[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 17 (Monday, April 29, 2002)]
[Pages 691-693]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on the National Economy and an Exchange With Reporters in 
Crawford

April 26, 2002

    The President. Good morning. The Department of Commerce announced 
that our economy grew by 5.8 percent in the first quarter of 2002. 
That's a very encouraging sign for American workers and American 
families. Yet, as encouraging as this number is, I am not content. We've 
got more to do.
    This morning I had a conference with my economic team, and we all 
agree that a major force contributing to the high growth figure is a 
short-term swing in inventories. This means that the impetus behind 
growth won't last very long, that we must continue working to make sure 
the short-term recovery is a long-term recovery.
    Today's report is strong evidence, however, that our tax relief plan 
is working. If you look at the figures behind--the rationale behind the 
figures, you'll see that a lot of it had to do with consumer spending. 
And the more people--money people have in their pockets, the more likely 
it is they're going to spend. And tax relief is an incredibly important 
part of this recovery.
    Now that's why, as part of making sure that the economy grows long 
term, is that we make the tax relief permanent, so that there's 
certainty in the Tax Code. The economic stimulus bill I signed--passed 
out of both Houses and then I signed--will help for the long-term 
growth--was an important piece of legislation that will help in the out-
months and out-years.
    We must continue to encourage investment and hiring. One way to do 
that is to get this energy bill done and get it to my desk. I'm pleased 
that it passed the House; I'm pleased that it passed the Senate. I look 
forward to working with them on the reconciliation to get it to my desk.
    A second way to encourage long-term growth is to give me trade 
promotion authority, allow me to negotiate trade agreements, which will 
open up markets for U.S.-manufactured products as well as products 
produced by American farmers and entrepreneurs. I'd like to get that 
bill soon. I think it's an important piece of legislation. It passed the 
House. Senator Daschle said he'd bring it up in the Senate. I hope it's 
done quickly. It's important that it be done quickly.
    Also, to make sure that our economy grows, it's important for 
Congress to hold the line on spending. I submitted a budget; I expect 
them to adhere to the budget. If we overspend this year, it's going to 
have an effect on long-term growth.
    And finally, it is important to pass the terrorism insurance bill. 
One of our concerns is that as a result of people not being able to get 
proper insurance against terrorist acts, capital--construction projects 
in the private sector that normally would have gone forward, haven't 
done so, so far.
    So these are the steps that are necessary to make sure the--that we 
have long-term growth in our economy. I'm pleased with the numbers. I 
realize there's going to be some--it's an estimate--there will be other 
revisions on this quarter. But it's a good sign. It's a good sign that 
we're on the path to long-term recovery. But, as I repeat, I'm not 
content with this number, and I know we've got a lot of work to do.
    I'll answer a couple of questions. Scott [Scott Pelley, CBS News], 
why don't you start.

Discussions With Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia

    Q. Mr. President, late yesterday the Saudis said they had warned you 
that U.S. credibility could suffer because you haven't done enough to 
rein in Sharon. What did you say to the Crown Prince on that, and what's 
the next U.S. move?
    The President. Well, I told the Crown Prince that we've got a unique 
relationship with Israel, and that one thing that the world can count on 
is that we will not allow Israel to be crushed. And I think that's an 
important statement to make. It's a part of our foreign policy; it has 
been a part of our foreign policy; it will continue to be a part of our 
foreign--the Saudis understand that.

[[Page 692]]

    I also reiterated what I told the country and the world on--early 
April, and that is, all parties have responsibilities in order to make 
sure there is peace. The Crown Prince is interested in peace in the 
region, and so am I. And I said to the Crown Prince, and he--and we had 
a good discussion about the obligations of the Arab nations. The Crown 
Prince was clear in his denunciation of terror. Chairman Arafat has got 
obligations, and so does the Israelis. And I once again enunciated what 
those obligations are, and--so that the Crown Prince understands my 
foreign policy. And it's important that we speak with clarity, and I 
will continue to do so.

Israeli Incursions Into Palestinian Territory

    Q. It's been 2 weeks since you said that Israeli withdrawal ought to 
be coming without delay, and yet yesterday there was yet again another 
incursion looking for Palestinians. Have you talked--what else can you 
say to the Israelis to make your point clear?
    The President. The Israelis understand my position. I've been very 
clear on that. And there has been some progress, but it's now time to 
quit it altogether. It's time to end this----
    Q. Why don't they----
    The President. Well, we'll see what happens. It's--I know they've 
heard us.

Tax Cuts and Federal Deficit

    Q. Mr. President, you've called again for making the tax cut 
permanent. But there's new figures out now suggesting that the deficit 
may double--may be double earlier forecasts because of a shortfall in 
tax collections. How do you reconcile that? How do you deal with that 
larger----
    The President. Well, first of all, let me remind everybody of the 
facts. I haven't seen this particular story. Of course, it's all 
speculative to begin with. I don't know the models that they guessed, 
but it's guesswork thus far. In our guesswork from the OMB, we projected 
over $100 billion of deficit.
    I remind--I want to remind you what I told the American people, that 
if I'm the President--when I was campaigning--if I were to become the 
President, we would have deficits only in the case of war, a recession, 
or a national emergency. In this case, we got all three. And therefore, 
we're recovering from all three.
    Now, I have submitted a budget that sets clear priorities, and the 
number one priority is to defend the homeland. And I expect Congress to 
pass the defense appropriations bill early and get it to my desk. That's 
going to be an important signal to send our own military, for the 
country to send to the world, that we're in this for the long haul.
    But the best way to build up--you know, the best way to reduce 
deficits and to get back into balance is to encourage economic growth. 
The more growth there is, the more tax revenues there will be coming 
into the Treasury--and hold the line on spending. It is very important 
for Congress not to overspend.
    We'll see whether they can get a budget. The House got a budget. 
We'll see whether or not the Senate gets a budget. But I've laid out my 
budget. I'm very serious about the budget. And the best tool I have 
besides persuasion is to veto. And I'm mindful of what overspending can 
mean to interest rates or expectations of interest rates. And it's very 
important that we hold the line on spending.

Morning Run

    Stretch [Richard Keil, Bloomberg News]. Did you run today?
    Q. I did, this morning.
    The President. Good. Do you care to tell the country what your time 
was?
    Q. You know what, I forgot to turn my watch on. [Laughter]
    The President. Feeble excuse for a slow run. [Laughter]

Aid to Israel

    Q. It was a slow run. It was a slow run.
    Some conservatives in Congress, including Representative DeLay, are 
pushing at a resolution to take a very strong pro-Israel stand. A 
bipartisan group of lawmakers want to put some more aid to Israel, 
roughly $200 million, into the supplemental. Do you support these 
positions, and do they in any way complicate your desire to make clear 
to moderate Arab nations that, you know, you're making demands on 
everybody, including Israel?

[[Page 693]]

    The President. Well, first, let me address the supplemental. I 
submitted a supplemental, and when I did so, I was mindful that 
oftentimes supplementals become--a supplemental can be a vehicle for a 
lot of additional spending. In order to make sure our economy remains 
strong, we've got to watch the line on spending. And so when I said, 
when I submitted the supplemental, that this was a number that was 
comfortable with, I meant that.
    In terms of the resolution, I haven't seen it, but I'm not surprised 
that Congress would want to express its strong support of Israel. This 
is clearly a Congress that believes that our relationship with Israel is 
unique, and Israel is a democracy. I also hope and believe that Congress 
recognizes we've got interests in the area as well, beyond Israel, that 
we've got--have good relationships with the Saudis and the Jordanians 
and the Egyptians, and our foreign policy is aimed to do that. People 
know exactly where I stand, and that's very important in the realm of 
foreign policy.
    Now I've got to go over to a friendraiser.

RNC Luncheon/Logan Walters Wedding

    Q. A friendraiser?
    The President. Well, that's opposed to a fundraiser.
    Q. What's a friendraiser? Tell us about that.
    The President. A friendraiser? Well, it's a--well, it's just kind of 
a cute way of saying I'm going to go over and see people and thank them 
for being a part of my campaign. And they actually get to do this for 
free. And I'm glad. But these will be people, evidently, from all around 
the country. I haven't seen the list, but I'm told that they are. And I 
look forward to thanking them. It's really a way of thanking people, 
many of whom I--I suspect I haven't seen since I've been the President. 
It's a nice, casual setting to say hello to people, and I'm looking 
forward to it.
    And then, of course, tomorrow night, for those of you who followed 
the campaign, we'll all be going to watch little Logan get married. It's 
going to be an emotional moment for us, because we love Logan. And 
interestingly enough, Logan is marrying the niece of Don Evans' wife. 
And so I've known them for a--known the family for a long period of 
time. Logan's bride's father was the Boy Scout in my Cub Scout den. Now, 
you can chew on that for the rest of the day. [Laughter]
    Root [Jay Root, Fort Star-Telegram], good to see you. How's little 
Root?
    Q. Good, he's doing good. His fingers are about like mine. 
[Laughter]
    The President. That's good. Tell him hello for me. Tell the bride 
hello.
    Q. You know, they've got a lot of planes out at the airport there.
    The President. Are there?
    Q. [Inaudible]--little planes--[inaudible]--flying in----
    The President. Well, they're coming in for a friendraiser.

Note: The President spoke at 11:42 a.m. at the Bush Ranch. In his 
remarks, he referred to Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia; Chairman 
Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian Authority; and Logan Walters, former 
Presidential Aide, and his fiancee, Katherine Marinis, executive 
assistant, political affairs, Executive Office of the President. A 
reporter referred to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel.