White House Gaggle

By Scott McClellan
Office of the Press Secretary
(Springfield, Illinois)
April 19, 2005

For Immediate Release
Aboard Air Force One
En Route Springfield, Illinois





10:30 A.M. EDT





MR. McCLELLAN: Good morning, everybody. The President had his usual


briefing this morning. And when we arrive in Springfield, the President
will participate in a tour of the Lincoln Museum, and you all will be
there to cover some of that. I think there are two, what they refer to
as exhibit journeys that he'll see. The first one is -- the first
journey is Abraham Lincoln's childhood through his election as the 16th
President of the United States. And then the second one is a
reproduction of his White House during that time. And then there's
another exhibit that -- I think they do some temporary exhibits at this
point -- kind of marks the 140th anniversary of his assassination, and
so there will be some things from that time that he'll see, as well.



And then the President will make remarks at the dedication of the
Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. The President is honored to be
making remarks today at the library. His remarks will really focus on
Abraham Lincoln and what he stood for. And toward the end of his
remarks I think he'll reflect a little bit on the importance of freedom.
But these remarks really center around Lincoln, someone who many
Americans consider the greatest American. And I think you'll hear the
President talk more about that in his remarks.






And then this afternoon when we get back to the White House, the
President will participate in a meeting in the Oval Office with the
chair and ranking members of the Senate Energy and House Energy and
Senate Finance and the House Ways and Means Committee. This will be an
opportunity for the President to talk to these leaders about how to move
forward to pass comprehensive energy legislation this year.



The House, as you all are aware, is moving forward on legislation this
week, and Senator Dominici stated as recently as last Saturday that he
was preparing to move forward on legislation in his committee, as well.
And I expect the President will also be able to talk -- will talk to
them a little bit about his remarks tomorrow to the Hispanic Chamber of
Commerce, where he will focus on energy, as well.



We also have -- shortly we'll have for you a presidential statement on
the 10th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, and we'll be
releasing the transcript from the Lebanon TV interview. And then we
will also have the announcement on the U.S.-EU summit that will be held
on June 20th in Washington, D.C.



And that's all I have to begin with.



Q Will those announcements go out while we're on the plane or will
they go out once we land, or --



MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we're making sure that the charter has landed, so
we can put it out to everybody at once.



Q Scott, there's been a little bit of -- or kind of a lot, actually,
of talk about how the museum, the Lincoln Museum shows all sides of
Lincoln's life, that there was quite a bit of controversy about his
views on slavery and lots of questions about his presidency. Will the
President get into any of that in his remarks? And what does he think
about the different views of the President?



MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think he actually will -- he will talk at great
length about Lincoln in his remarks. That's really the focus of his
remarks. I think he'll talk about how his life and sacrifice show the
promise of America. And he'll talk about how, in his character and
conviction, we see the hopes of America. I think that's what he'll
touch on in his remarks, and that -- and you all have heard the
President talk about this before, but Abraham Lincoln is the President
that he admires most. And he'll talk about how President Lincoln kept
our nation united. And he'll talk about his faith in freedom for all,
and you'll hear more about that in his remarks.






Q Scott, there was a report in the FT today about China and its
currency regime. Does the administration think that China -- China's
currency pegged to the dollar, given the size of the trade balance
between the two countries, amounts to manipulation?



MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think the President addressed it last week. I
mean, I don't know that there's much more to add to what the President
said last week. He also talked about it a little bit in his interview
yesterday with Ron Insana. But we've made our views very clear when it
comes to China's currency. And that's a position that we continue to
talk to China about at all levels of government.



Q There's a distinction to be made between what China is doing and
the U.S. -- the legal definition of manipulation. Does what China
practices with its currency amount to manipulation?



MR. McCLELLAN: If there's anything to add, I'm sure the Treasury
Department will be glad to do so.



Q Scott, what does the White House think about an apparent effort to
delay a vote on the Bolton nomination?



MR. McCLELLAN: Chairman Lugar is committed to moving forward on his
nomination in the committee. We hope that the Senate committee will
move forward today, and send his nomination to the floor. John Bolton
is exactly the kind of person we need at the United Nations during this
time of reform. John Bolton shares the President's commitment to making
sure that the United Nations is an effective multilateral organization
that focuses on results. We hope the Senate will move forward on his
confirmation quickly.



Q So the White House doesn't think there's any merit in just taking a
little bit longer look at some of the questions surrounding his career?



MR. McCLELLAN: I think that John Bolton has testified before the
committee and addressed those issues and provided additional responses
in writing that members asked for. And he is someone who brings great
experience and expertise to the position, and has a proven record of
results. And so we think that the Senate should move forward quickly on
his nomination.



Q Has the President been surprised by some of the controversy that's
erupted surrounding Bolton's nomination?



MR. McCLELLAN: I don't -- the President has --






Q Any second thoughts?



MR. McCLELLAN: -- been around Washington for several years now. I
don't think I'd describe it that way, when it comes to the nomination
process in the Senate.



Q He has had no second thoughts about his nominee?



MR. McCLELLAN: Absolutely not. As I just said, the President believes
he's exactly the right person for the position. That's why he appointed
him to the position. He's someone who has a proven record as a diplomat
who achieves results.



Q How closely has the President looked at the details involved in the
controversy of Tom DeLay? I mean, has he actually looked at the various
cases of trips and who paid for them and who hasn't, or has he looked at
the situation from more of the point of view of overall support, and
perhaps looking at the Democratic opposition as mal-intentioned? I
mean, has he gotten into the case, the merits of the case?



MR. McCLELLAN: Those are issues that congressional leaders and
Congressman DeLay are addressing, as I pointed out last week. I think
that the President -- you heard him address this issue again last week,
before the newspaper editors, when a question was asked, and he pointed
out that Congressman DeLay has stated he'd be glad to talk to the
committee about those issues, as well. The President has made his views
known on the whole matter. He looks forward to continue -- he
appreciates Leader DeLay's leadership in Congress and intends to
continue working very closely with him to get things done for the
American people. That's what he has done and we will continue to do. I
know that this is a period when you want to continue to ask questions on
a daily basis and seek our reaction to every new comment that someone
makes, but those are all issues that will be addressed by congressional
leaders and Leader DeLay. And we continue to strongly support him.



Q But hasn't the whole situation peaked his curiosity about what the
furor is about? Has he not looked into it?



MR. McCLELLAN: Has he not looked into what?



Q Details, the actual -- sort of trip-by-trip, case-by-case
allegations.






MR. McCLELLAN: Like you all, he sees the news coverage of it, as well.
But he continues to strongly support Leader DeLay, and looks forward to
continuing to work closely with him on the priorities of the American --
for the American people.



Q So he is familiar with the details of the case.



MR. McCLELLAN: Well, Mark, he follows the news.



Q Is that going to be a major point of discussion with Speaker
Hastert on the way back to Washington today, the Tom DeLay difficulties?




MR. McCLELLAN: No, I would not think so. I would think that with
Speaker Hastert he'll talk about the priorities before Congress right
now.



Q But is there a concern that it may be more difficult, that this
could prove to be a distraction that would in some way hinder the
President's --



MR. McCLELLAN: No, actually, the President talked about that last week.
He was pleased to meet with congressional leaders last week, including
Leader DeLay, and their focus was on the important priorities facing the
American people, and the important priorities before the United States
Congress. They focused on the legislative agenda that is before us
right now, and that's where the President will continue to keep his
focus. We've got a lot of work to do on big priorities facing the
American people, like energy and Social Security. And we're going to
continue to work with Leader DeLay and others in Congress to get things
done on those issues.



Q During this afternoon's meeting at the Oval, does the President
intend to express his distaste for the House version of the energy bill?
Will he be lobbying harder for fewer subsidies for the oil industry, for
example?



MR. McCLELLAN: You're talking about a certain section of it. I think
the President has made his views known, in terms of any incentives in
the legislation, that oil and gas companies don't need any incentives
when the price of oil is where it is right now. In our plan that we put
forward, our priorities for incentives focused on renewables and energy
efficiency. And it was also something that we outlined in the context
of the overall budget, the money that we set aside in our plan for those
efforts. We appreciate that the House is moving forward on
comprehensive energy legislation.




The President looks forward to making remarks tomorrow, as well. This
is a high priority for the President; it has been throughout his
administration. It is time to act to make America more energy
independent. We are dependent on foreign sources of energy. It is a
threat to our economic security and our national security. And the
President is concerned about the impact rising gas prices are having on
families and small businesses. This is affecting their pocketbooks, and
the President is concerned about that.



So tomorrow, I expect the President will renew his call for Congress to
act now on the comprehensive energy plan that he outlined four years
ago. I think that most Americans recognize that our growing dependence
on foreign sources of oil did not happen overnight -- it was years in
the making. And it is not something we're going to solve overnight with
an instant fix.



But that's why we need to act now to move forward on the comprehensive
energy plan that the President outlined. It focuses on using new
technologies to expand conservation, it outlines ways to improve energy
efficiency, it diversifies our supply of energy by looking at
alternative sources of energy, so that we are less dependent on foreign
sources of oil. It also modernizes our electricity grid. And this is a
high priority for the President.



Q The House version, as it's constituted now, does not do any of
those things. I'm interested in how hard the President is going to
press House leaders doing this afternoon's meeting on those matters.



MR. McCLELLAN: What's most important is that the House is moving
forward on comprehensive energy legislation. And I don't know that I
would agree with your characterization. I think you were focusing on
one aspect of it. I think the President has made our views known. He
looks forward to having this discussion today to talk about the
importance of acting now on comprehensive energy legislation.






And the President outlined his plan four years ago. There are things
that we can do now and we are doing now. And we're going to make sure
that we protect consumers and make sure they're treated fairly. We're
going to continue to discuss these issues with OPEC and non-OPEC
producing nations, to encourage them to act in a way that provides for
affordable and abundant supplies of energy. It's important to our
economy here at home, as well as our global economy. But the first
thing Congress needs to do is act on the plan that the President
outlined.



Q Scott, would you describe today's meeting, and tomorrow's speech,
for that matter, as more kind of -- his usual sort of broad call for --
it's time to act now, or is it more of a strategy session today, like,
here's what we've got on both sides, what's good on either one, how can
we make this happen. Is it more of a strategy thing today and in the
speech tomorrow, or --



MR. McCLELLAN: Well, he looks forward to hearing from them, but, yes,
he will talk to them about the importance of acting now, and, obviously,
I think he'll listen to some of their thoughts, as well. I think there
is a commitment on the part of the House leadership and the Senate
leadership to move forward and get something done now. And the rising
energy prices, rising gas prices that we're seeing now only further
underscore the need to finally pass the plan that the President outlined
four years ago.



Q Can we expect to hear anything new tomorrow, in terms of his ideas,
stating publicly his ideas for getting this done?



MR. McCLELLAN: I think that, one, he's still finalizing his remarks,
but I kind of gave you a general overview of some of the remarks. And
you'll hear more from him tomorrow about what we're doing now, as well
as what Congress needs to do.



Q Anybody else on the trip back to D.C. besides Speaker Hastert?



MR. McCLELLAN: We'll get you the list of who is coming back. You'll be
there.



Q Is Mrs. Welch on the plane? I didn't see her get on.



MR. McCLELLAN: Did she come?



MS. GODFREY: I don't believe so.



MR. McCLELLAN: So she didn't come in the end? Okay, I'll check on
that.



Q She's not meeting them there?



MR. McCLELLAN: No, she would have been coming with us.




Thanks.



END 10:43 P.M. EDT