    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book I)]
    [January 1, 2008]
    [Pages i-xii]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Public Papers Of The President Of The United States 2008 BOOK 1

    [[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

                                  2008-2009
                               (IN TWO BOOKS)

                   BOOK I -- JANUARY 1 TO JUNE 30, 2008

                  -----------------------------------------
                  UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
                             WASHINGTON : 2012

    [[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) 512-2104

                  Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20401

    [[Page v]]

                                    Foreword

        This volume collects my speeches and papers from the first half of
    2008, the last year of my Presidency.

        As the year began, I appeared before Congress to deliver my final
    State of the Union message. I said, ``Seven years have passed since I
    first stood before you at this rostrum. In that time, our country has
    been tested in ways none of us could have imagined. We faced hard
    decisions about peace and war, rising competition in the world economy,
    and the health and welfare of our citizens. These issues call for
    vigorous debate, and I think it's fair to say we've answered the call.
    Yet history will record that amid our differences, we acted with
    purpose. And together, we showed the world the power and resilience of
    American self-government.''

        This resilience was tested in the early days of 2008, when the
    Nation's 52 consecutive months of job creation--the longest such period
    on record--came to an end. As our economy began to slow, my
    Administration took action to ease the burden on the American people. We
    implemented a bipartisan stimulus plan that provided tax rebates for
    nearly 120 million American households. We continued to push for
    Congressional approval of free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama,
    and South Korea--agreements that would open up new opportunities for
    American workers, business owners, farmers, and ranchers. And we worked
    to keep more Americans in their homes during a time of increasing
    foreclosures.

        This was also an important period in the war on terror. On the
    domestic front, I urged Congress to modernize the Foreign Intelligence
    Surveillance Act to address the dangers of the 21st century.
    Internationally, we saw important gains in Iraq. In April, General David
    Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker reported to Congress on the
    dramatic reductions in violence that had occurred in the wake of the
    troop surge that began in 2007. Because of the effectiveness of this
    strategy, the five brigades that had been added to our forces in Iraq
    began returning home on success--and the Iraqi people grew increasingly
    confident in their democracy.

        These months also saw some of the most intensive international
    travel of my Presidency. In January, I toured the Middle East, visiting
    Israel, the West Bank, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi
    Arabia, and Egypt. In February, Laura and I took a moving trip to
    Africa, where we saw firsthand the gratitude of those who had been
    helped by America's efforts to fight disease and support development and
    social justice on that continent. During the course of a week, we
    traveled to Benin, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana, and Liberia. In April, I was
    in Romania to attend the 2008 NATO summit, a trip that also included
    stops in Ukraine, Croatia, and Russia. In May, I traveled to the Middle
    East once more, commemorating the 60th anniversary of the state of
    Israel with a speech in Jerusalem and visiting Egypt and

    [[Page vi]]

    Saudi Arabia. And In June, I made my final trip to Europe as President,
    with stops in Slovenia, Germany, Italy, the Holy See, France, and the
    United Kingdom.

        Notwithstanding the extensive travel schedule Laura and I were
    keeping, two of the most meaningful events of this period took place
    here at home. In April, Pope Benedict XVI visited the White House. The
    arrival ceremony, which took place on the Pope's 81st birthday, drew
    more than 13,000 well-wishers to the South Lawn. And in May, Laura and I
    made an emotional trip to Texas for the wedding of our daughter Jenna
    and Henry Hager. The couple had a beautiful ceremony at our ranch in
    Crawford. And I was proud to give my daughter away on what was one of
    the most important days of her life.

        Finally, this period saw two new cabinet secretaries join my
    Administration. In February, Ed Schafer was sworn in as the Secretary of
    Agriculture, and in June, Steve Preston took the oath of office as
    Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

        In the days to follow, the election season would hit full stride and
    the end of my term would draw near. I pledged to serve out my time in
    office with as much energy as I had brought to my earliest days in the
    White House. And in the coming months, my Administration would make good
    on this promise to sprint to the finish.

                              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, 2008. 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 Lois Davis, Michael J. Forcina, Joseph G. Frankovic, Diane
    Hiltabidle, Alfred Jones, Joshua H. Liberatore, Heather N. McDaniel,
    Amelia E. Otovo, D. Gregory Perrin, Matthew R. Regan, 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
    Davita Vance-Cooks, Acting Public Printer.

    Michael L. White
    Acting 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, 2008 . . . 1

             Appendix A
             Digest of Other White House Announcements . . . 897

             Appendix B
             Nominations Submitted to the Senate . . . 931

             Appendix C
             Checklist of White House Press Releases . . . 947

             Appendix D
             Presidential Documents Published in the Federal
             Register . . . 961

             Subject Index . . . A-1

             Name Index . . . B-1

             Document Categories List . . . C-1

     [[Page xi]]

                                 Cabinet

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

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

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

           Attorney General...................Michael B. Mukasey

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

           Secretary of Agriculture...........Edward T. Schafer
                                              (appointed 1/28)

           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
                                              (resigned 4/18)
                                              Steven C. Preston
                                              (appointed 6/5)

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

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

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

           Secretary of Veterans Affairs......James B. Peake

           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..............James A. Nussle

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