[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1991, Book I)]
[May 15, 1991]
[Pages 514-516]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Question-and-Answer Session With Reporters
May 15, 1991

President's Health

    Q. How are you feeling?
    The President. Fine. Very good report on the health today. And 
today's really, literally--and I'm not just saying this--the best I've 
felt since this onset of all this problem.
    Q. You're not tired?
    The President. Have been, but today I'm not. Yesterday I was dead 
tired. But they've got a report back now that I think the doctors will 
comment on later, but it was very good on getting this thyroid in 
balance. So, for some reason, I'm itching to get back into action here 
outside, get some----
    Q. Miss your jogging?
    The President. I miss my exercise. I really do. It's the longest 
I've been in my life, I think.

Legislative Agenda

    But let me just say--you expressed an interest in what we were doing 
at the Senate. I was up there making a strong pitch for Fast Track. I 
feel that the Republican side and many of the Democrats are going to be 
very supportive in the Senate on Fast Track. It's important to world 
trade. It's important to the United States economy; that's the point I 
made.
    It's not going to cost us jobs; it will create jobs. And of course, 
if the United States bugs out of participation in these--in the GATT 
round, the European--the GATT round--I mean the GATT round generally, 
and then working with the EC, why, we're in trouble. And I don't want to 
see us do that. I want us to have full negotiating authority. And we 
will not bring back to the Congress a deal that they cannot 
enthusiastically support. There's no purpose in that. We know the 
parameters within which we have to operate.
    I also made a strong pitch for our crime package. I want a 
comprehensive crime bill.

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And I challenged the Congress to act within 100 days, and there's no 
reason in the world they can't. It's been 67 days, I believe, since that 
challenge, and so I'm very anxious to get a comprehensive crime package 
out.
    We talked about energy, and we talked about transportation. So 
really, it was----
    Q. Did you say you would veto the Brady bill?
    The President. ----just a review of the agenda, the domestic agenda. 
And then I talked to them about other international subjects. So, that 
was about what we were doing at lunch.
    Helen [Helen Thomas, United Press International], did I hear you 
ask----
    Q. Yes. Did they ask you not to veto the Brady bill?
    The President. No, there wasn't any discussion of the veto on that 
because they did not ask it.
    Q. Are you going to?
    The President. Well, I'll keep all options open. I want a 
comprehensive crime package. And that's the way we're going to play it, 
and that's what we should be; the American people should be entitled to 
that.

China

    Q. Did you discuss China, sir?
    The President. We discussed China, MFN. I want to see MFN for China 
continue, and I made a strong pitch for it. We do not want to isolate 
China. And I go back to the days when I was in China as the equivalent 
of Ambassador, and though there are major problems in China--things that 
we don't like about their system--things are an awful lot better than 
they were back in 1975. So, I look at the big picture. I look at the 
support we got from China in Desert Storm. I look at the importance of 
China as a country. And I don't want to see us isolate them.
    I do want to see them come forward more on some of the things that 
we've been asking them to do.

Iraq

    Q. Is Iraq going to accept some form of police force?
    The President. I don't know on that. We may--we're contemplating 
going to the United Nations on that to get further authority, although 
we think that we have authority under existing resolutions.
    Q. And a related question: Would you be happy with Iraq paying 25 
percent of its oil revenues in reparations?
    The President. I don't have a percentage in mind. We're working out 
administration positions on that. But the main thing is full compliance 
with all the U.N. resolutions. And so, that's the key point. I don't 
know where the talks stand between the Kurds and the center and Saddam 
Hussein, but that could offer some hope. But I don't think that we can 
just entrust the fate of the Kurds to the word of Saddam Hussein.

Soviet-U.S. Relations

    Q. We understand that you have blocked out the two last weeks in 
June for a possible summit. Has that moved at all since yesterday?
    The President. No. Nothing's happened since I talked to Mr. 
Gorbachev last weekend. And I want to have a summit. They know and we 
know what the conditions have been and are. But there's no decision on 
that, Helen. I keep reading that somebody in Moscow says there's a date, 
and we don't know where that comes from, unless you do, Marlin.

President's Health

    Q. Are you going to take a longer Memorial Day vacation?
    The President. You got it.
    Q. How many days more?
    The President. I don't know.

Queen Elizabeth's Visit

    Q. How come you didn't take out the step for the Queen, Mr. 
President?
    The President. What?
    Q. How come you didn't give the Queen a step to stand on yesterday?
    The President. That's what we hired Joseph Reed for. [Laughter]
    Q. Oooh.

President's Health

    Q. How about giving us a little bit more on your health report? What 
did they say about your thyroid? Is it destroyed?
    The President. Well, I asked the doctor if he wanted--I got this 
when Marlin was doing his briefing. I almost sent in a little

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note--I was listening to your questions, wonderful questions, to Marlin 
about my property taxes. [Laughter] And I asked Burt, and he said he'd 
rather wait until he talks to the other doctors. But he came in with a 
very good report about the thyroid now being in balance.
    Q. Is it gone?
    The President. Well, I don't know. It's not gone. I'd better keep a 
little of it because you don't want to get those hormones out of shape, 
you know what I mean? [Laughter]
    Q. No, I haven't the slightest idea. [Laughter]
    Q. How much weight have you lost? Five pounds, more, eight?
    The President. No, about 10.
    Q. Ten pounds?
    The President. Yes.
    Q. Over how long a time?
    Q. How long?
    The President. Over about a 3-week period.
    Q. Are you happy?
    The President. Yes. Yes, I'd like to keep it off.
    Q. What are you, 190 now, Mr. President?
    The President. Help. Here she comes. [Laughter] No, 187 last night.
    Q. That's the lowest you've been in how many years?
    The President. Lowest I've been in 30 years.

Queen Elizabeth's Visit

    Q. How did you like the Queen?
    The President. Very, very impressive; an engaging conversationalist 
and most impressive. I do feel badly----
    Q. Why didn't you raise the podium?
    The President. Well, I feel badly I didn't. And I thought about it 
and--but she started to speak. And I didn't realize how it would look 
from a straight angle, or I would have interrupted her because it wasn't 
fair to her. And I'm just sorry that it was overlooked.

Grandchild's Birthday Party

    Mrs. Bush. You've got the birthday party.
    The President. We've got to go see the birthday party.
    Q. Whose birthday is it?
    The President. Marshall's. Marshall.
    Q. Are you allowed to kiss her?
    The President. No, I can't. Bar can.

Queen Elizabeth's Visit

    Q. He's apologizing for not pulling the step out for the Queen, Mrs. 
Bush.
    Mrs. Bush. He doesn't need to apologize.
    The President. I kicked it over to the----
    Mrs. Bush. It was someone else's job--come on. [Laughter]
    The President. See, we've got our line together.

                    Note: The session began at 1:50 p.m. on the South 
                        Lawn of the White House. In his responses, 
                        President Bush referred to President Saddam 
                        Hussein of Iraq; President Mikhail Gorbachev of 
                        the Soviet Union; Marlin Fitzwater, Press 
                        Secretary to the President; Joseph Verner Reed, 
                        Chief of Protocol; Burton J. Lee III, Physician 
                        to the President; Queen Elizabeth II of the 
                        United Kingdom; and Marshall Bush, President 
                        Bush's granddaughter. A tape was not available 
                        for verification of the content of this session.