    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book II)]
    [October 7, 2005]
    [Pages 1529-1531]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following Discussions With Prime Minister Ferenc
    Gyurcsany of Hungary and an Exchange With
    Reporters
    October 7, 2005

        President Bush. We'll have opening statements, and we'll both take
    questions--two a side.
        Mr. Prime Minister, welcome. I thank you for coming. We have just
    had a very lengthy discussion, and it should be a lengthy discussion.
    After all, we're friends and allies. I appreciate very much your
    understanding of the importance of democracy and freedom. I want to
    thank you for your leadership.
        I am pleased with the economic progress that you've made. I say
    ``pleased'' because there is a lot of U.S. investment in Hungary. People
    have chosen to invest in Hungary because it's a place that honors rule
    of law. It's got reasonable taxation and reasonable regulation. I'm not
    surprised that the country has got a good economic environment. After
    all, the Prime Minister is somebody who understands economics and
    business. And so congratulations on setting an environment that people--
    in which people feel comfortable about investing.
        We talked about the world. And again, I want to thank Hungary for
    its contributions in Afghanistan and Iraq.
        The Prime Minister also brought up some issues of concern to the
    people of Hungary, one of which, of course, is visa policy. He
    understands that his job, when talking to the President, is to--is to
    say, ``The people of my country''--which he did--``are concerned about
    the visa policy.'' And I told him that we recognize that we need to move
    forward and work with our friend. We have set up a roadmap, a way
    forward, to make sure our visa policy works for the people of Hungary.
        Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for bringing up the issue. I assured
    him that I will continue to work with Secretary Rice to put a plan in
    place, to cooperate with Hungary, and to have a plan in place that is a
    fair and reasonable plan for the people of Hungary.
        All in all, I found it to be a great visit. The visit, by the way,
    started yesterday when his good wife and my
    wife visit--had a--had a strong visit. She laid
    the groundwork for this diplomacy that's being conducted today, and she
    did a great job. So welcome to you and your wife, here to America.
        Prime Minister Gyurcsany. Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, let
    me use my mother tongue, mainly because I would like all the Hungarian
    people understand what I'm saying here in the Oval Office. Please
    understand, just--Hungarian sometimes is very hard.

    [At this point, the Prime Minister continued his remarks in Hungarian,
    and they were translated by an interpreter.]

    [[Page 1530]]

        So we came to the United States to strengthen our friendship and our
    ally. We came to emphasize once again that we understand that we have
    joint matters, joint affairs in this world to do. And maybe the two
    countries have different possibilities, but we have equal responsibility
    to sustain stability and peace in the world and to represent the case of
    democracy.
        Now in these matters, the United States and Hungary are not just
    allies but are also good, understanding friends. We did reinforce our
    former agreement about our presence in Iraq and Afghanistan. We did not
    introduce any new elements to that field.
        I think we also would like to see that besides security elements,
    the cooperation, the partnership between the United States and Hungary
    are more and more about business and good relations. And also, American
    investors, the largest American businesses, have played a key role in
    making sure that Hungary has reached a record high in terms of--
    [inaudible]--capital influx over the past year.
        Many similarities and some differences between our two countries,
    but there is one thing where we are completely identical in our ideas.
    Both President Bush and myself want to make sure that our people in
    the--in the United States and in Hungary live in security, that they
    have peaceful lives, prosperity, democracy. And these are the key
    issues, really.
        Many thanks, Mr. President.
        President Bush. Thank you. Thanks for coming. A couple of questions.
        Jennifer [Jennifer Loven, Associated Press].

    Associate Justice-Designate Harriet E. Miers

        Q. Thank you, sir. The criticism, from some conservatives, of
    Harriet Miers is continuing and getting rather sharp, as you know. Are
    you willing to rule out ever letting her nomination be withdrawn?
        President Bush. Harriet Miers is an extraordinary nominee. She is a
    very bright woman. She is a pioneer in the law in Texas. In other words,
    she was the first woman hire of her firm, first partner of the firm.
    She's the first head of the Texas Bar Association. I mean, she has got a
    record of accomplishment that is extraordinary, in my judgment. She is a
    woman of deep character and strength. She is--she didn't come from the
    bench, but so did--you know, a lot of other people didn't come from the
    bench when they were named for the Supreme Court. I would ask people to
    look at Byron White, for example, or Judge Rehnquist himself.
        And I'm confident she's going to be a Supreme Court judge who will
    not legislate from the bench and will strictly interpret the
    Constitution. I am incredibly proud of my friend being willing to take
    on this task. She's going to be a great judge.
        Q. So are you ruling it out, any withdrawal?
        President Bush. No, she is going to be on the bench. She'll be
    confirmed. And when she's on the bench, people will see a fantastic
    woman who is honest, open, humble, and capable of being a great Supreme
    Court judge.

    Visa Issue

        Q. Have you set a deadline for the visa issue to be solved?
        Prime Minister Gyurcsany. We agreed on a roadmap which makes sure
    that Hungarian people can really perceive that it's easier and more
    equitable to have access to American visas. I could feel that Mr.
    President has a very clear understanding about why this is important for
    Hungarians. And I was completely sure that we will achieve the fastest
    possible progress which is allowed by legislative background and laws
    here in the United States.
        President Bush. Good answer. Steve [Steve Holland, Reuters].

    [[Page 1531]]

    Terrorist Threat Against New York City Subway System

        Q. How significant was the threat against New York yesterday, and
    did New York overreact?
        President Bush. I'm getting a little older, Steve, I can't hear you.
    [Laughter]
        Q. Sorry. Did New York City overreact to the threat yesterday? And
    how significant was that threat, and are there any suspects?
        President Bush. Well, our job is to gather intelligence and pass
    them on to local authorities. And they make the judgments necessary to
    respond. The level of cooperation between the Federal Government and the
    local government is getting better and better. And part of that level of
    cooperation is the ability to pass information on. And we did, and they
    responded.
        Q. So you don't think they overreacted?
        President Bush. I think they took the information that we gave and
    made the judgments they thought were necessary. And the American people
    have got to know that, one, that we're collecting information and
    sharing it with local authorities on a timely basis, and that's
    important.

    50th Anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution

        Q. I would like to raise the question to President Bush as well, if,
    as far as you know, you've got an invitation from the Hungarian
    Government for next year for the 50th anniversary of the 1956
    revolution? So would you accept this invitation?
        Prime Minister Gyurcsany. We certainly spoke about the invitation;
    1956 is a huge achievement for the Hungarian nation. And the impact of
    that goes far beyond the borders of Hungary. We certainly want to make
    sure that our friends, friends of democracy are there next year in
    Hungary. Therefore, I extended an invitation to the President for next
    year to Hungary, and I'm completely certain that he would come.
    [Laughter]
        President Bush. Well, he did extend the invitation, and I appreciate
    the invitation, because 1956 means a lot to a lot of Americans. A lot of
    Americans came from Hungary to live here after the '56 incidents. They
    can trace their history to our country because of those--of what took
    place in Hungary. Plus, a lot of Americans followed the incidents in
    1956 and appreciated and respected the courage of folks who were willing
    to stand up for freedom and liberty.
        See, 1956 says to us, there are key moments in history when ordinary
    citizens are willing to defend the right for all to be free. And so it's
    an important event. I told the Prime Minister, I'm not my own scheduler.
    I will pass the word on how important this event is, and I will look
    very carefully at the invitation.
        Listen, thank you all. Mr. Prime Minister, thanks for coming.
    Appreciate it.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:50 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. In his remarks, the President referred to Klara Dobrev, wife of
    Prime Minister Gyurcsany. Prime Minister Gyurcsany spoke partly in
    Hungarian, and those portions of his remarks were translated by an
    interpreter.