[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 33 (Monday, August 19, 2002)]
[Pages 1384-1386]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks and an Exchange With Reporters in Crawford

August 16, 2002

Baseball Labor Dispute

    The President. Let me start off by saying the baseball owners and 
the baseball players must understand that if there is a stoppage, a work 
stoppage, a lot of fans are going to be furious, and I'm one. It is very 
important for these people to get together. They can make every excuse 
in the book not to reach an accord. It is bad for them not to reach an 
accord. They need to keep working.
    And I'll be glad to answer a couple of questions.
    Q. Mr. President, you spoke----
    The President. Starting with you.

Execution of Javier Suarez Medina/Mexico-U.S. Relations

    Q. Thank you, Mr. President. You spoke Tuesday with President Fox.
    The President. Yes, I did.
    Q. What did you tell him about the execution? And are you 
disappointed he's not coming?
    The President. Well, first of all, I understand why he's not coming. 
He said that if the execution goes forward, he's not going to come.
    Q. He told you that Tuesday?
    The President. Yes, he did. And I said, ``Well, we have laws here in 
America. We've got--the State of Texas has got a law.'' I said that 
there's going to be full recourse to the courts, which there was. And 
the Governor made the decision he made; the Supreme Court made the 
decision it made; and President Fox made the decision he made.
    But I am confident that our friendship is strong, that we'll be able 
to work together to resolve common problems, and we'll have future 
discussions.
    Michael [Mike Allen, Washington Post].

Iraq

    Q. Mr. President, not all Republicans seem sold on your intention to 
deal with dictators who gas their own people. What are you going to do 
to make that case more persuasively? Are you consulting with them? And 
what is your obligation of getting approval, not just consultation, with 
Congress?
    The President. Yes, I appreciate that question. First of all, I am 
aware that some very intelligent people are expressing their opinions 
about Saddam Hussein and Iraq. I listen carefully to what they have to 
say.
    There should be no doubt in anybody's mind, this man is thumbing his 
nose at the world, that he has gassed his own people, that he is trouble 
in his neighborhood, that

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he desires weapons of mass destruction. I will use all the latest 
intelligence to make informed decisions about how best to keep the world 
at peace, how best to defend freedom for the long run.
    We'll continue to consult. Listen, it's a healthy debate for people 
to express their opinion. People should be allowed to express their 
opinion. But America needs to know, I'll be making up my mind based upon 
the latest intelligence and how best to protect our own country, plus 
our friends and allies.

Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill/National Economy

    Q. Mr. President, yesterday, Secretary O'Neill said that he is going 
to be--stop being so candid with his comments about the economy. And you 
just met with him on Wednesday----
    The President. That's an interesting observation. [Laughter] Let me 
be honest with you. [Laughter]
    Q. Did you suggest to him that maybe he should----
    The President. No, I didn't. Listen, Paul O'Neill is doing a fine 
job as Secretary of Treasury. I don't know what prompted him to make 
that statement. I find him to be refreshingly candid. I appreciate his 
judgment. He's a man of great experience. He and I share an optimism 
about our country's future, and we do so based upon fact. Interest rates 
are low. Inflation is low. Productivity is up. We've got a lot of work 
to do.
    And I started the process of bringing some fiscal discipline into 
Washington prior to the end of the August recess. I meant what I said. 
In my radio address today, I'm talking about fiscal discipline so that 
overspending doesn't serve as an anchor on any economic growth. I firmly 
believe that the trade bill I got is going to help create jobs. I know 
we need to have a terrorism insurance package so that we can get many of 
our construction workers working. So there are some things we need to 
do. The Secretary and I share a basic optimism about our future.

Supplemental Appropriations for First-Responders

    Q. Sir, the firefighters union is very upset about the money being 
withheld from the supplemental, and they say that they would--are they 
misunderstanding?
    The President. Well, let me first of all--I've got a strong 
commitment to not only firefighters but to first-responders, and here 
are the facts: The budget prior to September the 11th is about $250 
million; after September the 11th is over a billion. And my '03 request 
for first-responders is over $3.5 billion. So the commitment is strong, 
and the commitment is there.
    What they ought to be upset about is the fact that Congress tried to 
tie my hands. They said, ``You've got to spend $5 billion or none of the 
$5 billion.'' And I chose not to spend the $5 billion because, one, we 
didn't need to, and, two, it is important for this country to be 
fiscally disciplined as our economy begins to recover. And so there's no 
question in most people's minds that I've got a very strong commitment 
to firefighters and first-responders.

President's Economic Forum

    Q. Mr. President, may I ask--if I may ask you about the economic 
forum, what's the most important new thing you learned? And, sir, is 
there anything at the top of your list, based on suggestions or ideas 
that you heard there?
    The President. Michael, I am going to analyze and think about some 
of the suggestions so that when I announce them, it will be well thought 
out. It will be a part of a long-term plan. But there are some 
interesting ideas: expensing losses, increasing expenses of losses, 
accelerating the 401(k) contribution limits--in other words, making it 
easier for people to put more money in their 401(k)s quicker.
    There's a lot of interesting talk about capital gains taxes, double 
taxation of dividends. There was certainly a very strong sentiment that 
we're on the right track when it comes to holding people to account who 
lie, steat, or cheal--lie, cheat, or steal--[laughter]--who defraud 
people by cooking the books. There was some strong sentiment from CEO 
and non-CEO alike.
    I came away from that summit--that the small-business person feels 
constrained by tax policy and regulatory policy. And I was--

[[Page 1386]]

really appreciated the people coming. I thought it was a very good 
summit.
    Last question, and then I've got to go.
    Q. Thank you, Mr. President. Just to follow up on that, are you 
planning on producing a new economic package----
    The President. Lie, cheat, or steal. [Laughter]
    Q. Are you planning on producing a new economic package?
    The President. We're thinking about it. We're thinking about all 
options. That's one of the things that came out of the meeting, was that 
some have urged us to think about additional measures to help economic 
growth, so I'm thinking about it.
    But one thing that the Congress has got to do is pass laws that will 
make a--that we've already proposed, that will make a difference for job 
creation. One of them is terrorism insurance. Another one is pension 
reform. And that's very important. So Congress needs to do that when 
they get back.
    And the other thing, of course, is Congress should not overspend. 
Look, I understand Washington. Every project sounds like it's needed. 
Every--every proposal is one that's got to be funded. And my job is to 
set the priorities, and I have set priorities. The war is a priority. 
Homeland defense is a priority. And then hold people to account if they 
don't accept those priorities, if they overspend. And I started that 
process by making a decision on the supplemental.
    Thank you all. Hope you have a great day.

President's Vacation

    Q. Mr. President, how is the nature trail coming?
    The President. Michael, is that a--you're not inviting yourself out 
there? [Laughter] It's coming great. Actually, I haven't been on the 
good side of a saw for a while. I've been out of the--out of the area, 
as you know. And today I'm going to--I've got another event here, and 
then Condi is coming down. I'm going to spend some time with her. I may 
be at--I may be sawing tomorrow. If I need an extra hand, I'll holler.
    Q. I can outrun Scott [Scott Lindlaw, Associated Press]. [Laughter]
    The President. I'll tell you what, he represented the press corps in 
fine fashion. It was an unbelievable effort.
    Q. I found someone I could beat, sir, yesterday.
    The President. Who's that?
    Q. I'm not going to identify them. [Laughter]
    The President. No, you represented--you represented your profession 
well. I tried to find the model citizen out of all the people I could 
have invited. I tried to find the one person that would represent the 
integrity of the press corps, somebody who represents those values that 
we hold dear, that the enemy is trying to attack, as a matter of fact, a 
free press. And I hope you agree with my judgment that Scott was the 
right man at the right place at the right time. It's that flexibility I 
need. [Laughter]

Note: The President spoke at 11:55 a.m. at the Crawford Community 
Center. In his remarks, he referred to Javier Suarez Medina, who was 
executed August 14 by the State of Texas for a 1989 murder conviction; 
President Vicente Fox of Mexico; President Saddam Hussein of Iraq; and 
National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. A tape was not available for 
verification of the content of these remarks.