White House Press Briefings

[Rick Warder]

President Warder to Address Nation

WASHINGTON, D.C. - President Rick Warder announced that he would address the nation on Wednesday, November 28th, 2008. He will be speaking on a range of topics, laying out his legislative agenda for the coming year.

In particular, President Warder will ask for more funding for the war in Iraq, giving Americans "the best weaponry money can buy so that they can finish off the insurgency."

More details to follow...

[Rick Warder]

WASHINGTON, D.C. - President Rick Warder announced that he would be putting forward a budget either on Wednesday or Thursday, but at the latest Friday.

More as information becomes available...

[Rick Warder]

Warder Reacts to Shackleton

WASHINGTON, D.C. - President Rick Warder acknowledged Senator Alexander Shackleton's concerns regarding the Mexican-American Immigration Treaty.

"I concur with the Senator that the treaty has flaws, however, I reached an agreement with Mexican President Vicente Fox to present the agreement to the Senate for potential ratification," President Warder said. "If the Senate holds that the treaty can be improved, then I ask the Senate to reject the treaty- which will give my administration the legitimacy needed to press for reforms and amendments to the agreement. I look forward to building a strong relationship with Congress and working with Senator Shackleton and others to ensure that we get the best immigration treaty possible between the United States and Mexico - but I am only interested in hearing constructive proposals. The status quo is not acceptable. Our responsibility to our new citizens, and to prospective immigrants, is too great to ignore."

[Rick Warder]

Warder to GOP: Move Ahead With 2009 Agenda

WASHINGTON, D.C. - President Warder today called on the G.O.P.'s leading lights, Senate Majority Leader Owen Williams, Senator Kenneth MacLeod and Senator Warren Harding to "move forward with the Republican reform agenda." He said that he will be in high level conferences with Republican leaders to produce legislation which will implement the sweeping health care reform included in the 2009 budget. "We are going to give health care to all Americans, and make sure our seniors get out what they put into the system," President Warder said. "The liberals want you to believe that abolishing Medicare will hurt Americans, but in fact, Medicare is one of the most wasteful and inefficient bureaucracies in the nation. By cutting through the bureaucrats who are in charge of your health care, we can connect patients directly to doctors, reduce prices of perscription drugs and extend coverage to more citizens."

[Rick Warder]

Warder to Democrats: "Let Us Go Forward Together"

WASHINGTON, D.C. - President Warder called on Republicans to sign on to the Smart Farming Act, which will make agricultural subsidy reform a reality and open the way to a breakthrough in trade negotiations with low-income developing countries. "We need to end our destructive export subsidies, assist family farms through cutting subsidies to big agribusiness and make sure that environmental standards and innovative farming techniques are given a tax incentive," President Warder said. "I call on Republicans to sponsor the Smart Farming Act and I call on Vice President Oswald to put the Act to the Senate Floor so that debate can begin. I say to Democrats: This is not the time for partisan blockading politics, or for posturing and rhetoric. This is the time for action. Let us go forward together."

[Rick Warder]

President Not Opposed to Labor Spending Boost

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In reaction to Senator Cody Shea's commentary on the FY 2009 budget, President Rick Warder acknowledged that he would be "willing to make a concession, in the interest of bipartisan cooperation, with respect to labor spending, assuming this would mean that support across the aisle could be garnered to pass the other main planks of the budget, such as health care reform, such as boosts to small business investment and easing of personal bankruptcy laws, such as doubling education spending."

However, President Warder noted that "the doubling of education spending could easily 'spill over' into job retraining for the unemployed. This is a matter for Congress to decide; I only proposed the funding levels, not the concrete manner in which the money should be spent. Naturally, I have my agenda, which I will be aggressively pushing, but in the end, the Oval Office isn't America's legislative branch."

[Rick Warder]

On Track to a Balanced Budget by FY 2012

WASHINGTON, D.C. - President Rick Warder announced his public intention to achieve a balanced budget by the end of his first term in FY 2012. "I will fight hard to make sure that Congress reins spending back in and achieves a balanced budget satisfactory to our nation's needs," he commented. "This will keep inflation low, taxes low and ensure that we gradually reduce the amount of our spending that goes to debt service - currently over $200 bln per year - so that more money ultimately remains within the United States and in the taxpayers' pockets. There is no reason why the United States of America should be living on borrowed money."

[Rick Warder]

Warder On Medicare Controversy

WASHINGTON, D.C. - At a press conference at the New York Chamber of Commerce, President Rick Warder was cornered by the press and forced to reply to questions regarding Medicare reform.

President Warder said: "No senior will be worse off than now. We are going to slash the cost of perscription drugs the same way as in Canada, and stop the windfall for the pharmaceuticals industry. We are going to create private accounts for the young so that they don't need to rely on the government for their health care - this cuts our health care costs for individuals right here and right now, since so many young people will be out of the system, relying on themselves and their tax breaks to buy health insurance coverage on the free market. And I have included a 50% boost to non-Medicare health care spending, virtually all of which will go to providing equal or better care to all of our senior citizens. The Democrats are misconstruing my budget for partisan gain. If they disagree with my FY 2009 proposal, they should put legislation forward and show me where the money is going to come from. There's no such thing as a free lunch, even on Capitol Hill."

[Rick Warder]

Warder to G.O.P.: Reach a budget compromise

WASHINGTON, D.C. - President Rick Warder told the Republican Party to work with Democrat leaders to reach a bipartisan compromise on the budget which involves a draw-down of defense spending in favor of the 5% labor and retraining budget increase requested by Senator Cody Shea of North Carolina. "It is imperative that we achieve a compromise on the budget. After nearly six weeks of debate and negotiation, the American people - and our financial markets and administrative officials - demand a certain budget around which to adjust their planning."

"I urge Republican congressmen to add $2.39 billion to labor and retraining programs - in consultation with Senator Cody Shea and his coalition - and subtract the same amount from my proposed increases to military spending; instead of allocating $490.72 billion we would be allocating $488.32 billion," President Warder said. "I approve of this compromise and urge Congress to work toward a speedy resolution of the budget so that we can get on with the business of the American people."

[Rick Warder]

Medicare Reform Won't Destroy Insurance Industry

WASHINGTON, D.C. - President Rick Warder defended his Medicare reform proposal, saying the government would act as a purchaser of health insurance from major reinsurance companies like the American International Group. This would allow the government to take advantage of its size to engage in collective bargaining with the private sector, squeezing our superior rates to what individuals would have to pay, which would effectively be an extension of the system currently used in Canada for perscription drugs.

Furthermore, he added, individuals falling under the new government plan would be free to conclude health insurance contracts with private providers for the remainder of their co-payment, which would be anywhere from 1-30%. President Warder also explained that Medicare currently demands co-payments from seniors and that it is by no means a "free ticket" for anybody.

At the moment, debate in the Senate continues over the controversial replacement of Medicare with a private insurance plan with a large government co-payment.

[Rick Warder]

On G.O.P. Disunity

WASHINGTON, D.C. - President Rick Warder was approached by press and newspaper officials and asked about the debate over his budget in the House, which has seen Southern Republicans in open revolt over budget cuts. He said, "I think their concerns are legitimate, but I hold that tax cuts are just what this country needs to get the economy going. History has shown that if we spend our money to distribute poverty instead of generate wealth, we will spend more and more of less and less until we're spending all of nothing. So I ask my fellow Republicans who disagree with my policies to work out a compromise that will move this country forward. What we don't need right now is more socialist make-work."

On Gay Marriage

WASHINGTON, D.C. - President Rick Warder called gay marriage a "state issue" and one he would "not get involved in." However, he added that "Vice President Oswald is his own man. I respect him even if I disagree with him. He does not necessarily speak for me, but he most certainly does speak for himself, and he has a right to speak for himself. This is America. It's a free country and everyone's free to speak his mind, including the Vice President."

[Rick Warder]

President Will Veto 'Safe Games Act'

WASHINGTON, D.C. - President Rick Warder stated that he telephoned briefly with Chief Justice William Pope regarding his concerns over the $20,000 fine currently a part of the Safe Games Act. "I think this is excessive, the punishment does not fit the crime," President Warder said. "If Congress wants me to sign that bill, they'll have to reduce the penalty substantially. If one guy sells an illegal game to a minor with a false ID, which he might have used to buy beer the other day, he'll be shut down and put out of business, or possibly into bankruptcy, as a result of a massive fine." President Warder called the bill an anti-business measure which generates uncertainty and incalculable risks for small businesses.

[Rick Warder]

Budget Good for the Poor

WASHINGTON, D.C. - President Rick Warder said the FY 09 budget is "good for the poor, good for low income areas" and drew attention to the over $60 billion in small investor and small business tax credits. "These will revitalize our urban areas, especially the poorer urban areas where investment and jobs are badly needed." President Warder also indicated the cutting back of corporate tax loopholes to help pay for needed reforms and restructuring in the budget. "What the poor will not need is more food stamps, more government bureaucracy and the nanny state. Time to give the poor a hand up, not a hand out. That's what my budget, and Majority Leader McLaughlin's child tax credits will do - putting money back into low income areas."

[Rick Warder]

President Will Veto Budget If No Cuts to Agriculture

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, President Rick Warder announced that he would veto "any budget which does not contain substantial cuts to corporate welfare going to big agribusiness corporations." He said that he was working with Sen. Cody Shea to put through a 70% cut to agricultural subsidies to big agribusiness and urged Republicans in the House to adopt a similar amendment. "The small farmer does not benefit from our current Rural Investment Act," President Warder said, referring to the system of farm subsidies which costs America over $27 billion each year.

President Warder added, "This system hurts America's small farmers by subsidizing big agribusiness, so that big agribusiness can compete better with small farmers, and furthermore, these subsidies to agribusiness halt our free trade agenda worldwide. If we do not slash our agricultural subsidies then the Doha Development Round of world trade negotiations will grind to a stop. This will hurt our interests and it will also stall the worldwide trade agenda, from which poor countries also benefit. Trade is the surest way out of poverty for poor countries, not foreign aid, and for America, trade is the best way to cut our budget deficit. That is why I will veto any budget that does not end subsidies to big agribusiness. I urge Republicans, as the party of free trade, to help me make this case."

[Rick Warder]

President Warder to Tour Midwest

WASHINGTON, D.C. - President Rick Warder announced his intention to tour the Midwest to rally support for the Smart Farming Act. More to follow...