Lawrence Ari Fleischer

“ One is substantive, and that is the right of senators to take a good, hard look at all pieces of legislation, and decide whether or not they believe that it serves broad public purposes. And the President is confident on that score that the Senate will do so. After all, no less a person than Al Gore campaigned on faith-based initiatives. ”

“ Then the better course would be for the Congress to pass one standard that applies fairly and equally to Canada and to Mexico, lest it be seen that this standard is something that is aimed only at Mexico, and not at Canada, and then allow only those trucks that are deemed safe onto America's roads. But to take a unilateral shot at only one nation does not seem fair. ”

“ Q Since I feel almost certain that you discussed with the President Pope John Paul's strong public objection to embryonic stem cell research -- because the Pope said it violates human life, which he said begins at conception -- my question is, could you tell us if the President is aware of the disagreement that human life begins at conception by Popes Gregory the XIV and Innocent III, as well as Saints Augustine, Anselm, Thomas Aquinas and Alphonso -- and does the President believe that the instant an egg is fertilized it has a soul? ”

“ It's, again, a good indication of whether Congress will be isolationist or Congress will join with the President, promoting vigorously America's agenda around the world, because we can win on America's agenda in a multilateral world. ”

“ And if one nation's trucks have a higher failure rate, and therefore are not allowed in the country, the standard should be uniform. There's no reason to have a different standard for Canadian trucks than for Mexican trucks or Mexican trucks than Canadian trucks. They both should have an insurance regime and a safety regime that is tough, to make certain that all trucks that operate in the United States are operated in a safe fashion. ”

“ As you know, the way legislation and appropriations works, there is discretion within the different accounts, including the Department of Defense, of course, to spend money in accordance with promoting the national defense of the United States. So unless Congress speaks otherwise, there is no prohibition on that. Q It does not have to specifically authorize clearing of land for missile defense? MR. FLEISCHER: Of course not. Imagine all the expenditures the United States government enters into on every given day, whether it's the Department of Defense or any different agency. ”

“ Q You have called the people who are opposing the entry of Mexican trucks or not being fair, like the Canadians. You call them unilateralists, anti-NAFTA and not fair to Mexico. Do you think they're doing this thing out of principle, or do you think they're trying to butter-up the unions, especially the Teamsters? MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I think as always, it's a question of a balance between principle and politics in the Congress. There are many people, of course, who act on principle. ”

“ The study is something that we find encouraging. The National Academy study highlights the promise of technologies and reforms that could both increase mileage, and it also takes into account the problems that are created with lighter vehicles -- increased deaths on the road as a result of lighter vehicles. And this report that is coming out is reflective of all of those concerns. There is a problem for the administration because Congress has prohibited the Department of Transportation from fully reviewing the National Academy study. ”

“ Q Ari, tomorrow the House is going to have a vote on two competing bills, on the question of cloning. One is sponsored by Curt Weldon, one is sponsored by Jim Greenwood. Some see in this cloning debate the subtext of the stem cell debate. Because in the Greenwood bill, which the administration opposes, there is an allowance for the creation of cloning for medical research purposes. Can you give us the White House perspective on the debate about cloning, itself, and its position on these two competing pieces of legislation? MR. FLEISCHER: The President opposes cloning of human beings. ”

“ The entire Social Security surplus must be dedicated to Social Security only. Social Security payroll taxes must not be increased. Government must not invest Social Security funds in the stock market. Modernization must preserve Social Security's disability and survivor components -- keep those separately under the President's proposal. And modernization must include individually control and voluntary personal retirement accounts. Q But, Ari, what about those that aren't near retirees, those like 30 years down the pike? ”

“ Transportation has hundreds of people who are -- Q You have people detailed over here from Transportation. It's easy. MR. FLEISCHER: All these points are ways to do an end-around a congressional prohibition that should not exist. Wouldn't it be easier for Congress this week to send the President legislation that he could sign to end the prohibition? If Congress is dedicated to helping conserve energy and increase gas mileage standards, end the prohibition. Let the administration get to work. Q Ari, why couldn't this be done through the NEC? The NEC coordinates all agencies. ”

“ Because often some of the worst problems of a society are linked to crime. And the police of our communities are the ones who have to deal with the consequences of drug abuse, of alcohol abuse, of violence within families. ”

“ He thinks that the action taken by the United States Senate is unilateralist, it's anti-NAFTA, it's unfair to Mexico, and that we can have both safety and allow Mexican trucks to operate in the United States. Q Now the Mexican government is working on a bill -- the House and in the Senate calling to Mexico to drop out of the chapter of transportation of NAFTA. Has the President of this country been in contact with the Mexican government, or has been telling anybody on the Hill about this threat by the Mexican government? ”

“ But it's always a question of balance and working well with local hosts and securing the military needs of our country to have our men and women properly trained so they can deter war. Q The question is, a referendum against base closings or a referendum for other communities that do not the military as a neighbor. MR. FLEISCHER: Well, in this case Vieques is rather unique. As you know, this was an agreement entered into by the prior government of Puerto Rico with the previous administration, and codified by the United States Congress that has created a referendum. ”

“ Q Yes, on the same point, one of the problems with figuring out which trucks are safe is having enough inspectors. I was down in Laredo once, trucks were lined up as far as the eye could see, and there was one -- one -- American safety inspector. Is the American committed to beefing up inspection enough so that people will have confidence that when a truck is let in, it has been inspected and is safe? ”

“ One is the importance of combating crime across the United States in a tough manner, in a fair. And also the President will address the faith-based initiative which he has proposed that has passed the House. ”

“ And the United States urges restraint on all parties and urges all parties to do their level best to, again, achieve a lasting cease-fire. Q There is no cease-fire now. The President doesn't believe there's one, does he? MR. FLEISCHER: Well, there are calmer moments and then less calm moments, more violent moments. That, unfortunately, has been the marked pattern in the Middle East for the last several months. Q Ari, is the White House encouraging another vote in the House on the arsenic standard? MR. FLEISCHER: Is the White House encouraging another vote in the House? ”

“ You're talking about just retirees or near retirees. MR. FLEISCHER: Under the plan that the President envisages, their benefits will increase and that is a result of the combined savings of the government portion of Social Security in conjunction with the individualized benefit. Under all historical models, those younger workers would have more money to retire on as a result of the new system. Q And without any need to adjust COLAs or to increase the age of eligibility? MR. FLEISCHER: Those would be all issues that the Commission takes a look at. Q Ari, back to Vieques. ”

“ That represents a balanced approach. The President has always said it's very important to listen to the people of Puerto Rico, and he has. The President also believes it's very important to have a seamless transition so that our military can be the best trained it can be, so we are prepared for any contingencies around the world. And that's the approach that the President will reflect. Q So we can't do it immediately, we need to take a couple years? MR. FLEISCHER: The recommendation of the Department of the Navy was that the withdrawal from Vieques would be effective as of May 2003. ”

“ Q Ari, will the President sign legislation, a transportation bill, that has an anti-NAFTA provision in it? MR. FLEISCHER: The staff has recommended a veto to the President. You've heard what the President said. And the President and his staff are going to do their best to fix this when it goes to conference. But the staff recommendation remains a veto. Q On this question, does the White House believe Mexican trucks are as safe as Canadian trucks right now? Percentages indicate they are not, they fail their safety inspections at a much higher rate than Canadian trucks. ”