Remarks welcoming general Tommy R. Franks and an exchange with reporters in Crawford, Texas

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Dec 31, 2001

Argentina

Q. Are you making any calls yourself, sir?

The President. Not yet. I will if need be. As a matter of fact, I have been making calls recently to leaders in our own hemisphere. I spoke to the Presidents of Mexico and Uruguay, Chile and Brazil about the Argentinean situation. I made it clear to those Governments that we want to work with them, to work together to make sure that the Argentineans understand that we will support a plan that sustains economic growth, we're willing to offer technical assistance through the IMF, that our Government is aware of what's taking place, and that we're fully engaged in the issue.

Impact of September 11 on the President

Q. Mr. President, some say the events of 2001 have changed you, while others say that you're the same person you always were.

The President. Yes.

Q. Who's right? Or is it fair to say there's some truth in both arguments?

The President. Talk to my wife. [Laughter] I don't know. I don't spend a lot of time looking in the mirror, except when I comb my hair. And--listen, I'll give you a hint. I liked coming to the ranch before September the 11th; I like coming to the ranch after September the 11th.

Enron Corporation

Q. [Inaudible]--the war for a moment. Have you had any contact with Kenneth Lay or other Enron officials in the last 6 weeks--

The President. No.

Q. --and do you think that there is something the Government should do to help Enron--

The President. I have had no contact with Enron officials in the last 6 weeks. Do I think the Government ought to help what now?

Q. Help Enron or do something to help prevent some of these employees from losing their life savings.

The President. Well, I think the life savings issue is something we need to look into. I think it's very important to understand what took place. The Government will be looking into this. I mean, SEC will be looking into the matters; Congress appears to be looking into the matters. There will be a lot of Government inquiry into Enron and what took place there.

I'm deeply concerned about the citizens of Houston who worked for Enron who lost life savings. It's very troubling to read the stories about those who locked up their plans--locked up Enron stock--had their Enron stock locked up in their 401K plans and then saw their savings dissipate. I think it's very important for us to fully understand the why's of Enron. And there will be plenty of investigations.

Recess Appointments

Q. Sir, will you make recess appointments--

The President. Thinking about it. I don't know yet. I'm right now focused on the military operations in Afghanistan and giving Tommy a tour of my ranch. But I, at the appropriate time, will take a good, hard look at recess appointments.

I'm disappointed that a lot of my appointments were stalled in the United States Senate, weren't given a hearing. This Scalia man got out of the committee, but never given a vote on the floor of the Senate. He's a good fellow; he ought to be approved. But I'll take a good, hard look at all the options available to me.