*EPF301 03/27/2002
Transcript: White House Briefing Aboard Air Force One March 27
(Bush signs campaign finance reform, phones Afghanistan's Karzai, embarks on fundraising trip) (710)

Assistant White House Press Secretary Claire Buchan briefed reporters early March 27 on Air Force One as they accompanied President Bush on a two-day domestic trip to South Carolina, Georgia and Texas.

(begin transcript)

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary (Greenville, South Carolina)

March 27, 2002

PRESS GAGGLE BY CLAIRE BUCHAN

Aboard Air Force One En Route Greenville, South Carolina

9:27 A.M. EST

MS. BUCHAN: Let me give you guys a couple of updates. This morning, before the President left, he signed the Campaign Finance Reform Bill into law.

He also, on board Air Force One, called Chairman Karzai to express his condolences about the earthquake in Afghanistan. They spoke for about five minutes. They discussed the fact that the United States already has a significant amount of assets on the ground in Afghanistan because we've been dealing with a disaster already. Chairman Karzai said that he had reported to the President that he had seen the damage and the President expressed that we're committed to the long term in Afghanistan.

Q: Did he do any statement or ceremony with campaign finance?

MS. BUCHAN: He did not do a ceremony. We will be issuing a written statement on that later today.

Q: Were McCain, Feingold, Shays, Meehan there?

MS. BUCHAN: They weren't. They have been contacted. They were not. They've been contacted. And the President has sent or will be sending letters -- he has signed and will be sending letters to each of the co-sponsors, yes.

Q: And did he sign it in the Oval Office?

MS. BUCHAN: Yes, it was in the Oval Office.

Q: -- at the desk, nobody watching?

MS. BUCHAN: The Vice President was in the room, Dr. Rice was in the room, several others.

Q: What will the sphere of the statement be?

MS. BUCHAN: The statement will reflect what the President believes about the campaign finance reform -- now law, and that is that it reforms the system in significant ways, but that it also has flaws.

Q: This is obviously the biggest change in 30 years in campaign finance law and it's a very big bill. Usually on a bill like this, when the President signs it, there's a ceremony of some sort, at least a photo op, if not a full-blown Rose Garden event. Why wasn't there one like that for this bill?

MS. BUCHAN: The President -- the manner in which the President signed the campaign finance reform into law was consistent with his views on the legislation and consistent with the statement he made last week, when the Congress completed passage, and that I think you'll see reflected in his written statement today, which is that he does think that it makes important reforms and on balance improves the system. But he does have some concerns and thinks that it is flawed in several other ways.

Q: Claire, is there any contradiction in this aggressive fund-raising swing today and tomorrow as he signs this thing today?

MS. BUCHAN: No.

Q: Why not?

MS. BUCHAN: The President believes and has always believed and will continue to work on behalf of candidates who he believes will be good representatives of the people and their districts, and he believes in participating in the democratic process is very important.

Q: One of the objections he raised as this thing was in the final stages of passage was that it wasn't -- didn't take effect immediately. That was one of the things last week --

MS. BUCHAN: That was one of the things the President thought would improve the bill.

Q: And yet we're out raising $2-and-a-half million today for two different candidates. If he believes in that, why not just stop going to these fund-raisers?

MS. BUCHAN: That was one of the things that the President had urged the Congress to do, that they did not. And on balance, the President thinks that the law will improve the system. He does think that there are concerns. But, in the meantime, he certainly is going to -- certainly believes that advancing the democratic process is important.

(end White House transcript)

(end transcript)

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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