MS. PERINO: I just realized I have nothing to start with. (Laughter.) Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: At this point, I don't know of any others. And the State Department certainly described it as a one-time meeting. This is a -- Mr. Solana from the European Union has an already scheduled meeting with the Iranians to get their response to the incentives package that we provided to them about a month ago. And Under Secretary Burns from the State Department will attend that meeting, along with the P5-plus-1, which are our allies in the international community who remain united in the position that Iran must halt its -- I should say suspend its nuclear uranium enrichment. And so, in that regard, our strategy and our goal has remained unchanged.

This is different that we have not participated in one of these meetings beforehand, but we believe it's a smart step to underscore the seriousness that we want to solve this issue diplomatically. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: We have been working with the international community, the P5-plus-1, the permanent Security Council members plus Germany, on a series of U.N. Security Council resolutions, the third of which we just released about a month ago. And we also got that resolution out -- I'm sorry, not just the resolution, but the incentives package out far and wide for all of the public to see, including the people of Iran, for whom we want to have a better relationship with.

Our beef is with the regime itself. We haven't done so before because the timing wasn't right to do so. We believe the timing is right now to go and underscore the unity of the international community that Iran must suspend its nuclear uranium enrichment, and then we can talk about negotiations from there.

The incentives package is quite generous, but it's only able to be realized if they meet the conditions that we have long held not just here in the United States, but with our partners as well. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Now we have a new incentives package where we will go and be able to sharpen the contrast between what the Iranian people could expect from a more open Iran if they were to suspend its enrichment, but also to clarify the consequences for the Iranians if they don't take us up on the incentives package. There are -- there's two tracks. There is an incentives package, or there's a disincentives package. And the Iranians have a choice to make, and that's why we're going to go and press the issue. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: The disincentives are the sanctions if they don't accept the offer. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Our principle remains the same, and the strategy and the goal remain the same, that they must halt the enrichment of uranium in order for there to be negotiations. And Secretary Rice has long said that that is her position, that if they were to suspend, that Secretary Rice would meet her counterpart anyplace, any time, and start to have negotiations, once it was verified by the IAEA that they had suspended. Nothing has changed in that regard. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: -- different tactic. I said that the substance remains the same, but this is a new tactic. And we believe that -- this follows up on another new tactic that we used with Iran this summer when we sent over the incentives package, which is that Secretary Rice signed the letter, along with the P5-plus-1. The next step is for the political directors, of which Under Secretary Burns is one, representing Secretary Rice, will join in attendance with his partners at this meeting to receive the response from the Iranians. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Well, our condition remains the same that there will not be any negotiation unless they suspend their uranium enrichment. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: The underlying -- absolutely, because he's going there as a part of the international community showing their unity when it comes to the underlying fundamental principle, which is that there will not be any negotiations unless Iran suspends its nuclear -- uranium enrichment. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: As I just said -- Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: As I said, there is no negotiation here. We are going there. Under Secretary Burns will be there as a part of the international community showing our unison that we are going to provide two paths for the Iranians from which to choose -- one, that they could accept the incentives package, and then if it's verified that they have halted their uranium enrichment, then there will be negotiations. And that's what I would seek to explain to the American people. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I think it shows the seriousness from which we've been trying to tell all of you for many months, which is that we want to solve this issue diplomatically. We seek to do so. We are going to continue to work with our international partners in unison, which is what we are going to do on Saturday. But the fundamental, underlying principle is that there will not be any negotiations unless Iran suspends its enrichment of uranium.

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

Q I know this morning you said that the ballistic missile tests that were done by Iran last week

MS. PERINO: I'll have to refer you to the State Department in terms of all the decision-making that went into it. The President does support Secretary Rice's decision here to continue to show the unity. But in regards to specific tests that they did, obviously we said that those weren't helpful. They were against the U.N. Security Council resolutions and their international obligations. But that underscores again why it's important for the international community to show unity and say that there is a path of incentives in which we recognize your right for peaceful nuclear power; we've provided a path for you to get that. We've also provided paths throughout the incentives package for further discussions in international community integration.

But there's also a different path, which is, if they don't accept this offer, one, there will not be negotiations; and two, there will be additional sanctions. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q How concerned is the U.S. -- obviously the President has only got a limited time left in office

MS. PERINO: We've been concerned about that for a long time, but it doesn't -- Iran's pursuit of a nuclear weapon -- the question of their pursuit of a nuclear weapon goes back a long ways. And we're not certainly watching the clock in that regard. This President has been working with his international partners on a multilateral basis to come together, in unison, to call on the Iranians to suspend their enrichment of uranium, and if they were to do so and it could be verified, then we will start to have discussions with them. But up and until then, we will not.

So this meeting on Saturday is a chance for us to receive their response and for us to underscore the contrast between what the Iranians could expect from accepting the incentives package and what could be the consequences if they don't, which would be additional sanctions and no negotiations.

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

MS. PERINO: On sanctions? I think we need to let the meeting on Saturday take place. And obviously the political directors, when they get together, will have a chance to communicate with one another about the next steps. And I think they're already sort of planning that, but they want to hear from them. And I think that even though you get signals from the Iranians, it isn't always -- you often get mixed messages. And so let's wait and hear from Mr. Jalili on Saturday and then we will provide our response after that. But I don't expect it immediately following that meeting, Jeremy.

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

MS. PERINO: Well, she came forward with the recommendation that the President agreed with, Sheryl. I would not try to separate them. But she has been the lead negotiator with the P5-plus-1 on this issue, so that's why I said it that way. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q You talk, Dana, about mixed messages from the Iranians. Is there some light at the end of the

MS. PERINO: Well, there are some things that we know that we wouldn't comment on in public, certainly, but we believe that now is the right time for us to press them on the incentives package that we have provided. And so I think I would have to leave it at that. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q So you have the Obama campaign on one side welcoming this, saying that the administration is moving

MS. PERINO: I'm not going to respond to either one, but I'm going to restate our view, which is that our longstanding, fundamental principle has been that Iran has to suspend its uranium enrichment, or else we will not negotiate. That remains the same. There's nothing changed in that regard. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Any more on Iran? Okay. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Yes, just one last thing. The one-shot deal supposedly gives some sort of wink or some sort of

MS. PERINO: It's hard to predict the future, Roger. I think that the way we see it now, that this meeting, in terms of receiving a response from the Iranians on this incentive package, is going to be a one-time meeting. And then we'll cross other bridges when we come to it, but the underlying principle remains the same, that they have to suspend their uranium enrichment or else we won't negotiate, and that there are disincentives if they don't accept the package. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I think it's impossible to predict the future, but in terms of this meeting, they're calling it a one-time meeting.

Olivier. Still on Iran? Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I haven't been a part of the -- I haven't been a part of any of those discussions, but I think that they would welcome the fact that the United States, one, signed the letter -- had Secretary Rice sign the letter with them back about a month ago, and that we continue to walk in lockstep with them when it comes to this issue. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: No.

Oh, I'm sorry. Sorry, Bill. Ann. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I'm going to refer you to the State Department. Sean McCormack, my counterpart over at the State Department, already had a lengthy briefing in which -- I didn't get the chance to see the whole thing, but he may have been asked that question. I don't know specifically. But he laid out what the role of Under Secretary Burns is. And I don't think -- the way you describe it, I don't think that at all is something that he's going to be doing. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: All I mean by that is that we will make sure that it's understood that if they do not accept this very generous incentives package that there are consequences, and those consequences would be sanctions -- additional sanctions. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: It could be a mix, I don't know. I'm not going to prejudge them.

Anyone else on Iran? Bill. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q On Friday you put out a statement outlining your objections to the housing bill as currently constituted

MS. PERINO: Yes, Secretary Paulson and Secretary Preston at HUD continue to work with members of Congress, as do members of our team here from Legislative Affairs, in keeping -- and they are keeping the President informed as to the state of negotiations over the housing bill. We have a lot of hope that we'll be able to get this done -- get this bill to the President's desk in a form that he could sign before the end of the month. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Well, before the end of the month -- next week. I've been a little bit messed up on my time frame ever since Japan, I keep thinking it's the third week of July -- or the fourth week of July -- it's the third.

So the -- Secretary Paulson, I believe, met with them yesterday, members of the Congress, talking not only about this urgency he feels he needs in terms of the Fannie and Freddie package that he asked for on Sunday night, but also the importance of the provisions that are in the bill, including some of the objections that we have, which is the CDBG money, community development block grant money. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Well, I would look -- I don't know -- I don't have all of them at my fingertips. The large one, and the main one, is that the bill as passed by the -- either the House or the Senate has $4 billion in it that would go to states to buy already foreclosed properties, which we believe does not help homeowners, but helps banks. And we actually think that it's unnecessary to have in the bill.

So we're hopeful that they would be able to strip out that provision and then pass it, because it has very good pieces that we've been asking for for a long time, like the GSE regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and also the modernization of the Federal Housing Administration; plus, we have the vehicle now to get the Secretary Paulson requests attached to it. So we're hopeful that we'll be able to get that done next week. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: On Sunday night, Secretary Paulson, in his announcement, said there are three things that he needed in terms of authorities to be able to address the problems that are -- the potential problems with the GSEs. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I've heard of no change in terms of the -- oh, you mean, this is in terms -- I thought you were talking about -- Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I can't imagine that Congress is going to go forward and finish a housing bill that doesn't include the urgent requests of Secretary Paulson, because I believe that we're all equally concerned about the economy and so I think they understand the urgency of it. I just can't imagine that they would pass it without it. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

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

MS. PERINO: I would just say that the feedback that we're getting from Capitol Hill from members of Congress is that they do believe that they'll be able to get something done and to the President. And we are hopeful that they get it to us in a form that he can sign, which would include stripping out that CDBG money.

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

Q Same issue, and another follow-up, too, Dana. Following up on something the President said yesterday

MS. PERINO: I would say that what we have done in terms of what we are able to do through the executive branch has been done in terms of some of these pieces. But we have been asking for a GSE regulator since 2003, and Congress hasn't moved forward on it. We increased the urgency and turned up the concern on August 31st of 2007 -- nearly a year ago -- asking Congress to take action on this problem.

So we have been leading on this issue. We've been trying to get Congress to agree to do it. And now we're in an urgent situation, and that's why I say I can't imagine that they would go home for the August recess without getting this done. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Secretary Paulson took action in regards to those urgent authorities that he said he needed when he thought it was appropriate and needed them. I don't think it would have been appropriate for him to have acted sooner. But I also would point you back to the fact that we've been waiting for Congress to pass a housing bill that everybody seemed to think, from both sides of the aisle, needed to be done as of last August when the President first asked them to pass it. But now we're nearly a year to the day when the President asked for it, and the housing situation has not improved.

We do think we'll be able to pull out of this towards the end of the year, but it's going to take a while, and we think that the legislation would certainly help, especially in sending a signal to the market. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I would say just the housing crisis or the downturn that we've had in the housing market. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I know that nobody -- yes, I did follow up on that. I did find out there's no connection between the library and actions in the administration. Officials are not allowed to be a part of it. And President Bush has asked that members of his foundation do not inform him about anyone who has written a check, or decided not to write a check, until after he's no longer President. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: If you're referring to the Steve Payne situation, obviously -- Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: -- we would say that that was inappropriate, and only people who are authorized to be a part of -- that are a part of the foundation and are acting on behalf of the President are allowed to do that. But no one is allowed to try to say that there would be official action done under this administration in connection to any contribution that they may or may not make to the library. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I think -- yes, he believes that he would have met him before. I don't think that he knows him all that well, but he has met him before. Certainly he's been -- Steve Payne has been somebody who's been involved in Texas politics for a long time and been a supporter of the Republican Party. So he knows who he is. I would repeat that he was never a employee of the White House, but he had been a part of advance trips in the past. We use a lot of volunteers when it comes to advance. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Access to access? I would -- possibly. I don't know, in terms of -- I've never met him so I don't know in particular. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: In terms of -- look, I'm sure that he probably knows a lot of people throughout the administration, given his history. But it would be inappropriate to say that he could -- for anybody to say that they could get anything done or any meeting done in exchange for a contribution to the library, or to the party, or anything else. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Thank you, Dana. Two questions. Georgia has a new law allowing residents who pass criminal background

MS. PERINO: I haven't talked to him about a specific Georgia -- Atlanta, Georgia issue, so I don't have anything for you on it. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Okay. A spokesman at the Democratic National Convention office in Denver yesterday said that he

MS. PERINO: I really believe it's none of our business, so I wouldn't comment. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: It's clearly none of our business. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I don't think he really is thinking a lot about the Democrat Convention.

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

MS. PERINO: Only that I know that the ICJ issued a preliminary decision. And it's something that we're reviewing now, so I don't have anything more for you on it.

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

MS. PERINO: If he'd like to, I'd be delighted. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Seeking to end? Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: To triple -- oh, okay. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I wish you would have been here yesterday, because President Bush talked a little bit about Pakistan in his press conference, in which he said Pakistan is a friend and an ally and someone that we rely on to work together on issues of counterterrorism. I'm not familiar with the legislation that was introduced yesterday, but President Bush has been very supportive of aid for Pakistan in the past -- and not just in regards to military-to-military aid, but we really think it's extremely important, especially in the FATA region, to help improve the economic condition for people in that area. I know that it's very challenging terrain -- there's not a lot of roads and there's not a lot of electricity, and therefore not a lot of commerce. But those are issues that we are trying to work together on along with the Pakistanis. So we will take a look at the legislation. I know that in the President's budget there is already aid money for those types of aid packages for Pakistan. Read more Comment (0), Email this.