2001 US press briefings
The James S. Brady Briefing Room
12:10 P.M. EDT
MR. FLEISCHER: Good afternoon. I have several personnel announcements and a couple other minor items, or other items that I want to discuss.
The President intends to nominate Tony Armendariz to be a member of the Federal Labor Relations Authority. The President intends to nominate Sarah V. Hart, to be Director of the National Institute of Justice at the Department of Justice. The President intends to nominate Shirin Raziuddin Tahir-Kheli to be Representative of the United States on the Human Rights Commission of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. And the President intends to nominate Gordon H. Mansfield to be Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Congressional Affairs.
A little news about welcoming leaders to Washington. The President will welcome Amir Hamad bin Iffa Al Khalifa of Bahrain to Washington for a working visit on May 7th. And the President today announced that he will name Scott Evertz to be Director of the Office of National Aids Policy. He is currently the Vice President of the Lutheran Manor Foundation, Incorporated, and Director of the Resource Development for the United Lutheran Program for the Aging in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
And as the Director of this office, Mr. Evertz will be the White House point person and the point of contact for organizations focused on community based, national, international aspects of HIV/AIDS. The office will coordinate with the administration's activities related to domestic and international AIDS academic and will be staffed with two detailees, one from the Department of State and one from the Department of Health and Human Services.
And because HIV and AIDS is such a growing global crisis, and because of the particular emphasis that President Bush wants to put on fighting AIDS and finding ways to reduce AIDS, if not cure AIDS around the world, the AIDS Policy Office will have increased focus on international components of the disease. The office will have, I mentioned the two detailees from State and HHS, and the office will also work with a new high-level task force that will be co-chaired by the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, that will work with the White House Domestic Policy Advisor and the National Security Advisor.
The final announcement I have is the President at 7:30 p.m. last night spoke with Tiger Woods, to congratulate him on winning the Masters Tournament. With that, I'll be happy to take questions.
Q Is Tiger coming to the White House any time soon?
MR. FLEISCHER: We'll let you know. I don't have anything on that yet. He just won.
Q On the AIDS office, real quick, what does the President have to say to his detractors about this? This gentleman is gay, and at the Republican convention, when the gay gentleman spoke before the convention, many in his home state, as well as many in the Republican Party could not even look at the gentleman. What does the President say to this, especially in an era of bringing people together?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President picks the best people for the job -- for their jobs, regardless of what their background may or may not be. And that's why he has chosen Scott. The President respects him, knows he's a leader in the community that is fighting AIDS, and he'll be welcome at this White House.
Q Ari, it's not just about what he is, but what he believes. It said in the Post this morning that he believes that perhaps one of the solutions to AIDS would be to reduce the stigma of homosexuality in the African-American community. Is that a position the administration shares, that we need to reduce the stigma of homosexuality?
MR. FLEISCHER: I think what's important is to allow the office to develop and to come up with as many ideas as they can, to fight what has been just a growing international problem that is wreaking terrible, terrible problems in many communities across our country and around the world.
And so the President is forming this group for the whole purpose of bringing together some of the best minds to share their ideas. It's too soon to say exactly what the tactics will be. But this administration is committed, under President Bush, to fighting AIDS and to having a high level focus here at the White House to getting that job done.
I do want to emphasize the international component is generally new. And that's a reflection of the fact that the President is concerned about this. He has brought up the problem of AIDS in Africa with foreign leaders who come here, with congressional leaders who come here, it's on the President's mind, and it's something that he wants to combat.