[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book I)]
[January 1, 2007]
[Pages C-7-xiii]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]




PUBLIC PAPERS OF THE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES
BOOK I


[[Page i]]

          PUBLIC PAPERS OF THE PRESIDENTS

                     OF THE

                 UNITED STATES


[[Page iii]]

          PUBLIC PAPERS OF THE PRESIDENTS

                     OF THE

                 UNITED STATES

                George W. Bush

   [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT

                      2007
                 (IN TWO BOOKS)

      BOOK I - JANUARY 1 TO JUNE 30, 2007


[[Page iv]]



    


                    Published by the

           Office of the Federal Register

      National Archives and Records Administration

 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing 
                                 Office

  Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov  Phone: (202) 512-1800 
                       Fax: (202) 512-1204
           Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20401


[[Page v]]


                                Foreword

    This volume collects my speeches and papers from the first half of 
2007.

    At the beginning of the year, I delivered an address to the Nation 
in which I announced a bold new strategy for victory against the 
terrorists and insurgents in Iraq. I ordered a surge of more than 20,000 
additional American troops with a clear mission: to help Iraqis clear 
and secure neighborhoods, protect the local population, and help ensure 
that the Iraqi forces left behind were capable of providing the security 
their country needed.

    I told the American people ``Victory will not look like the ones our 
fathers and grandfathers achieved. There will be no surrender ceremony 
on the deck of a battleship. But victory in Iraq will bring something 
new in the Arab world--a functioning democracy that polices its 
territory, upholds the rule of law, respects fundamental human 
liberties, and answers to its peop1e. A democratic Iraq will not be 
perfect. But it will be a country that fights terrorists instead of 
harboring them--and it will help bring a future of peace and security 
for our children and our grandchildren.''

    Throughout these months, my Administration installed talented new 
leaders to shepherd our new strategy in Iraq and wage the wider War on 
Terror. In January, I appointed General David Petraeus as the new 
Commanding General of the Multi-National Force in Iraq. In February, 
Michael McConnell became the Nation's second Director of National 
Intelligence. And in June, I nominated Admiral Michael Mullen to become 
the new Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

    As our new strategy began to demonstrate promising results, I 
insisted that the Congress not substitute its judgment for that of our 
commanders in the field. In April, the new Democratic majorities in the 
House and Senate passed a supplemental spending bill for the war in Iraq 
that mandated timetables for troop withdrawal, limited the flexibility 
of our commanders in combat, and appropriated billions of dollars to 
projects unrelated to the War on Terror. I vetoed this bill and insisted 
that the Congress pass responsible legislation that would give our 
troops in the field all of the resources they needed to achieve victory.

    While we continued to focus on defeating our enemies, the United 
States also remained engaged with our allies around the world. In March, 
the First Lady and I visited Latin America, traveling to Brazil, 
Uruguay, Colombia, Guatemala, and Mexico to discuss advancing the cause 
of social justice in the region. In Apri1, I hosted German Chancellor 
Angela Merkel and European Union President Jose Barroso for the U.S.-
E.U. Summit in Washington. In May, I welcomed Great Britain's Queen 
Elizabeth II to a State Dinner at the White House. The Queen's visit 
coincided with the 400th anniversary of the British arrival at 
Jamestown, Virginia--America's first permanent settlement. And in June, 
Laura and I attended the G-8 Summit in Ger

[[Page vi]]

many and toured Europe, visiting with leaders in the Czech Republic, 
Poland, Ita1y, Albania, Bulgaria, and the Vatican.

    During this time, we also focused on important domestic priorities. 
In my State of the Union Address in January, I urged the Congress to 
support greater energy independence by pursuing the goal of reducing 
America's gasoline usage by 20 percent in 10 years. I called on the 
Congress to reform the tax code to make health insurance more 
affordable, as well as to financially support State governments 
providing health care for the poor and hard-to-insure. I continued to 
press the case for comprehensive immigration reform that would address 
the problem of illegal immigration and create a system that was both 
secure and fair.

    In addition to this forward-looking agenda, my Administration also 
continued to hold the line on legislation that threatened America's 
deepest moral values. When the Congress once again sent me a bill that 
would have compelled American taxpayers to support the deliberate 
destruction of human embryos, I vetoed it.

    Finally, this was a time when America paused to mourn. In January, I 
attended the funeral of President Gerald Ford, who died at his home in 
California at the age of 93. In April, I had the sad task of speaking to 
a convocation at Virginia Tech University, where students gathered to 
grieve 32 victims of an on-campus shooting. And in June, I spoke at the 
dedication of a new memorial in Washington to the victims of communism.

    As I reflected on the similarities between the struggle against 
communism and the modern totalitarian threat of radical Islam, I told 
the assembled crowd, ``Like the Communists, the followers of violent 
Islamic radicalism are doomed to fail. By remaining steadfast in 
freedom's cause, we will ensure that a future American President does 
not have to stand in a place like this and dedicate a memorial to the 
millions killed by the radicals and extremists of the 21st century.''

    As we moved into the second half of 2007, my Administration remained 
vigilant to ensure that this pledge would be fulfilled.

                          B

[[Page vii]]



                                 Preface

    This book contains the papers and speeches of the 43d President of 
the United States that were issued by the Office of the Press Secretary 
during the period January 1-June 30, 2007. The material has been 
compiled and published by the Office of the Federal Register, National 
Archives and Records Administration.

    The material is presented in chronological order, and the dates 
shown in the headings are the dates of the documents or events. In 
instances when the release date differs from the date of the document 
itself, that fact is shown in the textnote. Every effort has been made 
to ensure accuracy: Remarks are checked against a tape recording, and 
signed documents are checked against the original. Textnotes and cross 
references have been provided by the editors for purposes of 
identification or clarity. At the request of the Office of the Press 
Secretary, the Bush property known as Prairie Chapel Ranch in Crawford, 
Texas, is referred to simply as the Bush Ranch. Speeches were delivered 
in Washington, DC, unless indicated. The times noted are local times. 
All materials that are printed full-text in the book have been indexed 
in the subject and name indexes, and listed in the document categories 
list.

    The Public Papers of the Presidents series was begun in 1957 in 
response to a recommendation of the National Historical Publications 
Commission. An extensive compilation of messages and papers of the 
Presidents covering the period 1789 to 1897 was assembled by James D. 
Richardson and published under congressional authority between 1896 and 
1899. Since then, various private compilations have been issued, but 
there was no uniform publication comparable to the Congressional Record 
or the United States Supreme Court Reports. Many Presidential papers 
could be found only in the form of mimeographed White House releases or 
as reported in the press. The Commission therefore recommended the 
establishment of an official series in which Presidential writings, 
addresses, and remarks of a public nature could be made available.

    The Commission's recommendation was incorporated in regulations of 
the Administrative Committee of the Federal Register, issued under 
section 6 of the Federal Register Act (44 U.S.C. 1506), which may be 
found in title 1, part 10, of the Code of Federal Regulations.

    A companion publication to the Public Papers series, the Weekly 
Compilation of Presidential Documents, was begun in 1965 to provide a 
broader range of Presidential materials on a more timely basis to meet 
the needs of the contemporary reader. Beginning with the administration 
of Jimmy Carter, the Public Papers series expanded its coverage to 
include additional material as printed in the Weekly Compilation. That 
coverage provides a listing of the President's daily schedule and 
meetings, when announced, and other items of general interest issued by 
the Office of

[[Page viii]]

the Press Secretary. Also included are lists of the President's 
nominations submitted to the Senate, materials released by the Office of 
the Press Secretary that are not printed full-text in the book, and 
proclamations, Executive orders, and other Presidential documents 
released by the Office of the Press Secretary and published in the 
Federal Register. This information appears in the appendixes at the end 
of the book.

    Volumes covering the administrations of Presidents Herbert Hoover, 
Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. 
Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald R. Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, 
George Bush, and William J. Clinton are also included in the Public 
Papers series.

    The Public Papers of the Presidents publication program is under the 
direction of Michael L. White, Managing Editor, Office of the Federal 
Register. The series is produced by the Presidential and Legislative 
Publications Unit. The Chief Editor of this book was Stacey A. Mulligan, 
assisted by William K. Banks, Loretta F. Cochran, Lois Davis, Kathleen 
M. Fargey, Joseph G. Frankovic, Stephen J. Frattini, Michael J. Forcina, 
Allison M. Gavin, Gwendolyn J. Henderson, Diane Hiltabidle, Alfred 
Jones, Joshua H. Liberatore, Heather N. McDaniel, Ashley Merusi, Amelia 
E. Otovo, Jennifer M. Partridge, D. Gregory Perrin, Matthew R. Regan, 
Michael J. Sullivan, and Joseph K. Vetter.

    The frontispiece and photographs used in the portfolio were supplied 
by the White House Photo Office. The typography and design of the book 
were developed by the Government Printing Office under the direction of 
William J. Boarman, Public Printer.

Raymond A. Mosley
Director of the Federal Register

David S. Ferriero
Archivist of the United States


[[Page ix]]



                                Contents

Foreword . . . v

Preface . . . vii

Cabinet . . . xi

Public Papers of George W. Bush,
January 1-June 30, 2007 . . . 1

Appendix A
Digest of Other White House Announcements . . . 835

Appendix B
Nominations Submitted to the Senate . . . 867

Appendix C
Checklist of White House Press Releases . . . 885

Appendix D
Presidential Documents Published in the Federal Register . . . 897

Subject Index . . . A-1

Name Index . . . B-1

Document Categories List . . . C-1


[[Page xi]]


                                Cabinet

        Secretary of State...................... Condoleezza Rice

        Secretary of the Treasur................ Henry M. Paulson, Jr.

        Secretary of Defense.................... Robert M. Gates

        Attorney General........................ Alberto R. Gonzales

        Secretary of the Interior............... Dirk Kempthorne

        Secretary of Agriculture................ Michael O. Johanns

        Secretary of Commerce................... Carlos M. Gutierrez

        Secretary of Labor...................... Elaine L. Chao

        Secretary of Health and Human
        Services................................ Michael O. Leavitt

        Secretary of Housing and Urban
        Development............................. Alphonso R. Jackson

        Secretary of Transportation............. Mary E. Peters

        Secretary of Energy..................... Samuel W. Bodman

        Secretary of Education.................. Margaret Spellings

        Secretary of Veterans Affairs........... R. James Nicholson

        Secretary of Homeland Security.......... Michael Chertoff

        Chief of Staff.......................... Joshua B. Bolten


[[Page xii]]


        Administrator of the Environmental
        Protection Agency....................... Stephen L. Johnson

        United States Trade Representative...... Susan C. Schwab

        Director of the Office of 
        Management and Budget................... Robert J. Portman

        Director of National Drug Control
        Policy.................................. John P. Walters


[[Page xiii]]


                   Administration of George W. Bush

                                  2007