LawPedia® - The Whitehouse & Presidential News

Thursday - December 14, 2006 - WASHINGTON - President Bush welcomed President Boni Yayi of the Republic of Benin to the White House today.

Wednesday - December 13, 2006 - WASHINGTON - In continuing fallout over Iraq, President Bush said today that the enemy in Iraq is "far from being defeated," and he said he would not to be rushed into adjusting his strategy and gave little indication that he intends to veer sharply from the direction his war policies have taken.

In an interview screened today, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said the outcome in Iraq is certainly unfortunate so far. Kissinger admitted that he was originally a proponent for the Iraq war but himself never anticipated the crisis would reach the dimension that it has. However, Kissinger said this is still all part of a process that has to run its course in the Arab world. It includes the attitudes of countries. On the positive side, Kissinger overall supports US engagement in the region, particularly to stem proliferation and prevent leaving any vacuum of power. Kissinger still believes negotiations with Iran are fundamental. Engagement on the Palestinian issue is also critical. He projected that Israel would now be prepared to concede territories close to the 1967 borders to resolve its differences in the middle east. Kissinger believes this territorial concession could rally the moderate Arab states toward some organization of security. Kissinger has privately counseled almost every U.S. President since John F. Kennedy, often on an intimate casual basis.

Tuesday - December 12, 2006 - WASHINGTON - President Bush continued his visible openness to new ideas after last week's Iraq Study Group report. Today, Bush will meet via video conference with senior military commanders, then he'll talk with Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, a Sunni leader, in the Oval Office. Tomorrow, President Bush will confer with senior defense officials at the Pentagon. Since the November elections, Bush has met with leaders of both parties to confer over the Iraq war.

Tuesday - December 12, 2006 - WASHINGTON - The Bush administration asked an appeals court to overturn a ruling that could require a redesign of US currency to help the blind. Justice Department lawyers filed the appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on behalf of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. The appeal seeks to overturn a ruling last month by U.S. District Judge James Robertson, who ordered Treasury to come up with ways for the blind to recognize the different denominations of paper currency.

Friday - December 8, 2006 - WASHINGTON - It was announced yesterday that British Prime Minister Tony Blair could soon launch a new Middle East peace mission, hoping to unlock the "barred" door to Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made seven trips to Israel and the Palestinian territories since becoming secretary of state in January 2005 -- most recently last week. Her effort has yielded little progress so far and there are no signs a breakthrough is imminent, but Rice's spokesman says she is due to return to the region in early 2007. Help from Tony Blair may also releave pressure from Saudi Arabia and other Arab moderates, which first caused Bush to promise at the UN General Assembly in September to make a new push to break a six-year deadlock in Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts. The Iraq Study Group suggested on Wednesday that any effort to stabilize Iraq must include direct talks with, by and between Israel, Lebanon, and Palestinians, who accept Israel's right to exist, as well as Syria.

Thursday - December 7, 2006 - WASHINGTON - After arriving at Andrews Air Force Base yesterday, British Prime Minister Tony Blair will meet with President Bush today. The discussion between them likely will involve whether Bush, possibly with counsel from Blair, could embrace some or all 79 of the Iraq Study Group's recommendations officially released yesterday. Read or Download the Full Report [PDF]

Tuesday - December 5, 2006 - WASHINGTON - President Bush's nominee for Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, won speedy and unanimous approval from the Senate Armed Services Committee after five hours of testimony. Confirmation as the new secretary of defense appears likely, after Gates testified Tuesday that the United States is not winning in Iraq and he's confident President Bush will listen to his ideas about forging a new war strategy.

Monday - December 4, 2006 - WASHINGTON - President Bush met in the oval office with United Nations Ambassador John Bolton to accept his resignation.

Environmentalists are now announcing concerns that President Bush may decide to lift a ban on oil and gas drilling in federal waters off Alaska's Bristol Bay, home to endangered whales and sea lions and the world's largest sockeye salmon run. Leasing in a portion of the oil and natural gas rich area ended nearly two decades ago, while Bush Senior was president after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989.

Tuesday - August 15, 2006 - WASHINGTON - After returning to work in Washington this week, President Bush is pushing the outcome in Lebanon as positive and upbeat. Critics argue that the crisis is far from over. Hezbollah leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, whose popularity spread in parts of the Arab world during the conflict with Israel, claimed an outcome precisely opposite from the one outlined by Bush. Nasrallah said his fighters achieved a "strategic, historic victory" over Israel.

Thursday - August 10, 2006 - MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin - President Bush took a brief interruption to his vacation stay at his ranch on August 10, when he flew to Wisconsin to tout his economic record and campaign for Republican congressional candidate John Gard.

Tuesday - August 8, 2006 - CRAWFORD, Texas - President Bush is on the sixth day of a ten day summer vacation at his Texas ranch. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited with President President over the weekend, and participated in a joint press conference yesterday morning.

Thursday - July 13, 2006 - STRALSUND, Germany - At the invitation of Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Bush traveled to northeastern Germany in advance of his participation in the G-8 Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia. Chancellor Merkel hosted President Bush on July 13, 2006 in the towns of Stralsund and Trinwillershagen, which are in the Chancellor's electoral constituency.

Tuesday - July 11, 2006 - WASHINGTON - Wednesday, the President and Mrs. Bush will depart for Germany, and then go to Russia for the meeting of the leaders of the G8 countries. This is the President's first trip to Germany since Chancellor Merkel has taken office. It's his third visit to Germany as President.

Friday - July 7, 2006 - CHICAGO, Illinois - President Bush will hold a news conference Friday in Chicago as the White House explores new venues for putting the President before the public. It will be his first full scale news conference since June 14 in the Rose Garden on his return from a surprise visit to Iraq. Friday's session, around 11 a.m. EDT, is expected to run about an hour and be open to Chicago-area press as well as the White House press corps that accompanies the President.

Wednesday - July 5, 2006 - WASHINGTON - President Bush welcomed President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia to the White House on Wednesday afternoon. They discussed a range of issues including developments in consolidating Georgia's democratic transition, cooperation in Energy Security and Georgia's Euro-Atlantic aspirations and a common commitment to working together to advance freedom and security around the world.

Tuesday - June 20, 2006 - VIENNA, Austria - President George W. Bush and Laura Bush arrived in Vienna Tuesday evening after a flight from Washington. President Bush will meet with European Union leaders to shore up ties with Europe, before traveling on to Budapest.

Thursday - April 27, 2006 - WASHINGTON - President Bush heads back to the Gulf Coast region today for National Volunteer Week. Bush and members of his Cabinet are participating in volunteer service activities across the country, and recognizing volunteers who have answered the President's call to service. Last year's hurricanes resulted in a call for volunteers to help their neighbors in need for the rebuilding effort. More than 21,000 national service members have served nearly 1 million hours and coordinated another 31,000 volunteers in the Gulf Coast rebuilding effort.

Wednesday - April 26, 2006 - WASHINGTON - Conservative Fox News commentator Tony Snow was named White House press secretary The change was announced by Republican officials Tuesday night. The announcement came as another move in President Bush's effort to rework his White House. On Tuesday Bush halted purchases for the nation's emergency oil reserve. The President also urged the waiver of clean air rules to ease local gas shortages and called for the repeal of $2 billion in tax breaks for profit-heavy oil companies.

Monday - April 24, 2006 - ORANGE COUNTY, California - President Bush wraps up his trip to California traveling to Orange County today to meet with local business leaders over immigration issues.

Sunday - April 23, 2006 - RANCHO MIRAGE, California - The White House has continued to insist that defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld retains President Bush's confidence. A growing number of commanders who served under him say he has botched the Iraq operation, ignored the advice of his generals and should be replaced. President Bush visited with one of his White House predecessors Sunday, former President Ford, in Rancho Mirage, California. The Fords have lived in Rancho Mirage since leaving the White House in 1977. On Friday, former President Ford released a statement defending Defense Secretary Rumsfeld against calls for his resignation over his handling of the Iraq war. Rumsfeld was also Ford's defense secretary, and his chief of staff before that.

Thursday - April 20, 2006 - WASHINGTON - Chinese President Hu Jintao is scheduled to make his first official visit to Washington beginning April 20, 2006.

Friday - April 14, 2006 - WASHINGTON - The White House insists the defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld retains President Bush's confidence. A growing number of commanders who served under him say he has botched the Iraq operation, ignored the advice of his generals and should be replaced. Staff changes are expected when Joshua Bolten, currently the budget director, replaces Andy Card, who has been chief of staff since Bush became President. Card's last day is April 14, 2006.

Wednesday - April 12, 2006 - WASHINGTON - President Bush will welcome President John Kufuor of the Republic of Ghana to the White House on Wednesday, April 12, 2006.

Tuesday - April 11, 2006 - WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Washington Nationals' Major League Baseball home opener Tuesday afternoon against the New York Mets. Nationals catcher Brian Schneider scooped it up.

Friday - April 7, 2006 - WASHINGTON - President Bush has not confirmed whether or not he will keep Treasury Secretary John Snow in his Cabinet, but will hear recommendations for change from his new chief of staff, Joshua Bolten. Staff changes are expected when Bolten, currently the budget director, replaces Andy Card, who has been chief of staff since Bush became President. Card's last day is April 14, 2006.

Monday - April 3, 2006 - CINCINNATI, Ohio - There will be 13 Major League Baseball openers today, starting with Washington's game at the New York Mets and ending with the New York Yankees' West Coast night game at Oakland. President Bush will be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch in Cincinnati, when the Reds play the Cubs.

Friday - March 31, 2006 - WASHINGTON - President Bush traveled to Cancun, Mexico yesterday to meet with President Vicente Fox of Mexico and Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada on March 30-31, 2006. The leaders will discuss the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), begun by the three countries in March 2005 as a new framework for cooperation aimed at strengthening continental security and our common prosperity. They also will discuss progress since the SPP was founded and the future agenda of the initiative. The leaders will meet bilaterally as well.

Thursday - March 9, 2006 - WASHINGTON - President Bush signed a renewal of the USA Patriot Act, a day before 16 major provisions of the old law expire. After approval in the Senate, the legislation passed Tuesday evening in the House after several months of debate on Capitol Hill over how to balance Americans' right to privacy with a need to foil potential terrorist threats. The 280-138 vote was just two votes more than needed under House rules requiring a two-thirds majority to pass legislation. Political battles over the legislation resulted in Congress extending the expiration date twice.

Wednesday - March 8, 2006 - Gulfport, Missippi - President Bush and first lady Laura Bush left Texas heading to New Orleans, and Gulfport, Mississippi on Wednesday. On Tuesday they had boarded Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base travelling to Crawford, Texas, to vote in the Texas GOP primary. President George W. Bush welcomed Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to a meeting in the Oval Office, on Tuesday, prior to Lavrov's scheduled meeting with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Wednesday. The U.S., Russia, Iran, and the UN are locked in a legal battle over nuclear issues. The actions follow Bush's conclusion of nuclear terms with India last week.

Monday - March 6, 2006 - WASHINGTON - President Bush plans to send proposed legislation to Congress on Monday that would allow him to control spending by vetoing specific items in larger bills. Both Republican and Democratic presidents have sought the power to eliminate a single item in a spending or tax bill without killing the entire measure. President Clinton was successful in 1996, when a new reform-minded Republican majority in the House helped pass a line-item veto law. However, two years later the Supreme Court declared that law unconstitutional, because it violated the principle that Congress and not the executive branch holds the power over spending. Bush has designed the new bill with language aimed at withstanding a Supreme Court challenge.

Thursday - March 2, 2006 - WASHINGTON - President Bush is out of town for five days on a scheduled trip to India and Pakistan. Bush made an unscheduled stop Wednesday in Afghanistan prior to arriving in New Delhi. India has tied its access to nuclear technology to economic development. The Bush administration is facing similar arguments for proliferation with Iran, and India has supported a dialogue to resolve the issues. Bush will also deal issues of terrorism and the erupting clash in Iraq. India believes that its role as a major working democracy in a secular multi-ethnic society can become a leading example to other countries. The last leg of his trip will take Mr. Bush to Pakistan.

Monday - February 27, 2006 - WASHINGTON - The Bush administration will conduct a second review of potential security risks in the port business deal. The new 45-day investigation is aimed at averting an impending political showdown as Congress returned to Washington on Monday from a weeklong break. The prior week long controversy over the whitehouse handling of the port deal subsided somewhat on Thursday when the United Arab Emirates company Dubai Ports World offered to delay its takeover of most operations at six U.S. ports. To give the Bush administration more time to convince skeptical lawmakers the deal poses no security risks. President Bush had rejected objections from both Republicans and Democrats over the approval of a sale of London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. to Dubai Ports World. President Bush endorsed the takeover of shipping operations at six major United States seaports by a state-owned business in the United Arab Emirates, despite fears of terrorist opportunities. Bush said the deal is done and pledged to veto any bill Congress might approve to block the agreement approval by his administration, but later admitted to omissions in the handling by his administration. The State of New Jersey filed suit in federal court to block the takeover of operations at the Port Newark Container Terminal until the federal government investigates possible security risks. The owner of shipping center, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said it also has security concerns about the takeover and filed a lawsuit Friday to terminate the firm's lease at the port.

Friday - February 17, 2006 - WASHINGTON - President Bush's administration continued to draw attention all week from the handling of the shooting incident by the Vice President. The bottom line was Cheney took full blame in his first public interview on Wednesday. Bush spokesmen said the reporters had a tendency to over-analyze a very unfortunate situation. President Bush said he approved of the way Cheny handled the situation.

Saturday - February 11, 2006 - Washington - President Bush gave his weekly radio address.

Friday - February 10, 2006 - Cambridge, Maryland - President Bush addressed the House Republican Conference. He also held informal discussions where he continued the defense of the warrantless eavesdropping program.

Thursday - February 9, 2006 - WASHINGTON - President Bush welcomed President Lech Kaczynski of Poland to the White House on Thursday. Mrs. Laura Bush and daughter, Barbara Bush, were greeted by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, on Thursday, at the Villa Madama in Rome.

Tuesday - February 7, 2006 - Atlanta, Georgia - President Bush along with first lady Laura Bush, former President Bill Clinton and his wife Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), former President George H.W. Bush, and former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn attended funeral services for Coretta Scott King at the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Georgia.

Thursday - February 2, 2006 - President Bush continued to seek confidence in his leadership while on a trip looking to build momentum from his State of the Union.

Tuesday - January 31, 2006 - WASHINGTON - President Bush gave his fifth State of the Union speech tonight, and as expected offered ideas for dealing with domestic problems from high energy prices to health care, as well as international troubles like Iran's suspected nuclear ambitions. More Speech Coverage.

Friday - January 27, 2006 - WASHINGTON - President Bush welcomed Lebanese Parliament Member Saad Hariri to the White House on Friday. Hariri is the son of the assassinated Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri. Rafik Hariri, who strongly opposed Syria's occupation of his country, was killed in February 2005 with 20 other people in a bomb attack as he was driven through the Lebanese capital. The U.N. investigation into the killing and whether Syria played a role continues.

Tuesday - January 24, 2006 - WASHINGTON - The President welcomed Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to the White House on January 24, 2006.

Tuesday - January 24, 2006 - WASHINGTON - President Bush announced the designation of a Presidential Delegation to Pristina, Kosovo to attend the Funeral of His Excellency Ibrahim Rugova, President of Kosovo, on January 26, 2006. Alphonso Jackson, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, will lead the delegation. Members of the Presidential Delegation are: Philip S. Goldberg, Chief of Mission, Kosovo; Frank Wisner, Ambassador, Special Representative of the Secretary of State to the Kosovo Status Talks.

Monday - January 23, 2006 - MANHATTAN, Kansas - President Bush in a speech at Kansas State University rejected critics' assertion that he broke the law by authorizing domestic eavesdropping without a warrant. Bush said he was doing what Congress authorized him to do to protect Americans from terrorist attacks. Polls show that a majority of Americans disagree at least in part with the Bush eavesdropping policy.

Thursday - January 19, 2006 - WASHINGTON - It was reported that the White House rejected a truce offer from Osama Bin Laden publicized in portions of a tape aired Thursday on Al-Jazeera television. The tape was the first from the al-Qaida leader in more than a year, and came only days after a U.S. airstrike in Pakistan that targeted bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, and reportedly killed four leading al-Qaida figures, possibly including al-Zawahri's son-in-law. Pakistan's Prime Minister has confirmed that his country was not notified of the airstrike in advance, and notes that reaction in his country was generally unfavorable to the United States because of collateral civilian casualties.

Saturday - January 14, 2006 - WASHINGTON - In his weekly radio address President Bush said, "Now the Senate has a duty to give Judge Alito a prompt up-or-down vote."

Friday - January 13, 2006 - WASHINGTON - President George Bush and German Chancellor Angela Merkel addressed a news conference in the East Room of the White House.

Friday - January 6, 2006 - CHICAGO - President George Bush traveled to Chicago to tour the Chicago Board of Trade's trading floors Friday morning, before addressing a noon lunch at the Economic Club of Chicago. Bush expects that his upbeat view will amount to a pep rally for the vibrant U.S. economy. Mainstream economists share Bush's current economic enthusiasm at least for the short term. Meanwhile with the rest of the world, President Bush awaits the outcome of politics in Israeli. Sharon had recently followed a policy of "going it alone", abandoning a close level of cooperation with the United States, as enjoyed by former U.S. Presidents.

Wednesday - January 4, 2006 - WASHINGTON - President Bush attended a briefing with members of his national security team, hosted by Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld and General Peter Pace. The briefing included Generals John Abizaid, George Casey and Martin Dempsey. Afterwards at the Pentagon, President Bush discussed areas of concern in his global war on terror.

Tuesday - January 3, 2006 - WASHINGTON - President Bush stated that for the next 30 days, he looks forward to working with members of Congress in renewing the Patriot Act.

Sunday - January 1, 2006 - San Antonio, Texas - President Bush visited with troops at the Brooke Army Medical Center.

Tuesday - December 20, 2005 - President Bush signed the "Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005". H.R. 2520, the "Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005", creates a new Federal program to collect and store cord blood, and expands the current bone marrow registry program to also include cord blood.

Tuesday - December 13, 2005 - President Bush participated in a Medicare Roundtable with Seniors at the Greenspring Village Retirement Community in Springfield, Virginia.

Thursday - October 6, 2005 - President Bush defended the War in Iraq and the War on Terror at the National Endowment for Democracy.

President Bush hosted Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski at the White House for a farewell meeting and lunch on October 12, 2005.

President Bush welcomed European Commission President José Manuel Durão Barroso for a meeting and lunch at the White House on October 18, 2005.

President Bush welcomed Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to the White House on October 20, 2005.

President Bush traveled to Mar del Plata, Argentina on November 3-5 to participate in the Summit of the Americas and to meet with Argentine President Nestor Carlos Kirchner. Following the Summit, the President visited Brazil on November 5-6 at the invitation of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. He then traveled to Panama on November 6-7 to meet with President Martin Torrijos Espino.

Monday - August 1, 2005 - President Bush appointed John Bolton as Ambassador to the United Nations. The move side-stepped the Senate approval process, ending a five-month impasse with Democrats who accused Bolton of abusing subordinates and twisting intelligence to fit his conservative ideology.

Friday - July 29, 2005 - President Bush welcomed Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz of Pakistan to the White House.

Tuesday - July 26, 2005 - President Bush wished the crew of Space Shuttle Discovery a safe and successful mission. Tuesday's launch marked NASA's return to flight following the tragic loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia crew in February 2003.

Monday - July 18, 2005 - President Bush welcomed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India to the White House.

Friday - July 15, 2005 - President Bush welcomed President Antonio Saca of El Salvador to the White House. Tuesday - July 12, 2005 - President Bush welcomed Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore to the White House.

Friday - July 8, 2005 - President Bush signed a book of condolence at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., shortly after returning from the G-8 Summit.

Wednesday - July 6, 2005 - President Bush traveled to the United Kingdom to attend the G-8 Summit in Gleneagles, Scotland on July 6-8, 2005. President Bush traveled to Denmark prior to his participation in the Group of Eight (G-8) Summit. The G-8 Summits bring together Leaders of the world's major industrial democracies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The European Union is also represented at the G-8 Summits.