Talk Radio News Service: News, Politics, Media

By Ellen Ratner
Morning Gaggle the White House
September 3, 2003

SCHEDULE

The President had his usual round of briefings and had breakfast with Prime Minister Wim Kok of the Netherlands who Scott McClellan called our 'ally in the fight against terrorism.' They also discussed NATO. Today the President will meet with the Secretary of Defense and sign The Free Trade Implementation Act with Chile and Singapore. This afternoon he will meet with The Speaker and Senate Majority Leader as well as House and Senate Republican Leaders to discuss legislative priorities.

IRAQ

Asked whether the President had changed his mind in terms of the United Nations, McClellan said, 'The United Nations has a vital role in the stabilization and reconstruction of Iraq.' He reiterated that Secretary Powell visited the United Nations two weeks ago and that 'some nations feel like they need additional authority from the United Nations.' He mentioned India as one of those countries. Secretary Powell will now work with members of The Security Council to complement and build on Resolution 1483. Powell also said 'The United Nations has been working on a coalition for a long time now.' Asked about Ambassador Bremer's role, he said that 'Bremer is Head of the Coalition's Provisional Authority.' Whether Bremer would still be in charge was not answered directly. (The President will be addressing The United Nations in three weeks.) Asked about troops coming home, he said 'these are decisions that we rely on the commanders in the field to make.' Asked about the Congressional Budget Office report on strain on Force structure McClellan referred it to the Department of Defense.

CONGRESSIONAL AND OTHER ISSUES

On Child Care and the Child Care Tax Credit, McClellan said 'Congress needs to act to complete this.' Asked about the new Emergency Medical Care Rule, McClellan said that 'there has been an extensive public comment period and that an ambulance owned by a hospital will now not be required to return to the owning hospital if another hospital is closer.' He was not able to clarify much more about this.