    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book I)]
    [May 25, 2005]
    [Pages 872-874]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following Discussions With President Susilo Bambang
    Yudhoyono of Indonesia and an
    Exchange With Reporters
    May 25, 2005

        President Bush. Mr. President, welcome to the Oval Office. It's an
    honor to meet with you again. Last time I was with you, I congratulated
    you on winning a hard-fought Presidential campaign. Now I had a chance
    to congratulate you on fulfilling your campaign promises. I want to
    thank you for your impressive record.
        I also want to thank you for the strength and the leadership you
    showed during what must have been an incredibly difficult period for the
    government and the people of Indonesia during the catastrophe after the
    tsunami. You showed good--great courage. And it's been an honor to work
    with you to help save lives and to bring people order out of the chaos
    that ensued after the terrible disaster.
        We had a very good conversation today. We talked about a variety of
    subjects, all aimed about making our countries more peaceful and more
    prosperous and the world more peaceful. Indonesia will play a large role
    and a significant role in helping us understand that great religions
    should coexist in a peaceful way.
        Mr. President, thank you for coming, and welcome to the Oval Office.
        President Yudhoyono. Mr. President, I'm also pleased to have the
    opportunity to meet you again, after we met in Chile during the APEC
    meeting.
        As I have said during this meeting, that I do hope that our
    cooperation can be strengthened from time to time. And as we discussed
    on many subjects--the education, the economic cooperations, the
    counterterrorism, regional situation, and others--I extremely hope that
    Indonesia can continue its reforms, democratizations, and economic
    reconstruction. And I do hope that you could maintain your contribution
    and support to us in continuing our reforms and democratizations.
        President Bush. Thank you, sir. We'll answer two questions a side.
    We'll start with the American person, Jennifer [Jennifer Loven,
    Associated Press].

    Bioethics/Stem Cell Research

        Q. Thank you, sir. With 400,000 frozen embryos in this country
    unlikely to all get adopted, why do you think that either storing them
    or even discarding them is better than using them for research?
        President Bush. She's asking about a very delicate subject called
    embryonic stem cell research. I have made my position very clear on that
    issue. I believe that the use of Federal moneys that end up destroying
    life is not--is not positive, is not good. And so therefore, I'm against
    the extension of the research of using more Federal dollars on new
    embryonic stem cell lines.
        As you know, I made the decision that existing lines should receive
    Federal dollars, and we've had about 600 different experiments, maybe
    3,000 more to go. And so you asked about frozen embryos--that would
    entail the destruction of life, and the use of Federal dollars to
    destroy life is something I simply do not support.

    Indonesia-U.S. Military Relations

        Q. How about good will for relation of our military?
        President Yudhoyono. Yes, we discussed with President Bush on the
    effort in normalizing our military-to-military relations. Of course
    Indonesia has to be thankful for the resumptions of IMET program. And we
    have to do more along with the reforms of the military that is conducted
    in Indonesia. I do hope that in the future we are moving ahead for fully
    normalizations of the military-to-military relations.
        Actually, the atmosphere is positive that of course in part of
    Indonesia, we have

    [[Page 873]]

    to continue our reform to many things--toward the normalization of our
    military-to-military relations.
        President Bush. The President did mention that we're revitalizing
    the military education training program. It makes sense that we have
    mil-to-mil exchanges, military-to-military exchanges. We want young
    officers from Indonesia coming to the United States. We want there to be
    exchanges between our military corps. That will help lead to better
    understandings. And so I--the President told me he's in the process of
    reforming the military, and I believe him. So this is the first step
    toward what will be fuller mil-to-mil cooperation.
        Cameron [Carl Cameron, Fox News].

    Bioethics/Stem Cell Research

        Q. Again on stem cells, Mr. President. If I understood you
    correctly, the embryos put together for in vitro fertilization do
    contain life. And if that's the case, do you believe that those people
    who create those embryos for in vitro fertilization have an obligation
    to ensure that they are brought to term, if they are, in fact, not
    needed by the original----
        President Bush. No, the issue that involves the Federal Government
    is whether or not we use taxpayers' money that would end up destroying
    that life. That's the issue at hand. And as you know, I'm the first
    President to say we could use Federal dollars on embryonic stem cells,
    but those stem cells had already--had been created, so that--it's from
    the moment I made the declaration forward that we would not use Federal
    taxpayers' money to destroy life. That's the issue. And the Congress has
    made its position clear, and I've made my position clear. And I will be
    vetoing the bill they send to me if it were to pass the United States
    Senate.
        Now, there is research going on in the private sector. There's a lot
    of research on adult stem cells that appears to be very promising. And
    my Government strongly supports stem cells. There must be a balance--
    strongly supports adult stem cell research--but there must be a balance
    between science and ethics. And I've made my decision as to how best
    achieve that balance.

    Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunamis Disaster Relief

        Q. We understand that United States has pledged a commitment--a lot
    have pledged a commitment to the tsunami relief reconstruction and
    effort. I would like to ask, how is it going to be realized, the
    commitment?
        President Bush. Well, the commitment was first realized when we
    moved an aircraft carrier with a lot of equipment into the neighborhood.
    And many of our Navy officers and Marine officers and Marine enlisted,
    Navy enlisted personnel were the first people on the ground to start
    helping in coordination with the Indonesian Government.
        That commitment is further being met by expenditures out of the
    United States Congress. Plus, I put together kind of an interesting
    group of private citizens to help raise money for the tsunami relief--
    that would be my father and President
    Clinton, number 41 and 42. And they have
    worked hard to convince our fellow citizens to contribute--these are
    private-sector citizens--to contribute to help provide relief as well.
    I'm proud of my Government's--more importantly, my country's commitment
    to help the people who suffer.
        And the President and I talked a lot about the ongoing relief
    efforts. We thanked the Government for their hard work, and I told him
    the American people will stand with these folks.
        Thank you all very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 3:36 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House.

    [[Page 874]]