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 Favorability and Power - White House Press Briefing by Dana Perino 10/14/08 — Tuesday, October 14, 2008 —  Q According to some of those who were a part of the banking meeting yesterday, they were not all enthusiastic about signing off on this initially. In the President's dealings with banks, with the allies, with Congress, has he felt any impact related to his relatively low -- historic low job approval rating in the country? Has that had any impact, or been any disadvantage to him?MS. PERINO: The President is focused on leading; he doesn't focus on the approval ratings. And yet -- I wasn't in the meetings yesterday, but I would imagine that there was probably some reluctance to move forward with this, but a willingness to do it, because everyone recognizes that we have to do it in order to protect everybody and to get this economy moving again. So, sure, there's not a soul that wanted to have to do this. But if we're going to do it, we better do it right. And we better implement the legislation in a way that gets it done appropriately. This legislation got passed; this legislation is being implemented. The banks are going to participate in this program, and they have an incentive to get the government out of their business. We'll have a quarterly dividend that comes back to the American taxpayer at a 5 percent rate for the first three years. That jumps to 9 percent after those first three years. And so they have every incentive to work very hard to get their businesses back up to par, and return to normalcy. Q Has the President felt any impact from the poll numbers that are out this week giving him a historically low job approval rating? It hasn't had any impact on his dealing with foreign leaders or with Congress? MS. PERINO: Well, I think that if anybody who saw the statements yesterday by Prime Minister Berlusconi and others, all the conversations he's had, the United States is the one helping to provide the leadership necessary to steer this ship, so that we can all save our economies. That's what this President is focused on. He's not focused on the approval ratings as a lot of the media are. Dana Perino | Economy | Legislation | Polls | President Bush | Press Briefing | White House Press Corps Labels: Dana Perino, Economy, Legislation, Polls, President Bush, Press Briefing, White House Press Corps
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 7:53 PM  G7 Pileup - Air Force One Press Gaggle by Dana Perino 10/10/08 — Friday, October 10, 2008 —  Q What is -- what's the President hoping to achieve with the ministers' meeting tomorrow, with the G7 meeting?MS. PERINO: Well, we have been keeping you regularly updated on all the calls and coordination amongst the G7 countries and beyond, because as we said this morning, the President spoke to Prime Minister Rudd, I expect he spoke to President Lula earlier this week, amongst others. The G7 has been working together on a variety of things: sharing information, finding common areas where they can work together on instituting rescues that will address their individual nation's needs, as well as what we need to do as a whole, since we are all so interconnected. So today's meeting at the Treasury Department will allow them to meet face to face, maybe dot some "I's," cross some "T's," and then tomorrow morning the President will have a chance to meet with them. I'm going to let that meeting take place, but I will tell you that the goal of the meeting overall is to continue the good communication and cooperative spirit of trying to find common solutions, while respecting the fact that each nation has individual problems and challenges and needs and ways to address them. Q Dana, has anyone at the White House spoken to Berlusconi or any of his aides about his proposal to close global markets? MS. PERINO: I don't know if you saw an update, but it was retracted. Q Did you guys talk to him about retracting -- MS. PERINO: No, I don't think so. I think that it all happened so fast it was -- Q It wasn't like the White House asked him to retract that or anything like that? MS. PERINO: Not that I'm aware of. I just saw a news report as it came across. I don't know of any of us -- I wasn't involved at all. Q What about the idea of guaranteeing some of the bad debt at the banks? MS. PERINO: This is one of the ideas that Gordon Brown has put forward. What we have said is that with any proposal that's put forward by one of our global partners, that we'll take a look at it and we will review it, but beyond that I don't have any comment on it. Q What about insuring all deposits temporarily at U.S. banks? MS. PERINO: All of those things are questions that the policymakers can take up and think about, discuss. And then once we have -- if we have a decision about moving forward on any of those issues, it will either come out of the Treasury Department or we'll keep you updated. Air Force One | Dana Perino | Economy | G7 | President Bush | Press Gaggle | Treasury Department | Wall Street | White House Press Corps Labels: Air Force One, Dana Perino, Economy, G7, President Bush, Press Gaggle, Treasury Department, Wall Street, White House Press Corps
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 5:13 PM Hit Me Baby One More Time - White House Press Briefing by Dana Perino 10/9/08 — Thursday, October 09, 2008 —  Q Thanks. Does the idea of the federal government taking part ownership in a number of U.S. banks fit with the President's philosophy of free enterprise?MS. PERINO: As the President has said, the radical and bold aggressive steps that we are taking on the economy are not ones that were part of his natural instincts. But when presented with the evidence that the financial crisis about to hit the United States would affect every single America up and down the economic food chain, this President decided that it was important that the government take robust action. That's why we worked with Congress to establish the rescue package. Part of that package includes a broad range of authorities for the Treasury Secretary. What you're referring to, I believe, is capital injections that would actually be investing in banks but not taking them over. Q Not taking them over, but doesn't this idea envision that the government would have part ownership in a number of banks? MS. PERINO: It would include an equity stake, yes. Q And how far along is that idea? MS. PERINO: I would refer you to the Treasury Department for that, but it is a part of the range of authorities that they were given, and this is a dynamic situation. We still have a volatile stock market, and Secretary Paulson is looking at all the different tools to figure out which one should be used at what time and how robustly, and how much money to put into each. He said it's going to take a little bit of time, though, as they implement these -- the rules and regulations that Neel Kashkari is now involved in. So let me refer you over there on specifics for that. Q But that's an idea that the President would be okay with? MS. PERINO: It was a part of the rescue package that the President supported, and it gives the Treasury Secretary a range of possibilities, and investing in banks directly was one of those authorities. And Secretary Paulson can use that authority as he sees fit. Q But given the fact that the markets have not reacted positively so far, or at least not very, wouldn't the President like to see that kind of authority used sooner than later? MS. PERINO: Well, one of the things that the President wants is to make sure that these new authorities are used in the most effective and efficient way possible. They are moving at lightning speed for government-type work in trying to establish how quickly people can get in those positions so that they can work on the reverse auctions that were also a part of the authority. This -- these capital injections are something that Secretary Paulson is actively considering, but I'd have to refer you to him as to when he thinks he'd be able to make the first move. Q And the President -- back over this ground again -- the President doesn't object to this in spite of his free market stance? MS. PERINO: As I -- the President's natural instincts when first presented with these issues was not to have government involvement, but when he realized that it wasn't just a few executives on Wall Street who were going to lose their shirts, but it was possibly everyone in America, and now if you look around the world, everybody is suffering -- the President said the government has the tools and the ability to be able to step in and stem this crisis, and there was no way he was going to stand by and let everyone be hurt by the bad decisions of a few. Dana Perino | Economy | President Bush | Press Briefing | Treasury Department | Wall Street | White House Press Corps Labels: Dana Perino, Economy, President Bush, Press Briefing, Treasury Department, Wall Street, White House Press Corps
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 5:29 PM A Day at the Spa with AIG - White House Press Briefing by Dana Perino 10/8/08 — Wednesday, October 08, 2008 —  Q Is the President following any of the financial hearings that are going on, on the Hill, specifically at AIG executives? When the White House hears about these executives taking a spa vacation, spending thousands of dollars on massages and treatments -- I mean, do they think that there should be any kind of action taken against these executives, considering how much taxpayer money was put into that company to rescue it? MS. PERINO: I don't know how much he's been able to actually watch those. As you know, yesterday we were traveling out to Chantilly, Virginia. But certainly we've seen coverage of it. And I understand why the American people would be outraged -- I am. It's pretty despicable to realize how callous somebody might be as they go through this -- as some might be reacting to this crisis. And the President did not want to move forward on this rescue package to help anybody in the top positions in Wall Street. He was concerned about everybody -- everyday people like you and me in America and people all across this country who have worked so hard to put money into their retirement accounts, to pay their mortgages on time, who have been responsible in the loans that they've taken out. Not everybody has, and there were risky lenders -- lenders who gave people loans that they knew they weren't going to be able to pay, and borrowers who took out loans that they probably knew they didn't have the income in order to pay but thought maybe that eventually that they would. Now, Americans are not the type of people who fault success. When people succeed we like that, we think that that's good, and we aspire to be successful ourselves. But rewarding failure is something that we have a very hard time swallowing. And President Bush has said that his first instinct was absolutely not to go down this road. What he wanted was to make sure that we were asking all the right questions to prevent this financial market collapse and that we take the actions necessary on Capitol Hill, or anywhere else -- at the Fed, or the SEC, wherever we could independently -- to help save the system. But he didn't do that to help top executives and certainly not to help executives go to a spa. President Bush did that in order to try to help everybody save their accounts. Q Should some of that money be taken back from those individuals? Is there a way to do that? MS. PERINO: I don't know how it was all paid for or anything. I just know that I can understand that people would question the judgment of executives who would take that kind of action. AIG | Congressional Hearings | Dana Perino | Economy | President Bush | Press Briefing | Wall Street | White House Press Corps Labels: AIG, Congressional Hearings, Dana Perino, Economy, President Bush, Press Briefing, Wall Street, White House Press Corps
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 5:10 PM Wow, could've had a G8 - White House Press Briefing by Dana Perino 10/7/08 — Tuesday, October 07, 2008 —  MS. PERINO: Wendell. Q As we've dealt with this crisis over the past month and a half or so, the talks -- the international talks have involved the G7, not the G8. Is Moscow, in this regard, paying the price for its overreaction to the Georgia incursion? MS. PERINO: I've not heard that come up, because -- and I don't know all the details; I'd refer you to Treasury about the G7 and the makeup. But usually when they're talking the finance ministers meeting, those have been held at the G7 level, though I think there is some observance or participation at the Russian level, and that will be true this weekend, as well. Q That will be true this weekend as -- because Russia's stock market has lost about half its value this year. They are also suffering in this thing. Do we feel we need them, given they're a huge energy provider for Europe? MS. PERINO: Well, I think that you should go back and -- well, you have to ask Europe that. And I think that obviously energy is an issue. They've been working to try to diversify and develop more supply and different types of supply there in their own hemisphere. But the Russian stock market -- and I'm not an expert in this -- but you could go back -- they didn't just lose value over the past two weeks. They've been losing value since about -- since May -- Q All year. MS. PERINO: -- or maybe all year, but I know that a precipitous drop since May. Again, I don't comment on the daily market movements here, and I can't do it in terms of the Russian ones. But clearly, if you look back in August, if you want to try to make a parallel, when we were dealing with the situation when Russia invaded Georgia, yes, I think that they did -- the world did react negatively to that. Q But I just want to make sure that the -- in the current financial situation, I want to -- the question remains whether Russia is being punished, in effect. MS. PERINO: As I said, I'll have you check with Treasury for the exact list of who all will be here. But it's usually -- when the G7 meets, it's usually just the finance ministers. And that's been the way it's been -- I think we inherited that policy for a while. But I think that the Russian -- I can't remember -- Q So the G8 meets on political matters, the G7 on financial matters? MS. PERINO: I believe so. I don't want to say for sure. But the G7 -- I'm sorry, Treasury will have the list today. But I do think that they send an observer. Dana Perino | Economy | G7 | G8 | Press Briefing | Treasury Department | Wendell Goler | White House Press Corps Labels: Dana Perino, Economy, G7, G8, Press Briefing, Russia, Treasury Department, Wendell Goler, White House Press Corps
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 3:48 PM The Press and Body Language - Press Gaggle by Scott Stanzel 10/6/08 — Monday, October 06, 2008 —  Q If there's any -- going to be any change or update in whether [the President] might speak on the economy today, can you give us a heads up?Q -- we might hear from him when he gets back -- I mean, that's the body language I took from you. MR. STANZEL: You guys are all great at reading body language. Q Is that true? MR. STANZEL: No, it's not. But I think you're all very adept at reading body language. But my body shifting and walking back and forth here was not meant to indicate anything whatsoever, other than I read out this President's schedule as it stands right now. Economy | President Bush | Press Gaggle | Scott Stanzel | White House Press Corps Labels: Economy, President Bush, Press Gaggle, Scott Stanzel, Wall Street, White House Press Corps
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 4:26 PM Bailout Pork - White House Press Briefing by Tony Fratto 10/3/08 — Friday, October 03, 2008 —  MR. FRATTO: Yes, Mark.Q Tony, listening to the debate on the House floor, many of the opponents were quite alarmed by what they described as a "pork-laden, earmark-laden bill." They talked about tax breaks for rum producers in Puerto Rico, arrow -- wooden arrow makers in Oregon for Hollywood producers -- MR. FRATTO: I think you should look for -- Q How do you answer that? MR. FRATTO: Well, the ranking member, ranking Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee just put out a very long statement addressing some of those things. And as he pointed out, this was the same package that was promoted by Republicans not too long ago. I think Representative Camp had sent it up as -- or put it forth on their motion to recommit, same exact package. There are -- the rum provision, it's not a tax break for rum producers. These are excise taxes that actually go back to the government of Puerto Rico. Some of these things have sort of interesting headline-making characteristics to them, but when you look deeper at them, they make a lot of sense. I mean, I didn't know anything about children's arrows, but I've learned a lot over the last 24 hours, and it turns out that the -- Q Did you get the point? (Laughter.) MR. FRATTO: You hit the bulls-eye with that one, Mark. (Laughter.) It turns out that the excise tax is -- would be 39 cents an arrow, but it only costs about 30 cents an arrow to make, so there are very real reasons why you wouldn't want to have that kind of tax on that kind of product. So I would point you to what Representative McCrery put out. He has a document that explains each one of these provisions. And the entire package of extenders is something that we are very, very comfortable supporting. Congress | Legislation | Pork | Press Briefing | Tony Fratto | White House Press Corps Labels: Congress, Legislation, Pork, Press Briefing, Tony Fratto, White House Press Corps
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 6:14 PM Raising FDIC Coverage - White House Press Briefing by Tony Fratto 10/2/08 — Thursday, October 02, 2008 —  MR. FRATOO: Jennifer.Q I'm trying to understand this deposit insurance increase. MR. FRATTO: Sure. Q One of the reasons obviously that the vote went the way it did on Monday was that folks were uncomfortable with the idea of so much government money into the private markets, into Wall Street, that whole line of concern. But I'm trying to understand how protecting deposits that are over $100,000, which is a lot of money -- not -- most regular people don't have $100,000 sitting around in any one account --how is that getting to the Main Street regular people -- MR. FRATTO: Sure. Actually, it's one of -- America's small businesses use their local banks in order to fund their operations. That's where they keep their money for day-to-day operations -- their funds for payroll, for example. And so they would have -- in fact, a great many of them would have far more than $100,000 in their accounts. And what a lot of small businesses have had to do across the country is to split up their accounts as they felt that maybe banks were threatened -- split up their accounts in numerous banks, which is incredibly inefficient; it's not a very efficient way to do business. And you're also noticing that small businesses were moving their funds from banks that were perceived to be weak to banks that were perceived to be strong, and so really not normal ways of doing business. Raising the cap allows them to have the confidence that they can keep those funds in their local bank. They don't have to move them around. And so it's a much bigger cushion. Q Okay. Congress | Legislation | FDIC | Press Briefing | Tony Fratto | White House Press Corps Labels: Congress, FDIC, Legislation, Press Briefing, Tony Fratto, White House Press Corps
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 4:32 PM Add-ons to Financial Bailout Bill - White House Press Briefing by Tony Fratto 10/1/08 — Wednesday, October 01, 2008 —  Q Tony, is the White House concerned at all about the possibility of losing votes in the House because of the add-ons in the Senate bill?MR. FRATTO: Right now we're focused on the Senate. We think the modifications are helpful and will help to achieve passage in the House. Q Didn't you want a clean bill, though? You didn't want a lot of add-ons and you're ending up with add-ons. MR. FRATTO: Well, we didn't want a lot of add-ons. We didn't want things that we felt would be harmful to the economy. But since we started working with the Congress 10 days ago on the actual legislation, we've made a number of changes and modifications. The things that are being added on right now, on the tax extenders, these are things that we have all supported. In fact, both Houses support extending the tax credits for renewable energy; both support AMT reform. There's a dispute in terms of whether they should be offset, and of course, we have opposed increasing taxes to pay for fixing a problem in the tax code. And the FDIC decision has been a recent one that we think will garner some additional support. So, yes, look, this is not -- it's never a straight line in trying to get legislation like this, and we're very appreciative of the Senate's efforts to try to develop this legislation in a way that will be successful. Congress | Legislation | Press Briefing | Senate | Tony Fratto | Wall Street | White House Press Corps Labels: Congress, Legislation, Press Briefing, Senate, Tony Fratto, Wall Street, White House Press Corps
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 5:26 PM
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