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Skriven 2006-04-05 23:36:36 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0604054) for Wed, 2006 Apr 5
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Press Gaggle with Scott McClellan
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 5, 2006

Press Gaggle with Scott McClellan



9:42 A.M. EDT

MR. McCLELLAN: All right, good morning. Let me just touch on the
President's day, and then I'm here for whatever questions you have. First
of all, this morning, the President had breakfast with the bicameral
Republican leadership. They had a good discussion. The focus of the meeting
was on pressing legislative priorities.

They talked about immigration and the importance of moving forward on
comprehensive immigration reform; they talked about energy issues and
moving forward on the President's advanced energy initiative. We're
certainly concerned about rising gas prices, and that is all the more
reason why there's a sense of urgency for Congress to move forward and pass
what the President has proposed to address the root causes of rising gas
prices. And they talked about the budget, they talked about tax
reconciliation, and some other issues, like avian flu preparedness and the
nuclear agreement with India. I think they talked about Iraq. But the focus
was really more on the pressing legislative priorities right now.

Then following that, the President had his usual briefings. When we
departed, as you all saw, the President made some comments on immigration
reform. The Senate is continuing to debate this important priority, and the
President was reiterating the importance of moving forward in a
comprehensive way, and encouraged the Senate to get this done soon.

When we get to Bridgeport -- I previewed a little bit of the event
yesterday, at the briefing. I talked about some of the panel participants
in this conversation on health savings accounts. And so you have that
already. Then when we return back this afternoon, the President has got a
meeting with some Republican members from the House. This is part of the
ongoing meetings he's been having.

And then this evening, he's got a -- the President and Mrs. Bush are
hosting a screening of "Voyage to Kure." This is a group of islands in the
Hawaii area that we are looking at providing a sanctuary for that area. So
this is -- the President and Mrs. Bush look forward to hosting this
screening this evening with friends that they have invited over to the
White House. I just wanted to bring that to your attention.**

And that's all I've got. Oh, wait, one other announcement. The President
will welcome President Kufuor of the Republic of Ghana to the White House
on April 12th. The visit will provide an opportunity for the President to
recognize Ghana's strong democracy and President Kufuor's efforts to invest
in the people of Ghana. The two leaders will also discuss a broad range of
regional and international issues, including continuing cooperation in
regional security, trade, debt relief, education, combating HIV/AIDS and
Ghana's upcoming compact with the Millennium Challenge Corporation. We'll
be putting out that statement for release here shortly.

That's all I've got.

Q What does the President think of the Massachusetts bill on health care?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, this is the Department of Homeland -- I'm sorry, the
Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services has actually been in close contact with Governor Romney
and the state of Massachusetts as they've been moving forward on this
legislation. I know CMS will look forward to seeing the details of the
legislation, because part of this includes a component that involves
expanding Medicaid coverage to cover some of the children that are
currently not getting that insurance coverage.

But the Deficit Reduction Act provided for some greater flexibility when it
comes to Medicaid coverage, and allowing states to have greater flexibility
there. I think it's another example of how the states are really the
laboratories of democracy in our federalist system. But the President today
will be talking about his comprehensive plan for reforming our health care
system, to make health care more affordable and accessible for all
Americans as well as helping to expand choices and give patients more
control over their own health care. And that's what he'll be focusing on
today.

Q -- model for the rest of the country on mandatory health care?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think I'd describe it the way I did. Again, the
President is focusing on his comprehensive plan for reforming health care
today. He'll talk about all five elements of his efforts to make health
care more affordable and accessible, and also talk about -- specifically
focus on health savings accounts, and why this is another important option
that patients ought to have. We want to strengthen the patient-doctor
relationship. And that's what the President will be focusing on in his
remarks today.

Q With regard to the health savings accounts, Senator Grassley said last
month he wouldn't bring up a bill because he couldn't get it through a
filibuster. There's no evidence that there's much of a budgetary priority
on this. It's an uphill battle for the President, isn't it?

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't know if I'd look at it that way at all, Dick. I
think that there are a number of leaders that recognize the importance of
continuing to move forward on initiatives that will help us address the
rapidly rising costs in health care, and help small businesses that are
struggling to provide coverage for their employees.

And health savings accounts have been very successful. You've seen since
March of last year now some 3 million people that are enrolled in health
savings accounts. And the President wants to expand this option for
Americans, because it provides them with a high-deductible, catastrophic
coverage while allowing them to have tax-free accounts to cover other
medical expenses. And so it's a great option for many Americans.

One of the things we'll do today is put out a fact sheet on health savings
accounts, as well as a myth fact sheet, as well, dispelling some of the
myths about health savings accounts. They're two separate fact sheets. So I
would encourage you to look at that. But the President believes we need to
act on all the initiatives that he has proposed, whether it's health
information technology -- expanding health information technology, access
to electronic records, medical liability reform. And I expect he'll touch
on all of those in his remarks.

Q Does he feel that his State of the Union agenda items such as health care
and the competitiveness agendas have been overshadowed by things like Iraq
and the Dubai Ports thing?

MR. McCLELLAN: No. In fact, he's had good discussions with members of
Congress that he's been meeting with over the last several weeks about
these important priorities. Just last week he had a good discussion with a
bipartisan group of senators on the competitiveness initiative. This is a
group of senators, Democrats and Republicans, that expressed their
appreciation for the President's proposal in his State of the Union. And
they think it provides a real opportunity for the Congress to move forward
and to act on those initiatives.

And the President has talked about how there are a number of areas where we
can work in a bipartisan way to get things done for the American people.
And the initiatives he proposed in the State of the Union are some of
those. The energy initiative is certainly another one. These are the
priorities the American people care most about. They care most about --
they're concerned about rising gas prices, they're concerned about high gas
-- rising gas prices, they're concerned about high health care costs.

And that's why it's important we continue to act on these initiatives. We
have a very strong economy in place, but to keep it growing and keep it
strong, we need to address these important priorities, as well.

Q Any reaction to the DHS arrest?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, it is a very serious matter. I know the Department of
Homeland Security has said that they will cooperate fully with the
investigation. The individual who was arrested is someone who is a civil
servant. My understanding is that the Department of Homeland Security has
placed that individual on administrative leave. But these are very serious
allegations.

Q Any repercussions, maybe a change in the strategy for hiring, or
monitoring people? Anything like that? Do you foresee anything changing in
the future for somebody like this?

MR. McCLELLAN: For something like this?

Q For somebody in a situation like this, to avoid it, when people are
hired, work for the government -- do you foresee any changes that -- maybe
background checks that are more thorough, or -- how could something of this
nature happen, do you think?

MR. McCLELLAN: Again, these are very serious allegations, and I think the
Department of Homeland Security recognizes that, and that's why they placed
this individual on administrative leave, and they will cooperate fully with
the investigation as it moves forward. But I don't -- I'm sorry?

Q This afternoon, he's meeting House Republicans?

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, what about it?

Q Do you have any more details on it?

MR. McCLELLAN: It's part of ongoing meetings he's having. I mean, I'm sure
they'll talk about the agenda and important legislative priorities, as the
President has been with other members of Congress.

Q What was your reaction to these referendums in Wisconsin, from the
President?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think you're the first one to ask about it.

Q First question I've had.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, first of all, I think all Americans want our troops to
come home. I think most Americans recognize the importance of succeeding in
Iraq, as well. And I think most Americans want to see our troops achieve
victory. And that's what's important. It's important that the Iraqi leaders
continue to move forward and form a unity government that is based on
strong leadership and represents -- that represents all Iraqis.

And that's -- and we are continuing to keep our focus on the strategy for
victory that the President has outlined. The worst thing we could do is
withdraw before the mission is complete. And that would be retreating. And
that's exactly what the terrorists want us to do. But they cannot shake our
will. They cannot -- we will not lose our nerve. The President understands
the importance of a free Iraq for laying the foundations of peace for
generations to come.

Thank you.

END 9:54 A.M. EDT

**The President and First Lady will view a film called "Voyage to Kure", a
documentary by Jean-Michel Cousteau, son of Jacques Cousteau, about the
Pacific Northwest Hawaiian Islands, one of our nation's greatest and
largely unknown national treasures.

It is the most remote archipelago in the world. The islands stretch for
more than 1,000 miles and have significant archeological, cultural,
economic and historic significance. It is also the home of more than 7,000
species -- a quarter of which are found nowhere else on Earth. The
administration is in the process of proposing a new marine sanctuary for
this area which is one of the largest in the world.
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