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Skriven 2006-04-21 23:33:16 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0604211) for Fri, 2006 Apr 21
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Press Gaggle by Scott McClellan
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 21, 2006

Press Gaggle by Scott McClellan
Aboard Air Force One
En Route Moffett Federal Airfield, California



1:55 P.M. EDT

MR. McCLELLAN: All right, good morning, everybody, or good afternoon. It's
morning, I guess, in California -- the radio address the President taped
before we left. It will be on important priorities that Congress needs to
act on when they get back, and important priorities for the people of
California, as well, such as the Competitiveness Initiative, the Advanced
Energy Initiative, and supporting our troops with the supplemental funding
and immigration reform.

Then he had his usual briefing. He met with the Secretary of State this
morning. When we get there -- the Governor will meet us when we get there,
and I expect he'll ride with the President to the event, and then he's
going to be participating on the panel on competitiveness, as well, as will
John Chambers, the head of Cisco Systems, who is on board with us -- he and
his wife are.

Then following that, the President will go to Stanford, and he'll be
meeting with some of the Hoover Institution fellows. Secretary Shultz will
be there, and help moderate a discussion he'll have with some of the
fellows. That's a closed event. And then he has a private dinner this
evening with some Hoover Institution officials. And I think that's all I've
got on his schedule, besides a couple of announcements and updates.

The President called Prime Minister-elect Prodi on the plane. This was
about 11:05 a.m. -- I mean, 11:50 a.m. Central time [sic]. The President
called --

Q Could you say the time again?

MR. McCLELLAN: Around 11:50 a.m. Eastern time. The President called to
congratulate the Prime Minister-elect. The President said he looks forward
to working with him, and looked forward to seeing him again soon. And the
Prime Minister-elect expressed his appreciation for the call. Italy is a
valued ally and good partner. The President looks forward to working with
Prime Minister-elect Prodi on a number of common priorities that we have.

One other announcement -- we'll be putting out a statement on this. Prime
Minister Rasmussen will be coming to Camp David on Friday, June 9th.
Denmark is a close ally in the war on terror and a valued partner in
advancing freedom around the world. The President looks forward to
welcoming Prime Minister Rasmussen to Camp David. We'll get that statement
out to you all here shortly.

And I think that's all I've got to really begin with. I've got a week ahead
at the end.

Q Is there a private meeting with the President and the Governor in
California?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think they'll be riding to the event together, so
they'll have an opportunity to visit about important priorities.

Q Does the President have an answer to his -- the Governor's request about
levees?

MR. McCLELLAN: Actually, our Chairman on the Council of Environmental
Quality just did a call with California reporters --

Q Today?

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, just a short time ago, just completed a call. The Army
Corps of Engineers has been working with California to move ahead on levee
repairs. This is to repair some levees in the Sacramento area. And Chairman
Connaughton of our Council of Environmental Quality announced that we had
reached an agreement with California and are moving ahead to repair those
levees in a quick and practical way. There are 29 locations all together,
and this will be done over the course of the summer and into the fall. The
President directed his team to -- his Cabinet team and Chairman of the
Council on Environmental Quality to make sure that the repairs happen as
quickly as possible.

Q Who is going to be at dinner -- it's Shultz and who else?

MR. McCLELLAN: Hoover Institution officials.

Q Shultz will be at the dinner?

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes.

Q Is it Shultz's house, the private residence?

MR. DECKARD: No. We'll get you the information.

MR. McCLELLAN: I'll get you that information.*

Q What was the purpose of those briefings and -- the meeting with the
Hoover fellows, is there a topic, a purpose to it?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think it's just -- the fellows? He's in the area, and it's
an opportunity to talk to them about issues that are on their minds, as
well as some of the priorities that we're pursuing.

Q Is he considering asking George Shultz to help out in some other way,
maybe come back to Washington, or anything along that --

MR. McCLELLAN: I hadn't heard that one. I think Secretary Shultz is happy
where he is right now. He's a good friend, and the President looks forward
to seeing him.

Q Are there any steps on gas prices -- immediate steps to help fuel prices
the President is planning soon? You talked about the long-term stuff.

MR. McCLELLAN: The President is concerned about high prices at the pump.
And I think you heard him talk about it earlier this week. He's concerned
about the impact it's having on small businesses, the impact it's having on
families who are trying to make ends meet. I think that the increase in gas
prices in recent weeks is all the more reason why Congress should move
ahead and act on the initiative he outlined in his State of the Union, and
that this should create a sense of urgency for Congress to move ahead and
pass these initiatives that will really help us change the way we power our
cars and power our homes and businesses. And the President will be talking
about that in remarks tomorrow, and highlighting that -- the initiative
that he outlined. He will be urging Congress to move ahead.

Q What he's talking about tomorrow, fuel cells, and then what he's talking
about with Congress is much more long-term. Is there anything he can do
now?

MR. McCLELLAN: We're always looking at any short-term ways we can address
these issues. Remember, this is not something that we got into overnight.
This has been occurring for years and building for years. What we have to
do is reduce our dependence on foreign sources of energy, particularly
foreign crude. And that's why the President outlined a really bold
initiative that will transform the way we power our cars and homes and
businesses, by investing in new technologies.

And that's one of the things he's going to be talking about on this trip.
It's a high priority for the President. We passed a comprehensive energy
plan last year, but there's more that we need to do. And there should be a
sense of urgency within Congress to move ahead and get this done, so that
we don't continue to run into this situation year after year after year. If
you're going to address rising energy prices, you have to go to the root
causes of why those energy prices are rising, and it's because we're
dependent on foreign oil.

Q Will the President, on this trip, though, Scott --

MR. McCLELLAN: But we're always looking at ways we might help in the
short-term, even though this is something that requires a comprehensive
solution.

Q Speaking of a short-term solution, will he be talking about or
introducing any new ideas about those short-term solutions on this trip?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, he's going to be talking more about energy and high
energy prices tomorrow in his remarks.

Q That's at a fuel cell -- fuel car event. I mean, that's a long-term --
that's many years down the line. Is he going to be offering any solutions
for motorists today?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think, one, that's not the only thing he's going to
be talking about tomorrow. I think he'll be talking about his broader
initiative. And what we have to do is go to the root causes of high energy
prices. Again, this is something that puts a strain on family budgets, puts
a strain on small businesses. And it's not something that occurred
overnight, and it's not something that's going to be solved overnight.
There are some short-term steps we've taken.

One of the things the President emphasized the other day, too, was that we
have a responsibility to make sure that we are acting to stop any price
gouging, and we'll stay on top of that, as well. I think the Department of
Energy put out some additional information on that the other day. We will
always look for ways we can -- might be able to help in the short-term. We
have a strong economy, but rising energy prices, rising health care costs
are concerns that the President wants to see Congress act on. That's
something that the American people are concerned about, those two issues,
and that's why Congress needs to act on these initiatives.

Q How frustrated is he --

MR. McCLELLAN: But he's trying to focus on a bipartisan way we can solve
these issues, and I think there's a lot of bipartisan support for the
Advanced Energy Initiative. This is something that has good support among
leaders of both parties of Congress, and I think that the recent increase
at the pump is all the more reason why Congress ought to be moving ahead
quickly when they get back.

Q How frustrated is he, though, Scott, that the strong economy is being
overshadowed by frustrations about high gas prices?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think you need to look at what people are doing.
Consumer confidence is at very high levels, and that's what's important to
look at when you talk about the economy. You have more than 5.1 million
jobs that have been created, an unemployment rate that is down to 4.7
percent. One of the other areas he's talking about is the Competitiveness
Initiative. We need to act to keep America the most competitive economy in
the world. This is a strong and growing economy, but there are still
priorities that need to be addressed that the American people are concerned
about.

Q Is Harriet Miers expected to leave as general counsel --

MR. McCLELLAN: Are you talking about this story in The New York Times
today? First of all, I think Harriet Miers is a valued and trusted advisor.
Secondly, Josh Bolten told the senior staff that the story is not accurate.
Josh is not considering any such action, and more importantly, it's not
something that is under consideration by the President.

Q Why did the President wait until now to call Prodi, and secondly, how
significant a breakthrough does the administration see these latest
political developments in Iraq?

MR. McCLELLAN: First on Prime Minister-elect Prodi. I think just in the
last couple of days the election has been certified by the courts in Italy.
And so before that it was under dispute. And the President wanted to call
him as soon as the issue was resolved.

On Iraq, the parliament is supposed to meet again tomorrow. And we continue
to urge the Iraqi leaders to come together and get a unity government in
place as quickly as possible. We hope to see some good progress in the
coming days. I think you have seen that Iraqi leaders have been continuing
to have discussions about how to move forward and get a government formed
and in place. And so we will be watching in the coming days to see how the
parliament moves ahead. My understanding is that they're supposed to be
acting on the top seven leadership posts as they come back to meet again.

Q The first quarter fundraising numbers are in for the congressional
campaign candidates' committees. And the Democratic Committee's Senatorial
Committee and Congressional Committee are doing very well versus the
Republican committees. Is there any concern on that for you guys?

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't know -- you'd have to ask the Republican National
Committee. I don't know that they agree with that assessment that you made.
I think if you look at events the President has been attending, he's been
helping candidates generate strong support and raise a lot of resources for
their campaigns.

Q Can I go back to Harriet Miers for a second? Is the President satisfied
with the job she's doing?

MR. McCLELLAN: Absolutely, absolutely. She's been doing a great job. She's
an important member of this team.

Q Has he told her she will stay in the same job that she's in, as opposed
to maybe switching to some other role within the administration?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think I just talked about the specific report, and now
you're trying to speculate about all sorts of things.

Q I wanted to make sure I was hearing you right.

MR. McCLELLAN: I think I was pretty clear in what I said.

Q Well, since Mr. Bolten is also on the plane, will they be discussing
other personnel issues or anything?

MR. McCLELLAN: There's nothing to update you on. We'll keep you posted.

Q On Italy, given the nature of his relationship -- the President's
relationship with Berlusconi, would it be normal, or is he considering
given Berlusconi a call, too?

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, he is, in about 45 minutes. Good question.

Q Thank you.

MR. McCLELLAN: They've worked out a time to talk here shortly.**

Q What do you expect him to say?

MR. McCLELLAN: I'll let him say it, then I'll tell you.

Q Can you let us know --

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, I absolutely will. That's why I told you.

All right, week ahead. I'll skip through -- there's nothing new on here for
Saturday and Sunday, right, and Monday? I'll skip through that, because you
already have that.

On Tuesday, the President will be making remarks on energy --

Q What is the Monday morning -- the immigration speech?

MR. McCLELLAN: Didn't we put that on there? Oh, okay, in Irvine,
California. He will be making remarks on his immigration reform proposal.

Q Anything more on that?

MR. McCLELLAN: It's still a couple days away. We'll update you as we get
closer. Then he's got the congressional reception in Vegas for Jon Porter.

Then we're back in D.C. on Tuesday. He'll make remarks on energy in
Washington. He'll participate in the presentation of the
Commander-in-Chief's Trophy to the United States Naval Academy Football
Team.

And on Wednesday he'll make remarks to the 2006 National and State Teachers
of the Year at the White House.

Thursday we will be traveling to Louisiana and Mississippi. He'll be
participating in a National Volunteer Service Week project in Louisiana,
and then doing one in Mississippi.

And on Friday, he'll, as you all know, he'll be meeting with the President
of Azerbaijan at the White House.

And then Saturday he'll be making remarks at the White House
Correspondent's Dinner.

All right, thank you all. I'll update you on Berlusconi.

END 2:11 P.M. EDT

* It will be at Secretary Shultz's home.

** The President had a good conversation with Prime Minister Berlusconi.
The President thanked him for his strong leadership and friendship. The two
leaders agreed to stay in touch.
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