2001 US press briefings
The James S. Brady Briefing Room
12:45 P.M. EDT
MR. FLEISCHER: Good afternoon. The President intends to appoint Richard J. Warren to be a member of the Roosevelt Campobello International Park Commission. And I have a readout on a phone call the President made early this morning.
President Bush had a cordial 10-minute phone conversation with President Megawati of Indonesia this morning. The President called and congratulated her and Indonesia on the peaceful transfer of power, emphasized the importance of Indonesia's unity, prosperity and continued democratic development. He reaffirmed the United States' commitment to working with Indonesia to address its many challenges.
I'm pleased to take questions.
Q Is the President any closer on the stem cell research?
MR. FLEISCHER: Nothing new to report, Helen.
Q Ari, what progress has been made on the patients' bill of rights? The President said there are serious conversations today. What area of compromise would he accept?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President today sees progress on two fronts involving a patients' bill of rights. One is the number of members of Congress who are indicating they are switching positions and supporting legislation sponsored by Congressman Ernie Fletcher; and two, his conversation this morning in the Oval Office with Congressman Charlie Norwood. The President sees reasons for optimism and progress on both fronts.
Q Can you be more specific?
MR. FLEISCHER: As you know, the President has been meeting now for several weeks with members of Congress of both parties, principally in the House of Representatives, on patients' bill of rights legislation, urging members to pass a patients' bill of rights that can be signed into law because it protects patients in their dealings with HMOs without driving up the cost of health insurance. Toward that point, in these meetings, the President has spoken with many members who have previously voted for the Norwood legislation, who this year are indicating a willingness to support the Fletcher bill. And there is continued progress on that front in the course of these private meetings. The President just concluded a meeting in the Oval Office.
This morning, at 8:30 a.m., the President met privately with Congressman Norwood, which is a follow-up to several meetings that have been taking place on the staff level with Congressman Norwood. And the President was encouraged by the meeting. They are talking about ways to get a patients' bill of rights passed into law that meets the President's principles -- principally, that it does not drive up the cost of health insurance because there's no point in enacting a patients' bill of rights into law that means that people are going to lose the very insurance that it is designed to be protecting.
And discussions will continue with Congressman Norwood and with many other members. The point is the President is going to continue to reach out and talk to members of Congress as hard as he can, because he is committed to getting a patients' bill of rights that protects patients signed into law this year.
Q Is he seeking a compromise? I mean, he's talking to all these people -- are they making any impression on him?
MR. FLEISCHER: Oh, certainly. And he's making an impression on them, they're making an impression on him.
Q Is he changing his mind about anything?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President wants to work with the Congress on the specific terms of the patients' bill of rights so that one can be signed that keeps in mind his focus on enacting a patients' bill of rights into law that gives patients the protections they need such as access to emergency room care, a woman's right to go visit her OB/GYN without first going through a gatekeeper. To afford patients those types of protections, without creating such a new system of lawsuits that the cost of health care is driven up to the point where people lose their health insurance coverage. And that's the balance the President is working with members of Congress to reach, and members of Congress are working with the President.
Q Why do you assume lawsuits if there's going to be good care and so forth?