For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
July 25, 2001
Remarks by the President
In Meeting with Members of Congress Cabinet Room
11:15 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: It's my honor to
welcome to the White House members from the Senate and the House,
members who are concerned about American foreign policy, to give them a
briefing about my trip to Europe.
I'm going to talk about how we agreed that
we need to expand trade; how we also agreed how we need to help nations
who are less fortunate than our nation. I look forward to
having a very confidential briefing about my meeting with President
Putin, and the hope and promise I see for a constructive relationship.
I also am aware that there are some
foreign policy matters in the Congress. And I urge Congress
to deal fairly with Mexico and to not treat the Mexican truck industry
in an unfair fashion; that I believe strongly we can have safety
measures in place that will make sure our highways are
safe. But we should not single out Mexico. Mexico
is our close friend and ally and we must treat them with respect and
uphold NAFTA and the spirit of NAFTA.
I also fully understand that foreign
policy is best when conducted in a bipartisan fashion and I so very
much appreciate the Chairman, I spoke to the Chairman -- both Chairmen
-- before my trip overseas this time and before my trip last time
overseas. And I take their advice very seriously, and
counsel, very seriously. It helps for us to continue to
communicate, particularly when it comes to foreign policy.
So thank you all for
coming. I'll be glad to answer maybe one or two questions.
Q Mr. President, on
the patients' bill of rights there is some talk that the House
Republicans are now planning to schedule a vote later, perhaps as late
as September. Is that a recognition on the part of the party
and its leadership that you don't have the votes to get what you want
on that issue?
THE PRESIDENT: I am hopeful
we'll get a bill I can sign. And I appreciate so very much
the hard work that's going on, particularly now in the House of
Representatives, to bring a bill that is fair to patients. There seems
to be a -- there was a lot of negotiations going on when I was gone,
and there still seems to be a lot of talk. And, obviously,
we'd like to get this bill finished and on my desk, and a bill I can
sign.
I laid out the principles that would allow
me to sign a bill, and I still stand by those
principles. But I can report we're making pretty good
progress, it seems like.
Yes, Steve.
Q Mr. President,
OPEC is about to cut production by a million barrels a
day. What is that going to do to the already struggling
economy?
THE PRESIDENT: Steve, it is
very important for there to be stability in a marketplace. I
read some comments from the OPEC ministers who said this was just a
matter to make sure the market remains stable and
predictable. Obviously, if it's an attempt to run the price
of oil up, we'll make our opinions very clear and known, that that
would hurt America and hurt the marketplace. Our economy is
bumping along right now and a run-up in energy prices would
hurt. And, surely, the OPEC leaders understand
that. I think they do.
Thank you all for coming.
END 11:19
A.M. EDT
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