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Skriven 2007-05-11 23:31:04 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0705117) for Fri, 2007 May 11
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Press Gaggle by Scott Stanzel
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For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary May 11, 2007

Press Gaggle by Scott Stanzel Aboard Air Force One En Route Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania

˙˙Press Briefings

9:40 A.M. EDT

MR. STANZEL: Good morning, everyone. We're on our way to Latrobe,
Pennsylvania, where the President will be giving a commencement address at
St. Vincent College. Before I go into that address, let me give you a sense
of his day and make a couple announcements.

This morning the President taped the radio address on the need for
comprehensive immigration reform. Just a little background on that. There
is a bipartisan process that's moving forward. The Democratic leadership
earlier in the year asked the President to work with Republicans to bring
them forward into these negotiations. That process is working. We are -- we
have a meeting in regular matter with members of the Senate, in particular,
both Republicans and Democrats, to bring forward a bipartisan solution to
comprehensive immigration reform, and we feel that it's important for this
process to go forward.

As you may have seen, there was a letter from GOP senators saying that this
process should be allowed to go forward, and short-circuiting that is the
wrong approach. So it's our feeling that those who have been involved in
the negotiations are very invested in it, want to see it go forward to
conclusion, and that those who have not been involved in those negotiations
should work to support that, not undermine that process.

So the President at 8:00 a.m. this morning had his normal briefings. On Air
Force One today Congressman Bill Shuster and Congressman Tim Murphy.

The President, at 11:00 a.m. will be giving his commencement address at St.
Vincent College, which is an educational community rooted in the Catholic
faith. It was founded by a Benedictine monk. The President's subject will
be volunteerism. He'll obviously be congratulating the students, and he'll
talk about the importance of service and committing yourself to service of
your community and your country. Further, this is the second of the
President's three commencement addresses. The previous one, April 28th,
Miami Dade College, and his final one will be at the U.S. Coast Guard
Academy.

At 3:15 p.m. the President will be making remarks commemorating Military
Spouse Day, and he'll be presenting some more Volunteer Service Awards.

And I have a statement by the President about the graduation at Virginia
Tech. That statement reads, "Today and tomorrow, students of Virginia Tech
will rise to receive diplomas they have earned through years of hard work.
They can be proud of their academic accomplishments and excited about the
opportunities their degrees have opened up for them. Laura and I salute the
Virginia Tech class of 2007. We also remember the students and teachers
whose lives were taken last month. They will always hold a special place in
the hearts of this graduating class and an entire nation.

"Over the past month, our country has witnessed the compassion and
resilient spirit of the community of Virginia Tech. That spirit is on
display this weekend in Blacksburg, where thousands of friends and family
members have gathered to celebrate commencement and pray for this
remarkable school. Our nation joins them in prayer, and on this special
occasion, Laura and I send our love and heartfelt wishes to the entire
Hokie family."

Also to announce, the visit of Prime Minister Tony Blair. President Bush
will host Tony Blair at the White House on May 16th and 17th. The President
looks forward to continuing consultations with the Prime Minister on a wide
range of issues, including our shared goals of strengthening democracy in
Iraq and Afghanistan.

And finally, I would call your attention to the statement that we sent out
last night. You may have seen the agreement regarding the trade agreement
we made with Congress. Open and fair trade are important to this country
and to the world. And the President is very pleased that Sue Schwab, his
U.S. Trade Representative, was able to work with Congress to get a deal
that paves the way for bipartisan support for trade agreements we have
negotiated with Colombia, Peru, Panama, and Korea. Each of those agreements
will move forward in their own course, but it's an important step to
strengthening our ties with those trade partners. And the agreement with
Colombia is particularly important. And we look forward to working with
Congress and President Uribe on that.

I think I'll forgo, maybe, the week ahead, and go straight to your
questions.

Q Can you put it in the transcript?

MR. STANZEL: We can put it in the transcript.*

Q Is the President going to talk about Iraq today at all? And what does he
think about all the controversy that's been generated by the invitation for
him to come here today?

MR. STANZEL: You know, the President understands that we live in a free
society, and people have their many opinions on the important issue of
bringing democracy and stability to Iraq. He knows that just about wherever
he goes, he hears opinions both ways. The President will be focusing his
remarks today on the importance of service, whether it's through military
service to your nation, whether it's through being a teacher, or whether
it's volunteering in your local community. Those are all issues that he'll
discuss today, and that's the focus of his remarks.

Q -- on the war?

MR. STANZEL: I don't expect that that will be a focus of his remarks, no.

Q Do you think this is proof that you don't need seatbelts in an airplane
at this point -- (laughter.)

Q We're going to find out in a second.

MR. STANZEL: How good of surfers are you? (Laughter.) Anything else?

Q Vice President Cheney is on the Stennis. He made a speech on the Stennis.
What was the point of putting him in the Gulf?

MR. STANZEL: Well, the Vice President is in the Middle East -- and we need
to get seated -- but he's in the Middle East to talk with our important
allies. And I'm going to go sit down. (Laughter.)

END 9:45 A.M. EDT

*The Week Ahead has been released separately.
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