Presidential News and Speeches

President Bush on Friday said, "During my tour, I have met with skilled professionals who provide free mortgage counseling for struggling homeowners. And the reason why I'm here is because we have got a issue in housing in America. The value of the houses have gone down in some areas, and people's mortgages are resetting. In other words, the interest rates are going up. And that has caused consternation and concern and care. A lot of families are facing the frightening prospect of foreclosures. Foreclosures obviously place a terrible burden on a family, as well as they lead to losses for lenders and investors. And this affects our entire economy."

Today, President Bush will visit the Novadebt counseling center in Freehold, New Jersey to meet with housing counselors who are helping struggling homeowners and discuss the housing market. The HOPE NOW Alliance hotline (888-995-HOPE) helps connect struggling homeowners with mortgage counselors who work on possible solutions. Novadebt, a HOPE NOW Alliance member, is one of the counseling centers that homeowners are directed to when they call the HOPE hotline. HOPE NOW has announced that since July more than one million struggling homeowners received a work-out - either a loan modification or a repayment plan that helped them avoid foreclosure.

By virtue of the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including section 301 of title 3, United States Code, I hereby assign to you the functions of the President under section 1821(c) of the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (Public Law 110-53).

Pursuant to section 1106(a) of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (19 U.S.C. 2905(a))(the "Act"), I determine that state trading enterprises account for a significant share of Ukraine's exports and goods that compete with imports into Ukraine. I further determine that such state trading enterprises unduly burden and restrict, or adversely affect, the foreign trade of the United States or the United States economy, or are likely to result in such burden, restriction, or effect.

President George W. Bush today announced his intention to nominate three individuals and appoint two individuals and designate one individual to serve in his Administration: Luis Aguilar, Elisse B. Walter, Marie L. Yovanovitch, Christopher A. Padilla, Alexa E. Posny and Stephanie Johnson Monroe.

Section 1205(a) of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (the "1988 Act") (19 U.S.C. 3005(a)) directs the United States International Trade Commission (the "Commission") to keep the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS) under continuous review and periodically to recommend to the President such modifications to the HTS as the Commission considers necessary or appropriate to accomplish the purposes set forth in that subsection. In 2006, the Commission recommended modifications to the HTS pursuant to section 1205 of the 1988 Act to conform the HTS to amendments made to the International Convention on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (the "Convention"). In Presidential Proclamation 8097 of December 29, 2006, I modified the HTS pursuant to section 1206(a) of the 1988 Act (19 U.S.C. 3006(a)) to conform the HTS to the Convention.

President and Mrs. Bush will welcome British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Mrs. Sarah Brown to the White House on April 17, 2008. The United States and the United Kingdom share a special partnership that enables our countries to more effectively confront the key strategic challenges facing our two nations. The President looks forward to continuing his regular consultations with the Prime Minister on our shared goals of advancing freedom and strengthening security and democracy in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere; increasing international pressure on Iran to prevent it from obtaining the means to build nuclear weapons; and improving our efforts to combat international terrorism. The two leaders will also discuss our work to address poverty, disease, and climate change, as well as the promotion of free-market trade around the world.

President Bush on Wednesday said, "I'm looking forward to going to Ukraine, and Romania again, Croatia. This will be a -- it's a very important trip; important trip to discuss our bilateral relations, and it's an important trip because of NATO. I believe we'll have a successful summit. The definition of success is to make sure NATO stays relevant, and that we work in a collaborative fashion to deal with the threats of the 21st century and the opportunities of the 21st century."

Today, President Bush visited the National Museum of the United States Air Force and discussed the political and economic changes currently taking place in Iraq. Last year, the President ordered 30,000 additional soldiers and Marines into Iraq, and gave them a new mission, to focus on protecting the Iraqi people, and to hold the gains that had been made. The other goal of the surge was to open up space for political and economic progress after security returned. So the U.S. deployed additional civilian experts and more than doubled the number of Provincial Reconstruction Teams, with a mission to ensure the security gains were followed by improvements in daily life.

President Bush on Thursday said, "The military achievements in Iraq have been accompanied by a political transformation. It can feel like distant history, but it was only five years ago that Iraq was one of the most brutal dictatorships on Earth -- a totalitarian nightmare where any election was a sham, and dissenters often found themselves buried in mass graves. In a matter of 15 months, the Iraqi people reclaimed their sovereignty. They went on to choose an interim government, and to ratify the most democratic constitution in the Arab world. And in December 2005, 12 million Iraqis elected a government under that constitution -- a display of courage that defied the terrorists, disproved the critics, and should always inspire the world."

Consistent with section 2005 of the American Servicemembers' Protection Act (Public Law 107-206; 22 U.S.C. 7421 et seq.), concerning the participation of members of the Armed Forces of the United States in certain United Nations peacekeeping and peace enforcement operations, I hereby certify that members of the U.S. Armed Forces participating in the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) are without risk of criminal prosecution or other assertion of jurisdiction by the International Criminal Court (ICC) because the United Nations Security Council has permanently exempted members of the U.S. Armed Forces participating in UNAMID from criminal prosecution or other assertion of jurisdiction by the ICC for actions undertaken by them in connection with UNAMID by deciding, in Resolution 1593 (2005), that "personnel from a contributing state outside Sudan which is not a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of that contributing State for all alleged acts or omissions arising out of or related to operations in Sudan established or authorized by the Council or the African Union, unless such exclusive jurisdiction has been expressly waived by that contributing State."

The President today declared a major disaster exists in the State of Arkansas and ordered Federal aid to supplement State and local recovery efforts in the area struck by severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding beginning on March 18, 2008, and continuing.

President Bush on Wednesday said, "There's a rough patch right now in our economy, but I'm confident in the long term we'll come out stronger than ever before. One of the most decisive actions a government can take is to give people their money back so they can spend it, and that's exactly what we've done. In the second week of May, a lot of folks are going to be getting a sizable check. And I'm looking forward to that day, and I know they are as well."

President Bush called President Hu Jintao of China today. The President raised his concerns about the situation in Tibet and encouraged the Chinese government to engage in substantive dialogue with the Dalai Lama's representatives and to allow access for journalists and diplomats. On Taiwan, the President said that this weekend's election provides a fresh opportunity for both sides to reach out and engage one another in peacefully resolving their differences.

President George W. Bush today announced his intention to nominate two individuals and designate one individual to serve in his Administration: Kameran L. Onley and A. Ellen Terpstra.

President Bush on Tuesday said, "And I want to thank you all for coming. Here we are to celebrate the 187th anniversary of Greek independence. And it's an interesting place to celebrate it, isn't it? You know, the White House is a great symbol for independence and freedom and liberty, and it's a fitting place to celebrate the independence of Greece."

SUBJECT: Determination to Waive Military Coup-Related Provision of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2008, with Respect to Pakistan

President Bush on Tuesday said, "This is a good, clean sport. It's a sport that requires good conservation in order to make sure our fisheries are good, and I love to welcome the champs here. And so we're glad you're here. The people of Louisiana and Texas are proud of you."

President Bush on Tuesday said, "We had a good discussion, and we'll continue our discussion over lunch, on a variety of subjects. First, I do want to thank the Kingdom for sending an ambassador to Iraq. That's a very strong move that indicates a willingness to lead, as well as a willingness to send a signal that when a young democracy like Iraq is beginning to make progress, that it is important for the neighborhood to recognize that progress. And I really do want to thank Your Majesty for that."

President Bush on Monday said, "Madam Secretary, thank you very much for your hospitality. I just had a very interesting dialogue on how to strengthen the State Department's capacity to bring freedom and peace around the world, and how to make sure the State Department works collaboratively with the Defense Department, as we deal with some of the more difficult areas, and really take advantage of some of the great opportunities that we're faced with."