Freedom Calendar 08/04/07 - 08/11/07

August 4, 1965, Senate Republican Leader Everett Dirksen (R-IL) overcomes Democrat attempts to block 1965 Voting Rights Act; 94% of Senate Republicans vote for landmark civil right legislation, while 27% of Democrats oppose.

August 5, 1964, Hispanic-American Republican Lt. Everett Alvarez, USN, is shot down in Vietnam; becomes first U.S. prisoner of North Vietnamese and longest-serving POW in U.S. history.

August 6, 1965, Voting Rights Act of 1965, abolishing literacy tests and other measures devised by Democrats to prevent African-Americans from voting, signed into law; higher percentage of Republicans than Democrats vote in favor.

August 7, 1917, Birth of African-American Republican Melvin Evans, first elected Governor of Virgin Islands; also served as Delegate to Congress, Republican National Committeeman, and U.S. Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago.

August 8, 1878, African-American Republican James Rapier becomes Collector of Internal Revenue; previously served as U.S. Rep. (R-AL).

August 9, 1988, Lauro Cavazos, first Hispanic to serve in Cabinet, nominated by President Ronald Reagan to be Secretary of Education.

August 10, 1988, President Ronald Reagan signs Civil Liberties Act of 1988, compensating Japanese-Americans for deprivation of civil rights and property during World War II internment ordered by FDR.

August 11, 1868, Death of U.S. Rep. Thaddeus Stevens (R-PA), who introduced 14th Amendment; requested burial in a racially-integrated cemetery, with epitaph 'Equality of Man before his Creator'.

The United States respects your aspirations as sovereign citizens. And we will stand with you to secure your rights -- to speak as you choose, to think as you please, to worship as you wish, and to choose your leaders, freely and fairly, in democratic elections.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Washington, DC August 4, 2006.

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Presidential Podcast 08/04/07

Presidential Podcast 08/04/07 . Subscribe to Our Podcast feed or online podnova Podcast Channel and receive the weekly Presidential Radio Address in English and Spanish with select State Department Briefings. Featuring full audio and text transcripts, More content Sources added often so stay tuned.

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Bush radio address 08/04/07 full audio, text transcript

bush radio address 08/04/07 full audio, text transcript. President's Radio Address .

Subscribe to Our Podcast feed or online podnova Podcast Channel and receive the weekly Presidential Radio Address in English and Spanish with select State Department Briefings. Featuring real audio and full text transcripts, More content Sources added often so stay tuned.

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Today, I am traveling to Minneapolis to the site of Wednesday's tragic bridge collapse. Like millions of Americans, I was shocked and saddened when I heard the news that the I-35 bridge gave way during rush hour. The bridge was a major traffic artery, and when it collapsed dozens of cars fell into the Mississippi River.

Laura and I join all Americans in mourning those who lost their lives and in sending our thoughts and prayers to their families. And we pray that those injured will make a full recovery.

On Thursday morning, Transportation Secretary Mary Peters and Federal Highway Administrator Richard Capka traveled to Minneapolis. They announced $5 million in immediate federal funding for debris removal and to help restore the flow of traffic. This is just the beginning of the financial assistance we will make available to support the state in its recovery efforts. Several federal agencies are on the ground aiding state and local officials, including the National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Coast Guard, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

I recognize how important the I-35 bridge is to the state of Minnesota, and my administration is committed to working closely with Governor Pawlenty and Mayor Rybak to rebuild this bridge as quickly as possible.
In times of tragedy, our hearts ache for those who suffer, yet our hearts are also lifted by acts of courage and compassion. We saw those qualities in the residents of a nearby apartment building who rushed to the scene to offer their help. We saw them in the divers who fought the mighty currents of the Mississippi to reach victims. And we saw them in the firefighters who searched car to car for survivors.

Among the survivors was a group of kids returning from a summer field trip. Their school bus had just passed over the Mississippi River, when the bridge below them gave way. The bus dropped more than 20 feet and came to rest on the guardrail of the collapsed bridge span. A staff member named Jeremy Hernandez quickly swung into action. He broke open the backdoor and helped evacuate the terrified children to safety. The mother of one of the children on board credited Jeremy's presence of mind with helping spare her daughter from tragedy. She put it this way: "I don't know what he was thinking but it must have been something really good."

Our country is fortunate to have brave and selfless citizens like Jeremy, and all those who risked their own safety to aid in the rescue. This is a difficult time for the community in Minneapolis, but the people there are decent and resilient, and they will get through these painful hours. As they do, they know that all of America stands with them, and that we will do all we can to help them recover and rebuild.

May God bless those who are hurting in Minneapolis, and may God bless our wonderful country. Thank you for listening.

END For Immediate Release, Office of the Press Secretary, August 3, 2007

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Discurso Radial del Presidente a la Nación 08/04/07

forre el audio de la dirección de radio 08/04/07 por completo, transcripción del texto. (nota de los redactores: ninguna lengua española mp3 lanzó esta semana, apesadumbrada) PODCAST

Suscribir a nuestro canal de Podcast de Odeo o del podnova y recibir la dirección de radio presidencial semanal en inglés y español con informes selectos del departamento del estado. Ofreciendo transcripciones audio y con texto completo verdaderas, más fuentes contentas agregaron a menudo así que la estancia templó.

10:54 A.M. EDT

EL PRESIDENTE: Buenos días. Acabo de concluir una reunión con el gabinete. Una de las cosas de las que hablamos fue de la terrible situación allá en Minneapolis. Hablamos sobre el puente que se derrumbó y sobre el hecho de que el gobierno federal debe responder y hacerlo enérgicamente para ayudar a la gente allá no sólo a recuperarse, sino para asegurarse de que esa vía tan importante y activa, ese puente, sea reconstruido lo antes posible.

Con ese fin, la secretaria Peters está en Minneapolis, como también el administrador Capka de la Dirección Federal de Carreteras. Hablé con el gobernador Pawlenty y el alcalde Rybak esta mañana. Les dije que la secretaria iría. Les dije que ayudaremos con el rescate, pero también les hablé sobre cuánto estamos rezando por los que sufrieron. Y les agradezco a mis conciudadanos por apoyar con sus oraciones a las personas que sufren en estos momentos.

También hablamos sobre. en la reunión del gabinete hablamos sobre el estatus de propuestas legislativas importantes ante el Congreso. Dedicamos un buen tiempo a hablar sobre el hecho de que nos sentimos decepcionados porque el Congreso no ha remitido ninguna propuesta de gastos a mi despacho. Al término de esta semana, los miembros del Congreso partirán para su receso de todo el mes de agosto. Y para cuando regresen, quedará menos de un mes para el fin del año fiscal, el 30 de septiembre, y sin embargo, no han aprobado ni una sola de las 12 propuestas de gastos que requieren aprobación. Si el Congreso no aprueba las propuestas de gastos para fines del año fiscal, los secretarios del gabinete nos informan que cabe la posibilidad de que sus departamentos no puedan avanzar con las prioridades urgentes para nuestro país.

Eso no debe suceder. Los demócratas ganaron las elecciones del año pasado con todas las de la ley, y ahora controlan el calendario para considerar proyectos de ley ante el Congreso. Es necesario que aprueben cada una de estas propuestas de gastos individualmente, a tiempo y de manera fiscalmente responsable.

El presupuesto que le he remitido al Congreso financia plenamente las prioridades de Estados Unidos. Aumenta en 6.9 por ciento los gastos discrecionales. Los secretarios de mi gabinete me aseguran que esto es adecuado para atender las necesidades de nuestra nación.

Desafortunadamente, los líderes demócratas en el Congreso quieren gastar mucho más. Su presupuesto propone casi $22,000 millones más en gastos discrecionales tan sólo el próximo año. Estos líderes han tratado de restarle importancia a esa cifra. Ayer uno de ellos dijo que este aumento -y cito- representa "una diferencia muy pequeña" de lo que he propuesto. Solamente en Washington se puede decir que $22,000 millones son una diferencia muy pequeña. Y esa diferencia continuará aumentando. Durante los próximos cinco años, ascenderá a casi $205,000 millones en gastos discrecionales adicionales. Esos $205,000 millones en promedio representan aproximadamente $112 millones por día, $4.7 millones por hora, $78,000 por minuto.

Para ponerlo de otra manera, eso es aproximadamente $1,300 en gastos adicionales cada segundo de cada minuto de cada hora de cada día de cada año durante los próximos cinco años. Eso es muchísimo dinero. incluso para los políticos profesionales en Washington. De hecho, a ese paso, los demócratas en el Congreso hubiesen gastado $300,000 adicionales desde que comencé a hacer estas declaraciones.

Sólo hay una manera de pagar todos estos nuevos gastos federales sin hacer que el déficit aumente, y ésa es aumentar sus impuestos. Un incremento masivo de impuestos es lo último que necesita el pueblo estadounidense. El plan que presenté mantendría bajos los impuestos y lograría el equilibrio presupuestal al cabo de cinco años, y ése es el plan correcto para nuestro país.

Quiero darle las gracias al director de la OMB, Rob Portman, por su arduo trabajo en la formulación de este plan. Para Rob, ésta fue la última reunión de gabinete. Laura y yo les deseamos lo mejor a él y a su familia. E insto al Senado a que confirme a su sucesor, Jim Nussle, para que podamos trabajar juntos para mantener nuestro gobierno en marcha, para mantener nuestra economía en crecimiento y para mantener la solidez de nuestra nación.

Gracias por su tiempo.

END 10:59 A.M. EDT. Para su publicación inmediata, Oficina del Secretario de Prensa, 3 de agosto de 2007

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President Bush Meets with Counterterrorism Team VIDEO PODCAST

President Bush Meets with Counterterrorism Team FULL STREAMING VIDEO J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building Washington, D.C. 11:41 A.M. EDT. PODCAST OF THIS ARTICLE

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all for coming. Director Mueller, thank you for your hospitality. I'm honored to be here at the headquarters of the FBI. Just had a beginning of a series of meetings today, and during those meetings it is clear that people around that table fully understand we have no higher duty than to protect the American people. And so I'm pleased to be with my homeland security and counterterrorism teams. We've got folks in our government who spend every day working side by side with like-minded men and women in our federal government, all aiming to protect you, doing everything they can to protect the American people from a dangerous enemy.

I'm going to spend a little time later on this afternoon with intelligence analysts who spend every day analyzing data, attempting to track down known and suspected terrorists who either may be here or elsewhere. We've done a lot of work since September the 11th to make this country safe, and it is safer, but it's not completely safe. It's important for the American people to understand there are cold-blooded killers who want to come to our homeland and wreak havoc through death. And that's what we were discussing today.

We take a clear-eyed view of the world. The people on this team, assembled in this building see the world the way it is, not the way we hope it is. And this is a dangerous world because there's an enemy that wants to strike the homeland again. You know, it was a year ago that I met with the counterterrorism team that we worked with Great Britain to uncover an airline plot, a plot that had it gone forward would have caused death on a massive scale. It was a reminder that the terrorists we face are sophisticated, they are cold-blooded, they are changing tactics and we must always stay ahead of them.

In other words, we've got to do more than just keep pace with these people. We've got to be ahead of the people in order to protect the American people, in order to do our most important duty -- and that's what we're talking about today.

Part of the effort to do our job, part of the effort for this federal government to do the job the American people expects us to do in protecting you is to close intelligence gaps. We have such an intelligence gap in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The act needs to be modernized so that all of us engaged in protecting the American people say we have the tools we need to protect you. Leaders in Congress have said they would like to address this problem before they go home. I appreciate that spirit.

The Director of National Intelligence, Mike McConnell, has provided the Congress with a narrow and targeted piece of legislation that will close the gaps in intelligence. In other words, he's working on the Hill and he's told members this is what we need to do our job to protect the American people. It's the bare minimum the DNI said he needs to do his job. When Congress sends me their version, when Congress listens to all the data and facts and they send me a version of how to close those gaps, I'll ask one question, and I'm going to ask the DNI: Does this legislation give you what you need to prevent an attack on the country? Is this what you need to do your job, Mr. DNI? That's the question I'm going to ask. And if the answer is yes, I'll sign the bill. And if the answer is no, I'm going to veto the bill.

And so far the Democrats in Congress have not drafted a bill I can sign. We've worked hard and in good faith with the Democrats to find a solution, but we are not going to put our national security at risk. Time is short. I'm going to ask Congress to stay in session until they pass a bill that will give our intelligence community the tools they need to protect the United States.

Thank you for your time.

END 11:44 A.M. EDT For Immediate Release, Office of the Press Secretary, August 3, 2007.

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Secretary Rice Signs Assistance Package for Palestinian Security VIDEO PODCAST

Secretary Condoleezza Rice Press Availability with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas provide remarks in Ramallah, FULL STREAMING VIDEO, August 2, 2007 PODCAST OF THIS ARTICLE

PRESIDENT ABBAS: (Via interpreter) In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate, once again we welcome Dr. Rice, and we thank her for her visit to us and we assert to her that we were and still are and we will always be seeking for peace that is just and this peace in this region, peace that is based on a two-state solution, the Palestinian independent state which is contiguous and the state of Israel that lives side by side with Palestine safely and securely.

Today, we speak about several issues that are of interest regarding the conditions that have emerged following the call that took place in Gaza, the economic situation, the financial and the security situation in the West Bank and about means of moving forward with the peace process.

However, today we have a project which will be signed today in order to revive and develop the security services. This project which is supported by the United States, I would like to point out here that we, two weeks ago, we signed another agreement with OPIC to provide fast loans for all who want to invest as small enterprises and we hope that economic conditions will develop and improve and the political conditions will also improve hence. And based on this, we will continue in our pursuit and our work.

We do not look right or left. We want to reach an independent state. We want to reach with our people to stability and good living economic conditions and to end the security disorder and the unstable security conditions so that the (inaudible) feels that (inaudible) lives in a safe homeland. And welcome, Dr. Rice.

SECRETARY RICE: Thank you very much, Mr. President. Thank you for welcoming me back. I have had very good discussions in the region, and yesterday in Israel in (inaudible). I came this time to pursue the initiatives that President Bush announced in his July 16th statement about the importance of recommitment and movement forward on the creation of two states living side by side in peace and freedom.

Mr. President, I think that everyone is impressed with the leadership that you have been showing, impressed with the work of your government under Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, and there is a great desire to be supportive of the Palestinian people as they make these efforts to lay a foundation for a stable, prosperous, and democratic Palestinian state.

I want to note that we will have a discussion about the political discussions that you are having on a bilateral basis with Prime Minister Olmert. The Prime Minister said to me that he looks forward to continued discussions with you and that he is ready to discuss the fundamental issues that will lead to negotiations soon for the creation of a Palestinian state. And I know that that is your desire too, and the United States wants to support that bilateral track.

We will also have a discussion of the international meeting that the President intends to call of those states that are devoted to the two-state solution so that we might provide international support and regional support for your bilateral efforts.

I am looking forward today to signing with Prime Minister Fayyad the $80 million assistance package for Palestinian security. This allows us to give a quick infusion of funds to security reform here that is consistent with a broader international effort to reform and professionalize the Palestinian security forces because, as you have said, rule of law and security are at the core of being able to have functioning government, to have functioning opportunities for your people. And this is first and foremost so that your government can provide security to the Palestinian people and, on that basis then, to be able to provide regional security.

And so I look forward to the signing of this document. Thank you for taking note of the OPIC arrangements that were signed a few days ago. And I think you can be certain that the American people want to be a good and committed partner of the Palestinian people as we move to realize the vision of two states living side by side in peace and freedom.

Thank you, sir.

PRESIDENT ABBAS: (In Arabic.)

SECRETARY RICE: Oh, fine. Yes, we’re going to go to – fine, and we’ll come back and take Q&A.

(The Signing Ceremony for the Framework Agreement on Security Assistance takes place.)

(Applause.)

QUESTION: (Via interpreter) Your Excellency (inaudible), the U.S. President George Bush asked for in the region an international conference and most Arab countries expressed their support of the meeting. What is the nature of this meeting and will there be any declarations or visions coming out from this meeting for the final status solution, especially that Israeli Prime Minister Olmert still believes that the time has not come yet for getting involved into -- seriously into final status negotiations according to the statements that he has given yesterday following your meeting with him? Thank you.

SECRETARY RICE: Well, the President wants to convene this international meeting sometime in the fall to provide international support to the bilateral efforts that the Palestinians and the Israelis are making and that we hope will intensify. I will note that, again, that Prime Minister Olmert has said that he is ready to discuss fundamental issues that will lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state, and I think there should be a deepening of the dialogue between the Palestinians and the Israelis on all of the issues that will lead ultimately to the foundation of a Palestinian – the founding of a Palestinian state.

I noted that it is – that many people with whom I spoke in the region said that they wanted to make certain that this conference, this meeting, was one that would be substantive, that would be meaningful, that would really advance the two-state solution.
That was the comment from the Saudi Foreign Minister, for instance. And Prime Minister Olmert told me last night that he too shared that view that this was a meeting that ought to be and needs to be substantive and meaningful and that will, in fact, help to get to a two-state solution.

The President of the United States has no desire to call people together for a photo op. This is to call people together so that we can really advance the Palestinian – Palestinian statehood. Now, we have a lot of work to do between now and the fall, but I am here to consult and have discussions about the meeting, but also to see what we can do to help advance the bilateral track. And I can assure you that between now and the convening of the meeting this probably won’t be my last trip to the region. So we look forward to a really meaningful meeting.

QUESTION: I have two questions, one for Secretary Rice and one for President Abu Mazen. Madame Secretary, you came into office – yes, two. You came into office pledging to push democracy and push for the Palestinian legislative elections that brought Hamas to power. What should Palestinian voters make of the fact that the Bush Administration refused to meet with Ismail Haniya, their democratically elected prime minister, but that you just spent an hour with Salam Fayyad, the new prime minister who was not elected, at a time when the Administration maintains it’s still promoting democracy?

And for President Abu Mazen, do you foresee a time when you might return to a political accommodation with Hamas in order to represent all of the Palestinian people?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, Helene, let me begin by saying that President Abbas actually does represent all of the Palestinian people. He was elected as the President of all of the Palestinian people and he has been recognized widely internationally, not just by the United States, as the president of all the Palestinian people. I would note too that the President appointed a government that is widely recognized as legitimate in governing for the Palestinian people.

Now, as to elections, we believe strongly in the ability and the will and the desire of people to express themselves in elections. But those who were elected then have responsibilities to govern responsibly. And one of the ways that you govern responsibly is to govern within certain international norms of respectability, and among those norms is to accept the agreements that past governments or past leaderships have signed onto. And one of the things that was asked by the Quartet of the Palestinians, all Palestinians who were elected, including Hamas, was that they commit themselves to the fundamental principles for peace; that is, recognition of the right of the other party in peace talks to exist, not the recognition of that party, just the right of that party to exist. Secondly, that there needs to be a renunciation of violence because you can’t have one foot in the camp of terror and one foot in the camp of politics. And third, that there would be a recognition and acceptance of all of the agreements that Palestinian leaders have signed on behalf of the Palestinian people for more than a decade.

And so it’s on that basis that the United States has made its decisions about who is governing in accordance with international norms and therefore deserves the support of the United States. And I might note again it’s not just the position of the United States; it is a widely held international position, including by the Quartet. But this President is the legitimate president of the Palestinian people, all the Palestinian people, no matter where they live, whether it’s in the West Bank or in Gaza.

QUESTION: I think she asked -- President Abu Mazen, do you foresee a time where you might come to a political accommodation with Hamas?

PRESIDENT ABBAS: (Via interpreter) Hamas has committed what I would say a major crime as it precipitated a coup against legitimacy. Those who perpetrated the coup against legitimacy are members of the government, the Prime Minister and others, other members of the cabinet and the legislative council. And this coup does not give any opportunities for any dialogue and hence we said and we still say they have to reverse and return everything they did. They have to reverse all the things that they did to the conditions before. And they have to apologize to the Palestinian people and then we would – we might consider.

QUESTION: (Via interpreter) Your Excellency Mr. President, to what extent are you willing to negotiate with Israelis about the declaration of principles as Prime Minister Olmert wishes to go and negotiate in the fall meeting based on these principles?

And Dr. Rice, to what extent will the Arab initiative be a base for negotiations or discussions on the fall conference?

PRESIDENT ABBAS: (Via interpreter) As for the negotiations with the Israeli part, it is known what principles we base on, which are, in general, the roadmap, which includes two main issues, which are President Bush’s vision and the Arab initiative. These include all the issues that may be discussed for the final status, hence we will be discussing or focusing on means of implementing these principles which were mentioned in the roadmap which have become a UN Security Council resolution. When we end, possibly within the – in a framework agreement or a declaration of principles or anything, the important thing is that we reach in the end all we realize we know what will be the outcome and what is the ceiling where we should reach. For the phases of implementation, these are things that we can agree on.

SECRETARY RICE: And I think that the President has said that he sees the Arab initiative as a positive element and as one element in helping move forward to a two-state solution. We have encouraged, for instance, the Arab League to do precisely what the Arab League did, which was to send representatives to talk with the Israelis about the Arab initiative. And it is one of, I think, several bases, several documents, several elements that can help us point toward a two-state solution and toward a regional peace between Israel and its neighbors.

QUESTION: Madame Secretary, to follow up on a couple of things. When you say that Prime Minister Olmert is ready to talk about fundamental principles, what do you understand those to be and what would you like to see on the table as the two go forward? And would you like to see President Abbas hold new elections anytime soon?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, the matter of when to hold new elections is a matter for the President and for the Palestinian people. As to the discussions, the bilateral discussions, I take it that the Prime Minister and the President are going to meet frequently. I take it that they are going to deepen their dialogue. I believe that the word “fundamental” speaks for itself. And the desire to move toward a two-state solution seems to me to be there on both sides, and there are a lot of issues that are going to have to be discussed in order to get to a two-state solution.

But I do believe that this is a time when it is best for the United States to encourage the parties to these discussions and I’m doing so, and I’m doing so privately to make American views known of how those discussions might proceed. But ultimately, it’s the parties that will carry them out.

Thank you.

2007/T14-7 Released on August 2, 2007

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The Cubs Factor and Clinton vs. Obama from Conservative Cat
Here in my house we're all Cubs fans. Though the players and managers of the Chicago Cubs keep changing, there is one inexplicable thing that never changes: when they get into the post-season, they always choke. At some point, they... Tracked on August 5, 2007 7:50 AM

THESE are the times that try men's souls Excerpt: Those are the word's penned by Thomas Paine December 23, 1776 to introduce the first segment of The Crisis Weblog: Committees Of Correspondence

Press Briefing Tony Snow 08/01/07 VIDEO PODCAST

Press Briefing by Tony Snow, FULL STREAMING VIDEO. file is windows media format, running time is 34:33. James S. Brady Briefing Room. White House Press Secretary Tony Snow briefs the press and answers questions. 08 01 2007: WASHINGTON, DC: 1:09 P.M. EST.

PODCAST OF THIS ARTICLE, and Press Briefing Slides (PDF, 2mb, 8 pages)

MR. SNOW: Hello, good afternoon. I've got a fairly lengthy opening here. I'll apologize, but it's packed with information so I'm sure you'll be grateful.

First, the President had a secure video teleconference this morning with Prime Minister Maliki. It lasted approximately 45 minutes. The President began by congratulating the Prime Minister and the Iraqi people on Iraq's soccer victory in the Asia Cup. Both leaders noted that the victory demonstrated to the world what Iraqis can do when they work together. After all, when you're kicking a goal in you're not asking about their sectarian affiliation, you're asking about whether they're part of your country, or not.

Both leaders also welcomed Saudi Arabia's announcement that it is going to consider upgrading diplomatic ties with Iraq and to open an embassy in Baghdad. As a matter of fact, there's a quote from Foreign Minister Saud -- he did a joint press conference today with Secretary of State Rice and Secretary Gates. The Foreign Minister said, "We just had a mission from Iraq in Saudi Arabia where we talked about security and where we decided that we will send a mission to Iraq to see how we can start our embassy in Iraq." Later he continued, "We expressed the hope that we can work as closely with the Iraqi government on security measures, especially dealing with terrorist activities, as we have achieved with the United States and other friendly governments."

It underscores part of what we've been talking about in terms of the mission of Secretaries Rice and Gates, which is to talk about matters of security and also America's continued engagement in the region.

The leaders also -- that is, now we're getting back to the SVTS -- the President and the Prime Minister also discussed other diplomatic initiatives in the region. They discussed the political situation in Iraq and ongoing negotiations between the leaders of all major party blocs, which, as I mentioned earlier, will continue through the month of August. The President emphasized that the Iraqi people and the American people need to see action -- not just words, but need to see action on the political front. The Prime Minister agreed and said that he will continue working with other leaders to address common concerns and move the political process forward.

Regarding the announcement that some Sunni ministers will leave the government, the Prime Minister explained that he's actively working to address their concerns and find a resolution acceptable to all party blocs. To explain, the Sunni members of parliament have not left parliament. You've had six ministers leaving the government; in addition -- but as I noted also, Mr. Hashimi remains Vice President, and at the same time, the Minister of Defense, who is part of the Sunni bloc, will remain in the government.

As per the meeting this morning with members of Congress, the President made clear a number of priorities, which I will stress to you one more time. Prior to recess, probably the most important short-term goal for Congress and requirement really is to reform the FISA law. He said the American people certainly expect representatives in Washington to do what they can to make the country safer.

The Director of National Intelligence has stressed that it's essential for national security that we reform FISA now. Not only at a time when we have a heightened threat environment, but also at a time where, because of the law, we are not, in fact, being able to collect and act on as much intelligence as we need to.

In addition, there was discussion of appropriations bills. It seems we have a picture up here -- oh, I'm sorry, it's the Maliki SVTS picture. I will note that that was approximately 30 seconds before your Press Secretary hot-footed into the room, being the last in. (Laughter.) They started early. They started two minutes early, and I got there on time.

As for appropriations bills, there's a lot of talk about top lines, and let me just try to deal with some of those issues right up front. As I mentioned this morning, what we're talking about, even though Congress -- members of Congress will tell you, well, it's .7 percent, just .7 percent divides the two of us -- it's $22 billion this year. For most Americans, $22 billion is a pretty considerable chunk of change. Over five years you're talking about $205 billion, which is a significant figure and it's one that we don't think is necessary in terms of additional spending. Because what Congress is talking about is not only raising spending, but also, at the same time, raising taxes on the American people.

We figured out, okay, what does this work out to? We did a little math, got our calculators, and there you can see the results when you try to figure out what $205 billion means over five years, it's $41 billion a year. That's pretty easy. Now, it gets a little more complex if you're trying to do it every day -- $113 million per day, which works out to $4.7 million in additional spending each and every hour. That is not an inconsiderable sum.

As for action on Jim Nussle, I am pleased to note that there is going to be a vote for him tomorrow. And we want to thank members of the Senate not only for moving him out of committee, but agreeing to a vote. And what we have are a number of quotes from people who have been involved and who attest to Jim Nussle's characteristics. First, Ken Conrad, who says, "I always felt I got along well with you, Jim Nussle. I like you and I always thought we had a very constructive working relationship."

Senator Ben Cardin also, talking about his relationships in the past with former Representative Nussle, and we hope soon to be budget director: "Some of our colleagues have already mentioned the committee that you chaired and I co-chaired on budget reform, and it's true, we did work in a very bipartisan manner on that committee."

And finally, John Spratt: "Some of our colleagues have already mentioned to the committee"

-- I think we probably skipped a word there -- "that you chaired and I co-chaired on budget reform, and it's true we did work in a very bipartisan manner -- whoops, I'm sorry, I just skipped -- let's try that one more time. "Given our history on the Budget Committee, I consider Jim Nussle a worthy adversary, able, knowledgeable and fair. I'm pleased to share with you just a few of my experiences with him and to recommend his confirmation of his appointment for director of OMB."

And again, he is going to get a vote, and we think that that is a very positive development and we're very happy about it. He's a distinguished public servant who clearly has extensive experience on the budget and extensive experience on Capitol Hill -- we think that that is going to be important as we continue to work through a lot of these budget issues that I've been mentioning -- and obviously knows how to reach across the aisle. And that's also important in this day and age. We know that while there is a lot of tough partisanship in Washington, there's also a lot of business that needs to get done. And Jim Nussle, like Rob Portman before him, is somebody who is going to be able to work with Congress and I think enjoy the goodwill and respect of his colleagues.

Questions.

Q On the Pat Tillman case, now that the Army has reported what it said -- it called a failure of leadership in the case, is the White House disappointed in how the developments were carried out? And also, can the White House make the same assurance that Secretary Rumsfeld did, that there was zero cover-up within the administration on --

MR. SNOW: Well, again -- I'm certainly not going to contradict Secretary Rumsfeld. There was an investigation into it that said there was no deliberate malfeasance, but there were plenty of mistakes. And certainly there have been remedial steps taken on the part of the Department of Defense. It is deeply regrettable that this sort of thing happened, and you try to make sure that it doesn't happen at any time.

Q Does the White House think that the General's rank should be reduced, that some punishment like that might be warranted?

MR. SNOW: That is a Pentagon decision and it's certainly one we stand by the Pentagon.

Q Tony, you just said a moment ago that $22 billion is a significant chunk of change, you said, for the American people.

MR. SNOW: Right.

Q What then do you make of the Congressional Budget Office report yesterday saying that the war in Iraq is likely to cost over $1 trillion?

MR. SNOW: Well, if you take a look at what happened on September 11th, 2001, it's estimated that the aftershocks of that could have cost up to $1 trillion. We understand that there's a real commitment in the war on terror, but also you have to think of what the countervailing costs are, Ed. And if you look at what al Qaeda has been trying to do not only in the United States, but around the world, you have an organization that is committed to high mass casualty attacks that are designed to inflect maximum economic damage, that are designed to terrorize and frighten populations and to create dislocations that can be harmful to markets and everybody else. So the real question is, do you make an investment in trying to secure your nation's future safety --

Q But the National Intelligence Estimate has suggested that the war in Iraq could actually be helping al Qaeda in terms of recruiting --

MR. SNOW: No, it didn't say that.

Q -- in terms of in recruiting?

MR. SNOW: No, it said -- no, what it said is that al Qaeda tries to use the war as a recruiting tool. It also says that you have significant degradation of al Qaeda, while you have had some buildups in the tribal areas in Pakistan, and obviously the Pakistanis are dealing with it.

But you have -- it's an interesting phenomenon. Al Qaeda is a global movement that has a different organizational structure than it had on September 11th, 2001. Nevertheless, it has people who are dedicated to killing innocents, and they continue to do so. It's why we do have a high-threat environment.

Q But how can you claim the President is drawing a line in the sand and is a fiscal conservative by saying he doesn't want to spend another $22 billion, but the report is saying that the war in Iraq could cost over $1 trillion? And that's the lower figure --

MR. SNOW: No, I'll tell you why, because --

Q -- and if it takes longer, it could be $1.5 trillion.

MR. SNOW: Perhaps you recall that the President's first obligation is the safety and security of the American people. National security is always the first and indivisible responsibility of a President. If it is expensive, then we will bear the price.

Q But doesn't he owe the American people some sort of a reasonable estimate about how much the war is going to cost? You remember Larry Lindsey, early in the war, predicted it would cost up to $200 billion -- he got fired.

MR. SNOW: I don't know how you come up with -- number one, I would not try to draw such a causal link. I know that some people have tried to do so. Number two --

Q Well, he no longer is the administration --

MR. SNOW: Right. Well, there are a lot of people that are no longer in the administration.

Q But rather quickly after that statement he left.

MR. SNOW: Yes, but in any event, the point is, I don't know how you come up with a "reasonable estimate." What you try to do is to assess what your needs are. And obviously, the generals on the ground do it. But you're assuming that wars move in neat, tidy and predictable arcs, and unfortunately, they're not activities that lend themselves to the normal ebb and flow of a budget process. It's one of the reasons why you have supplemental budget requests. Obviously the generals make their very best guesstimates at the beginning of the year, and quite often those fall short, and you come back and ask for more.

Q White House officials suggested it would be a neat, tidy flow when the Vice President said the insurgency was in its last throes, for example.

MR. SNOW: Well, and he also admitted that he was wrong. It once again points to the fact that wars are unpredictable -- every war in American history. So go back and march through -- we've done the examples before; I don't think I'll belabor the point now.

Martha.

Q Tony, how can you say, obviously the Pakistanis are taking care of the tribal areas? It seems that it's obvious they weren't taking care of the tribal areas.

MR. SNOW: Well, Prime Minister -- I'm sorry, President Musharraf tried to make a deal with tribal chiefs, and it did not work. And so what has happened now is that the Pakistanis are mounting significant efforts on the security front. They've moved 100,000 troops into the tribal areas, and they're confronting them. Have they solved the problem? No. Are they confronting the problem? Yes.

Q But you're satisfied with what the Pakistanis are doing in those tribal areas, even though the National Intelligence Estimate said there's a buildup and regeneration?

MR. SNOW: Well, obviously, neither we're happy -- we're not happy with that and the Pakistanis are not happy with that.

Q You said, obviously they're taking care of it, meaning they are taking care of the problem.

MR. SNOW: Well, first, you're talking about a National Intelligence Estimate that was written as this buildup was taking place and the Pakistanis have taken matters -- taken it on seriously. Look, what they are doing is that they're putting lives on the line and resources into the fight. We have made it clear that we will support them as they request. We realize it's a sovereign government. But they're putting people on the front lines, they're taking casualties, they're taking injuries, people are dying. So they're fighting it.

Q So you trust that they're going to take care of this? I mean, they also entered into this deal with the tribes up in Waziristan. The administration probably wasn't too happy about that. And yet you trusted that it would end up okay.

MR. SNOW: Well, what you do is, you've got somebody who is looking for a peaceful way to deal with the problem. I believe that most people say, okay, if you can find a way that doesn't involve bloodshed to solve the problem, go for it. And that often happens in our policy. You got to diplomacy first. If that fails, then you have to deal with -- you have to move to sterner measures. That's what the government of Pakistan is doing. Now, it is perfectly possible for all of us, armed with hindsight, to say, well, it didn't work. Well, it didn't work. But on the other hand, it's also clear --

Q But you're confident it will work this time?

MR. SNOW: Well, look, Martha, you're asking for predictions. What we're saying is that they're giving it their best and they're fighting hard here. Keep in mind, President Musharraf -- let me just --

Q I'm not asking for predictions. This is very serious stuff.

MR. SNOW: Of course it's very --

Q It said in your National Intelligence Estimate that you would trust the Pakistanis --

MR. SNOW: Well, we work with them. And also, you've got to keep -- General Musharraf, President Musharraf, is somebody who clearly has chips in the game here. This is a guy who has been himself the object of multiple assassination attempts on the part of al Qaeda. He understands the kind of threat it poses, and he is now moving in there in force. That seems to be a reasonable way to proceed, and we will provide whatever assistance we can.

Jim.

Q It seems, going back to Iraq, that the best spin you can put on what's happening with the Sunni pullout of the unity government is that there's still several prominent Sunni politicians on the job. But given that the whole purpose of the surge is to allow the government to work, given that you have a deputy prime minister saying the situation is grave, what could the President possibly be hearing from Prime Minister Maliki on the SVTS today that gives anybody any hope that anything's going to get done there?

MR. SNOW: Okay, first, I'm not putting spin on it, Jim. So let's --

Q Wait, wait, that's the read on what happened.

MR. SNOW: Okay, well, thank you. That's a much more neutral way of framing it. The read is simple. There have been a series of negotiations between the Sunni party and the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister made some moves yesterday; the Sunni party said, we don't like them, so we're going to pull our ministers from your government. Now it's going to be up to the Prime Minister

--

Q That's not an insignificant thing.

MR. SNOW: No, but it's also a part of an ongoing conversation. And what I would recommend is, rather -- let's see how this develops, because there are continuing conversations and there are continuing negotiations between the parties. Let me also remind you that the head of the Sunni party remains in negotiations with the head of the other parties, in terms of dealing with political accommodation. And again, it's up to the Prime Minister to decide whether he will accept or reject the resignations from the cabinet. The party itself remains in the parliament and in a position to conduct votes.

So what you're seeing is sort of some internal politicking going on in Iraq. See how this develops. What the Prime Minister explained is that he continues to work with Sunni party politicians. He understands their concerns; he's working with them on it and they're going to try to deal with it.

Q Do you view this as a step back?

MR. SNOW: No, I think it's a reflection, again, as I said this morning, of some of the difficulties in politics within Iraq, but on the other hand, we often -- look, three days ago, people where wondering whether Jim Nussle is going to get a vote; he gets a vote. The fact is that people do conduct negotiations, they do work in good faith, and we will see what happens here.

Q Are you comparing how -- the domestic politics on Capitol Hill with what's happening with the unity government in Baghdad --

MR. SNOW: Well, the unity government --

Q -- in terms of the possibility of achievement?

MR. SNOW: No, what I'm trying to tell you is that there's political wrangling in Baghdad as there is in Washington. I mean, that's -- you've got to understand, you've got a new political system in a nation that doesn't have extensive experience with democracy. People are working through it. But I remind you that they are staying engaged in the business of trying to do accommodation.

I know it's hard to understand, because it doesn't quite fit our framework for these things, but the Prime Minister has made it clear that he remains determined to try to pull the coalition together and to try to pull all parties together to work constructively. And furthermore, he offered insurances to the President that they are continuing to work hard on the legislative front. As the President said, we need to see action, not words. The Prime Minister said, understood, and we are working to act.

Q The President said back on January 10th, almost verbatim to the Prime Minister -- I guess here's the question, you know, as Americans are looking at what's happened on the security front, where there have been advances in Anbar and other places, there are not -- and the whole point of that is to provide breathing space for the Iraqi government to get its work done --

MR. SNOW: Right.

Q -- and all you see from the Iraqi government are -- I guess it's arguable, but it probably seems to a number of reasonable reads -- steps back, when are people going to start to see some linkage?

MR. SNOW: Well, look, again, the President has made it clear we want to see political progress. There's a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes, a lot of these guys are talking to each other. I'm not going to be able to give you the full and definitive readout of when, but, look, it's a fair question to ask. Americans are going to be asking themselves, when are we going to see political progress? We think it's every bit as important as your question implies. And the President made it absolutely clear that that has to be a priority for the government. And the Prime Minister said, yes, I agree.

Q I gather, Tony, from your answer to Martha that you don't think very much of Barack Obama's suggestion, he'd send U.S. troops into Pakistan to take care of those safe havens.

MR. SNOW: Well, let me just say we think that our approach to Pakistan is one that not only respects the sovereignty of Pakistan as a sovereign government, but is also designed to work in a way where we are working in cooperation with the local government. So we think that our policy and our approach is the right one.

Q Would he not be respecting the sovereignty of --

MR. SNOW: I'm not going to comment on Barack Obama's campaign statements. I'm going to tell you about ours.

Q Tony, is there any difference between what Obama says and Frances Townsend's assertion that if we had actionable intelligence we'd do the same thing?

MR. SNOW: Well, again, I'll let you decide whether one is an assertion of simply going across a border -- saying we're going across a border, whether there's actionable intelligence or not, and our view that we keep all options open if there's actionable intelligence, which says that we keep the options open. It does not mean that -- it does not preclude working with the local government. As a matter of fact, there have been a number of very important cases -- look at Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. I mean, that is a case where you had a joint operation with the Pakistanis that yielded a very important result, and there have been a number of those.

Q On FISA, do you think you're fairly close to an agreement? And was any progress at all made this morning

--

MR. SNOW: There's been -- there are a lot of conversations going on right now with Capitol Hill. I'll just repeat what I said earlier today, which is that it's absolutely vital, at a time of a heightened threat environment, to realize that the present system simply is not as responsive as it needs to be in terms of providing the flexibility and speed in acting on actionable intelligence. And so we are making it clear to members of Congress that we expect them to try to get something done.

What we did is we went in with a fairly extensive proposal -- 65, 66 pages -- we pared it down to bare minimum -- 11 pages -- and we're now in the process of having conversations with the Hill. We certainly hope and trust that the measure will be, in fact, concluded by the time Congress goes on recess.

Q I know that you want them to do it before they go on recess, but do you think -- were you hopeful this morning --

MR. SNOW: Again, there are talks going on. You don't have talks going on unless you have some hope and expectation that you're going to succeed.

Q Was any progress made on the budget this morning in the breakfast?

MR. SNOW: I think the two sides expressed their differences. Look, the most important step right now is for Congress to move through and approve individual appropriations bills. The House has approved most of them; the Senate has moved on -- I think on one. It's important now to get those bills done so that we can move forward. The President has also made it clear, for reasons that I think were pretty abundant there, he's got a top line that is consistent with sound fiscal policy and still represents a 7 percent increase in domestic discretionary spending -- that's well above the inflation rate -- over last year. And it includes considerable money for a number of priorities that both parties share.

We think it's possible for us to do the nation's business without going beyond that $933 billion top line, and the President made it clear that that remains important to him not only now, but in the future, and also that he opposes the idea of sort of sneaking tax increases upon the American people by letting tax cuts expire.

Q Let me ask something on that, if I may, that I was trying to get to before -- the President has threatened to veto nine of those appropriations bills and signal his opposition to where they're headed on defense. So I would ask why the Democrats in control the House should hurry for this when the bills are simply going to come back to them?

MR. SNOW: Well, why shouldn't they?

Q Well, what's in it for them, I guess is the question.

MR. SNOW: Well, look, the fact is, what's in it for the American people is Congress to act. If you're sitting around saying, well, we're not going to act because the President is going to veto, that's a really peculiar way to think about legislation. I think members of a legislature still have their obligation to go ahead and pass appropriations bills and move them up. And if they don't think that they have enough votes to overcome a veto, then the responsible thing to do is to work toward a legislation that, in fact, will not fall prey to a veto and can get passed.

If the purpose of a legislature is to pass laws, then you have to make realistic assumptions, just as we make realistic assumptions based on what we think is possible within the legislature. So the President has certainly laid out what his policies are.

Helen.

Q Do you think that the President has persuaded the Democratic leaders that his continuation of wiretapping without a warrant is warranted?

MR. SNOW: I think if you take a look at the Terror Surveillance Program you will find that that enjoyed widespread support among both parties, especially those briefed on the Intelligence Committees.

Q Speaker Pelosi suggested that one way to get within the President's top line would be to cut some of the President's priorities. What do you think of that? Is that something you're willing to consider?

MR. SNOW: Well, let's take a look -- members of Congress certainly have some discretion within the lines. We think our -- but, look, I'm not going to get into bidding up here on the podium. The fact is we'll fight for our priorities as members of Congress will theirs. One of the priorities is to be good with the American people's money and to be wise stewards of it. Again, let me point out, we're talking about a nearly 7 percent increase -- I think the exact number is 6.9 percent -- in domestic discretionary spending over last year. This certainly provides an opportunity for Congress to meet the requirements of the American people and to do so in a way that doesn't break the bank in the future, doesn't impose an extra $205 billion burden over five years, doesn't require tax increases. I think that's the kind of stuff that the American people expect.

Q What about the general proposition, though? Is the President willing to share some of the burden of cutting programs, some of his priorities, as well, in order to get the number down?

MR. SNOW: Well, let's find out -- the fact is, in negotiations you have give-and-take. We have given a top line. But on the other hand, are we going to give up priorities? I mean, that's an awfully vague -- if you want to ask about specifics -- of course, if you do I'm going to punt it, I'm not going to tell you. But the fact is that in any negotiation you're going to take a look at where either side has some give and you're going to try to make a deal that's going to be good for the American people. That's how the legislative process works.

Q Just one more, quickly. You said $22 billion works out to $205 billion over five years --

MR. SNOW: Well, what happens is, if you trace what -- a lot of times you'll lay in expenditures, and in the out-years those expenditures increase significantly. I think everybody is aware of that phenomenon. So what this does is it takes into account not only the first-year investment -- we're not saying that 22 times 5 is $205 billion; what we're telling you is that these programs grow more expensive over time, surprise, surprise, which happens all the time in Washington.

Q Going back to the time line for Tillman, what did the President know about Corporal Tillman's death and when did he --

MR. SNOW: I can't answer that. I don't know.

Q Well, can we go switch over to the Justice Department again?

MR. SNOW: Sure.

Q So this letter -- are you basically saying that your FBI Director didn't know the definition of the Terror Surveillance Program?

MR. SNOW: No. What we're saying is -- there's been a lot of confusion on the Terror Surveillance Program. As you recall, we have defined this very narrowly, and it has to do with surveillance of al Qaeda or known al Qaeda affiliates, somebody abroad having a communication with somebody in the United States. That was it. Now, there are a whole series, very complex series of intelligence programs that we use and we don't discuss any of the others.

And so we have been very precise about the Terror Surveillance Program, and we think that the Attorney General testified truthfully about it. Now, what has happened I think this has become a shorthand in some people's mind, and I don't want to try to read the FBI Director's mind on this. I think it's possible to square the two sets of comments because, in some cases, a lot of people use Terror Surveillance Program, which was a label attached to a program -- there was never anything called the Terror Surveillance Program. That was a label attached after the original stories appeared about the program. And it has become kind of a shorthand I think in a lot of people's minds for a whole wide swath of intelligence efforts.

Going back to the testimony of the DNI, for instance, in his letter to Arlen Specter, one of the things he said is that there were -- the President made an authorization for intelligence and he says, "The details of the activities change in certain respects over time, and I understand from the Department of Justice, these activities rested on different legal bases." In other words, you had different programs of different legal bases. The Attorney General has testified in public about only one and will do so in public only about one, and that's the Terror Surveillance Program.

Q Tony, the administration has been continually saying to wait until September, and to wait until the testimony of General Petraeus and saying that his testimony will be the clearest sense of how well the surge militarily is working and what should happen going forward. General Petraeus has also made, in the past, assessments about the quality of the Iraqi security forces, in Mosul specifically, and in the country generally, that proved to be overly optimistic by a considerable margin. Given that come September he's basically going to be asked to grade a plan that he, himself, crafted and has implemented, what confidence should the American people have that his assessment of his own work will be objective and honest?

MR. SNOW: You're impugning General Petraeus's ability to measure what's going on?

Q I'm asking how he can give an objective assessment of his own work.

MR. SNOW: Well, I think the first thing you ought to do is take a look again at the report that was filed to Congress, the interim reported July 15th -- no sugarcoating there. You take a look -- and they try to use real metrics on it. General Petraeus is a serious guy who sees his mission not as a political mission, but, in fact, as somebody who reports facts.

Now, let us keep in mind that the full burden of this report does not fall on his shoulders. A lot of the key judgments, especially about politics, will fall on Ambassador Crocker. So this is -- although I know a lot of people talk about "the Petraeus report," in fact, you have a report that is a joint report by General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker. And so we trust him.

Q The reason people talk about the Petraeus report isn't because his name is more alliterative and nice-sounding, it's because the administration, when it talks about Iraq, mentioned Petraeus's name dozens and dozens and dozens of times, and mentions Crocker's name many fewer.

MR. SNOW: Well, actually, if you go back and look at the transcripts from this podium for the last month, you will find that they've been mentioned in tandem when it comes to these reports. General Petraeus, I think, as Jim was just saying, as your newspaper reports, there have been successes, and there have been successes in the way forward as a result of the surge. And these are things that are certainly consistent with counterinsurgency theory that he has been doing. And furthermore, I'll let you do your characterizations of what he said on Mosul, but in fact, there were considerable successes there, and that's one of the reasons why he was given the job.

Q Two questions, Tony. To what extent was the Vice President pre-writing the Petraeus report or setting expectations when he said he thinks it's going to show progress?

MR. SNOW: No, I don't think he's pre-writing it. Look, again, the one thing -- if you talk to military guys, the last thing they want to do is get themselves embroiled in politics. What they try to do is to play it straight and to do it straight. And obviously the Vice President has his impressions based on what he's seen, but we're going to have to wait to see what General Petraeus has to report.

Q And on one other issue, yesterday you indicated that the letter was coming from the Justice Department. When was it decided that what some view as a political fight was going to be weighed in on by the DNI?

MR. SNOW: Well, no, I think what was happening there is there was simply a clarification testimony. There was a request that the DNI Director write a letter, and he wrote a letter. Now, when it comes to the Justice Department, as you probably know, Senator Leahy, last week, had a request that's, in many ways, similar to the one that Senator Specter has put together about clarification of testimony, and he's given the Department of Justice until Friday to complete it. But for answers on when letters are going to be delivered and so on, I'd refer you to Justice. They're going to have the answers on that.

Q Tony, you said that Nussle is getting a vote tomorrow.

MR. SNOW: The vote is Thursday. He's getting a vote out of the Budget Committee tomorrow.

Q On the Budget, or Homeland Security?

MR. SNOW: Homeland Security today, Budget tomorrow. But we feel -- we feel good about his prospects of getting a vote.

Q Two questions, Tony. One, going back to Senator Obama's comments, is the U.S. in touch with General Musharraf, as far as all of these reports are going on that options are open for military action if things are not in the right direction?

MR. SNOW: You know what our policy is, Goyal. We communicate regularly with him.

Q And second, if, in recent days, President has spoken with the Prime Minister Singh on the situation in the region --

MR. SNOW: Not since we gave you the last readout.

Ken.

Q Tony, two topics. First, did today's SVTS happen directly in response to the Sunni withdrawal?

MR. SNOW: No, this is -- these are long-scheduled. The SVTSes are on a fairly regular schedule.

Q Second, will Karl Rove testify tomorrow at the Senate Judiciary Committee?

MR. SNOW: Well, we will let Fred Fielding's note get up to the Hill, and you'll find out then.

Q Do you expect that today?

MR. SNOW: I think so, yes.

Q Would you be releasing that today?

MR. SNOW: I think you might want to call the committee.

Q Tony, on the issue of FEMA, how much input did the President have in the trailers that have formaldehyde and how to fix that problem?

MR. SNOW: I'm not aware that the President was directly involved in trying to deal with remediation. What's happened is that FEMA, as you probably know, has released a statement -- I'll give you some of the highlights -- it's temporarily suspending the deployment and sale of travel trailers used in emergency housing while the agency works with health and environmental experts to assess health-related concerns raised by occupants, and they are using a number of different vendors to look at it.

They're using industrial hygienists, epidemiologists, medical toxicologists, environmental health scientists from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and Homeland Security's Office of Health Affairs -- they're in Louisiana and Mississippi to gather data. While the initial reviews are underway, FEMA will temporarily suspend the installation, sale, transfer or donation of travel trailers or park-model recreational vehicles currently in the inventory.

They're going to continue to move residents out of temporary housing and into long-term housing solutions as rapidly as possible, and they want everybody to understand that they maintain a long-term commitment to ensuring that disaster victims have a safe and healthy place to reside during their recovery.

Q Does the President still have daily updates on Katrina, on the Katrina-related --

MR. SNOW: No, we don't do daily updates. But we do regular updates.

Q Wait a minute, let me ask you this. Was he concerned -- when did he find out about this formaldehyde issue? What was his concern? What did he --

MR. SNOW: I honestly don't know, April.

Q Thank you. Tony, do you --

MR. SNOW: Let me just back up. One thing -- look, I don't want you to use that as a way of saying, well, the President clearly didn't care. Obviously he does care. He's been to the region a number of times, as has the First Lady. And it is vital to try to go ahead to address a lot of the problems there. Obviously, as this became known, FEMA has decided to be forward-leaning and try to deal with it and try to figure out what the problem is and to do remediations as quickly as possible.

Q Do you know how many Katrina updates does he get -- you say he doesn't get them daily like he used to, but what's the updates on the progress --

MR. SNOW: We do regular meetings on Katrina and the follow-up.

Go ahead, Sarah.

Q Thank you, Tony. In his testimony, Admiral Mullen said, we may not be winning Iraq because of political -- (inaudible) -- there. Is the President pleased with his testimony?

MR. SNOW: Look, the President doesn't sit around and grade people on their testimony. We bring people into the administration because we think they're capable, and we think Admiral Mullen is capable.

Furthermore, it is pretty clear that there is a consensus that we want to see more in the way of political progress. We have seen an amazing change in Iraq where the people of Iraq themselves, at grassroots level, are beginning to take matters into their own hands in a very significant way that reflects not only faith in themselves, but also support for the American mission. And it's important that Iraqi politicians, for reasons -- because for many people -- it doesn't matter if you get peace and prosperity in a lot of places, but one measuring stick a lot of people are using, for whatever reason, is what happens with those laws. Well, fine. It's important to take a look at what they're going to do in terms of political progress. It is important also that the Iraqi people get a sense that they're going to have a government that represents all their -- respects their rights and represents their interests.

Ann.

Q Thank you. During their conversation this morning, did Prime Minister Maliki promise President Bush that there would be political action by the government now that the parliament is gone for August, that there would be action --

MR. SNOW: The Prime Minister reiterated his commitment to continue working with all parties toward political achievements and toward political reconciliation.

Q Thank you.

END 1:44 P.M. EDT. For Immediate Release, Office of the Press Secretary, August 1, 2007

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Rudy Giuliani: Democrats Heading U.S. Toward a Nanny State VIDEO

Rudy Giuliani Discusses His Commitment To Giving Americans Increased Control And Access To Health Care

In remarks today at a town hall meeting in Rochester, New Hampshire, Mayor Rudy Giuliani will further detail his 12 Commitments to the American People by unveiling his commitment to give Americans more control over, and access to, health care.
To increase the quality, affordability, and portability of health care, the Mayor will reform the current system by using free-market solutions that facilitate consumer-driven health care and end failed big-government mandates and wasteful administrative bureaucracies.

“Americans believe in free-market solutions to the challenges we face, and I believe we can reduce costs, expand access to, and improve the quality of health care by increasing competition,” Giuliani has said. “America’s health care system is being dragged down by decades of government-imposed mandates and wasteful, unaccountable bureaucracy. To reform, we must empower all Americans by increasing health care choices and affordability, while bringing accountability to the system.”

The Mayor also proposes reforming the tax code and the medical liability system, while providing American families with expanded low-cost insurance options and improving and expanding health savings accounts. Under his proposal, the Mayor will also push for innovative solutions to reduce health costs centered on individual empowerment, investments in technology to reduce medical errors, and in conjunction with doctors and nurses, providing incentives that promote wellness and a healthier America.

“We have the opportunity to bring fairness to the tax treatment of health care and open up the marketplace for less expensive health care options,” Giuliani has said. “It’s possible for us to have the most modern, technologically advanced medical system in the world and make sure all Americans have full access to and control over their health care decisions.”

Giving Americans more control over, and access to, health care with affordable and portable free-market solutions is one of Rudy’s Twelve Commitments to the American People, his bold vision aimed at moving America forward. He will continue to travel the country this summer detailing the remaining Commitments. For more about Rudy’s Twelve Commitments, please click here.

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