[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: GEORGE W. BUSH (2001, Book I)]
[May 1, 2001]
[Pages 474-476]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 474]]

Remarks on the Bipartisan Congressional Tax Relief Agreement and an 
Exchange With Reporters
May 1, 2001

    The President. Good afternoon. This is a great day for the American 
people and the American taxpayer. Working together, Republicans and 
Democrats in the House and the Senate have agreed on a proposal that 
will provide $1.35 trillion in tax relief over the next 11 years. One 
hundred billion will be distributed right away, this year and next, to 
help stimulate our economy and put money in people's pockets quickly. 
The rest of tax relief will be provided over the next decade.
    I congratulate the Members of the Senate and the House, Republicans 
and Democrats, who have worked so hard to achieve this bipartisan 
agreement. You all deserve great credit for agreeing to provide the 
American people with meaningful, significant, sweeping tax relief, the 
most tax relief in a generation.
    Today Republicans and Democrats have agreed to help Americans send 
their children to college, pay off their mortgages a little faster, or 
cope with rising energy costs. In short, once we've funded our Nation's 
priorities, we've agreed to let the American people spend their own 
money on their own priorities.
    Today's agreement has a larger message, as well. By finding common 
ground on an issue that divided the two parties throughout last year's 
campaign, Republicans and Democrats have today proven we can work 
together to do what is right for the American people. Achieving the 
agreement on significant tax relief can help pave the way for consensus 
on other vital issues, including reforming our public schools, 
strengthening Social Security and Medicare, and transforming our 
national defense.
    When I spoke to a joint session of Congress just a few months ago to 
outline my budget and tax relief proposals, I said that in the end we'll 
be judged not only by what we say but by what we're able to accomplish. 
We have more work to do to complete the full budget. But today we have 
accomplished significant tax relief and shown we can work together in a 
constructive way to get things done for the people of this country.
    Thank you.

Federal Budget

    Q. Mr. President, are you going to be able to keep spending in check 
in order to be able to fund your tax cuts?
    The President. Well, I'm absolutely convinced we'll be able to fund 
the tax cuts.
    Q. Are you going to be able to keep spending----
    The President. I've worked with Members of the House and the Senate 
to have a discretionary spending at a reasonable level. I hope--we're 
making progress. There's a lot of discussions going on. I suspect I'm 
going to have to remain diligent over the next year to keep the spenders 
in check. That's a good job for the Chief Executive Officer.

Conversation With President Vladimir Putin of 
Russia

    Q. Mr. President, how did your conversation with President Putin go?
    The President. Terry [Terry Moran, ABC News], it was good. We had a 
very constructive conversation. I called him early this morning to let 
him know that I'd be giving the speech that I just gave. I wanted to 
assure him that my plans were in the best interests of our two 
countries, that we are going to consult with the Russians, as well as 
our other friends and allies.
    But I also made it clear to him that it's important to think beyond 
the old days of when we had the concept that if we blew each other up, 
the world would be

[[Page 475]]

safe. I told him the cold war is over and that Russia was not our enemy, 
and I'd help try to define the threats as realistically as I could and 
that we needed to have defenses to meet those threats. I also told him 
that we would work to reduce our own nuclear arsenals and would do so in 
time.
    He asked me whether or not there is a chance we could meet before 
our upcoming summits. I told him I would love to meet with him 
beforehand, to look him in the eye and let him know how sincere I am 
about achieving a new way of keeping the peace.
    He reminded me at one point in time that he talked about the need to 
address current threats in our world with systems that might be able to 
intercept missiles on launch--boost phase--I talked about today. So I 
felt that it was a very constructive meeting.

Resignation of FBI Director

    Q. Mr. President, are you concerned about Director Freeh's 
resignation? Did that catch you by surprise?
    The President. Actually, Director Freeh came to see me late 
yesterday afternoon, and he asked if we could meet alone. I said, ``Of 
course.'' And he said, ``I'm resigning.'' And it did catch me by 
surprise. And I'm disappointed. I would hope--I was hoping that he would 
stay on. I think he's done a very good job. I'm sure he explained to 
you--I didn't see his press conference, but I suspect he explained to 
you the reason why, and that is, he wanted to spend more time with his 
family. I found Louie Freeh to be a fine public servant, and our Nation 
owes him a great debt of gratitude for his service to our country. And 
now we'll begin the process of finding replacements.

National Missile Defense

    Q. What response do you expect from the European allies on missile 
defense? Do you think they will get along--go along eventually, and will 
participate?
    The President. Well, I think we've got a lot of explaining to do. 
That's why yesterday I called the leaders of France and Britain and 
Canada and Germany to explain to them exactly what I--and the head of the NATO--to explain to them exactly what I just 
explained--I told you, that--Mr. Putin. The 
phone call I made yesterday was nothing new, however. I had met with 
those leaders before and talked to them about what I meant.
    And during the course of the campaign, when I talked about providing 
defenses to meet the true threats of--that all of us are now faced with, 
the leaders were pleased that we're sincere about our desire to go 
through consultations. I've sent a high-level team--a team of high-level 
members of my administration, Deputies Armitage, Hadley, and 
Wolfowitz. It's a clear signal about how, 
one, important this issue is and how, two, how seriously we take the 
idea of consulting with our allies and friends. They are very pleased 
with that.
    But they are going to have to speak for themselves. I am a little 
hesitant to put words in their mouth.

Social Security Reform

    Q. Mr. President, on the Social Security Commission, some are saying 
that if the membership is going to be sort of stacked in a way that 
preordains a recommendation of privatization. What is your----
    The President. Well, I think--I think--let us--tomorrow is a day 
when we will be talking about Social Security, and that would be a very 
good question to the members of the Commission, to make sure that there 
is an objective analysis of Social Security: How do we save it; what do 
we do to make sure it is viable in the future? There is a lot of 
speculation about the Commission that will be cleared up tomorrow 
afternoon, if I'm not mistaken, right here in this very spot.

[[Page 476]]

    Thank you all very much.

Note: The President spoke at 4:05 p.m. in the Rose Garden at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to President Jacques Chirac of 
France; Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom; Prime Minister 
Jean Chretien of Canada; Chancellor Gerhardt Schroeder of Germany; and 
NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson.