[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 2 (Monday, January 14, 2002)]
[Pages 42-44]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following a Meeting With the Economic Team and an Exchange With 
Reporters

January 10, 2002

Pension Reform

    The President. Thank you all for coming. I met with my economic 
security team last week to talk about ways to create jobs. We're meeting 
again with the components of the team to talk about one part of economic 
security, and that's pension security.
    One of the things we're deeply concerned about is that there have 
been a wave of bankruptcies that have caused many workers to lose their 
pensions, and that's deeply troubling to me. And so I've asked the 
Secretary of Treasury, Secretary of Labor, and Secretary of Commerce to 
convene a working group to analyze pensions, rules and regulations, to 
look into the effects of the current law on hard-working Americans, and 
to come up with recommendations how to reform the system to make sure 
that people are not exposed to losing their life savings as a result of 
a bankruptcy, for example.
    As well, Secretary of Treasury, along with the SEC, the Fed, and the 
CFTC, are going to convene a working group to analyze corporate 
disclosure rules and regulations. In light of the most recent 
bankruptcy, Enron, there needs to be a full review of disclosure rules 
to make sure that the American stockholder or any stockholder is 
protected.
    And so, I think this is an important part of, obviously, other 
investigations that are ongoing. The Justice Department announced and 
informed us late yesterday that they're in the process of investigating 
aspects of the Enron bankruptcy. The administration is deeply concerned 
about its effects on the economy. We're also deeply concerned about its 
effects on the lives of our citizenry.
    I'll be glad to answer a few questions.

Enron Corporation

    Q. When was the last time you talked to either Mr. Lay or any other 
Enron official

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about the--about anything? And did discussions involve the financial 
problems of the company?
    The President. I have never discussed with Mr. Lay the financial 
problems of the company. The last time that I saw Mr. Lay was at my 
mother's fundraising event to--for literacy, in Houston. That would have 
been last spring. I do know that Mr. Lay came to the White House in--
early in my administration along with, I think, 20 other business 
leaders to discuss the state of the economy. It was just kind of a 
general discussion. I have not met with him personally.
    Q. [Inaudible]--to inoculate and your administration politically 
from the fallout?
    The President. Well, first of all, Ken Lay is a supporter. And I got 
to know Ken Lay when he was the head of the--what they call the 
Governor's Business Council in Texas. He was a supporter of Ann Richards 
in my run in 1994. And she had named him the head of the Governor's 
Business Council, and I decided to leave him in place, just for the sake 
of continuity. And that's when I first got to know Ken and worked with 
Ken, and he supported my candidacy.
    This is--what anybody's going to find, if--is that this 
administration will fully investigate issues such as the Enron 
bankruptcy to make sure we can learn from the past and make sure that 
workers are protected.

Iran and Afghanistan

    Q. Mr. President, does it appear that Iran is flexing its muscles in 
western Afghanistan, and does that threaten the U.S. war on terrorism in 
that region?
    The President. Well, first of all, Iran must be a contributor in the 
war against terror; that our Nation and our fight against terror will 
uphold the doctrine, ``Either you're with us or against us,'' and any 
nation that thwarts our ability to rout terror out where it exists will 
be held to account, one way or the other.
    I hope--we had some positive signals early--early in this war from 
the Iranians. We would hope that they would continue to be a positive 
force in helping us bring people to justice. We would hope, for example, 
they wouldn't allow Al Qaida murderers to hide in their country. We 
would hope that if that be the case, if someone tries to flee into Iran, 
that they would hand them over to us, that they're a part of--if they're 
a part of the coalition, then they need to be an active part of the 
coalition.
    In terms of Afghanistan, we are--we would like to work with the 
Iranians, as well as other neighboring countries, to bring a stable 
interim government--to stabilize the interim government. And to the 
extent that they're involved, we would hope that they would participate. 
If they are trying--if they in any way, shape, or form try to 
destabilize the government, the coalition will be--we'll deal with them, 
in diplomatic ways initially. And we would like very much for them to be 
active participants in a stable Afghanistan. It's to their advantage, by 
the way, that Afghanistan be stable.

Middle East Arms Shipment

    Q. Mr. President, based on the evidence the Israeli delegation 
presented at the State Department yesterday, about this arms shipment, 
do you believe that it's time for the United States to either break or 
suspend relations with Mr. Arafat and the Palestinian Authority?
    The President. John [John King, Cable News Network], I think it's 
very important for our administration to remain engaged with both 
parties. Obviously, I want to make sure that the evidence is definitive. 
But I'm, like many, beginning to suspect that those arms were headed in 
the wrong--to promote terror. And terror will never enable us to achieve 
peace in the Middle East. So long as there's terrorists trying to 
disrupt the peace process, there won't be peace.
    I do believe that once the evidence is in, that those responsible 
need to be held to account. On the other hand, I also believe that our 
country must stay engaged in the process. I intend to ask Zinni to go 
back to the region at the appropriate time, to keep pushing for a 
dialog, to keep pushing for the process to go forward.
    Mr. Arafat must renounce terror, must reject those who would disrupt 
the peace process through terror, and must work hard to get to the peace 
table. It seems like it's up to him to make these decisions.
    Q. But has he been less than truthful in speaking to Secretary 
Powell, General Zinni,

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and others, in saying he had nothing to do with this and no knowledge of 
it?
    The President. We will find out the facts, John. But he is--you 
asked a question, should we basically disengage? And the answer is no, 
we won't disengage from the Middle East. We will stay involved in the 
Middle East peace process--or trying to get to the peace process. And it 
starts with making the region more secure. Mr. Arafat must renounce 
terror and must reject those in the region that would disrupt the peace 
process by the use of terrorist means.

Pension Reform

    Q. What can you do about pensioners--what can you do about 
pensioners now? Isn't that horse already out of the barn at Enron?
    The President. Our group is meeting, and they will bring 
recommendations here. They'll look at--fully investigate what went on. 
My concern, of course, is for the shareholders of Enron. But my--I have 
great concern for the stories--for those I read about in the stories who 
put their life savings aside and for whatever reason, based upon some 
rule or regulation, got trapped in this awful bankruptcy and have lost 
life savings. And one of the things this group is going to do is take a 
good, hard look at it.
    Thank you all.

Note: The President spoke at 9:42 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Kenneth L. Lay, chairman and chief 
executive officer, Enron Corp.; former Gov. Ann Richards of Texas; U.S. 
Special Envoy to the Middle East Gen. Anthony Zinni, USMC (Ret.); and 
Chairman Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian Authority. A tape was not 
available for verification of the content of these remarks.