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Market Slide; New Jersey Killing Arrest; Rescuers Drilling For Miners; Miami Warehouse Fire; Hurricane Season; Sweating It Out; Housing Market; Bush Questions
Aired August 09, 2007 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Just 14 or 15 years old.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Crews drilling closer and closer to the trapped Utah miners. Did the men survive the collapse? We may know today.
Steep slide on Wall Street this morning. Europe gets jittery -- yes, I guess -- about the U.S. mortgage crisis. We're watching it for you.
HARRIS: President Bush calling a snap news conference for this hour. Q&A before a little presidential R&R.
It is Thursday, August 9th, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Yikes. I don't know whether to call it a roller coaster ride or maybe a little scarier ride where you actually cover your entire face. I'm not sure, but we're going to bring in Ali Velshi now to talk a little bit more about the Dow Jones Industrial averages. Susan Lisovicz is also watching that big board for us. Right now, guys, we're down 163.
But, boy, right off the top, Ali, when we had you on live, first five minutes went down 238. You had said, haven't quite seen this before?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's very fast off the top. But as Susan will tell you, first of all, these markets move in triple digits a lot these days, partially because it's a volatile market and we're worried about credit and partially because, look at those numbers, 13,500. That's a big number.
COLLINS: Right.
VELSHI: What you want to see is where it goes after that. And its come back, as you can see. I mean, can you believe it, it's a good day when it's only off 150 points. But this is about a bank in Paris. One of the biggest banks, investment banks around. Saying it has these investments in these risky mortgages. You know, they buy it from the mortgage company, because they're supposedly good investments, and then these defaults happen. And the banks are caught holding the bag.
This happened to Bear Stearns. It's now happened to BMP Paribas. It spooked European markets, which ended up a few percent lower, and that was just as U.S. markets were opening. So we saw a big of panic selling off the top this morning. And then after that, 233 points. We're back to 150 points.
So what do you take away from this? Are you supposed to be worried or not? It's a good question. I guess that's what makes the markets this much fun.
COLLINS: That's what makes the markets go around or something like that.
VELSHI: Yes.
COLLINS: Hey, quickly, Ali, if you are a person, a consumer, who has one of these mortgages from these particular companies, you know, what do you do? They can sell it off to somebody else, which they're obviously doing, for a higher rate, can they not?
VELSHI: Right. Yes. Well, your mortgage will fluctuate based on the terms of your mortgage. So the issue is, are you in an adjustable rate mortgage or are you in a fixed mortgage? This crisis has mostly -- and while it's spilled over to everybody, it has mostly hurt people in adjustable rate mortgages.
COLLINS: Right.
VELSHI: So if you're having a problem, if you're anywhere close to not being able to make your payments or you're one of these people who's not able to, you have to confront that now. Because as this worsens, the banks are going to be more and more strict about mortgages, about defaults. They'll move in faster to repossess the houses. So you want to make sure that you hit this one before it comes to you.
COLLINS: So, what, get rid of the ARM and try and get a fixed rate?
VELSHI: If you can't deal with the fact that these mortgages rates might go up, then you've got to lock in. And even if that lock in is higher than you want it to be, at least you can budget. The problem is you can't -- the average person can't gamble on whether adjustable rates are going up or down. If you're close to the limit of what you can afford, then you've got to be careful. People got into houses they couldn't afford at very low rates and now those rates have gone up and, in some cases, the house value has gone down. For the bank, that's a bad equation. If they see that you missed payments, they're going to move in and try and protect their assets by taking that house. So lock into a rate.
COLLINS: Yes. Boy, oh, boy. Yes. Scary. Very risky for folks, definitely.
VELSHI: Yes.
COLLINS: All right, Ali, thanks so much.
VELSHI: OK. HARRIS: And Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange.
Susan, help me understand this kind of a sell-off. We're talking about an investment bank in France closing its doors on one sector of the U.S. economy and yet we get this kind of a broad sell-off. The U.S. markets aren't one sector. They're numerous sectors. So explain this panicked selling for me?
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: OK. Well, it's really just sort of a trigger reaction. You see the markets already settling down and we're not even one hour into trading, Tony.
HARRIS: There you go.
LISOVICZ: But, you know, like I said, there's often this sort of knee-jerk reaction. You just have to, you know, settle down. And that's what the market is doing.
It's still a pronounced sell-offs. We have big volume. There are five now stocks declining for every one that's on the rise. So that's a lot better than 15 to 1, which we saw about 15 minutes ago.
Here's the answer to your question. BNP Paribas is a huge bank. It's in France. Maybe a lot of our viewers haven't heard of it. But it's a big powerhouse in Europe. It is suspending three of its mutual funds. These are investments that mom and pop, you and I, millions of people make.
HARRIS: Now I get it.
LISOVICZ: So there are two things that are spooking investors on that. One is that you're seeing the fallout from these risky mortgages in the U.S. spreading, right? So it's overseas. That's one.
Two is that this is not a hedge fund. Hedge funds -- we heard this about two weeks ago or less than two weeks ago from Bear Stearns saying that basically two of its hedge funds exposed to these riskier mortgages were now worthless. But hedge funds are for a very elite, very wealthy, very risk-prone investor. The average person has no exposure to these. You have to have a lot of dough and you have to take a lot of risks. Those are worthless. So they didn't get any money on those investments.
But these are mutual funds. And that's one of the things that really spooked investors, both the fact that it's (INAUDIBLE) deeper and also the fact that it's mutual funds. As one trade are told me this morning, he said it's like, it's like this is real money.
HARRIS: Well, Susan, now I get it. Now I understand it a little better. When we rejoin you again in a couple of minutes, I want you to give us a sense of what it's been like on the floor. What's it like down there when you get this kind of a steep sell-off at the open and maybe what the atmosphere is like around there when we join you in a couple of minutes.
Susan, great to see you.
LISOVICZ: OK. Likewise.
HARRIS: Thanks.
COLLINS: Also a reminder here now. President Bush is calling a news conference. It is scheduled for about 25 minutes from now, 10:30 Eastern Time this morning. We will have live coverage of the question and answer session with reporters right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: And new developments out of Newark, New Jersey, this morning. A juvenile arrested in the execution-style shootings of four college students. Senior correspondent Allan Chernoff is on the phone with us with details.
And, Allan, one of the most disturbing details in a overall, very disturbing story is that the suspect is perhaps 14, 15 years old.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That is what we are being told, Tony, that one arrest has been made. An arrest of a juvenile believed to be 14 or 15 years old.
Now a press conference, we had been told earlier this morning, was scheduled for 11:00. Right now I am at the police communication headquarters and have just been told that it's being put on hold. So we may not get too many more details within the next hour.
But this investigation most definitely is continuing. The police have gotten very good assistance from Natasha Aeriel, who is the surviving victim, speaking from her hospital bed to the police. She was able to pick out this alleged assailant from pictures that the police did present. Her brother and two friends were killed execution style, shot in the back of their heads on Saturday night in a schoolyard on the west side of Newark.
So, Tony, that's what we have right now. And hopefully there will be more developments coming up later today.
HARRIS: OK. Allan Chernoff for us this morning. Boy, disturbing details to be sure.
Allan, appreciate it. Thank you.
COLLINS: The mine rescue effort. Drilling crews possibly hours from contacting the men. That's if the miners are still alive. We want to go right to the scene now. Our Dan Simon has been covering this story this morning. He's with us from Huntington, Utah.
Dan, tell us the very latest on the word of this rescue effort. It sounds very promising, at least in trying to get to the men.
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, everyone here is just on pins and needles. We could know the fate of these miners in just a matter of hours. Let me explain why. Bob Murray, the owner of the mining company, says the drilling into the mountain is going very well. Remember, we're talking about two drills here. But he says at least one of them could penetrate the cavity where the miners are thought to be as early as this afternoon.
Let me tell you why that hole is so important. First, it would allow rescuers to stick in a camera to see if, in fact, the miners are still alive. Second, it literally provides an opening to funnel through life-saving supplies, food, water and oxygen. Let's listen now to what Murray had to say about that a bit earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BOB MURRAY, PRES & CEO, MURRAY ENERGY: But it's note a life- threatening situation if they are alive and were not killed with the initial percussion of the event. We can keep them alive indefinitely through the boar holes until we're able to access them under ground.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIMON: Now there is one question mark in all this. Murray is not entirely confident that the smaller drill is actually going to go into the right cavity. He says it's possible it might miss its mark.
However, as sort of a backup, there is a second, larger drill. He is confident that will hit the right mark sometime tomorrow. So either way it looks like we'll know the fate of these miners either this evening or this afternoon or tomorrow.
Heidi.
COLLINS: Well, boy, for the families, I can imagine, really wanting to at least find out what the situation is.
Dan, a couple quick questions for you. You talk about the larger drill. Is that the drill that they were talking about with the helicopter on top of the mountain?
SIMON: That's exactly right. This drill is 8 5/8 inches wide. I think that's the way it is. But, anyway, it will be on the -- it's on the side of a mountain, on a 30-degree slope. It's so big that a helicopter had to actually deliver this drill. It is progressing. It's gone about 100 feet. But it's going pretty fast. But he says tomorrow that drill will reach its mark.
COLLINS: Wow. And, quickly, you know, Bob Murray was so emphatic on Tuesday at that press conference talking about this being caused by an earthquake. In that interview, that chunk that we just saw there, he's now calling it's an event. I just wonder if there's any more information at this time about what my have initially caused this collapse?
SIMON: I think he realizes that by calling it an earthquake it's somewhat controversial. On AMERICAN MORNING this morning, he still defended that assertion. He still believes it's an earthquake. But I think he wants to take -- you know, use different language. He says he's focused solely on rescuing the miners. And by eliminating that language, it sort of takes that debate at least, you know, takes it out of the dialogue at least temporarily. Of course, we'll be hearing more about that a bit later on. COLLINS: OK. Well, it could be a very exciting day for the families. We certainly hope that's the case.
Dan Simon from Huntington, Utah, this morning.
Dan, thank you.
HARRIS: And, Heidi, let's get everyone to the CNN NEWSROOM now. Fredricka Whitfield is standing by with details of a, I would imagine, a pretty involved warehouse fire in Miami.
Fred, good morning.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is pretty involved there in Miami.
HARRIS: Whoa, yes.
WHITFIELD: Yes, at 19th Street and 1st Avenue. And what makes this one pretty tricky, while firefighters do believe this fire is from the interior of the building because it's a trussed roof, they feel it's too unsafe for them to battle this blaze from the interior. So they've got their engines out there and they're trying to douse these flames from the top.
We don't know exactly what is stored at this warehouse, what kind of activity takes place here. But just that this activity is taking place right now and that's why the firefighters are on the scene, trying to get a handle of it. And just in the past 30 minutes, we've certainly seen it go from just mild plumes of smoke to now pretty fierce, active flames and dark and very light-colored mixes of plumes of smoke. So the fire has certainly gotten more aggressive over just the last 30 minutes alone. We'll be checking on it and let you know.
HARRIS: Boy, how about hazmat teams? I would imagine they would at least be on standby.
WHITFIELD: Well, we haven't been told that they are on the scene because, again, at least for us, it's unclear exactly what is stored there. But perhaps as a precaution, at least one hazmat engine may be on the scene. But none of that information I know for sure.
HARRIS: Whoa, looking like a bit of an explosion there. That is a strange color, too, the smoke. But I know you're tracking it for us, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Yes, we are.
HARRIS: OK. All right, Fred, thank you.
COLLINS: Wow, it looks like the pavement has collapsed in there too.
And Bonnie Schneider joining us.
Bonnie, I can't imagine anything worse than having to fight a fire in all of these extreme temperatures we're seeing across the country.
HARRIS: Ain't that the truth.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: Another reminder here. President Bush coming up in about 15 minutes or so. He has called a news conference for 10:30 this morning Eastern Time. We'll have live coverage of answer and answers with reporters right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: And buckle up, everyone. Stokes take a swift slide. What does all this mean to you? Mutual funds now, hmm, on the radar. Blame it all on a French bank. The numbers straight ahead.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Reynolds Wolf coming to you from Waterfront Park in Charleston, South Carolina.
And is it hot? Well, seeing is believing. Check it out. From our vantage point it is over 100 degrees and may get warmer yet. The complete forecast coming up.
COLLINS: Poor Reynolds. We make him stand out there, you know, hold that thermometer. You've got to love him.
Made in China recalled in America. Now it's tires that seem to be defective. We'll tell you more about it after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And good morning, everyone. Welcome back to the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.
Boy, President Bush calling a news conference for 10:30 a.m. Eastern this morning. Think about it, Heidi, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the economy, the sub prime mortgage market. This could take a while. Live coverage of the Q&A with reporters right here 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So, Heidi, a new forecast for the Atlantic hurricane season.
COLLINS: Yes.
HARRIS: Bonnie has it and it's improving news, right, Bonnie?
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, you know, not that much of a change really since May. What happens is, is now we're moving into the peak of the season, August, September, and even early October. So we can get a tighter idea of what is happening. And here's the latest from NOAA as of today. Thirteen to 16 named storms, seven to nine hurricanes, three to five major hurricanes. That means category three or higher.
And even though it's been a quiet season so far, remember, we tend to get a lot more active in late August and early September. So don't let the past season so far fool you. NOAA is still predicting this season to be 85 percent of an above-normal season than what we would typically see in a regular hurricane season. So it's still going to be an active season. It's just getting off to a slow start.
Heidi. Tony.
HARRIS: And it is August and September when you really starts the tropics (ph).
SCHNEIDER: Yes, really that first couple weeks in September we tend to see the most named storms on the map.
HARRIS: OK. Bonnie, appreciate it. Thanks you.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
COLLINS: No break in the deadly heat wave. Records set across the south. CNN meteorologist Reynold Wolf is live -- still live, yes -- from Charleston, South Carolina.
Reynolds, I feel like I should apologize to you for being out there. But, boy, oh, boy.
WOLF: This is the place to be. Heidi, this is the spot.
COLLINS: Yes, absolutely. Are you in the water?
WOLF: We're at Waterfront Park right now. Kind of, sort of. I get too close, I'm going to have some engineers come over here and tackle me and drag me out. You know, this gear can be a little sensitive. So I'm going to tip toe my way out.
That's certainly a welcome places to be today because temperatures are expected to rise up into the 90s. And we are still well shy of the overall record high for Charleston, which was set back in 1999 when it got up to 105 degrees.
But the big danger today is -- well, the big danger they've had in the city is not just the temperatures for today, but that extended period of this heat wave that should last for much of the week. And people in the Charleston area have been doing everything they possibly can to deal with these extreme temperatures.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The weather is quite hot. Even for the beach. But if you go out just for - we're going out just for small bits of time. And going back in and taking a break. We can work with that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I've gone some lemon ice tea right here. And I've got my water bottle. And I've got my cup with my ice in it. So I'm pretty good. As you can see, it's not helping too much, but we have to put some kind of fluid back in our bodies.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a lot hotter than home. So we're sweating. We decided just to jump in there and who cares?
WOLF: And did it cool you off?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF: Now the city of Charleston isn't just sitting on their hands. They're actually doing some great work, including setting up a hotline for people who are trying to battle this heat. Some pointers that they can use. They're also giving away some fans as well. So it is certainly a community effort in battling mother nature.
Right now my feet are battling this pavement, so I'm going to go back to the fountain. And let's toss it back to you guys.
COLLINS: Oh, you seriously feel it? Oh, you're barefoot. Well, no wonder.
HARRIS: Well, that's insane.
COLLINS: That's got to be dangerous as well. Wires, water, bare foot.
WOLF: Ah. Ah.
COLLINS: He's lost his mind completely.
HARRIS: Yes, he has. (INAUDIBLE)
COLLINS: All right. Oh, Lord.
All right, Reynolds Wolf, thank so much. We'll try and check in with you a bit later.
WOLF: You bet.
COLLINS: OK. From Charleston, South Carolina, this morning.
HARRIS: I don't want to look at another man's feet. What is this?
All right. President Bush -- moving on-- calling a news conference for 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Oh, about nine minutes from now. Live coverage of the Q&A with reporters straight ahead for you in the CNN NEWSROOM.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Gerri Willis.
The markets are down dramatically this morning. I'll tell you why and what it means for your wallet, next in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK. Before we get to Gerri, one more look at the numbers from the New York Stock Exchange. The big board there. I guess -- well, this is a bounce back.
COLLINS: Yes.
HARRIS: I mean, clearly it's bounced back from where we started.
COLLINS: Yes, about half.
HARRIS: Two hundred thirty eight.
COLLINS: Yes, 238 off the first five minutes.
HARRIS: Yikes. OK. The S&P down 19. The Nasdaq, just checking all of the indices here, the Nasdaq down 12 -- yes, down 12. OK. We're following it for you. Susan Lisovicz, Ali Velshi on patrol in the NEWSROOM for us.
COLLINS: Actually we have everybody on patrol for us that has anything to did with the markets and financing and so forth. Gerri Willis is joining us now. She's our CNN personal finance editor.
Gerri, volatile at best. It's crazy. This thing is back up now, at least according to, you know, where it began. I can't wait to see what happens at the close of where it is.
WILLIS: No kidding. You know, it's been a very dramatic day. I think yikes is the right description here.
COLLINS: Yes.
WILLIS: The U.S. markets opened dramatically lower this morning. And what happened was a French bank, BNP Paribas announced that it had frozen $2.2 billion worth of investment funds. Now the company sites the U.S. prime mortgage sector problems. Now their move is intended to bar investors from redeeming cash from the funds. That announcement was all U.S. traders needed to start selling stocks.
Also today, AIG, one of the nation's biggest mortgage lenders, they said the percentage of mortgages that they hold is -- the defaults number is growing. With more defaults among borrowers with better than sub prime loans. Now this credit crunch that's developed has forced several mortgage lenders to close their doors. And, frankly, the worries here are mounting about the impact for the economy and for, you know, lenders, investment banks, mortgage banks, you name it.
COLLINS: Yes, I bet. So you as, you know, like Joe consumer at home watching all of this, what should you do? What does it mean for you?
WILLIS: Well, the worry, of course, is that this is going to have a broader ramification for the economy, hurt corporate profits. It's clearly rocking financial markets and we've seen so much volatility going on today. But, you know, down this amount. Yesterday we had a different kind of performance. We're seeing a ton of volatility. But for individuals out there, people who are just trying to grow their 401(k)s, send their kids to college, the reality is, it's going to be harder to borrow money. This is a credit crunch out there. What people are saying on the street is that it will cost them more to borrow money. They will have to put down more for a loan.
So if you're out there, you're looking for a house, you're thinking you might buy this year, you can't get away with putting nothing down anymore. You're going to have to put down 10 percent, 20 percent. You credit is going to have to be better. You're going to have to really work hard to get that money because banker are being a little stingier.
They're a little worried about what's going on out there. We had such a mess with people in the sub prime category not being able to pay off these toxic loans. Now they're really bringing in their horns and making it tough, tough, tough for people who want to borrow money. And, you know, ultimately, this could have an effect in other categories as well, credit cards, you name it, auto loans.
COLLINS: New home sales.
WILLIS: It's going to cost more to borrow. And, you know, if you want to borrow money, you're going to have to be prepared to borrow less, pay more, put more money down.
COLLINS: Yes, a lot of people are probably going to have to put off their plans of buying or building a new house.
WILLIS: And, of course -- yes. Well, and hitting the housing market dramatically. We've seen, you know, so many home builders out there. It's not that they're giving the homes away, but so many incentives now to move those houses that they are so worried about being stuck with.
COLLINS: Yes, no kidding.
All right, CNN's personal finance editor Gerri Willis.
Gerri, thank you.
WILLIS: You're welcome.
ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Tony Harris and Heidi Collins.
COLLINS: Good morning once again, everybody. Just a few minutes away from President Bush's speech. I'm Heidi Collins.
HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. Welcome back, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM.
Heidi, you mentioned the president's news conference coming up in just a couple of minutes. Ed Henry is standing by for us.
And, Ed, when you think about all the topics that the president will probably take questions on, this could probably take a while.
ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Good morning, Tony.
We're told the president will spend about the first five minutes with an opening statement focused on the economy, likely to be a repeat of yesterday's message, that despite the volatility on Wall Street, despite the credit crunch, he believes the economic signs by and large are good.
He's also ready, as you know, to pick some fights with Democrats on the economy. Specifically he wants to cut corporate taxes. Something Democrats suggesting they don't want to do. Also the president has been threatening to veto various spending bills that he thinks Democrats are loading up with to many spending projects.
And you also, as you said, can expect a lot of questions on Iraq. The big progress report coming from General David Petraeus, the commander on the ground. He will be issuing that report to the president, and the Congress in mid September. Obviously, all eyes will turn to that. And once the president comes back from his break, Congress returns from its August recess.
Also, Pakistan, this morning. The reports about the potential for President Musharraf to call a state of emergency. The civil strife there.
Also, meanwhile, the questions about whether the U.S. will take military action within Pakistan's borders to deal with al Qaeda. That being right next door to Afghanistan, where the war there is about to reach its sixth year. All of these global hot spots likely to take up a lot of time.
Tony.
HARRIS: And, you know what, Ed, I can't imagine that you're going to let the president off the hook without asking about Iran. Nouri al-Maliki, Iraq's prime minister, in Tehran. Afghanistan's president earlier this week, calling Iran a help in his country. It seems to me the president will want an opportunity to reassert his position on Iran.
HENRY: That's right. And the president made clear at Camp David a couple of days ago that he wanted to make sure that Afghanistan understood that, in fact, President Karzai understood that he thinks Iran is a destabling force in Afghanistan and all around the world. Also with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Iran right now, a lot of questions about what he's doing there. Iranian officials this morning have been quoted as saying that they think stability would be brought to Iraq if U.S. troops were to get out. Obviously that's something that Republicans are likely to use, to say that the Democratic plans to withdraw U.S. from Iraq are not a good idea, if Iran believes it's a good idea. So obviously Iran, of course, will also be a major topic -- Tony.
HARRIS: Ed, what do we know about the president's plans? I know it's August; it's time to get away a little bit. And is it To Kennebunkport and then to Crawford, and is there a meeting with the French president?
HENRY: That's right. The president will be mixing business and pleasure throughout the summer, as he often does. He's going to Kennebunkport this weekend, some R&R, but also a family wedding, but you're right, he'll be mixing in some policy time, although it's a social lunch with the new French president, Mr. Sarkozy and his wife.
Also the president then heading on to Crawford, Texas for his ranch, but he'll be using Crawford, Texas as a base to go out and do some other things. He'll be doing some fund-raising for Republicans. He also will be dealing with the fact that he has a summit to deal with in Canada in August. And in September, he's going to Australia at the beginning of the month for the APEC, Asian-Pacific Trade Summit -- Tony.
HARRIS: OK, and we see that we're about a minute or so away, and I know Heidi's got some thoughts on this.
COLLINS: Yes, well actually it was just kind of a funny thought, because I like to have fun with Ed Henry, because he doesn't get to usually do that. So what the heck, Ed? Have you seen the podium?
HENRY: Yes, I have, and it actually is a bigger, grander podium. I should probably sit down. I think the president is pretty close to coming in. But you can tell it's different than Tony Snow usually uses. In this new briefing room they now have a special podium that only the president uses when he has press conferences, a chance to give him maybe a grander stage -- Tony, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, well, as we continue to watch that podium, we won't make Ed talk to us too much more in the event the president will walk through the doors. I believe we have about a minute or so, if Ed can still hear us. But it's going to be such an array of topics. It will be very interesting to hear if he comments directly on what's happening with the markets today, which we've been talking about all morning long here, because it's such a huge downturn right off the top. He usually doesn't do that; he usually talks more about the positive things with the economy.
HARRIS: Yes, sure. And you would think the president would take a couple questions on the infrastructure in the country now clearly responded to go what happened in Minneapolis and that bridge collapse, and the releasing of millions of dollars to help in that rebuilding effort that is supposed to take about a year or so, optimistically it seems to me.
COLLINS: Definitely optimistically.
HARRIS: And you know that area very well. So you would think that the president would take an opportunity and certainly take some questions on where we are in the country in terms of our infrastructure, and how much of a priority it now becomes in light of what happened in Minneapolis, and you would suspect the president would want to say some things about the miners in Utah. Here's the president. GEORGE W. BUSH, PRES. OF THE UNITED STATES: When I came into office in 2001, our nation was headed into a recession. So we cut the taxes across the board. And hardworking Americans have used this tax relief to produce strong and lasting economic growth.
Since we began cutting taxes in 2001, our economy has expanded by more than $1.9 trillion. Since the tax cuts took full effect in 2003, our economy has added more than 8.3 million new jobs in almost four years of uninterrupted growth.
Inflation is low. Unemployment is low. Real after-tax income has grown by an average of more than $3,400 per person since I took office. The American economy is the envy of the world -- and we need to keep it that way.
Our economy is growing -- in large part -- because America has the most ambitious, educated and innovative people in the world: Men and women who take risks, try out new ideas, and have the skills and courage to turn their dreams into new technologies and new businesses.
To stay competitive in the global economy, we must continue to lead the world in human talent and creativity. So in my 2006 State of the Union Address, I announced the American Competitiveness Initiative, and I called on Republicans and Democrats in Congress to join me in this effort to encourage innovation throughout our economy.
As part of this initiative, I asked Congress to expand America's investment in basic research so we can support our nation's most creative minds as they explore new frontiers in nanotechnology or supercomputing or alternative energy sources.
I asked Congress to strengthen math and science education so our children have the skills they need to compete for the jobs of the future. I asked Congress to make permanent the research and development tax credit, so we can encourage bolder, private-sector initiatives in technology.
Today I'm going to sign into law a bill that supports many of the key elements of the American Competitiveness Initiative.
This legislation supports our efforts to double funding for basic research in physical sciences. This legislation authorizes most of the education programs I called for in the initiative I laid out at the State of the Union.
These programs include Math Now proposals to improve instruction in mathematics and the advanced placement program my administration proposed to increase the number of teachers and students in A.P. and international baccalaureate classes.
These are steps forward and so I'm going to sign the bill. I'm looking forward to it.
Yet the bill Congress sent to my desk leaves some of the key priorities unfulfilled and authorizes unnecessary and duplicative programs. I will continue to focus my budget requests on the key priorities and the bill I outlined, and will work with Congress to focus its spending on those programs that will be most effective.
I will continue to press Congress to approve the remaining measures of the American Competitiveness Initiative.
These measures include the adjunct teacher corps program, to encourage math and science professionals to take time out of their lives to teach in our schools and to inspire the youth to become more interested in math and science.
I believe Congress ought to make the research and development tax credit a permanent part of the tax code to encourage investment.
The bill I will sign today will help ensure that we do remain the most competitive and innovative nation in the world. I thank members of Congress from both parties who worked hard to secure its passage.
I particularly want to thank Senators Pete Domenici, Jeff Bingaman, Lamar Alexander and John Ensign, as well as Congressman Bart Gordon and Vern Ehlers.
You know, this bill shows that we can work together to make sure we're a competitive nation. There's a lot of areas where we can seek common ground -- coming this fall.
And I'm looking forward to working with members of both parties to do that. Thank you for coming. I'll be glad to answer some of your questions, starting with you.
QUESTION: Mr. President, the former chairman of the House Transportation Committee, Republican Don Young, says there are about 500 bridges around the country like the one that collapsed in Minneapolis last week. And Young and other Transportation Committee members are recommending an increase in federal gasoline taxes to pay for repairs.
Would you be willing to go along with an increase in gasoline taxes of five cents a gallon or more?
BUSH: First of all, Secretary Peters is gathering information and will report to the White House and report to the nation about what she finds, about whether there are any structural design flaws that may be applicable to other bridges. She's in the process of gathering this information now.
The American people need to know that we're working hard to find out why the bridge did what it did so that we can assure people that the bridges over which they'll be traveling will be safe. That's step one.
You know, it's an interesting question, about how Congress spends and prioritizes highway money. My suggestion would be that they revisit the process by which they spend gasoline money in the first place. As you probably know, the Public Works Committee (sic) is the largest committee -- or one of the largest committees -- in the House of Representatives.
From my perspective, the way it seems to have worked is that each member on that committee gets to set his or her own priority first, and then what's ever left over is spent to a funding formula.
That's not the right way to prioritize the people's money. So before we raise taxes which could affect economic growth, I would strongly urge the Congress to examine how they set priorities.
And, if bridges are a priority, let's make sure we set that priority first and foremost, before we raise taxes.
QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President. One of your chief allies in the war on terrorism, President Musharraf of Pakistan, has faced so much instability and civil strife recently that there's been talk of declaring a state of emergency.
How concerned are you about President Musharraf's situation and whether this might undermine Pakistani efforts against the Taliban and Al Qaida elements in the border areas of his country which have been roundly criticized recently?
BUSH: You know, I've seen the reports of the -- what they've called an emergency declaration. I have seen no such evidence that he's made that decision.
In my discussions with President Musharraf, I have reminded him that we share a common enemy: extremists and radicals who would like to do harm to our respective societies. In his case, they would like to kill him, and they have tried.
I have made it clear to him that I expect there to be full cooperation in sharing intelligence, and I believe we have good intelligence sharing. I have indicated to him that the American people would expect there to be swift action taken if there's actionable intelligence on high-value targets inside his country.
Now, I recognize Pakistan is a sovereign nation. And that's important for Americans to recognize that. But it's also important for Americans to understand that he shares the same concern about radicals and extremists as I do and as the American people do.
So my focus in terms of the domestic scene there is that he have a free and fair election. And that's what we have been talking to him about -- I'm hopeful they will.
QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President.
You speak often about taking care of the troops and honoring their sacrifice. But the family of Corporal Pat Tillman believes there was a cover-up regarding his death, and some say perhaps he was even murdered, instead of just friendly fire. At a hearing last week on Capitol Hill, your former defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, other officials, used some version of "I don't recall" 82 times.
When it was his turn to step up, Pat Tillman gave up a lucrative NFL career, served his country, and paid the ultimate sacrifice.
Now you have a chance to pledge to the family that your government, your administration will finally get to the bottom of it.
Will you make that pledge to the family today that you'll finally, after seven investigations, find out what really happened?
BUSH: Well, first of all, I can understand why Pat Tillman's family, you know, has got significant emotions, because a man they loved and respected was killed while he was serving his country.
I always admired the fact that a person who was relatively comfortable in life would be willing to take off one uniform and put on another to defend America. And the best way to honor that commitment of his is to find out the truth.
And I'm confident that the Defense Department wants to find out the truth, too, and will lay it out for the Tillman family to know.
QUESTION: But, Mr. President, there have been seven investigations and the Pentagon has not gotten to the bottom of it.
Can you also tell us when you personally found out that it was not enemy fire; that it was friendly fire?
BUSH: You know, I can't give you the precise moment.
But obviously the minute I heard that the facts that most people believe were true were not true, that I expected there to be a full investigation to get to the bottom of it.
QUESTION: Sir, on Monday at Camp David when you met with President Karzai from Afghanistan, you were asked: If you had actionable intelligence in Pakistan on top Al Qaida leaders, would you take action unilaterally if, in fact, you felt that President Musharraf simply -- for one reason or another, he simply couldn't get his people there in time, would you move in?
And you said, "If we had good actionable intelligence, we would get the job done."
My question, one, is: Who is we? Does we include the Pakistanis, or -- because the question says, you know, Musharraf wouldn't be able to be (OFF-MIKE) would you do it unilaterally?
And one reason it's a hot question this week is that one of the Democratic presidential candidates, Barack Obama, talked about taking unilateral action.
He got beaten up by people in the Democratic Party and by Mitt Romney in your party; Romney comparing him to Dr. Strangelove. I don't know if you agree with that or...
BUSH: I suspect that over the course of the next months when I hold a press conference you'll be trying to get me to engage in presidential politics, trying to get me to opine about what candidates are saying, whether they be Republicans or Democrats.
And hopefully I'll be disciplined enough not to fall prey to your questions, not to fall into that trap.
To the question you asked and to my answer in Camp David, I said I'm confident that we -- both the Paks and the Americans -- will be able to work up a plan based upon actionable intelligence that will bring the top Al Qaida targets to justice.
And I meant what I said.
We spend a lot of time with the leadership in Pakistan talking about what we will do with actionable intelligence.
The question was: Am I confident that they will be brought to justice?
And my answer to you is: Yes, I am confident.
QUESTION: I just have one follow-up, sir.
BUSH: Sure.
(LAUGHTER)
QUESTION: I assume the CIA...
BUSH: We're heading into, kind of, a relaxed period here. I'll try to be more accommodating to fellas like you.
(LAUGHTER)
QUESTION: We widely assume that the CIA operatives are in Pakistan, cooperating with the Pakistanis, and that they're sharing everything with you and vice versa. Is that a fair assumption?
BUSH: What's fair is -- what you must assume is that I'm not going to talk about ongoing intelligence matters.
QUESTION: Mr. President, I was talking with a journalist about an hour ago in Baghdad, who says: To be a cynic in Iraq is to be naive, at this point; that there is discernible progress, undeniable progress on the battlefield, but there is just as discernible and undeniable lack of progress on political reconciliation.
Given the premise of the surge is to give the Iraqi government breathing space to get its business done, given that they're not getting their business done, are the American people entitled to hear from you more than, "I've told Prime Minister Maliki he's got to do better?" BUSH: As you know, General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker will be coming back to report on the findings of the success of the surge. The surge's success will include military successes and military failures, but also political successes and political failures.
And my own perspective is that they have made some progress but not enough. I fully recognize this is a difficult assignment. One of the things that -- it's difficult because of years of tyrannical rule that have created a lot of suspicions. And there's a lot of -- folks need to trust each other more.
Secondly, from my perspective, we're watching leaders learn how to be leaders. It's a new process for people to be democratic leaders.
Now, no question they haven't passed some of the law we expected them to pass up until now. That's where a lot of people will focus their attention.
On the other hand, there is a presidency council, with people from different political parties trying to work through some of these difficult issues, trying to work through the distrust that has caused them not to be able to pass some of the law we expect.
In the July 15th report that I submitted to Congress, there were indications that they had met about half the benchmarks and some of the political benchmarks they were falling short.
One of the things I found interesting is that the assembly, their elected parliament, has passed about 60 pieces of legislation, some of which are directly relevant to the reconciliations, like judicial reform; some of which were unwinding Saddam's laws in the past.
One of the questions I recently asked about, you know, is there a functioning government; is there -- you know, look, a lot of Americans look at it and say: There's nothing happening there; there's, like, no government at all -- I expect they're saying.
So I asked about the budgeting process. In other words, is there a centralized budgeting system that takes the oil revenues -- which I understand about 97 percent of Iraqi revenues, today, come from oil.
And do they have a rational way of spending that money for the good of society?
Now, most of the money, it turns out, is going into their military operations, operating expenses and capital expenses. But one of the things I found interesting, in my questions, was there is revenue sharing -- in other words, a central government revenue sharing -- to provincial governments.
It surprised me, frankly, because the impression you get from people who are reporting out of Iraq is that it's, like, totally dysfunctional. That's what your -- I guess your kind of -- your friend or whoever you talked to is implying. In 2006, the central government allocated $2.3 billion to the provinces. You know, I'm not exactly sure how the funding formula worked, but a quick analysis, there's no question that Shia and Sunni provinces and Kurdish provinces were receiving, you know, money.
Of the $2.3 billion, $1.9 had been obligated or spent. Some of that money is being better spent now because of bottom-up reconciliation that's taking place in places like Anbar, particularly with the help of our Provincial Reconstruction Teams. The PRTs are helping.
That's not to say what -- my point to you there is that there needs still to be work in making sure that the provincial governments are functioning well to earn the trust of the people.
It's not just the central government that we're working with.
We're also working with provincial governments to make sure that people are inspired to believe that the state is in their interest.
The point I'm making to you on this is that there's a lot of work left to be done, don't get me wrong. If one were to look hard, they could find indications that -- more than indications, facts that show the government is learning how to function.
People say we need an oil revenue sharing law. I agree with that. That needs to be codified. However, there is oil revenue sharing taking place, is my point.
There's a lot of work to be done. And the fundamental question facing America is: Is it worth it? Does it matter whether or not we stay long enough for a ally in this war against radicals and extremists to emerge?
And my answer is it does matter. Long-term consequences will face our country if the -- if we leave before the job is done.
How the troops are configured, what the deployment looks like, will depend upon the recommendations of David Petraeus.
QUESTION: Mr. President, I want to get your thoughts about the volatility in the financial markets but, specifically, a series of questions: Do you think that housing prices will continue to fall?
Do you think that the inability of people to borrow money the way they used to is going to spill over into the economy, generally?
And what are you prepared to do about it?
And, specifically, are you considering some kind of government bail-out for people who might lose their homes?
BUSH: I'm wise enough to remind you that I'm not an economist, and that I would ask that you direct predictions and forecasts about economic matters to those who make a living making forecasts and predictions. I suspect you'll find "on the one hand," "on the other hand," in how they predict.
(LAUGHTER)
Now, what I focus on are the fundamentals of our economy. My belief is that people will make rational decisions based upon facts. And the fundamentals of our economy are strong. We mentioned some of them before.
Job creation is strong. Real after-tax wages are on the rise. Inflation is low. Interestingly enough, the global economy is strong, which has enabled us to gain more exports which helped the second quarter growth numbers to be robust at 3.4 percent.
Another factor one has got to look at is the amount of liquidity in the system. In other words, is there enough liquidity to enable markets to be able to correct? And I'm told there is enough liquidity in the system to enable markets to correct.
One area where we can help consumers -- and, obviously, anybody who loses their home is somebody with whom we must show an enormous empathy. The word bail-out, I'm not exactly sure what you mean. If you mean direct grants to homeowners, the answer would be: No, I don't support that.
If you mean making sure that financial institutions like the FHA have got flexibility to help these folks refinance their homes, the answer is: Yes, I support that.
One thing is for certain, is that there needs to be more transparency in the -- in financial documents. A lot of people sign up to something they're not sure exactly what they're signing up for -- more financial literacy I guess is the best way to put it.
We've had a lot of really hardworking Americans, you know, sign up for loans, and the truth of the matter is they probably didn't fully understand what they were signing up for. And, therefore, I do believe it's the proper role for government to enhance financial, you know, education initiatives. And we're doing that. Got money in the budget to do that.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
(LAUGHTER)
QUESTION: Because you weren't this circumspect when you were talking to reporters yesterday about this.
BUSH: How do you know? You weren't there...
QUESTION: Well, you're right. I wasn't.
BUSH: I'm curious to know why you weren't there.
Ask Baker. He was there. QUESTION: Yes, right.
BUSH: I think I pretty much said the same thing yesterday, in all due respect.
QUESTION: Well, what's going on in the housing market? Is it a correction or a crisis in your view? Can...
BUSH: Yesterday, I did comment upon that, that there was a -- I talked about the different scenarios that I had been briefed on about whether or not there would be precipitous decline in housing or whether it would be what one would call a soft landing.
And it appeared at this point in time that it looks we're headed for a soft landing. That's what the facts say.
Thank you.
QUESTION: Mr. President, thank you. There is more evidence of Iranian weapons ending up in Iraq and ultimately killing U.S. troops.
And I'm wondering, today, sir, if you have a message to the regime in Tehran about these weapons ending up in Iraq and obviously doing harm to American citizens.
BUSH: One of the main reasons that I asked Ambassador Crocker to meet with Iranians inside Iraq was to send the message that there will be consequences for people transporting, delivering EFPs, highly sophisticated IEDs, that kill Americans in Iraq.
Prime Minister Maliki is visiting in Tehran today. His message, I'm confident, will be: "Stabilize; don't destabilize." And the sending of weapons into Iraq is a destabilizing factor. And that's why we -- yes, we've sent the message, here and in that meeting.
QUESTION: Sir, getting back to the credit crunch caused by defaulted subprime mortgages, should Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac be allowed to buy mortgages beyond their current limits or play any additional role that could help revive mortgage finance?
As you know we've put up a robust reform package for these two institutions, a reform package that will cause them to focus on their core mission, first and foremost, a reform package that says, like other lending institutions, there ought to be regulatory oversight.
BUSH: And, therefore, first thing's first when it comes to those two institutions. The Congress needs to get them reformed, get them streamlined, get them focused, and then I will consider other options.
QUESTION: Thank you, sir. A two-part question.
The New Yorker reports that the Red Cross has found the interrogation program in the CIA detention facilities used interrogation techniques that are tantamount to torture. I'm wondering if you've read that report and what your reaction to it is. And the second part of the question is, more than a year ago, you said that you wanted to close the detention facility at Guantanamo, and a year later, nothing has actually happened in that regard. Your vice president, attorney general and homeland security secretary are reported to be resisting such a move.
I wonder if you could tell us: Is there really xi on this issue? Are you doing anything about it? Do you expect Guantanamo to be open or closed when you leave office?
BUSH: I did say it should be a goal of the nation to shut down Guantanamo. I also made it clear that part of the delay was the reluctance of some nations to take back some of the people being held there.
In other words, in order to make it work, we've got to have a place for these people to go. I don't know if you noticed the resolution in the Senate the other day, where all but three senators said we don't want these prisoners in the country.
I don't know if it was a 97-3 vote, but it was a something-to- three vote. In other words, part of the issue is the practical issue of: What do we do with the people?
You say nothing's taken place. I strongly disagree with that. First of all, we're working with other nations to send folks back.
Again, this is a fairly steep order. A lot of people don't want killers in their midst, and a lot of these people are killers.
Secondly, of course, we're -- we want to make sure that, when we do send them back, they're treated, you know, as humanely as possible.
The other issue is whether or not we can get people to be tried. I mean, one of the things that I'm anxious about, want to see happen is that there be trials.
And the courts have been involved with deciding how to do this. And Defense (ph) is trying to work out mechanisms to get the trials up and running. And the sooner we can get that up and running, the better it is, as far as I'm concerned.
I don't want to make any predictions about whether Guantanamo will be available or not. I'm just telling you it's a very complicated subject.
And I have laid out an aspiration. Whether or not we can achieve that or not -- we'll try to. But it is not -- it's not as easy a subject as some may think on the surface.
Again, I refer you to the Senate vote: When asked whether or not you want to shut down Guantanamo and therefore receive some of those prisoners in your home state, there didn't seem to be a lot of support for it. Like, three people said, "It's OK by me," in the Senate.
Now, your other question, sir? QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
BUSH: Haven't seen it. We don't torture.
QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President. I've got a pivot off of what you were talking about earlier with Prime Minister Maliki's visit to Iran.
Reports out of Iran today -- out of Iran -- say that Prime Minister Maliki told President Ahmadinejad that he appreciated Iran's positive and constructive stance.
The pictures from the visit are very warm. I'm wondering: Do you and your Iraqi counterparts see eye to eye on Iran, and what kind of message do those images send to your allies in the region and Americans who are skeptical about the prime minister?
BUSH: Sure. I haven't seen the reports and before I would like to comment upon how their meetings went, I would like to get a readout from our embassy who, of course, will be in touch with the prime minister and get his readout. And so it's a -- you're asking me to be a little speculative on the subject.
I haven't seen the picture. Look, generally, in the way these things work is you try to be cordial to the person you're with, and so you don't want the picture to be kind of, you know, duking it out.
(LAUGHTER)
You know -- OK, put up your dukes. That's an old boxing expression.
(LAUGHTER)
QUESTION: Once more, please.
(LAUGHTER)
BUSH: And so, you know -- I don't know. Again, you've obviously followed this a lot. I mean, you've seen the reports. I'm sure that you're confident that what you've asked me is verifiable. I'm not surprised that there's a picture showing people smiling.
QUESTION: However...
BUSH: Let me finish, please.
(LAUGHTER)
And so it's a -- it's a -- anyway, let me get the facts on what happened.
Now, if the signal is that Iran is constructive, I will have to have a heart to heart with my friend, the prime minister. Because I don't believe they are constructive. I don't think he, in his heart of heart, think they're constructive either. Now, maybe he's hopeful, in trying to get them to be constructive, by laying out a positive picture. You're asking me to speculate.
But should I be concerned of a picture -- should the American people be concerned about Iran?
Yes, we ought to be very concerned about Iran. They're a destabilizing influence. They are a government that has -- its declared policy is very troubling, obviously, when they announce -- when Ahmadinejad has announced that the destruction of Israel is part of his foreign policy. That's something, obviously, we cannot live with.
They have expressed their desire to be able to enrich uranium, which we believe is a step toward having a nuclear weapons program.
That in itself, coupled with their stated foreign policy, is very dangerous for world stability. They are funders of Hezbollah. Hezbollah is intent upon, you know, battling forces of moderation, and so it's a very troubling nation right now.
Iran can do better. The government is isolating its people. The government has caused America and other nations -- rational nations -- to say, "We will work together to do everything we can to deny you economic opportunity because of the decisions you are making."
My message to the Iranian people is, "You can do better than this current government. You don't have to be isolated. You don't have to be in a position where you can't realize your full economic potential."
And the United States of America will continue to work with our friends and allies in the Security Council and elsewhere to put you in a position to deny you your rightful place in the world -- not because of our intention; because of your government's intention.
And so it is very -- it's a difficult issue. And the American people should be concerned about Iran. They should be concerned about Iran's activity in Iraq and they ought to be concerned about Iran's activity around the world.
QUESTION: In your previous conversations with Prime Minister Maliki, have you been confident that he shares your view on Iraq (sic)?
BUSH: On Iran?
Yes. He knows that weaponry being smuggled in to Iraq from Iran and placed into the hands of extremists -- over which the government has no control, all aimed at killing innocent life -- is a destabilizing factor.
He absolutely understands that. I don't know if you saw, yesterday, there was -- we talked to General General Petraeus, or I talked to General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker yesterday.
I noticed, in the papers today, there was a description of a military operation that took place in Sadr City. The military operation in Sadr City was going after extremist elements, Shia extremist elements. And it was a very robust operation.
The -- obviously -- well, I shouldn't say obviously. It was done with the full understanding of the Maliki government. I don't know whether this extremist element had been fuelled by Iran, but I do know that Maliki is committed against extremist elements who are trying to, you know, create enough chaos and confusion that this young government and young democracy is not able to progress.
So the first thing I looked for was commitment against the extremists. Second thing is: Does he understand with some extremist groups there's connections with Iran? And he does. And I'm confident.
Now, is he trying to get Iran to play a more constructive role? I presume he is. That doesn't -- that's -- what my question is -- what my message to him is, is that: When we catch you playing a nonconstructive role, there will be a price to pay.
QUESTION: Mr. President, are you considering a plan to cut corporate taxes? Do you believe America's corporations are not making enough money these days?
BUSH: Actually we had an interesting discussion on this subject. And if you read carefully the penetrating report by the financial reporter -- like, semi-financial reporter -- you'll find that it was -- I was talking about an idea that has begun to surface as a result of meetings being held at the Treasury Department.
And the whole reason to look at corporate rates is to determine whether or not they make us less competitive in a global economy. If so, in other words, if the conclusion is is that our tax structure makes it harder for businesses to compete, therefore making it harder for people to find work over time, then we need to address the competitive imbalance in our tax code.
I also made it clear that we're at the very early stages of discussion and that, in my own judgment, anything that would be submitted to Congress, if submitted to all, would have to be revenue neutral.
And, therefore, what we'd really be talking about is a simplification of a very complex tax code that might be able to lower rates and, at the same time, simplify the code -- which is like shorthand for certain deductions would be taken away -- in other words, certain tax preferences in the code.
My view all along has been: The more simple the code, the better, whether it be in the individual income tax side or the corporate tax side.
However, I would readily concede to you that this is a difficult issue because the reason there's tax preferences in the first place, there are powerful interests that have worked to get the preference in the code.
And as I remarked to the distinguished group of writers I was talking to yesterday, it's much easier to get something in the code than get it out of the code.
But I do think it's in the interests to constantly evaluate, you know, our competitive advantages and disadvantages.
And what Hank Paulson told me was that there's a lot of folks who really believe the tax code creates a competitive disadvantage and, therefore, it's certainly worth looking at.
QUESTION: On the subject of tax preferences, what about carried interest?
Do you think that taxing those capital gains rates is fair?
A lot of people think it's not.
BUSH: First of all, I think that what ends up happening is, in trying to deal with one particular aspect of partnerships, is that you end up affecting all partnerships. And partnerships are an important vehicle to encourage investment and capital flows.
They've been important vehicles to encourage the, you know, entrepreneurial spirit. In other words, small businesses have been organized as limited partnerships.
We're very, very hesitant about trying to target one aspect of limited partnerships for fear of the spillover it'll have in affecting small business growth. And we don't support that.
QUESTION: You've been clear about saying that you will veto overspending by Congress when they come back next month to do appropriations bills. You've also been clear you don't want to raise taxes.
Can you do justice to the kind of programs the government needs for bridges, for housing, and also continue to spend as much as you do in the war in Iraq?
BUSH: One can meet priorities if they set priorities. The problem in Congress is they have trouble actually focusing on priorities. Appropriators take their title seriously and they all feel like they got to appropriate, which means there's a myriad of priorities. And so the role of the president, it seems to me, is to help Congress focus on that which is important.
We have a debate over that which is important, of course, but one thing is -- that we shouldn't have the debate over is whether or not it's important to fund our troops in this war against radicals, extremists, the war on terror.
And I think we'll be able to get that kind of cooperation. I would hope that they would get the defense bill to my desk as quickly as possible.
Part of my concerns, of course, is that there is different sets of priorities in both bodies, and it seems like to me that the Congress needs to come together, solve their differences -- solve their differences first and then bring them to the White House and see if we can find accommodation.
I have proven in the past, though, that one's able to set priorities, keep taxes low, grow the economy and reduce the deficit.
In other words, we have cut taxes and -- causing economic growth, which caused there to be, this year alone, 187 billion more tax dollars coming into the Treasury.
The deficit's reduced to 1.5 percent of GDP, which, on a 40-year historical average, is very low -- or is low, below the average. And we've proven that you can set priorities and meet obligations. And so the Congress needs to learn to do that itself.
QUESTION: But you're confident that you can continue to sustain the kind of level of spending that you've invested in Iraq?
BUSH: I would certainly hope so. Because, when you say "sustain the level of spending," you're mainly talking about making sure our troops have what it takes to do the job we've asked them to do.
And I know there's a lot of members who don't agree with the decisions I made. I would certainly hope they would agree, however, that once someone's in combat, or in harm's way, that they get the full support of the federal government. That's exactly what their families expect and that's what the commander in chief expects as well.
QUESTION: I wanted to ask you about accountability. You're a big believer in it. You've talked about it with regard to the public schools.
But given the performance of Iraqi leaders, given your decision to commute the sentence of Lewis Libby; you've also stood by the attorney general recently -- there have been a lot of questions about your commitment to accountability.
And I'm wondering if you could give the American people some clear examples of how you've held people accountable during your presidency.
BUSH: Lewis Libby was held accountable. He was declared guilty by a jury and he paid a high price for it.
Al Gonzales -- implicit in your questions is that Al Gonzales did something wrong. I haven't seen Congress say he's done anything wrong.
As a matter of fact, I believe we're watching a political -- you know, a political exercise. I mean, this is a man who -- who's testified. He sent thousands of papers up there. There's no proof of wrong. Why would I hold somebody accountable who has done nothing wrong?
Frankly, I think that's a typical Washington, D.C., assumption -- not to be accusatory. I know you're a kind, open-minded fellow. But you suggested holding the attorney general accountable for something he did wrong.
And, as a matter of fact, I would hope Congress would become more prone to deliver pieces of legislation that matter as opposed to being the investigative body. I mean, there have been over 600 different hearings, and yet they're struggling with getting appropriations bills to my desk.
QUESTION: Given the decision to commute the sentence of Libby, given the performance of Iraqi leaders, is it fair for people to ask questions about your commitment to accountability?
BUSH: I would hope people would say that I am deliberate in my decision-making. I think about all aspects of the decisions I make, and I'm a fair person.
And the -- back to Iraq, it's no question they haven't made as much progress as I would have hoped. But I also recognize how difficult the task is.
And I repeat to you -- the fundamental question is: Does it matter whether or not there is a self-governing entity that's an ally in the war on terror in Iraq? Does it matter? Does it matter to, you know, a guy living in Crawford, Texas? Does it matter to your children?
As you know, from these press conferences, I have come to the conclusion that it does matter. And it does matter because enemies that would like to do harm to the American people would be emboldened by failure.
I recognize there's a debate here in America as to whether or not failure in Iraq would cause there to be more danger here in America. I strongly believe that's the case.
It matters if the United States does not believe in the universality of freedom. It matters to the security of people here at home if we don't work to change the conditions that caused 19 kids to be lured onto airplanes to come and murder our citizens.
The first question one has to ask on Iraq is: Is it worth it? I could not send a mother's child into combat if I did not believe it was necessary for our short-term and long-term security to succeed in Iraq.
Once you come to the conclusion that it's worth it, then the you must ask is: How difficult is the task of a young democracy emerging?
Those who study the Articles of Confederation would recognize that there are difficult moments in young democracies emerging -- particularly after, in this case, tyrannical rule.
That's not to say that we shouldn't be pushing hard for all opportunities for reconciliation. But, for those of us who believe it's worth it, we will see progress. For those who believe it's not worth it, there is no progress.
And that's going to be the interesting debate.
And what it's going to come down to is whether or not the United States should be in Iraq and in the region in a position to enable societies to begin to, you know, embrace liberty for the long term. This is an ideological struggle.
And I recognize some don't view it as an ideological struggle, but I firmly believe it is an ideological struggle. And I believe it's a struggle between the forces of moderation and reasonableness and good and the forces of murder and intolerance.
And what has made the stakes so high is that those forces of murder and intolerance have shown they have the capacity to murder innocent people in our own country.
And so I put that in the context of accountability.
In the case of Iraq, it's a lot more complicated than just the passage of four laws, even though I would hope they would get the four laws passed.
But again, I repeat, the threshold question: Does it matter? Does it matter to our security here at home?
And the answer is: Absolutely, it does. It does.
And then the second question, really, for a lot of Americans is: Can we succeed?
And, in my mind, the answer to that is: Absolutely, not only we must succeed; we can succeed.
Listen, thank you all for your time. I appreciate it.
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