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Skriven 2005-12-05 23:33:14 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0512052) for Mon, 2005 Dec 5
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Press Gaggle by Scott McClellan
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
December 5, 2005

Press Gaggle by Scott McClellan
Aboard Air Force One
En route Greensboro, North Carolina



11:49 A.M. EST

MR. McCLELLAN: All right. Let me start off by talking about the plant that
the President will be going to today. The President will be going to the
Deere-Hitachi Construction Machinery plan in Kernersville. And this is a
plant that produces hydraulic excavators that are used for home building
and demolition work. It is the largest manufacturing facility in North
America for this kind of excavating equipment. And this is a company that,
as I mentioned, I think, the other day, has hired hundreds of employees
over the last few years because of the growing economy. And the tour of the
plant, when the President goes to the plant, he's going to tour an assembly
line of the hydraulic excavator machine from the beginning of the process
to the end of that process, when it's the finished product.

And then he'll make remarks to the workers. I talked a little bit about
that the other day. Just to reiterate a couple of things, the President
will talk about how our economy is growing stronger. We've seen some 4.5
million jobs created since May of 2003; the unemployment rate is at 5
percent, down to 5 percent, below the averages of the '70s, '80s and '90s.

I think the President will give a lot of credit to the hard work and
ingenuity of American workers and entrepreneurs, and it's because of their
hard work and ingenuity and productivity, and because of our sound policies
of tax relief and spending restraint that our economy is in good shape. And
one thing the President will do in his remarks is talk about how we have a
foundation of growth in place that will allow us to take steps to make
American workers' and families' lives even better. And he'll talk about the
importance of addressing their energy needs, their health care needs,
moving forward on pension reform, making sure that we're fully funding
those pensions and protecting their pensions, and things of that nature.

And one thing that he will do in his remarks, too, is directly take on some
of the pessimists, the pessimists that we've seen throughout the last
century who have said that our best days are behind us. America's workers
and entrepreneurs have shown time and again that they are wrong, that we
have the best workers in the world. And when we pursue pro-growth policies,
those workers are able to realize their full potential and pursue their
dreams. And that's some of what the President will talk about. He'll also
take on the economic isolationists who think that we should retreat from
opening markets to our products and workers and services in his remarks, as
well.

And that's just a quick overview of today. With that, I'd like to turn it
over to Al, see if he has anything to add, or take some of your questions
on the economy. Oh, one other thing, too. A number of administration
officials are going to be going out talking about the economy. I know that
Secretary Snow and Secretary Gutierrez have speeches, I think, on Thursday
-- in Washington for Secretary Snow and I think in Atlanta for Secretary
Gutierrez, and I think Secretary Gutierrez has another event on Friday. And
I'll try to get you some of the additional events that people will be
doing.

Q -- Secretary Snow on here?

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, Secretary Snow and Secretary Gutierrez are with us, as
well as two members of Congress.

Anything to add?

DIRECTOR HUBBARD: Only that the numbers keep coming out very strong. We had
new numbers today on the service industry. And it continues to be strong,
and the Christmas season appears to be -- it has started off strong, and we
expect consumer sales to continue to be strong. And this economy is on a
sustainable pace. We expect '06 to be strong, as well.

Q What about companies like GM that have announced all these layoffs? How
do you expect that to affect the economy?

DIRECTOR HUBBARD: Well, obviously, GM has some big challenges right now,
primarily because they make automobiles that are less fuel-efficient. And
with higher energy prices, the American people are interested in more
fuel-efficient cars. It's unfortunate that General Motors is going to have
to be laying off at the same time Toyota and other companies are expanding
in the U.S. So the important thing is that the overall economy is strong.
And we're very confident and -- in General Motors and Ford, they've been
very important companies over the past century, and we're confident they'll
continue to be very important and very successful companies.

Q Do you think the federal government ought to come up with some sort of
bail-out for the auto makers, or do you think the market out to be able to
sort this out?

DIRECTOR HUBBARD: Again, the -- GM and Ford have very successfully
succeeded in the marketplace, and we expect them to continue to succeed in
the marketplace. There doesn't need to be any -- they don't need a
bail-out. All they need is the time to restructure, and we're confident
they'll be very successful.

MR. McCLELLAN: I forgot to mention the President will talk about the steps
that we can take to help people do even better is also job training, and
for those workers who do want to seek other jobs or have lost their jobs,
that we make sure they have the education they need and the skills they
need to be able to fill those jobs.

Q Something on Rice?

MR. McCLELLAN: Okay, he's done here. You're done.

DIRECTOR HUBBARD: Good.

Q This morning, Rice talked at Andrews -- I don't know if you know what she
said.

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes.

Q Okay.

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm aware of her statement. Well aware of her statement.

Q She said that --

MR. McCLELLAN: That was something that was part of an interagency process,
in responding --

Q -- that the intelligence agency is getting some information from a small
number of dangerous detainees that have prevented terrorist attacks, both
in Europe and in the United States. Can you shed any more light on that?
Can you give us any more detail on that?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think we've talked about some in the past, but I
think you can understand why it's important, then -- she talked about this
in her remarks -- that we don't get into discussing intelligence matters of
that nature. We're engaged in an ongoing war on terrorism. We face a very
dangerous and ruthless enemy, as she talked about in her remarks, and we
have a responsibility to do everything that is lawful within our power to
protect the American people. And there are a lot of sensitive issues
surrounding the war on terrorism, and talking about intelligence matters
could compromise ongoing operations, and we don't want to do anything like
that.

Q Like more than one country in Europe?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think I just -- what do you mean by, "more than one
country"?

Q She was talking about terrorist attacks being prevented in Europe, so
we're talking about more than one country, is it several countries?

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm not going to -- if the intelligence community wants to
talk further about it, I'll let them. But I think we've talked about some
of the plots that have been disrupted in the past. But in terms of talking
about specific intelligence that we get from people that have been captured
on the battlefield, I think it's best that we don't -- and she talked about
that in her statement -- because it could compromise things in the ongoing
war on terrorism. And I think the American people understand that.

Q She also said that whatever the United States did, that the European
counties had cooperated. By saying that, doesn't that just inflame the
rift?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think what she said, was she talked about how we have and
will continue to respect the sovereignty of other nations. The issue here
really to focus on is, what are we doing to protect our citizens. That's
the highest responsibility of any government. And that's how we have to
look at this. We are engaged in a different kind of war against a different
kind of enemy, and we have to be able to adapt in order to face that enemy.
And each country has to make their own choices. And she emphasized that in
her remarks. But we all should do what we can to work together in order to
prevail in this war on terrorism and defeat the terrorists.

Q Sharing the blame with Europe then, it sounds as if she's --

MR. McCLELLAN: Sharing the blame? I'm not sure what you're referring to. We
are acting to protect the American people and working with other countries
to protect their citizens, as well. This is a global war on terrorism. We
have seen terrorists attack throughout the world, and this is an ongoing
battle. This is a very dangerous enemy. And we all -- all of us in
government, around the world, have a responsibility to do what we can to
protect our citizens.

Q Scott, the Saddam Hussein trial today -- is the President aware of the
delays? Is he concerned that Saddam Hussein can get a fair trial, or that
this is being excessively delayed?

MR. McCLELLAN: This is a trial by the -- that is being conducted by Iraqi
officials. Saddam Hussein is going to face Iraqi justice. The Iraqi people
are holding him accountable for his crimes against humanity and the
atrocities he committed against the Iraqi people. And that's the way it
should be. There is -- this is an Iraqi court. And, yes, the President is
aware of the developments.

Q But not concerned?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, it's up to the Iraqi people to hold Saddam Hussein
accountable, and that's what they're doing through the special tribunal.

Q So he thinks it's working, the tribunal is working?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, it's important that there be a -- that due process be
afforded to the defendants and that there be a fair trial. And there are a
lot of countries -- a number of countries that worked to provide technical
advice to the special tribunal and set it up so that it was based on -- so
that the tribunal was based on the rule of law and based on international
standards and based on providing people due process. And those are
important steps that they need to continue to take. So, yes.

Q Is the administration going to delay efforts to make the tax cut
permanent until 2007 or 2008?

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sorry?

Q Is the administration going to delay efforts to try to make the tax cuts
permanent --

MR. McCLELLAN: Actually, one of the things the President will talk about in
his remarks today is the importance of making those tax cuts permanent. Our
economy is in good shape. But we've got to continue to act on pro-growth
policies. And if we don't make those tax cuts permanent, that means a big
tax hike for the American people, for American families. It's important
that we move forward quickly on them, because it's about providing
certainty so that people can plan for their future. And that's a very
important aspect of it. The last thing we need to do right now is raise
taxes. That would seriously hurt our economy at a time when it is seeing --
when it is growing strong.

And so the President will talk about the importance of making those cuts
permanent in his remarks.

Q How likely is it this year --

MR. McCLELLAN: We're working with Congress on these issues. There are some
in Washington -- the President will talk about this in his remarks -- who
are advocating that we ought to be raising taxes at this time, and that
would only harm our economy at a time when it is moving along in a very
strong way.

Q What about fundamental tax reform? Is that -- is the President going to
--

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, Al and I actually talked about that in the briefing
the other day. I mean, I think we pretty much covered that issue the other
day.

Q Okay.

MR. McCLELLAN: Anything else?

Q What's your reaction to the 9/11 former commissioner saying that you're
receiving failing grades?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think it's important to look at what they're -- some
of what they're talking about. First of all, the best way to protect the
American people is to take the fight to the enemy, to stay on the
offensive. We are taking the fight to the enemy abroad, and by doing so,
that is keeping them from plotting and planning to attack inside America.
Because of our -- the great work of our intelligence community and our
first responders and our men and women in uniform, we have been fortunate
-- we are grateful that we haven't been attacked since September 11th. But
we have made -- we have taken significant steps to better protect the
American people at home. There is more to do. This is the President's
highest responsibility.

One of the issues, I know, that the commission talked about, in terms of
what you used as an example as an F, was the issue of funding, making sure
that that funding is based on risk and based on the threat and that the
funds are going based on a risk-based assessment. And that's something
we've been working with Congress on to make sure that we are doing. And
there's more that needs to be done there to make sure that the funding is
prioritized and the resources are dedicated to the greatest risks. And
that's something we will continue to do.

Q Who is the President's chief economic --

MR. McCLELLAN: But, I mean, we are not satisfied. There's more we've got to
do to continue protecting the American people. And we have been acting and
implementing the recommendations of the 9/11 commission. We have acted on
37 of 39 recommendations that apply to the executive branch. There are an
additional two that apply to Congress. And that's what -- we will continue
to move forward on those steps.

Q Is Secretary -- Secretary Snow, you said, is on board.

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes.

Q Is he the President's chief economic spokesman?

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes.

Q So why was he not back here talking to us? Is there any reason? Is he
going to speak today, or is there --

MR. McCLELLAN: He's speaking this week. I just brought Al Hubbard back to
speak to you all.

Q Okay, okay.

MR. McCLELLAN: No reason other than that.

Q Okay.

MR. McCLELLAN: Anything else? Thank you.

END 12:02 P.M. EST

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