A: Jim Wilkinson, Deputy National Security Advisor for Communications:
The President has spoken clearly on this issue -- There will be no draft. The all-volunteer military is performing admirably. Click here to read the President's recent statement on this issue.

A: Kristen Silverberg, Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy:
David,

As Secretary Thompson said earlier today, we're continuing to build our arsenal of vaccines and medicines to confront the coming flu season. We are encouraged about the potential for some 5 million doses of vaccine from foreign manufacturers and we're sending our inspectors to those facilities. We're redirecting vaccine originally purchased by the government for federal employees to priority populations throughout the country.

Click here for more information.

A: Andy Card, White House Chief of Staff:
Dear Fran:

On behalf of President Bush, thank you for your email and for your kind words of support. The President is always encouraged to hear from Americans across the country like you and your friends, and he is grateful for all of the people who think of him and pray for him every day. Thank you, again. I will make sure that the President gets your message. Andy Card

A: Heidi Marquez Smith, Special Assistant to the President for Cabinet Liaison:
Dear Patricia: You may mail your items to the White House at the following address: The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 President Bush appreciates your thoughtfulness in sharing your celebration memorabilia. HMS

A: John Snow, Secretary of Treasury:
Thanks for writing in, Tom. I'm delighted to hear that your business has come back so strong - that's exactly the kind of turnaround that the President had in mind when he designed tax relief to stimulate our economy.

I'm especially glad to hear that you've been able to add to your payroll. Thanks to employers like you, 1.9 million jobs have been added to America's payrolls over the past 13 months. We have the strongest, most resilient and flexible economy in the world thanks to our small-business owners and entrepreneurs, our outstanding workforce and the simple fact that we operate as a free market. The President's economic policies stimulated growth by tapping into those elements, and your story is a terrific example of the success of that policy.

A: Rod Paige, Secretary of Education:
President Bush, the Congress and I all understand the importance of having a can-do attitude about public education in the United States. We all share the philosophy of holding America's students to high standards and high expectations, and of providing all of them the opportunity to learn. That's why the No Child Left Behind Act received bipartisan support in Congress.

The president's new proposals reflect his desire to continue the culture of achievement and accountability. We want to ensure that our children enter schools ready to learn at a young age, and that they leave ready to enter the 21st-century workplace or higher education institutions, as they choose. That's why he has proposed focusing on early literacy, continuing with the Early Reading First and Reading First initiatives and helping children in middle and high school with the Striving Readers program.

Investment in the education of our nation's youth is a top national priority and effective teachers are the key to fulfilling the promise of the No Child Left Behind Act. Teachers are the true heroes of education, and we are pleased to be able to facilitate the Teacher-to-Teacher Initiative, an exchange of information to help teachers, and ultimately students, achieve success in the classroom. For more information and additional resources, I encourage teachers to visit: http://www.ed.gov/teachers

This president, working with Congress, has shown that he understands that resources for students at all levels-whether they be in elementary school or high school-will pay off. We must ensure that our educational excellence starts early and is sustained throughout the entire education system.

A: Jim Towey, White House Faith Based and Community Initiatives Director:
President Bush believes faith-based and community groups are America's "armies of compassion" and can make even greater contributions to the lives of those in need. He believes they can be partners with the Federal government, not rivals, and that enacting greater tax incentives for more charitable giving will help these groups feed more people who are hungry, house more people who are homeless, and reach out to other Americans in need.

A: Suzy DeFrancis, Deputy Assistant to the President for Communications:

The President does not favor privatizing Social Security. There will be no changes in benefits for those now in or near retirement.

A: Gary Walters, White House Chief Usher:
Jennifer, thank you for your question. The first cornerstone of the White House was laid on October 13, 1792. The last cornerstone was laid just about eight years later on November 1, 1800, when the White House was first occupied. Throughout those eight years, the grand total of building the White House was $232,371.83.

A: Doug Badger, Senior Health Policy Advisor:
Millions of Americans lack health insurance coverage today. For them, the anxiety of not knowing how they will find the resources to pay their medical bills is a daily concern. Millions more worry that they might lose coverage if they lose their jobs or change jobs. And while most seniors have prescription drug coverage, millions do not and many are needlessly being forced to choose between their medicines and other life necessities because they don’t about the help that is available to them today through Medicare-approved prescription drug discount cards.

The President’s proposals to make health care more affordable address all of these concerns, from the uninsured child in a low-income household to the senior struggling to make ends meet on a social security check.

In addition to strengthening and improving Medicare and adding prescription drug coverage to the program, the President has:

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A: Margaret Spellings, Secretary of Education:
President Bush is not opposed to stem cell research. To the contrary -- he is the first President to support Federal Funding for embryonic stem cell research.

There are many different kinds of stem cell research, all of which are important to studying disease. Last year, the NIH provided over half a billion dollars for all forms of stem cell research. He has asked NIH to establish Centers of Excellence for stem cell research, which give scientists in this area extra support, and his Administration is establishing a Stem Cell registry, to make sure that scientists can get access to embryonic stem cells quickly.

In fact, more than 500 shipments of eligible stem cell lines have been sent to researchers for this important work. 3,500 shipments, from 22 different genetically distinct lines, are still available.

The President has said only that researchers using taxpayer funds cannot use the funds for research that requires the destruction of an additional human embryo. Researchers can use private funds for any form of stem cell research.

Moreover, many scientists focus on stem cell research that does not require the destruction of a human embryo because it uses cells from placental tissue or bone marrow. This type of stem cell research has already produced treatments for disease, and there are clinical trials underway on new treatments for diseases like parkinsons, multiple sclerosis, and leukemia.

I should also note that stem cells are just one of the many areas scientists are studying for possible cures and treatments for diabetes. Since President Bush took office, funding for all forms of diabetes research has increased by $336 million dollars -- a 49% increase.

A: Jimmy Orr, White House Spokesman/Internet Director:
The President has been very clear about this. And it doesn't get any more clear than last week when the President said, "I want every American to understand that, as long as I am President, there will be no draft." Click here to read the full statement.

A: Kristen Silverberg, Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy:
Laura -- You're exactly right. The threat of litigation, and the risk of an excessive jury award, can cause even a blameless defendant to decide to settle the case. And the fear of litigation can cause consumers to pay higher costs. Physicians, for example, may overprescribe tests or medication to avoid the risk of being sued. We call this practice "defensive medicine," and it contributes to the $60-$108b a year in health costs attributable to excessive litigation.

The President has proposed the following important reforms to our litigation system:

First, he has proposed common sense medical liability reforms that would allow unlimited economic damages, but cap non-economic damages and punitive damages. These reforms would also require defendants to pay in proportion to their degree of fault.

Second, the President has called on Congress to reform the Class Action system to, among other things, require lawyers to notify class members of a lawsuit in "plain English" and ensure that judges review any settlement that gives class members "coupons" or other non-cash benefits.

Finally, because runaway asbestos litigation has killed jobs and prevented the truly injured from receiving compensation, the President has called on Congress to pass asbestos reform.

A: Heidi Marquez Smith, Special Assistant to the President for Cabinet Liaison:
Heidi Marquez Smith, Special Assistant to the President and Director of Presidential Correspondence: Dear Judith, Thank you for your interest in requesting a greeting from President Bush. You may submit a request via fax at 202-395-1232, mail to The White House, Attn: Greetings Office, Washington, D.C. 20502-0039, or by Web Mail located on the White House website at /greeting/. Please make sure to include your uncle's full name with appropriate salutation, date of birth, mailing address, and your (the requestor's) name and daytime phone number. We ask that requests for greetings are received in our office at least six weeks in advance of the event date. At this date I recommend you fax or use White House Web Mail to submit your request. We will make every effort to send the greeting in time for your special occasion. For more information on our guidelines and the types of greetings you may request please visit the White House website at /greeting/.

A: Sara Armstrong, Director, White House Visitor's Office:
Hi Peter.

Thanks for your timely question. We just announced the dates of this year's Fall Garden Tour. The annual White House Fall Garden Tour will be held on two dates: Saturday, October 23 from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. and Sunday, October 24 from 12 p.m. - 4 p.m. Click here for additional information and details about ticket distribution. We hope you can join us for this annual tradition!

A: Don Evans, Secretary of Commerce:
For the 13th straight month, we've had job gains despite being in a wartime economy. Hurricanes and high energy prices haven't dampened our resilient recovery because America created over 1.9 million jobs since last August.

A: Taylor Gross, White House Spokesman:
Thanks so much for your question Jumeye. We appreciate you visiting the White House web site and using our White House Interactive feature.

With regards to your question, the President has been very clear on this issue. In fact, just last week both the President and the Vice President made sure to point out that this notion there is a plan by the Administration to reintroduce the draft is completely untrue. As the President has said, "we don't need a draft" and "we won't have a draft as long as I'm the President of the United States". While some in Congress, specifically Senator Hollings (D) of South Carolina and Congressman Rangel (D) of New York have sought legislation that would reinstitute a draft, the President applauded the Congress for soundly rejecting it. If this bill had been presented to the President, he would have vetoed it /news/releases/2004/10/20041005-6.html

The President will keep our military all volunteer. In fact, the President has worked to make sure of this by increasing pay and housing benefits for our men and women in uniform and making sure our troops are skilled. As the President has said, "in order to win the war on terror, we need specialized forces. This is specialty work and if you draft, you don't get the specialized force you need."

Thanks again for your question Jumeye.

A: John Snow, Secretary of Treasury:
The tax cuts enacted by President Bush help all taxpayers--married couples, families and singles. Single taxpayers without children benefit from several provisions in the "Working Families Tax relief Act of 2004" including the expansion of the new 10 percent individual income tax bracket and the higher exemption under the alternative minimum tax. Single taxpayers also benefit from a number of provisions included in the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, such as the reduction in tax rates, the lower tax rates on capital gains and dividend income (if they have investment income), higher contribution limits for IRA and 401(k) contributions, and a new deduction for higher education expenses.

A: Margaret Spellings, Secretary of Education:
I agree Tony, higher education is a great investment by families and by government. There have been increases in federal funding for higher education, not reductions. The President's FY 2005 budget expands overall, available student financial aid to $73.1 billion, an increase of $4.4 billion or 6% over the 2004 level, and an increase of 55% over the 2001 level. The number of recipients of grant, loan, and work-study assistance would grow by 426,000 over last year to 10 million students and parents. Since President Bush has been in office, total Pell Grant funding for low-income college students has increased by $4.1 billion including the President’s FY 2005 budget, a 47% increase over 2001. In addition, one million more low-income students will be receiving Pell Grants compared to 2001, and the maximum award has increased from $3,750 in 2001 to $4,050 in the President’s FY 2005 budget.

The President also understands that students who are well-prepared when entering college are more likely to succeed and complete their college education. In his FY 2005 budget, President Bush proposed Enhanced Pell Grants, which would provide an additional $1,000 in grants in the first two years of college in addition to the regular Pell Grant for low-income students who complete a rigorous high school curriculum.

A: Jim Connaughton, Chairman Council of Environmental Quality:
Thanks for the question and the opportunity to respond to some of the myths out there. We appreciate it when interested and concerned Americans, like you, want to find out the facts for themselves. Our air and water quality are continuing to improve, even as our economy is rapidly growing. For example, since 1970, air pollution has been dramatically cut by more than half – while the economy more than doubled in strength. In the last several years alone, power plant emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) have been significantly reduced. We’re going to build on that progress.

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A: Alphonso Jackson, Secretary of Housing & Urban Development:
The Bush Administration is committed to serving those who rent, and we recognize that the Section 8 program is in desperate need of reform. In the past four years, funding for Section 8 has increased by 41 percent, to more than half of HUD’s total annual budget. Unfortunately, the growth in the Section 8 budget does not mean that more families are being served, and it is crowding out funding for programs like those that serve the elderly, people living with AIDS, and the homeless.

We have proposed to strengthen the Section 8 program by allowing local housing agencies more flexibility to run the program provided they serve at least the same number of families. By promoting self-sufficiency and more effective use of subsidy, more families currently on waiting lists will be served. Click here to read more about the President's record of achievement in expanding home ownership.

A: John Snow, Secretary of Treasury:
Mike, you and your family will benefit from many of the provisions in the "Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004." First, you and your wife will have relief from the unfair marriage penalty, which taxes you just because you are married. You also will be able to keep more of your hard earned money because of the expansion of the 10% tax bracket. The full $1,000 per child tax credit will be available to you and your family through 2010. As a middle-class taxpayer, you and your family are provided greater protection from the Alternative Minimum Tax Relief by the larger exemption (i.e., the first $58,000 of a married couple's income).

The "Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004" also helps simplify the tax code by providing clear direction for families who qualify for the child tax credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit, the dependent care tax credit, the dependent exemption and those who file as the head of household.

A: Alberto Gonzales, Attorney General:
In our system of government the role of the judge is to resolve disputes that fall within their jurisdiction. Unless Congress chooses to limit the jurisdiction of federal judges they will resolve disputes such as gay marriage. The President believes that judges should not decide policy for the American people, and he has nominated judges who do not come to the bench with an agenda.