National Issues

Children are the hope and promise of our Nation, and our society has a special duty to ensure young Americans get the care and attention they need to succeed in life. During National Child Abuse Prevention Month, we underscore our commitment to preventing child abuse and neglect so that all children can live in safety and security.

During National Fair Housing Month, our Nation commemorates the 40th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act and reaffirms our dedication to maintaining equal access to housing for every American.

President Bush on Tuesday said, "I am proud to be sitting next to a leader who has strong convictions and a lot of courage. We come with a message for the people of Ukraine. Your sovereign nation has a friend and a solid partner in the United States. Our nations have built our friendship on the love of liberty. Our people believe that freedom is the gift of an Almighty to every man, woman and child. And President Yushchenko and I understand that democracies are the best partners for peace and security in every part of the world."

Dear Mr. Chairman: Pursuant to section 3(2)(E)(i) of the Resolution of Ratification to the Protocols to the North Atlantic Treaty of 1949 on the Accession of Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic adopted on April 30, 1998, I am pleased to submit the enclosed report on the Future Enlargement of NATO.

Luis Aguilar, Constance S. Barker, Robert Stephen Beecroft, Victoria Ray Carlson, Lily Fu Claffee, Chad Colley, Kristen Cox, Tyler D. Duvall, Marvin G. Fifield, John H. Hager, Michael E. Leiter, Lisa Mattheiss, Katherine O. McCary, Kameran L. Onley, Anne Rader, Philip Thomas Reeker, Miguel R. San Juan, A. Ellen Terpstra, Renee L. Tyree, John R. Vaughn, Christopher R. Wall, Elisse Walter, Tony J. Williams

President George W. Bush today announced that Special Envoy to the European Union, C. Boyden Gray will also serve as Special Envoy for Eurasian Energy. Mr. Gray will engage directly with senior European, Central Asian, Russian and other political and business leaders to support the continued development and diversification of the energy sector. In addition, he will work to advance the St. Petersburg G-8 principles of energy security and diversity as well as other issues and projects as directed by the President and the Secretary of State.

President Bush on Monday said, "Laura and I are on our way to a very important NATO summit, and members of the United States Congress are on their way back to Washington. And they have a lot of work to do. Congress needs to pass FISA reform. ...Congress needs to pass legislation to modernize the Federal Housing Administration. ...Congress needs to act urgently to approve the Colombian Free Trade Agreement..."

Today, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alphonso Jackson announced his decision to leave the Department after seven years of dedicated service. I have known Alphonso Jackson for many years, and I have known him to be a strong leader and a good man. I have accepted his resignation with regret.

In his weekly radio address, President Bush said, "The problems in the housing market are complicated and there is no easy solution. But by supporting responsible homeowners with wise policies, we'll help them weather a difficult period, we will help get our economy back on track, and we will ensure America remains the most prosperous Nation in the world."

President Bush on Friday said, "...And I appreciate the opportunity to visit with a leader of one of America's closest allies and friends. And one thing is for sure, that friendship will strengthen and endure under the leadership of Kevin Rudd."

President Bush on Friday said, "During my tour, I have met with skilled professionals who provide free mortgage counseling for struggling homeowners. And the reason why I'm here is because we have got a issue in housing in America. The value of the houses have gone down in some areas, and people's mortgages are resetting. In other words, the interest rates are going up. And that has caused consternation and concern and care. A lot of families are facing the frightening prospect of foreclosures. Foreclosures obviously place a terrible burden on a family, as well as they lead to losses for lenders and investors. And this affects our entire economy."

Today, President Bush will visit the Novadebt counseling center in Freehold, New Jersey to meet with housing counselors who are helping struggling homeowners and discuss the housing market. The HOPE NOW Alliance hotline (888-995-HOPE) helps connect struggling homeowners with mortgage counselors who work on possible solutions. Novadebt, a HOPE NOW Alliance member, is one of the counseling centers that homeowners are directed to when they call the HOPE hotline. HOPE NOW has announced that since July more than one million struggling homeowners received a work-out - either a loan modification or a repayment plan that helped them avoid foreclosure.

By virtue of the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including section 301 of title 3, United States Code, I hereby assign to you the functions of the President under section 1821(c) of the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (Public Law 110-53).

Pursuant to section 1106(a) of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (19 U.S.C. 2905(a))(the "Act"), I determine that state trading enterprises account for a significant share of Ukraine's exports and goods that compete with imports into Ukraine. I further determine that such state trading enterprises unduly burden and restrict, or adversely affect, the foreign trade of the United States or the United States economy, or are likely to result in such burden, restriction, or effect.

President George W. Bush today announced his intention to nominate three individuals and appoint two individuals and designate one individual to serve in his Administration: Luis Aguilar, Elisse B. Walter, Marie L. Yovanovitch, Christopher A. Padilla, Alexa E. Posny and Stephanie Johnson Monroe.

Section 1205(a) of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (the "1988 Act") (19 U.S.C. 3005(a)) directs the United States International Trade Commission (the "Commission") to keep the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS) under continuous review and periodically to recommend to the President such modifications to the HTS as the Commission considers necessary or appropriate to accomplish the purposes set forth in that subsection. In 2006, the Commission recommended modifications to the HTS pursuant to section 1205 of the 1988 Act to conform the HTS to amendments made to the International Convention on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (the "Convention"). In Presidential Proclamation 8097 of December 29, 2006, I modified the HTS pursuant to section 1206(a) of the 1988 Act (19 U.S.C. 3006(a)) to conform the HTS to the Convention.

President and Mrs. Bush will welcome British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Mrs. Sarah Brown to the White House on April 17, 2008. The United States and the United Kingdom share a special partnership that enables our countries to more effectively confront the key strategic challenges facing our two nations. The President looks forward to continuing his regular consultations with the Prime Minister on our shared goals of advancing freedom and strengthening security and democracy in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere; increasing international pressure on Iran to prevent it from obtaining the means to build nuclear weapons; and improving our efforts to combat international terrorism. The two leaders will also discuss our work to address poverty, disease, and climate change, as well as the promotion of free-market trade around the world.

President Bush on Wednesday said, "I'm looking forward to going to Ukraine, and Romania again, Croatia. This will be a -- it's a very important trip; important trip to discuss our bilateral relations, and it's an important trip because of NATO. I believe we'll have a successful summit. The definition of success is to make sure NATO stays relevant, and that we work in a collaborative fashion to deal with the threats of the 21st century and the opportunities of the 21st century."

Today, President Bush visited the National Museum of the United States Air Force and discussed the political and economic changes currently taking place in Iraq. Last year, the President ordered 30,000 additional soldiers and Marines into Iraq, and gave them a new mission, to focus on protecting the Iraqi people, and to hold the gains that had been made. The other goal of the surge was to open up space for political and economic progress after security returned. So the U.S. deployed additional civilian experts and more than doubled the number of Provincial Reconstruction Teams, with a mission to ensure the security gains were followed by improvements in daily life.

President Bush on Thursday said, "The military achievements in Iraq have been accompanied by a political transformation. It can feel like distant history, but it was only five years ago that Iraq was one of the most brutal dictatorships on Earth -- a totalitarian nightmare where any election was a sham, and dissenters often found themselves buried in mass graves. In a matter of 15 months, the Iraqi people reclaimed their sovereignty. They went on to choose an interim government, and to ratify the most democratic constitution in the Arab world. And in December 2005, 12 million Iraqis elected a government under that constitution -- a display of courage that defied the terrorists, disproved the critics, and should always inspire the world."