies or
commitment. There seems to be -- there is, if you talk to
people at very high levels of the administration, an acknowledgment
that perhaps in those early days, not disputing what you did, but how
it was done, allowed critics to have an open shot at the President, to
make that case that it was not -- that those decisions were not made
and then released and marketed in a way that left you in a favorable
political situation. Is that not fair?
MR.
FLEISCHER: Well, John, I'll leave it to the press to be the
judge of the process. I can only speak to the substance of what the
President has proposed. And it's not my place, frankly, to
tell the press the appropriate level of volume of coverage.
I would
remind you that at the beginning of the administration, the President
and the EPA Administrator Whitman took a series of actions on the
environment, whether it was the rule requiring diesel trucks and buses
to reduce their pollutants, rules involving the use of pesticides to
limit pesticides. There were early actions taken by the
administration that set a tone right from the very beginning that the
President, when he thought it was appropriate, was going to take steps
that protected the environment in a manner that business did not like,
the President was going to take those steps. Those notices,
those actions, got scant coverage. It doesn't stop the
President from viewing his job as to proceed in a balanced way,
regardless of what the coverage decisions are.
Q Do
you think the Clinton administration set you guys up for this criticism
by implementing a bunch of rules at their administration, forcing you
to make --
MR.
FLEISCHER: I don't think it was a question of set up, but I
think it brings the appropriate focus to some of these
regulations. The fact of the matter is, the state of the
economy was just -- the environment was just as it is now, under
President Bush. Three days before President Clinton left
office, several of these regulations were put into effect. There's
nothing that the President is reversing that wasn't in
place. It is as if these rules have been in place for eight
years of the Clinton administration, which was not the
case. Many of them did not go into effect, or won't even
proposed until the final two, three, four days of the previous
administration.
Q Do
you think they put them in place so you guys would have to squirm like
you are now?
MR.
FLEISCHER: I'm not going to characterize the reasons they
did. The President said at the time that it's the
prerogative of then President Clinton to act -- enact whatever
regulations he saw fit.
Q Ari,
can I follow on John's question? Given your belief that the
perceptions at least were inaccurate of some of the President's early
environmental actions, and with Earth Day approaching and the potential
for some civil disobedience in Quebec, is it fair to say the
administration would like to show a more environmentally-friendly side,
perhaps by focusing more attention on actions he'd already planned to
take this week, in advance of Earth Day in Quebec?
MR.
FLEISCHER: In all the discussions I've had with the
President on this topic, the President's message to staff has been very
straight and consistent. And that is, take actions based on
science, not based on public relations. That is the
President's directions to the staff. That was a topic the
President discussed with Administrator Whitman, for example, this
week.
So I can
only announce for you these environmental initiatives the President has
taken. You can watch them with your own eyes and come to
your own conclusions about them. But the President has taken
these actions because he believes on the merits, they're the right ones
to take. They're based on science, and they're based on
substance.
Q One
other question. On the meetings the President will have with
other world leaders in Quebec, it has been reported, at least, that he
can expect to hear some expressions of concern about U.S. environmental
actions, most particularly the Kyoto decision. Does he
anticipate this? Does he expect it? Will he be surprised if
it occurs?
MR.
FLEISCHER: Well, again, on Kyoto of course, the United
States' position has been very clear. The President made it
crystal clear during the course of the campaign. I would
remind you that only one nation in the world has ratified the Kyoto
agreement, and that's Romania. No other nation has followed
suit. So the President has said where he stood on that issue
and has made a promise and has honored his promise.
I think the
President will look forward to the Summit of the Americas as an
opportunity to talk about the values of trade and increasing trade as a
way to protect the environment. And as you know, the
President has directed Bob Zoellick, the United States Trade
Representative, to talk with several of the non-governmental
organizations, several of the people who will be present in Quebec who
have a strong point of view on the environment. It's part of
the President being inclusive, reaching out, listening to groups that
don't agree with his message on trade. But the President
wants to make sure that they have an ear in this administration, and
Ambassador Zoellick will be doing that. And he will also be
available to you on Saturday to talk to you about the ongoing
discussions at the summit and, likely, his conversations with some of
these groups.
Q Just
to button this up, Ari, today, an environmental initiative a day
approach this week was not designed with any public relations value in
mind?
MR.
FLEISCHER: I can only repeat to you what the President said,
and that was these decisions should be made on the basis of the merits
and science, and not public relations. That's what's driving
the President. Now, as you know, David --
Q What's
driving some of the top communications --
MR.
FLEISCHER: As you know, David, there's also -- as you know,
the first week in office the President focused with a very coherent
message on education. The second week the President focused
extensively on faith-based solutions. The third week the
President focused on taxes. There is a sense that one way to make sure
the American people have an opportunity to fully understand the
President's policies is to have several policies that are similar in
nature take place in a similar period of time. And there you have
it. That's where we are.
Q You
said yesterday the President spoke with Sharon. Has that
accomplished anything that you've seen, and are there any plans for the
President to speak with Yasser Arafat?
MR.
FLEISCHER: We'll advise you, again, on any phone calls the
President makes. We will let you know if that takes
place. When you say, has accomplished anything, the ongoing
discussions, the President hopes, will help to accomplish an
environment in which the parties in the Middle East sit down and reach
their own agreements through the helping hand of the United
States. The President has said the goal of the United States
should be to -- not to force peace, but to be a third party who can
help bring peace about. And that's going to be the continued
focus of the President.
The
situation in the Middle East remains volatile, and the President in his
conversation with President Assad of Syria this morning urged all sides
to exercise restraint. That is still the message of the
President.
Q Ari,
on the talks in Beijing between the Chinese and the U.S. teams, what's
the status of that?
MR.
FLEISCHER: There was a 90-minute meeting last night between
the United States negotiators and Chinese authorities to discuss a
series of items. The meeting was business-like and they made
their way through the complete agenda that had been laid out previously
in the letter that was sent from Ambassador Prueher to Chinese
officials. There will be a series of ongoing discussions
with Chinese officials at the diplomatic level. Our
negotiators will be coming home tomorrow, and any further conversations
take place at the diplomatic level.
Q With
the President embarking on his most extensive foreign trip to date
tomorrow, interacting with more world leaders than ever before, is
there any sense of relief that he has resolved this first big
international challenges, going into it? In other words,
does it strengthen his hand going in there to have this behind him, or
are they just completely unrelated?
MR.
FLEISCHER: I think the President was pleased that the matter
was resolved, regardless of what next meeting he happened to have,
whether it was an international meeting in Quebec, or whether it was a
domestic meeting. The President was pleased that he was
able, through diplomacy, to bring the matter of our servicemen and
women held against their will to an end. And that way those
people could get back with their families where they belong.
As for the
meeting in Quebec, the President is looking forward to going
there. This will be the largest multilateral meeting of his
young presidency. I point out that in just the days leading
up to it, since he became President on January 20th, he will have met
with seven Presidents of Central or South or Latin American
countries. As he heads up there, he has a meeting this
afternoon, as you know, with the President of Argentina. And the
President said during the campaign that he wanted to have a foreign
policy that begins with our friends and our neighbors, and that's
exactly what he is doing as he prepares to head up to Quebec.
Q You
just used the term, "resolved," about the standoff with
China. Can the situation be resolved as long as that plane
sits there?
MR.
FLEISCHER: Well, as the President has indicated on many
occasions, there are going to be areas with China where we
disagree. And there are going to be other areas where we can
agree and cooperate. And the President will pursue both
tracks, wherever they take us. So, to the degree that we can
still make progress and advance on issues of mutual interest -- trade,
and other areas like that -- the President will find those open and
pursue them. To the degree that there are obstacles in the
relationship, the President is going to deal with them realistically.
Human rights violations, religious persecution, the matter of the
airplane, all of those will continue to be pursued, and hopefully,
progress will be made on those fronts.
Q Ari,
they have not assured us that they are going to give the plane back at
any point yet, isn't that right?
MR.
FLEISCHER: That's correct.
Q If
that is the case, is this to be cost-free, or has the President at this
point decided that we're just going to put it in the past and forget
about it, no sanctions, no nothing?
MR.
FLEISCHER: Well, there are a series of ongoing decisions
that will be made, vis-a-vis the United States relationship with
China. And as the President makes those determinations, we will -- he
will announce them. And there are a variety of factors that
go into what the President's determinations will be, and I think it's
safe to say there will be a number of issues that formed the
President's opinions on those matters.
Q So
as we discuss this with the Chinese, you want them to keep in mind that
there are actions he can take that will render a cost to them?
MR.
FLEISCHER: Obviously, any relationship between two nations
is dependent on the two actions taken by those two nations across the
board.
Q During
the detention of the American crew, Ari, the President said that -- and
other administration officials said that U.S.-Chinese relations -- I'm
paraphrasing now -- depended upon a resolution of this. Do
they also depend upon a return of the airplane?
MR.
FLEISCHER: Wendell, what the President said was that the
longer our men and women are detained, the more harm that will be done
to the United States-Chinese relations. The President, as
you know, after the matter was resolved, said in the Rose Garden that
the future of the relations now also depends on the determined choices
that both nations make. As I just indicated, the decisions
that the President will make will depend on a whole variety of
circumstances, a whole variety of the decisions made by China as they
make their determined choices about the nature of our relationship.
Q Is
it safe to say then, the longer they hold the plane, the more chance
that our relationship will be harmed?
MR.
FLEISCHER: I've indicated that the decisions that the
President will make about all actions vis-a-vis China will depend on a
host of issues.
MR. FLEISCHER: On the matter of sales to Taiwan, the timing of
that will likely be sometime early next week. That is
coinciding with annual notification to the Congress. And on
the question of, I think you put it, fighter escorts, the White House
is not going to discuss operational details of any military missions.
Q Back
on the environment, Ari. In the statement that was put out
yesterday on arsenic, it talked about going back to the National
Academy of Sciences for another review of the literature, but it also
said the answer that the administration has to get from the National
Academy of Sciences has to be between 3 and 20 parts per billion as far
as the level of arsenic that's acceptable. How is it
consistent with science to tell the scientists in advance what answer
is acceptable?
MR.
FLEISCHER: I think what the Administrator's notice actually
said was that they have asked the National Academy of Sciences to
assess what would be required to bring it to a level of between 3 and
20. It's not unusual for a range to be set that is then
scientifically analyzed to see what steps need to be taken to determine
what areas within that range are most scientifically attainable.
Q So
what are the -- it's not up to the Academy to decide whether 3 or 20 is
the best number, or that's what they're being asked to decide?
MR.
FLEISCHER: I think you need to go back and take a look at
the precise language that Administrator Whitman used, but she has asked
the Academy to render its judgment about the scientific merits of a
range between 3 and 20.
Q Ari,
have you decided if the 4:00 p.m. briefing is going to be on camera, or
not?
MR.
FLEISCHER: We put out a notice about that earlier today, and
the notice stands.
Q What's
the thinking about doing it on the record, but not on camera?
MR.
FLEISCHER: It's similar to the way it's been done in
previous administrations prior to international visits. The
desire is to keep it on the record, off camera, just keeping the -- the
approach to the Summit of the Americas is a straightforward approach,
on the record, but off camera.
Q But
why? I mean, what's wrong with cameras?
MR.
FLEISCHER: Just keep it as a low-key briefing to help the
press to answer their questions to fill your stories -- a factual basis
of what's going to happen in Canada and an opportunity to ask questions
as you see fit for the summit.
Q Will
you allow the briefers to be on camera during the summit itself?
MR.
FLEISCHER: There will be different briefings; some on the
record, some on background.
Q This
is on the record, but not on camera, so basically, you're making it
effectively, on the record for some, but not others.
MR.
FLEISCHER: It's always a decision and a variety of different
briefings take place in a variety of different ways. For
example, Saturday, the briefing by Ambassador Zoellick will be on the
record and on camera.
Q Ari,
how much fundraising do you expect the President to be doing in the
next few months, and what kinds of activities does he have planned?
MR.
FLEISCHER: The President, of course, is going to be taking
part in fundraising activities that help elect people who will support
his agenda to improve education and cut taxes, for
example. And those decisions will be made on an ongoing
basis. There are two large party-building events, party
events taking place that the President will participate
in. There is a fundraiser, of course, for Senator Hutchinson
coming up in Arkansas next week, and we'll keep you advised about the
fundraisers.
Q A
follow-up on that. Does he have a policy, or will he have a
policy as President in terms of media access to fundraisers that he's
conducting?
MR.
FLEISCHER: During the campaign, the President was very open
about press attendance; not in all cases, but in most
cases. We're working that through right now, what the policy
will be. And as soon as some final decisions are made, I'll
let you know.
Q Is
there any reason why this policy --
Q Is
the President concerned with the appearances of the Tommy Thompson
event at HHS where he hosted a bunch of Republican fundraisers who had
been making phone calls all day, and an invitation to these
fundraisers, saying that if they wanted to raise money for the day,
they could have a photo op with the Secretary?
MR.
FLEISCHER: John, no such concern has been expressed; it's
all been cleared by counsel, and it's in accordance with all the
fundraising rules.
Q Any
reason why that policy from the campaign would change, and are there
any other fundraising schedules --
MR.
FLEISCHER: Frankly, this is our first fundraiser, so this is
the first time we've really had to focus on it in the President's new
capacity as President. So it's a coverage decision that we
make, just like all other coverage decisions; as the event comes up, we
focus on it.
Q Will
the event in Little Rock be open?
MR.
FLEISCHER: That's what we're working on right now.
Q Will
there be other fundraisers next week?
MR.
FLEISCHER: Next week? No.
Q About
a week and a half ago, the President said he was sensitive to some of
the problems that have lead to the disturbances in
Cincinnati. Has the White House taken any action to address
that? Does it plan to? Is there any consideration
of taking action?
MR.
FLEISCHER: Certainly. The President did take
action on that. As you know, he directed the Attorney
General to get involved in the situation in Cincinnati. And
as you know, the Attorney General sent a team of people onto the scene.
I would urge you to talk to the Attorney General's office for any
further announcements they may have that are particular to
Cincinnati. The President is also proud that the Department
of Energy has announced his action to fight racial profiling, put an
end to it, within its jurisdiction. And the Attorney
General's review of racial profiling nationally is continuing the
direction from the President, through the Attorney General, was to put
an end to racial profiling.
Q Can
I just follow up on that? We didn't hear anything from the
President himself on that, though. And wasn't the eruption
of a race riot in a major United States city the kind of moment that
calls for presidential leadership, an abiding issue that every
president faces?
MR.
FLEISCHER: You did hear from the President directly
yourself, in the President's speech to the Congress, about ending
racial profiling.
Q I'm
talking about Cincinnati, about the frustration and rage that citizens
there felt. And they heard nothing from the President on
it.
MR.
FLEISCHER: The President issued a statement. The
statement was issued in the President's name about the situation in
Cincinnati. And the President believed that was the
appropriate way to address it.
Q Is
there a reason he didn't speak out?
MR.
FLEISCHER: Terry, I think across the board, you're going to
see an approach by this President that when there are the most
sensitive and emotional moments in people's lives, the President is not
going to always insert himself deep into the thick of
them. The President has a much more deliberative and
thoughtful approach, a less publicity seeking approach.
And that
will be the manner in which he continues to conduct himself in
office. He believes that's the manner that best leads to
solutions. Sometimes when the President inserts himself, it
raises so much attention that it makes it harder to bring people
together to find solutions. And the President's focus at all
times is going to be on finding solutions, particularly for some of
these difficult and emotional issues, where there are two sides who
have very powerful clashing views.
And
sometimes when Presidents insert themselves between those two sides, it
makes it harder to bring the two sides together. And the
President's focus, again, is going to be on the bottom line, how best
can we solve people's problems, not how can he best get publicity for
himself.
Q Ari,
last night Dennis Ross said in an interview that one of the lessons of
the past year in the Middle East is that Yasser Arafat cannot, for
whatever reasons, deliver a final peace agreement. Does this
White House believe that Yasser Arafat is capable of signing on to any
final peace agreement, and if not, why do we have the rhetoric that
first we wanted the violence to end, and then we want to move towards
some sort of peace negotiation or agreement?
MR.
FLEISCHER: Well, as you know, the President has called on
all parties in the Middle East, particularly the Palestinians and the
Israelis, to get together. The United States will be a
constructive force in trying to help get them together. But
that fundamentally it does come down to a matter of the two parties
entering into agreements. And I think only time will tell
what the answer to that is. The President will --
Q --
Arafat being able to deliver on a peace agreement?
MR.
FLEISCHER: Clearly, there is no peace agreement
now. There are a variety of reasons for that. And
the President will continue to work constructively with all parties in
the hope that we can get a peace agreement between the two parties.
Q Could
you discuss a little further the conversation with Syria's President
this morning? Did Bush make the phone call?
MR.
FLEISCHER: The President initiated the phone
call. He called to discuss the situation in the region,
particularly the violence
that's been taking place in the Middle East. They discussed
the situation in Lebanon, of course. Both presidents agreed
on the urgent need to restore calm to the area. And the
President again urged maximum restraint from all parties.
Thank you
everybody.
END 2:34 P.M. EDT
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