White House Press Gaggle With Jay Carney

Aboard Air Force One

En Route Memphis, Tennessee 

10:30 A.M. EDT

     MR. CARNEY:  Good morning, everyone.  Welcome aboard Air Force One as we make our way to Memphis, Tennessee, where the President will deliver the commencement address at the Booker T. Washington High School, winner of the 2011 Race to the Top High School Commencement Challenge.

     While in Memphis, as you know the President will meet with family affected by the flooding, state and local officials, first responders and volunteers. 

     And with that, I will take your questions.

     Q    Jay, what is the President’s reaction to the violence along Israel’s borders and the violence and the killings of Palestinian protestors?

     MR. CARNEY:  Jim, we regret the loss of life, and our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of those killed and wounded.  Israel, like all countries, has the right to prevent unauthorized crossings at its borders.  Its neighbors have a responsibility to prevent such activity.  We urge maximum restraint on all sides.

     We are also strongly opposed to the Syrian government’s involvement in inciting yesterday’s protests in the Golan Heights.  Such behavior is unacceptable and does not serve as a distraction from the Syrian government’s ongoing repression of demonstrators in its own country.

     Q    Does the President think that Assad is doing this in order to deflect attention from his own problems?

     MR. CARNEY:  Well, we certainly think that there’s a history of that and it seems apparent to us that that is an effort to distract attention from the legitimate expressions of protests by the Syrian people and from the harsh crackdown that the Syrian government has perpetrated against its own people.

     Q    — the degree to the incitement yesterday is sort of heightened as a result of the Arab Spring, I’m wondering if you could sort of put the President’s address on Thursday in the context of that and also in the context of this week with Abdullah and Netanyahu being in Washington.

     MR. CARNEY:  Well, obviously the President will deliver an address on the Middle East on Thursday and he will discuss, among several topics, the dramatic change we’ve seen in the Middle East and North Africa this year.  He will also discuss the Middle East peace process and the need for that process to continue and succeed.  Beyond that, I don’t want to preview too much of what he’s going to say.

     Q    What does the President think about what’s going on with Dominique Strauss-Kahn in New York?

     MR. CARNEY:  Well, we obviously won’t comment on a legal matter. I can say obviously that we — I think I have something here on that.  One minute, I thought I had something on it.  We remain — we note that the IMF has said that they have appointed an acting director and the IMF remains fully functional and we remain confident in the institution of the IMF and its ability to continue to execute its mission effectively.

     Q    Is the President worried that this will somehow hinder the efforts at securing certain packages for European countries that are —

     MR. CARNEY:  No, we’re confident that the IMF will continue to function effectively.

     Q    Given, though, that the situation in the Middle East and North Africa is still changing and evolving, is the speech going to sort of lay out where we are at this moment in time, the President’s sort of a broader vision for what he sees —

     MR. CARNEY:  I think the President will obviously address where we are in this remarkable period and will also address how he approaches the kind of historic change we’ve seen in the region and how — where he thinks we’re headed, both as the United States in terms of our policy towards the region and the region itself.

     Q    Along those lines, Jay, the departure of Senator Mitchell — former Senator Mitchell as a special envoy, does this signal a change in the approach that the President is going to take?  Is there going to be a new Cairo speech that kind of outlines his vision?

     MR. CARNEY:  No, not at all.  I think the President is very appreciative of Senator Mitchell’s remarkable service and effective service, and — but it does not signal any change in that regard.

     Q    Did the President watch the Endeavour launch?

     MR. CARNEY:  I think we were on Marine One.  We don’t have a — well, we did not watch it.

     Q    Does the President still think that —

Q    — area today?

     MR. CARNEY:  We are, as you know, meeting with first responders, families and others today, and that’s what we have on the schedule.

     Q    Does the President still think that we are in the midst of a new beginning with the Muslim world in terms of the relationship that the U.S. has?

     MR. CARNEY:  Well, I think that he does — I mean, he believes that the history, as he said, of — the future of that region will be written by the people of the region, and that what we’re seeing is an expression of long pent-up desire for greater freedom, greater prosperity, greater engagement in the political process in these countries.  And obviously that has an effect on our engagement as the United States with the region. 

He is optimistic.  It’s obviously a very fluid situation, and every country is different.  But he is optimistic about the potential for positive outcomes in the various countries in the region.

     Q    Can you preview the meetings with Abdullah and Prime Minister Netanyahu this week — will he discuss specifically steps —

     MR. CARNEY:  I think at each case they’ll discuss the events in the region as well as the prospects for progress in the Middle East peace process.

     Q    Will the President address the flooding in his remarks today at the school?  And what sort of updates has he been getting or receiving on the situation in Mississippi?

     MR. CARNEY:  Well, he’s been getting regular updates on the flooding in general, not just — I mean, with regard to the Mississippi River, and the effects — the impact it’s had down river, as you would say.  And I don’t want to preview his remarks on that.  I’ll do a readout of his meeting with the families and others, but beyond that, I don’t have a preview.

     Q    Jay, there’s some — been downgrading on the economic growth numbers from 3.3 to 2.8 today.  Any reaction to that and how that affects a long-term view for the recovery?

     MR. CARNEY:  Well, I don’t have any reaction to the specific prognoses, except to say that we obviously focus very much, the President is, on continuing to do the things that promote economic growth.  Obviously the growth that we’ve seen in the wake of the contraction has been very positive and beneficial.  We are doing everything we can to ensure stronger growth, including investing in those programs that will — and those areas that will allow us to grow and thrive economically and create jobs.  But there’s nothing that matters more to him than that.

     Q    Any worries about gas-price-driven inflation?

     MR. CARNEY:  Well, we obviously focus very much on the impact that higher gas prices have had on family budgets.  The President has spoken to this and continues to monitor that.  He understands that for families that are, like the country, emerging out of a very tough economic time, and those who still are struggling, the sharp rise in prices at the pump is — it was and is a very unwelcome development.  And he’s very focused on that.

     And obviously, I’ll note, as you all probably wrote about,  the decision to speed up some of the leasing and the decisions he made to expand in development, oil development, in the United States is part of his long-term commitment to make sure that we produce as much oil as possible, safely and responsibly in this country.  And that’s part of that goal, to reduce our dependency on foreign oil.

     Q    I believe that today was the day the debt limit was supposed to hit.  Is there any statement from the White House?  And has the President made any calls over the weekend for the budget —

     MR. CARNEY:  I don’t have anything on any calls he might have made.  But it is true that we are now in that period where we have essentially some cushion provided by the extraordinary measures the Treasury Secretary is able to take, as previous Treasury Secretaries have taken in a situation like this.  But it is a reminder that we need to have a vote to lift the debt ceiling because the consequences of not doing so would be quite serious, indeed.  And those who suggest otherwise are whistling past the graveyard.  It is a foolish thing to suggest that we could somehow as the United States of America default on our obligations and that it would not have seriously negative consequences if we suddenly stop paying our bills on a third of our obligations.

     Q    Jay, will the President take up AIPAC’s invitation to speak to them before he leaves for Europe?

     THE PRESIDENT:  The President will address AIPAC on Sunday morning, May 22nd, to stress the importance of the U.S.-Israeli relationship.

     Q    On the debt limit, what has the President’s involvement been in the Gang of Six talks?

     MR. CARNEY:  We have been in regular consultations with those members of Congress who are approaching this issue seriously and looking at the need to address it in a balanced way.  And that includes members of gangs and those who are unaffiliated with gangs.  So I hope that’s vague enough for you. But obviously we’ve been in consultations with those members who are seriously interested in this issue.

     And we see this — just to address the broader point — the President views the current situation as an opportunity.  Some of you who’ve been in my office have heard me say for a long time that this President is committed to doing something significant and serious about our long-term deficit and debt problem and this is an opportunity to address that.  That’s why he did the fiscal commission; that’s why he laid out his plan; and that’s why he asked the Vice President to oversee these negotiations. 

And he really thinks that this is an opportunity for the President, for Republicans and Democrats, to come together, find some common ground, and do something about a problem that we all recognize, which is that we need to reduce our deficit and our long-term debt in order to ensure that we have the kind of economic vitality in the 21st century that will allow us to win the future.

Q    If he’s addressing AIPAC on Sunday, does that mean that the speech on Thursday will have less on the Mid-East peace process?  Would he be saving that —

MR. CARNEY:  No, the major speech of the week is Thursday.  I think — I would not expect a major policy speech on Sunday.  I think he looks forward to talking about the unshakeable bond between the Israelis and the Americans and the importance of that relationship.

All right, anything else?  Great.  Thanks, guys.

Q    Thank you.

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

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.
 

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



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.