Good afternoon. I have one statement and then I'll introduce our guest briefer.

Today I have a special guest -- a guest briefer, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Michael Leavitt. As you just saw, the President and Secretary...

Thank you, Dana. I would like to just talk some about the nature of this issue and where we -- how we have arrived at this juncture and where we go...

What I think one draws from that is that what we are seeing is an issue resulting from a fundamental change that's happened in the world over a period...

We fanned out across the country. I, personally, went to ports and border crossings and freight hubs and post offices and I saw drugs and vegetables...

Now, we have broken our work into three parts. Sixty days ago we brought back to the President a strategic framework. Then today what we delivered to...

Now, I'll illustrate that simply by telling you about a experience at a lettuce manufacturing facility I visited. The processing plant manager said,...

Now, you can read the report; I won't go into a lot of details. There are 50 specific suggestions and recommendations in 14 categories. So you'll find...

An FDA inspector said to me, our job is to find the needle in the haystack, and our first job is to shrink the haystack. If we can minimize the number...

First, could I emphasize that this is not about China; it is not about trade. This is about assuring that we have safe products.

Now, China is...

On a subject of this type, there are obviously different philosophies. You will find, I believe, philosophies that would suggest government needs to...

First, on China. China is obviously a very important part of any import discussion, because they are such a large factor. I meant to imply that China...

Well, certainly the incidents that occurred with the animal feed and the toothpaste and other -- lead paint -- have clearly been high profile. But we...

You know, this is a very interesting part of this problem; we spent a lot of time on this. What we've come to understand is at our borders, the border...

Yes. Food -- the Consumer Product Safety Council already has mandatory recall authority. This is for food. We have not had that in the past. And may...

Well, the report calls for us to make the list available to them -- it doesn't go into the details yet of exactly how that will occur. The strategic...

Thank you. That it's safe -- that it's not unsafe.

I went to a fruit stand -- literally, a wholesale fruit provider, two people selling apples...

You know, I can't reconcile that. I don't know the answer to what she was saying. What I can tell you is that currently the cap on penalties is $1.8...

I can with complete confidence say that we have among the safest food supplies on the planet. It is not perfect. We can get better. But we're very fortunate...

Well, we need -- first of all, part of the problem is we're seeing a shift in where our food is grown, and we need to -- we have a domestic system that...

Our message to everyone who desires to produce food for American consumers, or products of any sort, if you want access to our markets, you need to...

Well, I can give you the example of -- I mentioned earlier, we are working right now in the final phases of negotiating agreements with China on food...

Well, many parts of it can. And those are actually delineated in the report, in some cases. And if you look through that, you'll see those points.

Yes,...

Yes, they do.

Well, I'm not able to speak to the history of it. I will tell you that I was surprised when I found out that the statutory authority needed to be improved,...

Well, you've got 12 different federal departments. You have vast portions of the American economy. You have international interests, all of which operate...

I spoke with the Commissioner of the European Union responsible for this over the last week a couple of times. And this is a matter of great concern...

We all acknowledge that this cannot be done simply without resources.

We haven't gotten to the point of putting a price tag, but we have said that in our '09 budgets and subsequent budgets that we'll need to include those...

I am a parent, I am a grandparent with three little toddlers and I -- this has occurred to me. And here's my advice: Buy from people you trust. And...

Well, because we know that with 12 different departments in essence what you'd be replicating to come up with that would be the entire budget process....

And the year after that and the year after that.

Well, there are parts of this that will not require budget. There are parts of it that we can do with rule and regulation. There are parts of it that...

That is not a question I'm able to respond to. I will tell you that Americans expect that food that comes from any source is done in accordance to American...

Oh, I expect that -- as I said, all of this is going to require some resources. In some cases it will be new, in other cases it will be a reallocation...

The time will come when we'll be more detailed about the agreement that we're working on. We're still in the process of negotiation, so I'm sure you...

Dana, the headcount is there is for the veto override this afternoon --

Yes, water resources bill. What is it -- what's the reaction to the first veto override on this President?

Some Democrats are painting this as the first crack in the dam of overrides that they believe that they can muster.

Last thing. Democrats are saying that this is newfound fiscal responsibility, and that's the continued phrase that you hear.

Why is the President dodging a personal phone call to Musharraf?

I'm asking you directly why doesn't he call him?

That isn't the point.

Dana, does the White House believe that Musharraf is now a dictator?

Well, why is premature when the First Lady --

But wait a minute, why are you calling it a mistake? You seem to be giving Musharraf the benefit of the doubt.

Why did -- the First Lady was very clear in her op-ed in The Wall Street Journal about Burma, Myanmar, saying it's a military dictatorship; what they're...

But why is it evolving? It's been days that he basically said, no more constitution, and we're going to round up political --

But why should Musharraf believe that you guys are really serious about what you're saying from this podium when the President doesn't actually pick...

It still does not carry the same weight as the President having direct contact with Musharraf -- (inaudible).

But what is the tactic? I mean, what is the strategic reason for President Bush not to actually pick up the phone and talk to him?

Why shouldn't we see this as double standard? I mean, it's not the same standard as applied to Burma.

Well, they certainly don't have freedom of the press or assembly at the moment.

Dana, where does the review on aid stand?

I mean, is there a sense of urgency to it? Do you expect any --

And more broadly, you've outlined, again, the White House strategy of urging Pakistan to return down a democratic path, reviewing aid. But you also...

What I'm wondering is, are you concerned at all of a world view that perhaps the White House response to this is too passive?

Dana, may I quick follow, please?

Doesn't Musharraf's actions, in rounding up lawyers, judges, activists, people who have opposed him politically, doesn't that betray his stated reason...

Has Secretary Rice or anybody else in the government engaged the Pakistani government on this level, saying, why are you arresting people, lawyers --

And have you had any feedback from the Pakistan government that talked about the Attorney General, about elections? Have they talked at all about --

But, I mean, have they talked about releasing any of those folks that have been arrested?

Can you concede that the U.S. doesn't have the leverage that it once did over Pakistan? And perhaps the reason the President isn't picking up the phone...

But as far as our leverage over what's happening in Pakistan.

This might be a little bit arcane, but has the President met with any Pakistani opposition figures in the last six-plus years, that you know of?

Yes, sorry. I thought it was --

Thank you, Dana; two questions. Oklahoma's House Bill 1804, just passed and signed by the Democrat governor, has been described as "the toughest state-level...

Agence France Presse reports thousands of illegal aliens coming into the U.S. every year could include terrorist spies and those with communicable diseases,...

-- for doing what they believed was defending the nation's borders?

Dana, when and how did the White House find out about the head of Immigration and Custom Enforcement's involvement with this incident involving an offensive...

Do you think there should be disciplinary action? I mean, wouldn't you think that a person at this level of government would know better than to pose...

Dana, thank you. There have been some positive comments in the past couple days from Prime Minister Olmert and Palestinian President Abbas about the...

Does the White House get the sense that things are on a better track than they were maybe a week or 10 days ago, given Secretary Rice's trip?

One question on Cyprus. Do you know, finally, if President Bush and the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed yesterday the Cyprus issue...

Thanks Dana.