    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book I)]
    [February 2, 2004]
    [Pages 170-172]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following a Cabinet Meeting and an Exchange With Reporters
    February 2, 2004

        The President. I want to thank the members of my Cabinet for their
    service to our country. I'm proud of the team I've put together to serve
    our citizens. These are good, honorable people who have come to
    Washington, DC, to put the Nation's interests above their self-interest.
        We had a good discussion today about our Nation's priorities.
    Secretary Powell briefed us on the
    alliances--the strong alliances we have around the world, a deep desire
    to continue to work with nations to bring freedom and peace around the
    world. The Secretary of Defense briefed
    us on the progress we're making in Afghanistan and in Iraq. Appreciate
    the briefing I got from Tom Ridge about homeland
    security efforts. And we've got a lot of really fine people in the
    country who are working overtime, long hours, to protect the American
    people, and they're doing a really fine job.

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        And finally, Josh Bolten gave us a
    briefing on our budget. This administration is putting together--has put
    together a budget and will be submitting it to Congress, which sets
    clear priorities: winning the war on terror, protecting our homeland,
    making sure our children get educated, making sure the seniors get a
    modern Medicare system. And at the same time, we're calling upon
    Congress to be wise with the taxpayers' money. We look forward to
    working with them to bring fiscal discipline to the appropriations
    process so we can cut the deficit in half over a 5-year period of time.
        Again, I'm proud of the Cabinet--appreciate your work.
        I'll be glad to take a couple of questions. Terry [Terence Hunt,
    Associated Press], you might have a question.

    Weapons of Mass Destruction

        Q. Yes, Mr. President. I'd like to ask you about this intelligence
    investigation that you're going to order. Do you think that the country
    is owed an explanation about the Iraq intelligence failures before the
    election, so that voters have this information when they elect a new
    President?
        The President. Well, the--first of all, I want to know all the
    facts. We do know that Saddam Hussein had the
    intent and the capabilities to cause great harm. We know he was a
    danger, and he was not only a danger to people in the free world; he was
    a danger to his own people. He slaughtered thousands of people,
    imprisoned people.
        What we don't know yet is what we thought and what the Iraqi Survey
    Group has found, and we want to look at that. But we also want to look
    at our war against proliferation and weapons of mass destruction kind of
    in a broader context. And so I'm putting together an independent,
    bipartisan commission to analyze where we stand, what we can do better
    as we fight this war against terror.
        Before I move forward with the commission, I want to sit down with
    Mr. Kay. I appreciate his service. I've invited
    him to come down to the White House. I'll be doing so soon. I do want to
    get a briefing from him.
        Steve [Steve Holland, Reuters].

    Fiscal Year 2005 Budget

        Q. Sir, do you worry that your budget passes along problems to
    future generations? You often say you don't want to do that.
        The President. No, I'm confident our budget addresses a very serious
    situation, and that is that we are at war, and we are dealing--had dealt
    with a recession. And our budget is able to address those significant
    factors in a way that reduces the deficit in half. We propose; the
    Congress disposes. And so we look forward to working with the
    appropriators to meet our priorities and to reduce the deficit in half.
    We're confident we can do so.
        The reason we are where we are, in terms of the deficit, is because
    we went through a recession, we were attacked, and we're fighting a war.
    And these are high hurdles for a budget and for a country to overcome,
    and yet we've overcome them, because we've got a great country full of
    decent people. And the economy is getting better. And as the economy
    gets better, it enables us to send up a budget to the Congress that does
    cut the deficit in half.

    Super Bowl XXXVIII

        Q. What part of the Super Bowl did you like the best? The halftime
    or the ending? [Laughter]
        The President. I don't want to admit it, but because this White
    House starts early, I missed it--again. Saw the first half; did not see
    the halftime. I was preparing for the day and fell asleep, but don't
    tell anybody. [Laughter]

    Note: The President spoke at 9:55 a.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to David Kay,

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    former CIA Special Advisor for Strategy Regarding Iraqi Weapons of Mass
    Destruction Programs; and former President Saddam Hussein of Iraq. The
    Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language
    transcript of these remarks.