THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
PRESS BRIEFING
BY DEE DEE MYERS
The Briefing Room
1:21 P.M. EDT
MS. MYERS: Class, there's going to be detention if you don't come to order. I have no news.
Q Thank you. (Laughter.)
Q That hasn't stopped up before. (Laughter.)
Q There are 84 Democrats in the House who were -- who want the First Lady to consider a single-payer health care system. What is the White House reaction to that?
MS. MYERS: The First Lady met yesterday with a group of House members, led by Congressman McDermott, I believe.
Q It wasn't this morning?
MS. MYERS: I guess it was this morning. I apologize.
Q How time flies.
Q Minor detail.
MS. MYERS: And I think they had a good conversation. I think they agreed that they share a lot of goals -- containing health costs, making sure that people can choose their own providers, expanding universal access. The Clinton plan will include -- it will be one that allows a lot flexibility on the state level, one that allows, I think, states to pursue the same goals. We have said repeatedly that we're not pursuing a single-payer plan. However, I think there's a lot of common goals. And I think that they discussed common goals.
Q But at this point, the Speaker, for one, said that nothing could be done before the fall, that there's no way until after the August recess to introduce a plan.
MS. MYERS: We still haven't made a final decision as to timing. I mean, I think the President's made clear that he wants to wait until the economic plan is done, until we finish with the reconciliation. No final decision has been made as to the timing on health care.
Q For all intents and purposes it can't happen before the fall because the budget won't be done.
MS. MYERS: Again, we haven't made a final decision on it.
Q What's the deal with the red screen?
MS. MYERS: So that the -- ABC and other networks would not be shooting into the Oval Office.
Q Don't look behind the the curtain.
MS. MYERS: Don't look, don't --
Q Is this red screen thought to be a temporary measure until some other device can be found, or is this something that was actually selected by someone here as the thing you want to have out there?
MS. MYERS: No, no. I don't know where it came from. It was something that existed previously in the White House and was used exclusively for this one -- as the press pool was setting up in the Rose Garden and the President was in his office, just to keep people from shooting into the windows.
Q That's going to happen again. Are you going to use this thing again?
MS. MYERS: I don't think we have any long-term plans for it --
Q Dee Dee, how are the reviews on how it looked?
MS. MYERS: I'll have to ask you guys that. You're the experts on it. I mean, I didn't shoot it. It was very --
Q It looked awful.
Q It looks like it came from a bordello. (Laughter.)
Q How would you know?
Q Oooh.
MS. MYERS: He was just talking on the phone. And I think that the advance people --
Q Was he fully dressed?
MS. MYERS: Pardon me?
Q Was he fully dressed?
MS. MYERS: He was fully dressed. He was fully --
Q Well, then why would he not want to be photographed talking on the telephone?
MS. MYERS: I think it is perfectly understandable that he wants to have some privacy to sit and make a phone call. It was no big deal. And then he was talking briefly with a few aides before he stepped out. And somebody put the screen up just to keep cameras from shooting it.
Q Did he request this?
MS. MYERS: No, I don't believe he did. I think it was done to facilitate his privacy, but not at his request.
Q Is there any decision yet when the President will get Aspin's report on the gays in the military issue?
MS. MYERS: No.
Q Where does that stand right now?
MS. MYERS: As you know, the President asked the Secretary to report back to him by July 15th. As far as we know, the Secretary is making good progress on that, but we don't have an official date as to when we expect to receive his report.
Q Has he accepted in his own mind the fact that he is going to be -- he is going to compromise on this, that he is not going to issue a complete ban of discrimination as he once promised?
MS. MYERS: I think he recognizes that it's very difficult, that there is not support from Congress for a complete lifting of the ban. I think -- nonetheless, I think he'll wait and see what Secretary Aspin recommends.
Q Dee Dee, has he connected with Mr. Ritzenthaler yet?
MS. MYERS: He has not.
Q Dee Dee, why the PR offensive? Why did the President come out again? He answered questions similar to that --to those in the photo opportunity this morning. Why did he feel it necessary to come out and make that statement?
MS. MYERS: We had another pool op scheduled in the dining room and decided to do it outside instead.
Q But he said the same thing. Did he have --
MS. MYERS: He was asked questions. He made a quick statement, but then he was asked several questions. It was just an opportunity for you all to ask questions again since we'd already scheduled a pool op.
Q Following on the gay issue, the timing of the gay issue, there's a Tuesday vote in the House. And the subcommittee chairmen have requested that the White House have a position before that vote on the defense budget.
MS. MYERS: I just don't know whether that will happen. Again, we're waiting for the report from Secretary Aspin. All waiting for the report from Secretary Aspin. All indications are that they're making good progress, but I don't know --
Q Are they trying to meet that deadline?
MS. MYERS: I don't know whether they'll meet that -- I don't think that's being looked at as a hard deadline. We'll wait and see what they produce.
Q Given the polls, is the President concerned that he may be losing the PR battle to the Republicans on the tax issue?
MS. MYERS: No, I think we're decidedly taking a very offensive position here. Senator Dole said he's going to introduce a plan. I think the President's made very clear the parameters by which that plan ought to be judged. The President said he wants $500 billion of deficit reduction. He doesn't believe you can do that without some tax increases. Senator Dole and others have said there's not going to be any tax increases. So you only have a couple of options. Either you don't meet the $500 billion deficit reduction goal, or you shift the burden from the wealthiest where the President's plan puts the burden to the middle class and to working people and to the poor and to veterans and to the elderly.
Q The President's remarks --
Q You don't want to leave out the lame and the halt and the blind, do you? (Laughter.)
MS. MYERS: The lame and the blind? Unbelievable. (Laughter.)
Q The President's remarks were a little more pointed than that in that he accused the Republicans --
Q You got her.
MS. MYERS: The President's remarks are a little more pointed than that --
Q in accusing the Republicans of --
Q Sorry, Dee Dee. (Laughter.)
MS. MYERS: He has such disparate impact on different members of this administration.
Q I thought you would brazen your way through that, too. (Laughter.)
Q Would you like to drink some water, or maybe wear my necktie? (Laughter.)
Q Take three.
Q Three, two, one.
MS. MYERS: Okay, I think I'm okay now. (Laughter.)
Q The President's remarks were a little more pointed than that in that he accused the Republicans of purposely setting out to simply protect the rich.
Q Mick, lay off her, will you? (Laughter.)
Q I should take this on the road. (Laughter.)
Q How you can ask that when she's just made that statement -- (laughter.)
MS. MYERS: Okay -- protect the rich.
Q What a great room. (Laughter.)
MS. MYERS: His remarks were more pointed than that in that he said they were designed to protect the rich.
Q So is that the strategy, to take the budget battle now and advance that to some kind of class warfare? Is that what we're engaged in here?
MS. MYERS: No, but I think the President has clear from the beginning that one of the principles that this plan was founded on is fairness. That he believes that in the 1980s, the richest Americans saw their incomes go up while the tax burden went down. The middle class saw their incomes go down while their tax burdens went up. He believes that that should be reversed. This plan set out with a specific intention to ask the richest Americans to contribute first. We said repeatedly 75 percent of this new revenue comes from people making over $100,000 a year.
The Republicans -- first on Sunday, Senator Dole said, well, I think we might be willing to raise taxes on the rich, including a surtax on incomes over $250,000. Then I think he went back to the Republican Caucus and found out that wasn't feasible. So they came out and said no new taxes. So if you're not going to raise taxes, particularly not on the rich, then it has to come from someplace else. And the question is, where?
Q But a plan with no taxes, why is it that you portray --
MS. MYERS: Well, if you want to achieve $500 billion in deficit reduction.
Q But why is it that you portray a plan with no taxes as shielding the rich from taxes? It shields everyone from any new taxes.
MS. MYERS: That's not true. If you achieve $500 billion in deficit reduction and you do it through something like an entitlement cap, then you're shifting the burden of deficit reduction from the wealthiest, who would see their income taxes go up under the Clinton plan to the recipients of other entitlements and other benefits who are going to see those benefits cut.
Q They may lose benefits, but they're not being taxed.
MS. MYERS: It's the burden of deficit reduction.
Q Dee Dee, could you tell us a little bit about this new Vietnam policy and the logic behind it?
MS. MYERS: Well, there is no new Vietnam policy at this point. The U.S. position on Vietnam has not changed. The President believes that we have to get the Vietnamese to do all they can. He needs to be assured that the Vietnamese are doing all they can on POWs and MIAs. Now, we're reviewing a number of options, but haven't made any final decisions yet.
Q On Haiti, have you set a place where Cedras and Aristide are going to meet? Do you know of a place?
MS. MYERS: No, as far as we know, Aristide has not officially accepted. We certainly encourage him to do so. We'd like to see the parties back to the negotiating table. We're waiting to hear from him.
Q He still has not accepted?
MS. MYERS: He has not officially accepted.
Q If the President recognizes that he's not going to be able to lift this ban completely on homosexuals in the military, where does that leave him? Is he siding for this compromise that --
MS. MYERS: He hasn't made any decisions about it at all, finally. I think we'll wait and get the Aspin report and the President will move forward from there.
Q The President is scheduled to meet with Aspin either Friday or early next week. Is that to get the report or to get briefed on the implications of the report?
MS. MYERS: I don't think a meeting has finally been scheduled. I think at some point he'll have to meet with Secretary Aspin on a number of issues, including this and base closings and other things. It depends on what the status of the Secretary's report is at that point.
Q Are you trying to work out the language of the report before Aspin gives you the report?
MS. MYERS: No. The President asked the Secretary to submit to him a draft executive order, and we expect that the Secretary will do that.
Q Have there not been White House meetings with various groups affected by this relating to the language in the Aspin report?
MS. MYERS: I think that there have been some conversations, but I don't think it's been specifically with regard to the language.
Q Can you tell us a little, please, about the letter to Boris Yeltsin that the President wrote allegedly threatening sanctions because of Russian arms transfers or the potential for Russian arms transfers? When was the letter written? What details do you know about the letter? And can you tell us a little about the sanctions envisaged?
MS. MYERS: Well, generally, we take any reports about violations of the missile technology control regime seriously. This is something that we're reviewing. As you know, in the past we have imposed sanctions on Russian companies who violated this and we're concerned about reports that there may be further violations.
Q Are you confirming the letter?
MS. MYERS: No.
Q Are you confirming the letter?
MS. MYERS: I'll have to get back to you on the letter.
Q Can you also ask --
Q Speaking of letters, can you explain the reasoning for the President's language in the letter to Kohl where he specifically asked Kohl to ask the Europeans to move on the arms embargo and --
MS. MYERS: No, that was not the intent of the letter. I mean --
Q It may not have been the intent, but the language was fairly clear.
MS. MYERS: No, the language is fairly clear in that it reaffirms what has been our position that we have always supported lifting the arms embargo and temporary air strikes to allow the Bosnians to rearm.
Q I don't have the language in front of me, I'm sorry.
MS. MYERS: We haven't released the letter and don't intend to. But I think --
Q You're not denying that he asked Kohl to bring it up the next day at his meeting with the European leaders?
MS. MYERS: We were asked by -- the President was asked by the President of Turkey to send a letter to Chancellor Kohl in the context of this EC meeting reaffirming the U.S. position. That's what we did. There was no signal of a shift in U.S. policy, it was simply an affirmation of U.S. policy.
Q But the letter specifically asked him to bring something up rather than just reaffirming policy. It asked him to take action, which later was roundly rejected by John Major and Mitterrand.
MS. MYERS: We never -- this was simply -- the letter, the intent of the letter was simply to reaffirm the U.S. position in this regard. That's all.
Q Are you looking at having a better letter writer for the President?
Q How about getting back to Walt's question.
MS. MYERS: I said I'd take the question on that.
Q Could you take several corollary questions to what sort of sanctions are envisaged and especially how, if this turns out to be true, it would affect the aid package?
MS. MYERS: Sure.
Q A question about the aid package, the Russian aid package.
MS. MYERS: This is in regard to the missile technology control regime violations.
Q The draft letter, which I know you say you don't want to comment on the President's recommendations, but it proposes making the policy prospective and not -- and resuming the discharges of people who were people out of the closet. Is there any way that that policy could be consistent with what the President has promised originally?
MS. MYERS: The is no final policy. We haven't received recommendations from the Secretary --
Q No, I'm saying that the recommendation that is being offered and being circulated as a draft policy --
MS. MYERS: There is no final policy. And we'll wait until the President has received --
Q Would you clarify the President's commitment. Is there any way that the President's commitment could be consistent with a policy that was not retroactive?
MS. MYERS: I'm not going to comment on hypotheticals. When the President receives a report, he'll review it and to make his position known.
Q On the meeting on single-payer system this morning, while it's clear that the administration seems to be working toward some form of managed competition in its final package, aren't you open to allowing or leaving it up to each individual state to determine whether or not it would best suit them to go with a singlepayer system, particularly underserved or rural states? Bob Boorstin after the meeting said that you wouldn't rule that out.
MS. MYERS: I think that the system is being deliberately designed to allow a lot of flexibility on the state level, and so I don't think we could rule that out.
Q Dee Dee, on this same point, he said before that they share the goal of allowing people to choose their own providers. That's not the case under managed competition. You have to choose from the group that serves your area.
MS. MYERS: Yes, but under that kind of a scenario, there would be -- you could choose your group and then physicians within that group.
Q In other words, if my current doctor is not in the group I get, I can't have him.
MS. MYERS: Well, we'll have to wait and see exactly what the plan looks like. But it is designed -- that is one of the goals, is to allow people to choose their providers.
Q The current missile question that Walt raised aside, what hope if any does the President have for delivering the Russian aid package that was promised at Vancouver, given what's happened with Japan and the other countries saying they're not going to go along with that kind of money?
MS. MYERS: Well, there were two packages. One was a U.S. aid package, and, as you know, that passed the House and we're obviously grateful for that. And hopefully, that will move through the Senate. The other was a multilateral package --
Q I'm talking about the multilateral.
MS. MYERS: Right -- which we're still working on. Obviously, there are some problems with it. We had hoped to provide a $4-billion multilateral package, and we'll see what we can do.
Q Does he hope to somehow patch something together at the summit, or in meetings leading up to it at lower levels?
MS. MYERS: Yes, I think it's something we're reviewing now.
Q Conversely, can we expect the President to press President Yeltsin on the missile regime violations at the summit?
MS. MYERS: I'll take that question.
Q Is it conceivable that the President would accept from Secretary Aspin a report that said homosexuality is incompatible with military service?
MS. MYERS: I just am not going to get into commenting on the details of what he might or might not accept.
Q Not even anything that basic you won't comment on?
MS. MYERS: I just am not in a position to comment on it.
Q Is there a possibility out there he would, in fact, accept such a report?
MS. MYERS: He's going to take the report from the Secretary and he'll make -- he'll review it and make his position clear. And beyond that, I'm just not going to comment on what he may or may not be willing to accept.
Q And further on that, would he consider the possibility of going back to his old campaign pledge and simply issuing an executive order outlawing discrimination?
MS. MYERS: Again, he's asked for a draft executive order. He'll review it when it's complete. And we'll make an announcement as soon as a policy is ready.
Q If the President is so concerned about the impact of congressional action on the poor, the blind and the elderly and the handicapped and everybody else, why did he stand silently by as the Senate basically chipped away at benefits for those people to ease the tax burden on the energy industry?
MS. MYERS: I think the President made clear throughout the process what his principles were. And one of them was that the plan be fair, that it not be disproportionately -- that the burden of deficit reduction not be borne disproportionately by the most vulnerable. That is a principle which he will fight for in the conference process. I think it was important for him to make sure that the process went forward. The worst thing that could happen was -- is for this whole process to stop. The President wants the process to go forward. He's made clear that he will not allow a final package that balances the budget or tries to on the backs of the most vulnerable.
Q On Japan, a senior Japanese official was quoted as saying that the plan for $4 billion was ridiculous, preposterous, and that something more along the lines of $500 million would be appropriate. Do you have any reaction to that and whether the administration would be willing to settle for something as small as $500 million for Yeltsin?
MS. MYERS: It's something that we're working on. I don't have any specific reaction other than to say that that original plan was $2 billion from the G-7 members and $2 billion from international financial institutions. And obviously, we're moving forward with the U.S. package, which we can control. And, again, that passed out of the House earlier this week -- yesterday or the day before. But we'll do what we can. We are committed to helping Russia in their transition to democracy and this money was specifically going to be used for privatization. And we'll see what other options are available.
Q Can you find out whether Strobe or a summit sherpa or Bentsen or the President is calling other leaders and trying to do something about this?
MS. MYERS: Yes. The President isn't at this point, but we'll have more information on what the process is to go forward from here.
Q Dee Dee, on the Senate vote coming up today or tomorrow, does the President expect to hold all Democratic senators? Is he still on the phone to some of them?
MS. MYERS: I think he will probably talk to some Democratic senators today. I think the vote won't come before tomorrow night, and I don't think we expect to hold all of them. I think there's at least one that we probably won't get. (Laughter.)
Q To what extent has the agenda of the President changed as far as the summit is concerned because of those ongoing changes in Japan and what's going on in Europe?
MS. MYERS: I'm sorry, what was the top part of your question?
Q The agenda for the summit -- has it changed and to what extent?
MS. MYERS: For the summit? Obviously, events in Japan will have some effect on the summit. Exactly what those will be I think, is impossible to tell. I think that the broad goals of the summit remain -- that we want to see some action on global growth and on opening world markets and on helping Russia. So we'll move forward and hopefully get some action among the other leaders on those issues.
Q Dee Dee, on health care, are you still saying that there's a possibility that you're going to put forward the reforms in July? Because some of the congressmen coming out of the meeting today said Mrs. Clinton was quite clear in saying the decisions wouldn't be finalized before the end of July; you do the staff work in August and public unveiling in September. Is she wrong?
MS. MYERS: No, no, no. I just haven't said one way or another whether we're going to do it in July or wait until September. Just no final decision's been made. And I think we've commented so much on timing that I'll wait until a decision is finally made before we comment specifically on when it's going to happen.
Q Dee Dee, as far as I can tell, the space program and the supercollider are not benefiting the lame, the elderly, the poor, the --
Q The halt -- the halt and the blind. (Laughter.)
MS. MYERS: I don't think the implication --
Q there is, in fact, one program that you can cut --
MS. MYERS: Sure.
Q and it would neither raise taxes nor -- are you looking at -- why not do that along with some others?
MS. MYERS: I don't think you can do $500 billion in deficit reduction without raising taxes and not cut programs that do disproportionately impact the more vulnerable people in our society. There certainly are examples of things that you could cut that don't. But you can't achieve $500 billion in deficit reduction. Or if you can, let's see the plan. Here we are at the 11th hour in this process. The Republicans have yet -- the Republicans in the Senate have yet to put together any kind of a comprehensive plan. They talk about how it is tax free in '93, but we haven't seen it. So let's -- if they can put together a $500 billion deficit reduction plan that doesn't raise taxes and doesn't disproportionately impact the most vulnerable, they are better at this than we're giving them credit for.
Q Well, what if they offer a few things, domestic things to cut without a full $500 billion plan, would you do some more domestic cutting on things like the space station and the supercollider?
MS. MYERS: Well, not the space station and the supercollider. The President's made his position clear on those two projects. If they have additional ideas for specific cuts, we'll look at them. But at this point the President has said he's committed to $500 billion of deficit reduction. He thinks that that's credible, will help keep interest rates down and get the economy moving forward without needless contractionary impact. He's committed to that level of deficit reduction.
Now, the Republicans who helped us quadruple the debt over the last 12 years may not think that's necessary; the President does.
Q In March, John Kasich and the Republicans on the House Budget Committee sent a proposal to the President. He thanked them in a letter. The President continued to say after that that these Republicans haven't shown us their -- and Kasich is one of the people was simply surprised that the President would say that. I noticed you said Senate Republicans. The Republicans' view is that they have a plan up there, and it's basically to freeze all spending and not raise taxes. Now, I'm not a budget expert, but are you taking the Kasich plan seriously?
MS. MYERS: The Kasich plan was never adopted by the Republican leadership. The Republicans never had a plan. They were never united behind a plan. And in fact, more Republicans voted against the Kasich plan than Democrats voted against the Clinton plan in the House -- or the House version of the Clinton plan. The Republicans in the Senate have not produced any kind of a specific plan.
Q How many Republicans have to be for a Republican plan for it to qualify under Mr. Clinton's --
MS. MYERS: Well, the leadership in the House never adopted -- never claimed it.
Q I know that. That's not the answer to my question. My question is, how many Republicans have to support a plan to qualify it as a Republican plan?
MS. MYERS: If the Republican leadership is for it, then it becomes the official plan --
Q So, in other words, if Dole and Michel are for it, or do you have all the leaders and the whips, or what?
MS. MYERS: No, at this point we'll take anything that the Republicans will claim as their own. I don't think the Republicans were claiming the Kasich plan as a Republican plan. Some of them were. I mean, certainly Congressman Kasich was. But, certainly, it didn't have broad support in the House or the Senate. I mean, the Senate didn't claim it. They didn't -- they're not presenting a version or a revision of the Kasich plan. Maybe it will look similar, but they're calling it a revision -- not to my knowledge. Maybe I'm wrong about that, but I've never heard them refer to the Kasich plan as the Republican plan.
Q And one other thing, Dee Dee. The claim that there will be $500 billion in deficit reduction depends upon the taxes actually succeeding and raising the revenues. Is there any estimate or study been done on the possible contractionary effects of the new taxes?
MS. MYERS: I think that's been considered. That was certainly considered as part of the original proposal -- the administration's original proposal.
Q get very far on that?
MS. MYERS: On the actual paperwork of the study?
Q? No, I'm talking about whether there has been any serious attempt to analysis whether the economy will -- whether everybody will really be paying those taxes and the economic conditions after the taxes hit.
MS. MYERS: Well, that's certainly been factored in. I mean, there are a number of economists that worked on that plan who are here -- the Economic Council of Advisors, Bob Rubin and others -- who take very seriously the possible contractionary impact of any budget plan or any tax increases. And they concluded collectively that $500 billion was a level that would both help bring interest rates down by demonstrating a serious commitment to deficit reduction, but not have an adverse contractionary impact on the economy. It was something that was certainly discussed and very seriously considered.
Q Has an announcement on the timber plan been put off until next week, and if so, why?
MS. MYERS: I don't have a specific date for the timber plan. The various committees that were working -- the three working groups reported back to the administration on June 2nd, I believe, and they're now in the process of synthesizing those.
Q So this week, next week?
MS. MYERS: Soon, but I don't -- again, I don't have a specific date.
Q Has the President begun preparing himself for the Japan-Korea trip with briefings or briefing books?
MS. MYERS: Yes.
Q Can you talk a little about how he's going about preparing for this trip?
MS. MYERS: He had a meeting Monday, I think, where they sort of talked. He's had sort of informal discussions with a number of advisors about the issues that are likely to come up. He had a meeting -- a longer session Monday to begin discussing it in more detail. As usual, there will be a number of briefing books prepared and a number of more formal briefings to go over the specific issues involved. But he has been talking informally about the specific issues, and then formally about the process and other things starting this week.
Q One of the things that some Presidents have done is have lunches or meetings with outside experts. Do you think that will happen?
MS. MYERS: Yes, there's a good chance we'll do some of that.
Q Is there anybody on the team that's been to another summit, that's been to a previous summits?
MS. MYERS: Mr. Gergin. (Laughter.)
Q On the foreign policy.
MS. MYERS: I believe --
Q Christopher.
MS. MYERS: Yes, Christopher; probably Tony Lake. I don't know off the top of my head, but I would think that there are certainly a number of people.
Q No prompting.
Q Strobe's been.
MS. MYERS: Yes, Strobe's been. He's covered a bunch. (Laughter.)
Q On the Republican alternative, are you saying then that if Dole and company were to come up with some form of alternative that resembled or was similar to the Kasich plan and cut the budget by $500 billion -- I don't think his did -- that you would seriously consider it?
MS. MYERS: No, what we're saying is that without raising taxes we don't see how it's possible unless you disproportionately burden the middle class and working people and the poor. So we would not consider something that we did not think was fair.
Q So you thought the Kasich plan also disproportionately affected the poor?
MS. MYERS: Yes.
Q Dee Dee, any more senators coming over here today?
MS. MYERS: I don't believe -- nothing is scheduled but I wouldn't rule it out.
Q Any phone calls?
MS. MYERS: Probably.
Q Will he go to the Hill at some point, do you think?
MS. MYERS: Not this week.
Q Are you pretty sure there will be a vote tomorrow night?
Q A schedule for tomorrow, Dee Dee?
MS. MYERS: I don't have it in front of me. I think he has lunch with the Vice President tomorrow and then the usual Thursday photo ops. And beyond that, I don't know if anything's been added.
Q What about Friday, the weekend, and next week?
MS. MYERS: Friday is still unclear. Saturday and Sunday, at this point, are supposed to be off, although depending on what happens, he may be here Saturday morning. At this point, we're planning to pre-tape the radio address on Friday.
Q Does that mean Camp David's off? What does that mean?
MS. MYERS: It means that he has no formal schedule. They may go to Camp David, although it's not for sure.
Q Status of August vacation plans?
MS. MYERS: The staff is very much in favor of pushing very, very, very hard for that. (Laughter.)
Q Are you making any headway?
MS. MYERS: Yes, I think so.
Q Any chance he'll go to California?
Q Two weeks, what?
MS. MYERS: Well, I think we'd like to see, I mean, I think the President would like to take a little time. I don't know how much.
Q Arkansas, Dee Dee?
MS. MYERS: No decision on where that might be, but we're pushing for it.
Q Family reunion, perhaps?
Q Any chance he'll go to the funeral?
MS. MYERS: I don't think so.
Q Will Hillary? Why is he pretaping the radio address?
MS. MYERS: We're trying to give him the weekend off.
Q Did you say what you're going to do about a representative at Pat Nixon's funeral?
MS. MYERS: No, I don't have an answer on that, yet. We'll post that along with the answer on --
Q Has he talked to the half-brother yet, Dee Dee?
MS. MYERS: I don't know. I just don't know whose going to do it.
Q Dee Dee, travel next week?
MS. MYERS: Nothing scheduled.
Q Dee Dee, have you reached any decisions on Nigeria this week?
MS. MYERS: I don't know. I mean, obviously, we've heard -- we're concerned about it, we're monitoring it. We'll let you know.
Q Is Chelsea and her friends still going to Japan, Dee Dee?
MS. MYERS: No final decision.
THE PRESS: Thank you.
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