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Skriven 2006-02-15 23:33:26 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (060215) for Wed, 2006 Feb 15
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Press Gaggle by Scott McClellan
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
February 15, 2006

Press Gaggle by Scott McClellan
Aboard Air Force One
En route Columbus, Ohio



10:28 A.M. EST

MR. McCLELLAN: Good morning, everybody. Let me just kind of quickly touch
on the President's day and then I'll take whatever questions you have.

First of all, the President had breakfast with the bipartisan leadership.
The President felt it was a really good discussion. This was an opportunity
to talk about foreign and domestic priorities. The President really focused
on some of what he talked about in his State of the Union agenda, and he
said they had a good discussion on some of those topics. They talked about
the bipartisan commission that the President proposed on entitlement
reform. The President believes that that's one area that Democrats and
Republicans can work closely together to find solutions to what is a
long-term problem with the upcoming retirement of the baby boom generation,
and it's something that needs to be addressed and the sooner we address it,
the better. And he thinks it ought to be done in a bipartisan way.

It was also an opportunity to talk about his competitiveness initiative and
the energy initiative. These are a couple of other areas where the
President feels very strongly that Congress can work together in a
bipartisan way and get some things done for the American people. You've
heard him talk about those different priorities. Obviously, on the
competitiveness initiative we want to make sure that we keep America the
most competitive and innovative economy in the world, and that means
investing in the sciences and research and development, and also having
more teachers focused on advanced placement math and science, and making
sure that we have the most educated workforce in the world.

And on the energy initiative, it was an opportunity to talk about how we
can continue to work together to reduce our dependence on foreign sources
of energy. And you know the President has talked about looking at
alternative sources of energy, and that's where his initiative is focused,
as well as looking at different ways to power our automobiles and our homes
and our businesses.

Then following that, the President had his usual briefings. We're on our
way to -- oh, he met with the Secretary of State, one of the regular
meetings that they have. She's up on the Hill testifying this morning.
There are probably some comments she'll be making on Iran that you will be
interested in, and some of what we're doing there.

We're on our way to Dublin, Ohio. I gave a preview yesterday of the
President's remarks and what he would be focusing on today. He'll be
talking about his comprehensive strategy for making health care more
affordable and available, and really focusing on health savings accounts
within those remarks.

And then we're back at the White House. And on the schedule when we get
back we've got the signing of the Federal Deposit Insurance Reform
Conforming Amendments Act of 2005 -- that will be stills at the top. Then
he's got a meeting with the bicameral Republican leadership in the Oval
Office this afternoon.

That's what I've got on his schedule, glad to go to questions.

Q Scott, is there any indication that Vice President Cheney will make any
comments about the shooting? A lot of people, including Republicans and
Democrats, are saying that the Vice President should come out and express,
you know, how sorry he is publicly about what happened.

MR. McCLELLAN: A couple of things. First of all, the Vice President has
expressed his concern through his office for Mr. Whittington, for his
health and well-being. He is a friend of the Vice President's and we are
all keeping Mr. Whittington in our thoughts and prayers. We want to see him
recover fully and return home. I know the indications are that's what he
has expressed to friends, as well -- at least, friends of his that -- I've
heard them talk publicly about that. And I know no one is more concerned
about Mr. Whittington and his well-being than the Vice President. He has
expressed that publicly through his spokeswoman and his office.

In terms of any updates on his schedule, I don't have any updates on his
schedule.

Q has the President told the Vice President that he should speak publicly
and put an end to this?

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't get into any internal discussions like that. And,
again, I think that in terms of what I've said about the issue -- you know,
there's the issue of Mr. Whittington's health, and we're all concerned
about his well-being. The doctors gave a good prognosis for him going
forward yesterday. We all hope that he recovers fully and he gets home
soon. And that's where our focus is from the health standpoint.

In terms of the other issues that have been raised over the last few days
relating to the notification and how that was done, I mean, I think I've
been through that pretty thoroughly from my standpoint. I don't really
think there's anything I can add to what I've already said on those
subjects.

Q Has the Vice President not spoken up until this point because there is
this question about his health and some potential questions about any legal
issues that might arise?

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't know about that. I know that the Vice President is
first and foremost concerned about Mr. Whittington's well-being, and that
was his first focus in the immediate aftermath of the accident -- he wanted
to make sure he was getting taken care of and that he continues to receive
good medical care.

Q What about long-standing concerns about this kind of accident happening
-- concerns coming from those within the Secret Service? Is there going to
be any change now in what the Vice President can do on his down time?

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm not sure about "concerns." I'm not sure what you're
referring to.

Q Safety concerns about --

MR. McCLELLAN: That who expressed?

Q Shooting and hunting.

Q About going shooting, going hunting, using a firearm. There were some
concerns early on within the Secret Service about this kind of leisure
activity.

MR. McCLELLAN: I haven't heard anything about it. So you might want to
direct questions to the VP's office on those matters.

Q Any staff changes or any procedural changes in the communications office
because of this?

MR. McCLELLAN: Because of this? That's the first I've heard such a
suggestion.

Q Why Wendy's?

MR. McCLELLAN: Because this a business that has a lot of employees that
have signed up for health savings accounts, so it's an opportunity to
highlight that. I think there is -- it may be in the fact sheet; have you
all gotten the fact sheet?

Q Yes.

MR. McCLELLAN: I think it talks about -- I mean, there are several thousand
employees for this franchise and business that are using health savings
accounts, and the President, as you know, outlined some initiatives to
expand health savings accounts. We've seen over the last 10 months an
increase from 1 million to 3 million people signed up for health savings
accounts. He thinks it's a great way to -- for a foundation for really
transforming our health care system and giving people greater say over
their own health care.

Q Is he going to give us any new wrinkles?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think it'll focus on the health savings account
aspect. I think he'll expand on some of what he talked about in his State
of the Union and what he's talked about in the last few weeks.

Q Is the President satisfied with --

MR. McCLELLAN: I talked about the five different parts of the plan that
he'll be focusing on today.

Q Is the President satisfied with Cheney's handling of this whole situation
and his silence?

MR. McCLELLAN: You know, Jim, I don't know that there's anything I can add
to what I've already said on the whole subject --

Q Is that because you're not saying --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I mean, those questions came up on Monday and as I
indicated then -- I mean, I'll indicate again today, you can always look
back at these issues and work to do better in the future and I think that
--

Q Is that his view, or is that your view?

MR. McCLELLAN: -- I think that's what --

Q Is that the President's view?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I'm speaking on behalf of the White House and the
President.

Q Which is, it would have been done differently, or he just thinks it could
have been done differently?

MR. McCLELLAN: I would describe it the way I did.

Q Scott, can I ask about -- Ben Bernanke is giving his Humphrey Hawkins
testimony today. And given -- as he oversees the economy, if the economy
requires higher interest rates to prevent it from overheating, is the White
House okay with the Feds need, perhaps, to raise interest rates on
Americans?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I appreciate the question, I think you know our views
on those matters: those are decisions for the Federal Reserve to make. We
have great confidence in Chairman Bernanke and the Federal Reserve to take
the appropriate steps when it comes to monetary policy. You know, the
economy is strong and growing stronger because of the pro-growth policies
we have put in place. You saw retail sales yesterday were much higher than
expected. That's just the latest indication of an economy that is showing
strong job growth and is expected to continue that strong growth going
forward. I mean, nearly 4.8 million jobs created since the summer of 2003,
and an unemployment rate down to 4.7 percent now.

And we need to continue to act on that, and that's why the President was
talking with the bipartisan leadership this morning about moving forward on
the competitiveness initiative. To keep our economy competitive and
growing, we also need to address the issue of rising health care costs, and
that's what the President is focusing on today. Americans are concerned
about rapidly rising health care costs. And the President is going to talk
about five key areas that are part of his comprehensive strategy for
reducing those costs and making health care more affordable, and also
making it more available.

Q Are there any lawmakers with him?

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes. Senator Voinovich, Congresswoman Pryce, Congressmen
Hobson and Tiberi.

Q Will the governor be at this event?

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, he's going to meet us there, apparently at the event.
Yes.

Q What about DeWine? Why not DeWine?

MR. McCLELLAN: I'll check.(*) We typically reach out to the various
members.

Q Both, right? If they're Republicans --

MR. McCLELLAN: I imagine we did, but I'll double-check. I don't know if
he's meeting us there or not. Let me double-check that.

Q What about the number of people in the counter-terrorism data base?
That's more than half the population of Washington, according to The Post.

MR. McCLELLAN: You have to talk to the National Counter-Terrorism Center
about those matters. A lot of that information is classified matters, but
we are going to continue to use every available tool to disrupt and prevent
attacks. And the National Counter-Terrorism Center was created in the
aftermath of the September 11th attacks, and it gives us one central
location where we can access information about known or suspected
terrorists. I think for any further comment about it, it's probably
appropriate for the head of the NCTC to talk about.

Q Given the enormity of the number, isn't that surprising or troublesome?

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm not getting into discussing the numbers one way or the
other. You ought to talk to the NCTC. They're doing a great job working
around the clock, 24/7 to protect the American people. That's their one and
only priority. The President was pleased to visit there -- when was that,
about a year ago? About a year ago -- and see how we have a fully
integrated operation amongst all the various intelligence and law
enforcement agencies that are focused on preventing terrorist attacks. And
I think the American people appreciate the great job that they're doing.
It's an impressive operation with one mission, and that is the protection
of the American people.

Q Thank you.

(*) Mr. McClellan: My understanding is Senator DeWine stayed back in D.C.
because of previously scheduled commitments.

(**) Mr. McClellan: The Vice President will sit down for an interview with
Brit Hume at 2:00 p.m.

End 10:40 A.M. EST

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