MS. PERINO: A quick announcement: The President met this morning with a group of preeminent economists to highlight the passage of two tax cuts that have proven to help lift our economy out of recession in 2001, and following the economic slowdown after the 9/11 attacks. Those tax cuts led to a long period of economic growth and to the longest unbroken run of job growth on record, which was 52 consecutive months, and only recently ended when we started experiencing the slowdown in the housing market and in the high energy prices that we continue to experience.

The President made the case for how important it is to make the tax cuts permanent. If Congress allows the tax cuts to expire it would result in the largest tax hike in American history. It's ironic that today, as we highlight a successful tax cut, that Congress is set to begin debate on the Warner-Lieberman bill, legislation that if enacted would result in one of the largest costs ever imposed on Americans.

The President said last April that there is a right way and a wrong way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and he laid out principles for what he believes is the right way: Investing in new technologies, setting realistic goals, emission-free nuclear power, and ensuring that we act in concert with statements by all major economies, including China and India. The bill being debated on the floor this week in the Senate is the wrong way. And we will have a statement of administration policy that will go out momentarily that explains our objections to this bill. But to put it simply, we believe it would cost way too much and achieve way too little.

Also this morning, the President chaired the regular meeting that he has with the National Security Council on Iraq. General Petraeus discussed the continued improving security trends, including the decline in levels of violence to levels last seen in early 2004. The General also provided a brief update on operations in Basra, Sadr City and Mosul. The President was also briefed on the International Compact for Iraq, meetings that Secretary Rice attended last week in Sweden, as well as Iraqi regional diplomatic efforts as they work to improve relations with their neighbors.

Ambassador Crocker highlighted continued Iraqi legislative efforts on their elections law and hydrocarbons law. And the President was updated on discussions about the strategic framework agreement. Negotiations continue between the U.S. and Iraq. They are positive and being done in good faith. The White House and the government of Iraq believe that the negotiations should produce an agreement that strongly affirms Iraqi sovereignty, and while the process is ongoing it remains transparent with both the Iraqis and the United States government keeping our legislative -- respective legislative bodies informed. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: As it is drafted there will be -- I'm sorry -- not as the SAP is drafted, as the legislation is drafted, if it were to pass in its current form, the President would veto it. But I think that by any measure, by any reporting, if you look at the fate of this bill, it's very unlikely to pass the Senate anyway. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: The President hasn't seen a cap and trade system designed yet and proposed to this Congress that he could support. And so I think that we have to look at -- we have to deal with what we're -- the cards that we're dealt, and this is the legislation that's before us. And because -- it doesn't take into account how expensive it would be for the American public. And frankly, this debate is actually not a bad one for Americans to have because while we can all be concerned about the environment and we can be concerned about how do we tackle greenhouse gas emissions, one thing that really hasn't been talked about a lot is, what's it going to take for this country and other countries to be able to achieve the objective of addressing climate change?

And this bill would really damage our economy, threaten jobs to be sent overseas because if other countries don't have the same types of regulations we do, then entrepreneurs are more likely to site those businesses elsewhere. And then what you've done is you've sent the jobs overseas to places where they don't have the emissions reductions that we have. And so you haven't solved the environmental problem and you exacerbate a economic problem. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: There are several different mandatory efforts that are underway with this government. Now, a specific cap and trade for this country may or may not be in the cards in the future. Right now, with the bill that we have in front of us, the President couldn't support it. But there are different mandatory things, such as energy efficiency and -- for example, the other one is the CAFE standards. The President suggested that we reduce our traditional gasoline by 20 percent in 10 years. Congress last December passed a bill that was not quite as aggressive, but still got us a long way towards increasing miles-per-gallon standards -- CAFE standards, they're called.

And then recently, Secretary of Transportation Peters, Mary Peters, said that we could actually do a little bit farther and faster than Congress wanted us to do on improving efficiencies for vehicles. So we're going to go ahead and go forward on that path, and that's mandatory.

But some of the other things that we have done in this country are voluntary, and I would say that it -- we are one of the only countries, if not the only country, with a advanced economy that has been able to reduce actual emissions growth even while our economy has grown. So there's a right way and wrong way to do it, and the President is more interested in doing it the right way.

Les, go ahead. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Yes, thank you, Dana. Two questions. The Washington Post quoted Florida's Senator Nelson as saying

MS. PERINO: I'm not really well versed in the state politics of Florida, so I'll have to send you back to Florida to hash that out. It's not what -- that's not how I understand how it happened down there. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Good. The Washington Post also reported of this Rules and Bylaws Committee, "They decided to give

MS. PERINO: He'll leave it to the Democrats to sort that out. That's their decision. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I didn't talk to him. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I didn't talk to him about it. This is the Democrats' party and this is their -- they're going to have to hash it out for themselves.

Roger. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: With Prime Minister Olmert? In terms of -- what should you expect -- what do you mean? I would expect that they will have a meeting and talk about the Middle East peace process. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: What points will be raising? Well, as he said from the beginning when we started this back in November, if you go back to November 30th at the Annapolis Conference, it's going to be a long effort to try to get the Palestinian state defined before the end of the year. So we're only about five-and-a-half, six months into that since they started in January. The President was there in January. He was then there again in May, and he'll see him -- he'll see Prime Minister Olmert this week. Secretary Rice saw them only I think a week or so ago.

So we continue to be engaged to try to help them, but we're not going to be able to solve the problem for them. They're going to have to continue to work together, and we know that their governments are talking to one other -- the Palestinians and Israelis. But there is a lot of tension, there is a of historical complexities that enter into this, but I believe that the President will see from Prime Minister Olmert that they continue to negotiate in good faith. And the President is going to push them, because the Israelis and the Palestinians both have to live up to the road map obligations if we're going to reach the goal of defining a state before the end of the year. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Well, I think it was actually -- I'm not sure if it's West Bank or Jerusalem. So -- but our position on the settlements is that we don't believe that any more settlements should be built, and we know that it exacerbates the tension when it comes to the negotiations with the Palestinians.

Olivier. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Well, I don't know. We'll let that -- let's let the meeting take place. And private conversations like that would probably remain private. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: As far as I know, the Israelis and the Palestinians have continued to have talks in good faith while all of the discussion in the press has gone on in Israel. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: It's one of those things where you don't answer hypotheticals. But let me go back to something the President has said, that it's the Israeli people and the Palestinian people that are working towards this goal, and so it's bigger than just any one person. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Anybody else on this? Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: No, we -- well, I would have to go back and look at exactly what the road map language has. I don't think I have it with me here. But we know that even if it is a settlement that exists and there's expansion of that settlement, that that is part of the problem in terms of Palestinians feeling that that is not acting in good faith when it comes to their negotiations. Obviously the Israelis see it from a different point of view, and that is one of the very difficult issues, along with the right of return issue, that they're going to have to work out.

Jeremy. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Jeremy, I saw that report and I did not hear back from DOD, so I'll have to refer you to Defense Department. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Can I ask about Scott McClellan? Last week in your statement you used the word "disgruntled" to

MS. PERINO: Well, I think -- I hold it up because I wondered last week if you'd ask me this question. Being disgruntled means being displeased or being discontented. And I think that by any measure, if you look at Scott in his comments over the past week that he is displeased with his time at the White House. That's why I used that phrase. And when it comes to how he left the White House, I'll let him describe it. And we all fully supported him while he was here, and even after he left he had a lot of support from people at this White House. And so I think that "disgruntled" is the right way to characterize it. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Technically, he resigned, yes. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: He resigned. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I'm not going to comment on it. He resigned. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Two quick questions. One, does the President think Scott is still his friend, or he lost one?

MS. PERINO: I think the President is just very sad about the situation and sad the way that it turned out. Obviously I think you could describe him as disappointed, but certainly doesn't harbor any ill will toward him, and is a forgiving person and is certainly not dwelling on the book. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Goyal, Secretary Gates did not say it was a genocide. I think we need to make sure that the record is clear on that. He used some pretty harsh language, it's true. He said it's -- it's what the President feels -- it's shocking, it's neglect in its worst sense, and it's horrible for the people. And all we want to do is try to be able to help them. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Well, Goyal, it is a sovereign country, and we've done all we can to try to help get aid in there. We've gotten some in, but certainly not enough, and we just feeling terrible for the people who are there suffering.

Victoria. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I can't, and I don't even know what Reprieve is. So I'll refer you to the CIA -- Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I'll refer you to the CIA. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Paula, last one. Sorry. Read more Comment (0), Email this.