The White House Summit on Inner-City Children and Faith-Based Schools was held today and President Bush addressed the crowd with a thirty minute speech. The summit is being held to discuss the benefits of educational programs that benefit lower income families and the advantages of faith-based schools. President Bush reiterated his support for the No Child Left Behind initiative and was emotional in his beliefs and support for ensuring education to those that wouldn’t normally have the opportunities.

Read the rest of this entry »

[Read more →]

Briefer: Dana Perino
By: Ellen Ratner

Schedule:

The President had a private meeting with the King of Jordan in the dining room off the Oval Office. On the King’s visit, Dana said that the President had lots vested in mideast peace talks and that it was good that leaders could talk frankly with the President. He had his usual briefings and then will give the Medal of Honor to Dr. DeBakey. Later he has a photo op with Johns Hopkins donors, and then he will give the Baldridge Award.

Taxes:

The White House wants people to know that it is important for every taxpayer to fill out 1040A form so that they will get a stimulus rebate. This is available for anyone who makes $3,000 plus per year.

North Korea and the Syrians:

Dana said that they would continue to brief members of Congress on national intelligence.

Equal Pay Bill:

Dana would not comment on the bill or if the President would veto as she said they might not be able to get the votes for cloture in the Senate.

Pakistan:

Dana would not comment on reports that the Pakistani government is working with the Taliban militants. She said however that they are “concerned about these types of approaches.”

President’s Remarks Yesterday on Economy:

Dana said that we don’t know what this period is yet and we do not have the data yet, and that the President wants more robust growth in the country.

Farm Bill:

There may be a push for a one-year extension if they can’t get it done.

[Read more →]

Briefer: Dana Perino

President’s Schedule

President Bush had his normal briefings at 8 am this morning. At 9.10 am he attended a meeting with his Cabinet. At 1.15 pm, the President will present the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy to the United States Naval Academy Football team. This evening at 6pm, President Bush will make remarks in honor of Thomas Jefferson’s 265th Birthday.

White House Press Secretary Dana Perino will brief the press at 12.30 pm today.

Read the rest of this entry »

[Read more →]

White House Gaggle
By Ellen Ratner
Briefer: Dana Perino

The President’s Schedule
The president had his usual briefings.
At 11:30 a.m. he will make a statement on Iraq. In the morning he met with Gen. David Petraeus, commander of Multinational Forces Iraq and Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker. The president also met with the special envoy to Sudan.

This afternoon he will go to the ranch in Crawford, Texas. The White House announced that the president will make three commencement addresses this year. The first is May 4 at Greensburg High School in Greensburg Kansas, the second is May 29 at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and the third will be May 31 Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina.

The White House announced the summer schedule for tee ball on the White House lawn. There will be three games this summer: one in June with Hispanic Americans and others with members of the U.S. military.

The president also had a private meeting in the Oval Office and on the Truman balcony with the Prime Minister of Luxembourg Jean-Claude Juncker, but Perino said that would not discuss the content of the meeting.

On Iraq
Perino said that the cost of reconstruction is increasingly being picked up by Iraqis and that they have more resources available to them. A question arouse as to the timing of a dramatic pull out in Iraq as it relates to the U.S. presidential election. “From our perspective, politics will not enter into it,” Perino said.

She explained that the speech is going to focus on the recommendations from Gen. Petraeus. The president will speak about the planning reduction from 20 brigade combat teams to 15. The president will also announce his support for a 45 days of “consolidation and evaluation” before another draw down of forces is scheduled.

The president will also speak about the tours of duty for soldiers scheduled to deploy after August 1, 2008 will be 12 months in Iraq and a min of 12 months at home in the United States. Perino said “the troops will continue to come home,” but she said “some people” (implying the Congressional Democrats) want to “change the goal posts.”

Read the rest of this entry »

[Read more →]

Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid (D-NV), Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Chairman, Chris Dodd, and Jared Bernstein of the Economic Policy Institute held a press conference today discussing the housing issue that has been the most discussed issue the past couple of weeks.

All three urged the White House and the Republicans to stop postponing the resolution of the conflict and act now. As each day passes the problem is becoming bigger. Senator Reid also mentioned that the White House should know what is to be done now and not in the future.

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

[Read more →]

By Meredith MacKenzie
Briefer: Scott Stanzel

Schedule: The President taped the Sunday radio address and had his normal morning briefings. He will meet and hold a press availability with the Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd. Stanzel said the president hopes to talk about Afghanistan, security, and global climate change and the common interests of Australia and the United States. He will then travel in Marine One to Freehold, New Jersey to participate in the HOPE NOW Alliance roundtable. He will tour Novadebt, after which he will make a statement on the topic of housing. He will return to the White House in the late afternoon.

Novadebt is one of the partners working with the HOPE NOW Alliance which is a counseling program which helps families avoid foreclosure on their homes. Stanzel said that the administration is very committed to helping American families stay in their homes. Stanzel said he does not expect new programs or initiatives to be mentioned in the statement on housing. Stanzel said that the White House has been watching the consumer spending numbers and we do anticipate a weak quarter. The White House economic advisors do believe that growth will pick up in the second half of the year.

When asked about the economic stimulus checks, Stanzel responded that the White House believes that the money from the economic stimulus will be spent and it will provide a boost to the economy, leading to increased consumer spending and growth in the second quarter.

Read the rest of this entry »

[Read more →]

Five years after the Iraq invasion, protesters marched on the White House. Organized under “United for Peace and Justice,” participants clothed in military uniforms, black hoods, or orange jumpsuits, congregated outside 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Various signs protesting torture, gas prices, and the Bush Administration were waved back and forth as individual protesters passed a bullhorn and shouted messages towards the President’s front lawn. “Impeach Bush!” was shouted, along with claiming a citizen’s arrest and “come out with your hands up!”

At least one hundred persons dressed completely in black, wearing white hockey masks, and carrying a large name tags identifying themselves as a dead journalist or activist, walked silently in a circle as one man rang a large cow bell to signify death. The “March of the Dead,” as it was identified, paraded up and down the sidewalk in front of the gates.

[Read more →]

President Bush had lunch with Senator John McCain, the Republican nominee for president, and his wife Cindy McCain, at the White House. Afterward Bush gave his formal endorsement of McCain.

See more photos on our Flickr page

[Read more →]

President George Bush endorses Sen. John McCain as the Republican nominee for president in the Rose Garden at the White House and McCain responds to the endorsement (2:57)

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

[Read more →]

The Foreign Affairs Committee held a joint hearing today on discussing the U.S. commitments to Iraq. The subcommittees organizing the hearing were the Middle East and the South Asia, led by Chairman Gary L. Ackerman (D-NY), and International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight, led by William D. Delahunt (D-MA).

The hearing was scheduled to have two different panels. First with the Honorable David Satterfield, senior advisor to the Secretary and Coordinator to Iraq, U.S. State Department, and the Honorable Mary Beth Long, assistant Secretary of Defense on International Security Affairs, U.S. Department of Defense. Professor Oona A. Hathaway from Yale Law School and senior fellow at the Center for American Progress Lawrence Korb were the witnesses of the second panel.

Senior adviser David Satterfield presented the “progress towards developing a basic framework for normalized relations with the Iraqi government, which will include what is known as a Status of Forces Agreement”. This agreement raised couple of concerns amongst the members of the committee. They were upset of the ongoing lack of consultation of the current administration with Congress. The issue of starting a war without the authorization of Congress was also brought up by Chairman Ackerman, leaving both representatives of the departments with no direct answers. The chairman also questioned the administration’s ability to understand and act upon the Constitution

[Read more →]