Press Briefing by Dee Dee Myers

The Briefing Room

1:24 P.M. EDT

MS. MYERS: There's been one change in the schedule for the June trip. It's a rather interesting change. The President will -- as you know, we leave on June 1st -- will spend June 2nd and June 3rd in Rome. Then on June 4th, the President will spend the night aboard the Royal Yacht Britannica. On the 5th he will spend the night aboard the USS George Washington.

What's changed is that he's not going to go to Oxford during that first trip. He's going to give a speech in Cambridge. Then he'll go to the Normandy thing, and then he'll go to Paris -- he'll spend the night of the 6th. We've added an overnight in Paris on the 7th. (Applause.) I know that's really going to upset a lot of people, and I apologize for that. And then, on June 8th, on the way back, we'll stop at Oxford and he will --

Q: Is Oxford a major speech?

MS. MYERS: He'll make some kind -- he will make remarks. It will not be -- I think the major speech in England will now be in Cambridge as opposed to Oxford, which has been added through consultations with the British government and others.

Q? So when does he get back now?

MS. MYERS: We get back on the 8th.

Q: Leaving from Oxford?

MS. MYERS: Leaving from Oxford and coming back to Washington on June 8th.

Q: Will he address the Oxford Union?

MS. MYERS: Yes, he will receive a degree and make an address in the context of that, of receiving the degree. I don't have the times yet on that, but we'll give you the revised detailed schedule as soon as we have.

Q: How about a debate?

MS. MYERS: How about a Oxford-style debate? I think we'll let the press corps do that, and we look forward to it.

Okay, that's it for the announcements. Any questions?

Q? Any progress on the Supreme Court, Dee Dee?

MS. MYERS: Gosh, I wasn't ready for that one.

Q: Is there a possibility it might be today?

MS. MYERS: The President's made very good progress in his search for a Supreme -- (laughter.) No, seriously, the President has made good progress. I think we expect an announcement very soon. He is --

Q? Ostensively, today?

MS. MYERS: I won't rule out today. I think it's very, very likely that it will come in the next couple of days.

Q? Yesterday he gave 48 hours --

MS. MYERS: One or two days. I'm not changing that guidance. I think he said -- as the President said last night, that announcement is likely to come in the next day or two.

Q? That would be Thursday night.

Q: How many people are on the short list?

MS. MYERS: I can't get into that, as you know. But the President has narrowed it --

Q: You said you couldn't get into names; you can get into numbers, though.

MS. MYERS: That's a good plan. I apologize --

Q? Is there a realistic change that it could happen today?

MS. MYERS: I think that that's -- it's less likely.

Q? If we beg and whine?

Q: We will.

Q: What was the question?

MS. MYERS: The question was, do you think it will happen today. I won't rule out the possibility, but I do think it is less likely.

Q? Dee Dee, is there any foundation at all for The L.A. Times report about U.S. troops going to Haiti, plans for heavily-armed troops to go to Haiti to oust Cedras?

Q: To purge.

MS. MYERS: Yes, to purge. No. As we've said previously, the President has not ruled out the use of force to remove the military dictatorship from Haiti. However, the President has not decided on that course yet. He certainly believes it should remain an option and will remain an option.

As we've also said, we're considering, in discussion with our allies and others, a military and police training force that would go into Haiti after the military dictatorship had been removed and President Aristide had been returned. Those are still options under discussion.

Q: Could the report have been based on one of the options that is under discussion?

MS. MYERS: I think the report is jumbled, particularly because it suggests a small force going in to remove the dictators even if sanctions were working. I just think that perhaps it was somewhat jumbled or confused. I think our policy on this is that the President has not made a decision to use force at this point. He certainly believes it should remain an option. We'll continue to keep it on the table as an option.

At the same time, discussions are going forward in terms of some kind of a U.N. mission after the dictators have been removed. There are -- no final decisions have been made on that. A lot of those details will be decided once we know what the circumstances are on the ground. And I think it is premature to discuss numbers and specific configurations. But, certainly, those things are under discussion.

Q: Is it fair to say that the number of U.S. soldiers that take part in that military and police force under the U.N. flag would be in the neighborhood of 600?

MS. MYERS: I think it's premature to say that. I think that previous numbers -- back under Governors Island, the number 600 was one of the numbers that was floated around. And that may be where that number comes from. But that's a guess; I'm not sure.

QQ: The sentiment is certainly moving in the direction of a force larger than the 200-odd who were sent down aboard the ship.

MS. MYERS: But it is way premature to say that there has been a decision made about the size and configuration of a U.N. military and police training mission. And certainly, we're not at that fork in the road where the President will make a decision about other options. What we're doing now is pursuing the sanctions track.

Q: What do you think about the new interim president of Haiti?

MS. MYERS: First of all, my last was -- it looked like they were going to do it. I don't know if there's a --

Q: They have done it.

MS. MYERS: They have, in fact, done it? Our view of that is that it's cynical, unconstitutional and illegal for a number of reasons. First of all, they invoked Article 149 of the Haitian constitution which says that there's a vacancy. We don't recognize that there's a vacancy. President Aristide is the democraticallyelected leader of Haiti. He continues to fill that post and we expect to return him at some point.

The senate that voted to invoke Article 149 is not recognized by the international community; it's illegal. And finally, the assembly of the lower house of the parliament never met to vote on the article. So, again, this is illegal under Haitian law, we believe unconstitutional. We don't recognize it. And I would point out that people who participate in it will be subject to sanctions under the recently passed U.N. resolution.

Q: Does the U.S. interpret that as a slap in the face against President Aristide and President Clinton?

MS. MYERS: Well, I think that the Haitian dictators have abrogated every agreement they've made. I don't think this should come as a big surprise. At the same time, I think we've made it clear that we don't recognize this. It's illegal and unconstitutional.

Q: Is it a coup d'etat?

MS. MYERS: I don't want to get into semantics, but it's certainly not a legitimate act. It's not recognized under the Haitian constitution.

Q: Dee Dee, is this a factor that could affect the decision by the President about resorting to force? Or could it have a difference on his decision?

MS. MYERS: Well, certainly, as a number of factors will. I think as circumstances on the ground change, it will have an impact on the process. I don't think that the Haitian dictators should have any illusions. We will move forward with our sanctions regime. We've already passed the U.N. resolution. The President signed an executive order which was released on Monday which invokes the first two pieces of that which is to ban nonscheduled air travel and the targeted sanctions which will affect the military leaders and their families and their helpers.

If -- well, I guess they've now gone forward with the Supreme Court chief justice being implemented as the unconstitutional new president. So we're going to expand -- they will be subject to the same kinds of sanctions. The President will sign another executive order sometime in the next few days which will put in process the broader sanctions which will take effect, I guess, it's May 20th is the date. The 21st.

Q: Any update on the logistics on the refugee processing? Have any countries said yes yet, boats been chosen?

MS. MYERS: No, it's still under discussion.

Q? Dee Dee, a number of lawyers for refugees, Haitian refugees have raised questions about whether legitimate and sufficient processing can be done aboard ship. Have you all made a final determination that final decisions will be made on granting asylum aboard the ships so that people will either be returned to Haiti or sent to the United States having been granted asylum? Or will there be some other intermediate step where people could be granted the right to continue and be brought to the U.N.?

MS. MYERS: I think we're still reviewing exactly how the process will work. That is still under discussion. I think, again, we are looking at third countries both to set up processing centers and to help us take refugees should people qualify.

Q: Does the administration think that sufficient safeguards could be put in place to make determination on -- final determination on ships to grant asylum and not grant asylum?

MS. MYERS: Again, I think that's something that we're looking at. We will work out the final details of the process as to how the screens will work and where people will go as the process moves forward.

Q: Do the targeted sanctions automatically affect these people who have now participated in the election today? Or does an additional act need to be taken by the U.N. --

MS. MYERS: They have to be added to the list. They have to be added to the list. I'm not sure what the process is. I can check, but what the U.N. passed was a list with specific names on it, the names of the people participating in the illegal government. That list will have to be expanded.

Q? Do you know how many were on that list? Was it 600?

MS. MYERS: It's roughly between 500 and 600.

Q: Dee Dee, how about the Dominican Republic? Is the United States making any headway in getting them to stop the traffic from the border?

MS. MYERS: Discussions are ongoing. There's been a commission established. We're working with the Dominican government, with the U.N. to try to seal that border.

Q? But is there any progress?

MS. MYERS: There's been some progress. But discussions are ongoing.

Q: Do you expect more progress after the election?

MS. MYERS: We're always hopeful.

Q: When does Bill Gray go to work on the subject?

MS. MYERS: He comes back, I believe, today. And then, no firm plans, but I think he'll go to work fairly quickly. And I expect him to travel to the region sometime in the near future. No specific plans yet.

Q: Will he work out of the White House or the State Department?

MS. MYERS: I believe out of the State Department. I don't envision any office space for him here. I'm not sure those discussions have been concluded, but I don't envision him being here.

Q: Were there any discussions with possible third countries before the announcement was made Sunday?

MS. MYERS: No.

Q: So this is hitting these countries anew?

MS. MYERS: Right.

Q: Is the White House concerned that some members of the administration jollied up to Castro at the Mandela inauguration?

MS. MYERS: I think our policy toward Cuba and toward Castro are very clear.

Q: What happened? Tried to bum a cigar, I guess.

Q: Well, in view of the reception that Castro got in South Africa where he was greeted with open arms not only by the South Africans, but by other world leaders, is the administration at all concerned that we seem to be isolated in trying to isolate him?

MS. MYERS: No, I think our policy toward Cuba is clear. The Cuban Democracy Act is enforced. The President supports that. And there's been no change in our policy.

Q: Dee Dee, do you think it was appropriate for Mike Espy to pose for a photograph with Fidel Castro?

MS. MYERS: I don't have any comment on that.

Q? Was it appropriate or not appropriate?

MS. MYERS: I don't have a comment on that.

Q: Has the President discussed that with --

MS. MYERS: Not to my knowledge. I don't know if he --I have not discussed it with him.

Q: Well, is there a sense that this kind of fraternization, even if its strictly purely social politeness, shouldn't have taken place given the relationship of the United States?

MS. MYERS: I don't have any comment on that. I don't know exactly what happened there. I've seen a couple of reports of it. I think, again, our policy on Cuba is clear, and I'm just not going to comment on anything else.

Q: On Gray's trip to the region, will he be meeting with Cedras and the leaders there, or how is that going to play out?

MS. MYERS: I think his mission will be to communicate our resolve to the Haitian dictators, to the military and others who are there. I think we'll have to wait and see exactly how he goes about that. But there's certainly not any plans to negotiate.

Q? Dee Dee, back on the Court. How's the President going to go about making his decision between now and the time it's announced. Is he going to meet further with his advisors, or is he at the point now where he's going to sort of take a long walk, or how's he going to do it?

MS. MYERS: I think that's entirely up to him. As you know, he's met --

Q? Don't go out on a limb. (Laughter.)

MS. MYERS: He doesn't have any planned meetings today. I expect that --

Q: Is he going to play golf?

MS. MYERS: No, he's in his office working.

Q? Has he been calling members of the Senate?

MS. MYERS: He has been making some phone calls. I expect that he may continue to do that. Again, I think --

Q: Who did he call?

MS. MYERS: I'll just have the transcripts in the bins in just a few minutes.

Q? Generically, Republicans, Democrats, members of the Judiciary Committee?

MS. MYERS: I'm not going to get into that. I am not going to get -- I am not going to give you a targeted phone list to try to get information out of people.

Q? What's he doing today --

Q: him to spend the day inside doing nothing but navel gazing? I mean, you know, he usually likes to be active.

MS. MYERS: What do you know that I don't know. He's had a series of meetings today, as he often does. We scheduled a little more time this week for him to spend catching up on some of his office work. He's spending a little time in the office this afternoon, which is something that was envisioned ahead of time, but I must say, it's come in handy today.

Now, there has been one change to tomorrow's schedule.

Q: Uh-oh.

Q: (Sings) People -- (laughter.)

MS. MYERS: The President has no public events on his schedule for tomorrow. The Goals 2000 event that you've all been looking and waiting anxiously for has been moved to Monday.

And I can offer you some details on Saturday if that's of interest to you. Okay -- the only other thing -- there's been one other thing added tomorrow. Foreign Minister -- French Foreign Minister Juppe will be meeting with Mr. Lake. The President will drop by. I'm sure The New York Times will want to analyze exactly what that means.

Q: When is this?

MS. MYERS: This is tomorrow morning. It's 11:15 a.m. He's here. He's meeting with Christopher today. He will be at the White House tomorrow.

Q: Is there a readout on that, since the French apparently are inclined to present what amounts to an ultimatum?

MS. MYERS: I think that we can -- I don't know if there will be a formal readout, but we can provide some information about --

Q: What's the position of the President with regard to Juppe's demand, which amounts to an ultimatum, as Wendell said? He is saying basically if there is no breakthrough on Friday, if the Americans don't put pressure on the Muslims, that's the end of UNPROFOR, we're going to withdraw the Blue Helmets.

MS. MYERS: Two things. Our policy has not changed. We do not believe that we should impose a settlement on the parties. They have to reach a negotiated settlement among themselves. That's why we've been pursuing the diplomatic track very aggressively and stepping up our efforts there.

The contact group is meeting in Geneva on Friday. Foreign Minister Juppe is here meeting with Secretary Christopher today. He'll meet with Tony Lake, briefly with the President tomorrow. I think we are hopeful that we can keep the diplomatic process moving forward.

Very good news today -- the Croats and the Bosnia Muslims completed their agreement, which is good news -- I think creates a little momentum to move the process forward. We're very hopeful that we'll be able to continue to make progress on the diplomatic track and look forward to the meeting on Friday.

Q: How long will it take to reach an agreement of pressure -- there was a new Muslim offensive and there was no agreement in sight on the ground.

MS. MYERS: We'll have to see. I think we're going to go to Geneva on Friday and hope to make progress on the diplomatic track. These things -- this is obviously very difficult, but I think we have made some progress over the last few months.

Q: Would the President be in favor of lifting the embargo against Serbia to get the Serbs back to the table?

MS. MYERS: No.

Q: Not even a --

MS. MYERS: No way.

Q: lifting of the embargo?

MS. MYERS: No.

Q: What would be the interest for the Serbs to get back to the table?

MS. MYERS: Well, we're certainly not going to reward them for aggression at this point. What we're pressing them to do is to reach a negotiated settlement, to come to the negotiating table and to work this out. But we don't envision lifting sanctions at this point.

Q: But the agreement he mentioned concluded in Vienna this morning between the Muslims and the Croats says that 58 percent of the -- Bosnia will form this new --

MS. MYERS: I don't think the details on territory have been worked out.

Q: The Bosnia Prime Minister mentioned 58 percent. How are you going to convince the Serbs to give away the territory they have to make up this 58 percent?

MS. MYERS: Well, I think by continuing sanctions and by continuing to put pressure on them through the international community. I think that many of the multilateral actions that we've taken so far have been effective -- created a cease-fire zone in Sarajevo that's allowed life to resort in many ways to normal, at least more normal than it was a few weeks ago. We stopped much of the violence in Gorazde. There's been a general diminishment in violence generally. And we're going to continue to put pressure on the Serbs through the international community, through UNPROFOR, through NATO, to try to reach a negotiated settlement. The Serbs should know that the only end to the violence -- the only end to the economic isolation that they're facing now is through a negotiated settlement.

Q: The conditions the Serbs put for negotiating is sanctions?

MS. MYERS: But we don't -- what we envision is them to reach a negotiated settlement. The sanctions are there to continue to put pressure on the Serbs to negotiate and to end this. This conflict cannot be won on the battlefield. It should be resolved at the negotiating table, and we're going to continue to pursue that.

Q: The money that we give to South Africa, is that going to mean the cutoff of some program here already in the budget?

MS. MYERS: No.

Q: Where is that money going to come from?

MS. MYERS: Various foreign assistance programs.

Q: You mean it's going to take a little here and a little there from the other budget --

MS. MYERS: Correct. And some of it comes from leveraging the money through other private programs.

Q: Through private programs?

MS. MYERS: Correct. I can get you a list, Sarah, of how we plan to raise and spend that money.

Q: Would you please.

MS. MYERS: Sure.

Q: Getting back to Bosnia, great powers throughout history, certainly in this century, have not been reluctant to draw maps and to draw lines. We did it after the first world war, we did it after the second world war. What's the administration's rationale for being so opposed to the concept of in imposed settlement if the Russians, Europeans and us were able to reach agreement on a map?

MS. MYERS: Because we are not the ones that have to live with the results of that. In order for the settlement to last it has to be something that's agreed upon by the parties. That has been our view; that continues to be our view, that the parties themselves have to agree to whatever resolution of this conflict they can come up with in order for it to be effective and in order for it to last.

Q: Even if you got the so-called negotiated settlement, it would be under duress. You, yourself, just said that the only way you're going to get the Serbs to negotiate is under pressure.

MS. MYERS: But we're not pressuring them to adopt any particular option, we're pressuring them to stay at the negotiating table to continue to work with the other parties in this conflict to resolve it. How it is resolved -- I mean, we're there to help to provide whatever technical assistance we can, to provide whatever other kinds of resources we can. Ambassador Redman has certainly been doing a good job there. But in order for the agreement to last, in order for it to be successful, we believe it has to be one that is voluntarily reached by the parties.

Q: Do you accept the European argument at all that the minute you apply pressure on one side, then the other side becomes obstreperous and uncompromising, and therefore, there's no light at the end of this negotiating tunnel?

MS. MYERS: The light at the end of the negotiating tunnel is an end to the hostilities and a resolution of the conflict. The parties there must know that it cannot be resolved through violence, that it has to be resolved through a negotiated settlement. We're continuing to pressure all parties to come to the table and to work it out.

It is not easy -- we have no illusions about this. At the same time, we have made progress. The Muslim-Croat agreement is a good example of that. The reduced hostilities are a good example of that. The resolution of more normal life in Sarajevo is a good example of that. So I think, while we have a long way to go, we've made progress, and I think we're going to continue to press for a broader settlement.

Q: Are you able to say now whether the President would apply by a congressional resolution directing him to lift the arms embargo against the Bosnia Muslims?

MS. MYERS: At this point, we'll have to -- I guess the Dole legislation I think will come up now tomorrow, not today. We're supporting the Mitchell substitute for that, which calls for consultation with the allies. We'll see; there's a long way to go before this thing gets through the congressional legislative process.

At the same time, I think it's clear what our view is. We've always supported lifting the arms embargo. We believe it should be done multilaterally. We maintain it as an option. I think at some point we may choose to go back to it, but we believe it should be done multilaterally.

Q: Would passage of Senator Dole's provision cause the President to veto?

MS. MYERS: I think we're a long -- we'll have to see what it looks like. Again, we support the Mitchell substitute.

Q: Will you rule out a veto?

MS. MYERS: We'll have to see what the final legislation looks like. There's a number of hurdles that must be cleared.

Q: If the Mitchell compromise passes, would the President go along with its dictates? Would he propose a U.N. resolution lifting the arms embargo and support it as the --

MS. MYERS: Again, I think we'll have to see what gets passed. We believe, as we have throughout this process, that we should work with Congress. We'll continue to do that on Bosnian policy generally.

Q: That's in the Mitchell compromise. The compromise that Senator Mitchell has offered is supportive of a resolution --

MS. MYERS: But I'm not going to comment on how we'll react --

Q: consultation five days after action.

MS. MYERS: Right. And we continue to consult. As you know, we consult regularly with our allies; we consult regularly with Congress. We'll continue to do that. But I'm not going to comment on how the President will react to legislation that has not passed, that's not even -- there's nothing even been introduced in the House yet.

Q: But you're saying that you support this.

MS. MYERS: We support the Mitchell alternative, correct.

Q: Right, and all of that is in there. Are you saying the President maybe would support this for passage but wouldn't do what it says?

MS. MYERS: No, I just said I'm not going to suggest how he's going to respond to a bill that has not passed Congress. We support the Mitchell alternative. We'll see how this thing end up.

Q: Well, that hasn't passed Congress either. You're supporting that, so why can't you tell -- answer this question? Is that an information policy, that you're going to comment on some things and not on others? I don't understand.

MS. MYERS: I think you do understand.

Q: you mean that you may go back to? I missed you there. Did you mean you may go back to pushing the allies to lifting the embargo when you said, we may go back to it?

MS. MYERS: Sure. I mean, we, at one point, went to the allies. At some point we may choose to do that again. At this point, we're obviously pursuing a slightly different path.

Q: You said earlier that nothing you wanted -- you did not want to reward Serb aggression in Bosnia. But just for the record, any settlement that's going to be reached will indeed reward aggression, will it not?

MS. MYERS: We're not going to lift the sanctions at this point, and I think -- as a means of inducing them to the peace table. And I think at this point we're going to continue to keep the sanctions in place to put pressure on them. It's has a devastating effect on the Serbian economy. And the only way for them to get those sanctions lifted is to work out an agreement.

Q: How will that affect the possible use of American peacekeepers, however, if, indeed, aggression has been rewarded?

MS. MYERS: If the parties reach a settlement, we said all along that we would consider sending in U.S. peacekeepers to help implement that agreement. But it has always been envisioned as an agreement that is reached by the parties.

Q: Voluntarily?

MS. MYERS: Voluntarily, sure.

Q: A few years ago, the U.S. went in and arrested Manuel Noriega for drug trafficking and also for subverting the electoral process and democracy, et cetera. In Haiti, apparently it's well known that the military is selling drugs and certainly has apparently subverted the electoral process. Has the U.S. -- does the U.S. see similarities in those situations, and has the possibility of using that as a legal pretext for taking military action being considered?

Q: Say yes.

MS. MYERS: I think that we've made clear what our view is on Haiti. I don't need to draw analogies between Panama and Haiti. But I think clearly we have been pursuing a process in Haiti. We've made some revisions in it, it wasn't as effective as we'd hoped. We have not ruled out the use of force to restore democracy and return the duly-elected president of that country.

Q: But has that ever been any of the thinking of the U.S., or has that been considered as a possibility?

MS. MYERS: Well, I think we consider a number of options in terms of what's successful -- what's been successful in the past. I don't know, frankly, whether there's been a legal -- whether we need a legal precedent other than -- we certainly have U.S. interests at stake in Haiti, including nearly 10,000 Americans that live there, democracy in the region and a number of other things. But specifically, if you're asking did we look at Panama as a legal precedent, I don't know.

Q: I have a domestic question. A majority of -- the sponsors for appealing the Social Security earning test announced today that they, in the House, have a big majority in favor, and they say that the President, who supported this while he was running for president, has been deafeningly silent in endorsing this idea.

MS. MYERS: I don't have anything for you on that. I didn't see that this morning. I mean, certainly going back to the campaign it was something that he was favorably inclined towards.

Q: China MFN. Chinese government gave permission to go abroad to all the dissident leaders. Meanwhile, yesterday or day before yesterday, Shanghai authority arrested one young dissident. So they are sending -- Beijing is sending mixed signals. So what do you think the impact is on MFN at this critical moment?

MS. MYERS: Well, I think we're continuing to watch their actions closely as the deadline approaches. The President has not made a final decision on that yet. I think we'll evaluate all of the evidence as the time comes. And as you know, we need to make -- the President will make a decision by June 3rd.

Q: Will he announce that before he leaves for --

MS. MYERS: I don't know. I don't think we've really had a discussion about that. I certainly wouldn't rule it out. We did last year --

Q: He wouldn't do it on the road, or would he?

MS. MYERS: I certainly -- I wouldn't rule it out. I think -- who knows?

Q: Another follow-up on that --

Q: How about late Friday night, the 3rd?

Q: A lot of administration officials --

MS. MYERS: Could do it at the airport on the way out and then airplanes for 10 hours.

Q: A lot of administration officials are giving the impression that MFN will be renewed.

MS. MYERS: The President hasn't made a decision on that yet. I think he will evaluate all the facts at the time and make a decision based on the criteria outlined in his executive order.

Go to the schedule. Friday, as you know, he's giving the commencement at Gallaudet. That's at 1:30 p.m. It is open. It is the 125th commencement of the university, which was established by an act of Congress signed into law in 1864 by President Abraham Lincoln.

Saturday morning, the President will depart the White House at 6:50 a.m.

Q: Oooh. (Laughter.)

MS. MYERS: I've been looking forward to that for about an hour. (Laughter.) At 7:45 a.m., he arrives in Indianapolis. He will go them to a community center where he'll make his radio address live at 9:06 a.m. Central Time. He will then go to a ground-breaking for a Martin Luther King-Robert F. Kennedy Statue Park, where he will discuss crime. Members of the Kennedy family will probably be present. Then at noon he will be at Jefferson-Jackson Day luncheon at the Indiana Convention Center. And then the President will have some personal time before returning to the White House.

On Sunday at 10:00 a.m. --

Q: What time does he get back?

MS. MYERS: He gets back at 10:25 p.m.

Q: P.M.?

MS. MYERS: Yes, p.m. I think the press plane will come back early, and only the pool will stay.

Q: Oh, really?

MS. MYERS: That is the -- I know that's a heartbreaker for a lot of people who would rather spend Saturday night in Indianapolis.

Q: Make him stay.

MS. MYERS: Sunday morning --

Q: I have relatives there; it's a fine city.

MS. MYERS: Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m., the President will address the 13th Annual National Police Officers Memorial Service, sponsored by the Fraternal Order of Police, on the West Steps of the Capitol. They expect a fairly good crowd. And it is honoring the 152 police officers killed in the line of duty in 1993. FOP is the largest police organization in the country, representing almost 250,000 uniformed police officers.

Q: What about church?

MS. MYERS: Church? Unclear.

Q: Is he going to be meeting with any political candidates? The Democratic Senate candidate in Indiana got 54 percent against a Larouche backer in the primary. Will he be helping that guy out?

MS. MYERS: I don't know if we're doing a local -- it's not on the schedule.

Q: Landslide Lyndon.

MS. MYERS: I don't know. Often we do meet with local political types, but it is not on the schedule at this point.

Q: Is golf?

MS. MYERS: Yes.

Q: Golf with Quayle?

MS. MYERS: No. I don't know. I think Mr. Quayle is on his book tour.

And then Monday at 3:00 p.m. he'll do the Goals 2000 even on the South Lawn. Tuesday the Norwegian Prime Minister will be here.

Friday we will leave for California. The President will give the commencement address at the University of California at Los Angeles at 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time on Friday. We'll spend the night somewhere in California. The only other event that we're definitely attending is an event in Sacramento on Saturday afternoon. So we'll probably come back late Saturday.

Q: What is the Sacramento event?

MS. MYERS: L.A. and Sacramento are the only two things that are nailed down.

Q: What is the Sacramento --

Q: What is he doing on Thursday, the 19th?

MS. MYERS: Nothing -- thinking of taking the day off? No, I don't have anything.

Q: What is the Sacramento event?

MS. MYERS: Fundraiser. DSCC fundraiser.

Q: Dee Dee, has Cutler decided yet whether to recommend the creation of a legal defense fund?

MS. MYERS: No. There has been no change in the status of that.

Q: Has he decided whether or not it's a legal thing?

MS. MYERS: Just nothing to report on that at this point. They're still looking into it.

Q: What does the White House say to people who have read all these stories who want to contribute when they call in?

MS. MYERS: I don't know that we've -- I don't know that we've gotten a lot of calls. I think -- what we would say is that there's been no decision to create a legal defense fund of any kind. And there's no avenue for -- venue for contributing.

Q: Don't date the check. (Laughter.)

Q: pass situation for people, for friends of the President? Are there no local lists at the gates?

MS. MYERS: We announced that revision quite awhile ago.

Q: I don't mean the hard passes.

MS. MYERS: Including the file. I don't know who's still on it, but it's a very scaled-down list.

Q: There's a report today that within the last two weeks that this policy was changed.

MS. MYERS: Well, I don't know that the policy was changed. I think that the -- I don't know if they took some names off the list or just revised the list further. I can certainly check on that.

Q: How many are on that list?

MS. MYERS: Well, there's a lot of people who were on that list from other agencies and departments and people that come to the White House on legitimate business. It's a card file. It's people who don't have a permanent pass but come here regularly.

Q: I meant in a category of friends.

MS. MYERS: I don't know. I think it's a pretty small number. But I think we can look into that. I'm not sure where that stands.

Thank you.

Q: Have all the Vince Foster documents that were subpoenaed last week been gathered up and handed over?

MS. MYERS: No. I should get some guidance on that.

Q: Yesterday was the due date --

MS. MYERS: There have been conversations with the special counsel on this, and we're obviously in compliance with this. But I don't think that they -- all the documents have been turned over. Let me check into that.

THE PRESS: Thank you.

END 1:55 P.M. EDT