White House Gaggle

By Victoria Jones
Briefing by: Deputy White House Press Secretary Dana Perino

The President received his usual briefings. He is meeting with the President of El Salvador. He will attend a ceremonial swearing in for the Deputy Secretary of State Negroponte. At 11.15 he will have policy time. At 2.55 he will have a meeting with bipartisan members of Congress in the Oval office with a focus on energy. At 3.45 he has a photo op and remarks with the Miami Heat. There is a new look to the White House web site.

Vice President Cheney
Deputy White House Press Secretary Dana Perino was asked if the President has
spoken with the Vice President this morning. She said that he has not. The
President received an update early this morning on the bombing in Afghanistan,
and the Vice President is on his way back. The White House is unable to confirm that the Taliban is responsible. The President was not awakened.

It is distressing that fourteen lives were lost. The Taliban is constantly
seeking ways to disrupt the Karzai government, so we would not put it past
them. The President and Vice President will have a chance to talk as soon as he is back, Perino said.

Office of Women’s Health
Perino was asked to comment on a story that the FDA has slashed funding to the
Office of Women’s Health. She said they would take a look at it, and get back
to the press.

Regional Conference
It was stated that Iraqis say they are putting together a regional conference
with Iran and Syria. Perino was asked whether the US would participate and at
what level. She said there had not yet been an official announcement from Prime Minister Maliki. However, the US has said in the past that if a neighbors’ conference was put together by Iraq, and if the US was invited to participate it would. While not wishing to make any announcement on her behalf, Perino said that Secretary Rice would be the logical choice to attend.

Iraqi Security Plan
Perino was asked for the administration’s judgment on how the security plan is
working. She said it will take a while to see a lot of progress. General
Petraeus has only been on the ground for 10 days or so. She understood that
America’s patience is not unlimited. She saw some signs of progress. Iraq’s
oil law looks like it is coming together in a more fulsome way. She referred
the press to General Petraeus’ office for a military assessment of how things
are going.

Smithsonian
Perino was asked if there was any administration concern about reports of
excessive spending at the Smithsonian. Saying that excessive spending is always a concern, Perino said that she would have to go back and check. She was asked if there was a concern that the Secretary of the Smithsonian gets twice the pay of the President. Perino said the Smithsonian is a wonderful national treasure. In reply to another question, she agreed that the President is a national treasure too.