HASTERT URGED MEETING BETWEEN BUSH AND DALEY

House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert said Monday he urged President Bush to sit
down for a private, one-on-one lunch with Mayor Daley today during the
Republican president's first official visit to Chicago.

"I think it helps the country, and I think it helps the city of Chicago,"
Hastert said. "I just think they ought to sit down and talk. There are a
lot of things our mayor of Chicago believes that I think this president
believes as well. There is some common ground they ought to work on."

Hastert, a Yorkville Republican, said Bush and Daley might talk about a
third airport at Peotone or new runways at O'Hare, but "that's not the
purpose" of the meeting.

Hastert shared his thoughts about Bush's visit to the Chicago Mercantile
Exchange during an editorial board meeting of the Chicago Sun-Times. Here
are some of Hastert's remarks:

Airports: Hastert refused to commit to either the third airport in south
suburban Peotone that fellow Republican Ryan is pushing for, or the new
runway at O'Hare that the Democratic Daley wants.

"I think the mayor and the governor have to really do some heart-to-heart
before we can move on that," Hastert said. "There's a need for more
efficient air use in this northern Illinois area, and I think short-term
you're not going to have an airplane land in [Peotone] for 10, 15 years, I
would guess. But we can't stand 10 or 15 years of the inefficiency we have.
So we have to do some things in O'Hare, and we have to do some things in
[Peotone]."

Tax cuts: Some Democrats have criticized Hastert's GOP-led Congress for
pushing Bush's tax cuts before tackling the budget as a whole. But Hastert
defended his approach, saying it's important to let people know what tax
cuts will bring them. He said a family of four earning $45,000 a year could
save $1,600.

"In all reality, we may get one or two tax cuts out ahead of the budget,
but the budget will drive the parameters of the tax cuts," Hastert said.
"We need to get out ahead and talk about what this tax cut is really all
about, how it really does affect people."

War on drugs: Hastert said he believes the federal government must do a
better job stopping drugs from entering the country, stopping drug dealers
from "laundering" their profits through banks and legitimate business and
providing treatment for drug addicts.

He said he is opposed to decriminalizing some illegal drugs, as the federal
government did with alcohol when it ended Prohibition.

"I feel very strongly about this," Hastert said. "I don't think that's the
answer, and I don't think that's what a moral society ought to do. . . . I
think if your kid is running out in front of a speeding automobile, you'd
try to stop him from doing it. And if our kids are out there using drugs,
it could mean death. And I think we ought to try to stop it. We shouldn't
condone it."