White House Gaggle

By Victoria Jones
July 19, 2006

President’s Schedule

The President had his regular briefings. He met with the Secretary of Defense. He will have policy time this morning and will later meet with the Secretary of State. At 2.15 he will make remarks on stem cell policy.

Stem Cell

Dana Perino, White House spokesperson, said that the President intends to veto the Stem Cell Bill before his remarks this afternoon. He will sign the other stem cell legislation that passed. The President has had a clear principled stand on this issue since August 2001. He has made clear that he would veto this bill if it came to him.

Perino said the President recognizes that there is a strong difference of opinion on this. He made this determination after considerable thought and much consultation with bio-ethicists, doctors and researchers, as well as religious leaders – even family and friends. He said in 2001 that he would refuse to end a human life at its earliest existence. He also said he would be the first president to allow federal taxpayer dollars to be spent on such research as it already existed.

Perino said she believed a veto would be sustained, but she wished to consult her legislative affairs team on that. She said she did not know if Mrs. Nancy Reagan has called the President in the last few days, but that they have spoken before about stem cell research.

The President will make his remarks this afternoon at 2.15. There will be some families in the audience who have adopted embryos – ’snowflakes’ – from which children have been born. There will be lawmakers present. There is no intention to take questions.

Middle East/Secretary of State Rice

Perino said that a State Department spokesman announced this morning that Secretary Rice intends to go to the region. She would want to go when she could be the most effective and useful. Perino thought it doubtful that Secretary Rice would go to Damascus.

Perino said that the US wants an end to the violence that is sustainable and durable, one that will not put us back into the same status quo in a few months. We are working multiple fronts on diplomacy, she said. The UN has its security assessment teams on the ground, which will report back by the end of the week. Additional action should not be taken until we have seen their report.