Bush promotes the "transformative power of freedom" for 21st century

President Bush stressed the need for future presidents and congresses to promote a closer-knit global agenda for the United States. At his address to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), he outlined the future challenges of spreading freedom and democracy throughout the world.

"The challenge for future presidents and future congresses will be to ensure that America's generosity remains tied to the promotion of transparency and accountability and prosperity," said Bush.

The mission of USAID is to end tyranny and corruption by building "democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture," according to the document, "Democracy and Governance: Advancing Freedom Around the World." USAID helped gather the 2008 census in Sudan, write a constitution in Afghanistan, and draft legislation in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The President said the United States needs to use "foreign assistance to promote democracy and good government." The future also depends on free trade agreements, Bush said, and the United States has agreements with 11 countries. Bush suggested purchasing 25 percent of U.S. food aid from developing nations to improve their local economies

Bush compared current enemies of the U.S. to Germany and Japan during World War II. He said those countries were once against the U.S., but now they are strong democracies and strong allies. In countries like Sudan, Iran, and Syria, the U.S. "spoke out against tyrannical regimes."

Since Bush took office in 2001, the administration has doubled the federal budget for human rights programs, increased funds for the National Endowment for Democracy by 150 percent, and changed the nature of foreign assistance by creating the Millennium Challenge Account.

White House Briefing

Briefer: Dana Perino

White House press secretary Dana Perino briefed the press on the president's radio address which will focus on the administration's priorities for Congress. She specifically mentioned the war supplemental funding, the GI bill, the FISA legislation, the Colombia Free Trade Agreement, and the approval of Steve Preston to be the new secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The president will be giving the commencement address at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. Perino said that the speech will focus on the culture of responsibility and the importance of volunteering and serving in the military.

The main topic for questions was the book of former White House press secretary Scott McClellen which alleges "a culture of deception" in Washington and in the White House in particular during the run up to the Iraq war. Perino said that the president has not read the book and she has not discussed it with him. She said that the White House will continue to push back against the premise of the book that the White House communications department mislead the public as the administration approached the Iraq war.

In response to a question about the allegations that a Commerce Department laptop was hacked into during a trip to China, Perino said that the White House does not comment on on going investigations but that it has taken all measures to protect against cyber attacks, including international trips where White House staff are prohibited from brining Blackberry phones.

White House Gaggle by Dana Perino

White House Gaggle
By Ellen Ratner
Briefer: Dana Perino

The President’s Schedule
The president had his usual briefings.
At 11:30 a.m. he will make a statement on Iraq. In the morning he met with Gen. David Petraeus, commander of Multinational Forces Iraq and Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker. The president also met with the special envoy to Sudan.

This afternoon he will go to the ranch in Crawford, Texas. The White House announced that the president will make three commencement addresses this year. The first is May 4 at Greensburg High School in Greensburg Kansas, the second is May 29 at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and the third will be May 31 Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina.

The White House announced the summer schedule for tee ball on the White House lawn. There will be three games this summer: one in June with Hispanic Americans and others with members of the U.S. military.

The president also had a private meeting in the Oval Office and on the Truman balcony with the Prime Minister of Luxembourg Jean-Claude Juncker, but Perino said that would not discuss the content of the meeting.

On Iraq
Perino said that the cost of reconstruction is increasingly being picked up by Iraqis and that they have more resources available to them. A question arouse as to the timing of a dramatic pull out in Iraq as it relates to the U.S. presidential election. “From our perspective, politics will not enter into it,” Perino said.

She explained that the speech is going to focus on the recommendations from Gen. Petraeus. The president will speak about the planning reduction from 20 brigade combat teams to 15. The president will also announce his support for a 45 days of “consolidation and evaluation” before another draw down of forces is scheduled.

The president will also speak about the tours of duty for soldiers scheduled to deploy after August 1, 2008 will be 12 months in Iraq and a min of 12 months at home in the United States. Perino said “the troops will continue to come home,” but she said “some people" (implying the Congressional Democrats) want to “change the goal posts.”



On Columbia Free Trade
Dana said that they “dismayed and disappointed” and if Democrats have a vote today they will effectively kill the agreement. She said they had been working with Democrats for months and yesterday’s meeting was cordial and frank. The president feels that his hand was forced.

On Torch Relay and Protests
The president said that people around the world have the right to express themselves he will continue to have private talks with China about human rights. Perino said that President Bush has a good relationship with the Chinese, which allows him to do that.

White House Gaggle March 28, 2008

By Meredith MacKenzie
Briefer: Scott Stanzel

Schedule: The President taped the Sunday radio address and had his normal morning briefings. He will meet and hold a press availability with the Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd. Stanzel said the president hopes to talk about Afghanistan, security, and global climate change and the common interests of Australia and the United States. He will then travel in Marine One to Freehold, New Jersey to participate in the HOPE NOW Alliance roundtable. He will tour Novadebt, after which he will make a statement on the topic of housing. He will return to the White House in the late afternoon.

Novadebt is one of the partners working with the HOPE NOW Alliance which is a counseling program which helps families avoid foreclosure on their homes. Stanzel said that the administration is very committed to helping American families stay in their homes. Stanzel said he does not expect new programs or initiatives to be mentioned in the statement on housing. Stanzel said that the White House has been watching the consumer spending numbers and we do anticipate a weak quarter. The White House economic advisors do believe that growth will pick up in the second half of the year.

When asked about the economic stimulus checks, Stanzel responded that the White House believes that the money from the economic stimulus will be spent and it will provide a boost to the economy, leading to increased consumer spending and growth in the second quarter.



The topic of Sunday’s radio address will center around the economic stimulus package and the modern role of the Federal Housing Authority. Stanzel said the president believes that Congress should move forward on legislation regarding the FHA.

On recent North Korean missile tests:
North Korea should refrain from testing missiles, this kind of activity is not constructive. North Korea should declare in a complete and transparent way all its nuclear activities and work toward disarmament. What North Korea is doing is not constructive.

In the meeting with Prime Minister Rudd,Stanzel said that Iraq is a topic that will come up. “We believe that we’ve made tremendous progress in Iraq,” he said. And he added that the actions taken this week demonstrate “tremendous strides” in the capabilities of Iraqi security forces.

When asked about criticism over Guantanamo Bay Stanzel said that it is the White House to shut down Guantanamo Bay but there are obstacles with that, particularly that the U.S. can’t send detainees back to countries that don’t want to receive their detainees back or treat them humanely when they return.

Responding to a question on the Farm Bill Stanzel said that the president has said that he wants a Farm Bill that is reform-minded that does not raise taxes. Since farmers are doing very well we think this is a good time to reform our agriculture policies. The president would veto a bill that is not reform-minded, or one that raises spending. Stanzel mentioned that the next deadline is April 18th, instead of relying on extensions the Congress should work to pass new legislation and not extend current law piecemeal.

The President will throw out the first pitch at the Washington Nationals opening Day. The Nationals have made the decision that the president will throw the first pitch to the manager and this decision has nothing to do with the fact that Nationals starting catcher Paul Lo Duca was mentioned in the Mitchell Report on steroids in baseball.

This upcoming meeting at the White House with British Prime Minister Brown will be Brown’s first meeting as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.