[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 26 (Monday, July 2, 2001)]
[Pages 980-981]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following a Meeting With Republican Congressional Leaders and an 
Exchange With Reporters

June 27, 2001

Patients' Bill of Rights

    The President. It's been my honor to welcome Members of the House of 
Representatives here to discuss a very important issue, which is 
Patients' Bill of Rights.
    We had a good discussion about making sure that American workers and 
Americans have got good and decent health care. And there is such a bill 
that would provide American workers with the right kind of protections. 
And it's a bill that's been crafted in the House of Representatives, 
called the Fletcher-Peterson-Johnson bill. Two of the authors are here 
around the table. This piece of legislation, I am convinced, is--will 
make a big difference in people's lives. It will protect patients.
    There are some other alternatives that are working their way--being 
debated on the House and the Senate that will run up the cost of health 
insurance for American workers and could conceivably cost millions of 
people their health insurance. I can't accept that kind of legislation.
    I look forward to signing a bill such as the one that we've 
discussed here, a good piece of legislation that will make sense for the 
American workers. I'll be glad to answer some questions.
    Sandra [Sandra Sobieraj, Associated Press].
    Q. Sir, do you think the Democrats are playing politics here and 
angling for a veto, looking ahead to the 2002 elections?
    The President. I don't. I think the Democrats are, hopefully, trying 
to come up with a good piece of legislation. I know the Republicans are. 
We had that kind of discussion. There seems to be a desire on the parts 
of people in Washington to get a good bill done. It's certainly my 
desire.
    But I also think the American people will respect a President who 
stands on principle, and I've articulated the principles that I think 
are important for a piece of legislation. And the most important 
principle is that we don't have a piece of legislation that hurts the 
working people, that causes them not to have health care insurance, 
because health care insurance is more--will make it much more likely 
that the worker and their families are able to be treated well.
    Now, I realize there are some complaints with HMOs. I signed 
legislation in Texas that dealt with those complaints. I look forward to 
signing legislation here that does just that, and the bill we discussed 
around this table is a piece of legislation that I will sign.

Situation in Macedonia

    Q. Mr. President, you issued an order today on Macedonia. Do you 
think the ethnic Albanian rebels are getting a lot of financial support 
from the United States, and do you see any chance of committing U.S. 
troops to Macedonia to prevent a civil war?
    The President. Steve [Steve Holland, Reuters], I take no option off 
the table in terms of the troops. We're a participant in NATO. I went to 
Europe recently and said, ``We went into the Balkans together; we'll 
come out together,'' and I meant it.
    Secondly, we've got some evidence that the ethnic Albanians, the 
extremists, are raising money not only in America but in Europe. And 
America will do our part to make sure that monies do not go to fund 
extremist activities that become a destabilizing influence for a 
democratically elected government in Macedonia.
    Terry [Terry Moran, ABC News].

[[Page 981]]

Patients' Bill of Rights

    Q. Mr. President, on the question of where patients could go to hold 
HMOs accountable if they're wrongfully denied coverage, Democrats say 
that Federal court, your preferred venue is too slow, too expensive, and 
frequently too far away from where people live. Why are you so adamant 
about keeping people out of their own State courts?
    The President. Terry, I think if you look at this piece of 
legislation, you'll find there's a compromise between those who say it 
should only be in the Federal court and those who say it should only be 
in the State court. And the Fletcher bill has come up with an 
alternative procedure, one that will allow a certain cause of action to 
be in the Federal court and other cause of action to be in a State 
court. And it's the right approach. It's a good compromise between two 
positions.
    Q. But what's wrong with Federal court?
    The President. Stretch [Richard Keil, Bloomberg Radio].

Bipartisanship/Stem Cell Research

    Q. Mr. President, a two part question. Around the table here today 
you have all--only Republicans. Do you plan talks like this with the 
Democratic leaders in the House and the Senate, talks about Patients' 
Bill of Rights? And related to that, how close are you on a decision on 
stem cell research, and can you tell us which way you're leaning?
    The President. I'll make a decision about that very emotional issue 
later on. In terms of whether I've talked to Democrats, of course I do. 
And there's a Democrat sponsor of this bill. He doesn't happen to be at 
the table, but he's on the right track, as far as I'm concerned, like 
the other sponsors of this bill.
    Thank you all for coming.

Note: The President spoke at 3:33 p.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White 
House.