Robert Gibbs

“ Well, I think my first advice would be to read the budget. I think if you look at the plan that the President rolled out and the plan that the President got through Congress for economic recovery, you'll see tax cuts for 95 percent of working families. You'll see a plan that cuts a deficit that was completely out of control in half over four years, provides tax cuts, again, for 95 percent of working families, institutes some fairness, gets our economy going again.
It is always interesting to see the religion some groups get when someone new comes to town. ”

“ Without getting into sort of the catchphrases of whether it's privatization or increased employment on one side, I think the President takes the viewpoint that he wants to go through and identify any possible scenario in which money can be saved -- finding out whether, as he talked about today, in defense procurement, are there ways that we can do this that continue his sole mission of keeping this country safe, but doing so in a way that makes far more sense for the taxpayers that we're trying to protect. ”

“ VILSACK: Well, I think what taxpayers need to know is that every single department of government has now been charged by the President to review in detail the nature of contracts that we've entered into. In order to do what American families are doing -- American families are sitting down today and trying to decide, how do we save money, how do we eliminate unnecessary spending -- their expectation is the government does the same. ”

“ Are you worried about making changes to a big sector of the economy at a time when your economists, the CEA says that the economy should be in recovery into next year and into trying to dig out of where they are now?
GIBBS: Well, I think many of the people that are going to come to the forum tomorrow that represent many of those industries understand that it's time for, and that they understand and welcome reform. I think you'll see people tomorrow that may have been on different sides of this issue the last time this town was involved in a larger discussion on health care reform. ”

“ As I said yesterday, I think it's an opportunity to bring divergent views and divergent viewpoints in terms of constituencies that are represented, all of whom have a stake in health care reform -- bringing that group together to discuss how to move forward. As I said again yesterday, the President doesn't go in with anything more than the notion that he hopes people will bring their ideas, whatever those ideas may be, and that they be put on the table and discussed, and that this process begin. ”

“ I think many Americans have rightfully asked what we got for that, because we've not made any investments in many of the important things to lay the foundation for future economic growth -- as the President laid out in his address -- be it reforming our health care system, reducing our dependence on foreign oil, or beginning to invest in 21st century classrooms. ”

“ On housing, White House and Treasury officials today laid out details on how their -- how the $75 billion housing mortgage foreclosure plan is going to work. And one big element of that is to -- that's a direct response to the backlash that a lot of people had not just on cable, but a lot of people had about fearing that people who behaved badly will be rewarded. ”

“ The President will welcome many people tomorrow to the White House to begin the long process of health care reform and welcomes all of their ideas. And as I just said, if those ideas result in an outcome that's a better way of doing it --
[reporter] : But ideas have to follow the outcome sought. And I'm just asking if the outcome sought by the President to have every child covered and if they can't be covered without a penalty, is he in favor of imposing one -- because he said he was during the campaign. ”

“ I think what may be frustrating to many Republicans in Congress is they finally have somebody in town who's willing to address wasteful spending. They finally have somebody in town who's willing to provide a tax cut for the American people that need it. ”

“ The hope is to get all of those people in the room and talk best about how to get to the ultimate outcome of reforming our health care system, reducing those costs, expanding the access that's available to millions of Americans, that will hopefully result in far better outcomes. I think that's the goal tomorrow. ”

“ But I think he's also -- Major, you've probably heard him say, if somebody shares the outcome of health care reform with him and has a better idea of how to do it, one that will save money, bring reform to the system, result in better outcomes and healthier people, he's more than happy and willing to look at it and sign onto it. ”

“ The legislation that Senators Feingold, McCain and Congressman Ryan talked about today, I don't know that the White House has reviewed -- again, certainly legislation that might go through Congress and give him certain or increased powers as it relates to that is something that Congress will have to deal with.
[reporter] : Does he want the power?
GIBBS: Well, I think what the President wants is to be able to -- as he outlined today -- with Democrats and Republicans, work with Congress to reduce the amount of wasteful spending that we have each year. ”

“ I think many of the committees on the Hill are going to take the lead on exactly what will be in health care reform. Obviously this White House will work with Democrats and Republicans on that. But I think there's maybe a tendency to get ahead of ourselves here. This is the first -- sort of the opening argument, if you will. And the President looks forward to meeting with the participants and discussing their viewpoints. ”

“ Secretary Vilsack, just moments ago, spoke about saving $18 million in savings on modernizing financial systems, $400,000 by canceling a consulting contract. And he spoke very movingly about everybody is tightening their belts in this nature and, therefore, the government needs to do so. You probably know where I'm heading with this. The President is going to sign a bill, the spending bill, which contains $8 billion in earmarks. Democrats in the Senate are now calling for the President to, if not make an effort to have it stripped in the Senate, to veto the bill. ”

“ Production agriculture is one of the great miracles of American -- of the American experience. Today, 125,000 farms in America today produce 75 percent of all that we eat and much of what we export. So it's a challenge, but we're up to it. ”

“ Look, I -- the President believes the best way to reduce wasteful spending is to work with Congress in order to do that. We've seen through the -- out the past few years that the amount and the number of earmarks in legislation has been cut significantly. The President believes we can do ever more and looks forward to working with Congress to ensure that that happens. ”

“ There's finally somebody in town that's willing to undergo honest budgeting. I guess for them it just came a few years too late.
[reporter] : Can you preview tomorrow's event on health care? Can you talk about what the President hopes to accomplish and how this will feed into the effort to get legislation on the Hill --
GIBBS: Just broadly, to give you an event description, the White House Forum on Health Care Reform will take place, as you know, here at the White House tomorrow. We expect there will be a few more than 120 participants. ”

“ Well, I think -- let me flood your inbox as soon as I get done from here with many of the things that the Secretary has talked about, as I said, including yesterday, an effort to increase consumer and business lending in conjunction with the Fed and private investors that when fully implemented will result in a trillion-dollar lending capacity.
I'll also send you the updated home foreclosure details that many on -- many of those businesses, I believe, share the belief that is a great cause of what we see each day. ”

“ We are looking at things like fleet management, use of contract employees, employee travel and cross-training. We've already identified examples where we can experience savings of taxpayer dollars and cost avoidances. For example, expediting frequent travelers through the ports of entry, using technology over the long haul will save costs. ”

“ But what I'm asking about in terms of toxic assets and in terms of the kind of comprehensive plan that a lot of people in the business community have been waiting for, I'm wondering if you could explain -- you know, there's been a lot of theories put forward as to why he hasn't -- either he doesn't have enough help at the Treasury because he doesn't have the staff, or because it's just simply so complicated and tough to do, or because they don't want to bite the bullet of having to nationalize some of these banks. ”

“ We've all read stories about people that wash through loans based on somebody coming to them and, without any proof or identification, saying, oh, yeah, I make -- I cut grass and I make $135,000 a year and I want to buy a $500,000 home. ”

“ We are now challenged as the world population continues to grow and the amount of land available to plant continues to shrink with developing communities and cities. We are challenged to find the science that will allow us to continue increasing productivity. ”

“ The plan that -- the details of which as you said were unfurled today, and as the Secretaries mentioned in Phoenix -- will take steps to ensure that there's a process by which people won't be able to game the system. There's a cap on, as the Secretaries talked about, a cap for the amount of conforming loans, so that this isn't for somebody who, again, may have some means but bought a house far larger than one they could ever hope to afford. ”

“ I am confident, in discussions I've had with a number of major agri businesses, that we are doing the science. We're working hard to make sure that folks understand the safety and security that we take into consideration as this science is being developed. ”

“ They've, I think, released the details of a plan that, again, rewards people that played by the rules and ensures that the system can't continue to be gamed by people who can't afford the house they're in because they never were going to be able to do that. ”

“ That's what -- and again, that's not just an endeavor in this budget or in defense procurement, but is also important in the President's recovery plan and in many of his ideas moving forward. We are struggling with a massive budget deficit. Everybody is going to have to make tough choices and we're going to have to find far greater efficiencies in how this government operates.
Ann.
[reporter] : Does the President support line-item veto? It was introduced again in Congress today. ”

“ I think we took a big step forward yesterday and today on those proposals, and I think we'll see results.
[reporter] : The Republicans are criticizing the White House for engaging in the Rush Limbaugh issue. I wanted to raise a somewhat separate issue on this, as well, because --
GIBBS: Don't engage me, because then I get criticized. (Laughter.)
[reporter] : Well, you and the President have used the term "cable chatter" a lot. You guys have kind of derided that. You've also said -- I've heard administration officials deride sort of superficial food-fight political reporting. ”