Presidential News and Speeches

Nominations and Withdrawals Sent to the Senate

President and Mrs. Bush will travel to Africa from February 15-21, 2008. They will visit Benin, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana, and Liberia. This trip will be an opportunity for the President to review firsthand the significant progress since his last visit in 2003 in efforts to increase economic development and fight HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other treatable diseases, as a result of the United States robust programs in these areas.

President Bush on Thursday said, "A while ago I had the honor of presenting the National Medal of Freedom to a patriot of Cuba and a lover of liberty, Oscar Biscet. He was not able to receive the award because he's in a Cuban prison for speaking out on behalf of human rights and human dignity. Today his wife, Elsa Morejon, is here. She has taken some time from Cuba to come to the United States to visit her son. She came up to the Oval Office to see me, and I'm most honored and most grateful."

President Bush on Thursday said, "I know Americans are concerned about our economic future. Our economy is structurally sound, but it is dealing with short-term disruptions in the housing market and the impact of higher energy prices. These challenges are slowing growth. Yet Americans can also be confident about our long-term outlook. Our economy is strong, it is dynamic, and it is resilient. It has led the world for many decades, and with the right policies in place, including the extension of the tax cuts passed in 2001 and 2003 that have helped our economy, I firmly believe we're going to continue to lead the world."

Today, President George W. Bush accorded the Personal Rank of Ambassador to one individual serving in his Administration. The President accorded the Personal Rank of Ambassador to Lincoln P. Bloomfield, Jr., of Virginia, during his tenure and service as Special Envoy for Man-Portable Air Defense Systems.

Last August, Congress passed the Protect America Act, which updated our foreign intelligence surveillance law to adapt to today's technology and to meet today's threats. This bipartisan legislation has aided our efforts to monitor the communications of terrorists and other foreign intelligence targets.

President George W. Bush today announced that he has named four individuals to serve in his Administration.

The United States welcomes the signing of a peace agreement with the goal of helping bring lasting stability to eastern Congo and addressing the underlying causes of the conflict. The agreement calls for an immediate cease-fire, demobilization or reintegration of all armed groups, and the return of all Congolese refugees and internally displaced persons. President Bush recently met with President Kabila to discuss the importance of bringing peace to eastern Congo and commends Kabila's leadership in securing this important agreement. We call on all parties to ensure urgent implementation of the agreement. The United States, working with the international community, will continue to actively support the Congolese Government's commitment to achieve peace and prosperity in eastern Congo.

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 721 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended (50 U.S.C. App. 2170), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Today, I issued an Executive Order reforming how the United States reviews national security concerns that may arise from foreign investments, in light of the Foreign Investment and National Security Act of 2007. The Executive Order furthers the goals of the new law by ensuring that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States will review carefully the national security concerns, if any, raised by certain foreign investments into the United States. The Executive Order reaffirms our commitment to open economies and our policy of welcoming foreign investment and the important economic benefits that such investment brings. At the same time, the Executive Order sets forth procedures for protecting our national security, recognizing that our openness is vital to our prosperity and security.

President Bush strongly supports reauthorizing the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) in a way that puts poor children first, so he is pleased the House of Representatives voted today to sustain his veto of misguided legislation that would have expanded SCHIP to higher income households while increasing taxes.

With a view to receiving the advice and consent of the Senate to ratification, I transmit herewith the Extradition Treaty between the United States of America and Romania (the "Extradition Treaty" or the "Treaty") and the Protocol to the Treaty between the United States of America and Romania on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (the "Protocol"), both signed at Bucharest on September 10, 2007. I also transmit, for the information of the Senate, the reports of the Department of State with respect to the Extradition Treaty and Protocol.

I transmit herewith, for the advice and consent of the Senate to its ratification, the International Convention on the Control of Harmful Anti-Fouling Systems on Ships, 2001 (the "Convention").

With a view to receiving the advice and consent of the Senate to ratification, I transmit herewith the Extradition Treaty between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria (the "Extradition Treaty" or the "Treaty") and the Agreement on Certain Aspects of Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria (the "MLA Agreement"), both signed at Sofia on September 19, 2007. I also transmit, for the information of the Senate, the report of the Department of State with respect to the Extradition Treaty and the MLA Agreement.

I transmit to the Congress, pursuant to sections 123 b. and 123 d. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2153(b),(d))(the "Act"), the text of the proposed Agreement for Cooperation between the United States of America and the Republic of Turkey Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy (the "Agreement") together with a copy of the unclassified Nuclear Proliferation Assessment Statement (NPAS) and of my approval of the proposed Agreement and determination that the proposed Agreement will promote, and will not constitute an unreasonable risk to, the common defense and security. The Secretary of State will submit the classified NPAS and accompanying annexes separately in appropriate secure channels.

Nominations and Withdrawals Sent to the Senate

SUBJECT: Determination on the Proposed Agreement for Cooperation Between the United States of America and the Republic of Turkey Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy

President Bush on Wednesday said, "We've got mayors from both political parties here. We didn't have a political discussion, we had a discussion on what's best for America, particularly given the economic uncertainty we face. I talked to them about my desire to work with the Congress to get a stimulus package passed, one that's going to be robust enough to affect the economy, simple enough for people to understand it, and efficient enough to have an impact. And I'm confident that we can get something done. There's a spirit of -- that is -- that says we need to take a fundamentally strong economy and help it deal with the uncertainties with a pro-growth package."

President Bush on Tuesday said, "Earlier today I signed an executive order establishing the President's Advisory Council on Financial Literacy. I have asked people from the business world, the faith world, the non-profit world, to join this council in order to come up with recommendations as to how to better educate people from all walks of life about matters pertaining to their finances and their future."

President Bush on Tuesday said, "I want to thank the leaders for coming. I initially intended to brief the leaders of the House and the Senate on my trip to the Middle East, and I intend to do so, but we're going to spend some time talking about this economy and the need for us to find common ground for an effective pro-growth economic package. We had a good call last Thursday, and I want to thank the Speaker and the Leader and other members; and Secretary Paulson had a good meeting today."