Alex Conant Quotations

The president will participate in a panel to discuss his American Competitiveness Initiative to encourage American innovation and strengthen our nation's ability to compete in the global economy.

We've consulted with state and city officials, and they indicate they are proceeding carefully to recover remains, and we have been advised that federal involvement is not requested at this time.

We have no problem notifying Congress and sharing information with the Hill.

Substantial financial controls already exist but we are currently looking at what additional protections might be useful. If in working with Congress, agencies, and state and local leaders it is determined that additional safeguards are required, then we'll put them in place.

Despite spending more than $6.5 billion since 2001, these grants have not been able to demonstrate an impact on crime.

The administration's proposal does not impact unlicensed spectrum. We do not wish to charge fees on unlicensed use.

It has no impact on the Katrina relief effort.

Account and agency levels in model runs don't reflect future policy decisions since those are only made on a year-by-year basis.

Food stamps and WIC provide larger, more flexible benefits than CSFP.

It was a tight budget year, but the administration's support for Guam is evidenced in the renegotiated Compacts of Free Association, which made the Compact mandatory rather than subject to the uncertainty of annual appropriations. The revised Compacts also increased Guam's impact aid from US$5 million annually to US$14 million annually.

The Davis-Bacon waiver removed red tape to get the recovery effort going quickly with more companies participating. We have not seen any evidence of abuse -- in fact, we have seen just the opposite. The waivers are proving to be effective and efficient, jump-starting the recovery effort at reduced costs to taxpayers.