[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 10 (Monday, March 12, 2001)]
[Pages 401-403]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Prior to a Meeting With Congressional Leaders and an Exchange 
With Reporters

March 5, 2001

Santana High School Shootings

    The President. Before I talk about the business at hand here, I want 
to say how saddened we all are to know that two students lost their 
lives in southern California, others have been injured, in a disgraceful 
act of cowardice.
    When America teaches their children right from wrong and teaches 
values to respect life and the values that respect life in our country, 
our country will be better off.

[[Page 402]]

    Our hearts go out and our prayers go out to the parents and the 
teachers and the children whose lives have been completely turned upside 
down right now.
    Q. What can the President do to stop, if anything, to stop children 
from shooting children?
    The President. All of us, all adults in society can teach children 
right from wrong, can explain there is a--that life is precious. All of 
us must be mindful of the fact that some people may decide to act out 
their aggressions or their pain and hurt on somebody else, and be 
diligent.
    We don't know enough of the facts right now, Ron [Ron Fournier, 
Associated Press], as to what took place. But I do know that first 
things are first, and that is, our prayers go with the families who lost 
a child today.

Legislative Agenda

    On another matter, I'm honored that Members of the House and the 
Senate came up to discuss a couple of issues--the budget, Medicare, 
Medicare funding, Medicare restructuring, and tax relief. We've had a 
good discussion.
    I didn't mention many names of Members during my speech to the 
Congress nearly a week ago, but most of the names I mentioned are here. 
And the reason why I talked about Breaux, Frist, and Thomas--and I would 
have worked in you, Mr. Chairman, but--was because there had been a lot 
of work done on discussing Medicare modernization in the past. And I 
believe the framework for a bipartisan consensus about how to make sure 
the Medicare system fulfills its promise is at hand, and we've got a lot 
of work to do.
    But I assured these Members--two chairmen, as well as the Members I 
just named--that this administration is here to work with them to do 
what's right for our seniors.
    I also appreciate the progress being made on the tax relief package. 
It will give me a chance to thank the chairman for moving the bill to 
the floor of the House. The sooner we can get that done, the more likely 
it is that we'll provide relief for people and provide a second wind for 
our economy, and then we'll be able to deal with issues such as 
Medicare.

Tax Cut Legislation

    Q. Mr. President, is your tax bill in trouble? Is that why you're 
traveling so much this week? Some Democrats think that might be the 
case.
    The President. Oh, I'm--first of all, I like to get out of 
Washington, Bill [Bill Plante, CBS News]. [Laughter] Secondly, I'm 
pleased with the progress that we're making. We're going to get a good 
bill out of both the House and the Senate. I look forward to signing it, 
and the sooner, the better. But we're making very good progress.
    Secondly, I think it's important for the President to get out 
amongst the people. I'm not only going to be going to North Dakota and 
South Dakota and Illinois this week; I'm coming down to Louisiana. And 
I've got a lot of friends in Louisiana, and I'm looking forward to 
seeing them and talking to them and explaining what's going on in 
Washington. The American people want to hear from the President, and 
this will give me a chance to talk about the progress that we're all 
making together. And we're making good progress.
    Q. Mr. President?
    The President. Yes, Stretch [David Gregory, NBC News]?

President's Upcoming Visits to North Dakota and Louisiana

    Q. Kent Conrad is one of the opponents of the tax cut plan. You're 
going to his State; you're also going to Louisiana, where Mary 
Landrieu--everyone knows is going to be under pressure to support the 
bill. Is it a coincidence that you're going to be going there, or is 
this trip part of the intention to send them a message?
    The President. I think there's some methodology in my travels. Not 
only--you mentioned two fine Senators, and I'm confident we'll be able 
to work with them as time goes on. Those also happen to be States where 
the majority of the folks there saw it my way when I was running for 
President.
    I'll be going to States where we've got a good chance of convincing 
Members in States where maybe there's some obstinance. But nevertheless, 
I need to get out, and with the people, and talk about the plans and why 
this plan is fair and why it makes sense and

[[Page 403]]

why it's important for the economic vitality of the country. We're 
making good progress. We'll get a good bill, and I look forward to 
signing it.

Russia-U.S. Relations

    Q. Mr. President, are you going to apologize to the Russians for 
digging under their Embassy?
    The President. You need to talk to the appropriate folks involved 
with that.

Note: The President spoke at 2:45 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House. A tape was not available for verification of the content of these 
remarks.