[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 34 (Monday, August 26, 2002)]
[Pages 1394-1395]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Exchange With Reporters During a Tour of the Squire Peak Fire Area in 
Ruch, Oregon

August 22, 2002

Healthy Forests Initiative

    Q. Mr. President, if I may, your proposal to thin out the forest a 
little bit--some critics say it might cause a drastic increase in 
commercial logging. What do you say----
    The President. What the critics need to do is come and stand right 
where I stand. It's--what the critics need to do is come and see 
firsthand the effects of bad forest policy. That's what they need to 
come and see. And by the way, there's nothing wrong with people being 
able to earn a living off of effective forest management. There are a 
lot of people in this part of the State that can't find work because we 
don't properly manage our forests. And this is the second fire site I've 
been to this summer, and it's the same story. Had we properly managed 
our forests, the devastation cause would not nearly--have been nearly as 
severe as it has been. And it's a crying shame.
    You heard the man say that when a forest like this burns, there's 
more likely to be disease. The beetles will come and start--we've got to 
do a better job. And that's why I'm here. I'm going to talk about how 
the administration can move, and I'm going to call upon Congress to 
enact some reasonable legislation to make sure we better manage our 
forest, so these guys aren't having to fight fires every year--
particularly, one of the biggest we've seen in a long time, the Biscuit 
fire. And the point is, is that we can prevent fire by good sound 
practice.

[At this point, the tour continued.]

President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan

    Q. Mr. President, do you have any reaction to President Musharraf's 
rewriting of the Pakistani Constitution?
    The President. My reaction about President Musharraf--he's still 
tight with us on the war against terror, and that's what I appreciate. 
He's a--he understands that we've got to keep Al Qaida on the run and 
that, by keeping him on the run, it's more likely we will bring him to 
justice. And I appreciate his strong support.
    Obviously, to the extent that our friends promote democracy, it's 
important. We will continue to work with our friends and allies to 
promote democracy, give people a chance to express their opinions the 
proper way. And--so we'll stay in touch with President Musharraf in more 
ways than one.
    Q. Mr. President----
    The President. Yes.

Healthy Forests Initiative

    Q. ----back to the fire. Do we have enough money in the Federal 
coffer to pay for all the things needed throughout the West?

[[Page 1395]]

    The President. Well, we'll--if we don't, we'll deal with it, because 
I mentioned to the Governor, Congress has got a way of spending money. 
My job is to make sure they spend on priorities, and if I didn't think 
the forest of the United States was a priority, I wouldn't be here. It 
is a priority.
    The other thing is, is that there are partnerships which can be put 
together to the benefit of those who care about conservation, the State 
and those who employ people. And the approach I'm going to talk about 
and the approach, frankly, that the Governor has worked with Governor 
Kempthorne of Idaho on is a balanced approach, one that recognizes more 
than one party involved, that there are a variety of folks involved with 
the health of our forests. And all voices ought to be listened to, and a 
strategy ought to be developed that will--that will achieve goals. One 
of the goals is prevent fire, healthy forests. Another goal is going to 
be to conserve our forests. Another goal will be to provide jobs. So we 
believe we can do that.

California Gubernatorial Candidate Bill Simon

    Q. Sir, Bill Simon's family's investigation fund was found guilty of 
fraud. How do you reconcile that fact with your visits tomorrow to 
California to campaign for him, given your corporate accounting----
    The President. I agree--I understand your question. Bill Simon 
assures us that when the courts look at this case, he'll be innocent, 
and I take the man for his word.
    Okay. You're tired of me answering questions, I know. [Laughter] 
It's unbelievable, 2 days in a row.
    Q. We like it.
    The President. What?
    Q. We like it.

Note: The exchange began at 11:33 a.m. In his remarks, the President 
referred to Gov. John A. Kitzhaber of Oregon; and Gov. Dirk Kempthorne 
of Idaho. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish 
language transcript of this exchange. A tape was not available for 
verification of the content of this exchange.