March 29, 2007

10:28 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: I want to thank the Republican leadership and the Republican members of Congress for coming down to have a very frank and open discussion about issues facing our country. Yesterday I gave a speech, making it clear that I'll veto a bill that restricts our commanders on the ground in Iraq, a bill that doesn't fund our troops, a bill that's got too much spending on it. I made that clear to the members.

We stand united in saying loud and clear that when we've got a troop in harm's way, we expect that troop to be fully funded; and we've got commanders making tough decisions on the ground, we expect there to be no strings on our commanders; and that we expect the Congress to be wise about how they spend the people's money.

We spent time talking today about our strong belief that we've got to keep taxes low. And so we had a very productive session, a session of friends talking amongst friends, all aiming to put a strategy together of how we can work together to secure this nation and keep it prosperous. And so I appreciate you all coming. You're welcome back at the White House any time you want to join us.

Thank you very much. (Applause.)

END 10:30 A.M. EDT