For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 26, 2001
Press Briefing by Ari Fleischer
The Crawford Elementary School Crawford, Texas
11:17 A.M. CDT
MR. FLEISCHER: Good morning,
y'all. Welcome back to Crawford. I see the school
is in session today, so I would like to urge the Washington Press Corps
to leave no child behind. Be very kind to our hosts.
Actually, I do -- we all should -- I'm very grateful to the Crawford
School for having us in here while they're in session. It's
kind of neat for the kids and it's kind of fun for us.
Anyway, the President this morning -- I got
off the phone with him a little while ago. He spoke to Prime
Minister Sharon of Israel. The President called the Prime
Minister to discuss ways of securing peace in the region.
He's been working on his speech tomorrow night
for the Bob Bullock dedication. I think that's going to be a
particularly poignant moment for the President. It also, of
course, will be, since the President left Austin to come to Washington,
his first return to Austin. And the same, too, for many of
the staff who really has not been back to Austin since December 18th
when the President became -- went from Governor to
President-Elect. So it's going to be a particularly poignant
moment for a lot of people to go back to Austin.
With that, I'm happy to take questions about
anything going on today.
Q Ari, why did he call
Prime Minister Sharon? Is there a particular event that
triggered that? Why was that call made?
MR. FLEISCHER: It was just part of
his ongoing engagement in helping to secure peace in the Middle
East. As you know, he met with the President of Lebanon on
Monday. He has talked to leaders throughout the
region. The State Department is an active participant in
helping to secure peace in the region, and it's going to be a continued
approach of the President's to be in touch with the leaders in the
region.
Q Did he specifically
urge restraint on the Israelis in that phone call?
MR. FLEISCHER: His position is
unchanged. He's urged all parties to help end the cycle of
violence. And he believes very strongly that the only way to
secure a lasting peace in the Middle East is for the violence first to
stop. He understands how difficult it is to engage in
securing an agreement while there is bloodshed in the streets.
Q I'm sorry, can we
finish up on that topic? Any plans for him or anybody else
to call Arafat or anybody on the Palestinian side?
MR. FLEISCHER: I'm sorry?
Q Any plans for him or
anybody else, like Secretary Powell, to call Arafat or anybody else on
the Palestinian side?
MR. FLEISCHER: Of course, I can
only speak for the President, and the President, if he does so, I'll
let you know.
Q Powell said today
that the U.S. -- said to Congress today the U.S. is stepping up its
role in Mideast diplomacy. Was this call today part of that,
and are there other efforts?
MR. FLEISCHER: I'll keep you
informed. I can just tell you what the President has done
today. And as part of the President's ongoing plan to help
create an environment that can get the parties engaged so they,
themselves, lead the way in bringing peace to the Middle East.
Q Powell said we have a
number of things working right now quietly to get the security
situation stabilized. Are there other -- could you elaborate
on that? Are there other efforts we should know about?
MR. FLEISCHER: I choose not to
elaborate when the Secretary of State has used the word "quietly."
Q Should have left that
one out.
Q Ari, in terms of any
progress on negotiations with the Democrats over funding for
education?
MR. FLEISCHER: There is a
bipartisan agreement on the substance of most of the reforms in the
education proposal that is pending before the Senate. The
President is very pleased with the progress that has been made.
We continue to talk to Democrats and
Republicans in the Senate about the funding level. The
President's budget has proposed an historic increase in funding for the
Department of Education. The Department of Education
receives the largest percentage increase of any item in the President's
budget, and the funding for the education is secondary -- ESEA,
Elementary and Secondary Education Act -- also receives a
multibillion-dollar funding increase in the President's
budget. So he'll continue, the administration will continue
to talk with Democrats on funding levels.
Q Can I just follow up
on that? Some House Republicans, conservatives, are sort of
concerned, expressing concerns about the testing initiative, and also
concerned about that vouchers are in no way in this bill and saying
that there's a concern that this may get out of hand and that they're
not going to back the bill that comes to the Senate floor next week.
MR. FLEISCHER: On the testing
initiative, the President is very well aware that there may be some in
his own party who do not support what he's proposing. He
will fight for it to the very end. The President believes
the single-most important provision in his education plan is testing
and accountability, because he saw in Texas firsthand as a governor who
dedicated himself to education reform that the way to improve our
schools is by annual testing, where the tests are determined at the
state level. That's the singular best way, in the President's opinion,
to know whether or not children are learning.
So whether he hears criticism from the right
on testing or from any source, he will fight to the very end for it.
Q Ari, on a related
topic, some of the Democratic leaders are -- and I guess much of the
Democratic rank and file aren't coming to the 100 Day Lunch on
Monday. And do you have a count on how many Democrats are
coming, and are you disappointed by the fact that a lot of the
Democrats won't be there?
MR. FLEISCHER: I don't have hard
numbers. I know that the message is still going around the
Hill. It's not unusual for invitations to be accepted toward
the very end of a process. But this is a first for
Washington, this lunch. This lunch is a first for
Washington. It's what Governor Bush did on a regular basis
in bipartisan Texas, and it's what President Bush hopes to create, an
ongoing, increasingly bipartisan fashion in Washington, D.C.
So I think the President will be understanding
if not everybody can make it for this first lunch. But he
hopes to change the tone in Washington, to change the way politics is
practiced in Washington, and no matter how many people come, he will
welcome them all, Democrat and Republican alike. He hopes
that all members of the Congress can come. He hopes the
Democrat Leadership will be interested in coming. If they
can't, he'll be understanding. But this is how you start to
change the tone in Washington, and the President will continue to push
to change the tone through events like this.
Q Any reaction on the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ruling?
MR. FLEISCHER: Yes. On
the FERC action? Number one, this is a little premature to
call it an action. It's not final yet. They have
not issued a final ruling. And to the extent that FERC's
action would represent a price cap, the President has a long-held
belief that price caps don't work, that price caps don't create any
incentive to reduce demand. And price caps create a disencentive to
encourage supply. And at a time when our nation is facing
increasing energy problems, the last thing you want to do is create --
artificially increase demand and put in disencentives that harm the
availability of supply.
But to the extent that this is a price cap,
the President is on the record as saying price caps don't
work. Again, I want to note this is not
final. And just reading through it this morning, I've seen
in some newspapers it's described as a limited price cap. So
I think it still bears watching to see exactly what they
do. But the President's position is unequivocal.
Q Has the President
changed any minds, or is there anything he can do to --
MR. FLEISCHER: It's an independent
agency.
Q Does he have the
authority to review their actions? There's no legal
provision that gives him the authority to override it, or would he file
comments if its proposed rule? Presumably, it's open to
comments; would he or the Energy Department --
MR. FLEISCHER: I just gave you a
comment from the President.
Q Ari, with the
President going to that reading event this afternoon, the folks at the
Reading Is Fundamental program are upset that the President's budget
for next year would eliminate funding for their reading program for
distributing books to kids. Is there a contradiction there
in the President's support for reading programs, but cutting off
funding for Reading Is Fundamental?
MR. FLEISCHER: How come it's easier
to hear your voice in the back row than it is to hear other voices in
the front? No, what the President's budget does is
substantially increase funding for reading. It triples the
federal budget for reading initiatives, and it creates a consolidated
block grant program. So there is a dramatic increase in
funding for reading. And the school district will have plenty of funds
under the President's program for reading initiatives.
Q Ari, have you seen
the ad Democrats are running on the budget cuts, talking about what's
been cut from his budget? And do you guys have any reaction
to it?
MR. FLEISCHER: The ad the Democrats
are running?
Q In Washington -- it's
one ad they're running only in Washington.
MR. FLEISCHER: I have
not. I saw Mr. Gephardt's news conference this morning, but
I'm not aware of any ad.
Q Ari, going back on
education, any reaction to the Senate delaying action, debate on that
until next week because of the negotiations? And also, I
wanted to ask a question on China.
MR. FLEISCHER: No, the President
continues to be pleased with the progress that all parties are making
on education. He does want to make certain that the Senate
proceeds, so that education reforms can be passed. It's our nation's
top priority. It needs to get done. It needs to
be done. But the President's pleased with the progress the
Senate is making.
Q And on China, of
course, as you know, China has had an angry response, saying that
President Bush's remarks were misguided and takes down the wrong
road. What is the administration saying about -- is the
China-Taiwan policy the same?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President's
words speak for themselves, and the President said what he said because
he meant it. And the President's words speak for
themselves.
Q Any reaction to
China's response?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President has
said what he wanted to say.
Q Ari, on that topic,
yesterday a member of the administration said that the comments were --
not their word, but calculated; that it was in a response to the
buildup of the missiles by the Chinese. Can you further that
for us here?
MR. FLEISCHER: Say it again, a
little louder?
Q That the President's
comments on Taiwan were calculated, that they were based around the
Chinese buildup of missiles across the Taiwan Strait. Can
you expand on that for us?
MR. FLEISCHER: What the President
said yesterday and the day before, what he said a year ago, and it's
what he'll say tomorrow, his position -- he took the position he took
because he believes in it. He believes in it so much that he
said it during the campaign, in a debate last March. He said
it Monday, he said it yesterday. It's what the President
believes. Actually Tuesday and Wednesday.
Q -- Chinese military
buildup last year? I mean, the comments from the senior
official specifically suggested that this was a time to make strong
comments on Taiwan, because there was a Chinese military buildup
underway.
MR. FLEISCHER: The senior
administration official has said it. That's -- you quoted a senior
administration official as saying it?
Q Right.
MR. FLEISCHER: A senior
administration official has said that.
Q You just said the
position is the same as what he's always said, and I'm a little
confused. Do you see a current Chinese military buildup, or
it's been continuing for the last year, or --
MR. FLEISCHER: Clearly, the
President's decision in regard to selling arms to Taiwan is based on
the threat that he perceives that Taiwan has. And that threat is based
on an assessment of China's military programs. And, clearly, the
President's decision is commensurate with the threat.
Q Ari, is the President
intending to send a signal with his remarks?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President was
saying what he believes, which is what he'll always do. He's
a straight-spoken man, a plainspoken man. He says what he
thinks.
Q Ari, what do you make
of China's response that the United States is heading down a dangerous
road, and that is has no business viewing Taiwan as a protectorate?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President's
words and actions are designed to help secure the peace.
All right.
Q One
more. Roadless areas, Ari. Are you asking
Ashcroft, is the White House asking Ashcroft to investigate ways to
overrule the regulation on logging and road building in roadless
areas?
MR. FLEISCHER: I don't have
anything new for you on that.
Q John Walters as head
-- as drug czar; is the President planning to do that?
MR. FLEISCHER: I don't confirm or
deny or speculate.
Do any of you have questions back
there? Who's got a question? They can raise their
hand. Anybody have a question?
END 11:30 A.M. CDT
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