[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 41, Number 28 (Monday, July 18, 2005)]
[Pages 1156-1158]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

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

July 13, 2005

    The President. Thank you all for coming. We have just finished our 
third Cabinet meeting of the year. I want to thank my Secretaries for 
being here today, and thank you for the briefing. Today's briefing 
reminded us about the strength of our economy. We had some good news 
today. The OMB is going to announce that the 2005 deficit is $94 billion 
less than previously expected. In other words, revenues are coming in 
greater than anticipated. It's a sign that our economy is strong, and 
it's a sign that our tax relief plan, our progrowth policies, are 
working.
    I told the Congress and told the country we'd cut the deficit in 
half by 2009. We're

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ahead of projections now. In other words, these numbers indicate that 
we're going to cut the deficit in half faster than the year 2009, so 
long as Congress holds the line on spending.
    And so, my message to the United States Congress is: Let's be wise 
with the taxpayers' money. My Cabinet is committed to that, and we look 
forward to working with the appropriators to make sure that they spend 
your money wisely.
    This good news on the deficit and on the budget is coupled with good 
economic news when it comes to job creation. Our unemployment rate is 
down to 5 percent. We've created more than 2 million jobs this year. 
More Americans are working today than ever before in our Nation's 
history.
    Over the next couple of weeks, I look forward to working with 
Congress to continue progrowth policies. One is getting an energy bill. 
Secondly is to promote free and fair trade. And the matter at hand is a 
free trade agreement with our neighborhood and countries in Central 
America and the Dominican Republic.
    Finally, I hope we can continue to press for and pass legal reform. 
I think it's a very important message to say to our job creators, small-
business owners, that we'll have a fair legal system, and Congress has 
got some legal reform matters pending.
    And finally--finally, finally, we want to work with Congress to pass 
a fiscally responsible highway bill. Again, I want to thank my Cabinet 
for being here.
    I'll be glad to answer a couple of questions. Mark Knoller [CBS 
Radio], are you with us?

Disclosure of CIA Employee's Identity

    Q. You bet. Thank you, sir. Can I ask you if you have spoken with 
your Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove about the Valerie Plame matter? And 
do you think he acted improperly in talking about it with reporters?
    The President. Mark, I have instructed every member of my staff to 
fully cooperate in this investigation. I also will not prejudge the 
investigation based on media reports. We're in the midst of an ongoing 
investigation, and I will be more than happy to comment further once the 
investigation is completed.
    Elaine Quijano [CNN].
    Q. Mr. President, on that front, though, has Mr. Rove come to you 
and discussed--when did he discuss the fact that he had conversations 
with reporters about Valerie Plame? And based on that, do you feel as 
though it was appropriate in 2003 for your spokesman to say definitively 
that Karl Rove had nothing to do with the Valerie Plame incident?
    The President. We're in the midst of an ongoing investigation, and 
this is a serious investigation. And it is very important for people not 
to prejudge the investigation based on media reports. And again, I will 
be more than happy to comment on this matter once the investigation is 
complete.
    Brendan Murray [Bloomberg News].
    Q. Yes, sir.
    The President. Yes, Brendan.

Upcoming Supreme Court Nomination

    Q. In your search for a replacement for the Supreme Court, when do 
you anticipate beginning to interview potential candidates, and do--
would you consider candidates that come from outside the court, people 
that don't have experience as judges?
    The President. I--we had a very good meeting yesterday. The Vice 
President and I met with leaders of the Senate, four Members of the 
United States Senate, and we talked about a lot of subjects. One of the 
subjects was that very subject: Would I be willing to consider people 
who had never been a judge. The answer is, you bet. We're considering 
all kinds of people--judges, non-judges. You know, Laura gave me some 
good advice yesterday, which is to consider women, which of course I'm 
doing. [Laughter]
    And in terms of the process, we're still consulting with Members of 
the Senate, and I anticipate continued consultations. And I say ``we're 
consulting,'' it's just not me. It's members of my staff. We're--we've 
got a lot of contacts in the Senate on both sides of the Hill--both 
sides of the aisle, and people are calling in with suggestions. And I 
encourage them to continue to do so. I'm looking forward to their 
advice.
    Of course, I fully recognize it's my responsibility to come up with 
a nominee, and I

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intend to do so in a--you know, in a period of time that will give me 
time to fully analyze the different candidates and speak to them. I'm 
not exactly sure when that process will begin, in terms of the 
interviews. And probably if I knew, I wouldn't tell you. [Laughter] 
And--but the American people can rest assured that I understand the 
seriousness of this responsibility and that I will name somebody who 
will bring dignity to the Court, someone who will be able to do the job, 
and someone who will sit on that bench and interpret the Constitution 
and not use the bench from which to legislate.
    Thank you all very much.

Note: The President spoke at 10:52 a.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White 
House. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish 
language transcript of this address. A tape was not available for 
verification of the content of these remarks.