*EPF301 05/08/2002
Transcript: White House Press Briefing, May 8
(Bush visit to Wisconson/education, meets later at White House with King Abdullah of Jordan, Middle East/Arafat/Sharon visit/suicide bombing, Ashcroft/right to bear arms, Enron) (2130)

White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer briefed reporters on Air Force One May 8 as they accompanied President Bush on a visit to two cities in Wisconsin to promote his education policies.

Also briefing was Education Secretary Roderick Paige.

Following is the White House transcript:

(begin transcript)

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

May 8, 2002

PRESS GAGGLE BY ARI FLEISCHER

Aboard Air Force One En route Milwaukee, Wisconsin

9:12 A.M. EDT

MR. FLEISCHER: All right. I will fill you in on the day, and Secretary Paige is here to address any of your questions about education.

The President began early this morning, had his intelligence briefing and FBI briefing beginning at 7:00 a.m. He will visit three schools today in Wisconsin, two, of course, in Milwaukee and then one school in LaCrosse. And then this evening, upon returning to Washington he'll meet King Abdullah of Jordan.

The President is going to focus heavily today on school choice, on some of the initiatives in his education plan enacted into law to help students have alternatives to schools that are failing. He will highlight the importance of the No Child Left Behind Act's requirements regarding the accountability system and teacher quality, as well.

A little bit of information on the schools he'll visit. Both schools in Milwaukee, which are the Rufus King High School and the Clarke Street Elementary School, have been identified as high-performing, high-poverty schools. Both schools are nationally recognized as models in a report by Education Trust called Dispelling the Myth.

Rufus King International Baccalaureate High School has 1,351 students. It's been honored twice as a national blue ribbon school. Rufus King offers a strong college prep program, including accelerated courses in all subject areas and many curricular activities. All students must take a combination of 16 semester long courses of math, science and a foreign language. Successful completion allows students to gain college credits and to enroll as sophomores at many universities. Ninety-five percent of King's graduates are college bound.

The President's remarks -- well, I got to that already. The second school he'll visit is Clarke Street Elementary School. It's kindergarten through five, 5th grade, school in Milwaukee's northwest side, with 522 students. It's located in a poverty stricken neighborhood that also has a high crime rate.

He'll take a tour of the school where teaching style is highly structured and disciplined, with an emphasis on basics and directed structure. The school receives Title I funding and state funding because of its high poverty student population.

Students at the Clarke Street School score far above the average proficiency levels locally, statewide and nationally. In 2001, 4th grade reading proficiency at Clarke Street stood at 90 percent, compared to 78 percent of Wisconsin, 63 percent for the U.S. and 54 percent for Milwaukee public schools.

Later on, the President will go to the Logan High School in LaCrosse, for a roundtable with teachers, administrators, parents, business leaders, followed by remarks to approximately 3,000 students.

And then he will depart and have the meeting tonight with the King of Jordan. So if there are any questions on education, we'll do that first, and then see if there's anything else I can help you with.

SECRETARY PAIGE: One of the biggest changes that schools will have to deal with, with H.R. 1 has to do with the school choice component. The reason that can be such a big adjustment is the transportation requirement. Scheduling transportation is a very complex undertaking. And it looks like even beginning this school year, that could be as many as 3,500 or more schools across the United States where transportation will be required because students will be given choices because these schools will be in need of improvement for two years or more.

So we're going to be reaching out to help superintendents in schools and school districts deal with this complex change in how they do business by defining a little bit more -- or refinement with the definition of eligibility for transportation and schooling, and when that has to take place.

So I'm going to be announcing a conference in June to bring superintendents, chiefs, state school officers and other interested parties to D.C. so we can talk about this shift in education policy and the way schools will have to change.

We've had the reauthorization of this act several times. But this one is the most dramatic change in the federal relationship with states and schools since 1965. So it'll be a little jerky, but we're going to work together with states and schools to try to make it smooth.

Q: Thank you.

Q: The President has called on Chairman Arafat a number of times to show that he's heeding the President's call. And then you have something like yesterday. What does the President do in a situation like this, where it just seems as though Arafat is not doing anything to change?

MR. FLEISCHER: Well, the President's three responsibility speech is the fundamental guide to peace in the region. The three parties have to take action. And the consequences and the failing to take action will be felt by the people in the region, much more so than by the United States. The consequence [of failing] to take action will lead to loss of life in the region. And that's why it's important for people who care about peace to take steps to demonstrate their determination.

Q: Do you think these sort of things bring him almost to Sharon's point of view, which is: Arafat no place at the table, this guy either by lack of will or lack of power can't change the scenario.

MR. FLEISCHER: Well, here's where the President is focused -- and you're hearing this increasingly from the President, himself. There are currently Palestinian institutions that can perform on behalf of the people. He's watching those institutions. He's seeing -- education system for Palestinian people, economic opportunity for the Palestinian people. All the building blocks of a nation state are there.

They have to perform. They can do it. And the Arab world is prepared to help, the United States is prepared to help. But it's a real question to watch the Palestinian people -- and the Palestinian Authority, broadly speaking -- to see what their dedication is to a reformed infrastructure that does what nations should do, focus on their people and not focus on violence.

Q: Does President Bush now agree with Sharon that Arafat shouldn't be at the table at all?

MR. FLEISCHER: The President's position remains clear, all parties have responsibilities; the Palestinian Authority has responsibilities, Yasser Arafat has responsibilities. There's no changes in the President's position.

Q: So he still is hoping to encourage Sharon to accept Arafat's presence, given his standing with the Palestinian Authority, in peace talks.

MR. FLEISCHER: The President is focused on more than any one person. The President's focus includes Yasser Arafat, but it's broader than that. Progress can be made talking with a number of people, including the Arab nations, as well as those people who work diligently in the Palestinian Authority, to try to find ways to bring about reforms. The President will wait and see what actions the Palestinians take.

But he has set responsibilities for them, as he as for Israel, as he has for the Arab nations.

Q: How did the -- how does he keep the focus on, you know, on peace talks, when these people keep trying to sabotage, quite clearly? I mean --

MR. FLEISCHER: By the continually engaged process that he's in the middle of. He meets tonight, of course, with the King. There will be additional phone calls, there will be additional diplomatic efforts at State Department. Of course, the President announced that Director Tenet is going to the region. And, you know, when Director Tenet goes to the region, that's significant because he meets with Palestinian officials, and it's a good chance to mark whether the Palestinian officials are in fact and in deed taking actions that fight violence as the Palestinian leadership says they will.

Q: Well, did any Bush administration officials talk with Yasser Arafat or the leadership in the Palestinian Authority after yesterday's incident?

MR. FLEISCHER: You probably need to talk to State to see if they've had conversations. I don't speak for everybody at the State Department --

Q: How have the events changed the meeting between Sharon and Bush? Did it cut it short, did it sort of take everything off the table?

MR. FLEISCHER: Here's literally what happened. Once the reports came in that there had been an explosion, the American protocol officer walked in, gave a notice to Dr. Rice and to her counterpart, and they informed the Prime Minister and the President.

At that point, the information was explosion and unclear what the source of it was. Just at the very end of the news conference I got the report on my pager that Israeli radio had said it was suicide bombing.

As the press was leaving, I discussed it with my counterpart and the Prime Minister and the President were told literally as the last reporters walked out of the Oval Office. The President then turned to the Prime Minister to personally express his condolences about the attack and the loss of life.

Q: Did he ask the Prime Minister to exercise restraint?

MR. FLEISCHER: The President's remarks expressed condolences, that was the nature of their conversation.

Q: Has the White House had any time to review the documents that Sharon has delivered?

MR. FLEISCHER: Here's where we are on that question.

Q: The question?

MR. FLEISCHER: Has the White House had time to review the documents.

It is time for the Palestinian Authority to perform. That's what the President is watching. The Palestinian Authority here and now has the opportunity to show that they are dedicated to building infrastructures that focus on helping their own people and not engaging in violence. That's what they committed themselves to in Oslo. That is the heart of the matter for the Palestinian people: Is their leadership dedicated to violence or is there stated promise in Oslo a meaningful one? Will they at all levels, from the top through the leadership and its structure, and through the people focus on building institutions that are reform based, that fight corruption, that fight violence, will they create a constitution?

These are the signals that the President is waiting to see.

Q: Very quickly before we land, any reaction on the Justice Department and the change in the way we look at the second amendment, that what Ashcroft sort of recommended yesterday?

MR. FLEISCHER: As far as the President is concerned, the President has always believed, as you know, in the right of law abiding citizens to bear arms. The Justice action speaks for itself, I refer you to justice.

Q: One quick question on this tick-tock you gave us. Before the word of the bombing was given to Prime Minister Sharon and President Bush, were they at the point of discussing what it would take for him to be -- for Sharon to be at the table with Arafat?

MR. FLEISCHER: I'd refer you back to the background briefing yesterday, and to what you were told then. I think everybody understands the President's position and the Prime Minister's position. Okay?

Q: But were they making progress on that point up until that bomb, they heard of that bomb?

MR. FLEISCHER: Go back to what the background briefer told you on the same question.

Q: I want to have a follow up on Enron, because now that there are these disclosures about price manipulation, is the President willing to admit that he waited to long to impose price caps on electricity and --

MR. FLEISCHER: First of all -- we better sit down. I'll take that question, but let me sit down.

MR. DICKENS: Tomorrow there is a -- the President will drop by a Milton Freidman event at 11:35 a.m., in the EEOB, Room 450. The President's remarks are open press, but there will also be any correspondents that wish to attend the event -- any correspondents who wish to attend the event preceding the President's remarks, there will be several speakers, including Secretary Rumsfeld, Chairman Greenspan and Dr. Larry Lindsey. Just let Rachael know in the press office, so we can get a head count. We'll put out a detailed line by line of the sequence of events later today to let you know the times and everything. Okay.

END 9:26 A.M. EDT

(end White House transcript)

(end transcript)

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