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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 24, 2001
Press Briefing by Ari Fleischer
The James S. Brady Briefing Room
3:24 P.M. EDT
MR. FLEISCHER: Good afternoon. I'd like to give you a report on the
President's day, and then give you a few updates on some of the activities in
fighting the war on terrorism on the domestic front. And then I'll be happy to
take your questions.
The President, this morning, had his usual intelligence briefings, and then he
convened a meeting of the National Security Council. He, also this morning, met
with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and then he had a meeting with members of
Congress to discuss homeland security with Governor Ridge, where government
presented them with an update on the status of the office and the activities of
the office. That is the first of two such meetings; the second meeting will take
place this afternoon, with the President, Governor Ridge and other members of
Congress.
The President, also today, traveled to the Dixie Printing Company in Glen Burnie,
Maryland, to make the case for the House of Representatives today to take action
on an economic stimulus package that will help the American people get back to
work, that will help provide a boost to the economy. Action on that is pending
in the House, and the President is very hopeful that the House of
Representatives today will pass that economic recovery package.
And as I mentioned, the President, later this afternoon, will have the second of
his meetings on homeland security with Governor Ridge and members of Congress.
Three announcements on the domestic side on fighting the war on terrorism: One,
Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson today announced $300
million is being released immediately through the Centers for Disease Control to
supplement public health grants to the affected states and cities as a result of
the anthrax attacks. Those communities are New York, New Jersey, the District of
Columbia, and Florida. And these funds will go to surveillance, detection and
confirmation of anthrax cases. That way the public health response capabilities
can be improved.
In addition, the Secretary, along with Helge Wehmeier, the President and CEO of
the Bayer Corporation, today announced agreement for a significant new federal
purchase of the antibiotic Cipro, at a substantially lower price. The antibiotic
is expected to be available by January 1, 2002.
Under the terms of the agreement, which is valued at $95 million, Health and
Human Services will pay 95 cents per tablet, for a total initial order of 100
million tablets. Funds for the purchase are included in the $1.6 billion
emergency proposal made by President Bush and sent up to the Congress on October
17th.
Resources on hand by January as a result of this will be able to treat 12
million people immediately for anthrax exposure. And as Secretary Thompson said
in announcing this, the beneficial price also means that we can have more funds
available to assist state and local health responders to be ready for all
eventualities.
And, finally, Postmaster General Jack Potter today announced a number of strong
safety measures as part of the Postal Service's four-part effort to better
protect employees and workers and the public through education, investigation,
intervention and prevention at the Postal Service.
The preventative measures announced today by the Postmaster General are:
Adopting and deploying new technology to neutralize anthrax that might move
through the mail. This new technology, which involves irradiation, is already
being used successfully to fight bacteria in food.
In addition, he announced that the Postal Service will provide employees who
process mail with masks and gloves for their protection. They will also
establish field command centers so employees can notify the centers if they seek
admission to a hospital. That way, the Postal Service can quickly identify any
pattern or medical problems that might develop.
In addition, he announced a change in the procedures at the Postal Service, that
they will change the way they clean mail-sorting equipment. The Postal Service
will use vacuuming equipment exclusively to clean the equipment and absorb dust
and other particles. Postal facilities will also use stronger antibacterial
cleaning chemicals as part of routine maintenance.
And, finally, supervisors and postmasters are going to continue giving mandatory
talks to employees to educate them and provide them with information they can
use so they can receive the full protections they deserve.
With that, I'm happy to take any questions.
Q Ari, on the irradiation, are we talking about ultraviolet, are we talking
about cobalt radiation? Are these facilities that can be added on to the postal
stations, or do they have to be sent out to third-party providers?
MR. FLEISCHER: The announcement made by the Postal Service was irradiation. It
is not defined beyond that. And this would be equipment that the Postal Service
purchases for themselves for their own use.
Q Ari, on the same subject, on Postal Service, I understand $175 million was
assigned to them, but it seems they're going to need more money than that. Is
the President willing to ask for more funds for the Postal Service, or will they
have to go to Congress directly?
MR. FLEISCHER: That figure was developed in concert with officials at the Postal
Service. The President announced that yesterday, the $175 million. And we will
continue to work with the Postal Service and others to meet their needs.
Q Before it's needed, will money be available?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, that's the announcement the President made yesterday, and
that's based on the immediate assessment of the Postal Service's needs.
Q Ari, I've got a couple questions. First, is the FBI alert that was issued
about two weeks ago, is that still in effect and at the same level?
MR. FLEISCHER: Law enforcement agencies and the FBI remain at a heightened state
of alert.
Q So the same state of alert as it was a couple weeks ago?
MR. FLEISCHER: I think it's fair to say it's a high state of alert, it remains a
high state of alert.
Q And Senator Frist today said that the
grade of the anthrax suggests more than a casual scientist was involved. Does the White House agree with that?
MR. FLEISCHER: Involving the mailing to Senator Daschle's Office?
Q Yes.
MR. FLEISCHER: I'm not sure how to respond to --
Q Or that killed the two postal workers.
MR. FLEISCHER: Suffice it to say that the mail that was received in Florida was
lethal enough to kill one person. The mail that was received in Senator
Daschle's office also took the lives of two postal workers. And so however it's
defined -- and I think the best place for those definitions to come are from the
scientists involved -- it had a lethal affect.
Q Do you know --
Q Mr. Potter this morning said that there are no guarantees that the mail is
safe. Does the President agree with that?
MR. FLEISCHER: Terry, the President is satisfied that every step is being taken
to protect postal workers and everybody who receives mail. Those steps have been
very visible, very public; I just announced several of them. That's the reason
that the President has, himself, said that it's important for people to be on
alert, to look for suspicious packages. You see the Attorney General reading off
of an FBI notice about what a suspicious package might look like. The President
is satisfied that every precaution is being taken.
Obviously, in a country in which more than 200 billion pieces of mail are sent
every year, now we have what is a handful of cases in which anthrax has been
sent through the mail. Just by virtue of the fact that more than 200 billion
pieces of mail are sent every year and only a handful have, unfortunately, had
anthrax, it is safe to conclude that the mail is overwhelmingly safe.
Q So people should feel safe opening their mail?
MR. FLEISCHER: People should feel safe opening their mail. People should also be
alert as they proceed as they open their mail. And obviously, the cases that
have been anthrax sent through the mail all have involved high-profile,
high-visible people.
Q So, Ari, to follow on that --
MR. FLEISCHER: Or organizations. I should add that.
Q Because the Brentwood facility has been contaminated, and mail that goes
through the Brentwood facility has been stopped to certain places, are there
discussions underway, has there been a decision to stop mail delivery to certain
parts of the city where that mail would pass through the Brentwood facility?
MR. FLEISCHER: I'm not aware of any such conversations, David, but that's a
question that could better and fuller be answered by Postal Service officials
here in the Washington area.
Q Wouldn't that be a prudent step?
MR. FLEISCHER: Again, I have not been involved in any such conversations, so I
don't think I'm qualified to answer that.
Q Ari, you say the Postal Service is going to buy these machines now to
irradiate mail. But some are in existence -- it is done for mail that goes into
the State Department, and shall we just say other government facilities already.
Have those been provided to the District, because this is a high-profile area
and many targets -- is the District already using existing machines to do that
now?
MR. FLEISCHER: The Postmaster General said this morning that he believes that
the first purchase will be in place in approximately November, and the Postal
Service will be the group that makes the determination about exactly where they
are going to position these based on their analysis.
Q The government owns some now. Any loaners? The federal government, in
conjunction with the Postal Service, uses these at certain facilities. Any
effort to expand that to David's question about the civilian population in the
District of Columbia? Its mail goes to the same facilities, at least at the
processing point.
MR. FLEISCHER: The determinations about where these machines are going to be put
is going to be done by the Postal Service based on an analysis of where the
needs are. And that's how they're going to respond.
Q Ari, you said yesterday that since September 11th, you were taking extra
precautions at the remote mail facility here for the White House. Since we've
learned since that all mail to that facility comes from Brentwood, had there
been any effort since September 11th to also change security measures at
Brentwood, on the assumption that they also were receiving the same mail?
MR. FLEISCHER: The security procedures that are made here are made because of
the unique threat levels that exist at the White House. And so I can only speak
to the changes that are made here that affect the remote facility that the White
House uses.
Q But every bit of mail that comes to the White House facility goes through
Brentwood first, right?
MR. FLEISCHER: I'm the spokesman for the White House; I can only answer the
question about what's happened for the White House procedures. I can't speak to
all the mail at any postal facility across the country.
Q Where I'm heading is, did the Secret Service make any effort to back upstream
a little bit from their own facility, your own remote facility, to the next
step, which would have been Brentwood?
MR. FLEISCHER: To the best of my knowledge, those procedures were initiated at
the remote facility here for the White House.
Q And ended there?
MR. FLEISCHER: To the best of my knowledge, that's right.
And since Keith is in David's seat, we'll go right to Keith.
Q Sounds like a good idea. (Laughter.) Ari, these meetings with Ridge and
members of Congress, are these sort of going to be regular meetings with
members, or are they a one-time attempt to sell some team members on this office
and the idea that you don't need any further legislation?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, at the meeting this morning, I think many of the members
found it very constructive to have these conversations. And Governor Ridge has
also spent considerable time up on the Hill meeting individually and with
different groups of members of Congress to talk about homeland security and to
listen to members of Congress and to gather their ideas.
One of the purposes of the meeting also, in addition to information-sharing and
update the members on homeland security, was it's no secret that there are a
number of members of Congress -- some of whom came down to the White House today
-- who believe that legislation is necessary to give Governor Ridge more power,
the power that they think he may need. And they received a very strong message
from the President today that no legislation is necessary; that Governor Ridge
has all the power that he needs; that Governor Ridge, by virtue of the fact that
he is in such proximity to the President, has the ear of the President, has the
respect of the President, Governor Ridge has everything he needs to be able to
get his job done. And that was the message that the President and the Governor
gave to members of Congress earlier today.
Q Can I follow up on this point that has to do with homeland security? The White
House is still in a stage where both the President and Governor Ridge are trying
to define to lawmakers and to the American people what this office is all about.
Where is Governor Ridge? We're in the middle of a major anthrax scare. Why
aren't we seeing -- why aren't the American people hearing from him every day?
MR. FLEISCHER: The Governor has been spending much of his time with members of
Congress. Today, for example. I think everybody saw the Governor was out here on
Monday in a news conference, side by side with many of the officials who are
working on the anthrax issue that developed here in Washington, D.C.
People will continue to see the Governor. And, in fact, you raised the question
-- many people will see him on one of America's premiere networks tonight. So
he's going to be continuing to be visible. People will continue to see the
Governor and he's going to be out briefing and informing people on a regular
basis.
Q Which network?
MR. FLEISCHER: That would be the Central Broadcasting System. (Laughter.) Of
course, ABC and NBC asked about CBS. Columbia, excuse me. (Laughter.) You're
Columbia and not Central? You need to give up that seat, that's a Central seat.
(Laughter.)
Q Is there a lesson learned in David's question about the mail? The remote
facility goes on a higher alert and does not contact Brentwood. If the Secret
Service sees a suspicious person outside the gates, they call the D.C. Police
and the Park Police immediately. If you go on a higher sense of alert at your
mail facility and you know all your mail comes from the Brentwood facility, how
could you not call the Brentwood facility, at least as a courtesy, to say, we
think something could be up, we're going on a higher state of alert, you should,
too?
MR. FLEISCHER: Again, in answer to the question, I said that to my knowledge.
And so I can't speak authoritatively for every phone call that the Secret
Service ever makes. I don't know every phone call the Secret Service makes. But
suffice it to say, the Brentwood facility is already on an alert status as a
result of the Daschle letter; the mail at that facility had stopped. And so, I
think in this case, it's --
Q But there's a -- the dates. You say the remote facility implemented additional
-- it's already a place where mail is taken for a reason, for security.
MR. FLEISCHER: I think the question here was relevant, after the discovery of
the small level of anthrax that was found on the cutting machine at the remote
facility.
Q I think the question was that you said yesterday that facility has gone on a
higher state of alert, even since September 11th, prior to the discovery of any
letters.
MR. FLEISCHER: But, again, to use your analogy, if somebody were to see
something here at the gate, it would be seeing something here at the gate that
would trigger an involvement with the other authorities of the area, the Park
Service Police or the D.C. Police. Seeing something at the gate is the
equivalent of what was discovered last night on the cutting machine.
Q On this Cipro, since there's still a lot of confusion among doctors and
officials, why is the government giving Cipro to those who are not positive? How
are you going to know if they were exposed if they're taking the antibiotic, and
what's the directive on how long they should be taking it?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, the action that has been recommended by local health
officials, as well as the Centers for Disease Control, is that Cipro should not
be given to anybody unless there is some type of reasonable evidence that they
have been in the proximity of something that could have contained anthrax. And
that's why, in the case of where you've seen Cipro being given to someone, it's
where an assessment is made that there could be a risk involved to the person
from possible anthrax exposure.
And that's why, take for example the case up in New York City of the news
outlets that received anthrax in the mail, local workers at those outlets were
given Cipro. At Senator Daschle's office, those who were in the environment in
which that envelope were opened were given Cipro. In the case here at the remote
facility, those who worked at the remote facility or visited the remote
facility, Cipro has been made available to them.
So I think there is a pretty logical thing you can see. The determination of the
health community is, wherever somebody may have been exposed to anthrax, they
will prescribe Cipro as a prophylactic treatment. It is not recommended by the
health professionals for anybody -- they have not possibly been exposed.
Q Some people have stopped testing in some places now, too. They've giving the
Cipro, but not testing. So there's no way to know who has been exposed.
MR. FLEISCHER: I'm not sure I follow your question. That they've stopped
testing? In each and every one of the cases I just cited, tests were done.
Q In the District, though, they were given Cipro --
Q Ari, can I ask about penicillin? Talking about Cipro and arrangements being
made, is there enough varieties of penicillin in the system, and is the
government negotiating with the manufacturers of penicillin --
MR. FLEISCHER: I would refer you to the statements that Secretary Thompson has
made on numerous occasions about the push packs that are available throughout
the country to respond to a series of emergencies on short notice. And the
Secretary has addressed -- and I do not know, medicine by medicine, everything
that is in those push packs, but that's a question that the Health and Human
Services Department has under its purview and they've given assurances about the
availability of those push packs.
Q Ari, is the President meeting with the Governor of New York here today?
MR. FLEISCHER: Not that I'm aware of. Not on my schedule.
Q -- update on the testing of the folks out at the remote facility and here at
the White House?
MR. FLEISCHER: This morning I indicated that as a result of all the preliminary
tests that had been done, that there have been no positive anthrax cultures
found. That statement holds. There have been no positive anthrax cultures found
as a result of any of the preliminary tests that have been done. I believe those
tests will be final approximately Thursday -- tomorrow -- or Friday, and so
we'll have additional dates as events warrant.
Q -- that you gave us earlier?
Q I'm sorry -- the numbers you gave us earlier still stand, 120 out of 200?
MR. FLEISCHER: The numbers I gave earlier still stand. We are in the middle of a
business day. Tests are underway today of people who work at the remote
facility, as well as those who may have visited that facility. And that's why I
don't have a numbers update for you from what I gave this morning. The numbers
that I gave this morning were 50 individuals who work in the EEOB mailroom here
at the White House grounds, and approximately some 150 or so individuals who
work or visited the remote facility. That number is subject to change as a
result of when you say number of people who visit -- that number is obviously
going to show some fluctuation as visitors are identified.
Q Any source of the anthrax yet? Is it still believed that it's
cross-contamination from Brentwood?
MR. FLEISCHER: I don't believe anybody had identified what the source is. There
are suspicions about what it could be. That is clearly one suspicion. But
there's no information yet that is conclusive about what the source may be.
Q That was the first thing I wanted to ask you. There was a fairly small amount,
relatively --
MR. FLEISCHER: That's correct.
Q -- that was found on that machine. Does that lead investigators to believe
that it was cross-contamination rather than a letter addressed specifically to
the White House?
MR. FLEISCHER: As I indicated, there's no conclusive finding on that point. It
is, from everything that I have heard from the people involved in this, it's
been described as trace amounts.
Q Could I ask you about the economic stimulus package? The President today is
calling for passage of a bill that he does not support. (Laughter.)
MR. FLEISCHER: Yes, he does. The President --
Q He supports the House bill, including the costs --
MR. FLEISCHER: Of course, the President supports the House bill. I've said that
on numerous occasions from here. The President is very pleased with the House
action, and the President is calling on the House to pass it today. He's very
pleased with the Ways and Means Committee action, and he's calling on the House
to pass it today.
Obviously, when a President sends legislation, particularly something as
important as an economic stimulus, up to the Hill, the Hill is not a rubber
stamp. The Hill does not give the President a carbon copy of what he asks for.
In the case of the economic stimulus pending in the House as we speak, it is
much of what the President asked for. It is very similar to what the President
asked for. And the President believes that this is a very strong way to begin
the process. He would like the House of Representatives to pass it. He hopes
that the Senate will take action on a similar package.
There's been some legislation offered in the Senate that in the President's
opinion has much too much spending in it, that it's not a stimulus package, it's
a spending proposal. And so the President looks forward at the end of the day to
House passage, the Senate passage and an agreement, and a bipartisan one, in the
Conference Committee.
Q But the fact that he called for passage of it does not mean that he embraces a
$100 billion short-term stimulus?
MR. FLEISCHER: I think as everybody who follows the congressional process knows,
there are several steps to it. And today is the beginning step in the House.
There will be a final step in the House which is called final passage, and that
will be a reflection of changes that are likely to be made in a Conference
Committee. And the President is very pleased with the way this process is
beginning.
Q -- commitment from Senator Daschle about when that bill will be brought up on
the Senate side?
MR. FLEISCHER: I think you'd have to talk to Senator Daschle about the schedule
of the Senate floor.
Q On the airline security package, or aviation security package, there is a
surcharge -- some would call it a tax. Is the President prepared to sign
something that includes this individual surcharge or tax on each trip somebody
takes?
MR. FLEISCHER: Yes, the President is favorably inclined toward that provision.
Q What I was wondering is, would he sign the House bill if that got to him? Or
is this sort of a tactical move to --
MR. FLEISCHER: That's a hypothetical. And now you're suggesting that the Senate
may be a rubber stamp for the House.
Q Right. But what does it mean to say that he supports the bill, then, if you
can't tell us that he would sign it?
MR. FLEISCHER: It means that the President supports the bill. He's very pleased
with the fact that the House is going to pass an economic stimulus package that
lowers individual income tax rates for working Americans; accelerates the
existing tax cuts; that provides tax relief for low-income Americans who do not
pay income taxes by giving them rebates; that provides faster expensing, that
way businesses can have more of an incentive to invest in plant and equipment,
which creates jobs. And, finally, the fourth major component of that is the
elimination of the corporate alternative minimum tax, which has served as a real
disincentive for businesses the invest in plant and equipment.
Finally, it also includes a proposal that's similar to what the President
announced, which are national emergency grants to help workers in states where
there is high unemployment -- principally, New York and other areas that have
been impacted as a result of the attacks -- so workers can receive health care
and other help as they go through unemployment.
Q Does it mean that he's putting the Democrats -- putting the onus on the
Democrats the change the bill to the way that he wants it?
MR. FLEISCHER: No, it means the Congress is going to do what Congress does, and
that's the House pass, the Senate pass, and then meet in conference.
Q On the surcharge, earlier this year you defined any measure that would raise
revenues as a tax increase.
MR. FLEISCHER: -- I ever defined it that way.
Q Yes, you did.
MR. FLEISCHER: No. This is --
Q You said, if it raises revenues, it's a tax increase.
MR. FLEISCHER: No, actually, there's already on airline tickets a fee, that's a
standard part of airline ticketing. And this clearly is a fee to provide
additional security. And that's the purpose of it. This is to provide funding
for air marshals, this is to provide funding for cockpit doors. The President
can already fund those through the emergency appropriation. This can also help
provide more stringent oversight, and a federal role in the screening and in the
standards that are set for security personnel.
But I don't even think you're going to see any disagreement on that among some
of the staunchest Republicans on the Hill. And I defy you to find that statement
because it has not been made.
Q Secondly, on the Homeland Security Office, has the House -- Graham came out
and said he was holding off on his legislation. Have you gotten similar signals
from the House? Are they going to also hold off on legislation to establish
congressional authority for the Homeland Security Office?
MR. FLEISCHER: I can't say the House has entered into any agreement on that; I
said that the President made his case. The issue came up and the President made
his case.
Q Graham endorsed his case out here after the meeting.
MR. FLEISCHER: I would just have to refer you -- members of Congress will speak
for themselves about what their intentions are on that.
Q Can I follow up on homeland security? There are so many voices, so many people
within the government who are addressing the anthrax situation, and yet, it is
Governor Ridge who is head of homeland security. So, despite his appearance,
which we'll eagerly consume tonight on television, what is he doing?
MR. FLEISCHER: The Governor is involved in -- (laughter) -- I guess we know
which network did not get the interview tonight. (Laughter.)
Q I think we had it last week.
Q It wasn't the Northern Broadcast Corporation. (Laughter.)
MR. FLEISCHER: Aside from recovering from the interview he had with your network
--
Q But, seriously, there are so many disparate voices on this, what is he doing?
MR. FLEISCHER: Sure. He's talking to many of those voices. The Governor's job is
a very busy coordination job. And one of the issues that came up at the meeting
today was that one of the reasons the President has suggested to members of
Congress that they do not need to make this a statutory post, that he does not
need Cabinet rank, for example, that it does not need to be a Cabinet-level
Office of Homeland Security is because there is such overlap among the various
agencies, because every agency of the government has security concerns. They
have different divisions across various agencies, whether it's the Department of
Defense, whether it's the CIA, whether it's the Department of Interior, whether
it's Department of Treasury.
Many of these agencies have law enforcement roles within what they do. Interior,
for example, with the dams and some of the reservoirs, things of that nature.
Defense is fairly obvious. Treasury has Secret Service, which has tremendous
resources across the country. CIA, with their ability to gather intelligence, et
cetera.
All of those entities still need to be coordinated here at the White House. Just
as the National Security Council has very successfully coordinated various
defense-related entities across different agencies here at the White House.
The nation is at war. The war has two home fronts: one is abroad, in
Afghanistan; the second is here, defending the homeland. To defend the homeland
is going to require a coordination of all those various agencies. So to directly
answer your question, he spends a lot of his time working with those agencies,
coordinating what they're doing, bringing people together so that there can be a
joint response to various issues -- just as you saw he did on this podium on
Monday, when he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with officials from the District of
Columbia, from the Centers for Disease Control, from all the various agencies
that were affected. That's how he spends his time.
Q And since he has arrived here at the White House, is t President more
confident that the government is able to prevent the spreading of this anthrax
scare further?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, the President is very confident that he has the right man
for the job and that Governor Ridge is leading an effort here in the government
to do everything possible to protect Americans from further attacks.
I can't go so far as to say, David, that the nation is no longer at risk or at
threat because there has been a hiring of a good man for an important job. But
the President has every confidence in Governor Ridge. And that, too, by the way,
was something that members of Congress in both parties emphasized today at the
meeting, that they thought the Governor was the right man for the job.
Q Is there anything the administration can do, or plans to do, to get Israel to
back off a bit? And how much is this latest escalation of violence threatening
the coalition on terror?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, as you know, the President met with Foreign Minister Peres
yesterday, and he expressed his condolences about the assassination of Minister
Zeevi. And he also did urge Israel to withdraw from Area A in the West Bank, an
area in the West Bank. He has made his point and he hopes that it will be
listened to. He's also called on Chairman Arafat to make a 100 percent effort to
do everything possible to reduce the violence and to arrest those responsible
for the assassination.
Q It didn't work out too well, though, there's more violence there today. And is
it threatening the coalition, is the second part.
MR. FLEISCHER: You know, I think that it's always in the interests of anybody --
whether they are in the coalition or not in the coalition -- for there to be
peace in the Middle East. And that's why the President has been working so hard
to convince both parties to reduce the violence, to withdraw from the West Bank,
to make 100 percent effort, and to then follow through on the Mitchell Accords.
Q And is the President meeting with Sharon on the 11th?
MR. FLEISCHER: You mean at the meeting up in New York?
Q I'm not sure, I just know he's in town --
MR. FLEISCHER: I don't have anything on that right now.
Q Is there a time when we can expect the Vice President to no longer work out of
his secure location? And could that send a message of calm to the public?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, the Vice President is in the White House today. He's been
here on a regular basis recently.
Q To stay?
MR. FLEISCHER: Is he staying at the White House? If the President invites him to
spend the night, I'm sure he could. (Laughter.)
Q Seriously, --
MR. FLEISCHER: He's been here on a regular basis. Since last week -- I don't
remember the exact date he came back to the White House, but he's been working
at the White House on a regular basis.
Q What's happening to all the mail that's sent to the White House now? And would
you recommend to American people that they send e-mails instead, to lessen the
work load, or not send letters to the White House?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, as a result of what has happened, and also as a result of
existing security precautions that have been in place, particularly since
September 11th, I can just say that precautions have been in place dealing with
the mail. And I'm going to just leave it at that.
Q Ari, there are some in Congress and elsewhere who support the idea of national
ID card to be issued to all U.S. citizens. What's the President's thinking on
that idea?
MR. FLEISCHER: That's not a topic that I've heard discussed with the President,
so I'm not aware of how he would think about that. But I'm not aware of any
discussions involving that.
Q Ari, in an era of bipartisanship after the war, when it comes to judicial
nominations, Senator Daschle basically told the President yesterday that it was
his way or the highway. When is there some sort of compromise going to come?
Does the President expect in the next couple of months, maybe after the
appropriations bills are passed, that there will be some meeting of the minds
here about going forward? And what sort of message does this send in case there,
for example, was a Supreme Court vacancy at this time?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, the Senate did, yesterday, pass four judges and I believe
they also passed -- I believe it was 14, perhaps 18 U.S. Attorneys.
Having said that, the traditions of the Senate, going back many a year, are that
in particularly a President's first year in office, almost everybody that the
President has nominated up to the August recess has been confirmed. And that is
a long-standing tradition. And given the fact that there are -- numerous
judicial emergencies have been declared, that there is a shortage of judges on
the benches, given the importance of winning the war on terrorism and avoiding
bottlenecks in the courts as federal cases are brought, the President does think
it is terribly important for the Senate to take action on the judges before they
adjourn.
Q And how about the nomination of John Walters to be drug czar? That was made a
long time ago and he's still waiting.
MR. FLEISCHER: That, too, is a priority for the President. He is hopeful that
the Senate will take action on John Walters as the drug czar. Afghanistan
happens to be one of the largest producers of drugs in the world, and the
President thinks it would be very productive to have the drug czar put in place.
Q The President said earlier in Baltimore that he'd like to accelerate another
round of rebates. The IRS Commissioner said yesterday that logistically that
would be very difficult to accomplish before the end of the calendar year, in
time for the holiday season, as the President says he wants to have extra money
in people's pockets. How do you get this done?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, the faster Congress gets it done, the easier it will be. So
the answer to that really lies in the hands of Congress. If Congress wants to
join the President in getting more money into the hands of low-income people, of
all Americans, so they can have that rebate to help stimulate the economy
quicker, and also in time for the holidays, then Congress needs to act and act
soon.
Q The President keeps talking about he's going to get the evildoers, we're going
to get the evildoers. Realistically, what is the timetable, do you think, for
the federal government to be able to bring someone in custody or have a suspect
for these anthrax letters? And also, I mean, the reality is that, compared to
the Unibomber situation when the Unibomber was found by accident, because of a
mess-up on his part. And also, has the President called any family of those
victims from the Brentwood Post Office?
MR. FLEISCHER: April, I'm not going to engage in guesswork about when an
investigation is going to find the people who did it. Obviously, that's a
crystal ball that nobody has. But it's fair to say that the FBI and local law
enforcement are dedicating every resource to that task. That is obviously, when
the United States is under anthrax attack, people mailing anthrax to various
people, it is -- nothing could concern the law enforcement community more than
that. And they are dedicated to that. And hopefully -- everybody hopes that they
will have a breakthrough and they will be able to find whoever is behind this
and arrest whoever it is, and do so quickly. But I can't engage in any guesses
on that.
Q Is hope the operative word -- hope? You said hope. Is that the operative word?
MR. FLEISCHER: I think, from my point of view, somebody who's not a professional
investigator, I hope that they're going to be able to find whoever did it
immediately, as fast as possible. The investigators are working this as
thoroughly, methodically. They're good at what they do. And the President does
have confidence that whatever time it takes, they're going to be successful.
Q Has he called the Brentwood victims yet? Has the President called the
families?
MR. FLEISCHER: I don't have the information on who the President's called.
Q Ari, I've had several calls, some from people in aviation, who ask why, when
you check in your suitcase at airports, such checked-in bags are not run through
any machine or searched, like carry-on luggage? And I'm wondering, is the
President aware of this, and concerned?
MR. FLEISCHER: I'm not sure the President is aware of who's calling you.
(Laughter.) Les, I don't know about the individual cases, of anybody who's
calling you, what happened to their baggage. I can tell you that I've flown
commercial numerous times, prior to and after September 11th, and all my
carry-on baggage has been searched -- has gone through the machines.
Q Did the U.N.'s General Secretary at any time after September the 11th tell
President Bush, we have told the Taliban that they must immediately arrest those
responsible for World Trade Center and Pentagon murders so that there is no need
for you to make war?
MR. FLEISCHER: I don't speak for the Secretary General, so I can't tell you what
he has said.
Thank you.
END 3:59 P.M. EDT