March 1, 2002

A prolonged drought and complex Federal and State legal issues have made for difficult times in the Klamath River Basin. Today I am establishing the Klamath River Basin Federal Working Group to address concerns raised by farmers, ranchers, fishermen, tribes, and others affected by these difficult conditions. I have directed Secretary Norton, Secretary Veneman, Secretary Evans, and CEQ Chairman Connaughton to advise me of the imme

diate and long-term actions necessary to enhance water quality and quantity and to address the other complex economic and natural resource issues in the Klamath River Basin. I have directed the Working Group to begin their efforts immediately. I want to thank Senator Gordon Smith and Congressman Greg Walden for their commitment to working together to find a lasting solution that meets the needs of the Klamath River Basin.

March 1, 2002

Memorandum for the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality

Subject: Klamath River Basin Federal
Working Group

The 2001 drought in the Klamath River Basin in Oregon and California, along with Federal legal requirements regarding water use, resulted in a scarcity of water available both for agricultural use and for maintenance of water levels necessary to sustain threatened and endangered fish populations in the Klamath River Basin. Last year, the reduction in water available for irrigation caused severe economic consequences in the Basin. Ensuring that the farming community has access to sufficient water supply while complying with Federal environmental laws and respecting Tribal trust obligations will involve complex economic and legal issues that call for the immediate attention of Cabinet-level officials and others. Accordingly, I direct as follows:

1. Establishment. There is hereby established the Klamath River Basin Federal Working Group, which shall consist of the following officers of the Federal Government or other such officers designated by them: the Secretary of the Interior, who shall serve as Chair; the Secretary of Agriculture; the Secretary of Commerce; and the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality. Any designee named by a member of the group shall be a full-time or permanent part-time officer or employee of the Federal Government. The Secretary of the Interior may invite the participation of other Federal officials as appropriate and shall preside at meetings of the Klamath River Basin Federal Working Group and

shall direct its work.

2. Mission. The Klamath River Basin

Federal Working Group shall advise the President on immediate steps and longterm solutions to enhance water quality and quantity and to address other complex issues in the Klamath River Basin. In formulating this advice, the Klamath River

Basin Federal Working Group or its members are encouraged to seek input from stakeholders, including members of the farming and fishing communities; residents of the Basin; representatives of conservation, environmental, and water use organizations, and existing coordinating entities; the States of Oregon and California; local governments; and representatives of Klamath River Basin Tribal governments.

3. Funding. The Department of the Interior shall, to the extent permitted by law and consistent with the need for funding as determined by the Secretary of the Interior, make funds appropriated to the De

partment of the Interior available to support the administrative costs of the Klamath River Basin Federal Working Group.

4. Authority. Advice is requested from the Klamath River Basin Federal Working Group pursuant to the Opinions Clause of Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution and other applicable constitutional authorities of the President.

5. Termination. The Klamath River Basin Federal Working Group shall terminate 18 months from the date of this memorandum, or at my direction, whichever occurs earlier.

GEORGE W. BUSH

than 2 million new teachers. The budget I have signed into law for 2002 includes nearly $3 billion for teacher training, recruiting, and hiring, an increase of more than 35 percent over the last year's budget.

We proposed to expand programs that recruit new math, science, and special education teachers by forgiving part of their college loans in exchange for a commitment to teach in poor neighborhoods for at least 5 years. We should open up the teaching profession, allowing people who have achieved in other fields, including veterans and parents with grown children, to share their learning and experience. And we must upgrade the teaching colleges, where many teachers receive their training, the topic of a conference that will be hosted by our First Lady on Tuesday.

Today, only 36 percent of teachers, themselves, say they feel very well prepared for their jobs, so we'll focus on teacher training efforts where the need is greatest, in early childhood education, special education, math, science, and reading instruction. Through my administration's Reading

First program, we are placing a new emphasis on the most basic of skills, and many of our teachers will need training in the best and proven methods of reading in

struction.

Because learning only takes place in an atmosphere of order, we want our teachers to be in control of their classrooms. So we're protecting teachers from the threat of frivolous lawsuits that often result from enforcing reasonable discipline. Because committed teachers often buy school supplies for their students out of their own pockets, the budget I have proposed includes a tax deduction to cover some of those costs. And because I strongly believe in local control of education, I'll implement new flexibility for school districts. They'll

be able to use Federal funds where the local need is greatest, to reduce class sizes or improve teacher training or to increase teacher pay.

In our new era of education reform we're asking a lot of our teachers, and we owe them something in return. We must treat them as the professionals they are. We must give them our respect and support. Teachers are among the most important people in our children's lives, and a good teacher can literally make a lifelong difference. I have confidence in the education reforms we enacted because I have confidence in the teachers who will carry them

out.

Thank you for listening.

NOTE: The address was recorded at 10:00 a.m. on February 28 in the Cabinet Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on March 2. The transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on March 1 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of this address.

The President. We had a really good discussion about education, the importance of public education in America. The better our public schools are, the better the quality of life for all our citizens. I also had a chance to listen to Minnesota teachers, people who have dedicated their lives to making our communities better by teaching children how to read and write and add and subtract but also teaching children how to behave and how to learn through example. I cannot thank the teachers enough.

I hope that, through my words and deeds, I'm able to convince people to become a teacher, because it's such a noble profession, and it's such an important profession for America and our future. I absolutely believe there are that this country

can achieve anything we want. That includes making sure every child can read and every child has got a hopeful future because he or she has gotten a great public school education.

So I want to thank you all very much. I'm really looking forward to speaking to your school. Thanks for the hospitality, and thank you all very much for serving our country by being a-by being such good teachers.

Let me answer a few questions, then, of course

Al Qaida/Operation Anaconda

Q. Mr. President, will you need to increase the U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan or delay an expansion of the war on

The President. Well, first of all, we've always known Al Qaida exists in Afghanistan. And from the beginning of this, I have cautioned the American people that this is going to take a while, that it's going to take a while to rout out Al Qaida wherever it tries to hide. The American people understand that.

And as you well know, over the weekend we've started an operation against a significant nest of Al Qaida fighters. These are people that, if they were to escape, could conceivably harm the United States again. And therefore, we're going to hunt them down wherever they try to hide.

And I am so proud of the men and women who wear our uniform. I appreciate the efforts of our coalition to chase down Al Qaida, to bring them to justice. I'm obviously saddened by the loss of life. All America is saddened when one of our soldiers loses life.

On the other hand, I think most Americans and I hope these parents and loved ones understand, the cause is important, and the cause is just. I rely-obviously, rely upon the advice of our commanders on the ground as to what is necessary to win. But we'll take whatever means is necessary to protect our service men and women. And we'll win this battle, and we'll keep battling Al Qaida wherever we find them.

In terms of the overall scope, the international scope, I have always said that sometimes the American people will see us-see our military in action, and sometimes they won't. But we will keep the pressure on Al Qaida. Our country is still under threat, and so long as our country is under threat, this great Nation will hunt down those who want to harm innocent Americans.

Yes.

Q. Mr. President, how important is it for you to round up a lot of Al Qaida leaders in this particular battle that's going on? And do you have any indication at all

area?

The President. I haven't heard from him since September-December the 11th. He's been awfully quiet. I don't know why. But I know he's on the run, if he's running at all. And I know there's no cave deep enough for Usama bin Laden. He hit a country that he thought was weak and feeble, and instead, he found out he hit a country that is determined to defend freedom. And that's exactly what we're going to do. We will defend our freedoms.

And the first part of your question? Leaders

Q. Do you expect to

The President. We're after any Al Qaida person.

Q. Do you have any reason to believe that there's a lot of them in this particular area?

The President. I believe there are some, and I'm not sure how many-enough for us to put together a significant coalition of Afghan, American, and other forces to rout them out. These are people that have got one thing in mind: They're going to harm innocent Afghan citizens. They want us to leave. They want us to be soft. They want us to let down our guard. And we're not going to do that, so long as I'm the President of the United States.

And we've been called into action. This Nation has been called to defend historyhistory has called us to defend freedom, and we're going to do that. And you should not be surprised that our troops will go into action in Afghanistan again. I have said repeatedly, we are in a dangerous phase of this war and as we learned, much to our horror, the last couple of days when we lost life. But nevertheless, it is worth it, and it is necessary to bring these people to justice. If we do not, America could remain more vulnerable. If we do not find them, then we will have missed a great opportunity to make the world a safer place for our children and grandchildren.

Terry [Terry Moran, ABC News].

Q. Mr. President, you said that one of the calculations that Al Qaida might have had is they thought Americans couldn't stomach the casualties.

The President. Yes.

thing he can to convince those Palestinians who want to derail any possible peace to lay down their arms.

And the situation is terrible, anytime you lose as many innocent lives as has been

The President. I think anytime somebody loses their life, the American people will mourn and are sad, and I feel that way,

too.

On the other hand, I am just as determined now as I was a week ago or 3 months ago to fulfill this mission, and that is to make sure our country is safe from further attack. These people have made it absolutely clear-these people being Al Qaida that they want to harm America again. And we will do everything in our power to not let them do so, and that means chasing them down from the mountains of Afghanistan or in Yemen or in the Philippines, using our vast coalition to bring these people to justice. These are killers; they're murderers. And I am-my job is to protect America and support our military during this historic time. And that's exactly what I'm going to do.

Situation in the Middle East

Q. Mr. President, the Mideast situation is do you believe the Mideast situation has escalated out of control? And do you think the U.S. needs to do more to try to seize control?

The President. We are on the phone every single day, nearly-I say nearly; we might have missed a day or two-to the leaders in the Middle East, urging there to be a-less violence. I have said repeatedly that Chairman Arafat must do every

deter us from working hard, working the issue. I'm meeting with Hosni Mubarak tomorrow, and I'm sure we'll talk the Middle East and the process to try to get to the Tenet-and the Tenet plan, laid out by George Tenet, which is the first step toward bringing the violence down and making the area more secure, so that we can eventually get into the Mitchell process, which then eventually will lead to some kind of settlement.

I appreciate the fact that the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia has laid out a vision for some political solution. But the first thing is, we've got to reduce the violence. in order to be able to get the discussion started. And so we're spending a lot of time trying to get the people of that region to stop killing each other.

NOTE: The President spoke at 2:50 p.m. in classroom E2000 at Eden Prairie High School. In his remarks, he referred to Usama bin Laden, leader of the Al Qaida terrorist organization; Chairman Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian Authority; President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt; and Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. The President also referred to the Tenet plan, the Israeli-Palestinian cease-fire and security plan of June 13, 2001, negotiated by Director of Central Intelligence George J. Tenet; and the Mitchell report, the Report of the Sharm el-Sheikh Fact-Finding Committee, issued April 30,

2001.