[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 30 (Monday, July 30, 2001)]
[Pages 1103-1105]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Prior to a Meeting With Virginia Gubernatorial Candidate Mark 
Earley and an Exchange With Reporters

July 26, 2001

    The President. It's my honor to welcome the next Governor of 
Virginia to the Oval Office. This man is going to win because he knows a 
couple of truths: One, that it's important to let people keep their own 
money--I appreciate your strong stance on holding the line on cutting 
the car tax in Virginia--and secondly, he has prioritized education, and 
he knows full well that if you have a Governor who knows how to lead, 
you can set clear spending priorities. And so I believe Mark has got the 
right issues, the right vision, and the right skill to be a great 
Governor for Virginia.
    Secondly, here in Washington, we're making progress on some key 
issues. I've been meeting with Members of the Congress on the Patients' 
Bill of Rights; I will continue to do so throughout the day. Secondly, I 
had a very good visit with Senator Lieberman and Senator Santorum on the 
faith-based initiative, a positive discussion about how to get the bill 
fashioned so it moves through the Senate, and then, of course, be 
combined with the House version.
    The Members agree--at least, the two Members that came to see me 
agree with how important this initiative is. It's important to set aside 
politics and focus on helping people. And the faith-based initiative 
does that. And again, I want to repeat how appreciative I am that 
Senator Lieberman and Senator Santorum took time out of their day to 
come and visit.
    Soon-to-be-Governor Earley is going to say a few remarks. I'll 
answer a couple of questions afterwards.

[At this point, Mr. Earley made brief remarks.]

    The President. Thanks, Mark. You're going to win.
    Yes, Gregory [David Gregory, NBC News].

China's Release of American University Scholars

    Q. Mr. President, why do you think China agreed, finally, to release 
the two scholars? And, to you, what does it say about the relationship 
between the U.S. and China?
    The President. Well, I would hope that part of it is because of the 
pressure our Government has put on China. I spoke directly to Jiang 
Zemin on this very subject, about the humane treatment of U.S. citizens 
and/or legal residents. Perhaps China is beginning to realize that, as 
she begins to deal with Western nations, she's going to have to make 
better decisions on human rights.

Patients' Bill of Rights

    Q. Are you not giving up on Patients' Bill of Rights being voted on 
before the August recess? And do you feel that your influence, 
especially with Republicans in the House, is diminished from what it 
was?
    The President. I think we've had a pretty good 6 months, when you 
think about it. I've signed a lot of legislation. Today, for example, I 
signed the legislation naming the education savings accounts after Paul 
Coverdell. That's a piece of legislation that had languished in the 
past; it's now law.
    I signed tax cuts. I signed some regulatory relief. I am very 
pleased with the cooperative spirit in the Congress. And I do believe 
that we can get a good Patients' Bill of Rights. I think the Members of 
Congress have taken me seriously when I said there is a--I want a bill.
    But there are some things that are unacceptable to me. And the most 
unacceptable thing to me is that there be a piece of legislation that 
encourages lawsuits and discourages American citizens from being able to 
afford health insurance. I am deeply worried about any legislation that 
will cause people to have less health insurance. I refuse to accept that 
legislation.

[[Page 1104]]

    Now, having said that, I've been in some serious discussions today. 
We're trying to find some common ground on getting a bill that I can 
sign, and I believe we're making progress.
    Yes, Steve [Steve Holland, Reuters].

Situation in Iraq

    Q. Mr. President, Iraq tried to knock down a U-2 plane today. Do you 
fear that they have enhanced their ability to knock out allied planes, 
and what can you do about it?
    The President. Well, we're going to keep the pressure on Iraq. The 
no-fly zone strategy is still in place. We are in--plus, I'm analyzing 
the data from the incident you talked about. I look forward to finding 
out all the facts. But there's no question that Saddam Hussein is still 
a menace and a problem. And the United States and our allies must put 
the pressure on him.
    That's why I brought up to Mr. Putin in Genoa, the need for us to 
work in concert at the United Nations, to make sure that we have a 
sanction policy that will work.

Faith-Based Initiative

    Q. The sanction Lieberman mentioned today--there's some outright 
opposition to faith-based, and he thought that could be eased, and some 
other people said that could be eased if there's some change in the 
language on discrimination. Is that something that you would consider 
doing to get the faith-based through?
    The President. Well, we're going to work with the Senate to get a 
good bill out. There are some other concerns that he brought up, and I 
told him we'd be willing to work with him, without compromising on 
principle. He understood that. He and I share the same principle about 
the need to rally faith-based organizations in our community.
    And one of the principles is, we should never undermine the civil 
rights laws of the United States. And I believe it's very important that 
the civil right--the whole spirit and law of the civil rights 
legislation be intact.

Immigration

    Q. Mr. President, on the immigration proposal that you're weighing, 
sir, is there some reason that only Mexican workers should be 
considered? What about those from other countries?
    The President. Well, we'll consider all folks here. Let me make this 
very clear to people, that there was--a word was creeping in the 
vernacular about this issue, called amnesty. I oppose blanket amnesty. 
The American people need to know that. I do believe, though, that when 
we find willing employer and willing employee, we ought to match the 
two. We ought to make it easier for people who want to employ somebody, 
who are looking for workers, to be able to hire people who want to work.
    And I know we can do so in a humane way that treats people with 
respect. Obviously, the Mexican issue is at the forefront because we're 
preparing for my first state visit with my friend Vicente Fox. But I'm 
openminded. I'll listen to all proposals that people have in mind.
    Let me make another point on Mexico. It is wrong for the Congress to 
discriminate against Mexican trucks. And I urge the Senate to reject an 
amendment to the transportation bill that would clearly discriminate 
against Mexican truckers. Our Mexican counterparts and friends need to 
be treated just like the Canadians are treated. We ought to accept the 
spirit of NAFTA.
    And so whether it be people or trucks or businesses, I solidly 
reject discrimination against people who are here, of all origins, 
particularly Mexico. And the reason why Mexico's on the front burner, as 
far as the immigration issue, of course, is because of the initiative 
that Vicente Fox and I outlined, an initiative that encourages 
discussions, headed up by--it's Colin Powell and John Ashcroft and their 
counterparts--and by the way, an initiative that is making good progress 
on making sure relations with our neighbor to the south are strong and 
cohesive and there's a strategy that works and respectful. And we're 
making good progress, and the American people ought to be proud of that.
    Assistant Press Secretary Johndroe. Thank you all.

Oval Office

    Q. New furnishings?

[[Page 1105]]

    The President. Yes, they are. Thank you for noticing. The couches--
Mrs. Bush deserves a lot of credit.
    Q. The rug?
    The President. No, the rug is temporary. The rug will have the--
we're in the process of weaving a new rug. And each President, as you 
probably know, since you've been around here some--well, a long time--
each President designs his own rug. I've designed mine, and it's now 
being woven and will be here in about 3 months. And I look forward to--
--
    Q. The Alamo up on the wall is not an indication of how you feel in 
the White House right now, is it?
    The President. I feel great. Listen, I think we've had one of the 
most constructive first 6 months of any Presidency, and we're making 
great progress on a lot of issues. No, I've always--a dictatorship would 
be a heck of a lot easier; there's no question about it. But dealing 
with Congress is a matter of give and take. The President doesn't get 
everything he wants; the Congress doesn't get everything they want. But 
we're finding good common ground.
    And I also want to remind you all, we're making great progress when 
it comes to fiscal sanity and the budget. I appreciate so very much the 
supplemental that got passed. I signed it in Kosovo. It was a 
supplemental that came out clean. And I thank the leadership in the 
Senate, particularly Senator Byrd, as well as those in the House--
Congressman Young--for moving a clean supplemental. That was unheard of 
in recent history.
    There's going to be some struggles over the budget, no question 
about it, as appropriators perhaps try to bust the budget. But they're 
going to find somebody who's going to hang tough on the budget. And I 
want to remind people that the reason some are struggling to find money 
to spend is because the economy has turned down. That's why. The budget 
projections are less than anticipated because of a slowdown in the 
economy. And by cutting taxes, we did the right thing to reinvigorate 
the economy. And do you know who knows that best? The American people.
    Thank you for coming.

News Conference With Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy

    Q. You're not a dictator, but you are a conqueror. [Laughter]
    The President. Well, I just hope it reflected in the stories. 
Actually, did you know that the guy, when questioned, the interpreter 
misinterpreted what he said. He said that it was clear to the American 
press that President Bush conquered the leaders, as opposed to 
conquering the American press. No one conquers the American press, of 
course. [Laughter]
    Assistant Press Secretary Johndroe. Thank you all.

Note: The President spoke at 11:23 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to President Jiang Zemin of China; 
President Saddam Hussein of Iraq; President Vladimir Putin of Russia; 
and President Vicente Fox of Mexico. The transcript released by the 
Office of the Press Secretary also included the remarks of Mr. Earley. A 
tape was not available for verification of the content of these remarks.