Text 256, 635 rader
Skriven 2005-01-04 23:34:24 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0501043) for Tue, 2005 Jan 4
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Press Briefing by Scott McClellan
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 4, 2005

Press Briefing by Scott McClellan
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

Press Briefing
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  þ Update on relief efforts
      þ Reference B
  þ Iraq/elections
      þ Reference B
  þ Egypt/pursuing nuclear weapons program
  þ Judge Gonzales/decisions as President's counsel
  þ Bipartisan tax panel
  þ Social Security benefits/how to calculate
  þ Malpractice/tort reform
  þ Illegal immigrants/temporary worker permits

12:53 P.M. EST

MR. McCLELLAN: Good afternoon, everybody.

Q You're late.

MR. McCLELLAN: I am sorry. (Laughter.) Sometimes that happens. Do you want
to cancel it?

Let me give you an update on the relief efforts underway in the Indian
Ocean region. The President spoke with Secretary Powell, and his brother,
Governor Bush, this morning to receive an update on the delegation's
assessment of the humanitarian relief efforts in the Indian Ocean region
and the needs on the ground. Secretary Powell gave a positive report on the
coordination going on between our government agencies, like USAID and the
military, to make sure aid is flowing to those who are in need. The
Secretary also praised the work of our men and women in uniform, and the
military operation in the region that is being overseen by General
Blackman. The two delegation heads also spoke about how every leader that
they have met with has expressed their great appreciation for the
outpouring of support from the United States government.

The Secretary also spoke about the upcoming ASEAN summit, and the President
and Secretary Powell discussed the importance of developing a long-term
strategy for reconstruction and recovery. The two delegation heads also
reported about the strong capabilities the governments of India , Sri Lanka
and Thailand have in place to effectively manage the response and relief in
those countries.

They discussed the challenges and difficulties facing Aceh in Indonesia .
The level of destruction there is beyond comprehension. And the President
expressed his appreciation to Secretary Powell and Governor Bush for their
work, and he reiterated to them to be sure and express his personal
condolences on behalf of the United States to leaders in the region and the
people in the region. The President looks forward to receiving further
updates and reports later this week from these two leaders.

And I also want to update you on the effort underway by former Presidents
Clinton and Bush to reach out to the American people to encourage even more
charitable giving to international organizations in the region who are
helping provide relief to those who are suffering. Since -- well,
yesterday's numbers from our usafreedomcorps.gov website report that there
were a total number of visitors of 100,210 to the website. Now, this
compares to a daily average for 2004 of 5,755 visitors a day. So already
the announcement that was made yesterday and the outreach efforts by these
two leaders on the airwaves has shown that the American people are
responding in overwhelming numbers to continue to show their compassion and
generosity for those in the region.

From Saturday through yesterday, we have had 147,265 visitors. If you'll
recall, the President, on Saturday in his radio address, encouraged
Americans to donate cash to international organizations and directed him to
the usafreedomcorps.gov website to look at the list of international
organizations who are on the ground in the region, that they could direct
those funds to.

And that is all I have to begin with. I will be glad to go to your
questions.

Q Scott, after this briefing, does the President have any idea whether
there's going to be a need for more than $350 million to be dedicated to
this effort? President Clinton yesterday indicated that he thought that
number would, indeed, go up.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think we've indicated that. And President Clinton
was saying what we've already said previously. Secretary Powell, you heard
a report from him yesterday saying that he believes the level we're at
right now, which is an initial funding level, is the right level for right
now. But they're continuing to assess conditions on the ground and what may
be needed going forward, not only in the immediate-term, but the
longer-term, as well, because this is going to a be long-term project. As I
pointed out yesterday, the United States will be in this for the long haul,
long after the media stops focusing on this at the top of the newscast or
stops putting it on the front page of the papers. We are going to be there
to continue to provide help. And as we assess what is needed, we will be
there to make sure that needs are met.

Q What about U.S. military assets? Is there any estimate for how long and
how much more may be needed?

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't know if there's any new update beyond what you've
heard from our military leaders, as well as USAID, in terms of the
immediate response efforts that are underway. We're still in this immediate
response phase. We'll be moving toward a longer-term reconstruction phase
at some point because the devastation is just beyond comprehension and
there is a lot of work that will be required on the road ahead. But I would
leave it to the latest updates you've receive from USAID, as well as our
military leaders, in terms of where that is. But we have a number of ships
in the area; we have helicopters flying around the clock to provide relief
to those who need it; we have trucks moving supplies. So we're getting
food, water, medical supplies, hygiene kits to those who are in need, and
we're working to make sure that we can get it to those remote areas where
it's more difficult to transport those supplies to.

Q Can you tell us more about the Allawi phone call ? Can you clarify what
-- has any action been pursued as a result of the phone call?

MR. McCLELLAN: Any action pursued as a result of the phone call? Well, they
stay in touch from time-to-time. And as I pointed out earlier today, they
talked about some of the ongoing challenges as Iraq moves forward on
elections and moves forward to improve the security situation on the
ground. And so that was the discussion on the phone call. And they will
continue to stay in touch as Iraq moves forward on holding elections and
putting in place a transitional government, and putting in place a
constitution and then a permanent representative, elected government later
in the year.

Q Is there any concern here that the Allawi government may be preparing to
move to delay the Iraqi election?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, in fact, in their phone call, they talked about the
importance of moving forward on the timetable that was set out by the
Independent Iraqi Election Commission. So I haven't heard anything of that
nature. We fully support the Independent Iraqi Election Commission
timetable of January 30th for holding those elections. It's important that
we continue to move forward on all fronts to help the Iraqi people realize
a better future; a future that stands in stark contrast to the one of the
brutal regime of Saddam Hussein. There is a clear choice facing the Iraqi
people, facing the region and facing the international community. We can
stand on the side of democracy and freedom and peace, or we can stand on
the side of terrorists and tyranny and oppression.

I think that the international community is joining with the Iraqi people
to help them move forward toward a free and democratic and peaceful future.
The Iraqi people want to vote for their government. They are expressing
that in surveys that we've seen; they're expressing that by going to
register and make sure that they are able to vote. And what we are focused
on right now is doing everything we can to support the situation on the
ground by improving the security situation and making sure that we can see
as full a participation as possible in those elections on January 30th. And
remember, this is a transitional government that they will be electing, and
they will put in place the leadership. And then they will come back after
they have adopted a constitution to adopt a permanent representative
government.

Q There are reports that some people in Iraq are getting a little wobbly
about that election date.

MR. McCLELLAN: I've seen some of those reports, just like you have. We
remain firmly supportive of the Independent Iraqi Election Commission and
their timetable of January 30th. They are moving forward on registering
Iraqis. They're moving forward on reaching out to areas where there's a
heavy population of Sunnis to encourage as broad a participation in that
segment of society, as well. We want to see all parts of Iraq participate
to the fullest extent possible in these elections.

Q But it's not our country, is it, and if they want to delay the election,
that would be -- how would the United States respond --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think that the Iraqi people have shown that they
want to move forward on elections, that they believe that's important to
moving forward toward a free and peaceful future. This is part of the
transition to democracy. And as they move forward on elections, it will
help defeat the ambitions of those terrorists and Saddam loyalists who seek
to derail that transition.

Q So, first, are you saying that in this conversation yesterday -- which
you did not read out yesterday -- between the President and President
Allawi, Allawi committed yesterday to holding elections at the end of the
month, as scheduled?

MR. McCLELLAN: They talked about the importance of making sure that there
is as broad a participation as possible in the elections and moving forward
on the date that had been set.

Q So Allawi said he still is committed to that date?

MR. McCLELLAN: There was no discussion of delay in the election. I said
that earlier today, and I repeat that again today.

Q So what is the President's response to the voices of Adnan Pachachi, a
leading politician in Iraq , to the Defense Minister in Mr. Allawi's
government -- who are saying, you cannot hold elections in this
environment?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the response is what I said a minute ago. First of
all, this is a decision by the interim government and the Independent Iraqi
Election Commission to move forward on elections. We support them fully in
those efforts to move ahead with these elections for a transitional
government. And we also support the efforts of Prime Minister Allawi to
reach out to all segments of Iraqi society and encourage the fullest
possible participation in these elections.

Most of the country is in a secure enough environment to proceed with these
elections. There are some areas where there are serious security challenges
that remain. We're working to address those security challenges, partnering
with the Iraqi security forces and partnering with the interim government,
to make sure that in those areas, that as many people as possible can
participate in the elections.

Q Scott, is the United States concerned that Egypt , as recently as a year
ago, took some steps toward a nuclear weapons program?

MR. McCLELLAN: You're talking about the IAEA reports? We've seen the
reports. I don't think we have anything to offer at this point, except what
we've said all along, that we expect all nations to cooperate with the
Independent Atomic Energy Agency. We're sure that they will look into this
matter, these reports, and I would just point out that Egypt is a signatory
to the Nonproliferation Treaty.

Q Would that be a matter of concern, though, if --

MR. McCLELLAN: Again, we don't have anymore on it at this point. That's
something the IAEA will look into, and we'll see what else we can find out.

Q As far as the donations from individuals in the private sector, are you
keeping track of those in some broad way?

MR. McCLELLAN: No -- the short answer is, no. I don't know that we really
can, because we're asking people to donate directly to these
non-governmental international organizations who are on the ground in the
Indian Ocean region. We're asking them to contribute directly to groups
like the Red Cross, or the Red Crescent Society, or CARE, or Habitat for
Humanity International, to help the people on the ground there recover and
reconstruct their societies.

Q How will the two former Presidents know if they're being successful or if
they need --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think one indication is the usafreedomcorps.gov
website, and the numbers that I pointed out to you at the beginning of this
briefing. That's one indication that the American people are continuing to
respond and even increase their response to the relief efforts already
underway in the region.

We've seen a tremendous outpouring of support from the American people over
the last week. The President talked about that in his announcement
yesterday of this nationwide fund-raising effort. And he also expressed his
gratitude to these two distinguished leaders. I think you're seeing already
that the American people are responding very strongly to the outreach by
these two distinguished leaders and former Presidents.

Q Do you have a sense of how long you want them to maintain this effort?
And how would you decide at which point they seem to have done all they can
do?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think, first of all, the effort is just getting underway;
it's only been underway for the last 24 hours and they are already working
very hard at reaching out to the American people. And they will be reaching
out to foundations, they will be reaching out to corporations, they will be
asking people to contribute as they are able to do so. Whether it's small
contributions or larger contributions, everything helps. And everybody is
focused on doing what they can to help the people in the region recover
from this grave disaster.

Q Has the President given?

MR. McCLELLAN: He's in the process of doing that. I, hopefully, we'll have
more to report on that tomorrow, if not later today. But he is in the
process of doing that and looking at organizations that he will be sending
money to in the region.

Q He's just trying to figure out who he's going to give to and what --

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, I think you can expect he will make a significant
contribution, himself.

Q Scott, on the USA Freedom Corps support for Presidents Clinton and Bush,
how much resources are being devoted to this? Are we talking about one
person, 10 people?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the USA Freedom Corps staff is not a large staff, but
they will do whatever is needed to support these efforts from a logistical
and staffing standpoint, and help to coordinate any travel that these two
leaders do.

Q -- but if all the money that is collected is not spent on this disaster,
are there going to be any sort of preparations made to give the money to
other disasters or other needs in this country or overseas?

MR. McCLELLAN: If all the money from --

Q -- this effort. There are a lot of --

MR. McCLELLAN: You're talking about from the government, or through these
international organizations? I mean, I think you'd have to direct questions
to the international organizations themselves. But the President talked
about, in his announcement yesterday, how he wanted to make sure that this
money was sent directly to reliable organizations who have a proven record
on the ground in the region of helping people respond to disasters.

Q I want to make sure I understand your answer to Terry's question on Iraq
. You said, the President fully supports the deadline set by the Iraq
Independent Election Commission and the government. But since this is a
sovereign election, if either the commission or the Allawi government comes
back and says, we want to change to some other date, a month, two months,
three months down the line, in order to get more Sunni participation, is
the President going to support that, as well?

MR. McCLELLAN: First of all, we haven't heard that happen, and second of
all, you're asking me to speculate about what-ifs, and I don't do that. The
President made it very clear that he believes it's important to move
forward on the timetable that was set out by the Iraqi Election Commission.
He talked about that in his end-of-year press conference before the
holidays.

And so we remain firmly -- we believe that they should move forward on the
timetable that was set out by the Independent Iraqi Election Commission.
It's important to move forward on elections, because that helps us move
forward toward a free, democratic, and peaceful country for the Iraqi
people. This is an important step in the process, it's not the end. And
those who are opposed to democracy and freedom are desperately trying to
stop this transition. We are seeing their tactics of killing innocent
civilians. They have no regard for innocent civilians. And they have no
regard for the rule of law. They want to return to the past. They recognize
-- the terrorists and Saddam loyalists recognize how high the stakes are.
We recognize how high the stakes are. Iraq recognizes how high the stakes.
The international community recognizes how high the stakes are. And it's
important we continue to do everything we can to support the Iraqi people
in their desire for a free, democratic, and peaceful future.

Q So it's clear that he sees no benefit at all, even if you took the
argument of those in Iraq who say you get Sunni participation, he sees no
benefit in a delay --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, there are efforts underway to reach out to the Sunnis
and to encourage even broader participation in that segment. And those
efforts are continuing. And there are efforts to address some of the
security situations in some of the areas where the violence is at a higher
level than other areas.

Q Scott, you're saying the decision is the commission's to make?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the Iraq Election Commission is the one that set the
timetable. We said we support that. That is the decision that they made,
and that is what the Iraqi -- or the interim Iraqi government is moving
forward to meet. We fully support that. The President believes it is
important to move forward on the timetable that was set out by the Election
Commission, the timetables that were set out in the transitional
administrative law.

Q There was a series of flag-grade Fofficers, over a dozen of them today,
who issued a statement calling on the White House to release documents
regarding the decisions that Mr. Gonzales has made in his role as legal
counsel of the President, especially with regard to the detainees and to
the period going into the Iraq war. Is the White House willing to release
these documents to give the Senate the ability to judge Mr. Gonzales'
attitude towards the law, toward a constitution, and towards --

MR. McCLELLAN: First of all, I saw a number of these individuals are people
that supported the campaign of the President's opponent. So let's keep that
in mind when we're talking about these individuals. Secondly, a number of
the documents that I think you might be referring to have been made
available publicly. In fact, Judge Gonzales participated in a briefing with
Department of Defense officials to talk about some of those very documents
I think you're referring to. And we've also responded to some inquiries
from the Senate Judiciary Committee, as well. And Judge Gonzales looks
forward to going before the committee later this week and participating in
his hearing. And we hope Congress -- we hope the Senate will move forward
quickly on his nomination. He is someone who has done an outstanding job
for the President here as White House Counsel, and we know he will make a
great Attorney General. And so we hope Congress will move forward quickly
on that nomination.

Q Why aren't all the documents being released --

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm not sure what you're specifically referring to. We can
talk about it more later. But as I said, a number of the documents that I
think you're referring to have been released. And in terms of the policy by
the President, the policy that the President set, which Judge Gonzales is
responsible for making sure is followed, was very clear. We adhere to our
laws and our treaty obligations. That's the policy of the United States
government, and that's what we expect to be followed.

Q Scott, the President had said he was going to appoint this bipartisan tax
panel , panel to look at tax reform, before the end of 2004. (Laughter.)
I'm wondering what happened with that.

MR. McCLELLAN: Didn't it get announced before the end of 2004? We are
moving forward on that panel. We are close to announcing the panel. I
expect that will happen soon. I don't want to put more of a time frame on
it than that, but we will be moving forward on announcing this bipartisan
advisory panel very soon.

Tax reform is a high priority for the President. The tax code is outdated,
it is a complicated mess, as you heard the President talk about throughout
the last year. He wants to make it simpler, fairer, and also to make sure
it is a code that encourages economic growth and job creation. And this
advisory panel will play an important role by making recommendations to the
Secretary of Treasury, who will then report back to the President. And we
want to move forward on this priority as quickly as we can. But, obviously,
they'll need some time to look at the tax code and make some
recommendations.

Q What's the reason for the delay?

MR. McCLELLAN: It's just a matter of getting everything in place. We'll be
announcing it very soon. I think you're talking about a matter of days that
it's off from what our original target was.

Q Scott, has the President, or have the officials at the White House been
telling top Republicans, as has been reported, that the President wants to
change the basis upon which Social Security benefits are calculated?

MR. McCLELLAN: We've been telling members of Congress what the President
has already said, that the Social Security system, as it is now, is
unsustainable. It is in a crisis, we need to fix it. And he believes it's
important for all of us to have a common understanding of the problem
facing Social Security. He's made it very clear the principles upon which
he is moving forward and that he wants to move forward with Congress.

But he also believes it's important to move forward in a bipartisan way.
The President hasn't made any decisions about a specific proposal at this
point, and I think that goes to your question. What the President has said
is that this is a big priority, because this is a serious problem that we
should not pass on to future generations. We need to work together in a
bipartisan way to solve this problem now.

The reason why is because over time, it only gets worse. And younger
workers right now are promised certain benefits that they will not see.
It's an empty promise because they're facing either massive tax increases
or massive benefit cuts. And the benefits going out in 2018, we will not be
able to sustain that with the taxes coming in. So over the course of time,
the system will become insolvent and it won't be there for younger workers.

Now, the President made it very clear that those at or near retirement will
receive -- will have no changes in their Social Security system. But we
want to strengthen it for younger workers and provide them with a new --
with a new benefit that would help them realize an even greater rate of
return, similar to what the bipartisan Social Security Commission pointed
out, with the Thrift Savings Plan and the benefits people have received
from that.

Q -- a published report today that the President or his people have been
telling top Republicans that this change in benefit calculations will be
made as part of the President's proposal are flat wrong?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, he hasn't made any decision, and the story pointed
that out today -- on a specific proposal. Now, what we are talking to them
about is ideas for how we can work together to get this problem solved.
There are a number of ideas presented in the form of legislation, a number
of ideas presented by members of Congress on how we can move forward on it.
We're talking to them about all those ideas. The President made it very
clear, here are my principles which will guide me: no changes at or near
retirement; wants to make sure younger workers can invest, on a voluntary
basis, if they so choose, a small portion of their retirement benefits in
personal retirement accounts; and he said no increases in payroll taxes to
fix this. And so those are the principles.

Now, we're talking with members of Congress about the ideas. He also
pointed to the bipartisan Social Security Commission, led by the late
Senator Moynihan, and said that that would be -- their work would be
something that should be a guide for us, moving forward. They presented
some ideas. We haven't endorsed any of those specific ideas, but we have
said that they are consistent with our principles.

Q -- the principle that you just spoke of, at or near retirement, would
seem to rule out the change in benefit calculations that applies right
away. That's not, apparently, what was the subject of the report --

MR. McCLELLAN: You're talking about people at or near retirement. Let me
talk about a couple of things for those at or near retirement, because the
longer we wait to solve this problem, the more limited our options become.
Right now we have a wider array of options available to us to solve this
problem. And there are a number of ideas that have been presented, and
there are a number of ideas that members of Congress have. We want to
listen to those ideas, we want to talk to them about those ideas, and talk
about how we can move forward in a bipartisan way to get this done this
year, so that we don't come to a point where our options are very limited
and that at or near retirement option might be much more limited.

It also depends on what you're talking about, in terms of personal
retirement accounts, the funding level you're talking about there, what
level you're allowing people to invest in personal retirement accounts.
That can affect all those issues. And so there's a lot of issues you have
to look at to --

Q -- the specific question was about changing the retirement initial
payment calculations, and whether changing it for someone who retires
tomorrow --

MR. McCLELLAN: No changes for those at or near retirement -- made that very
clear. He's made that very clear.

Q But you can still change to a price indexing scheme for those who are not
at or near retirement, no?

MR. McCLELLAN: I appreciate the ideas that you're putting forward.
(Laughter.)

Q -- commission, itself, in one of its options recommends indexing benefits
to price inflation, rather than wage inflation. And if you were to do that,
that is not an increase in payroll taxes, nor is it -- nor is it a benefits
cut, per se, because you would still allow benefits to increase, you just
wouldn't have them increasing at the same rate.

MR. McCLELLAN: We'll take that into consideration, too.

Q But that's not -- I mean, you're --

MR. McCLELLAN: I know what you're asking --

Q -- has made a decision on a specific proposal, but you were talking about
ideas. One of the ideas is this proposal --

MR. McCLELLAN: I said there are lot of ideas being discussed.

Q So he's open to that idea?

MR. McCLELLAN: There are a lot of ideas being discussed. We're not going to
get into negotiating from this podium. As the President clearly outlined in
his press conference at the end of the year, he said these are our
principles, and then he said, I want to work with members of Congress who
are committed to solving this problem and getting it done now. That's what
we were elected to do, to come to Washington and solve problems, not pass
them on to future generations; and to make sure we address them before they
worsen.

Q This isn't asking you to negotiate. It's just asking you to clarify
whether the ideas that are --

MR. McCLELLAN: I beg to differ with you.

Q Scott, as the President gets ready to revisit this tort reform issue,
where -- on the malpractice section of that debate, where do insurance
companies fall? There are a number of people who are watching this debate
and say that the insurance companies, especially on malpractice, have been
left out of the equation, that their higher malpractice insurance rates are
not part of the debate being put forth by the administration.

MR. McCLELLAN: The President has made a priority of pushing for medical
liability reform. We have a broken medical liability system. This is about
addressing some of the high costs of health care in America and reducing
those costs, and also improving the quality of care and making sure health
care is available to as many people as possible. And the President looks
forward to going to Illinois tomorrow where he will meet with some doctors,
as well as at least one patient, a pregnant woman who has changed doctors a
number of times because doctors are being forced out of business because of
skyrocketing insurance premiums and because of the frivolous lawsuits that
are being filed by trial lawyers. And so he's going to be talking about
this problem tomorrow.

And the part of Illinois -- the region of Illinois that he's traveling to,
the Collinsville area, is an area that has been particularly hard hit by
lawsuits. In fact, it was the -- there's a recent report that ranked
Madison County the single best place in the country for trial lawyers to
sue. There are doctors that are having to leave that area because they
can't afford to practice medicine and help patients -- help their patients.
There are doctors who are being forced to scale back their services. He'll
be talking to a neurosurgeon and be talking to an OB/GYN doctor about this
issue.

Q But this is one of those issues --

MR. McCLELLAN: This is about -- this is about addressing a very real
problem for the American people. Americans -- let me mention, let me
mention -- Americans --

Q -- I'm asking about the insurance companies --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, this is about solving a problem for the American
people. This isn't about any one particular segment. This is a real crisis,
as well. It's a national problem that requires a national solution.
Americans spend more per person on the cost of litigation than any other
country in the world. And unlimited and unpredictable liability awards
raise the cost of health care for all Americans through higher premiums for
their health insurance. And so, as a result, as I was pointing out, good
doctors close up shop and people can't get the care from the doctors that
they want to go to and get it when they need it. And so when health care
costs rise, fewer Americans can afford health insurance, and the ranks of
the uninsured increase.

So medical liability reform is a key part of expanding health insurance
coverage to more Americans, and it's also a key part of reducing the cost
of health care. And the President tomorrow will be, once again, urging this
Congress, which has just come back into town, to move forward and protect
America's doctors and patients and hospitals from the staggering
out-of-control costs we face from these frivolous lawsuits, or these junk
lawsuits, by passing medical liability reform this year.

Q Would the President be open to investigating, having hearings on Capitol
Hill or having a commission, whatever, look into why the insurance carriers
are raising their malpractice rates?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think he's talked about why those insurance rates
are going up. He'll talk about that in his remarks tomorrow. He laid out
some very clear principles over the course of the last couple years for
moving forward on medical liability reform and making -- and fixing this
broken system. We want patients getting the care they need from the doctor
who they want to go to. We don't want to have to see pregnant mothers
having their OB/GYN doctor go out of business or move to another area
because they can't afford to practice their medicine -- then they have to
switch doctors, and then they have to switch doctors again. We want them to
be able to get the care they need when they need it. And you've heard the
President talk about this, and he'll continue to talk about this in his
remarks tomorrow in Collinsville.

Q I have an immigration question. Experts say the President's proposal to
give guest cards to people who are now illegal immigrants would have --
cause astronomical costs at the local and federal level in terms of new
benefit plans. I'm wondering if the President has done any kind of a cost
analysis in what he thinks the actual cost of his proposal would be.

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm not aware. Again, that's something that we're working
with Congress to address. The President in his press conference at the end
of the year said it's something he's firmly committed to moving forward on
as quickly as possible. And he stated the reasons why. I think you need to
go back and look at what he said in his press conference. He stated very
clearly the importance of moving forward on this temporary worker program,
and the way it would address the current problem in this country and make
it better.

Thank you.

END 1:24 P.M. EST
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