White House Gaggle

By Scott McClellan
Office of the Press Secretary
(Portsmouth, New Hampshire)

February 16, 2005

Aboard Air Force One
En route Portsmouth, New Hampshire

11:03 A.M. EST

MR. McCLELLAN: All right, just a couple of things to begin with. The


President had a good discussion this morning with the congressional
leadership, the bipartisan congressional leadership. It was an
opportunity to talk about a range of issues, including the President's
upcoming trip to Europe. So the President appreciated the opportunity
to sit down and visit with the bipartisan leadership this morning.



At the conversation on Social Security today -- I think you have the
fact sheet already, but I wanted to bring to your attention on the panel
today will be former Democratic Congressman Tim Penny. I think that
this is an example of leaders on both sides of the aisle who recognize
the importance of addressing the problems facing Social Security and
working to find a bipartisan solution and doing so this year. So I just
wanted to bring that to your attention.




Also, the President's bipartisan advisory panel on tax reform is holding
their first meeting today at the Ronald Reagan Building. That was set
to begin at 10:00 a.m. this morning. And I think that's really all I
have to begin with.



Q What happened in Iran today, with that explosion? Have you
determined what caused it?



MR. McCLELLAN: No, we've seen the reports and we're looking into them.
I think you all have seen the reports coming out of the Iranian News
Agency, as well, saying that it might have been a fuel tank falling out
of an airplane. So that's what we know. We've been looking into it.



Q And did you see the reports that Iran and Syria apparently now are
saying that they're going to have some sort of cooperation with each
other, because of what the U.S. is doing? You know, what -- how, you
know, concerned are you about that?



MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, I saw the statement, I guess, from an Iranian
official in news reports. I'm not sure exactly what their referring to,
from the comments that I saw. But our views are very clear on Syria and
Iran. The President expressed those views again in the State of the
Union address, when he talked about both countries. But you say they
were talking about the United States?



Q They were saying they were going to --



MR. McCLELLAN: Because from what I saw, it wasn't clear.



Q The story that we had was that they were talking about cooperating
with each other because of the actions that the United States is taking
against them.



MR. McCLELLAN: If they're talking about the United States, you know, I
think that it's a fundamental misreading of the issue. Their problem is
not with the United States, it's with the international community. Both
Syria and Iran have international obligations and they need to abide by
the commitments they have made to the international community.



Q Did you see the report of them shooting at a drone, an unmanned --



MR. McCLELLAN: Did we what?



Q Did you see the reports of the Iranians shooting at a drone?



MR. McCLELLAN: The reports? No, I just saw the report out of the
Iranian News Agency, where they were suggesting it was possibly a fuel
tank falling out of an airplane.



Q Scott, so as far as you know, there's no U.S. plane involved, at
all; any U.S. assets whatsoever --



MR. McCLELLAN: Correct.



Q Who's on the plane with him today?



MR. McCLELLAN: Senator Gregg, Senator Sununu -- I think he's visiting
with them right now.



Q Talking about strategy for the bill, for a Social Security --



MR. McCLELLAN: Well, yes, I expect they'll talk about that, as well as
other priorities going on in Congress. But they just started visiting a
few minutes ago, I think.



Q So there are a couple reports about Greg Mankiw stepping down at
the end of the week, and Ben Bernanke, the leading contender. Can you
tell us anything about whether Bernanke is the lead contender for CEA --



MR. McCLELLAN: No, I won't speculate on personnel matters. But we do
have Greg's letter of resignation that is available; if you all want it,
you can get it from our office. The President greatly appreciates the
job that Greg Mankiw has done serving as head of the Council of Economic
Advisors. He has done an outstanding job. I think Greg made it known
when he began his service that he intended to serve for two years and
then return to Harvard, to continue his teaching. And we have his
letter of resignation, if you want to see that. But, obviously, we're
moving to name a replacement and I expect that would be soon, but I
won't characterize it beyond that.



Q Do you have any comment on the reports that the U.S. -- accusations
by Iran that the U.S. is flying spy planes over?



MR. McCLELLAN: I talked about this the other day, and I don't really
have anything further to say on it, than what I said previously.



Q Is there any new information at all on who was behind the attack in
Lebanon, anything new?



MR. McCLELLAN: No. From our standpoint? Well, I mean, what's new, I
guess, was the statement that was put out by the President of the United
Nations Security Council. It was a strong statement that was -- that
received unanimous support. It essentially talked about the importance
of it being fully investigated and those who are responsible being
brought to justice. And it talked about the importance of countries
abiding by Security Council resolutions.



It also pointed out the importance of the Secretary General preparing a
report looking at the causes and circumstances involving this brutal
terrorist attack. It was a horrible attack and we want to see it fully
investigated; we want to see those who are responsible brought to
justice.



Q Scott, Greenspan is testifying today and he's expected to get a lot
of fiscal policy questions. What do you -- what will your response be
to the charges that although you plan to bring the deficit down, you cut
it in half in five more years, that the longer-term issue of Social
Security solvency hasn't been fully addressed with a detailed plan?



MR. McCLELLAN: Well, that's why you've heard the President often talk
about the twin deficits that we face. And the President has made it
very clear that we need to address our long-term unfunded liabilities --
and that's Social Security and Medicare. We took an important step to
reform Medicare and modernize it and bring some cost controls to the
program. And the President, again, is talking today to the American
people about the importance of strengthening Social Security and making
it permanently sound. And we've talked about how people are going to
look favorably upon action that will address these unfunded liabilities.
And that's important.



We've also made a commitment to continue working with Congress to
exercise even greater spending restraint. Our economy is growing
stronger. We've seen increased revenues coming in to the Treasury. And
that helps address the deficit issue. But the deficit-reduction plan
that the President has outlined is based really on two things: one,
continuing to keep our economy growing stronger; and two, exercising
spending restraint. And Congress has met the top-line budget numbers
that we have outlined over the previous couple years, and we're
confident they'll do it again this year so that we can cut the deficit
in half over the next five years.



Q Do you think the public fully understands the problem with Social
Security?



MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think if you look at some of the recent surveys,
I know last week the Washington Post pointed out that the American
people -- that according to their survey, 73 percent, I think, was the
number, 73 percent of the American people believe it's either a crisis
or faces major problems. And so I think the American people do
understand the problems facing Social Security, but it's important to
continue reaching out to them to talk about how those problems are only
going to get worse over time, and that that is why we need to act now to
strengthen it for our children and grandchildren.



The President is going to continue going out and talking to the American
people and seniors, and saying, if you're retired, nothing is going to
change. He's going to continue reassuring seniors -- those seniors who
are currently retired and then those who are near retirement that were
born before 1950. That's important that they recognize nothing changes
for them, because I think many seniors -- and I think you're going to
have a grandfather on the panel today -- recognize the importance of
strengthening Social Security for our children and grandchildren. They
want to make sure that it is around for them, and give them the
opportunity to realize an even greater grater rate of return.



Q So this process will continue for some time?



MR. McCLELLAN: Absolutely. I mean, this process is still in the early
stages. He's only been on the road in a handful of states, or even
less. So he's going to continue going out across the country, reaching
out to the American people, talking about the problems facing Social
Security and the need to advance a bipartisan solution and to act this
year.



Q Is the discussion going to continue for a while on the same line
it's been on, which is, this is a problem, as opposed to, what are the
solutions for the solvency issue?



MR. McCLELLAN: Well, it's both, but, yes. We're still in the early
stages of this session of Congress. The President believes it's
important to go directly to the American people and talk about the big
challenges that this country faces. And one of the biggest challenges
we face is Social Security. That's why he's reaching out to the
American people all across the country. We're just in the initial phase
of that at this point.



He's going to continue reaching out, talking about the problem. But
he's also talking more about some of his ideas for strengthening Social
Security. He's talked about the importance of personal accounts, so
that younger workers can realize a greater rate of return. He's talked
about ideas that others have suggested for solving this problem. And
the President welcomes all ideas; he's made that very clear. And he
wants to advance a bipartisan solution. And so one of the things we're
focusing on today is bringing a Democrat on the panel -- a Democratic
leader, to talk about some of those ideas.



Q But when does this initial phase end, talking about the problem,
and move to the -- you know, how much longer do you think --



MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we're doing two things. One, we're reaching out
to the American people, and two, we're reaching out to members of
Congress. But there is going to be a period where the President is
going to continue traveling the country and reaching out to the American
people. I'm not putting a time line on it at this point, it's still in
the early stages right now.



Q It's safe to say months, though, and not weeks or something, right?




MR. McCLELLAN: Oh, I think that this is an issue he will continue to
talk about. Obviously, there's a legislative process. And I think
everybody recognizes that that's going to -- it's going to take some
time to move through the process. But the President has made it very
clear he wants to get it done this year, and this is one of our highest
domestic priorities. And so, yes, he'll continue --



Q The conversations?



MR. McCLELLAN: -- for some time he'll continue reaching out to the
American people. And I expect he'll do it even throughout the process.
But this is still -- we're still in the stage of talking with the
American people about the problem and reaching out to members of
Congress to say, we welcome your ideas, too; and let's talk about how we
can work -- solve this together.



Q If the goal is to convince people who have doubts about the problem
of Social Security, why do, it seems like we go to these rallies where
people mostly seem to agree with the President. Why not -- is there
some question as to whether the President's base of support is doubting
the plan? Or at what point will you --



MR. McCLELLAN: I disagree with your characterization. One, the
President is reaching out to all Americans. This is an issue that
affects all Americans. So he's reaching out to all Americans in that
regard. Now, the American people expect us to solve problems and not
pass them on to future generations. So I think it's important to
highlight the problems facing Social Security and have a discussion with
the American people about those problems. That's what the President's
doing.



He's doing it in different ways. He's doing it by participating in
these conversations, he's doing it by sitting down with news outlets
from across the country, like he did yesterday to talk about the
challenge we face. These newspapers he sat down with yesterday are from
states that had a larger percentage of seniors. And he wanted to make
-- he wants to continue to make it clear to seniors that nothing
changes. There are some that continue to use scare tactics, and the
President is saying that leadership is about confronting problems and
finding solutions. And there are some that want to ignore the problem
or try to say there isn't a problem. That's not a solution.



Q Congressman Penny, did he come to you all, or did you go to him?



MR. McCLELLAN: I can double-check. I mean, I'm sure we reached out to
him, but he was more than happy to participate in this.



Q Since the State of the Union?



MR. McCLELLAN: I'll double-check. I didn't -- I'll double-check that,
and you can check with me later on it.



Q He was on the commission.



MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, he was on the President's bipartisan commission.
That's correct. And he was someone the President referenced in the
State of the Union address, as you mentioned, someone who has expressed
some ideas for solving the fiscal problem facing Social Security.

Okay, thanks.

END 11:18 A.M. EST