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Press Briefing 05/31/06
— Wednesday, May 31, 2006 — Lester. Q Yes, Tony, two questions. According to researcher Deborah Sherman Coughlin (phonetic), of the Violent Crimes Institute in Atlanta, 240,000 illegal alien sex offenders in the United States have had an average of four victims each, making nearly 1 million sex crimes perpetrated by illegals. My question: Is the President aware of this research? And would it make him more likely to make border security the cornerstone of his immigration reform? MR. SNOW: Lester, what you have got to -- what you've got to do is you've got to send me advance -- let's do an early warning system for Lester so that when you come up with these fairly obscure stories and studies, that I have an opportunity to look into it. Because that one, I've got no clue. I'm serious -- Q You will pursue it, though? MR. SNOW: Of course. One of things you have to do is to figure out whether these are legitimate pieces of research or whether they're -- and I can't characterize it. White House Press Corps | Press Briefing | Tony Snow | News Media | Bush Administration | Immigration | Lester Kinsolving
Posted by WhiteHousePressCorps.org @ 10:18 PM  Press Briefing 05/30/06 — Tuesday, May 30, 2006 — Q So why is the killing going on? MR. SNOW: Because it's a war, and unfortunately, that's what happens in wars. If there were some -- if there were some way -- Q Why does he think we're going to win? MR. SNOW: Because -- a couple of things. The President has faith in the power of freedom, not only as an idea, but also as a guiding principle. He also has faith in the men and women who are doing the fighting. Anybody who saw the speech that he gave yesterday at Arlington understands that he not only has faith, but a deep respect and admiration. He gets choked up every time he talks about it, because these are young men and women -- like the group at West Point -- these are all people who decided that they would go to the U.S. Military Academy after September 11th, 2001, knowing that it would be a time of war, possible peril to them, and they did it. Q But Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. MR. SNOW: Are we going to just hopscotch across these? I mean, the point here, Helen, is real simple. Q You're making points that -- MR. SNOW: I'm not making points about -- Q We all know they're serving with great faith. The problem is, this killing goes on for three years and the President still cannot give a basic reason why we're there. MR. SNOW: Yes, he can, and he's made it many times. White House Press Corps | Press Briefing | Tony Snow | News Media | Bush Administration | Iraq | Haditha
Posted by WhiteHousePressCorps.org @ 11:12 PM Press Briefing 05/25/2006 — Thursday, May 25, 2006 — Q Tony, only two questions. Has the President studied the 1986 comprehensive immigration reform plan approved by Congress and signed by President Reagan? And if he has, why does he think this comprehensive immigration reform plan, which does essentially the same thing, will be successful? MR. SNOW: Well, I don't think I've got a full roster of the President's bedside reading, but I think it's safe to say that in assembling the comprehensive immigration reform, people have taken a very close look at what happened in 1986. Let me give you a couple of examples. In 1986, Congress declared an amnesty for three million people who were here illegally, that said, okay, fine, go about your business, no crime, nothing. They also drafted a bill that made it a misdemeanor to cross America's borders without proper documentation or having done what is standard and usual for those who wish to become citizens. For this misdemeanor, it assigned no penalty. Now, what the President has done is he's taken a look at this and he's said, that's not good enough. So as part of comprehensive reform, what are we saying to those who are here illegally? And during that span, during that 20-year span, 11 or 12 million people have made their way illegally into the United States, many across the Mexican border, many from elsewhere. The President has said we need to make sure that we have penalties not only that are serious but enforceable. So for those that have crossed the border, those who have committed that misdemeanor, number one, you're going to have to pay a penalty. Members of Congress are talking about $1,000, $2,000. That will be hashed out. Number two, you're going to have to pay back taxes. Number three, as the Senate voted this week, at least according to one proposal, you're going to have to -- if you've committed one felony or three misdemeanors, you're out of here. There is also a continuous work requirement; you can't not work. So what you're putting together now is a requirement. This is just -- these are baseline requirements for people who have been here illegally. Now, once you've met all that, what do you do? You basically go to the back of the line and you're on probation for 11 or 12 years. During that time, you have to keep your nose clean, you have to keep working, you have to pay taxes. We've got to know where you are. You're going to get a -- you're going to get an identification card, a tamper-proof ID, that is going to have biometric information. Furthermore, your employer now, who in the past may have had excuses, that employer may have been able to say, I don't know, that driver's license looked good to me, that fake birth certificate looked perfectly legal, can't do it anymore. You've now got somebody who's got biometric information, and if that employer does not, in fact, have that information, the employer now is liable in a way that he wasn't before. There's no place to hide. In addition -- I know you want to ask the question, but I'm giving you the full answer here. You've got to relish every moment of this. Q I'm very grateful. MR. SNOW: So now you're in this process, they got a dozen years probation, they got to keep clean, the employers don't have any place to hide, they've got to master the English language. People who, at the end of this process stand up, put their hands up and take the oath will have spent more money and waited longer than any group in American history for the right to become American citizens. So these are -- if you want to test the people who really want to be Americans -- I mean, really, really want to be Americans -- this is it. It's a significant difference from 1986, which is, hey, come on, no harm, no foul. White House Press Corps | Press Briefing | Tony Snow | News Media | Bush Administration | Immigration
Posted by WhiteHousePressCorps.org @ 11:56 PM Press Gaggle 05/24/06 — Wednesday, May 24, 2006 — Q But turning around your point, might it not be argued by some that the United States has suddenly discovered something that it has not as much believed in in the past, that this might be an occasion -- MR. SNOW: No, as a matter of fact, the United States has worked through international forums throughout. It's a good debating point, you know. But these -- Q I'm not debating you, but certainly -- MR. SNOW: -- the "some might say" question doesn't tell me who the "some" are and what they might say. Q I don't think that that's how it would be described. But my point is, is what if that point is made? What is your response to the fact that the United States has often decided to go it alone, to use an expression, or to operate unilaterally? MR. SNOW: I disagree with the premise. White House Press Corps | Press Briefing | Tony Snow | News Media | Bush Administration | Iran
Posted by WhiteHousePressCorps.org @ 9:58 PM Press Briefing 05/23/06 — Tuesday, May 23, 2006 — MR. SNOW: The Palestinians are not being bankrupted, Helen. What's happening, as you know, is that there is -- Hamas is a terrorist organization. We do not give money to terrorist organizations. What has happened is that this government has tried in a number of ways to make humanitarian aid available to the Palestinian people. We draw a distinction between Hamas, which is -- Q And they were democratically elected. MR. SNOW: They were democratically elected and they're still a terrorist organization. Q By your designation. MR. SNOW: Yes. Thank you very much, Helen. They are, in fact, by the designation of this government, this administration, and prior administrations. So let me continue my answer. Q Go ahead. MR. SNOW: Thank you. (Laughter.) White House Press Corps | Press Briefing | Tony Snow | News Media | Bush Administration | Hamas
Posted by WhiteHousePressCorps.org @ 10:14 PM Press Gaggle 05/22/06 — Monday, May 22, 2006 — Q With a unified unity government now in place, what are the chances that American troops will start pulling out before the end of this year? MR. SNOW: Well, once again, it's all conditions-based. You don't simply say because you have a government you pull out. The President has been pretty clear, troops will return when they're no longer needed. And it is still our desire to see that the Iraqi military and police forces are trained up and capable of providing for public security in Iraq. Q But you have seven months ahead, so is the seven months enough time to just -- my question is, what is your assessment, I guess, of what Iraq is going to do in the next seven months, if you're not willing to say that seven months is enough time to begin pulling troops out? MR. SNOW: Well, if you can tell me exactly what's going to happen in the next seven months, I'll give you an answer. White House Press Corps | Press Briefing | Tony Snow | News Media | Bush Administration | Iraq
Posted by WhiteHousePressCorps.org @ 10:14 PM Press Gaggle 05/19/06 — Friday, May 19, 2006 — Q Granted the President's position that people should learn English if they wish to take U.S. citizenship, but why is it not pretty hard to take away from both these amendments the suspicion that their intention is not that people learn English, but that a message gets sent that Spanish is not going to be an acceptable language -- MR. SNOW: Because have you ever heard -- here's a President who has delivered addresses -- Q There is nativist sentiment in these. There is nativist sentiment in both of these. MR. SNOW: You're telling me -- you're telling me that Democratic Senator Salazar is guilty of nativism? Q I don't care what his party is, his name or his fluency in languages. MR. SNOW: Okay. Q That's a nativist -- MR. SNOW: Well, that's -- I'm going to allege that's an argumentative question and I'm not acknowledging the premise. Q Well, it's loaded. MR. SNOW: Yes, it is loaded -- it's pretty good loaded. The President -- I think it's a very simple thing. You want to make sure that people are fluent in English because you want them to be able to enter the mainstream of society, and you want them to do well. White House Press Corps | Press Briefing | Tony Snow | News Media | official language | Immigration |
Posted by WhiteHousePressCorps.org @ 11:01 PM First Posted Tony Snow Press Gaggle 05/18/06 Q Do you guys expect an easier ride for Hayden today? MR. SNOW: I don't know. He's getting some brisk questioning -- I'm sure you've watched some of it on the TV. Q No, "King Kong." (Laughter.) MR. SNOW: Oh, no. Well, we've been watching it on CNN; it's doing okay. Q Has the President been watching, as well? MR. SNOW: I don't know. He's in the fore cabin. I've not made it my business to barge in and ask him what he's doing. But he's going to face vigorous questioning, but, also, we've got a lot of confidence in General Hayden. This is a guy who has been appointed precisely because he's the most qualified intelligence officer in the country and a guy who has got a record of trying to take on big reform tasks and carry them out. White House Press Corps | Press Briefing | Tony Snow | News Media | General Hayden | NSA | Power to the People!
Posted by WhiteHousePressCorps.org @ 12:38 AM Press Gaggle - Administrative note — Wednesday, May 17, 2006 — Apparently the new Press Secretary will not be publishing official transcripts of the Gaggles on the WH website, so we will no longer be able to provide excerpts from the Gaggles. White House Press Corps | Press Briefing | Tony Snow | News Media | Press Gaggle | Annoying
Posted by WhiteHousePressCorps.org @ 10:16 PM Press Briefing by Tony Snow 05/17/06 Q One on immigration -- I'm sorry. One on immigration. My question -- what I'm suggesting -- that if President can look back, he said that we have stopped terrorism by keeping terrorists beyond our borders where they came from who are training them, they are now there. Why can't we do the same thing with illegal immigrants, if we bring all those factories from China and put them back to Mexico, and then they will have jobs and they won't come across the U.S. border illegally here. MR. SNOW: You're suggesting that we take factories from China and place them in Mexico? Q Yes, because in China, we are losing -- MR. SNOW: I think that's beyond the powers of being Press Secretary and even the President. White House Press Corps | Press Briefing | Tony Snow | News Media | Immigration
Posted by WhiteHousePressCorps.org @ 10:14 PM Press Briefing by Tony Snow 05/16/06 — Tuesday, May 16, 2006 — Q Thanks, Tony. You just a second ago said you guarantee it's going to go to conference. So you already know that the Senate is going to pass this? MR. SNOW: Okay, you know what, I was being presumptuous here. (Laughter.) But I think that there is -- again, I think there's a good chance -- if you talk to people on the Hill, it looks as if the Senate has put together a series of rules. But you're absolutely right. I overstepped and should not be making predictions about what the Senate will do, and we'll leave it to the senators, themselves. White House Press Corps | Press Briefing | Tony Snow | News Media | Immigration
Posted by WhiteHousePressCorps.org @ 10:01 PM Press Briefing on the President's Speech on Immigration — Monday, May 15, 2006 — Q But you said it's not amnesty. If it's not amnesty -- they have to have not done anything illegal, but it is amnesty for the fact they did something illegal -- MR. SNOW: It's a funny kind of amnesty where this is a misdemeanor. This is a misdemeanor where you can get a stiff fine, where you're going to pay taxes, where you're going to go to the back of the line if you want to become a citizen. If you break the law, you're out. You've got to hold a job continuously. That is probably stiffer than any similar set of circumstances one can think of. Amnesty -- 1986, or whatever -- amnesty is, we forget about it, everybody stay. We'll start all over. Q But didn't they break the law by coming here? MR. KAPLAN: And they'll pay their obligation to society. MR. SNOW: Yes, you pay a fine for breaking the law. Q You all are making this argument, but as you know there's a good many Republicans who are saying -- who take the argument, but say it's still a question of how long ago did you break the law to come into this country. So I understand the argument you're making, but you're up against -- particularly House Republicans -- who are saying, sorry, no deal here, this is a non-starter. So how do you overcome that? I know the argument. MR. SNOW: Well, the political process is going to have to work its way out. But I think what the President is trying to do is to insert a little bit of precision in the use of the term amnesty. There is a significant difference. We've already pointed out the benchmarks that people are going to have to surmount if they want to become eligible to be citizens. I mean, this gives them an opportunity to stand in line for, what, a dozen years. White House Press Corps | Press Briefing | Tony Snow | News Media | Immigration
Posted by WhiteHousePressCorps.org @ 10:09 PM Press Gaggle by Dana Perino 05/11/06 — Thursday, May 11, 2006 — Q Does the President think that the timing of this story is related to General Hayden's pending confirmation hearing? MS. PERINO: I would not question whether or not there were any motivations on behalf of a media organization that published the story, no. White House Press Corps | Press Briefing | Dana Perino | News Media | NSA wiretap
Posted by WhiteHousePressCorps.org @ 10:23 PM Final Press Briefing by Scott McClellan 05/05/06 — Friday, May 05, 2006 — "Finally, I want to thank each of you in this room and each of you in the White House press corps that aren't here today. Thank you for all you do to keep the American people informed. Thank you for all you do to hold those of us in elected office accountable for the decisions that are made. Keep after it. Keep up the good work. You are a terrific bunch of professionals, and it has been a real honor to serve with you all. Thank you." - Scott McClellan White House Press Corps | Press Briefing | Scott McClellan | News Media
Posted by WhiteHousePressCorps.org @ 9:43 PM Press Briefing 05/04/06 — Thursday, May 04, 2006 — Q Yes. Scott, Elizabeth Dole, as head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has sent out a fundraising email, and in it she says that if the Democrats take control of the Senate this year they're going to try to call for endless congressional investigations and possibly the impeachment of President Bush. And she also says that that is worse than losing the war on terror. What is your reaction to that? MR. McCLELLAN: You know, I haven't had a chance to look at the fundraising letter. I think that if you have questions about it you ought to ask Senator Dole. We appreciate all that she does to help advance the ideas that the President has outlined in his agenda for the American people. And we appreciate all that she's doing to support Republican candidates for the United States Senate. But I think we've previously talked about how there are some Democratic leaders who think the enemy is the President. The enemy is the terrorist. And that's why we're going to continue the stay focused on winning the war on terrorism and doing everything within our power to bring the terrorists to justice and prevent attacks from happening. Q Would you not think that losing the war on terror would be worse than a congressional investigation of the President? MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sorry? Q Would you think that losing the war on terror would be worse than -- MR. McCLELLAN: I don't know you're trying to equate the two. Q Because they're in this letter. MR. McCLELLAN: The top priority of this President is winning the war on terrorism. I'm not going to comment on a letter that I haven't even seen. White House Press Corps | Press Briefing | Scott McClellan | News Media | Senate Elections
Posted by WhiteHousePressCorps.org @ 11:58 PM Press Briefing by Scott McClellan and Homeland Security Advisor Fran Townsend 05/03/06 — Wednesday, May 03, 2006 — Q But some of it -- you have 40 percent of the workforce out in the most severe outbreak. You've got guidelines for people to stay three feet apart, which seems unworkable in areas of work -- I mean, how can it not be chaos with the economy -- MS. TOWNSEND: Good planning and preparation will avoid it being chaotic. It just will. And the answer is, we're communicating not only with government officials at the state and local level, but it's the whole purpose in communicating directly with the American people about steps they can take. White House Press Corps | Press Briefing | Scott McClellan | News Media | Flu Pandemic | It Just Will
Posted by WhiteHousePressCorps.org @ 10:24 PM Press Briefing 05/02/06 — Tuesday, May 02, 2006 — Q Scott, you said the President is focused on results, not polls. At what point will he have to focus on polls if, in fact, they continue to drop, as they are doing? MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I guess you all are going to stay focused on polls, and that's what you can do. We're going to keep getting things done for the American people. That's what the American people want us to do. And we're accomplishing some important things to make America safer and to make America more prosperous. And the President will continue talking about those important priorities. I assume that you're bringing up -- "at what point will he pay attention to this" -- I assume you're bringing up the context of this an election year for members of Congress. And the elections have a tendency to really clarify what the choices are. And the President will continue to make clear what the choices are on the important priorities facing this country. That means the war on terrorism, it means our economy, and it means other issues, such as Medicare, which I mentioned earlier. Q If the President continues to stay focused on results, but those results, themselves, result in lower and lower polls, at what point will he have to look at the results themselves? MR. McCLELLAN: Let me make clear, the American people want their leaders in Washington to work together, to get things done on the important priorities facing this country and the big challenges facing this country. This President believes in solving problems and leading and working across the partisan isle to get things done. And that's what he's going to continue doing. And I think that we'll let the results speak for themselves. We'll also let the choices speak for themselves. The President is going to continue to clearly articulate what the choices are for addressing these important priorities going forward. Q Does he not think that a poll is a way for the American people to speak to him? MR. McCLELLAN: I think they are snapshots in time. And there are important priorities that we're working to address right now, and we're achieving some meaningful results for the American people. And I think it's important to talk about what the American people care most about, and that's what this President is doing -- not only talking about it, but acting on those important priorities. White House Press Corps | Press Briefing | Scott McClellan | News Media | Polls | Elections
Posted by WhiteHousePressCorps.org @ 9:51 PM Press Briefing 05/01/06 — Monday, May 01, 2006 — Q The war in Iraq has cost U.S. taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars. What is wrong with asking Iraq to give the United States $200 billion or $300 billion in free oil to repay us for their liberation, and to help our prices? MR. McCLELLAN: Well, first of all, let's look at the way the President is approaching this, and the reason the President made the decision to go in and remove the regime from power. This was a brutal regime that was a threat to the region and to the world, and that's why the President made the decision to go in there and remove Saddam Hussein and his regime from power. It goes to laying the foundation of peace for generations to come. So I look at it in terms of the peace and security of the American people for generations. And that's the way the President is approaching it. I haven't looked at it in the way you're looking at it. White House Press Corps | Press Briefing | Scott McClellan | News Media | Iraq | Oil | Gas Prices
Posted by WhiteHousePressCorps.org @ 9:59 PM
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