Talk Radio News Service: News, Politics, Media

13 January, 2010

Google
Gibbs was asked to talk about the talks last night with the NSC. (Google is threatening to pull out of China because of a sophisticated computer network attack originating there.) He said the White House has had conversations with them, but did not want to get into depth. In China the President talked about the right of a free internet, taking a question over the internet about the freedom of the internet. The Secretary of State said we will look for a response from the Chinese. Asked if the US offered Google advice, Gibbs refused to discuss it. Asked if there was a concern about a US China chill, Gibbs repeated his response about beliefs in a free internet.

Healthcare
Gibbs was asked whether the cadillac tax was likely to evolve into a lesser tax, and whether that would satisfy unions. He said there was a meeting going on in the Cabinet Room with Democratic leaders of Congress on many of the differences in the issues that remain on health care. This is one of the issues. The White House would have something to say at the conclusion of the meeting this afternoon.

Asked if the President had agreed to exempt from the cadillac tax those policies collectively bargained, he said he would not get into it. Asked if abortion language was on the agenda, he said he did not know if it was specifically one of the things they would talk about, although there were differences in the House and Senate bills, and the meeting is intended to go over differences.

Gibbs did not know if they would get through everything today. He said he hoped for a bill this month. He said the cadillac tax is a tax on insurance companies that provide plans that exceed a threshold level, not a tax on an individual.

Gibbs said the key to making progress is the talks that are taking place currently. 85-95% of the bills overlap, and they are trying to work through the differences on the remaining parts and are optimistic.

Asked if the President would advocate having the bill posted for 72 hours on the internet, Gibbs said that healthcare was the most covered story by the press in 2009. What has gone through has not been a surprise to anyone. It is not a process that will happen in 20 minutes, so people will have an opportunity to look at the legislation.

Haiti
The President will make phone calls to leaders in the region, and talk directly with the Haitian president later on this morning. There will be a readout. As there are either no hospitals left standing or they have been abandoned, Gibbs was asked if there was talk about bringing people to the US. He said first and foremost it is search and rescue and saving lives. He directed reporters to briefings by State and others. There was a lot that was not known until daylight today.

There are no discussions of the President going to Haiti right now. Going into an area that has sustained the type of devastation that it has would only detract from our core mission of search and rescue and saving lives by sending a bunch of people down there to prepare for the President.

Gibbs was asked if the US works together with other countries. He said yes, and that one of the calls late morning early afternoon would be to Canada. As the day goes on, there may be more calls. The US wants to help coordinate and do what it can in terms of international efforts, as well as its priority is search and rescue, and American citizens, and help with international efforts.

Gibbs said he was not aware that the President had any personal connections in haiti, but he would check.

State of the Union
Asked if the date for the State of the Union was contingent on a done deal on healthcare, Gibbs said that is not the case. They are working on scheduling.

Bankers Testifying Before Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission
Gibbs was asked whether Wall Street officials who are testifying today should apologize for their actions. Gibbs said an apology is the least we should expect: common sense and rationality in how they are paid, a measure of common sense in believing that somehow things are so good economically in this country that it is time for billions of dollars in bonuses. There are some on Wall Street who seem to believe that nothing has changed and that the American taxpayers provided financing in order to get them back to making bad decisions.

Bank Fee
The President will speak tomorrow at 11.45 about an effort to ensure that the money that is outstanding that the taxpayers are owed from TARP is fully recouped. That is something the President has talked about extensively. Gibbs was asked how it could be ensured that the fee would not be passed on to consumers. Gibbs said the economic team has worked for quite some time on a structure that will ensure that what taxpayers gave to banks to ensure their safety and security in a time of crisis is paid back in full.

Politics - Democratic Lack of Enthusiasm
Gibbs was asked about a lack of enthusiasm among liberals in 2010, given that it is a challenging year. Massachusetts was mentioned. He was asked why it was, and what the White House could do to energize the people who elected the President. Gibbs said he did not know why some segment of political observers do not seem to be as motivated. He said there was a lot at stake in Massachusetts and on Capitol Hill. It is whether Democrats go forward with ideas for an economic recovery and creating a new foundation, or back to some of the policies that caused this type of economic devastation to take place. He said there is a long way to go before November. People will understand what is at stake in 2010 quite clearly.

Massachusetts Race
The President has no plans to travel there to campaign for Martha Coakley.

Lanham Trip Cancellation
Haiti was the reason for the cancellation of this afternoon’s trip.

Don’t Ask Don’t Tell
Gibbs was asked what the developments are in repealing DADT. He said he had no updates.

Airport Security
Gibbs was asked whether it would be possible to screen the entire terror watch list. He said he would check with NSC. There were several databases. There needs to be something that ensures that people who should not get on planes do not, but not something that is so unwieldy that you cannot use it operationally.