White House Gaggle

Briefer: Dana Perino

President had his normal briefings this morning. At 10:25 am, he will receive the Annual Report to the Nation by the Boy Scouts of America. At 10:50 am, President Bush meets with the King of Jordan. At noon, President and Mrs. Bush will host a private social lunch with the King and Queen of Jordan in the Family Dining Room of the White House. At 1.15 pm, the President makes remarks to Political Appointees and Federal Government Employees in DAR- Constitution Hall in Washington, DC.
White House Press Secretary Dana Perino will brief the press at noon today.


Middle East

Perino said that, “there is a lot of tension between the Israelis and the Palestinians, “and Secretary Rice is in region to bridge the gaps and bring them back together. One of the things Secretary Rice said, and the President agrees with is that, “Hamas has made themselves an enemy of the Palestinian state.” Perino said that the Palestinians could have a Palestinian state given the leader they have now--Hamas is what is holding them back. Secretary Rice will also be meeting with Prime Minister Olmert as they are also concerned about the situation.

When asked if it is really possible to negotiate peace with a divided Palestine, Perino said that they believe Hamas is a terrorist organization and Israel has the same feeling. She continued to say that, “President Abbas has said that he wants to be the Palestinian President for everybody, including the people living in Gaza, who are living under terrible conditions right now… The strategy is to try to allow the Palestinians to see that is a choice to make. There is a path that can get you to a Palestinian state and possible more security and prosperity… The purpose of Secretary Rice’s trip is to try to establish again this clear strategy and division between the choices there is to make for the Palestinians. “ A reporter questioned Perino when it comes to the Palestinians in Gaza, saying that she assumes that they actually have a choice or wish to make a choice, which that does not seem to be the case. Perino said that she thinks they do have a choice. She also said that the government that US is working with, lead by President Abbas, is the one that has chosen peace. Perino said the “issue is that it is extremely complicated, and we never said that this was going to be easy.” But we do believe that people have a choice, Perino continued, “and the President believes that when people have a choice they will chose freedom.”


OPEC

When asked about a response to OPEC’s decision to not increase production to ease prices, Perino said that she hasn’t heard anything about yet. She will wait until they make an official announcement. Perino did say that she oil producing countries should work to keep the markets well supplied.


Iran

Perino was asked about a comment on Iran who has rejected the sanctions resolution that was imposed by the United Nations. Perino said that they were not expecting anything else from the regime of Iran. We have provided several incentives for the Iranians if they would halt the enrichment of uranium and come to the negotiation table. Perino also said that she was pleased to see that the UN went forward with the 3rd rounds of sanctions. “A lot of people did not think that it was not going to be possible after our National Intelligence Estimate came out in December…”


Ahmadinejad in Iraq

When asked if the President talked to the Iraqi Prime Minister Malaki after the visit of the Iranian President Ahmadinejad, Perino said that they haven’t talked since. Though there have been reports by Ambassador Crocker and General Petreus.


Boy Scouts

When asked if the President has any concerns about discriminatory practices by the Boy Scouts against gays and atheists, Perino said that she had not asked about it, but “the President has always said that everybody should be treated with dignity and respect. “

Senator Kent Conrad, (D-ND) the Senate Budget Committee Chairman and Rep. John Spratt, (D-SC) the House Budget Committee Chairman discuss the deficiencies of President Bush's Fiscal Year 2009 budget

Sen. Kent Conrad and Rep. John Spratt held a press conference today regarding the release of the President’s Fiscal Year 2009 budget.

Held in the House Radio/Television Gallery Studio, the conference had a largely negative tone toward the budget. Their message was repeated multiple times; as Spratt stated, “today’s budget bears all the hallmarks of the Bush legacy – it leads to more deficits, more debt, more tax cuts, and more cutbacks in critical services.”

Sen. Conrad opened up the hearing declaring that one of the biggest problems with the proposed budget is that nowhere has there been discussion on the debt, which is going to go up $700 billion, about 5% of GDP, in the next year. Furthermore, he declares that under the Bush Administration’s proposal, we would simply be building a wall of debt.

One of the most interesting factors pointed out by Sen. Conrad was the fact that President Bush has more than doubled the US’s Foreign Held Debt in the eight years of his 0presidency – something that has not occurred in the 224 years we have had a presidency. In addition, through his calculations, Sen. Conrad claims that all of the savings President Bush intends to incur from cuts in Medicare and Medicaid will be more than wiped out by his tax cuts.

When asked whether the budget would be dead on arrival, Sen. Conrad claimed, “No, it would not be dead on arrival, but debt on departure.”

Following Sen. Conrad’s speech, Rep. Pratt made a humorous comment about President Bush intending to have guns and butter and tax cuts too. It is this policy which has turned a $236 billion surplus into a $410 billion deficit. One of the more interesting aspects of the budget pointed out by Rep. Pratt was that today’s budget includes only a $70 billion request for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is curious because it will most certainly fail to fund the full cost of the Administration’s policy for 2009.

The bottom line is that a more realistic Bush deficit shows that the Administration’s budget never actually reaches a balance by 2013, and that the President has left the country in a debt of stunning proportions.

President George W. Bush speaks about the economy

President Bush laid out his principles for framing an economic stimulus package today from the Roosevelt room in the White House. “Our economy has a solid foundation, but there are areas of concern,” he said. His speech outlined some broader principles for economic growth legislation, but did not mention specific components beyond tax relief.

The president pointed out that both consumer spending and jobs are growing but at a very slow rate. He also acknowledged that other sectors like housing are declining.

He said that his advisors and other outside experts expect slow growth, but “there is a risk of a downturn.” The White House has been careful not to use the word “recession” often when speaking about the economic situation.

Among his principles Bush noted that the economic stimulus package must be large enough to affect an economy as large as the U.S. He recommended tax relief amounting to about 1 percent of the Gross Domestic Product, or about $145 billion in relief. Bush called for "broad based tax relief" targeted to business and consumer spending. He cautioned against new taxes and spending project, which are being discussed by congressional Democrats.

Tax incentives for businesses must encourage businesses “to make major investments in their enterprises this year,” Bush said.

He also called for “direct and rapid income tax relief” in the form of tax rebates to the American people. He noted that taxpayers can spend this check any way they want, giving examples of paying bills and fueling up. He said that this infusion of cash into the hands of consumers should increase spending.

The president called on Congress to resolve two versions of legislation regarding the Federal Housing Administration and get that bill to his desk as quickly as possible.

Bush said that his phone call with Treasury Secretary Paulson and congressional leadership yesterday was encouraging and led him to believe that economic stimulus could be passed quickly with bipartisan support. He was quick to point out that while the administration has taken the subject of his tax cuts off the table for the discussion of a short term solution, the most pressing economic priority after a stimulus packaged is passed is making his those cuts permanent.

The president defended the market system while acknowledging that there are times when “swift and temporary actions” can insure that inevitable market adjustments do not become long-term down turns. Bush called a growth package “a shot in the arm to keep a fundamentally strong economy healthy.”