[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