For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 26, 2001
Press Briefing by Ari Fleischer
Aboard Air Force One En Route Kansas City, Missouri
10:20 A.M. EST
MR. FLEISCHER: If I told you the
President began his day with an intelligence briefing, would you
laugh?
Q He went to the
Gridiron.
MR. FLEISCHER: No sense of humor in
the nation's press corps this morning. The President began
his day with an intelligence briefing.
Q You can fool some of
the people all the time -- concentrate on this.
MR. FLEISCHER: That's why I'm
here.
Q We're not some of the
people you can -- (laughter.)
MR. FLEISCHER: The President has
National Geographic on board. They are completing what's
been a four year interview that they've been doing on Air Force One,
the history of Air Force One. They've been working on it for
four years.
MR. JOHNDROE: They do new ones
every several years. As soon as they have one out, they
start working on a new one, a few months after that, to keep them
updated.
MR.
FLEISCHER: So there will be a
National Geographic documentary about Air Force One, the
airplane. The Clinton administration cooperated with
National Geographic in putting it together. The President
just did an interview with them. They're on board, filming
different scenes on board. And we anticipate that it will air in the
next several months. So he just did that.
First event of the day --
Q When are they going
to come back and shoot the most important cabin on the plane?
MR. FLEISCHER: Actually, they did
that with some of the reporters traveling with the Clinton
administration. Some of your colleagues have made the
cut. They will be on the air.
Q Is that all they're
going to do?
MR. FLEISCHER: I'll be happy to
flack for you until they need to. The President at 11:20 a.m. will go
to Bajan Industries, B-a-j-a-n, Industries. He'll make brief
remarks. It's a minority-owned small
business. They employ approximately 100
employees. They were founded in 1996. And they
are what's called a light-hand assembly plant that sells greeting cards
through its parent corporation, Hallmark.
And the President will go their to talk about
his tax plan, and how it will help entrepreneurs, small
businesses. Small business generates 51 percent of private
sector GDP. And the small business community provides
approximately 75 percent of all new net jobs in the economy.
And the vast majority of the business owners
pay taxes on the personal, not the corporate, scale. We'll
have many other small business owners in the audience, many of whom do
pay personal income tax rates for their businesses.
Q What minority owns
the business?
MR. FLEISCHER: African American,
Mr. Bajan.
Q How do you pronounce
it?
MR.
FLEISCHER: B-a-j-a-n. Bajan.
Q Excuse me, they
assemble -- do they have to do --
MR. FLEISCHER: Greeting cards.
Q Okay.
MR. FLEISCHER: We'll have a tax
family with us in Kansas City. It's the Edwards
family. Robert and Jennifer Edwards. Two sons,
Quentin, Q-u-e-n-t-i-n, three and a half years old; Ian, who is one
year old.
Q The three-and-a-half
year old's name?
MR.
FLEISCHER: Quentin. Q-u-e-n-t-i-n.
Q How do you spell
Ian's name?
MR.
FLEISCHER: I-a-n. The Edwards family has a total
income of $37,000. They currently pay $1,750 in federal
income taxes. Under the President's plan, they would be
removed entirely from the income tax rolls. They would have a 100
percent tax cut. Robert is a manager of a Bob Evans
Restaurant chain.
Then the President will fly to
Montana. We'll have two events in Montana. He
will meet with a group of agricultural leaders at the Tractor Supply
Company, for approximately 45 minutes. It will give the
President an opportunity to listen to the concerns of farmers in
Montana. Senator Burns will be there for that conversation,
as well. Agriculture is, of course, a mainstay of the
Montana economy.
Then the President will participate in a rally
this evening at the Metrapark, M-e-t-r-a-p-a-r-k. We're
expecting several thousand people there. The President will
build support in the state of Montana for his budget and tax
plan. Of course, the House of Representatives will vote on
the budget resolution tomorrow and Wednesday. The Senate
will take it up shortly thereafter. The House will begin
debate tomorrow, vote anticipated Wednesday.
The President is traveling with Governor
Roscoe, who we expect will receive a tumultuous welcome back to
Montana. Governor Roscoe, of course, is very popular
here. And he supports the President's tax plan.
Q Here, is he --
MR. FLEISCHER: I don't know
where. I think we'll have lawmakers with us both
places. A lot of members of the Missouri -- the Missouri
delegation was invited. A lot will meet us on site.
Q What Democrats are
traveling with us here?
MR. FLEISCHER: Yes, there will be
Democrats. We invited them, as well.
Q Do you know what
Democrats will be here, though?
MR. FLEISCHER: Congresswoman
McCarthy.
Q Does the President
support the Treasury Secretary's decision to sell his -- okay.
MR. FLEISCHER: The Palmer family
will be a tax family that will join us in Montana. Kathy,
with a K, Palmer, P-a-l-m-e-r. Twelve year old son, Joseph;
nine year old son, Jacob. Michael Palmer is a machinist for
Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railroad. He's a member of the
union. Kathy is a teller for Wells Fargo
Bank. They have a total family income of approximately
$47,000. They currently pay approximately $2,900 in federal
income taxes. Under the President's plan, the Palmers would
pay $1,200 in federal income taxes, giving them $1,700 more to use as
they see fit, meaning they got a 59 percent tax cut.
Q Do you ever consider
putting out -- just putting that stuff out on paper, to save you from
having to go over it before every trip? That way everybody's
got the paper.
MR. FLEISCHER: We were trying to do
that. Anne is trying to get together more information to
make available under the scheduling site. So it's a good
request. We're trying to get it done.
Q What's the
President's reaction?
MR. FLEISCHER: -- the President
about it. The President always thought of Secretary O'Neill
as a man of the highest ethics and good judgement. He
continues to think so.
Q What about the Comair
strike, will he intervene?
MR. FLEISCHER: Let me remind you of
what we've said explicitly on this topic. The President's
authority is limited by the actions of the National Mediation
Board. In the case of this strike, the President is urging
both parties to get together and reach an agreement, so that the
traveling public is not disrupted.
But without a recommendation from the National
Mediation Board to create -- to determine that an impasse has been
reached that will substantially harm the economy, the President's hands
are tied. He does not have the authority to intervene
without action by the National Mediation Board. That's why
he is urging both parties to come together and reach an agreement, so
the public is not further disrupted.
Q He does not have the
authority to intervene without action by the National --
MR. FLEISCHER: Mediation Board.
Q Do you have any
indication that such a --
MR. FLEISCHER: His hands are tied.
Q I presume that you
guys have been in touch with the Board. Why are they holding
off?
MR. FLEISCHER: Because the National
Mediation Board can only recommend the creation of a presidential
emergency board if they make a determination that substantial harm to
the local economy is so severe that this step is recommended.
Q The local economy?
MR. FLEISCHER: Transportation
matters under the Railway Relations Act, which covers this dispute, are
triggered by substantial harm to the economy, which usually depends on
the presence of an airline that is so large, so dominant in the region
that when they strike there is no alternative means of
transportation. They have not reached any such conclusion in
this case.
Q That's when they told
you that it's not a question of impasse, it's a question of affect on
the economy?
MR. FLEISCHER: That is how they are
limited by the law; that's correct.
Q They've not indicated
to you that that's going to change anytime soon?
MR. FLEISCHER: That's correct.
Q This is the way it
is?
MR. FLEISCHER: That's
correct. Right. Which is why the President has
urged both parties to come together and reach an agreement.
Q Ari, what can you
tell us on the high tech meeting on Wednesday?
MR. FLEISCHER: I don't have
anything further on that yet. Do we know anything more on
the high tech meeting? No. I haven't seen the
list of attendees yet, but it's for the purpose of building support for
the President's budget and tax plan, for the vital group of the economy
that's kept our economy strong. If there's any group that
has its finger on the pulse of the economy, it's the high tech
community, and the President wants to hear their thoughts about the
strength of the economy and to share with them his ideas for how to
improve it.
Q So this will be like
a round table or can you picture the format at all?
MR. FLEISCHER: I haven't looked
that far ahead yet.
Q I want to ask you
about the New York Times. It talks about the new plan for
Iraq, that would have a U.N. inspector stationed at the border, inside
of airports. It also talks about using people in the region,
about setting up accounts for them to put --
MR. FLEISCHER: I've asked for some
information on that this morning. I haven't received it
yet. Let me share it with you after I get it.
Q What can you tell us
about tomorrow's speech?
MR. FLEISCHER: Tomorrow's speech
will be about -- you'll hear new information tomorrow. It
will be about the status of the economy, its strengths, its
weaknesses. It will be a TelePrompTer speech.
Q What kind of new
information? On his proposals or on the economy?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, it's going to
be the President's assessment of where the economy is, why his plan is
the best plan to help the economy recover. There will be --
he will share with the American people his view about where our nation
stands, from an economic point of view: the strengths of the
economy, the weaknesses of the economy and what he proposes to do about
it.
Q Is this an attempt to
clarify what many regard as confusion over what the President does
believe about the economy?
MR. FLEISCHER: I'm not aware that
there is any confusion.
Q A lot of people have
said and written that he's made conflicting statements about the state
of the economy, wondering whether he's talking it up or talking it
down. And then it's been widely reported --
MR. FLEISCHER: We've always
dismissed that as not a serious question.
Q Let me ask you a
serious question. Where does he think the economy is?
MR. FLEISCHER: He'll address that
tomorrow.
Q Is it sputtering, or
is it an economy that he is confident will recover?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President
believes -- the President knows that we're in the middle of an economic
down-turn, but he has faith that the long-term strength of the economy
is solid. He has said that on numerous
occasions. But there is no dispute that we are in an
economic downturn now.
Q A recession?
MR. FLEISCHER: Economic downturn.
Q How do you define a
"downturn"?
MR. FLEISCHER: How do you define a
"recession" is probably the real question.
Q Negative
growth. Then how do you define a downturn.
MR. FLEISCHER: We had 5 percent
economic growth and 4 percent economic growth and 2 percent economic
growth and 1 percent economic growth.
Q What does the
President think about the timing of the downturn? It was just after
his coming into office.
MR. FLEISCHER: I believe that's not
accurate. What I just walked through began in the summer of
2000. The market correction, the market decline began in
March of 2000.
Q -- reports.
MR. FLEISCHER: GDP growth started
to drop precipitously in the summer of 2000 and the fall of
2000. That's the facts.
The President then said, it doesn't matter
when it began; what matters is how to fix it.
Q Has he changed his
views? I mean, are we likely to hear something tomorrow
representing a reconsidered assessment of the economy? Or is that a --
MR. FLEISCHER: No, no. I
just answered the question; -- or a downturn. But he has
faith in the long-term soundness of the economy.
Q Do you mean literally
in the middle, we've been four or five months in an economic downturn,
we have another four or five months before we come out of it?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President is not
going to predict the duration.
Q Do you expect the
President to make the point that you just made about the number of
quarters that this has been true?
MR. FLEISCHER: I'm going to urge
you to await his remarks.
We have information from Gordon.
MR. JOHNDROE: You just saw the
Congressman. Senator Kit Bond, Congressman Samuel Graves are
at the airport. And meeting the President at Bajan
Industries is Senator Carnahan, Congresswoman Karen McCarthy, Democrat
from the 5th district in Missouri; Congressman Dennis Moore, a Democrat
from the 3rd district in Kansas.
And in Billings, Governor Judy Marz, a
Democrat, will greet the President on arrival; and Senator Max Baucus,
Democrat, will also be there.
MR. FLEISCHER: Thanks, everybody.
Q Thanks, Ari.
Q Do you have anything
on -- is going over today, over to meet with people in Macedonia.
MR. FLEISCHER: Who is?
Q Lord Robertson is
heading over today, NATO Secretary General, anything about
that? Does the President have any hopes of what might come
out of that meeting?
MR. FLEISCHER: As you know, the
President issued a statement on Friday, expressing support for the
Macedonian government and his condemnation of the actions by the
Albanian extremists. Over the weekend, the President --
yesterday, the President discussed the importance of stepping up
patrols so that NATO and the United States, operating in support of
KFOR, can interdict the shipment of arms from the extremists into the
region. And the United States will continue its military
cooperation with the government of Macedonia.
END
10:38 A.M. EST
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