Text 814, 573 rader
Skriven 2005-04-21 23:33:00 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0504213) for Thu, 2005 Apr 21
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Press Briefing by Scott McClellan
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For Immediate Release
April 21, 2005

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

Press Briefing
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  þ Meeting with House members on Social Security
  þ House energy bill
      þ Reference B
  þ Bolton nomination
      þ Reference B
      þ Reference C
      þ Reference D
  þ Ecuador
  þ Border Patrol
  þ Economy
  þ Trip to Tennessee
  þ Crown Prince Abdullah visit
  þ Violence in Iraq
  þ Israeli withdrawal Gaza
  þ Secretary Rice comments on Belarus
  þ Japan-China relations

1:10 P.M. EDT

MR. McCLELLAN: Good afternoon, everybody. I want to begin with two
important priorities for the President and for the American people, Social
Security and energy.

First, on Social Security, the President had a good discussion with some
members of the House today about the importance of acting this year to
strengthen Social Security. This was part of his ongoing discussions with
members of Congress. They talked about how more and more Americans are
recognizing that Social Security faces serious problems, and they discussed
how to move forward in a bipartisan way to get legislation passed this
year. There were some constructive ideas discussed during the meeting.

The President stressed that all ideas are on the table, with the exception
of increasing the payroll tax rate. Now is the time to be welcoming ideas
and working together in a constructive way. And you heard the President
talk about that earlier today in his remarks, as well.

Secondly, on energy, it is time to reduce our dependence on foreign sources
of energy and secure our nation's energy future. The President appreciates
House leaders moving forward today on legislation that is largely
consistent with the comprehensive national energy plan that he outlined
four years ago. The President wants Congress to get him a bill before the
summer recess to make sure our nation has an affordable, reliable and
secure supply of energy for the future. And it is vital to our economic and
national security.

And with that, I will be glad to go to questions.

Q Doesn't the President, though, have a lot of reservations about this bill
that's before the House?

MR. McCLELLAN: Actually, we put out a statement of administration policy on
it yesterday. This is a comprehensive piece of legislation, and it does
address one of the fundamental problems facing our nation, and that is that
we are growing more dependent on foreign sources of energy. And we have
high energy prices facing consumers because we have not had a national
energy plan in place. We have a growing global economy and a growing demand
from countries around the world for oil. And we are relying on foreign
sources of energy. And that's why the President believes it is all the more
reason we need to act now. He put forward a plan four years ago, and it's
time for Congress to get that passed.

Q Would he like to sign this bill?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, he's going to continue working with both the Senate
and the House as they move forward, as you are well aware. And we put out
the statement of administration policy, and it spelled out our views on the
various aspects of the legislation. It stated that it's largely consistent
with the President's views and with his principles.

The President has a comprehensive plan that expands conservation and
increases energy efficiency; it diversifies our supply by looking at
alternative sources of energy -- clean alternative sources of energy. It
also looks at ways that we can use technology to explore in environmentally
responsible ways here at home. And finally, it addresses the electricity
problem by working to modernize our electricity grid.

And the House bill is comprehensive in approach. And he appreciates them
taking this important step today to move forward to get legislation passed
this year. And we look forward to working with members of -- leaders in the
Senate to get it passed in the Senate. And then, obviously, there will be a
process where they'll work to reconcile their differences before the bill
comes the President.

But he thinks we have a real opportunity to get it done this year. And I
think that's been affirmed by the members of the House and Senate, as well.
Senator Domenici has made it clear that he intends to move forward on
hearings beginning in a few weeks. And the House, as you are aware, is
moving forward to get it passed today. So we have a real opportunity to get
this done this year.

Helen, go ahead.

Q In view of the Republican opposition to Bolton, is the President going to
withdraw his nomination?

MR. McCLELLAN: No, the President, as he said earlier today, believes that
John Bolton is the right person at the right time for this important
position. There are many important priorities before the United Nations
right now. And they are working to move forward on reforms, as well. John
Bolton is someone who is committed, like the President, to making sure that
the United Nations is an effective organization that gets things done. And
John Bolton has a long, distinguished career of getting things done. He is
someone who has been through the confirmation process before and been
confirmed.

Q You don't think his nomination is in peril, at all?

MR. McCLELLAN: The President believes he will be confirmed and he hopes
that he will be confirmed as soon as possible. It is time for Senate
Democrats to stop playing politics, and it is time for the Senate to
confirm John Bolton so that he can get about doing the work of the United
States at the United Nations.

Q You said the President was 100 percent in his backing of Bolton today.
Can we infer from that, that the President simply doesn't believe these
allegations that have been made about Bolton, including the one from this
woman who was an associate of Bolton? She claims he chased her around the
hotel, was verbally abusive to her. Does the President simply not believe
the allegations that are out there, or does he feel that whether they're
true or not, it's so important to have Bolton at the U.N. that just -- he
should be confirmed?

MR. McCLELLAN: These are unsubstantiated accusations that Senate Democrats
continue to bring up. They have been addressed by John Bolton in testimony
before the Senate. He has testified for more than eight hours, including on
issues of this nature. He has responded to a number of written questions
that were in follow-up to that hearing, as well. It is time to move forward
on his nomination, and the President wanted to make it clear today that the
Senate needs to quit playing politics, and they need to move forward and
confirm this person.

Q And the President simply does not believe the allegations.

MR. McCLELLAN: John, these are unsubstantiated accusations against John
Bolton. John Bolton is a strong, effective diplomat who has a proven record
of getting things done. If you look at his record, he has worked to help us
move forward with Russia to agree to the Moscow Treaty, which will help us
reduce our nuclear arsenal. He has worked on the efforts as the negotiator
with Libya to get Libya to abandon its weapons of mass destruction program.

John Bolton is someone who has a long record of getting things done, and
sometimes that's going to make people mad when you are someone who gets
things done. But the President believes he's exactly the person we need at
the United Nations. He has been an effective manager who has earned respect
from many people that he has worked with.

Q Scott, I think the energy bill has $8 billion in incentives. Would the
President like to see those stripped out?

MR. McCLELLAN: Actually, we addressed that in our statement of
administration policy. I think the President talked about it yesterday,
too. The President has made his views known. He doesn't believe that with
the price of oil around $50 a barrel, that oil and gas companies need any
incentives at this point. Now, we do have tax incentives in our plan, and
we believe those ought to focus on renewable sources of energy and
increasing energy efficiency.

And that's what our approach does, and we did express that view in the
statement of administration policy that we have put out and made available
to members of the House, as well. But this bill, overall, is largely
consistent with the one -- with the plan that the President outlined.

Q Are you going to try to -- in conference, perhaps, try to get this money
out of the --

MR. McCLELLAN: We'll continue to work with members of Congress to make sure
-- to make sure that we have a comprehensive piece of legislation that
reduces our dependence on foreign sources of energy and also helps make
sure that we have affordable, reliable supplies for years to come.

Go ahead, Dick.

Q On the Bolton nomination, there are three Republicans -- Voinovich, Hagel
and Chafee -- all of whom have expressed varying degrees of concern about
these allegations. What is the President or the White House staff doing to
work with them, to put pressure on them, to convince them that these need
not hold up the nomination.

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't know if I'd put it that way, but we're continuing to
have discussions with members of the committee who have questions. And we
will make sure that their questions are addressed.

Q And how are you addressing those? Is Bolton going to provide more
information to them? How are you going to deal with this --

MR. McCLELLAN: Our staff has been in touch with them to make sure that they
have the answers to the questions that they have. So -- and that's what
we'll continue to do.

Q Scott, you say John Bolton gets things done, and yet, some U.S. officials
are expressing today that they believe part of the reason why North Korea
walked away from the six-party talks had -- in some part, had to deal with
the strong language that John Bolton used in his speech in 2003 when he
described North Korea as a "hellish nightmare." Given that, are you
concerned that the longer this nomination takes to put through that there
may be more reasons that might emerge for people not to vote for John
Bolton?

MR. McCLELLAN: I disagree with that view, first of all. And second of all,
as I stated, we're confident that he's going to be confirmed. We want to
see him confirmed as quickly as possible because this is an important
position that has a lot of important challenges that need to be addressed
at the United Nations. And we want to see him in there working on behalf of
the administration to make sure that the United Nations is effective and
that it's achieving results on priorities across the board. We work very
closely with the United Nations. And John Bolton is someone who shares the
President's commitment to making sure that the United Nations does move
forward on reforms that will make it work better and help it achieve
results.

Q Will you concede that the more time that passes, obviously, there would
be more opportunity to come up with new accusations --

MR. McCLELLAN: I think the American people want the Senate to put aside the
politics and move forward on the nomination. There's been too much of this
in Washington, D.C. over the years. This is the ugly side of Washington,
D.C. that we see from time to time. John Bolton is highly qualified. He has
a distinguished career in government, a distinguished career serving his
nation, and it's time to get him in the position.

Go ahead. Go ahead, Sarah.

Q Scott, Quito, Ecuador is reported in chaos after President Gutierrez was
ousted yesterday in a coup. Will the U.S. recognize the de facto government
of the Ecuadorian Vice President? And will the U.S. provide safe passage
out of the country for President Gutierrez?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think the situation there remains very fluid right
now. And we are monitoring and following developments very closely in
Ecuador. We have repeatedly called for peaceful, inclusive, respectful and
constructive dialogue during this time in Ecuador. We continue to urge all
parties and all politicians and activists to work together to find
solutions that will strengthen the democratic institutions in Ecuador. We
want to see constitutional stability and the rule of law prevail in
Ecuador. And we urge all Ecuadorians to come together to peacefully resolve
these issues. And that's what we'll continue to do.

Go ahead.

Q Scott, you said that these allegations against Mr. Bolton -- Secretary
Bolton are unsubstantiated. But just generally speaking, if there was a
staffer here at the White House who conducted -- this amounts to workplace
abuse and harassment, the types of allegations -- some of the allegations
that are talked about. If there were a staffer here at the White House who
was engaged in that kind of activity, would the President tolerate that?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, first of all, that's a hypothetical. And you're asking
me to agree with the characterization that you just made. And I'll -- I
don't. I think that these accusations are unsubstantiated. I think they
have been addressed by John Bolton himself. And John Bolton is someone who
has proven himself as a manager and proven himself as someone who has
earned respect of those who he's worked with because he's someone that is
committed to achieving meaningful results.

Q But just generally speaking, does the President feel that if somebody's
qualifications are -- if somebody is very well qualified for a job, that in
some way, that would ever override even minor allegations of workplace
abuse?

MR. McCLELLAN: Again, you're asking me a hypothetical. You're also asking
me in the context of this nomination, and I just don't accept that. So --
go ahead, Les.

Q Scott, WorldNet Daily quotes the largest local union of U.S. Border
Patrol agents, Local 2544 in Tucson section, as saying this: "We have not
had one single complaint from a rank-and-file agent in this sector about
the Minutemen, many of whom are retired firefighters, cops and other
professionals. Sensors have been set off by the ACLU sneaking around."

If only President Bush were supportive of the rank-and-file agents -- and
my question, first question, has the President given any reconsideration to
his reference to the Minutemen as vigilantes?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, first of all, we have great appreciation for the job
that our Border Patrol does day in and day out. They work very hard to
enforce our borders and to protect the American people and make sure that
our borders are secure. So we greatly appreciate the job that they are
doing.

And second of all, I mean, I think that we've been over this now two or
three times, Les, and I think the President's views were made known and
I've expressed what our views are, as well.

Q Republican Senator Wayne Allard says we should consider deputizing the
Minutemen to help secure our borders. Republican Governor Schwarzenegger
clarified his statement as meaning we need to secure our borders. And the
Republican-controlled Senate voted down amnesty. Question: Why won't the
President reconsider his vigilante remark and do what is necessary to
secure our borders?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, actually, we are, Les. We have taken a number of steps
to improve our border security. We also believe -- well, we've increased
the number of Border Patrol agents along --

Q Two hundred instead of 2,000.

MR. McCLELLAN: -- along our borders. We're making use of new technology to
help secure our borders. We have taken a number of steps in recent years to
achieve that important objective.

The President also believes it's important -- you bring up one -- you
mentioned amnesty, and the President does not believe we should have a
blanket amnesty. He's made that clear, as well. But the President does
believe we should have a more orderly, secure, and safe migration system.
And one of the issues before us is immigration reform. There are a number
of members that are committed to immigration reform. The President has
outlined his approach for moving forward on a temporary worker program that
will address two important priorities when it comes to our border. It will
-- well, address an economic need, and it will address the security
challenges that we face, because if we move forward on that plan, it will
allow those who are enforcing our borders to focus their efforts on those
who are coming here for the wrong reasons, and help us better secure the
borders.

John, go ahead.

Q Two brief questions -- thank you, Scott. With the surprise retirement of
Senator Jeffords of Vermont, the President, who has encouraged other people
to run for the United States Senate before, has he contacted Governor
Douglas of Vermont and urged him to become a candidate for the now open
seat next year?

MR. McCLELLAN: No, if we make any -- if the President has any contacts of
that nature, I'll try to keep you posted.

Q Thank you. The other question -- you said at the morning session that the
White House has been in touch with Republican members of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee on the Bolton nomination. When you said that, could you
be more specific -- has the President, himself, gotten to the point where
he would personally urge senators on the phone to take this nomination up
and report it?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think he reiterated his views again today and made it very
clear his strong support for John Bolton and the need to move forward on
his nomination and get him in this important position. And we will, as I
said, continue to stay in contact with committee members who have
additional questions and make sure that those questions are addressed. But
I think that the accusations that the Senate Democrats continue to bring up
are unfounded. I think that they have been addressed. And now is the time
for the Senate to move forward on his confirmation.

Q Scott, I'd like to turn to the economy. The Dow Jones Industrials have
fallen more than 6 percent since January 1st. Is the President troubled by
that?

MR. McCLELLAN: I noticed before I came up here that the market was up,
somewhat, today. I think 130 points was the last --

Q I'm thinking the broader view --

MR. McCLELLAN: -- was the last I looked. If you want to take the broader
view, I would look at where it's been over the last few years and where it
is today. But I think when you're talking about the economy, you have to
look at the overall picture. We are seeing solid economic growth and job
creation because of the pro-growth policies that the President has worked
to enact. And he's continuing to pursue pro-growth policies to build upon
the economic progress that we are making.

I think most economists believe that we're going to continue to see a solid
economic expansion. We've seen, over the last 22 months, more than 3
million jobs created. Last year, the GDP was 3.9 percent. And the forecast
going ahead -- forward continue to show sustained economic growth.
Unemployment is down to 5.2 percent, well below the levels of the --
average levels of the '70s, '80s, and '90s. So I think you have to look at
the overall picture.

Now, with that said, there are still challenges to our economy that we need
to address, and that's why the President has outlined a number of
initiatives that build upon our efforts to keep our economy growing
stronger. He is concerned about rising prices -- rising energy prices, and
the price of gas at the pump. And that's why its all the more reason for
Congress to move forward now on the comprehensive national energy plan that
he outlined four years ago, and that's why we have great appreciation for
the House acting quickly on this legislation.

Q Well, if I could follow up, the stock market rises and falls, as
everybody knows, but with the 6 percent decline since the first of the
year, is that giving any trouble in selling the personal account side of
Social Security?

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm glad you brought that up, because I think that, one, you
have to look at the market over time, and if you look from 1926 to 2004,
the annual real rate of return from the market has been nearly 7 percent.
Social Security experts conservatively estimate that the rate of return on
personal accounts would be at least 4.6 percent. The current rate of return
under the Social Security system is 1.8 percent.

And I think this goes to a larger issue, as well, and that is giving people
the choice to control their own retirement savings. What we're talking
about are voluntary personal accounts. Washington should not be denying our
children and grandchildren the opportunity to grow a nest egg. We want them
to have the opportunity to own and control their savings and realize a much
greater rate of return on their own retirement savings. And that's what
personal accounts provide, the opportunity, if they so choose, to realize a
much greater rate of return than they're realizing under the current
system. It's a voluntary approach, it's up to them to decide whether or not
they want to participate in it. But the facts show over the long term that
the rate of return on a conservative, safe mix of bonds and stocks is much
better than the rate of return from the current Social Security system.

Q So it's not having any effect on selling the plan in Congress?

MR. McCLELLAN: If you look at the facts, they're very clear. The facts are
very clear in terms of the rate of return that people can realize.

Q Can you tell us about the Tennessee trip tomorrow, Scott?

MR. McCLELLAN: Sure. The President looks forward to going to Tennessee
tomorrow. As you may be aware, this is National Volunteer Week and National
Park Week. Steve Holland, you going?

Q I'm sad to say I'm not going.

MR. McCLELLAN: The Tennessean is not going. Okay. Tomorrow is also the 35th
annual Earth Day. So the President will be touring the Cades Cove area of
the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, near Townsend, Tennessee. And he
will assist local volunteers with a trail restoration project. And then
following that, he will be making remarks.

The President is the first sitting President since Franklin Roosevelt, when
he dedicated the park in 1940, to visit Great Smoky. And the President has
visited 22 national parks since taking office, and that's more than any
other sitting President, according to the National Park Service.

And in the remarks, I expect the President will emphasize the importance of
personal environmental stewardship, volunteerism, and cooperative
conservation efforts. Those are important themes that this administration
has moved forward on in our policies and that he constantly encourages. So
that's kind of the thrust of tomorrow.

Go ahead.

Q Could I ask a question about the Crown Prince visit? The last Arab summit
agreed on reviving so-called Arab initiative, which calls for withdraw to
1967 border in return for normalization of relations between the Arab
countries and Israel. Is this proposal on the agenda? And how does the
President reconcile it with the road map, which takes into account new
realities on the ground?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, first of all, I think we have to recognize where we
are in the Middle East right now. There is a real opportunity before us.
There has been some good progress made recently. I think you have leaders
in Israel and leaders in the Palestinian Territories who are committed to
moving forward toward the President's two-state vision. And right now Prime
Minister Sharon is moving forward on his withdrawal plan from Gaza.

And this is the time for the international community to come to the support
of the Palestinian people as they work to put the institutions in place for
a viable democracy to emerge. It's important that we make sure that this is
successful so that we can move forward on the road map and get to those
final status discussions. It is a real opportunity and it's an opportunity
we need to seize, and I'm sure that they will, in their discussions, talk
about the progress toward Middle East peace and toward the President's
two-state vision. I'm sure that's one of the topics that will come up. I'm
sure they'll talk about the war on terrorism and our global efforts to work
together to combat terrorism, and a number of other issues, as well.

But I think we need to recognize the importance of seizing the opportunity
before us right now to get things moving again toward the two-state vision.
And that's why -- that's why the Quartet appointed Jim Wolfensohn to head
up our efforts to help the Palestinians during this withdrawal time to put
the institutions in place for a democracy to emerge.

And it's important that the Palestinians and Israelis coordinate closely on
this withdrawal plan. This is a process that will move forward in steps.
And this is the important step that we need to focus on right now.

Q Could I ask you a question about Iraq. Does the President have any
concern that the latest surge of violence in Iraq has anything to do with
Iraqi forces taking responsibilities more and more?

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't know that I'd look at it that way. I think I'd look
at it as there is important progress being made on all fronts in Iraq. Iraq
is moving forward to a democratic future. They are moving forward on the
political process. You have the transitional government that is taking
shape and beginning to assume responsibility for Iraq's political future.

In terms of the training, I think if you talk to our military leaders and
look at what is happening on the ground, the training and equipping of
Iraqi security forces is making important progress. The President talked
about the number today; some 150,000 security forces are now trained and
equipped in Iraq. The Iraqi security forces are assuming more and more
responsibility for their own defense, both from internal and external
threats.

But you still have -- and we said there would be difficult days as we
continue to move forward in Iraq to help the Iraqi people realize a
brighter future -- you still have enemies of freedom who are desperately
trying to do everything they can to stop the transition to democracy and
freedom in Iraq. They will fail. They continue to target innocent
civilians. The Iraqi people are determined to build a brighter future, and
I think they've shown that when they went to the polls, and they've shown
that as the new transitional government is taking steps to assume
responsibility, as well.

Q Can I go back to the Gaza withdrawal plan? As you know, the Israeli
Defense Minister today -- he agrees it's going to be a three weeks' delay
in the withdrawal. First of all, are you in consultation with them
regarding the delay? And secondly, are you satisfied there's not going to
be any further delay --

MR. McCLELLAN: I think that's something that they're continuing to discuss.
That's an internal Israeli matter. But Prime Minister Sharon and Israeli
leaders have expressed their commitment to moving forward on the withdrawal
plan, and they are taking steps to move forward on the withdrawal plan. We
appreciate that. And that's why it's so important that the parties in the
region coordinate closely as this occurs, and that we make sure that it's a
successful transition.

Q So there is no date, you're not worried about the fixed date that has to
be implemented --

MR. McCLELLAN: I've seen the reports, like you have, and I think there are
different views. But I'm not aware of any decision that's been made to that
effect.

Go ahead.

Q Is the President concerned that Secretary of State Rice'sstrong
condemnation of the Belarus government could be seen as an endorsement of
or even an encouragement to a popular uprising in that country?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think that you've heard from Secretary Rice earlier today,
I believe it was, and she said it's time for change in Belarus. They are
one nation in the region that has not moved in the direction of many
others, and we stand with all those who seek a -- who seek freedom and
democracy. And she made that clear in her remarks. So I would take her
remarks for exactly what she said.

Go ahead.

Q Does that include a popular uprising?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think she addressed that issue. Go ahead.

Q Thanks so much.

MR. McCLELLAN: Sure.

Q My question, could I ask you a question to be on recent bilateral
relations between Japan and China? Japan is a key ally of the United
States, and China is playing a very key role to solve the North Korean
issues. And so these build a kind of -- I think it's a -- (inaudible.) The
President has any concern about these lost relations between China and
Japan --

MR. McCLELLAN: I think that that, as you stated, is a bilateral matter that
they're working to address, and I think that's where I would leave it.

Q Thank you.

Q Do you have any concerns this relationship overshadows the solution --

MR. McCLELLAN: Thank you.

END 1:38 P.M. EDT
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