Photo Op with Secretaries of the Treasury and Labor
White House Oval Office
Washington, D.C.
November 2, 2001
10:38 A.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Thank you all for coming. I'm meeting with our Secretary of Treasury, Secretary of Labor. We're discussing the new unemployment numbers, and it's not good news for America. The attacks of September 11th have deeply affected the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Not only has it shattered the lives of those who have lost life; the attacks have threatened the livelihoods of American workers.

I think it's very important for the administration and Congress to work together to extend and expand unemployment benefits to those whose lives have been affected by the attacks.

And we need to work together to prevent further loss of jobs by passing an economic stimulus package that, in fact, will cause the job base to firm up and expand. I believe we've got the ingredients of a good package out of the House. I urge the Senate to work quickly to pass a bill to get the bill in conference, to show the nation that we can, in fact, deal with the aftermath of this tragedy.

My administration will be actively involved with helping to get a package moving. We stand ready. The Secretary of Treasury is prepared to take an active role to expedite the process, and we're prepared to take an active role to make sure that an airline security bill comes out of conference as quickly as possible.

I want to thank the House of Representatives for a good and constructive debate, for the passage of a good piece of legislation, and I look forward to working with members of the Senate and the House to reconcile any differences. And I believe the differences are small, and I believe they can be reconciled quickly.

So if I can sign an airport security bill, airline security bill, it will say to the American people that we are doing everything we possibly can to recover from the aftermath of September the 11th.

I'll be glad to answer questions at the next -- your next opportunity to see me. Thank you.

QUESTION: This is the best position I'll ever have. (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT: We'll work on that. Gordon, make sure the man gets a better position. (Laughter.)

END 10:42 A.M. EST