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CNN Saturday Morning News

Bush Delivers Radio Address

Aired January 12, 2002 - 10:05   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Right now we are going to go to President George Bush and his weekly radio address and listen in and see what he has to say.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Good morning.

We have entered a busy season here in Washington. Soon, Congress will be back in session. I will go to the Capitol to report on the state of our union, and I will present a budget that sets the priorities of our government for fiscal year 2003.

Our highest priorities are clear to all: We must give our military every tool and weapon it needs to prevail in the war against terror. We must strengthen our country's defenses against further attack with a comprehensive program of homeland security. And we must get our country's economy growing and creating jobs once again.

The economy is a concern for all Americans, especially for those out of work. These Americans need extra help. My economic plan proposes an additional 13 weeks of unemployment insurance benefits for workers who have lost their jobs, and direct assistance to protect their health insurance.

My plan is based on the simple truth that people out of work need an unemployment check, but what they need even more is a steady paycheck. So I have joined with Republicans and Democrats in proposing concrete steps to create more jobs and help spur more growth in the economy. The House passed this plan. The Senate needs to act on it.

Difficult economic times brings hardship to many other Americans, as well -- single moms or disadvantaged young people trying to get into the workforce. My budget seeks to help them too by adding resources to vital programs that have proven their value.

One of our government's most effective services is the Women, Infants and Children program, which counsels mothers on nutrition and health care for their children. In my budget for the coming fiscal year, I will propose an increase of $364 million for the WIC program. This will be enough to serve nearly 8 million women and children each month. Another vital program is the Job Corps, which provides employment training to more than 72,000 disadvantaged young Americans. In my budget I will ask Congress for an additional $73 million to expand the good work of the Job Corps. This will help to pay for new residential training centers. We will also secure high school accreditation for Job Corps training so that more young people can have the advantage of a high school diploma.

These are some of the elements of the budget I will be sending to Congress. My budget focuses on the pressing needs of our country and on the basic needs of our citizens.

I am committed to building a strong economy that spreads its benefits to everyone. This goal reaches beyond politics or party, and I'm confident that Congress will join me in the work ahead.

Thank you for listening.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And you've just been listening to President George W. Bush's weekly radio address. We're going to bring in Kelly Wallace, the CNN White House correspondent, to talk about that and all the ideas that he brought about, to promote growth in our economy -- Kelly.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, this really the beginning of the budget battle in the Congress. You know, the president will have to submit to lawmakers his budget for the coming year in February and we already know the government likely to return to deficits over the next couple of years. That surplus that the government has been enjoying over the past several years is pretty much almost gone so less money to spend.

So you saw the president, in his address, talking about what his priorities will be. They include homeland security, money for the military, but, also, taking care of unemployed workers, getting health care coverage to those in need.

And you see the president there yesterday; he traveled to Pennsylvania to sign a new measure into law. We saw the president take two road trips outside of Washington last week, Kyra. The president trying to get out of Washington, aids say, to get the message out that what's happening in Washington has a impact on people all across the country, but politics also at play here. The president definitely shifting the focus a bit to domestic issues, to the budget, to the economy, to what to do with all of the unemployed workers and how to get them some benefits and health care coverage.

This, of course, Kyra, as we've been talking about, a political year -- 2002 election, control of the Congress up for grabs. So the president likely to be out hitting the road quite a bit to number one, put pressure on Democrats in the Congress to pass his agenda but number two, to help his party in the November elections -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And something of course, Kelly, not mentioned in this address, but the Enron fiasco. I mean that affects the economy. Also, a lot of questions surrounding the relationship between officials at Enron and officials at the White House. What's latest with that?

WALLACE: Well, no surprise that you do no hear the president mention this. You know, the White House and aids really trying to shift the focus a bit definitely from that story to other parts of the president's domestic agenda.

The latest is, Kyra, we do know that Enron executives did contact two cabinet secretary, Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill and Commerce Secretary Don Evans on Thursday. We also learned yesterday that Enron's president did contact a treasury undersecretary a number of times but the administration is saying Enron executives contacting White House to alert the government of its financial problems, some saying Enron looking for possibly some government help to avoid any collapse. The White House saying that the government decided not to intervene, that it did not step in and its officials act appropriate.

Again, though, as we've been saying this morning, lots of congressional committees are investigating. One Senate subcommittee issuing 50 plus subpoenas for Enron executives and some Democrats wanting more answers from administration officials -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, and Kelly, you also -- we've been airing the major address coming about on Pakistan television by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf. Probably no reaction yet from White House, but indeed President Bush, I'm sure, showing a special interest in this speech and paying close attention. What is he expecting to hear? What does he hope to hear?

WALLACE: Well, exactly no official reaction just yet, but we definitely knew that the president was going to watch this speech, that he looked forward to looking and listening to what was coming from President Musharraf.

In the words of Ari Fleischer, the president's spokesman, yesterday, Kyra, the president definitely concerned that there's an ongoing state of concern here at the White House about the tensions between India and Pakistan. But this administration is praising President Musharraf, saying he has taken actions. We heard him in his address, President Musharraf talking about arresting and detaining terrorists or alleged terrorists and terrorist leaders. The administration saying more action are needed, but again, it looked forward to this big speech to come.

Now, the big question is what do the Indian government officials think about it because India has basically been saying words are OK, but it wants to see more action. So we'll have to see what the reaction is in New Delhi -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: CNN White House correspondent Kelly Wallace, thank you so much.

WALLACE: Sure.

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