    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book I)]
    [May 7, 2008]
    [Pages 646-647]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following a Meeting With the House Republican Conference
    May 7, 2008

        I'm pleased to be joined by the Republican House leadership. These
    are dear friends of mine who are committed to doing what's right for the
    country.
        I just met with the Republican caucus, the House, and I want to
    share some thoughts with you. First of all, we are committed to a good
    housing bill that will help folks stay in their house, as opposed to a
    housing bill that will reward speculators and lenders. There's a House
    alternative that will do the right thing for the American people when it
    comes to housing.
        I will veto the bill that's moving through the House today if it
    makes it to my desk. And I urge Members on both sides of the aisle to
    focus on a good piece of legislation that is being sponsored by
    Republican Members.
        Secondly, we talked about gasoline prices. No doubt about it, we're
    deeply concerned about the high price of gasoline, which means that the
    United States Congress should not pass legislation that makes it harder
    to increase the supply of crude oil as well as increase the supply of
    gasoline. What they should do is allow for the construction of refinery
    and for environmentally friendly domestic exploration.
        And if--the truth of the matter is--Congress were that concerned
    about the consumers, they ought to make sure that they make the tax
    relief we passed a permanent part of the Tax Code.
        We talked about the supplemental that's moving. I told the Members I
    support $108 billion supplemental without any strings and that we're
    going to work toward that goal.
        I talked about the Colombia free trade agreement. The
    Speaker stopped the bill from moving. All we
    ask is that it be given an up-or-down vote. The bill is in our economic
    interests. If you're worried about the economy, then you got to
    recognize that opening markets for U.S. goods and services will help
    strengthen the economy. And if you're worried about the security in our
    neighborhood, turning our back on a strong ally like President
    Uribe will be--is bad national security
    policy. And the Speaker has got to let this bill come to the floor for
    an up-or-down vote.
        And finally, we talked about FISA. That's the ability for our
    intelligence folks and folks on the frontline of protecting America to
    have the tools necessary to stop Al Qaida from attacking us. And the
    fact that the Democrat leadership refuses to let this vote come to the
    floor is bad for our national security. This vote will pass--this bill
    would pass. It has passed the Senate, will pass the House, thanks to the
    leadership of the Members up here as well as discerning Democrats. And
    yet the leadership refuses to let it come up. And the country is at
    greater risk as a result of not having a modernized FISA bill.
        And so those are the issues we discussed. It's a positive agenda.
    It's an agenda that speaks to the economic interests of the people. It's
    an agenda that speaks to the national security interests of the people.
    And it's agenda that recognizes that we can find the wisdom of the
    American people in their souls, in their hearts. We listen carefully to
    what they think, and we respond in a way that meets their needs.
        And so thank you all for coming. Proud to work with you, and enjoyed
    visiting today. Thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:06 a.m. on the North Portico at the
    White House. In his remarks, he referred to President Alvaro Uribe Velez
    of Colombia.

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