[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 6 (Monday, February 9, 2004)]
[Pages 179-181]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following a Cabinet Meeting and an Exchange With Reporters

February 2, 2004

    The President. I want to thank the members of my Cabinet for their 
service to our country. I'm proud of the team I've put together to serve 
our citizens. These are good, honorable people who have come to 
Washington, DC, to put the Nation's interests above their self-interest.

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    We had a good discussion today about our Nation's priorities. 
Secretary Powell briefed us on the alliances--the strong alliances we 
have around the world, a deep desire to continue to work with nations to 
bring freedom and peace around the world. The Secretary of Defense 
briefed us on the progress we're making in Afghanistan and in Iraq. 
Appreciate the briefing I got from Tom Ridge about homeland security 
efforts. And we've got a lot of really fine people in the country who 
are working overtime, long hours, to protect the American people, and 
they're doing a really fine job.
    And finally, Josh Bolten gave us a briefing on our budget. This 
administration is putting together--has put together a budget and will 
be submitting it to Congress, which sets clear priorities: winning the 
war on terror, protecting our homeland, making sure our children get 
educated, making sure the seniors get a modern Medicare system. And at 
the same time, we're calling upon Congress to be wise with the 
taxpayers' money. We look forward to working with them to bring fiscal 
discipline to the appropriations process so we can cut the deficit in 
half over a 5-year period of time.
    Again, I'm proud of the Cabinet--appreciate your work.
    I'll be glad to take a couple of questions. Terry [Terence Hunt, 
Associated Press], you might have a question.

Intelligence Investigation

    Q. Yes, Mr. President. I'd like to ask you about this intelligence 
investigation that you're going to order. Do you think that the country 
is owed an explanation about the Iraq intelligence failures before the 
election, so that voters have this information when they elect a new 
President?
    The President. Well, the--first of all, I want to know all the 
facts. We do know that Saddam Hussein had the intent and the 
capabilities to cause great harm. We know he was a danger, and he was 
not only a danger to people in the free world; he was a danger to his 
own people. He slaughtered thousands of people, imprisoned people.
    What we don't know yet is what we thought and what the Iraqi Survey 
Group has found, and we want to look at that. But we also want to look 
at our war against proliferation and weapons of mass destruction kind of 
in a broader context. And so I'm putting together an independent, 
bipartisan commission to analyze where we stand, what we can do better 
as we fight this war against terror.
    Before I move forward with the commission, I want to sit down with 
Mr. Kay. I appreciate his service. I've invited him to come down to the 
White House. I'll be doing so soon. I do want to get a briefing from 
him.
    Steve [Steve Holland, Reuters].

Fiscal Year 2005 Budget

    Q. Sir, do you worry that your budget passes along problems to 
future generations? You often say you don't want to do that.
    The President. No, I'm confident our budget addresses a very serious 
situation, and that is that we are at war, and we are dealing--had dealt 
with a recession. And our budget is able to address those significant 
factors in a way that reduces the deficit in half. We propose; the 
Congress disposes. And so we look forward to working with the 
appropriators to meet our priorities and to reduce the deficit in half. 
We're confident we can do so.
    The reason we are where we are, in terms of the deficit, is because 
we went through a recession, we were attacked, and we're fighting a war. 
And these are high hurdles for a budget and for a country to overcome, 
and yet we've overcome them, because we've got a great country full of 
decent people. And the economy is getting better. And as the economy 
gets better, it enables us to send up a budget to the Congress that does 
cut the deficit in half.

Super Bowl XXXVIII

    Q. What part of the Super Bowl did you like the best? The halftime 
or the ending? [Laughter]
    The President. I don't want to admit it, but because this White 
House starts early, I missed it--again. Saw the first half; did not see 
the halftime. I was preparing for the day and fell asleep, but don't 
tell anybody. [Laughter]

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Note: The President spoke at 9:55 a.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to David Kay, former CIA Special 
Advisor for Strategy Regarding Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction 
Programs; and former President Saddam Hussein of Iraq. The Office of the 
Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of these 
remarks.