[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 44, Number 8 (Monday, March 3, 2008)]
[Pages 287-298]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
<R04>
The President's News Conference
February 28, 2008
The President. Good morning. Laura and I, as you know, recently came
back from Africa, where we saw firsthand how the Emergency Plan for AIDS
Relief is saving lives. I had a chance to go to the--speak to the
Sullivan Foundation the other day about our trip, and the reason I did
so was to remind the American people about how important it is for our
Nation to remain generous and compassionate when it comes to helping
people overseas.
I also, during my trip, urged Congress to reauthorize the emergency
plan and increase our commitment, and they did. They approved a good,
bipartisan bill that maintains the principles that have made this
program effective. And so I want to thank Acting Chairman Howard Berman
and Ranking Member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and all the members of the
committee for the action they took. This afternoon they're going to come
down, and I'll be able to thank them in person. And I'm going to brief
them on the trip. The--obviously, our hope is now that the House will
act quickly and send the bill reauthorizing PEPFAR to the Senate. And
I'd like to sign it into law as quickly as possible.
Members should also act on a very urgent priority, and that is to
pass legislation our intelligence officials need to quickly and
effectively monitor terrorist communications. At issue is a dispute over
whether telecommunications companies should be subjected to class-action
lawsuits because they are believed to have helped defend America after
the attacks of 9/11. Allowing these lawsuits to proceed would be unfair.
If any of these companies helped us, they did so after being told by our
Government that their assistance was legal and vital to our national
security.
Allowing the lawsuits to proceed could aid our enemies because the
litigation process could lead to the disclosure of information about how
we conduct surveillance, and it would give Al Qaida and others a roadmap
as to how to avoid the surveillance. Allowing these lawsuits to proceed
could make it harder to track the terrorists because private companies
besieged by and fearful of lawsuits would be less willing to help us
quickly get the information we need. Without the cooperation of the
private sector, we cannot protect our country from terrorist attack.
Protecting these companies from lawsuits is not a partisan issue.
Republicans and Democrats in the United States Senate came together and
passed a good bill protecting private companies from these abusive
lawsuits. And Republicans and Democrats in the House stand ready to pass
the Senate bill
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if House leaders would only stop blocking an up-or-down vote and let the
majority in the House prevail.
Some in Congress have said we have nothing to worry about because if
we lose the cooperation of the private sector, we can use the old FISA
law. Well, they're wrong. FISA was out of date. It did not allow us to
track foreign terrorists on foreign soil quickly and effectively. And
that is why a dangerous intelligence gap opened up last year, and that
is why Congress passed legislation that reformed FISA. But they did so
only temporarily. The law expired; the threat to America has not
expired.
Congress understood last year that FISA did not give our
intelligence professionals the tools they needed to keep us safe. The
Senate understands that the FISA--old FISA didn't give us the tools
needed to protect America. The bipartisan bill it passes provides those
tools our intelligence professionals need. Yet the House's failure to
pass this law raises the risk of reopening a gap in our intelligence
gathering, and that is dangerous.
Another vital priority for protecting the nation is prevailing in
Iraq. Unfortunately, this week, the Senate debated yet another bill that
threatens to cut off funding and tie the hands of our commanders in
Iraq. It seems that no matter what happens in Iraq, opponents to the war
have one answer: retreat.
When things were going badly in Iraq a year ago, they called for
withdrawal. Then we changed our strategy, launched the surge, and turned
the situation around. Since the surge began, high-profile terrorist
attacks are down, civilian deaths are down, sectarian killings are down,
and our own casualties are down. U.S. and Iraqi forces have captured or
killed thousands of extremists, including hundreds of key Al Qaida
operatives and leaders. Reconciliation is taking place in local
communities across the country. That reconciliation is beginning to
translate into political progress in the capital city.
In the face of these changes on the ground, congressional leaders
are still sounding the same old call for withdrawal. I guess you could
say that when it comes to pushing for withdrawal, their strategy is to
stay the course. It's interesting that many of the same people who once
accused me of refusing to acknowledge setbacks in Iraq now are the ones
who are refusing to acknowledge progress in Iraq.
If we followed their advice a year ago, Iraq would be far different
and more dangerous place than it is today, and the American people would
be at greater risk. If we follow their advice now, we would put at risk
the gains our troops have made over the past year. Congress does need to
act when it comes to Iraq. What they need to do is stand by our brave
men and women in uniform and fully fund the troops.
Finally, Congress needs to act to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.
Unfortunately, the Senate is considering legislation that would do more
to bail out lenders and speculators than to help American families keep
their homes. The Senate bill would actually prolong the time it takes
for the housing market to adjust and recover, and it would lead to
higher interest rates. This would be unfair to the millions of
homeowners who make the hard choices every month to pay their mortgage
on time, and it would be unfair to future home buyers. Instead, Congress
should move ahead with responsible legislation to modernize the Federal
Housing Administration and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. By taking these
steps, we can help struggling homeowners and help our economy weather
the difficult time in the housing market.
I'd be glad to take some questions. Terry [Terence Hunt, Associated
Press].
National Economy
Q. Mr. President, bad economic news continues to pile up, the latest
today with the GDP barely growing. Are you concerned that a sagging
economy and hard times will help defeat John McCain like it did your
father in 1992? And how far are you willing to go to prevent that?
The President. I'm concerned about the economy because I'm concerned
about working Americans, concerned about people who want to put money on
the table and save for their kids' education. That's why I'm concerned
about the economy. I want Americans working.
And there's no question, the economy has slowed down. You just cited
another example
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of slowdown. I don't think we're headed to a recession, but no question,
we're in a slowdown. And that's why we acted, and acted strongly, with
over $150 billion worth of progrowth economic incentives, mainly money
going into the hands of our consumers and some money going to incent
businesses to invest, which will create jobs.
And so we acted robustly. And now it's time to determine whether or
not this progrowth package will actually work. Now, the checks will
start going out in the second week of May. There are going to be letters
out soon explaining who is eligible for the refunds. Credit will happen
in the first week of May. In other words, some people will choose to
have their bank accounts credited. And in the second week of May, we
anticipate the checks start moving out of Washington.
And the purpose is to encourage our consumers. The purpose is to
give them money--their own to begin with, by the way--but give them
money to help deal with the adverse effects of the decline in housing
value. Consumerism is a significant part of our GDP growth. And we want
to sustain the American consumer, encourage the American consumer, and
at the same time, we want to encourage investment. So we'll see how the
plan works.
Q. But the political context----
The President. Oh, you're trying to get me to be the pundit again.
Look, you all figure that out. I mean, we--what I'm dealing with is the
situation at hand, and I appreciate that--both Democrats and Republicans
in the United States Congress and Senate for getting this bill done very
quickly. And it's a substantial piece of legislation, and it's a good
sign that we can figure out how to cooperate with each other at times.
And so we'll see the effects of this progrowth package. It's--I know
there's a lot of--here in Washington, people are trying to--stimulus
package two and all that stuff. Why don't we let stimulus package one,
which seemed like a good idea at the time, have a chance to kick in?
Yes.
Turkey and Iraq
Q. Mr. President, Turkey's ground offensive in northern Iraq is now
a week old with no end in sight. How quickly would you like to see
Turkey end its offensive, its incursion? And do you have any concerns
about the possibility of protracted presence in northern Iraq causing
further destabilization in the region?
The President. A couple of points on that--one, the Turks, the
Americans, and the Iraqis, including the Iraqi Kurds, share a common
enemy in the PKK. And secondly, it's in nobody's interests that there be
safe haven for people who are--have the willingness to kill innocent
people.
A second point I want to make to you, Matt [Matthew Spetalnick,
Reuters], is that there is a Special Forces presence in northern Iraq,
in Kurdistan, now, apart from what you're referring to. In other words--
so there is a presence, and there has been a presence for a while.
Thirdly, I strongly agree with the sentiments of Secretary Gates,
who said that the incursion must be limited and must be temporary in
nature. In other words, it shouldn't be long-lasting. But the Turks need
to move quickly, achieve their objective, and get out.
Q. But how quickly, sir, do they need to move out?
The President. You know, as quickly as possible.
Q. Days or weeks?
The President. Well, as possible.
Russia-U.S. Relations
Q. Mr. President, I'd like to ask you about Russia. The Democratic
candidates, when asked about the new Russian leader, Dmitry Medvedev,
didn't appear to know a great deal about him. I wonder what you can say
about him, how much power you think he's really got with Putin still in
the picture?
And critics would say you badly misjudged Vladimir Putin. So what
would be your cautionary tale to your successor about the threat Russia
poses and how to deal with this new leader?
The President. I don't know much about Medvedev either. And what
will be interesting to see is who comes to the--who represents Russia at
the G-8, for example. It
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will be interesting to see--it will help, I think, give some insight as
to how Russia intends to conduct foreign policy over--after Vladimir
Putin's Presidency. And I can't answer the question yet.
I can say that it's in our interests to continue to have relations
with Russia. For example, on proliferation matters, it's in our interest
to be able to make sure that materials that could cause great harm
aren't proliferated. It's in our interest to work together on Iran. As I
said, I think, in this room the last time I was here, I appreciated the
fact that Vladimir Putin told the Iranians that they will provide--they,
Russia--will provide enriched uranium to run the Bushehr powerplant,
thereby negating the need for the Iranians to enrich in the first place.
I thought that was a constructive suggestion. And we need to be in a
position to be able to work with Russia on Iran.
There's a lot of areas where--yesterday, for example, with the Prime
Minister of the Czech Republic, I talked about a missile defense system
in Europe. But I believe it's in our interests to try to figure out a
way for the Russians to understand the system is not aimed at them but
aimed at the real threats of the 21st century, which could be a launch
from a violent regime--a launch of a weapon of mass destruction.
So there's areas, David [David Gregory, NBC News], where we need to
cooperate and--let me finish--and so it's a--I'm going to try to leave
it so whoever my successor is will be able to have a relationship with
whoever is running foreign policy in Russia. It's just--it's in the
country's interest. That doesn't mean we have to agree all the time. I
mean, obviously, we didn't agree on Kosovo. There will be other areas
where we don't agree. And yet it is in the interest of the country to
have a relationship, leader to leader and hopefully beyond that.
Q. But I mean, first of all, are you suggesting or are you worried
that, in fact, Medvedev is a puppet for Vladimir Putin? And----
The President. No, I wouldn't say that. I wouldn't--that's your
conclusion, not mine.
Q. Well, no, I'm asking the question about whether you're concerned.
But isn't there something you took away and that you can offer to your
successor about how it's risky in the process of sizing up your Russian
counterpart? Don't you think that you learned something from your time
with Putin?
The President. Here's what I learned--here's what I learned. I
learned that it's important to establish a personal relations with
leaders even though you may not agree with them--certain leaders. I'm
not going to have a personal relationship with Kim Jong Il, and our
relationships are such that that's impossible.
But U.S.-Russian relations are important. It's important for
stability. It's important for our relations in Europe. And therefore, my
advice is to establish a personal relationship with whoever is in charge
of foreign policy in Russia. It's in our country's interest to do so.
Now, it makes it easier, by the way, when there's a trustworthy
relationship to be able to disagree and yet maintain common interests in
other areas. And so we've had our disagreements. As you know, Putin is a
straightforward, pretty tough character when it comes to his interests.
Well, so am I. And we've had some head-butts, diplomatic head-butts. You
might remember the trip to Slovakia. I think you were there at the
famous press conference. But--and yet, in spite of that, our differences
of opinion, we still have got a cordial enough relationship to be able
to deal with common threats and opportunities. And that's going to be
important for the next President to maintain.
Yes, Jonathan [Jonathan Karl, ABC News].
War on Terror in Iraq
Q. Mr. President----
The President. Yes, Jon.
Q. ----do you believe if we had the kind of rapid pullout from Iraq
that the Democrats are talking about, that we'd be at greater risk of a
terrorist attack here at home? And when Senator Obama was asked a
similar question, he said, quote, ``If Al Qaida is forming a base in
Iraq, then we will have to act in a way that secures the American
homeland and our interests abroad.''
So I'm wondering if you----
The President. That's an interesting comment. If Al Qaida is
securing a Al Qaida base--yes, well, that's exactly what they've
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been trying to do for the past 4 years. That's their stated intention,
was to create enough chaos and disorder to establish a base from which
to either launch attacks or spread a caliphate. And the intent of the
surge was to send more marines into the area that--where they had
proclaimed their desire to set up a base. That was Anbar Province. And
so, yes, I mean, that's one of the challenges we face, is denying Al
Qaida a safe haven anywhere. And their intentions--that's what they
said, that they would like to have a base or safe haven in Anbar
Province.
Yes, Bill [Bill Plante, CBS News].
Q. But to the second part----
The President. No, next turn.
Q. But the part of the question about----
The President. Nice try. [Laughter]
Q. Mr. President----
The President. You obviously haven't been here long, Jon. Where have
you been, Jonathan? [Laughter]
Q. Across the river.
The President. Yes, okay, yes.
Q. All right.
The President. Welcome to the other side. [Laughter]
Terrorist Surveillance Program/Intelligence Reform Legislation
Q. If you can get the Congress to protect telecom companies from
lawsuits, then there's no recourse for Americans who feel that they've
been caught up in this. I know it's not intended to spy on Americans,
but in the collection process, information about everybody gets swept
up, and then it gets sorted. So if Americans don't have any recourse,
are you just telling them when it comes to their privacy to suck it up?
The President. The--I wouldn't put it that way, if I were you, in
public, Bill. I mean, you've been around long enough to--anyway, yes,
I--look, there's--people who analyze the program fully understand that
America's civil liberties are well protected. There is a constant check
to make sure that our civil liberties of our citizens aren't--you know,
are treated with respect. And that's what I want, and that's what most--
all Americans want.
Now, let me talk about the phone companies. You cannot expect phone
companies to participate if they feel like they're going to be sued. I
mean, it is--these people are responsible for shareholders; they're
private companies. The Government said to those who have alleged to have
helped us that it is in our national interests, and it's legal. It's in
our national interests because we want to know who's calling who from
overseas into America. We need to know in order to protect the people.
It was legal. And now, all of a sudden, plaintiffs' attorneys,
class-action plaintiffs' attorneys, you know--I don't want to try to get
inside their head; I suspect they see, you know, a financial gravy
train--are trying to sue these companies. And first, it's unfair. It is
patently unfair. And secondly, these lawsuits create doubts amongst
those who will--whose help we need.
I guess you could be relaxed about all this if you didn't think
there was a true threat to the country. I know there's a threat to the
country. And the American people expect our Congress to give the
professionals the tools they need to listen to foreigners who may be
calling into the United States with information that could cause us
great harm. So, on the one hand, the civil liberties of our citizens are
guaranteed by a lot of checks in the system and scrutinized by the
United States Congress.
And secondly, I cannot emphasize to you how important it is that the
Congress solve this problem. The Senate has solved the problem. And
people say, would you ever compromise on the issue? The Senate bill is a
compromise. And there's enough votes in the House of Representatives to
pass the Senate bill. It's a bipartisan bill. And the House leaders need
to put it on the floor. Let the will of the House work. In my judgment,
it happens to be the will of the people to give the professionals the
tools they need to protect the country.
Elaine [Elaine Quijano, Cable News Network].
Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Adviser
Q. Mr. President, you've stressed over and over in recent days
particularly the importance of FISA reform to help keep America safe,
and yet you have not yet filled a key
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national security post. Fran Townsend announced her resignation months
ago, in November. What is the delay there, and what are Americans to
make of that delay? Is America less safe because of it?
The President. We got a fine man named Joel Bagnal working that
office right now. He's a professional. I trust his judgment. He's a real
good guy. And no, they shouldn't worry about Joel. He knows what he's
doing.
John [John McKinnon, Wall Street Journal].
Q. But, sir, the American----
The President. John.
Q. The Homeland Security Adviser is a key post.
Q. Thank you, Mr. President.
Q. What's taking so long?
The President. Joel Bagnal has occupied the position, Elaine. He's
doing the job, and I've got confidence in him. And so should the
American people have confidence in him. He's a fine professional. He
knows what he's doing. And I'm very comfortable in saying, on your
cameras, that our staff in the White House, led by Joel Bagnal, knows
what they're doing when it comes to advising the President on matters of
homeland security.
John.
Trade
Q. Thanks, Mr. President. There's been a lot of criticism on the
campaign trail of free-trade policies and even talk about the U.S.
opting out of NAFTA. And it doesn't seem that you want to discuss the
prospects of Republican candidates on the campaign trail this year,
but----
The President. Not yet.
Q. Not yet. But just given all the concerns about the economy that
people have, do you feel like you could win in a State like Ohio if you
were running again for Presidency?
The President. Landslide, John. [Laughter] Look, I am a big believer
in free trade. And the reason why is, I firmly believe that free trade
is essential to the formation of high-paying, quality jobs. In other
words, people who work for industries that export goods to overseas are
likely to be paid more than their--other workers.
Secondly, if you look at the--our economic growth recently,
particularly last year, a major portion of that growth came as a result
of exports. It's an essential part of our economic picture.
Yes, I heard the talk about NAFTA. One statistic I think people need
to know is, I think there's roughly, like, $380 billion worth of goods
that we ship to our NAFTA partners on an annual basis. Now, $380 billion
worth of goods means there's a lot of farmers and businesses, large and
small, who are benefiting from having a market in our neighborhood. And
the idea of just unilaterally withdrawing from a trade treaty because of
trying to score political points is not good policy. It's not good
policy on the merits, and it's not good policy to--as a message to send
to our--people who have, in good faith, signed a treaty and worked with
us on a treaty.
Thirdly, those of us who grew up in Texas remember what the border
looked like when we were kids, and it was really poor. And you go down
to that border today, it is prosperous on both sides of the river, to
the credit of those who proposed NAFTA and to the credit of those who
got NAFTA through the Congress. If you're worried about people coming
into our country illegally, it makes sense to help a place like Mexico
grow its economy. Most folks would rather be finding a job close to
home; most folks would rather not try to get in the bottom of an 18-
wheeler to come and put food on the table.
This agreement has meant prosperity on both sides of our borders,
north and south. And I believe it's in the interests to continue to seek
markets for our farmers, ranchers, and businesspeople. I also know it's
in our interest to insist that when people sell products into our
countries, that we get treated fairly. In other words, if we treat a
country one way--people in a country one way, we expect to be treated
the same way--like Colombia.
The Colombia free trade vote's coming up. Many of their products
come into our country much easier than our products go into theirs. It
makes sense to be treated equally. But on this vote, there's an
additional consequence. If the Congress rejects the Colombia free trade
agreement, it will sorely affect the national security interests of the
United States. It will encourage false populism in our
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neighborhood. It will undermine the standing of courageous leaders like
President Uribe. And I strongly urge the Congress, when they bring
this--when the Colombia free trade agreement is brought to a vote, to
seriously consider the consequences of rejecting this trade agreement.
Mike [Mike Emanuel, FOX News].
Terrorist Surveillance Program/Intelligence Reform Legislation
Q. Mr. President, on FISA, do you worry that perhaps some House
Democratic leaders are playing a high-stakes game of wait and see, in
terms of if we get attacked, we all lose; if we don't get attacked, then
maybe that makes the case that you don't need all the powers in FISA?
The President. No, I don't think so. I mean, I think that's--that
would be ascribing motives that are just--I just don't think they're the
motives of the House leaders to do that. I think--look, I think they're
really wrestling with providing liability protection to phone companies.
I don't think there's--that's cynical or devious, Michael. That's just
too risky.
A lot of these leaders understand that there is an enemy that wants
to attack. The caucus, evidently, in the House, is--the Democratic
caucus is, you know, is concerned about exactly Plante's question, you
know. And I just can't tell you how important it is to not alienate or
not discourage these phone companies.
How can you listen to the enemy if the phone companies aren't going
to participate with you? And they're not going to participate if they
get sued. Let me rephrase: less likely to participate. And they're
facing billions of dollars of lawsuits, and they have a responsibility
to their shareholders. And yet they were told what they were going to do
is legal.
And anyway, I'm going to keep talking about the issue, Mike. This is
an important issue for the American people to understand. And it's
important for them to understand that no renewal of the PATRIOT Act--I
mean, the Protect America Act is dangerous for the security of the
country, just dangerous.
I'm sure people, if they really pay attention to the details of this
debate, wonder why it was okay to pass the Protect America Act last
summer, late last summer, and all of a sudden, it's not okay to pass it
now. And so I will keep talking about the issue and talking about the
issue.
Michael [Mike Abramowitz, Washington Post].
President's Foreign Policy
Q. Thank you, Mr. President. I'd like to ask you about another issue
that's kind of come up on the campaign trail, in terms of discussion,
which is--this is a point of view that has been espoused--that we would
be better off if we talked to our adversaries, in particular, Iran and
Cuba, you know, without preconditions. And as President, you have
obviously considered and rejected this approach. And I'm wondering if
you can give us a little bit of insight into your thinking about this,
and just explain to the American people what is lost by talking with
those when we disagree.
The President. What's lost by embracing a tyrant who puts his people
in prison because of their political beliefs? What's lost is, it'll send
the wrong message. It'll send a discouraging message to those who wonder
whether America will continue to work for the freedom of prisoners.
It'll give great status to those who have suppressed human rights and
human dignity.
I'm not suggesting there's never a time to talk, but I'm suggesting
now is not the time--not to talk with Raul Castro. He's nothing more
than an extension of what his brother did, which was to ruin an island
and imprison people because of their beliefs.
These wives of these dissidents come and see me, and their stories
are just unbelievably sad. And it just goes to show how repressive the
Castro brothers have been, when you listen to the truth about what they
say. And the idea of embracing a leader who's done this without any
attempt on his part to release prisoners and free their society would be
counterproductive and send the wrong signal.
Q. But no one is saying embrace him; they're just saying talk----
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The President. Well, talking to him is embracing. Excuse me. Let me
use another word. You're right; embrace is like big hug, right? That's--
you're looking----
Q. [Inaudible]
The President. I do embrace people. Mike, one of these days, I'm
just thinking about--[laughter]. Right, okay, good. Thank you for
reminding me to use a different word. Sitting down at the table, having
your picture taken with a tyrant such as Raul Castro, for example, lends
the status of the office and the status of our country to him. He gains
a lot from it by saying, ``Look at me; I'm now recognized by the
President of the United States.''
Now, somebody will say, well, I'm going to tell him to release the
prisoners. Well, it's a theory that all you got to do is embrace, and
these tyrants act. That's not how they act. That's not what causes them
to respond. And so I made a decision quite the opposite, and that is to
keep saying to the Cuban people, we stand with you. We will not sit down
with your leaders that imprison your people because of what they
believe. We will keep an embargo on you. We do want you to have money
from people here in the homeland, but we will stay insistent upon this
policy until you begin to get free.
And so that's the way I've conducted foreign policy and will
continue to conduct foreign policy. I just remind people that the
decisions of the U.S. President to have discussions with certain
international figures can be extremely counterproductive. It can send
chilling signals and messages to our allies; it can send confusion about
our foreign policy; it discourages reformers inside their own country.
And in my judgment, it would be a mistake--on the two countries you
talked about.
Sheryl [Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times].
2008 Presidential Elections
Q. Mr. President, thank you. I want to bring you back to Senator
Obama's comment on Iraq. Do you believe that his comment was naive?
The President. I believe Senator Obama better stay focused on his
campaign with Senator Clinton, neither of whom has secured their party's
nominee yet--nomination yet. And my party's nomination hasn't been
decided yet either. And so there will be ample time to discuss whoever
their candidate for--the positions of whoever their candidate is.
Nice try, Sheryl. Would you like to try another tact, another
question?
Q. Well, earlier you said it was an interesting comment. Okay, I'll
follow on it. About Iraq, you have said in the past that you want to----
Q. Come on. [Laughter]
Q. ----leave a sustainable policy.
The President. Yes.
Q. You said I could have another question.
The President. That's good. Yes, okay.
Q. If you want to leave your----
The President. Well, it was just a little, like--give her--should we
vote on whether she gets another question? [Laughter]
War on Terror in Iraq
Q. They're for me. [Laughter] You've said, Mr. President, that you
want to leave Iraq in a sustainable situation----
The President. Yes, I do.
Q. ----at the end of your administration. Can you describe for us
specifically, what do you mean by sustainable? Do you have specific
goals and objectives that, in your mind, would meet the criteria of
sustainability?
The President. Yes, which is to keep enough troops there so we can
succeed. And David Petraeus will come as--for example, David Petraeus
will come back, along with Ryan Crocker, here later on this spring and
will make a recommendation as to what that--what those troop levels
ought to be.
The idea of having a request by the Iraqi Government for a long-term
security agreement is part of sustainability. And obviously, we're going
to be pushing hard at the same time to get the political process moving
forward.
I don't know if you noticed yesterday, but it was a very interesting
moment in Iraqi constitutional history, when part of the--a member of
the Presidency Council utilized his constitutional right to veto one of
the three pieces of legislation recently passed. I understand the use of
the veto, intend to continue to use it, and I--but I thought it was a
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healthy sign that the people are thinking through the legislation that's
passed, and they're worrying about making sure that laws are
constitutional. And I feel pretty good about the fact that they're, of
course, going to continue to work to make sure that their stated
objective of getting Provincial elections done by October of 2008 will
happen.
So there's going to be a lot of work. My only point is,
sustainability is political, economic, and security.
Yes, Ed [Ed Chen, Bloomberg News].
Monetary Policy
Q. Good morning, sir.
The President. Yes, thank you.
Q. If I could get back to the economy--the GDP numbers today show
that our economy is increasingly relying on U.S. exports to keep
growing. How important is a competitive dollar in keeping U.S. exports
strong and growing?
The President. We believe in a strong dollar policy, and we believe
that--and I believe that our economy has got the fundamentals in place
for us to be a--is to grow and continue growing more robustly,
hopefully, than we're growing now. And the dollar--the value of the
dollar will be reflected in the ability for our economy to be--to grow
economically. And so we're still for a strong dollar.
Q. Can I follow up on that, sir?
Price of Gasoline/Taxes/Energy
The President. Maybe.
Q. Thanks.
The President. I guess you are. Yes, I haven't said yes, but,
please. [Laughter]
Q. What's your advice to the average American who is hurting now,
facing the prospect of $4 a gallon gasoline, a lot of people facing----
The President. Wait a minute. What did you just say? You're
predicting $4 a gallon gasoline?
Q. A number of analysts are predicting----
The President. Oh, yeah?
Q. ----$4 a gallon gasoline this spring when they reformulate.
The President. That's interesting. I hadn't heard that.
Q. Yes, sir.
The President. Yes. I know it's high now.
Q. And the other economic problems facing people--beyond your
concern that you stated here and your expectations for these stimulus
checks, what kind of hope can you offer to people who are in dire
straits?
The President. Permanent tax--keep the tax cuts permanent, for
starters. There's a lot of economic uncertainty. You just said that. You
just said the price of gasoline may be up to $4 a gallon--or some expert
told you that--and that creates a lot of uncertainty. If you're out
there wondering whether or not--you know, what your life is going to be
like and you're looking at $4 a gallon, that's uncertain. And when you
couple that with the idea that taxes may be going up in a couple of
years, that's double uncertainty. And therefore, one way to deal with
uncertainty is for Congress to make the tax cuts permanent.
Secondly, it's--people got to understand that our energy policy
needs to be focused on a lot of things: one, renewables, which is fine,
which I strongly support, as you know; two, conservation. But we need to
be finding more oil and gas at home if we're worried about becoming
independent--dependent on oil overseas. And this--I view it as a
transitory period to new technologies that'll change the way we live.
But we haven't built a refinery in a long time. We're expanding
refineries, but we haven't built a refinery in a long time. I strongly
suggested to the Congress that we build refineries on old military
bases, but, no, it didn't pass. But if you've got less supply of
something as demand continues to stay steady or grow, your price is
going to go up.
Secondly, on oil, we--the more oil we find at home, the better off
we're going to be in terms of the short run. And yet our policy is, you
know, let us not explore robustly in places like ANWR. And there are
environmental concerns, and I understand that. I also know there's
technologies that should mitigate these environmental concerns.
They got a bill up there in Congress now. Their attitude is, let's
tax oil companies. Well, all that's going to do is make the price even
higher. We ought to be encouraging investment in oil and gas close to
home if we're
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trying to mitigate the problems we face right now.
And so, yes, there's a lot of uncertainty, and I'm concerned about
the uncertainty. Hopefully this progrowth package will help--this 100--I
think it's $147 billion that will be going out the door, starting
electronically in the first week of May and through check in the second
week of May. And the idea is to help our consumers deal with the
uncertainty you're talking about. But, yes, no question about it; it's a
difficult period.
Yes, Ken [Ken Herman, Cox News].
Presidential Library
Q. Thank you, sir. Now that you've found a location for your
Presidential library, you've got to find the money to build it. Reports
indicate that you may be trying to collect as much as $200 million. Is
that figure accurate? Do you believe it's important for the American
people to know who is giving that kind of money to their President? Will
you disclose the contributions as they come in? And will you place any
restriction on who gives money and how much they can give?
The President. No, yes, no, yes. [Laughter] Next question.
[Laughter] I haven't--phew, man. You obviously haven't asked a question
in a long time. It was like, you know--one, I haven't seen the final
budget. Two, as Donnie Evans said, who is the chairman of the
foundation, we'll look at the disclosure requirements and make a
decision. Here's the--well, I--there's a lot of people--or some people;
I shouldn't say a lot--some people who like to give and don't
particularly want their names disclosed, whether it be for this
foundation or any other foundation. And so we'll take that into
consideration.
Thirdly--and what was the other?
Q. Any restrictions on who can give? Will you take foreign money for
this?
The President. Yes, I'll probably take some foreign money, but don't
know yet, Ken. We just haven't--we just announced the deal, and I,
frankly, have been focused elsewhere, like on gasoline prices and, you
know, my trip to Africa, and haven't seen the fundraising strategy yet.
And so the answer to your question--really, I can't answer your question
well.
Q. Where does the people's right to know this fit into all of that?
The President. You know, I don't--we're weighing, taking a look,
taking consideration, giving it serious consideration. Nice try, though.
2008 Beijing Olympics/China/Human Rights
Oliver [Oliver Knox, Agence France-Presse].
Q. Thank you, sir. In China, a former factory worker who says that
human rights are more important than the Olympics is being tried for
subversion. What message does it send that you're going to the Olympics?
And do you think athletes there should be allowed to publicly express
their dissent?
The President. Oliver, I have made it very clear, I'm going to the
Olympics because it's a sporting event, and I'm looking forward to
seeing the athletic competition. But that will not preclude me from
meeting with the Chinese President, expressing my deep concerns about a
variety of issues, just like I do every time I meet with the President.
And maybe I'm in a little different position. Others don't have a
chance to visit with Hu Jintao, but I do. And every time I meet with
him, I talk about religious freedom and the importance of China's
society recognizing that if you're allowed to worship freely, it will
benefit the society as a whole; that the Chinese Government should not
fear the idea of people praying to a god as they see fit. A whole
society, a healthy society, a confident society is one that recognizes
the value of religious freedom.
I talk about Darfur and Iran and Burma. And so I am not the least
bit shy of bringing up the concerns expressed by this factory worker.
And I believe that I'll have an opportunity to do so with the President
and, at the same time, enjoy a great sporting event. I'm a sports fan.
I'm looking forward to the competition. And each Olympic society will
make its own decision as to how to deal with the athletes.
Yes, Mark [Mark Smith, Associated Press Radio].
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Price of Oil/Tax Breaks for Oil Companies/Energy
Q. Mr. President, back to the oil price--tax breaks that you were
talking about a minute ago. Back when oil was $55 a barrel, you said
those tax breaks were not needed; people had plenty of incentive to
drill for oil. Now the price of oil is $100 a barrel, and you're
planning to threaten a plan that would shift those tax breaks to
renewables. Why, sir?
The President. I talked, Mark--I talked about some--some of the
breaks. And this is a--this generally is a tax increase, and it doesn't
make any sense to do it right now. We need to be exploring for more oil
and gas. And taking money out of the coffers of the oil companies will
make it harder for them to reinvest. I know they say, well, look at all
of the profits. Well, we're raising the price of gasoline in a time when
the price of gasoline is high.
Secondly, we've invested a lot of money in renewables. This
administration has done more for renewables than any President. Now, we
got a problem with renewables, and that is, the price of corn is
beginning to affect food--cost of food, and it's hurting hog farmers and
a lot of folks. And the best way to deal with renewables is to focus on
research and development that will enable us to use other raw material
to produce ethanol. I'm a strong believe in ethanol, Mark. This
administration has got a great record on it. But it is a--I believe
research and development is what's going to make renewable fuels more
effective.
Again, I repeat: If you look at what's happened in corn out there,
you're beginning to see the food issue and the energy issue collide. And
so, to me, the best dollar spent is to continue to deal with cellulosic
ethanol in order to deal with this bottleneck right now. And secondly,
the tax--yes, I said that a while ago, on certain aspects. But the way I
analyze this bill is, it's going to cost the consumers more money. And
we need more oil and gas being explored for; we need more drilling; we
need less dependence on foreign oil.
And as I say, we're in a period of transition here in America, from
a time where we were--where we are oil and gas dependent to, hopefully,
a time where we got electric automobiles, and we're spending money to do
that; a time when we're using more biofuels, and we've taken huge
investments in that; a time when we've got nuclear powerplants and we're
able to deal with the disposal in a way that brings confidence to the
American people--so we're not dependent on natural gas to fire up our--a
lot of our utilities and a time when we can sequester coal.
That's where we're headed for, but we've got to do something in the
interim. Otherwise, we're going to be dealing, as the man said, with $4
gasoline. And so that's why I'm against that bill.
I thank you. It's been a pleasure. Enjoyed being with you.
Q. Sir, do you think Hillary Clinton is the nominee?
The President. Pardon me?
Q. Do you still think Hillary Clinton will be the nominee?
The President. I'm not talking about politics.
Q. You've said that before, though.
The President. You're trying to get me to be pundit in chief.
Q. Are they qualified to be Commander in Chief?
The President. I appreciate you very--Jackson [David Jackson, USA
Today]--Jackson. Nice to see you. [Laughter] Thank you.
Q. Thank you.
The President. Glad to see you back. [Laughter]
Note: The President's news conference began at 10:05 a.m. in the James
S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House. In his remarks, he
referred to Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates; Russian Presidential
candidate Dmitry Medvedev; Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek of the Czech
Republic; Chairman Kim Jong Il of North Korea; President Alvaro Uribe
Velez of Colombia; President Raul Castro Ruz and former President Fidel
Castro Ruz of Cuba; Democratic Presidential candidates Barack Obama and
Hillary Rodham Clinton; Gen. David H. Petraeus, USA, commanding general,
Multi-National Force--Iraq; Donald L. Evans, chairman, George W. Bush
Presidential Library Foundation; and former factory worker and human
rights activist Yang Chunlin, who was arrested on July 6, 2007, in
China. Reporters referred to Republican Presidential candidate John
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McCain; and former Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Adviser
Frances Fragos Townsend. The Office of the Press Secretary also released
a Spanish language transcript of this news conference.