Talk Radio News Service: News, Politics, Media

By Lovisa Frost
January 25, 2006

President's Schedule

This morning President Bush had his usual intelligence briefings followed by a congratulatory phone call to Canadian Prime Minister-elect Stephen Harper. At 9:30 am, he had an interview with the Wall Street Journal, followed by a meeting at 10:25 am with bi-partisan members of Congress to talk about the war on terrorism and the strategy for victory in Iraq. The meeting included a number of Senators, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Ambassador Khalizad and General Casey participating via video conference. At 12:20 pm, the President will depart for Fort Meade, Maryland, to visit the National Security Agency. President Bush will make remarks to the employees of the NSA and thank them for their work. White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said that much of the work at the NSA is conducted in secret, but, "it is known to the President and I think all Americans are grateful for the work they do 24/7, to protect them." Between the remarks to the employees and the White House Press pool, the President will take a tour of the facility. This afternoon, the President will meet with 41 former clerks of Judge Alito

in the Oval Office. Following the meeting, they will make remarks in the Rose Garden. Scott McClellan briefs the press at 11:30 am today.

On today's "Ask the White House" at 4:00 pm, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will talk about the Patriot Act, Judge Alito and the terrorist surveillance program. At 2:00 pm, Donald Powell, the Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding and Secretary of Department of Housing and Urban Development Alphonso Jackson are announcing how HUD will allocate $11.5 billion in emergency disaster funding for community development.

Katrina Reports

When asked what the rationale was for not giving Congress the Katrina reports, McClellan said that they are working very closely with both the House and the Senate in a cooperative manner to make sure that they have the
information they need to do their job. McClellan stated that there have been 120 officials from the administration who have been made available for interview and testimonies, including Secretary Chertoff. The Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security have also provided 240,000 pages of documents. Furthermore, "we have also worked closely with Senator Collins and Congressman Davis who have indicated that the hearings will produce some meaningful results", McClellan said. In terms of funding, McClellan said that the administration has moved forward in a number of areas to make sure that the needs are met in the Gulf Coast and $85 billon has been made available in resources, of which $25-30 billion has already been allocated.

Palestinian Elections and Hamas

McClellan did not want to give an analysis of the elections since they are on-going, but said that the elections are historic for the Palestinian people. The White House strongly supports the Palestinians as they transition to a democratic state, as well as their efforts to build
democratic institutions. Regarding the concern for Hamas, McClellan told reporters that the administration has made their position very clear and it remains unchanged.

New Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper

The President had a very good conversation this morning with Canadian Prime Minister-elect Stephen Harper, McClellan said. He also talked about the outgoing Prime Minister Martin saying that President Bush had a very
good working relationship with him. The President wishes him well. "We look forward working with the new government and building upon the strong relationship", McClellan concluded.

Medicare and Tax Breaks

McClellan stated that the President talked about health care as a priority from the beginning of this administration, where he wanted to make sure the consumer has better information. McClellan explained that there are a number of initiatives that have already been moved forward such as the prescription drug benefit. McClellan continued, "This is a very innovative approach for individuals and small businesses so that they can save on their health care and have some tax advantages as they do so".