Richard L. Siewert Jr.

“ In addition, at the time of the biopsy, the President elected to have the tissue around the lesion treated superficially with a technique called scraping and burning, in the event that the lesion was to be confirmed as skin cancer.
The risk of recurrence of basal cell skin cancer is low; but the risk of developing a new lesion in the future is increased over the rest of the population, due to the fair skin years of sun exposure. ”

“ They continue to talk, and I'm not going to rule anything out, as long as they continue to talk. But that's up to them to make that decision. We remain available to help them in the process, and we continue to talk to them about the President's parameters, and what we could do to narrow the differences between the parties. But they're focused on their discussions right now, and we'll do -- I'm not going to try to limit those discussions in any way. ”

“ Q Jake, did President Clinton act on Governor Davis's request that three natural gas firms be ordered to supply natural gas to PG&E? MR. SIEWERT: I'm not going to comment on the specifics of any proposal. The parties in the California electricity situation have at several times asked us to play a convening role, and the White House, Treasury and Energy have done that. Now the parties are looking at a proposal that's on the table. They're working through the details. It's a serious situation, and they themselves have to come up with some sort of solution. ”

“ Q As long as you raised the Middle East, is it your understanding that Dennis Ross won't be going back any more, and that he is pretty much off the radar screen now, in administration efforts? MR. SIEWERT: Dennis is never off the radar screen. (Laughter.) No, we're continuing to consult with the parties, through the various channels that we have available to us. The parties, themselves, are in direct contact, and they met today to discuss both security issues and the political process. We think it's important for them to continue these discussions. ”

“ Q Could I ask you, also, on pardons, that issue is still up in the air. Do you anticipate now, as we get closer -- have you gotten a better idea of what he's going to do, in terms of pardons? Are there a lot of pardons he's going to -- is he going to put it until the very last minute? What can we expect? MR. SIEWERT: I think he's looked at a lot of pardons, at a lot of petitions. ”

“ He'll also take an opportunity to look a little bit forward, some of the challenges we face in the new globalized world, one that really has become more interdependent in the last 10 years, and probably comment a bit on the importance of America remaining engaged in the world and continuing to play a leadership role. ”