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Entries by Lovisa Frost (103)

Friday
Feb182011

White House Press Gaggle

White House Gaggle by Press Secretary Jay Carney

Aboard Air Force One

En Route Portland, Oregon

 

9:34 A.M. PST                               

 

     MR. CARNEY:  I’m going to try to do this relatively fast so that nobody gets hurt in landing here.  To begin, I want to read you a statement by the President on violence in Bahrain, Libya, and Yemen: 

 

     “I am deeply concerned by reports of violence in Bahrain, Libya, and Yemen.  The United States condemns the use of violence by governments against peaceful protesters in those countries and wherever else it may occur.  We express our condolences to the families and friends of those who have been killed during the demonstrations.  Wherever they are, people have certain universal rights, including the right to peaceful assembly.  The United States urges the governments of Bahrain, Libya, and Yemen to show restraint in responding to peaceful protests and to respect the rights of their people.”

 

     That’s the end of the statement.  If you — what I will do now, and we can come back to questions, if you want me to do the week ahead — is that helpful to everyone, or do you want to —

 

     Q    Can we just —

 

     MR. CARNEY:  Just go right into questions, sure.

 

     Q    What kind of briefings is the President getting on the situation in the Middle East?

 

     MR. CARNEY:  He’s getting regular briefings.  Obviously he has a national security aide with him, and he also has for several weeks now as this — these events in the Middle East have been unfolding, he tasked his national security staff to provide even more regular updates on the situation.  They now come to him obviously in his morning PDB but also in midday updates and end-of-day updates, every day.  So that obviously continues today.

 

     Q    What’s the impact of the Bahrain situation on the U.S. fleet that’s based there?

 

     MR. CARNEY:  I refer you to the Department of Defense on that, but specifically I think what we want to focus on here is the President’s deep concern about the use of violence against peaceful protesters in Bahrain, Libya, and Yemen.  And we are expressing that message directly to the government of Bahrain — in response to your question.  And these are universal rights that need to be recognized.  And as you can see, we — that position holds whether it’s Bahrain, Libya, Yemen, Egypt — to all countries in the region.

 

     Q    Staying a little bit with the uprising, there’s one in Africa now, in Djibouti, where the U.S. has the only military base in Africa.  Is there any concern there about possible loss of the military base, or is there any concern on the part of the U.S. government?

 

     MR. CARNEY:  I don’t have anything on that for you.  You’d have to go to the Department of Defense or the Department of State.

 

     Q    Has he spoken to the leaders of those four countries? 

 

     MR. CARNEY:  I’m sorry?

 

     Q    You named four countries.  Has he spoken to the leaders of any or all of those —

 

     MR. CARNEY:  He has made no calls to foreign leaders since we last spoke.

 

     Q    Jay, Egypt has given permission to the Iranians to send those warships through the Suez Canal.  Does the United States have any position on that?

 

     MR. CARNEY:  We’re monitoring that, obviously, but we also would say that Iran does not have a great track record for responsible behavior in the region, which is always a concern to us.  But beyond that, I don’t have a comment.

 

     Q    Jay, on Wisconsin, is the President keeping up with what’s going on there?  Speaker Boehner today said the President should tell OFA to stand down. 

 

     MR. CARNEY:  I want to make clear that — something about what — the President’s comments in the radio — the television interview he gave the other day.  There are two points he made.  One is that he is very understanding of the need for state governments, governors, state legislatures to reduce spending, to be — to make tough choices, to be fiscally responsible.  He’s doing that at the federal level and he understands that states need to do that at the state level.

 

     But he also feels very strongly that we need not to make this an assault on the collective bargaining rights of workers in a given state.  Public service workers need to make sacrifices just like everyone else, but there’s a distinction here that he sees.  And I just want to make sure that people see that he was very clear about his recognition that states need to deal with their budgets just like the federal government needs to deal with its budget.

 

     Q    Do you expect the President to weigh in on this activity in some of the other states — Ohio or Indiana?

 

     MR. CARNEY:  I have no scheduling announcement to make, or I have no information that he would do that.

 

     Q    The Post suggested this morning the White House had a role in stoking the protests in Madison.

 

     MR. CARNEY:  The President made a comment in a television interview.  That’s the only role that I see that we’ve had. 

 

     Q    What about Organizing For America?

 

     MR. CARNEY:  I’d refer you to the DNC for comment on that.

 

     Q    Does the President support federal funding for Planned Parenthood?

 

     MR. CARNEY:  I’m sorry?

 

     Q    Does the President support federal funding for Planned Parenthood?

 

     MR. CARNEY:  There’s a longstanding history of funding for Title 10 by HHS, and on the history of that program and the funding of that program and what it does, I’d refer you to HHS.

 

     Q    The Intel CEO — the announcement that was made this morning — back in September he was pretty critical of the administration, on stimulus and what not.  We know that he was part of — one of the CEOs in December at the Blair House, then he was at the state dinner last month.  What has changed for him that he’s going to now partner up with the President when he was so critical just six months ago?

 

     MR. CARNEY:  I think that’s a good question.  The Intel CEO has also been very supportive of the President’s agenda on infrastructure, on research and development.  But more broadly, I think the point of the Jobs and Competiveness Council is to foster ideas for job growth and competitiveness.

 

     And he wants to hear from — the President wants to hear from a lot of different voices, and private business is clearly essential to the agenda the President has for creating jobs and enhancing our competiveness around the globe.  So the point is not to collect people who agree with him on every issue and every policy decision he’s made, but to create an environment — a council that — where ideas, good ideas can be generated for going forward on job-creation.

 

     Q    Was the President’s statement released on the ground?  I’m just wondering.

 

     MR. CARNEY:  It is — this is happening now, as we say.

 

     Q    Jay, other countries have frozen the assets of Hosni Mubarak and his lieutenants that are — assets in their countries.  Are we doing the same thing?

 

     MR. CARNEY:  I don’t have anything for you on that.  I don’t know.  I would refer you — I would refer you to State.  I don’t have anything.

 

     Q    Jay, is there going to be any news in the President’s speech today — any more news?

 

     MR. CARNEY:  As you know, the purpose of the event is to highlight the innovation agenda the President is pushing, and also education.  Intel has been very strong on — in its own programs.  I think — I hope we have paper for you on the investments they’ve made in enhancing the teaching of science, technology, engineering and math because it’s so vital to the future economic growth in these key industries for our country.

 

     I think he will speak a lot about that, and I don’t want to steal his thunder.  All right?  Okay, thanks, guys.

 

     Q    Are you going to do a week ahead?  Are you still going to do that?

 

     MR. CARNEY:  You guys want a week ahead?  I have that.  Here we go. 

 

     On Monday, the President has no public events scheduled. 

 

     On Tuesday, the President and members of his Cabinet will travel to Cleveland, Ohio, where the White House will convene a “Winning the Future” forum on small business, in association with Cleveland State University and Northeast Ohio economic development organizations JumpStart and NorTech. 

 

     In his State of the Union address, President Obama spoke of the need to out-innovate — sorry, out-innovate, out-educate and out-build our competitors in order to sustain our leadership and secure prosperity for all Americans.  The forum will be an opportunity for the President and his economic team to hear directly from small business owners and leaders about their ideas for how America can continue to grow the economy, put Americans back to work, and win the future.

 

     On Wednesday the President will attend meetings at the White House.

 

     On Thursday the President will hold a meeting with the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness at the White House, the aforementioned council.  In the evening the President and the Vice — and the First Lady — sorry — will invite music legends and contemporary major artists to the White House on Thursday — well, as I said — for the Motown Sound in performance at the White House, a concert celebrating Black History Month and the legacy of Motown records.

 

     On Friday the President will attend meetings at the White House. 

 

     That is your week ahead.

 

     Q    Thank you.

 

     MR. CARNEY:  All right.  Thanks, guys.

 

END               9:45 A.M. PST



Monday
Nov152010

White House Press Gaggle With The President 

Aboard Air Force One, En Route Joint Base Andrews 

THE PRESIDENT:  All right, what do you got?

     Q     Highlight of trip for you, sir?

     THE PRESIDENT:  What’s that?

     Q     What’s your takeaway from the trip?  What’s your sense of —

     THE PRESIDENT:  You know, the — a couple of things.  Number one, I think all of Asia is eager for American engagement and leadership.  We saw that in India; we saw it in Indonesia; we saw it in — during the G20 and we saw it during APEC. 

     And it wasn’t just from leaders.  I was struck when I was at the first school that we went to in Mumbai, and those young kids who were talking about the environment and green technology.  On the way down, I said, “Well, what are you guys’ plans?”  “Well, we’re of course going to go to college.”  I said, “Where are you going to go?”  “Well, America, of course.”

     And so I think that sometimes because we’ve gone through a tough couple of years, there’s a tendency for us to think that somehow Asia is moving and we’re forgotten.  And in fact, I think everywhere in Asia, what I heard from leaders and people is that we are still central, and they want us there.

     Now, the second strong impression is, those folks are moving.  Korea, China, India, the entire Southeast Asian region — Japan — all of them recognize how competitive things are and that they are thinking each and every day about how to educate their workforce, rebuild their infrastructure, enter into new markets.  And we should feel confident about our ability to compete, but we are going to have to step up our game.

     Q     Sir, as you look ahead to the coming week, I’m wondering how do you sit down at the table —

     THE PRESIDENT:  I’m sure it will be very relaxing.

     Q     Yes.  (Laughter.)  How do you approach a meeting with a Senate Republican leader whose life ambition seems to be to make sure you don’t have a second term, and an incoming House Speaker apparent whose mantra seems to be “no compromise”?

     THE PRESIDENT:  Campaigning is very different from governing.  All of us learn that.  And they’re still flush with victory, having run a strategy that was all about saying no.  But I am very confident that the American people were not issuing a mandate for gridlock.  They want to see us make progress precisely because they understand instinctually how competitive things are and how we have to step up our game.

     So my expectation is, when I sit down with Mitch McConnell and John Boehner this week, along with the Democratic leaders, that there are a set of things that need to get done during the lame duck, and that they are not going to want to just obstruct, that they’re going to want to engage constructively.  There are going to be some disagreements.  There may be some need for compromise.  But we should be able at least to get through the lame duck, making sure that taxes don’t go up for middle-class families starting January 1st, that some of the key business provisions that can assure economic growth get done.  And then we’re going to have a whole bunch of time next year for some serious philosophical debates.  And they should welcome those debates next year.

     Q     How do you get the START treaty through the lame duck as well? Seems like an uphill battle right now.

     THE PRESIDENT:  You know, actually, I feel reasonably good about our prospects.  It was voted out of committee with strong bipartisan support. Senator Lugar is somebody who’s made disarmament one of his signature issues.  In fact, my first trip overseas was with Dick Lugar to Russia. And we’ve been in a series of conversations with Senator Kyl, whose top priority is making sure that the nuclear arsenal that we do have is modernized.  I share that goal.  We’ve heard from senators like McCain and Graham who say they want to see this done.  

     And I think when we look at how important Russian cooperation has been on issues like Iran sanctions, on issues like transit into Afghanistan for our equipment for our troops, my hope and expectation is that, given this is a good treaty, given it has the support of previous Republican senior government officials, that we should be able to get it done.

     Q     During the campaign season, you talked about the cost of extending the tax cuts, that that would actually make the U.S. less competitive.  Now that you’re indicating that you’re open to some sort of compromise on the tax cuts, how do you do that and also ensure —

     THE PRESIDENT:  Well, what I’ve said, Julianna, is that I believe it is a mistake for us to borrow $700 billion to make tax cuts permanent for millionaires and billionaires.  It won’t significantly boost the economy, and it’s hugely expensive.  So we can’t afford it.

     Now, I know this is something that, during the campaign at least, the Republicans expressed some strong feelings about.  I want to hear from them how strongly they feel about it, particularly given that they’re also saying they want to control the deficit and debt.

     And if they feel very strongly about it, then I want to get a sense of how they intend to spend — how they intend to pay for it.

     Q     Mr. President, you said it right after the election in the news conference that you were going to do some reflecting about what it meant. And now you’ve had this 10 days away, seeing a lot of different people. Can you reflect at all for us about how you might change your agenda, change your style, and how these travels might have affected your thinking?

     THE PRESIDENT:  As I said in the press conference the day after the election, I spent the first two years trying to get policy right based on my best judgment about how we were going to deal with the short-term crisis and how we were going to retool to compete in this new global economy.

     In that obsessive focus on policy, I neglected some things that matter a lot to people, and rightly so:  maintaining a bipartisan tone in Washington; dealing with practices like earmarks that are wasteful at a time of — where everybody else is tightening their belts; making sure that the policy decisions that I made were fully debated with the American people and that I was getting out of Washington and spending more time shaping public opinion and being in a conversation with the American people about why I was making the choices I was making.

     So I think, moving forward, I’m going to redouble my efforts to go back to some of those first principles.  And the fact that we are out of crisis — although still, obviously, in a difficult time — I think will give me the capacity to do that.

     Anything else?

     Q     Did you get a chance to see the — look at the new Israeli plans for settlement freeze just yet?

     THE PRESIDENT:  I think it’s promising.  And so we’ve been in contact with both the Israelis and the Palestinians to make sure that we use this opportunity to start negotiating as quickly as possible on some of the final status issues that would render the settlement issue moot.

     But I commend Prime Minister Netanyahu for taking I think a very constructive step.  It’s not easy for him to do.  But I think it’s a signal that he’s serious, and my hope is, is that he and President Abbas start negotiations immediately.

     All right?

     Q     Is Gibbs in line for a Presidential Medal of Freedom for taking on the Indians back there, getting reporters in?

     THE PRESIDENT:  I will say that his foot is still bruised. (Laughter.)  But it was all for a good cause.

     All right, guys. 

     Q     Thanks a lot, sir.

Tuesday
Nov092010

White House Gaggle 

Aboard Air Force One

En Route Jakarta, Indonesia

      MR. GIBBS:  So we are going to hear in just a second from Ben Rhodes and Jeff Bader, who is our senior director for — NSC senior director for East Asia.  And you may have to move up a little bit because Jeff is normally a soft-spoken man.

 

     Before we get into Ben going through the schedule, I want to bring us up to date on one scheduling thing, which, not surprisingly, is going to affect everybody, and that is the modeling for the volcanic ash is likely going to necessitate that we leave Indonesia several hours earlier than the schedule had it laid out tomorrow.

 

     So we are working through a series of different scenarios on what the morning is going to look like.  It’s likely going to dictate us beginning earlier, a little earlier in the day with some of the events.  But as soon as we have all of that figured out, including logistics for the press charter, et cetera, which people are working on as we speak, we will be back to you.  But we did want to put on your radar screen that leaving earlier and going to — getting to Korea a touch earlier is almost certainly to happen.

 

     Q    Will he update or cancel or truncate any events?

 

     MR. GIBBS:  It’s unclear yet.  We’re trying to work through that right now.  My sense is that — certainly our hope is that while we may have to truncate some of the morning, we can still get the speech in.  So I know that’s — I know Ben is relieved to hear that, since he spent a part of the flight working on that speech.  You don’t know how good those speeches are nobody ever hears.  They’re fabulous.

 

     Q    They’re like the questions we never get to ask.  (Laughter.) 

 

     MR. GIBBS:  So let me have Ben go through the schedule for the next sort of 24 hours, understanding that the back part of this will change.  We’ll have Jeff walk through some stuff, and then take your questions.

 

     MR. RHODES:  Well, I’ll just say a couple things with the schedule and then some of the thematics, and then Jeff has been the point person on this relationship so he can speak to some of the details here.

 

     But first of all, we get there, we go directly to the State Palace where there will be an arrival ceremony.  And following that, the President will go right into his restricted bilateral meeting with President Yudhoyono.  And then there will be an expanded bilateral meeting with President Yudhoyono, and then a press conference with President Yudhoyono as well.  And that will be obviously open press, and I believe a couple questions each side.

 

     Q    Is that going to be two and two?

 

     MR. RHODES:  Yes, two and two.  Then later that — later tonight there will be a state dinner hosted by President Yudhoyono for the President and the First Lady.  And then tomorrow, the current schedule, we’re planning to go to the Istiqlal Mosque in the morning, which is the national mosque of Indonesia.  Then the President will give a speech at the University of Indonesia — or is it Jakarta?  Yes, Indonesia.  And then he’ll lay a wreath at the Heroes Cemetery.  Tomorrow is actually Heroes Day in Indonesia, a national holiday commemorating their independence and the heroes of their nation.

 

      I’ll just say a couple of quick things and turn it over to Jeff.  It’s obviously an important visit for the President and a highly anticipated one in Indonesia, given the fact that the President spent several years in Indonesia as a child.  As you know, we’ve had to reschedule a couple of visits because of unforeseen circumstances, but we very much wanted to get here this year.  That was a commitment the President made to President Yudhoyono and the Indonesian people.  And so we’re looking forward to this visit to do that.

 

     This is a very strategically important country and relationship for the United States.  Indonesia is a growing economy as a member of the G20.  It’s an important security partner as we join with them on counterterrorism and other issues.  It’s a leader in Southeast Asia, and will be taking on the leadership of ASEAN this coming year.  And it’s both the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, but also in many respects a model of pluralism and religious tolerance in both the region and the world. 

 

     So there are many factors that guide our interest in deepening our partnership with Indonesia, and Jeff can speak to that. 

 

     In the context of the trip, I think it’s an interesting place to go after India.  The three things that we’ve been focused on here, which are strengthening our leadership in Asia, strengthening our relationships with emerging powers that have come up in the late 20th and early 21st century, and deepening economic cooperation with emerging markets — all of those themes converge in Indonesia as well, just as they did in India.

 

     So I think that this is a very logical step as a democracy, an emerging economy and emerging power in the region for the President to visit.  And with that, Jeff may want to speak to the status of the relationship.

 

     MR. BADER:  Sure.  I’d emphasize two points, one of which Ben touched on, which is Indonesia’s role as a major regional and global actor.  This is a country with whom historically relations have been somewhat tender, sometimes adversarial.  But in the last decade, as Indonesia has become — emerged as a democracy, and under President Yudhoyono, they are playing a larger and more constructive role in regional and world affairs.

 

     Ben alluded to their membership in the G20, the only ASEAN country in the G20.  They will assume the chairmanship of ASEAN on January 1st.  At the same time, they’ll also assume the chairmanship of the East Asia Summit, which President Obama will be attending next year and which we are joining; an initiative that the President announced a few months back.  They’re also a major player on climate change internationally, a major actor in the Non-Aligned Movement, and the Organization of Islamic Countries. 

 

     So, like India, where we just visited, this is a country which is playing a larger and larger role in all of these venues, all these forums — historically not necessarily supportive of the kinds of goals that we’ve had but now much more so.  So I think that’s going to be one of the themes of this visit.

 

     The second thing I’d emphasize is the comprehensive partnership that President Obama and President Yudhoyono will be announcing and inaugurating on this visit.  This is a symbol and a manifestation of the new level to which we are taking the U.S.-Indonesia relationship.  It has three broad components — political security issues, economic issues and people-to-people issues.  There are many subcomponents and many specific things we’re doing under each of these, which I can get into in questions and answers if you wish.

 

     I would just highlight under the people-to-people — education — we’re looking to provide $165 million in assistance in education for Indonesia in higher-level education in the next five years.  Something like 25 American universities will be partnering with Indonesian universities.  We’re going to be increasing our teaching of English in Indonesia so that more Indonesian students can come to the U.S. to study.  President Obama, in part because of his own personal experience in Indonesia, would like to see more Indonesians studying in the U.S.

 

     Climate change, where Indonesia is a leader, President Yudhoyono has announced ambitious targets for Indonesia by 2020 to reduce by somewhere between 26 and 41 percent the level of emissions that Indonesia would normally be producing if certain conditions are met.  We’re going to be establishing a climate change center in conjunction with the Norwegians, who are putting in a lot of money to prevent deforestation in Indonesia.  I would highlight those areas at the outset. 

 

     The comprehensive partnership also includes trade, investment, clean energy, health issues, political security issues.  I think that’s all I’d say by way of introducing.

 

     Q    Could you flesh out that second component a little bit, on economics, what this comprehensive partnership will have in terms of economic elements?

 

     MR. BADER:  Sure.  One piece of it is that the U.S. Ex-Im Bank is making Indonesia one of its priority countries, one of its half-dozen top priority countries.  U.S. trade with Indonesia is not as substantial as it should be, frankly.  This is a function of the level of Indonesian development.  Two-way trade is about $20 billion, but we think it can be much, much higher.  In the last — this year our exports to Indonesia have gone up quite sharply, gone up 47 percent, but that’s a fairly low base.  We’ve signed an agreement by OPIC with its Indonesian counterpart to try to provide political risk insurance for investment in Indonesia.  I think those are the main highlights.

 

     One other thing I’d mention is that there are certain challenges that Indonesia needs to overcome if it’s to achieve its potential as a potential home for investment and trading partner.

 

     I’d say near the top of the list would be a stronger fight — a more effective fight against corruption, which has been endemic in Indonesia for decades.  President Yudhoyono has started to take on that challenge.  Indonesia is the chair of the G20 committee on corruption, but this is — when one talks to companies and potential investors in Indonesia, this is the first issue one hears about and something I’m sure will be discussed.

 

     Q    So I just wanted to follow up on that.  When you went to India there was a package of deals, deliverables —- $10 billion, 54,000 jobs.  We’ve not heard anything like that for Indonesia.  I’m guess that’s because you don’t have anything like that that you think is going to be a deliverable out of this trip.

 

     MR. BADER:  We’ve been discussing a number of potential substantial exports to Indonesia.  I would not see this stop in the exact same light as the India trip, which was planned for months and which was — and that was a big part of it.

 

     In this case, I don’t think we’re looking at commercial deliverables, but we will be discussing some important deals which we think are on the right track.

 

     Q    And can you tell us what they are?

 

     MR. BADER:  No.  Until they’re consummated, it would be presumptuous to say what —

 

     Q    What sector?

 

     MR. BADER:  I’d say in energy and infrastructure.

 

     Q    Jeff, I had a question on two topics.  One is, can you talk about what President Obama would like to discuss with President Yudhoyono about Iran?  What is he looking for?

 

     MR. BADER:  Well, Indonesia is, as I said, a major actor, a major player within the OIC.  They have relations with Iran.  They can talk to the Iranians.

 

     So what we’re looking for is — Indonesia has taken positive positions on proliferation issues.  They have announced that they intend to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.  They’re not going to wait for Senate action in the U.S.  They’re going to go ahead.  They have announced that they — they have been clear in their opposition to an Iranian nuclear weapons program.

 

     So what we’re looking for is for the Indonesians to use their relationship with Iran to help explain to the Iranians the benefits that would come from abandoning their nuclear weapons program and the problems it would cause if they pursue it.  Basically it’s one more important international voice, a voice that has some credibility with the Iranians.

 

     Q      And then the other question I had has to do with the issue of human rights in Indonesia.  To what degree is that a concern to President Obama, and will he raise it in conversations?

 

     MR. BADER:  Well, on human rights generally, Indonesia is a good news story.  If you look at where Indonesia was a dozen years ago and where they are now, I think very few people would have predicted at the time of Suharto’s overthrow that Indonesia would emerge as a dynamic democracy with high level protection of human rights.  I think that would have been, let’s say, not the highest scenario that most forecasters would have put on the list. 

 

     And they do have an enormously impressive record.  They have very dynamic civil society, enormous range of civil society institutions which are very active and very vocal, a parliament in which numerous parties are represented.   Women’s achievements in Indonesia are quite impressive both within the region and in general within the Islamic world.  There are many Islamic — there are many women political figures and many women active in public life in Indonesia.  And the record of tolerance in the religious field is also very impressive.  So the general picture is positive and the President will make that clear.

 

     Now, this is a developing country which is — just has a dozen years of experience in democracy, so the picture is not perfect.  There are problems.  The President would be clear in talking about those with President Yudhoyono.  You will all — many of you will have heard about this video of some Popuan civilians who were tortured and/or mistreated, and it would appear that military in plainclothes were involved.  The Indonesian government has announced and the Indonesian military has announced that it’s disturbed and it’s conducting an investigation into this.  We welcome their announcement of an investigation but we’ll be looking to see that the investigation leads to accountability and justice.

 

     MR. RHODES:  I’d just add one thing to that too.  In addition to discussing Indonesia’s internal progress in cases like this where we support their efforts to ensure that there’s accountability, Indonesia on human rights and democracy can play a role beyond its borders.  It’s a similar message that we gave in India. 

 

     But Indonesia is actually — this relates to the Iran question too — Indonesia has — in terms of being a country that is more confident and more assertive in their regional stage.  Through the Bali Democracy Forum that they’ve set up and through its leadership within ASEAN, they’ve actually been more vocal and outward-looking in terms of their ability to try to galvanize support for human rights in the region.  And we see Indonesia as, again, a positive influence in that respect.  In the past they’ve made comments, for instance, around Burma and Burma’s human rights record that have been very constructive and very strong.

 

     And frankly, what we’ve been trying to do is broaden the circle of voices, democratic voices, that are speaking out on these types of issues, whether it relates to human rights generally or a specific instance like Burma.  And so we believe that part of what the role that Indonesia can play going forward is being a partner with us in Southeast Asia for these issues that are important to our values.

 

     MR. BADER:  I’d like to add one point that Ben has reminded me.  In addition, supplementing what Ben said about the regional role, there is also an agreement on cooperation between the U.S. and Indonesian civil society organizations, which are going to play precisely the role Ben talked about in disseminating democratic values and serving as a model throughout the region.  We’re going to be providing $15 million over the next five years to support this civil society umbrella in Indonesia, which focuses on issues such as elections, election monitoring, media and freedom of the press issues, conflict resolution.

 

     Q    Did you say $15 or —

 

     MR. BADER:  $15 million.

 

     Q    Is the President proficient enough in Javanese to conduct any of his talks in that language?

 

     MR. RHODES:  He’s proficient enough to speak the language in a way that would be immediately understood.  However, I don’t think he has spoken it on a kind of regular basis in a long time, so I doubt he would conduct business in the language.  But he could certainly speak in a way in which the Indonesian people would understand what he’s saying.

 

     Q    And also, as you’re working on that speech, are you adjusting at all to address in any way the new construction in East Jerusalem that was just announced?

 

     MR. RHODES:  We had not taken that into consideration for this speech.  I think you’ll — I mean, more generally, it’s at a — it doesn’t really — I would say the Middle East is not a focus on the speech so we had not taken that into consideration.  I’d obviously just echo the comments that you got out of the State Department earlier today about the United States being deeply disappointed by that announcement.

 

     Q    Jeff, on the education, is it mostly about having students come to the U.S. or is it also about building up higher ed within —

 

     MR. BADER:  It’s two ways.  The objective is to increase substantially, perhaps double, the number of Americans studying in Indonesia.  There is — we’re vastly increasing the size of the Fulbright program in Indonesia.  It will be one of the largest Fulbright programs in the world with the new funding it’s going to obtain.  There are plans to send — to increase substantially the number of American high school and community college students studying in Indonesia within the next year.  So it’s envisioned as two ways.

 

     Q    Of those 25 universities in the U.S. that will be having branches there, any names?

 

     MR. BADER:  I believe that so far four American universities have worked out partnerships.  I can remember them in part, but I’d rather give you an accurate answer rather than my recollection.  Do you happen to — I remember some of them but I don’t want to offend someone by giving them out.

 

     MR. RHODES:  We can get you that, Hans.

 

     Q    Okay.  Thanks.

 

     Q    I just want to check one thing.  You mentioned $165 and $15 million.  Is that $180 million, is that the dollar number on sort of the assistance that you’ll be announcing in the course of this visit to Indonesia?

 

     MR. BADER:  Well, we’ll be alluding to those.  I’m not sure what the state of announcement on those has been in the past, but both of those will be mentioned as well as I think we have a figure of about $136 million for climate change-related programs and assistance over two years that also you may want to take note of.

 

     Q    It’s $136 million?

 

     MR. BADER:  $136 million, that’s right.

 

     MR. RHODES:  All right.  Thank you very much.

 

     Q    Just one quick — on G20, will you be seeking Indonesia’s support of G20?  Are you going to be canvassing for their support in Indonesia for the meeting in Seoul, in the way you got it from the Indians?

 

     MR. BADER:  We anticipate that the President and President Yudhoyono will talk about the G20 since they’re a member.  We’ll talk about our expectations and we’ll lay out what we hope to accomplish there, yes.

 

     MR. RHODES:  I’d just — just one other area that I’d just highlight too, the counterterrorism area.  Indonesia has been a bit of a success story in terms of their ability to take action against the al Qaeda affiliate in their country.  You saw the leader of the al Qaeda in Indonesia group killed by Indonesian security forces last year; the bomb maker in the Bali bombings of 2002, this year; and a number of successful actions in terms of Indonesian security forces taking action against the al Qaeda affiliate.

 

     So it’s just worth noting in the context of these other issues that they’ve been not just a good partner in counterterrorism but a nation that through their own capacity has really made significant progress against what has been a dangerous al Qaeda affiliate, Jemaah Islamiyah.

 

     Q    I’m sorry, the bomb maker was killed or was captured or —

 

     MR. RHODES:  Killed, the bomb maker.

 

     Q    Hey, Jeff, can I ask is there any movement on the six-party talks that’s like might produce something in the near — while you’re — while the President is in the region?

 

     MR. BADER:  I mean, I wouldn’t say we have anything new to announce or report on that.  I mean, of course when we get to Seoul, President Obama will be talking to President Lee Myung-bak about the future of both dialogue with the North and six-party talks.  But there’s nothing new at this stage to announce, no.

 

     Q    Do you believe it’s true that they’ve dropped — that South Korea is not insisting on an apology about the sinking of the Cheonan?

 

     MR. BADER:  Well, I think South — I’d hesitate to speak for what the South Koreans are asking for or insisting upon.  I mean, I think the South Koreans should — if they’re going to alter their position, they should say it rather than I should.

 

     MR. RHODES:  Thanks, guys.

 

     Q    Thank you.

 

 

Tuesday
Sep142010

White House Gaggle 

By Bill Burton and Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan

Abord Air Force One,

En route Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

 

     Q    Do you have any comment on Iran releasing the hiker today?

 

     MR. BURTON:  You should shortly have a statement from the President.  In fact, it probably went out and you just don’t even know it’s in your inbox just yet.

 

     Q    How about these reports about Elizabeth Warren being interim director?  Is there anything to that?

 

     MR. BURTON:  You know, as the President has said, she’s obviously — she’s been a stalwart supporter of consumers and consumer rights.  This was her idea to have this agency.  So she’s obviously in the mix, but the — I don’t have anything new for you on the announcement other than what the President has said, which is that it will come soon.

 

     I’m just going to short-circuit this for one second because I’ve got Secretary Duncan here and I want to give him an opportunity to talk a little bit about what we’ve been doing on education and what the President has got to say today to students across the country.

 

     SECRETARY DUNCAN:  Any questions, or should I fire away?

 

     MR. BURTON:  Fire away.

 

     SECRETARY DUNCAN:  Obviously it’s been just an amazing time of reform around the country.  And thanks to the President’s leadership and courage and support through Race to the Top, we’ve seen unprecedented change.  You have 46 states that put together plans for reform.  You have 36 states that have adopted higher standards.  As a country, we’re going to stop lying to children and parents and really tell them the truth about where they are in terms of being prepared for college and careers once they graduate.  You have 44 states working together in consortium to come up with better assessments that will be fantastic for students and fantastic for teachers.  We saw more than a dozen states remove impediments to innovative schools.

 

     And so the past 18 months, you’ve seen more education reform than you’ve seen the last decade in the country, and we have a chance to fundamentally break through.  And all of this is behind the President’s goal that we have to lead the world in college graduates by 2020.  And we used to lead the world a generation ago, and we got complacent, we stagnated, other countries have passed us by, and we’re now tied for ninth.  And I think we’re paying a huge price for that today with a tough economy.  And so we have to educate our way to a better economy, and the President’s leadership and the room he’s given the country to drive change has been simply amazing to see.

 

     The school today is a Blue Ribbon school.  It’s one of about 304 Blue Ribbon schools around the country that are doing a great job of raising achievement and building a college-going culture for all students.  And we’re thrilled to be going to Philadelphia.  Philadelphia has a school system that’s had some real challenges but is making real progress, and it’s great to be able to highlight the progress they’re making.

 

     MR. BURTON:  So any questions for Secretary Duncan while we’ve got him here?

 

     Q    Why do you think that there’s no controversy over this year’s speech, as opposed to last year’s speech where there was a great deal of controversy?

 

     SECRETARY DUNCAN:  Well, I don’t think there was any need for controversy the last time.  I think people figured out it was a little bit silly.  And I think to have the President talk directly to students about the importance of them taking personal responsibility for their own education, I think every President should do that every year forever.  I think it’s so important as the kind of thing — as I child, I would have loved to have the opportunity to hear from the President directly.

 

     And I think obviously President Obama is unique in his ability to relate to students.  And as you guys know, he wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth.  His dad wasn’t around much.  He was raised by his grandparents a decent part of his childhood.  And he’s been through things that many of our children in places like Philadelphia and around the country are experiencing.  And he’s the leader of the free world today because he got a great education and worked hard, and I think he relates to students in a really unique way.  And to watch him, you know, when we do school visits in small groups, they see a lot of themselves in him.  And I think he has the unique ability to help them say that whatever challenges you’re facing at home or in the neighborhoods, there’s nothing more important you can do than get a great education and that’s what’s going to change your life.

 

     Q    Do you think that Michelle Rhee can survive a Fenty loss today?

 

     SECRETARY DUNCAN:  Well, I have no idea what’s going to happen.  Obviously you guys would know much better than I.  What I do know is that D.C. has made tremendous progress educationally over the past three years.  D.C. was a school system that was, frankly, historically a disgrace to the country, and it was amazing to me that the nation’s capital school system was allowed to languish for so long and students were allowed to suffer for so long.  And by any measure, by every measure, D.C. has made real and substantive progress. 

 

Obviously we invested $75 million with them with Race to the Top because of what — because of the progress we’re seeing.  And regardless what happens today — again, you guys know much better than me — that progress has to continue.  D.C. has come a long way, has a heck of a long way to go.  But there’s no reason to go for — not just for the public school system but for the city, D.C. should aim to have the best urban education system in the nation.  That should be its aspiration.

 

Q    This is probably for Bill, but why did the President not step into this mayoral race?  Adrian Fenty asked him to.  Why did he stay on the sideline?

 

MR. BURTON:  There are seven states today that are having primaries, and probably hundreds of different races all around the country.   You could ask the same thing about any one of those.  The President doesn’t get involved in every single race, and didn’t get involved in a lot of them today.

 

Q    Does he want Fenty to win, though?  Is he supportive of Mayor Fenty?

 

MR. BURTON:  I haven’t talked to him about the race specifically.

 

Q    How about some of these other races?  Does the President have an interest, just as a student of politics, in watching these intramural Republican elections?

 

MR. BURTON:  Well, what’s been interesting to watch is, as has been reported before, there’s a lot of energy, especially on the real right wing of the Republican Party.  And, you know, I’ll leave it to the pundits to decide whether or not one candidate is better or makes it harder for a Democrat or a Republican to win, seat by seat.  But it’s obvious that a lot of candidates that the national Republican campaign committees wanted to win aren’t winning and it seems like they’re obviously not getting the outcome that they were looking for.

 

Q    Bill, does he follow this stuff, though?  I mean, does he have an interest?  Will he be watching the results tonight?

 

MR. BURTON:  Sure, he follows what’s happening in these races, but he doesn’t sit around and watch cable news for returns.

 

Q    Is he going to watch to see how the Tea Party is going to perform?

 

MR. BURTON:  I’m sure he’ll read about it in the paper tomorrow.

 

Q    Chris Van Hollen — can I quickly ask you about, from Bloomberg — Chris Van Hollen told Bloomberg that he would be willing to look at a year-long extension of all the tax cuts if it was coupled with a permanent extension of the middle-class tax cuts.  And I would like your take, or the White House’s take, on Van Hollen’s statement.

 

MR. BURTON:  Well, the White House’s take on this tax issue is the same that it has been.  The President thinks that what’s important here is that we extend tax cuts for folks who make $250,000 or less.  Even folks who make more than that will see their income under $250,000 not — will see those taxes not go up. 

 

The CBO yesterday had a report that couldn’t have said it more clearly.  If we extend those tax cuts for middle-class families, it could mean 2 percent more growth in the economy.  If we don’t, it’s obviously a disaster.

 

On the other hand, if you extend those tax cuts for millionaires, folks who would get — folks making a million dollars would get something like $100,000 a year — there’s no appreciable gain for our economic outlook.  It costs $700 billion.  Our country just simply can’t afford to do that. 

 

So the President thinks that we need to get to the business of extending those tax cuts so that we can continue to grow the economy and create a — create an environment where companies can create jobs.

 

Q    Back to the Elizabeth Warren question, does the White House or does the President in particular see an interim appointment as an especially good option right now because of the prospect of a hard fight with Republicans for either Warren or another appointment to head the agency?

 

MR. BURTON:  Well, I’m not going to speculate about what the President may or may not do here other than to say that you’ll have — you’ll hear an announcement on this very soon.

 

Q    Well, without speculating, can you just talk about the options?

 

     MR. BURTON:  Well, you can see the options if you just look at the law.  There is an option to have this kind of post and that’s certainly an option that the President is considering.

 

     Q    Is the President reaching out to the five Senate Democrats like Ben Nelson who are saying they want the tax cuts extended for, you know, across the board?

 

     MR. BURTON:  I can assure you that folks at the White House are in close contact with our partners on Capitol Hill and with folks who are in both parties to see what we can do to make progress on this issue.  The President thinks it’s important in order to grow the economy that we extend these tax cuts for folks who make less than $250,000 a year, and we’re continuing to work with those folks.

 

     Q    Is he personally reaching out, though — making any phone calls to any of these people?

 

     MR. BURTON:  I don’t know of any specific calls that he’s made.

 

     Q    Do you expect that there will be a tough fight to get an appointment to the top of the consumer protection agency?

 

     MR. BURTON:  If you look at what’s happened in the United States Senate over the course of the last couple years, everything is a tough fight even when it’s judges who pass out of committee unanimously and then go on to pass out of the Senate unanimously.  Even those things can be a tough, hard slog.  So I don’t anticipate that Republicans who have made a determination to obstruct everything that the President wants to do are suddenly going to roll over and say let’s make progress together.

 

     Q    How does that enter into the calculation of choosing a candidate?

 

     MR. BURTON:  I think that the President is taking a variety of factors into consideration, including candidates, including the environment, including what’s best for consumers, which is ultimately what’s the most important.  And he’s going to make a pick that he thinks can best extend his values as they relate to protecting consumers.

 

     Q    Is it possible that he’ll — today?

 

     MR. BURTON:  Not that I know of.

 

     Q    What Philadelphia-area politicians might be at the event today?

 

     MR. BURTON:  We will have — envelope, please — at the airport you will see in about 45 seconds, it looks like, Governor Rendell, Mayor Nutter, and Congressman Brady, Congressman Fattah, and Congresswoman Schwartz.

 

     Q    Just one more.  It’s been a week since you all started elevating Boehner.  Are you seeing any evidence that this was the right tack to take?

 

     MR. BURTON:  I think that what’s important here is the underlying fight, which is that the President and congressional Democrats are for extending tax cuts for families who make less than $250,000 a year.  It’s the right thing to do to grow the economy.  It’s the right thing to do to help create jobs.  And what you’ve seen over the course of the last week is a real discussion about that, both in Washington and out around the country. 

 

     So to the extent that we’ve had a vigorous debate about that, I think that, yes, it has been successful.

 

     Q    Could you confirm the $60 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia that’s been reported?  Do you have anything on that?

 

     MR. BURTON:  Saudi Arabia is of course an important military and political partner for us on a wide variety of issues, but as is normal course we don’t confirm any arms deals with foreign countries before congressional notifications take place.

 

     Q    So Patrick Murphy is not going to be there, Joe Sestak is not going to be there?

 

     MR. BURTON:  You got the full list of folks.

 

     Q    Thanks, Bill.

 

     MR. BURTON:  Thanks, guys.

Wednesday
Aug182010

White House Gaggle 

By Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton                                                                                                     Aboard Air Force One, En Route Miami, Florida

     MR. BURTON:  Okay.  Thank you all for coming.  Go ahead.

 

     Q    I have a question on Pakistan.  A State Department official, a deputy special representative for the regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan, said that the flooding there and the crisis there is a long-term crisis that’s going to get worse.  How concerned is the administration about how this will affect —

 

     MR. BURTON:  Well, this catastrophe is one that’s on a human scale and widespread, and the United States is doing everything that it can to help the country of Pakistan.  We’ve given them tens of millions of dollars in aid.  U.S. helicopters and C130s are there delivering hundreds of thousands of pounds of food and medical supplies. 

 

     Tomorrow Secretary Clinton, USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah will be up at the U.N., focused on this issue as well, where they’ll be talking more about the needs.  We’re responding to all the requests that come in from the Pakistani government.  We’re working with them and NGOs on the ground to ensure that we’re doing all that we can to help them out.

 

     Our relationship with Pakistan is one that’s more than just about fighting armed extremists and we’re hoping to help them where we can.

 

     Q    Just one follow-up to that.  There was an article last week about how many of the charity arms of some of these violent extremist groups have come in to fill the void, to get supplies much faster and relief much faster to the Pakistani people.  There’s concern that that could win over people to their cause.  What is the response of the administration? 

 

     MR. BURTON:  Well, I think that this is an ongoing humanitarian crisis.  We’re responding very quickly, as are our international partners.  I’m confident that we’re going to do what we can to help those folks out.

 

     Q    The U.N. said that aid to Pakistan is flowing a lot slower than it did for Haiti and other disasters.  Is the President thinking about going before the American people like he did with the Haiti case, to make an appeal for more aid?   

 

     MR. BURTON:  Obviously Secretary Clinton has done that, and we’re responding as quickly as we can to their requests as they come in so that we’re doing what’s possible to help the folks who are most in need.  Like I said, this is ongoing and we don’t even know the full scope of the disaster just yet.  But you can bet that the United States is going to continue to do its part to help those folks that have been so terribly affected.

 

     Q    Any chance that the President might add Pakistan to his Asia trip now?

 

     MR. BURTON:  I haven’t heard any discussion of that.

 

     Q    Bill, the President talked again today about how a lot of people are still hurting and there’s more work to go in the economy.  Does he have any concerns at all about at least the  perception of taking a 9, 10-day vacation in an affluent part of the country at a time when a lot of people are hurting?

 

     MR. BURTON:  Well, I don’t think there’s an American person who doesn’t know that the President is working hard to do everything possible to get this economy back on the right track, to move initiatives through Congress that are going to help businesses right away to create jobs and to make our economy even stronger.

 

The President — any presidential vacation — whenever you talk about a presidential vacation you ought to put the word “vacation” in quotes because you can bet that there will still be work that he’s doing every day.  He’ll continue to get his daily intelligence brief from John Brennan who will be there.  He’ll be getting constant updates on what’s happening in the economy and other issues.

 

     But I do think that just like a lot of American people, the President is taking a little time with his family to recharge his batteries.  As you know, he’s really into batteries.  We spend a lot of time at battery plants.  (Laughter.)  And he’ll be spending a lot of time doing that this weekend.

 

     Q    Is he staying at the same place he did last year?

 

     MR. BURTON:  We’re not going to announce where he’s staying until he gets there for security reasons.  But he’s renting a house. 

 

     Q    It will be announced when he gets there?

 

     MR. BURTON:  Yes.  Of course, you’ll all be there.

 

     Q    Would you say he really needs a vacation?

 

     MR. BURTON:  I would say that — you guys have seen him out on the trail this week.  I got a lot of questions this week on whether or not the President enjoys being out on the campaign trail.  I think that seeing him at some of these fundraisers, you know the answer to the question.  He’s clearly having a good time talking directly with the American people about the choice that’s before them this November when it comes to the midterm elections. And he’s got a lot of hard work to do this year, but he does look forward to the time that he’s going to be able to spend with his family.

 

     Q    Brennan is going with him tomorrow?

 

     MR. BURTON:  Yes.

 

     Q    Will there be more campaign trips like this one after his vacation?

 

     MR. BURTON:  Yes.  (Laughter.)

 

Q    Anything locked in yet?

 

MR. BURTON:  Nothing locked in that I know of.  I know they’re still putting together the schedule.

 

     Q    I heard you say earlier nothing tomorrow morning before leaving?

 

     MR. BURTON:  Yes, there’s no events tomorrow before leaving.

 

     Q    In Florida, is the President going to sort of put to rest any of the questions about whether or not the White House is fully behind Kendrick Meek at this event?  What kind of things are we going to hear from him there?

 

     MR. BURTON:  I can’t control whether or not people ask questions about the President’s strong and unwavering support for Kendrick Meak.  He’s said that he is his candidate.  Florida Democrats know that he is his candidate.  He’s been down there. He’s raised money for the Florida Democratic Party.  He’s introduced Meek at events as the next United States senator from the state.  So given all that, I don’t know that people will stop asking questions regardless of what he does.

 

     But Kendrick Meek will be involved in the event today and you will hear from him.

 

     Q    Do you guys envision this as the President’s, like, full embrace of Kendrick Meek?  I mean, he hasn’t done something like this for him before.

 

     MR. BURTON:  I think that the President has fully embraced Kendrick Meek.  We envision this as going down and helping out Florida Democrats.

 

     Q    Can you say anything about the parent company to Fox News donating to the Republican Governors Association?  I mean, the President is raising money for governors on this trip.  You guys have obviously had back-and-forth with Fox News.  And their reasoning for donating is — insinuates that Democrats are anti-business, which is something that the President has been talking about.

 

     MR. BURTON:  Well, I’m sure it creates a lot of questions.  I’ve seen the report, but I don’t have any particular comment on it.

 

     Q    Do you have anything on the fundraiser tonight?  Is it all going to Sink, or is it being split —

 

     MR. BURTON:  I think it’s being split by — but you should check that with the contact I gave you for Florida.

 

     Q    And there will be nothing on Cuba?

 

     MR. BURTON:  No. 

 

All right?

 

     Q    Do you have a reading list for us?

 

     MR. BURTON:  He has not decided yet what he’s going to be reading.

 

     Q    Seriously?

 

     MR. BURTON:  Seriously.

 

     Q    You could make some recommendations?

 

     MR. BURTON:  I sure could.  Why?  Have you written a book?  (Laughter.)

 

     Okay, everybody take a seat and buckle in.

 

                                    END              2:37 P.M. EDT

 

 

——-