White House Press Gaggle With Jay Carney

Aboard Air Force One

En Route El Paso, Texas

12:14 P.M. EDT

     MR. CARNEY:  Well, I assume I’ll have questions about what the President is doing in El Paso today.  Briefly, obviously, he’ll be giving a speech to talk about the need for comprehensive immigration reform, about the need to increase support, why it’s an economic imperative, in particular, to keep us competitive in the 21st century. 

And he’ll also — I think as you know, he’ll be touring the Bridge of the Americas commercial cargo facility in El Paso.  Of the four crossing that comprise the El Paso port of entry, the Bridge of the Americas is the largest, facilitating both passenger and commercial traffic.  On average, 1,200 to 1,600 trucks a day import commodities through this location.

     President Obama will be led on the tour by Ana Hinojosa, the director of field operations at the Bridge of the Americas, and he’ll be accompanied by the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Alan Bersin. 

During the tour the President will be shown a mobile truck X-ray and be given an overview of large-scale technology designed to protect and prevent radiological threats.  He will also view a demonstration of border patrol personnel searching commercial cargo.

And with that, I’ll take your questions.

Q    Boehner last night, line in the sand — helpful to the process, or no?

MR. CARNEY:  What I would say about that, Hans, is that the Speaker indicated that he supports significant deficit reduction.  The President supports significant deficit reduction.  All parties to these negotiations recognize the problem and share a similar idea about what the goal should be, which is roughly $4 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 to 12 years.  That in it and of itself is progress. 

Obviously we disagree with the House Republican budget plan, which we made clear.  The President believes that we need to achieve that $4 trillion in deficit reduction in a balanced way and not solely by cutting entitlements and eliminating, in the case of the House Republican plan, the Medicare guaranteed to our seniors.

     However, he believes that the negotiations, the talks being led by the Vice President, will continue to be productive as all sides seek common ground towards further deficit reduction.  We believe that will take place. 

And no less important is the urgent need to raise the debt ceiling.  We continue to maintain that the — it is folly to hold hostage the vote to raise the debt ceiling to prevent the United States of America from defaulting on its obligations to any other piece of legislation.  We will get a fiscal agreement, we believe.  We’re optimistic.  We believe we can get that.  But to hold one hostage to the other remains extremely unwise in our view. 

And I would simply note some of the things that Speaker Boehner has said in the past, if I have them here, about just that issue.  Back in the last day of January — or, no, January 30th, rather, he said — this is the Speaker of the House — to raise that — failing to raise the debt ceiling would mean, “financial disaster not only for our country but for the worldwide economy.  You can’t create jobs if you default on the federal debt.”  We couldn’t agree more.

Q    If I could fast-forward it to last night, did you hear Boehner as a hostage-taker or a deal-maker?

MR. CARNEY:  I believe that it is fine for all participants in this process to restate their starting positions.  That we understand.  But we believe that there is — that common ground can be found between Republicans and Democrats in these negotiations being overseen by the Vice President.  And we continue to be optimistic.

Q    So the idea that cuts will have to equal the amount that the debt ceiling is raised, that’s not new to you?  You haven’t heard — you’ve heard that from Boehner before?

MR. CARNEY:  No, but what I meant was that the position that eliminating the Medicare program as we know it remains on the table, but dealing with tax expenditures is off the table.  Maximalist positions do not produce compromise.

     Q    It’s not just Boehner that’s saying that on the tax expenditures, it’s Kyl too.

     MR. CARNEY:  No, I understand, Hans, and I’m not going to negotiate the particulars here, but what the purpose of the negotiations is, is for the — all sides to find common ground, and I think that common ground can be found.  The balance and the particulars are not something that I’m going to negotiate at 30,000 feet.

     Q    — his position not undermine the talks that are going on at Blair House with the Vice President?

     MR. CARNEY:  I don’t believe that it does, no.

     Q    The Texas governor is upset that there hasn’t been a disaster declaration covering the wildfires there.  Some Republicans have suggested that perhaps politics is playing a role in there, and one has even said it’s inappropriate for him to be raising funds in the state without such a declaration.  How do you answer that?

     MR. CARNEY:  I would love to answer that.  I think it’s important for everyone to know that this administration has been extremely responsive to the state of Texas’ requests for wildfire management assisting grants — 25 of them at last count.  All that have been requested had been, as far as I know it, have been provided.  And that — in each case, because wildfires are different from other natural disasters — they are ongoing.  And in each case the federal government, the federal taxpayer, is paying 75 percent of the costs of fighting these fires of Texas — 75 percent.  So there is plenty, considerable federal assistance flowing to Texas to deal with these serious wildfires.  We take this very seriously.

     And the fact is, is that because wildfires are the kind of natural disaster that they are and fighting them is a major cost here, the federal government is picking up a substantial portion of that cost.

Q    Why is the President —

MR. CARNEY:  And I would say — can I just point out that the suggestion that you are raising that some I guess some Republicans think that this is political, I would just point to the disaster declarations that the President has designated from across the country, and I think there was no discrimination here between red and blue states.

     Q    Why is the President not meeting with Governor Perry?

     MR. CARNEY:  Governor Perry turned down our invitation to meet the President at the airport.

     Q    He wanted a more substantial meeting and didn’t want to have to go 800 miles all the way to El Paso to discuss the wildfires and border security and all that.

     MR. CARNEY:  Again, we invited him to meet with the President and he declined the invitation.  We have also in the past offered him a National Security Council briefing on immigration; he declined that as well.

     Q    Is his request for a thousand more National Guardsmen under any kind of consideration at all?

     MR. CARNEY:  We have substantially increased the number of border patrol agents twice — more than 20,000 now — twice the number that there were in 2004.  We have tripled the number of intelligence agents — analysts who are working on border patrol.  We have — let me just get out my trusty fact sheet here — we’ve deployed unmanned aerial vehicles that now patrol the border from Texas to California.  For the first time, we are screening 100 percent of southbound rail shipments to seize guns and money going south, even as we go after the drugs that are heading north.  We’ve forged a partnership with Mexico to fight the transnational criminal organizations that have affected both of our countries.  And I would add that in terms of the presence of the National Guard there, we intend to maintain that presence and to work with Congress to get the funding necessary to maintain the border — the National Guard presence. 

     Q    On the immigration reform that the President is going to discuss today, will he be discussing specifics — for instance, hurdles that illegal immigrants would face in order to get on the path to citizenship?

     MR. CARNEY:  I don’t want to steal the President’s thunder.  I encourage you to listen to the speech.  But he will talk about all the issues that encompass comprehensive immigration reform, from the need for border security, the need to deal with this underground economy that depresses wages, that allows bad actors in business to compete unfairly with those who follow the rules and obey the law, and the need to reform our legal immigration laws so that we’re making sure that we essentially take advantage of the enormous talent that we find in our universities and not train the competition, but have those immigrants who are here studying at the best universities in the world start companies here in the United States instead of taking them overseas to our competitors.

     Q    Does the White House intend to submit its own legislation on immigration reform, or are you going to leave the work to Congress?

     MR. CARNEY:  I’m not going to preview our legislative strategy from here, but we’re — the approach we’re taking is we are trying to — recognizing the hurdles that we have faced legislatively, we are trying to build awareness and support for the need for comprehensive immigration reform, to fix this broken system.  And I’d just remind you that the stakeholders that we have talked with represent Republicans and Democrats, businesses, a variety of interest groups.  This is — the need for this, as in so many cases, the train is leaving the station and Washington is still trying to find the train station.

     I mean it’s — this is something that we’re hoping that we can push from the outside in here to get Congress to address the fact that this is a broken system that needs to be fixed, and that used to have bipartisan support.  And one of the reasons why we’re told — we’ve been told, all of us in the United States have been told, that those who used to support comprehensive immigration reform in the Republican Party backed away from that support because they wanted borders first.

     So, again, everything that was demanded has been provided in terms of increased border patrol, increased efforts to secure our borders, and so we look forward to some of those supporters returning to the table to try to figure out this problem and fix the broken system.

     Q    So if it’s so urgent, why aren’t you providing a timetable then?

     MR. CARNEY:  Because, as you know, Hans, there are a lot of ways to skin a cat in Washington when you’re talking about getting things done.  And we have a strategy here to try to get another hard thing done, and we’re following that strategy because we believe it gives us the best chance of success.

     Q    Can I ask, if it’s so urgent, why did the President wait almost two and a half years since he took office to visit the border?

     MR. CARNEY:  Well, come on — I mean, there have been quite a few things going on in the last two and a half years — the worst recession since the Great Depression, two wars, the hunt for Osama bin Laden that ended successfully a few days ago, among many, many other issues.

     What is notable — the irony of your question, if I may, is that I was getting the opposite questions:  Why are you bothering when you know it’s so politically difficult to achieve this.  Are you really serious? 

     And just like people said the same thing about whether or not the President was serious about fiscal reform, the answer is yes.  Is he serious about comprehensive immigration reform?  The answer is yes.  He feels that he was hired to try to do some hard things, and he’s going to try to do them.

     Q    Could we do one on Pakistan?  The offer to let the wives be interviewed, is that sufficient or will the U.S. be calling for more?

     MR. CARNEY:  Look, we have an important and complicated relationship with Pakistan.  We are working avidly with our Pakistani counterparts to continue the cooperation that we’ve had in the past.  And we’re optimistic that that cooperation will continue with regards to the issues that you’ve raised, access to the — to Mr. bin Laden’s wives and also to the materials that were collected by the Pakistanis after the U.S. commandos left, and of course on all the other issues that we need cooperation on with the Pakistanis.

     Q    The Navy chaplaincy has approved the — officiating of same-sex marriages at Navy chapels, pending a full certification of the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell.”  There have been some members that have been complaining that that brings the administration’s pledge to uphold — or to, I should say, follow DOMA, if not defend it.  Does the administration feel that that’s still legal under DOMA?

     MR. CARNEY:  I haven’t seen that, and so I suggest you ask the Department of Defense since I haven’t seen that story.

     Q    Jay, to get back to Pakistan, what kind of communications and interactions is the administration having with the Pakistani government now?

     MR. CARNEY:  Well, we maintain our contacts at a variety of levels of — senior levels of the government, as we did prior to the mission against bin Laden.

     Q    Has the President spoken again or will he be speaking again with President Zardari?

     MR. CARNEY:  Well, I’m sure he will speak again with President Zardari.  I’m not aware that’s he has had another conversation with him since the evening of May 1st.

     Q    And just a quick issue here.  Some of the folks in the cabin were startled to see a plane fly underneath Air Force One, about the time we were just south of Dulles, I believe.  Are you aware that there was anything too close or —

     MR. CARNEY:  No, I was not aware that happened, and I’m sure I would have been told if there were an issue.

     Q    Can I ask about the political dimensions of the visit to Texas?  He’s raising money in Austin.  How confident is the President about carrying the state of Texas in the 2012 election?

     MR. CARNEY:  Well, he obviously did not carry it in 2008, but the President believes strongly that he doesn’t give up on any state.  And I’m just citing something he said recently about that.  And the fact is I’ve heard him talk on other occasions about how much he enjoys coming to Texas.  He’s glad to be here.  He knows he has a lot of supporters here; it’s a big state.  And I’m sure he’ll be back.

     Q    If I could go back to deficit and debt, are you — in an answer to Darlene, you said that you didn’t think Boehner’s talk — speech last night undermined the process.  And then earlier you said that you didn’t think it was helpful to restate starting positions.

     MR. CARNEY:  I didn’t say that.  I said it’s fine to restate starting positions.  I didn’t say it was unhelpful.  I’m just saying that it doesn’t —

     Q    So it’s fine —

     MR. CARNEY:  We understand that there are starting positions.  We also understand that compromise involves acknowledging that you have to move off of your starting position.  That’s kind of the nature of compromise.

     Q    Anything on — the President take a look at the window at the swelling Mississippi?

     MR. CARNEY:  I haven’t seen him do that but I haven’t been with him for the full flight so far.  I remember when we were flying out of Fort Campbell on Friday there was a lot of flooding in Kentucky.  It’s obviously quite devastating what we’re seeing now on television.

     Q    Are there any plans for the President to take a closer look at the impact of the flooding?

     MR. CARNEY:  I don’t have any scheduling updates.

     Anybody else?

     Q    Thank you, Jay.

END           12:31 P.M. EDT



White House Press Gaggle With Jay Carney

Aboard Air Force One- En Route Indianapolis, Indiana  

     MR. CARNEY:  I just want to mention a couple of things before I get started here.  First, as you all know, we had an employment report today that showed private sector payrolls increasing by 268,000 in April, which makes 14 consecutive months of private sector employment growth.  During that period, the economy added 2.1 million private sector jobs, including more than 800,000 jobs since the beginning of the year.

     This is obviously good news.  The February number was revised upwards to 261,000 private sector jobs created, and the March number was estimated upward to 231,000 — very, very solid; an average of approximately a quarter of a million private sector jobs created each month for three straight months. 

     We’re pleased about that.  We obviously have a lot more work to do.  The recession cost the American labor force 8 million jobs and we’re still digging ourselves out of that hole. 

     Next I’d like to just remind you about where we’re going today.  The President will first visit Allison Transmission, which is a leader in hybrid technology and the world’s largest manufacturer of fully automatic transmissions for medium and heavy-duty commercial vehicles, tactical military vehicles, and hybrid compulsion systems.  This visit is meant to highlight the President’s commitment to diversifying our energy requirements, to reduce our dependence on imported oil, and to ensure that we are leaders in clean energy technology in the 21st century.

     Finally, I just wanted to note that when we go to Fort Campbell today, the President and Vice President will be visiting with members of the 101st Airborne Division, which, if you don’t know, has such a remarkable history, beginning in World War II, where they were the first allied forces to set foot on occupied France territory; fought valiantly through World War II; were a vital division during the Cold War, Vietnam, Operation Desert Storm and then obviously in the Iraq war, and most recently in Afghanistan.  Extraordinary service, extraordinary sacrifice.

     What is less known is that it was elements of the 101st Airborne Division who were sent by President Eisenhower to Little Rock to ensure that the “Little Rock Nine” attended Little Rock Central High School.  It was also elements of the 101st that were sent to help make sure that James Meredith was able to attend as the first African American at the University of Mississippi.  So it is a noble, noble history.  And both the President and Vice President look forward to that visit.

     With that I will take your questions.

     Q    Jay, the President has said he doesn’t want to spike the ball.  But he’s speaking to troops.  Doesn’t he expect a celebratory mood there in the wake of bin Laden’s death?  And does that kind of go against that mood that he’s trying to — a non-gloating mood?

     MR. CARNEY:  Well, I don’t expect you’ll hear the President spiking the ball or gloating when he speaks to troops returning from Afghanistan today.  The point he will make is that while the successful mission against Osama bin Laden was an historic and singular event, it does not by any means mean that we are finished with the war against al Qaeda.  The fight goes on.

     And one of the reasons why the President refocused our resources and attention on the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, increased our commitment there in terms of troops — which these troops represent — is because he believed very strongly that al Qaeda central was the number one target — should be the number one target of that effort.

     He’s going to speak to these troops to thank them for their service.  They have fought valiantly and incurred significant casualties in that effort.  So there’s nothing — there’s no intent to gloat at all in that regard.

     Q    Is he meeting with members of the teams that carried out the operation to get Osama bin Laden?

     MR. CARNEY:  What I can say is that he is meeting with special operators — some special operators who were involved in that, but that is all I can say.

     Q    On the bin Laden operation, Al Arabia is reporting that al Qaeda is now — may not come as a shock — threatening to attack the U.S. in retaliation for killing bin Laden.  Is the President aware of that?  And what’s his thinking on that?

     MR. CARNEY:  Well, we are aware of it, seen the reports.  What it does do, obviously, is acknowledge the obvious, which is that Osama bin Laden was killed on Sunday night by U.S. forces.

     Q    Is there any more concern now that there’s been —

MR. CARNEY:  We’re being extremely vigilant.  You can ask questions of the Department of Homeland Security as well, but the — we’re quite aware of the potential for activity and are highly vigilant on that matter for that reason. 

One of the things we saw I think last night was the notice that DHS put out with regard to the information collected about the consideration at least of a terrorist plot against American railways back in February of 2010.  The fact that the world’s most wanted terrorist might have been considering further terror plots against the United States is not a surprise, but it reminds us, of course, that we need to remain ever vigilant.    

     Q    Jay, can you at least tell us whether this group of special operators that you referred to will include Navy SEALs or helicopter pilots —

     MR. CARNEY:  I’m not going to say anything more about that.  It is extremely important that I say nothing more.

     Q    If we’re done with the bin Laden questions, or are you not?  On another matter, the Republican congressional leaders appear to be backing away from attempting to pass their Medicare plan prior to the 2012 election it’s widely reported today.  What does the President think about that?

     MR. CARNEY:  Well, I would say simply that the talks that the Vice President led yesterday, the initial meeting of the members of Congress and team from the administration, was productive.  And we certainly think that it’s a good thing if those who are participating in those negotiations understand that in order to achieve compromise, we need to find common ground. 

     We obviously have — the President has laid out his plan, and there are elements of stark contrast with the House Republican’s budget that passed.  What we’re looking for now is where we can find some common ground to achieve a goal that Republicans and Democrats share, which is reducing the debt significantly, getting our fiscal house in order and, as the President sees it, while making sure that we protect the investments we need to protect in order to continue to grow the economy, continue to create jobs and educate our children.

     Q    Does the President have any reaction to the report today that CEO pay is up 25 percent over last year  —

     MR. CARNEY:  I haven’t heard him react to that, no.

     Q    Jay, can you tell us anything about the President’s immigration speech next week and any other events from the week ahead?

     MR. CARNEY:  What I can say is that the speech will reflect the President’s continued commitment to find a bipartisan way to create a bipartisan — rather comprehensive immigration reform.  As I think I said earlier this week, the fact that we were not able to achieve that in the first two years only means that we need to refocus our efforts and try to find that compromise.  In the past, obviously there has been Republican support for the kind of comprehensive immigration reform that is necessary and we hope that there will be again in the future.  

     Q    — rest of the week ahead?

     MR. CARNEY:  I do have that, if you’re ready for it.

     Q    Can you field more questions after?

     MR. CARNEY:  Do you want to ask those questions first, and then I’ll do —

     Q    In April of 2008, President Obama — or then candidate Obama appeared at a gas station in Indiana — gas was at $3.60 a gallon — said we need to vote for change, a new set of policies. He’s returning to Indiana now with gas well over $4.00 a gallon. What does it say about the success he has had over the last three years in dealing with the fuel issue, the gas issue?

     MR. CARNEY:  Well, I think you’ve heard the President speak quite a lot lately about the impact of high gas prices on Americans’ pocketbooks and wallets.  We’re very concerned about it.  We do note the steep drop in oil prices in the last couple of days.  And I would also note that one of the things the Attorney General task force will be looking at is coordinating with state attorneys general to make sure that we don’t have a what I’ve heard described as a “rockets-and-parachutes phenomenon,” where prices at the pump rocket up when oil prices rocket up, and yet they come down in a parachute fashion when oil prices go down.  So we want to make sure that a drop in oil prices is appropriately reflected in a drop in gas prices at the pump.

     Q    Does the President believe gas prices will drop in the coming months?  The futures market seem to be indicating they will.

     MR. CARNEY:  We don’t predict markets here, obviously.  And we have seen a drop.  We have — but they go up and down.  The President, as you know, has said many times that there are no silver bullet solutions here, no short-term solutions, and that’s why he is committed to — while we are doing the things in the short term that we hope can provide some relief, the big challenge is the long-term solution that weans us off our dependence on foreign oil, that diversifies our energy supply, that allows us to build clean energy industries in the United States that both enhance our national security and provide quality jobs in this country. 

So that’s been his commitment; you’ve heard him speak about that many times.  You’ll hear him speak about it again today in Indiana.

     Q    What does the President think about all the Monday morning quarterbacking on the Osama bin Laden operation?  Does he think it’s helpful — all the criticism and the questioning about how it went down?  Does it —

     MR. CARNEY:  I haven’t heard much criticism about how it went down.  What I’ve heard is a pretty universal acclamation of the fact that a remarkable team of U.S. personnel conducted one of the most — one of the riskiest operations imaginable flawlessly, and limited collateral damage and civilian casualties, achieved their goal of bringing Osama bin Laden to justice, and returned safely every single American.

     So I think that is what most people have focused on, appropriately, because it was a remarkable achievement that was the product of years of intelligence work, years of training in the case of the personnel involved in the actual mission, and some very bold decision-making by the President and others to bring this about.

     Q    Jay, how did he feel about yesterday’s events in New York?

     MR. CARNEY:  He felt very good about it.  I think he — the meetings with firefighters, with the police, with families and loved ones of victims were powerful events.  And I think he understands that this is a bittersweet moment, especially for those who lost loved ones in 9/11, both in New York, in Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon.  And he was very glad he made the trip.

     Q    Jay, the President won Indiana by less than 30,000 votes in ’08.  Does he think that it’s as tough or even tougher political environment right now for him to get support for his agenda or even win reelection?

     MR. CARNEY:  Well, I think that it’s a long time before next year’s election, and he’s focused on the things that a President needs to be focused on — our national security — his focus on that I think has been quite evident in the last several days; and the economy, which is what he’ll be focusing on today in Indiana.

     I think that the President firmly believes that making the right policy decisions tends to be beneficial come political season, but for him, at least, political season is a long way off.

     Q    — we’re flying into another swing state.

     MR. CARNEY:  The fact is that this — Allison Transmission is, as I just read to you, a major manufacturer of the kind of the technology that the President believes is going to help us win the future in the 21st century.  So I think we go where the action is, and in this case, this company is where the action is.

     Q    Did the President watch the Fox News Republican debate last night?

     MR. CARNEY:  I haven’t asked him.  I don’t know.  I think there was some basketball on last night — maybe there wasn’t, maybe that’s tonight — so I don’t know.  I think the Bulls are playing tonight, is that right?  Well, come on, guys. 

Yes.  Okay, I can do the week ahead if you don’t have any more questions.

     On Monday, the President will meet with heads of the Chinese Strategic Economic Dialogue delegation at the White House. 

     On Tuesday, the President will travel, as you know, to the El Paso, Texas area to deliver a speech on comprehensive immigration reform.  He will then travel to Austin, Texas, before returning to Washington, D.C.

     On Wednesday, the President will participate in a CBS Town Hall at the Newseum.  In the evening, the President and the First Lady will host a celebration of American poetry and prose by welcoming accomplished poets, musicians and artists, as well as students, from across the country to the White House.

     On Thursday, the President will deliver remarks at the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast. 

     And on Friday, the President will attend meetings at the White House.

     Q    The town hall is Wednesday, not Thursday?  Initially it was —

     MR. CARNEY:  That’s correct, it’s Wednesday. 

All right, thanks, guys.



White House Press Gaggle

By White House Press Secretary Jay Carney
Aboard Air Force One
En Route Joint Base Andrews
 
1:39 P.M. EDT
 
MR. CARNEY:  Good afternoon, everyone.  I don’t have any opening announcements or statements, so I will take your questions.
 
     Q    The President said in an interview today that the debt ceiling won’t be raised without spending cuts.  Can you explain what he means by that?  Are these two separate issues like you have been saying, or one and the same?
 
     MR. CARNEY:  I think what the President made clear and has made clear in the past is that we — there are two urgent tasks that need to be addressed.  One, Congress has to vote to raise the ceiling on our debt.  That’s an imperative that shouldn’t be linked or held hostage to any other action because the consequences of not raising the debt ceiling — those consequences would be catastrophic to the American economy, to the global economy and to America’s creditworthiness internationally.
 
     We are also moving with a great sense of urgency towards — taking steps towards greater deficit reduction, through the speech the President gave the other day, and the process that he has asked the Vice President to oversee and leaders of Congress to appoint members to participate in where they can come together and begin to negotiate areas where we can agree to bring about further deficit reduction in a balanced way that can achieve the kind of results that we think are what America needs economically and for our future.
 
     These are both urgent, but they’re not linked.  How this will play out remains to be seen, but both need to be done.  And with regards to the debt ceiling, it cannot be linked or held hostage to something that wouldn’t pass — couldn’t reach consensus.  It has to be done.  All the leaders of Congress of both parties have said that, and we obviously share that sentiment.
 
     Q    So the one isn’t contingent on the other?  It seemed in the interview like he was saying that he recognizes the relationship —
 
     MR. CARNEY:  I think what the President was saying is that he recognizes that the — that Republicans want more deficit reduction.  He wants more deficit reduction.  He wants it in a balanced way.  He also said that as in any compromise and any negotiation, he recognizes he’s not going to get 100 percent of what he wants or that it’s not going to be his way only, and Republicans need to recognize that, which is how we ended up with an agreement last week on the funding for the 2011 budget.
 
So I think that’s the process that he — a similar kind of process that he hopes that we’ll see as we go forward with — on the deficit-reduction track for the larger-picture issues that we’re looking at.
 
Q    But if his condition now is that the deficit ceiling won’t be raised without an agreement to cuts —
 
MR. CARNEY:  That’s not his position at all.  His position is that the deficit ceiling must be raised — absolutely.  And that’s the position of the Speaker of the House, the Senate Minority Leader, the Senate Majority Leader, the House Minority Leader, et cetera, et cetera — all the major players in Congress — which is fortunate because as we’ve all said and as I know you know, if you talk to economists or businessmen or women, that there’s simply too much at stake here to be playing around with the full faith and credit of the United States government.
 
     What he is saying is that he recognizes that there is a great focus, as there should be, on the need for deficit reduction and building on the significant achievement of last week which was — and voted on and passed into law yesterday the — for the fiscal year 2011, the largest domestic non-defense discretionary spending cuts in history.
 
     Q    Does the President believe Paul Ryan is a sincere person?  I mean, his comments in the public were very different than the comments when the reporters left the room, were very pointed in saying does he think — you know, implying that Ryan was not serious about the deficit, he voted for two wars, that kind of thing.  Is there a difference between what he said in public and what he said when we thought he was not in public?
 
     MR. CARNEY:  Actually I think what he said in that session you’re talking about and the things he’s said in more public forums have been entirely consistent.  And you can’t in one breath criticize him for being pointed in his comments about the House Republican budget plan in public and then say, my gosh, he was pointed and so different in private, because he is making clear that the visions are quite different.
 
He does believe that Chairman Ryan is absolutely sincere and that he believes that this is the right — that that’s the right path, the one he put forward is the right path for America.
 
The President simply disagrees because he doesn’t think that it’s balanced.  He doesn’t think that we need to — that the price of deficit reduction needs to be ending the guarantee, the health benefits that Medicare has provided our seniors, cutting energy — clean energy investment by 70 percent, cutting education by 25 percent, cutting infrastructure by 30 percent — and all so that we can not just reduce the deficit but so that we can extend tax cuts for the wealthiest of Americans and give new tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.  That’s just not — that’s just — it’s a different vision.
 
And then — and I think the point he’s making is that there is more here than a goal of deficit reduction.  It’s a vision of government and what — and the way our system should work and what America should look like.
 
And when he talked about those votes under the previous administration, he was making the point that that’s evidence that this is more than — this is not just about deficit reduction.  If it were just about deficit reduction, you wouldn’t vote for —
 
Q    Wars.
 
MR. CARNEY:  — an entitlement, a brand new entitlement without paying for it.  You wouldn’t vote for two massive tax cuts without paying for them, or for the funding of two wars without paying for them, which is what happened in the first decade of this year.
 
     Q    How did it happen last night that those remarks were piped back into the press room?
   
     MR. CARNEY:  It was a miscommunication, nothing more than that.  But we’ve — it’s not a problem, not an issue.
 
     Q    Is the President embarrassed about anything that he said —
 
     MR. CARNEY:  Not at all.
 
     Q    — or regret —
 
     MR. CARNEY:  Not at all.  There’s nothing —
 
     Q    — might have clarified them differently if he had known they were for public distribution?
 
     MR. CARNEY:  He obviously — that was meant to be a closed-press event.  He was taking questions from supporters.  But there’s nothing — nothing he said that contradicts anything he said in public.
 
     Q    In an interview yesterday, the Senate Majority Leader had raised some doubts as to whether the President’s Afghanistan policy is going to be ultimately successful.  Did the Commander-in-Chief hear those remarks, and did he have any thought on them?
 
     MR. CARNEY:  I’m not aware that he heard those remarks, so I don’t have a response for you.
 
     Q    I’ve only read the top line from the AP interview, but it looks as if the President, speaking about Libya, said that they are at a stalemate and — but that he still believes Qaddafi will go.
 
     MR. CARNEY:  Right, what his point was that the — what he said, rather, was that the — obviously the military conflict remains contentious and unresolved because what the NATO mission is — NATO is fulfilling its mission which is to enforce the no-fly zone, enforce an arms embargo and provide civilian protection; it is not to win the war or decapitate the regime.
 
But all the other measures that the United States and its partners are taking are tightening the noose around Qaddafi, putting more pressure on Qaddafi, with the end goal of having him accept the fact that he can no longer rule legitimately in Libya, and that the Libyan people need to decide their future for themselves.
 
     Q    How does he think, though, that Qaddafi is going to come to that realization or leave by force in some other way?
   
     MR. CARNEY:  Well, I think that it becomes increasingly clear when your assets are frozen, your capacities have become increasingly diminished, that you are — your days are numbered in terms of your — what exactly are you ruling over.  And that what we have seen, because the sanctions are targeted not just at Colonel Qaddafi and his family but members of his inner circle who are being identified in greater numbers every week, that there — pressure is put on them to make an existential decision about who they want to be, whose side do they want to be on, the Libyan people’s side or Colonel Qaddafi’s side, a man who has lost all legitimacy in the eyes of the world and his people.
 
     So that kind of pressure has led to defections already.  We hope and anticipate that it will lead to more defections, put more pressure on Colonel Qaddafi, and eventually lead to his stepping down from power.
 
     Q    In the Q&A last night the President said that he anticipates that Republicans will seek to kind of put policy issue riders on future budget-type bills.  So would he veto a deficit-reduction package that had unrelated social policy or environmental riders?  Because he did, in the end, have to accept some, as you know.
 
     MR. CARNEY:  Well, I’m not going to speculate about what might be on a bill that hasn’t been written or anything like that.  What I will say is that his position on these issues was made pretty clear in the negotiations over the 2011 continuing resolution and — because he doesn’t believe that highly contentious social issues or ideological issues belong in budget bills.  But I’m not going to pre-negotiate something that doesn’t even exist at this point.
 
     Q    What time is he going to sign the 2011 budget bill — today?
 
     MR. CARNEY:  I don’t know, actually — we can find out.
 
     Q    Will that be open, closed, photo —
 
     MR. CARNEY:  We’ll have to find out.  I don’t know.
 
     Q    Do you guys have any reaction to the CBO report that shows that the budget deal reduced government spending by $20-$25 billion, not the $38 billion number?  Have you seen that?
 
     MR. CARNEY:  I have read reports of that.  My only reaction is that we worked together with members of Congress on a package that, by the numbers, Republicans and Democrats measured together in the negotiations, reduced spending by roughly $38.5 billion.  And there are obviously different ways to measure this and there are different kinds of spending, but those are real cuts with real impact on the government and on Americans.
   
     Q    Is there a week ahead?
 
     MR. CARNEY:  You know what, I don’t but I’ll — my understanding is that they are providing something back at home in Washington out of the press/comms office.  But if — I’ll double-check to see if there’s anything additional on top of that.
 
     Q    Great.
 
     MR. CARNEY:  All right?
 
     Q    Thank you very much, Jay.
 
     MR. CARNEY:  Thanks for flying with us.
 

Notes From Today's White House Gaggle

2011 Budget Talks:
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney deferred any specific budget questions or speculations to the afternoon briefing, as the President and congressional leaders are just starting their meeting and the GOP budget hasn’t come out yet. They do believe that we they will find a agreement is within reach.
This is business of Congress and yet the engagement on Presidential level has been intense and regular and ongoing, Carney said. There is a great misperception out there about the relative engagement of leadership of the White House and the leaders in Congress.  We have been engaged from the presidential level to the Vice President and Director Lew, in a process that really should be done on appropriations level in Congress. Our input is important and our role in this is significant, but it is a congressional process, and the President is putting together this meeting because Congress can’t get their work done. The $73 billion was a number that was agreed upon as a target. The content obviously matter a great deal.

“73 is a heck of a long way towards 100; 33 is a long way towards 61. We have demonstrated our willingness, because the American people expect us, to come more than half way, to be reasonable and to find common ground.  It is incumbent upon of all players in the discussion to do the same.” OMB has started the process of what happens in a government shut down. It would be irresponsible not to start the procedures that are required to be taken about what happens if funding would be cut off, Carney said.

Gitmo:
We remain committed to closing Gitmo as it’s in our national security interest.

Libya:
There are more sanctions to come as they are effective. 

White House Press Gaggle

By Press Secretary Jay Carney

Aboard Air Force One

En Route Cleveland, Ohio

MR. CARNEY:  Good morning, everybody. 

     Q    Good morning.

     MR. CARNEY:  You guys ready?  I just want — before I take your questions, I wanted to remind everybody why we’re here, for the Winning the Future Forum on Small Business.  As you know, in addition to the President of the United States, we have Cabinet members attending the event, and that includes the Treasury Secretary, Commerce Secretary, Labor Secretary, Energy Secretary, the SBA Administrator, the CEA Chair, and Gene Sperling, the National Economic Director.

     As you know, the President talked about the need for innovation and for businesses in particular and small businesses to be the engine of growth in our economy.  And he wants to hear from small business owners in this forum about what drives success and what barriers lie in the way of success.

     Cleveland is actually a city that’s done a great deal of positive work in positioning itself in both the field of biotechnology and clean energy.  It’s really poised to be a global leader in the 21st century in these new industries, and the President is obviously very excited about that.

     So from here on there will be other events similar to this that Cabinet secretaries will participate in.  This is not just a one-time deal.  It was a major theme of the President’s State of the Union address and will continue to be.

     So, with that, I will take your questions.

     Q    On Libya, can you tell us what is going on behind the scenes at the White House?  And also, is there concern that unlike in Egypt, there is nothing that you can really do, there’s no real ties with Libya and there’s very little the administration can do in that situation?

     MR. CARNEY:  Well, first let me point you to the fact that on Friday, while we were on this plane, the President issued a statement condemning the violence in Libya, the use of violence against peaceful protesters in Libya as well as two other countries.  Yesterday, the Secretary of State issued a very strongly worded statement condemning the violence and expressing our great alarm at the violence used against peaceful protesters.  We offer our condolences to the families of the victims in Libya of this appalling violence.  And the Secretary of State will speak again today at approximately 2:30 p.m. where she will address some of these issues.

     Q    Will the President speak about this today?

     MR. CARNEY:  I don’t anticipate that, but we’ll see.

     Q    Do you have a — can you give us anything on the death of the hostages at the hands of the pirates?

     MR. CARNEY:  Well, for details about what happened I’d refer you to the Pentagon.  What I can tell you is that the President was notified this morning at 4:42 a.m. by Homeland Security director — or advisor, rather, John Brennan about the outcome in which the four American citizens’ lives were lost, the tragic outcome of that event.

     The President did, over the weekend on Saturday, authorize the use of force in the case of imminent — of an imminent threat to those hostages, and that’s — for other details I can refer you to the Defense Department.

     Q    Are there, do you think, measures that — the Security Council is meeting today on Libya — are there international measures that the U.S. can take with its partners to try and affect what’s going on inside Libya, or is it a question of lacking substantial leverage?

     MR. CARNEY:  There is activity at the United Nations Security Council today.  We are participating in meetings.  We look forward to working with the international community so that the international community speaks with one voice in condemning the violence.  And we feel like when the international community speaks with one voice, it can be most effective, so we are obviously participating fully in that.

     Q    Is the White House having any conversations with other world leaders about — the President himself having any conversations with world leaders about Libya?

     MR. CARNEY:  I have no announcements on presidential conversations right now.

     Q    Oil is at a two-year high.  How closely is the President monitoring the situation in Libya?

     MR. CARNEY:  Well, as you know, when there is unrest in the world and specifically in that region, that can affect oil prices.  We are closely monitoring that situation, but I would not speculate on where oil prices would go in the future.

     Q    Do you think the events of the last few days have shown perhaps that the attempts to kind of rehabilitate Qaddafi — particularly the Europeans sort of took part in it the last administration as well — were a mistake?

     MR. CARNEY:  What I’ll say, Steve, is that the future of Libya needs to be decided by the Libyan people.  As is the case throughout the region, our policy is — pertains in Libya or towards Libya as it did — does to Egypt, to Bahrain and other countries, which is that we call very strongly for an end to the use of violence against peaceful protesters.  We call for respect for the universal rights that these — peoples of this region, as peoples all around the world, have:  the right to peaceful assembly, to freedom of expression.  And we recognize their legitimate aspirations.

     We call on the governments of the region to listen to and respect the legitimate aspirations of their people and to reform accordingly.

     Q    Jay, there’s going to be a labor rally in Columbus about the time that the President is here.  There’s of course the unrest in Wisconsin.  You’re also seeing it in Ohio and Indiana, and there’s going to be a large protest of teachers in early March over labor rules proposed by that legislature.  Is the President going to address any of that today?  And does he have any thoughts on this ongoing situation?

     MR. CARNEY:  I don’t have anything for you on what the President will say today.  He’s focused very much — with regard to that, he’s focused very much on this important forum, small business forum. 

And as far as his thoughts, he expressed them in an interview with a Wisconsin television station — I believe it was last week — where he made clear that he absolutely recognizes the need that state governments have, governors and legislators, to deal with their fiscal situation; that everyone needs to tighten their belts, and that includes public sector employees.  But he also expressed his concern that the efforts specifically in Wisconsin were aimed at going right after the collective bargaining rights of unions.

So — but that’s the extent of the White House involvement.

Q    What about Kasich’s efforts in Ohio to go after collective bargaining?

MR. CARNEY:  I don’t have anything on that for you.

Q    What’s his reaction to the House vote at 4:40 a.m. in the morning, Saturday morning?

MR. CARNEY:  Look, we continue to believe that we will be able to work out common ground on these issues.  I would point you to the fact that all four leaders of Congress, leaders of the House, leaders of the Senate, have expressed their confidence that we can work this out before March 4th, and we believe we can.

Q    Does the administration stand by a veto threat if the House-passed package gets to the President’s desk with those big cuts?

MR. CARNEY:  Well, the White House’s position, the President’s position was clearly stated in that statement of administration policy.  That hasn’t changed.

Q    Any contingency plans yet?  Are you still working on any plans for a shutdown?

MR. CARNEY:  I would refer you to the Office of Management and Budget, which is the agency within the executive branch that needs to deal with these sorts of things.  And I’d simply state that there have been contingency plans for government shutdowns since 1980, and those plans are obviously updated accordingly, but they’ve been around for a long time.

Q    You said 1980?

MR. CARNEY:  1980 is what I understand, but I’d refer you to Ken Baer at OMB.

Q    How confident are you that a shutdown can be avoided?

MR. CARNEY:  Well, as I said, we believe, as do the leaders of the House and the Senate, including Senator McConnell and Speaker Boehner — we agree with them that we do not want a shutdown of the government and that we can come to an agreement that avoids that.

Q    Any comment on the Iranian warships going through the Suez Canal today?

MR. CARNEY:  Nothing new beyond what I said Friday, I think it was, which was that we monitor that situation closely.  And obviously Iranian behavior in the region is something we always watch.

Anything else before we land, which looks to be in about —

Q    Any minute.

MR. CARNEY:  — two minutes to three minutes?  I don’t want anyone to get hurt. 

Q    Thanks, Jay.

MR. CARNEY:  Are you good?  Thanks a lot.

                      END             10:49 A.M. EST