[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 2 (Monday, January 14, 2002)]
[Pages 24-26]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following a Meeting With the Economic Team and the Federal 
Reserve Board Chairman and an Exchange With Reporters

January 7, 2002

    The President. I want to thank Chairman Greenspan for coming. He's 
here to offer his independent advice and counsel about the state of our 
economy. I want to thank my economic team for keeping me abreast of what 
we're learning during our Christmas break. I look forward to a 
substantive discussion about how to wisely put policy in place that will 
help this economy recover.
    I'm--we're making good progress in winning the war in Afghanistan, 
and we've got to make good progress about helping people find work. The 
cornerstone of any good policy is going to be to take care of--help 
people help themselves, and take care of those who may have lost their 
job as a result of 9/11. But always remember, the most important thing 
for those who have lost their job is to be able to find work. And so the 
question I'm going to ask, and the question I hope Congress asks, is, 
how best to create jobs? What can you do to encourage economic growth so 
that people who want to work can find work?
    I'm optimistic that 2002 is going to be a better year than 2001. And 
we will discuss ways here to make--to figure out how Government can make 
that happen. One thing I will do, after the course of these discussions 
and some discussions later on this week, will put in my budget an 
economic stimulus package.
    And speaking of that, I hope that when Congress comes back they will 
have listened to their constituents and that Congress will realize that 
America, like me, is tired of partisan bickering, that we ought to come 
together, we ought to unify around some sensible policy and not try to 
play politics with tax relief or, for that matter, economic stimulus 
packages.
    I'll be glad to answer a few questions. Fournier [Ron Fournier, 
Associated Press].

National Priorities and the Federal Budget

    Q. Mr. President, can you increase funding for the military and 
homeland security without dipping into the Social Security and Medicare 
accounts? And Chairman Greenspan, if I could----
    The President. Well, wait. I promised him that he could come. He's 
an independent soul, and he can have a press conference elsewhere. But 
one of the things we're not going to do is drag the Chairman into a 
press conference. Otherwise, he won't come back--[laughter]--to the 
White House.
    Q. I'm sure he would----
    The President. Well, you can find him at his place of business. 
Sorry to tell you how to do--it's a new year. [Laughter] I plan to be 
much more assertive with the press.
    Q. [Inaudible]--going to ask him if he thought the recession was 
over, that's all.
    The President. Okay. I said to the American people that this Nation 
might have to run deficits in time of war, in times of a national 
emergency, or in times of a recession. And we're still in all three. We 
had a national emergency; we're trying to win a war; and we're in a 
recession. So I have no problem figuring out ways to win the war, 
figuring out ways to protect the homeland--and those will be the 
priorities of my budget--and at the same time--and spending the money 
necessary to do both--and at the same time, recognizing that we may not 
balance the budget for this year.
    It makes sense to spend money necessary to win the war; it makes 
sense to spend money necessary to protect the homeland. And we're in a 
recession. There are some talk about raising taxes. That would be a 
disaster, to raise taxes in the midst of a recession. Even--I think 
you'll find that to be--most economists agree with that point of view. 
Certainly, if they're fair about it, they will say that.

[[Page 25]]

    And so I--as I said out there, somebody must be reading a different 
kind of economics textbook here in Washington. And most of the people 
that I spoke to in California and Oregon understood that we shouldn't be 
raising taxes in a recession.
    Yes.

Economic Stimulus Package

    Q. Mr. President, given that there was real progress on a stimulus 
package in December--[inaudible]--will your package, your proposal take 
effect more quickly than the one you proposed in December? And in 
addition to that, do you think, in the meantime, further interest rate 
cuts might be a way to provide an immediate boost?
    The President. Well, first in terms of monetary policy, I'll leave 
that in the hands of our Chairman, Chairman Greenspan. He's done a 
fabulous job in running the Federal Reserve. And for that, America 
should be grateful.
    Secondly, we did make very good progress on an economic stimulus 
package. We had a bill come out of the House of Representatives, and 
there was a bill that could have passed the United States Senate. There 
was enough votes, had the bill been brought up on the floor, that it 
would have passed. It took good features from the Republican point of 
view; it took good features from the Democrat point of view. We brought 
it together and made a very good package. That's pretty darn good 
progress.
    Except, along the way, there was an attitude that said, ``Well, 
maybe we don't need a package.'' I happen to believe we do need one, and 
there was a good one that could have passed.
    Stretch. I mean, Little Stretch [David Gregory, NBC News]. 
[Laughter]
    Q. Thank you for that. [Laughter]
    The President. That's your new name, by the way.
    Q. Oh, it is? Okay, good. Thank you.
    The President. It's a new year.
    Q. [Inaudible]--new year. Why does everything have to be so black 
and white? Is there not room to maybe phase in the tax cut in the out-
years more slowly to protect the Government's bottom line--don't start 
laughing yet. And the second thing is, what will you say as elements of 
a new stimulus package? Do you think there's a way to break this logjam?
    The President. Well, first of all, the logjam was broken in December 
of this year. Republicans and Democrats realized it was time to act. We 
came together, and something would have passed the Senate. In terms of 
finding a solution that bridged good ideas from both parties, that's 
happened.
    And your first question was, Little Stretch?

Taxes and Economic Recovery

    Q. Why does it have to be so black and white on the issue of raising 
taxes? Couldn't you----
    The President. Because a tax cut is part of the prescription for 
economic recovery. By reducing taxes at a time when our economy was 
slowing down, the Congress, working with the administration, did the 
absolute right thing to provide a stimulus. And to change in the midst 
of the phasing-in of the tax relief plan would send the absolute wrong 
signal to the economy. It would say we weren't real about it; we weren't 
serious about tax relief. Tax relief is a part of the economic recovery 
plan.
    Listen, thank you all very much--yes, a couple more. It's a new 
spirit.
    Q. Which one?
    The President. You're after Steve [Steve Holland, Reuters], I 
promise.

Situation in South Asia

    Q. Does it appear that war now has been averted between India and 
Pakistan, and has Pakistan done enough to crack down on terrorists?
    The President. I think it's very important for President Musharraf 
to make a clear statement to the world that he intends to crack down on 
terror. And I believe if he does that and continues to do what he's 
doing, it will provide the--it will provide relief, pressure relief, on 
a situation that's still serious. I don't believe the situation is 
defused yet. But I do believe there is a way to do so. And we're working 
hard to convince both the Indians and the Pakis there's a way to deal 
with their problems without going to war.

[[Page 26]]

Secret Service Agent

    Q. Mr. President, during the holidays you stood by your Secret 
Service agent. And American Airlines has come out with a new statement 
today saying that he was bitter and hostile. What are your thoughts 
about the situation with your Arab-American agent now as it pertains to 
him trying to----
    The President. Well, I know there's an investigation going on, and I 
look forward to see the findings. But as I said, if he was mistreated 
because of his ethnicity, I'm going to be plenty hot--that means angry. 
And I know the man. I am most appreciative of his service to me and my 
wife. He is an honorable fellow. But I don't know enough about the 
details of this particular incident, but I know there's an investigation 
going on, and I look forward to seeing it. I would be surprised if he 
was hostile. But I wasn't there, so it's hard for me to comment on 
something which I did not see.
    Listen, thank you all for giving me a chance to visit with you.

Note: The President spoke at 2:33 p.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to President Pervez Musharraf of 
Pakistan.