Press Briefing by Dana Perino

Business Wire, April 14, 2008

Now, as to the timing that you mentioned, are we -- in terms of the clock, under Trade Adjustment -- I'm sorry, Trade Promotion Authority, after a deal is made, after a bill is sent up, then you have 90 legislative days in which to have a vote. The Speaker and her team had been dragging their heels on scheduling a vote. And while the President did not want to have to send up the bill, and he did so reluctantly, it was only because if we look at the calendar and count backwards, we were running out of legislative days. So the day that we sent it was the last day that we thought we could do so before she has said she's going to recess.

Q Are you -- on the broader issue of Congress's priorities, are you running out of legislative days on that, as well?

MS. PERINO: I think they're running out of legislative days. And this is a Congress that has not shown that it's willing to take on some of these bigger issues. But we do think that right now that they -- instead of dealing with issues that I know are important to some people, in terms of beach monitoring and landscape conservation, we have FHA modernization in regards to the housing industry that we think is critically important for them to pass. We also have the war supplemental to fund our troops. We would ask Congress to get that done by the end of May. So there's many different issues that Congress could be working on. We think that the Colombia free trade agreement is actually, as Senator McConnell put it, a no-brainer, and they should call a vote.

Q Are you not going to talk to them until they -- on TAA until they schedule a vote?

MS. PERINO: We have been talking to them about TAA. That's my point, Keith, is that we -- they know that we are willing and ready and open to talking about it, and we actually have been talking about it for the past several months.

Q But are you going to stop talking to them about it now that they have refused --

MS. PERINO: Well, I'll refer you to the Trade Representatives, Sue Schwab's office, for the discussions that they're having. I think the President made his comments known today, his feelings known. And the Trade Representative is the person who represents the trade agenda for the President, so he'll defer to her.

Go ahead.

Q So you're demanding the free trade agreement first, and then you'll deal with TAA?

MS. PERINO: No. But what she should do is schedule a vote, because then -- because if she doesn't schedule a vote, the Colombia free trade agreement is effectively dead. So what she should do is change her mind and schedule a vote.

Mark.

Q Can we look ahead to the Pope's visit tomorrow --

MS. PERINO: Sure.

Q -- and the next day? It's been suggested that the President, who has met so often with Catholic leaders and reached out so aggressively to Catholic groups, and whose social views very closely reflect Catholic Orthodoxy, is actually America's first Catholic President. What do you think of that? (Laughter.)

MS. PERINO: He's also been called America's -- or, the first Jewish President, is what the Israelis call him, too. But I think -- President Bush is very excited to have the Holy Father here. And one of the reasons he's so excited is because he has established a bond with him, and they have a lot -- they share a lot of common values, especially when it comes to fighting terrorism and extremism; protecting minority rights, especially for people who are practicing a religion where they might be a minority in a country; advancing human rights; advancing freedom around the world. They had a great meeting last summer.