178571

神经网络昆斯林的新闻组分类2006

	     Q	  Is that a threat?  (Laughter.)
	     
	     Q	  Did the President say to Senator Dole, all right, 
how about this number as an overall size, or did Dole say to the 
President, I can go as high as this?  Did they talk numbers?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I don't think it was a negotiation 
in that respect.  It was more of a discussion about their positions.
	     
	     Q	  Did they discuss actual numbers?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I'm just not sure.  I know they 
talked about the basic outlines of the packages.  I think they talked 
about the programs they cared about.  I don't know if they got to the 
level of this many x-billion dollars. 
	     
	     Q	  Does Dole have to sign off before there is a 
package?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  No, of course not.
	     
	     Q	  Did the White House have anything to do with the 
protesters who showed up in New Hampshire today where Senator Dole 
was speaking?  Was that in any way organized by --
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Not to my knowledge, no.
	     
	     Q	  And has the President been in touch with Senators 
Kohl or Feingold?  
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I don't think he's talked to them, 
no.
	     
	     Q	  George, is the President considering the more 
palatable fact of having a national sales tax instead of having the 
haves having to continuously pay for the have-nots?  And is he going 
to scrap his proposed tax on the privileged few, with the haves 
having to pay for the have-nots?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  The President believes deeply that 
the tax rates on upper income Americans, as he presented in his 
budget, should go up.  And I think for the second half of your 
question, I'll refer you to my briefing from yesterday.
	     
	     Q	  George, on the subject of accuracy in information, 
you suggested the other day that the stimulus package included money 
that would solve the water problem in Milwaukee.  Apparently that is 
not true.  It's actually waste water money.
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  It's waste water money for 
Wisconsin, and some could go to Milwaukee. 
	     
	     Q	  But it would not affect the drinking water problem 
because it's waste water money, right?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  It would affect the water treatment 
overall. 
	     
	     Q	  But the implication from your statement the other 
day was that it would help fix this disease problem in Milwaukee now.  
Would you agree that's not the case?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I'm not sure of the specifics.  I 
know that it goes to the overall water treatment in Wisconsin.
	     
	     Q	  A leftover question from this morning, which was, 
when did the President find out that the task force was deliberating 
on a VAT?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I'm not sure exactly when.  I just 
don't know.  I assume it came up over the last -- certainly between 
the time that we had commented on in the past and two days ago.  
	     
	     Q	  So sometime since March 25th?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I think that's right.  I don't know 
the exact date.
	     
	     Q	  George, the President this morning mentioned that 
some labor and business groups are for the VAT tax.  Apparently, the 
National Association of Manufacturers talks about perhaps the VAT tax 
being okay if it replaces the BTU tax.  So does the President feel 
that perhaps this might be in place of some other tax he's proposed, 
or is this totally in addition to the other taxes he's already 
proposed?  
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I think we've said all we have to 
say about the VAT at this point.  I mean, there's just no -- this is 
being considered by the health care working groups, and that is all.  
The President hasn't made any further decisions beyond that. 
	     
	     Q	  But it would be to finance health care, it wouldn't 
be to replace some other tax that finances -- it wouldn't replace the 
income tax, for instance?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  There have been no discussions on 
that.
	     
	     Q	  In terms of getting a VAT tax through Congress, 
Senator Dole's press release today said VAT -- on tax day.  Do you 
think -- does it have a chance of getting through Congress?  Would it 
have a chance?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I have no idea. 
	     
	     Q	  Is that a consideration whether you all put it 
forward?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  That would become a consideration 
if the President were to decide to do it.  It's not in consideration 
now.
	     
	     Q	  You said at the beginning of the briefing that 
circumstances had changed and that had caused the VAT to now be under 
consideration.
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Yes, what the President referred to 
this morning.  These groups came forward and said this is something 
that has to be considered.
	     
	     Q	  Those are the circumstances that have changed?  
That's the only difference between now and when he emphatically ruled 
it out that groups have asked it to be considered?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  That's what he said. 
	     
	     Q	  Is that true?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Yes.
	     
	     Q	  Was there, in fact, some understanding that sin 
taxes would not produce enough money for the health care benefits?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I'm not going to get into the 
deliberations.
	     
	     Q	  But, George --
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  No.  What the consideration is, as 
the President said, groups came forward and said this is something 
you ought to consider.  The working groups are looking at it. 
	     
	     Q	  Is that the only thing that's changed since his 
prior statement and your prior statement on the VAT?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Yes.
	     
	     Q	  Can you explain how those groups -- how that 
information got to him that groups wanted it?  Was it just reading 
the newspaper or did groups make presentations?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I think the groups -- as you know, 
the health care task force has met with dozens of groups.
	     
	     Q	  But this is the President's knowledge that these 
groups had come forward.
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I think he was referring to what 
was coming to the working groups.  Obviously, there have also been 
published positions in the newspapers.
	     
	     Q	  Have certain groups briefed him on the group's 
presentations to them?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I don't know if they've briefed him 
-- I mean, how detailed the briefings have been.    I know that the 
working groups decided to look into this after being pressed by these 
groups.
	     
	     Q	  What kind of arguments did the groups make that 
were persuasive enough that the President would change the position 
that he had enunciated previously?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I don't know, it's just they've had 
longstanding positions that this would be a good way to finance 
health care.
	     
	     Q	  The President wasn't aware of those longstanding 
positions?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  He may have been at some level.  
Obviously, he's been a governor for a long time and he knows the 
basic arguments for and against a VAT tax.
	     
	     Q	  What we're trying to figure out here -- you're 
telling us that the only change, the only thing that affected this 
change in the President's attitude toward the VAT between February 
and now --
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  The President's attitude hasn't 
necessarily changed.  I mean, he has not made a decision.
	     
	     Q	  I know, but the President said that it was off the 
table.  So did you.  And you're saying that the only thing that's 
changed is the positions of these groups, except you're also 
describing them as longstanding positions.  I don't see the change.  
If these groups haven't had any change in their position that's been 
made to the President --
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Well, they've made the 
presentations to the health care task force.
	     
	     Q	  There's no relationship at all between the fact 
that sin taxes that he had said -- suggested in February that he 
favored will not produce enough revenue to finance --
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I don't think he ever suggested 
that they would produce all the revenue.
	     
	     Q	  Well, he suggested that he thought that those were 
appropriate ways to finance health care.
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  He did say that.  I don't know that 
he said anything to refute that.
	     
	     Q	  But, in fact, has the task force discovered that 
there wouldn't be enough revenue from those taxes to finance the kind 
of core benefits --
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Again, I don't think that the task 
force ever suggested that there would.
	     
	     Q	  George, if he advocated a VAT tax, would that break 
his promise not to raise taxes on the middle class to pay for his 
programs?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I can't comment on a hypothetical 
situation.
	     	  
	     Q	  But does that promise -- would that promise not to 
raise taxes on the middle class to pay for the programs prevent him 
from seeking a VAT tax?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  The President has made no decisions 
on the VAT tax.  When he does, we'll tell you and we'll explain the 
implications then.
	     
	     Q	  Which specific groups can you cite -- business, 
labor or otherwise -- whose recommendations to the health care task 
force has prompted this consideration?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I don't have the specific.  I just 
don't have that.
	     
	     Q	  George, can you tell us to what extend these other 
alternatives, for instance, the employer tax or the sin taxes or 
other financing options are also still on the table and what these 
options are?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  No, as members of the task force 
and representatives of the working groups have said, they are looking 
at a wide variety of options.  I think that Ira Magaziner said that 
there are 20 different options under consideration.  But I'm not 
going to comment --
	     
	     Q	  What's the scope --
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I'm just not going to comment on 
them, no.
	     
	     Q	  What's the scope of the need?  How much are you 
talking about that has to be produced by one or a combination of the 
--
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  That's what the health care task 
force is looking at.
	     
	     Q	  Since there's not going to be any briefing on the 
Miyazawa visit, two questions:  One, generally what does the 
President hope to use that meeting for, but more specifically, is his 
task complicated by the Japanese anger over the Vancouver note and 
the remark about market access at the press conference?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  The Vancouver note?
	     
	     Q	  Does no mean yes.
	     
	     Q	  Yes and no.
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Well, I don't know.  I saw the 
Prime Minister's press conference where he was asked the question 
about that note and he gave a very gracious and complete answer when 
he was asked the question.  The questions of trade are something that 
certainly will be discussed between the Prime Minister and the 
President.  There is obviously a trade imbalance between Japan and 
the U.S. that we want to do something about.
	     
	     Q	  Also in those comments the Prime Minister made he 
suggested that the United States should come down heavy on him in 
terms of trade.  Are you going to oblige?  
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:   I think the President will state 
our views on trade very clearly and our views on the trade deficit 
very clearly.  I don't necessarily want to agree with your 
characterization of the Prime Minister's comments.
	     
	     Q	     that we need specific export targets, specific 
numerical targets -- is that what he's going to discuss with 
Miyazawa?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  They're going to have a broad 
discussion of a wide range of trade issues.  I don't want to get into 
those specifics until after the meeting.
	     
	     Q	  Why?
	     
	     Q	   That's the crux of the issue, right?  Whether or 
not -- does the President believe that without specific numerical 
targets, it is really, as he said in his press conference, sort of 
hopeless that this is going to change very much?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  The President believes that we must 
have pressure on Japan to turn the trade imbalance around.  I do not 
want to get into the specifics of how that would be done.
	     
	     Q	  But does the President believe that their stimulus 
package announced yesterday will rectify the imbalance?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I think, first, the President wants 
to get a full briefing on the stimulus package from Prime Minister 
Miyazawa himself, and then he'll make the comment on it.
	     
	     Q	  How about the Russian aid package?  There seems to 
be some confusion about how the U.S. views that, Secretary 
Christopher saying -- or Bentsen saying the Japanese may need to do 
more, the Japanese saying that that's not what they heard?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Again, we're going to continue to 
work with all our allies in the G-7, and we're going to continue to 
press for help for Russian reform, Russian democratic reform.  And I 
think that, so far, we had a very good announcement out of Tokyo and 
we're going to continue to work with our allies for bilateral 
packages.
	     
	     Q	  Do you think the Japanese need to do more?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  We're going to continue to work 
with all our allies to do as much as we can.
	     
	     Q	  Secretary Christopher was asked today on the Today 
Show this morning what he thought of Margaret Thatcher's comments on 
the Bosnia policy.  And he said, "It's a rather emotional response."  
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Over an emotional issue.
	     
	     Q	  Right -- to an emotional problem.  Does the White  
House condone that kind of remark?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I think that Secretary 
Christopher's remarks speaks for itself.  The President believes also 
that this is a deeply troubling situation that we're trying to find 
answers for. 
	     
	     Q	  But that specific -- "rather emotional response" -- 
specific term?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  No, it speaks for itself.
	     
	     Q	  In connection with that, doesn't it seem that with 
the numbers of people who are being killed at this very moment, is it 
good American policy to put off some decisions that might be made now 
to help Boris Yeltsin win a referendum?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  For example?
	     
	     Q	  To take stronger action, to take military action -- 
air strikes, anything that can be done?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  The President believes that what 
must be done now is to push harder for sanctions.  He is also -- as 
you know, the administration has been discussing lifting the arms 
embargo.  He believes those are the appropriate ways to increase 
pressure at this time.
	     
	     Q	  What is your response to the critics who would say 
that the U.S. is now stymied by trying to help Boris Yeltsin retain 
the presidency?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  They're wrong.  We're pressing hard 
for the Serbs to come to the negotiating table.  We're pressing hard 
for increased sanctions, and we're talking to our allies about the 
arms embargo.
	     
	     Q	  You were putting great store in Vance and Owen