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Press Secretary Briefings, 8/22/75
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Press Secretary Briefings, 8/22/75
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Ron Nessen Files (Ford Administration)
Ron Nessen's Press Briefing Transcripts
subjects
Colorado
Vail (Colo.)
White House (Washington, D.C.)
Energy policy
Imports
Petroleum
Presidential trips
Regulatory reform
Tariff
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22
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1975-08-22
month
8
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1975
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22
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1975-08-22
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8
year
1975
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Digitized from Box 12 of The Ron Nessen File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
This Copy For
NEWS CONFERENCE
#304
AT THE WHITE HOUSE
WITH RON NESSEN
AT 10:57 A.M. MDT
AUGUST 22, 1975
FRIDAY
(Vail, Colorado)
MR. NESSEN: You have a statement that Carol
has distributed concerning a declaration of a major
disaster area for the State of Florida as a result of
heavy rains and flooding in July. You should all have this
press release.
The President took a tennis lesson this morning,
and then played a couple of sets with Trammell Crowe and
a couple of tennis pros over at the Golden Peak.
Then he came back to his residence and had some
staff meetings, including Cheney, Nessen, Scowcroft and
probably about now, with speech writers, to prepare speeches
for the coming trip to the dam, Chicago and Milwaukee.
Then he will be playing golf at the Eagle Vail
Course. I don't have an exact starting time, but there
will be a travel pool. You already have the list of
partners, I believe -- the golf partners, Bob Wolfe, the
Pro at Vail Golf Course and Tom Apple, the Pro at Eagle
Vail and Bud Palmer, the television sports announcer.
Q Are they old friends?
MR. NESSEN: Bud Palmer?
Q Yes.
MR. NESSEN: I think he has met him on occasion.
Then the President has more work to do this
afternoon. He will probably have another session with the
speech writers late this afternoon, and then he plans to stay
in and have a quiet dinner at home this evening.
Q No guests tonight?
MR. NESSEN: I don't know of any at this point.
For tomorrow, it looks like staff meetings in the
morning, then golf. I don't have the partners yet, and I
don't have any plans for tomorrow night yet.
MORE
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Q
Are you going to brief tomorrow?
MR. NESSEN: Yes, I think so -- 10:15 it looks
like I will be able to make tomorrow.
There is quite a lengthy fact sheet being
prepared on the Libby Dam, something like 10 or 11 pages,
I think. That will be ready by some time later today,
and then the bible for the trip. The three speeches
should be ready, hopefully, sometime tomorrow. The Libby
Dam speech we will have to make for release on delivery. I
guess we should probably make the hardware speech for flat
p.m.s Monday, and then we will have the White House
Conference speech for release on delivery.
Q Are any of the speeches major? Do they
break any new ground in any major area?
MR. NESSEN: You know we never characterize the
speeches.
Q
Is he going to have a question-and-
answer session in Milwaukee after the White House Conference
speech?
MR. NESSEN: Yes.
Q
Is he also going to have an interview in
Milwaukee Monday afternoon with three television anchormen?
MR. NESSEN: Yes.
Q
Before the speech or afterwards?
MR. NESSEN: Before the White House Conference
speech.
Q
Will there be a regional media meeting in
Milwaukee?
MR. NESSEN: No, there will be a lunch with the
Editorial Board of the Milwaukee Journal.
Q
What about the television interviews, are
you going to make it public later?
MR. NESSEN: A transcript?
Q Yes.
MR. NESSEN: We would make a transcript. I don't
know if that is being taped or life. It's live, you will
be able to watch it, and we will also have a transcript.
?
Three anchormen?
MR. NESSEN: Yes.
MORE
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- 3 -
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Q
Is there anything you can say about the private
meeting with Canadian Energy Administrator Macdonald?
MR. NESSEN: I think it is going to be a relatively
short opportunity to talk, but I would think that the --
as far as I know the two areas of discussion will be -- the
two areas that could come up -- I don't know what the
agenda is, and I don't think there will be an opportunity for
a long meeting, but the two areas that could come up are
Canada's decision to phase out its shipment of oil to the
United States and a possible trans-Canada pipeline from
Alaska.
MORE
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- 4 -
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Q
Ron, does that dam supply some power to
Canada? I asked that yesterday.
MR. NESSEN: The fact sheet, which will be out
fairly soon, will give you all the details. I haven't
read it.
Q
Where will the talks be held, at the dam or
some other place?
MR. NESSEN: I have not looked at the detailed
schedule to see which time is set aside for the talks.
Q
But there will be talks, though?
MR. NESSEN: I think they will be very brief, Aldo.
This is not a major occasion for conducting negotiations or
discussions.
Q
About 15 minutes?
MR. NESSEN: I will have to look at the schedule
to see how much time, but I think that is probably in the
right range.
Q
Did President Ford invite Macdonald to
participate in the ceremony?
MR. NESSEN: Not that I am aware of. I think he
was sent by the Canadian Government as representative for
Prime Minister Trudeau.
Q
Is that a natural gas pipeline, or oil?
MR. NESSEN: Natural gas.
Q
On the phasing out of oil, what is the
President going to say? Is he going to make another appeal
for continued shipments or what, do you know?
MR. NESSEN: As I say, I don't know that that
will come up. That is one of the areas that could come
up, and I suppose he would restate the American position,
which is --
MR. CARLSON: The Northern States are dependent
on Canadian oil, and we hope they would continue to supply
their regular customers beyond 1975.
Q
Can I ask about this $2 a barrel situation
now? Apparently the court has said that the White House
has until the 15th of September to appeal that decision.
If the President vetoes this extension of price control
and also on the 1st of September, or thereabouts, lifts
the tariff, that moots the issue.
MORE
#304
- 5 -
#304-8/22
MR. NESSEN: No, it doesn't. The timetable is
going to be strung out a little bit beyond that because
if you recall what he announced up at the symposium the
other day was he would lift the $2 if his veto was
sustained.
So, you will have to wait. into the first week
of September to make sure that Congress does sustain the
veto.
Q
But the Senate is going to vote on the 4th.
MR. NESSEN: Yes, as I say, into the first few
days of September.
The issue in the court case is not this specific
$2. The issue in the court case is the President's
authority to impose import fees. So, whether this specific
$2 stays on or comes off, the Administration wants the
Supreme Court to rule on the question of does he have the
authority.
So, the removal or nonremoval of this $2 does not
directly affect the appeal.
Q
But my question is, will the President,
therefore, wait and not act on the lifting of the $2 until
after the court has ruled?
MR. NESSEN: No, it is an independent question.
It is an economic question, and the other is a legal
question.
Q Yes, but the court won't rule if he lifts
it between the 1st of September and the 15th. Then the
court will say the issue is moot and won't take action on
it. What I am asking is, is the President going to remove
the tariff immediately or wait until after the court
decision?
MR. NESSEN: I think you may be mistaken, Bob,
that the court won't take up the issue if the $2 is off.
Q
That is what I was informed by a White House
aide.
MR. NESSEN: Which White House aide was that?
Q
I would rather not reveal my source.
MR. NESSEN: My understanding is the plan is to
base the decision on the $2 whether the Congress sustains
the veto or not and base the court decision on whether the
President has the authority to do that or not.
MORE
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- 6 -
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Q
There was a report this morning the
President is considering a plan in which a quasi public
corporation would be set up to channel $100 billion
into projects researching for substitutes for oil. Do
you have anything on that?
MR. NESSEN: The President is looking at a
number of alternatives on ways to stimulate the develop-
ment of synthetic fuels, and also ways to perfect the
technology involved in other methods of producing energy,
such as solar and so forth.
This idea of having some sort of funding
corporation is one of the ideas that has been presented
to the President, but he has not made a decision. When
I say he has not made a decision, he has not made a
decision on whether any funding mechanism is needed.
Since he hasn't made that decision, he has also
not made a decision on what type of funding mechanism there
would be if he decides one is needed.
MORE
#304
- 7 -
#304-8/22
?
Does one proposal involve a plan for $100
billion -- a proposal?
MR. NESSEN: One of the ideas he heard before he
came out on this trip was for such a corporation. But the
figure $100 billion, as far as I know, was not part of the
idea when it was presented to him. It was presented in
sort of general terms without a specific dollar figure.
Q
Was it presented to him by Rockefeller and
Morton?
MR. NESSEN: No, it was presented to him at a
meeting of all of his economic and energy advisers.
Q
This is not a Domestic Council proposal?
MR. NESSEN: I, frankly, don't know what the
genesis of it was. I just don't know what the genesis
of it was. It was presented at a meeting, though, at
which the economic and energy advisers attended.
Q
If this idea is not already far advanced,
why do they already have draft legislation ready to
present to Congress if he approves it?
MR. NESSEN: I don't know that they do have draft
legislation, Jim. At that meeting, he asked to have some
of these various ideas put into more specific terms that he
could look at when he got back from his trips. That was
one of the ideas he asked to have put in more specific
terms.
Whether the people took that to mean put it in
the form of draft legislation, I don't know. But he
certainly has not made the decision to go ahead with this
or any other idea.
Q
Can you tell us when that meeting took
place? Was it here?
MR. NESSEN: It was the Saturday before he came
out here.
Q Would this be an investment by the Government,
or would it be a subsidy by the Government?
MR. NESSEN: One of the things he asked for is
more specifics. It was presented in very vague and general
terms and didn't get into that kind of detail.
Q
But this meeting is planned to take up the
windfall profits tax issues?
MR. NESSEN: No, it is a separate issue from
windfall profits.
MORE
#304
- 8 -
#304-8/22
Q
Can we assume part of this money might be
used to support oil shale projects?
MR. NESSEN: I think we are moving way ahead of
where the thing stands. He was given several ideas of how
you might finance development of synthetic fuels and new
technology, and this was one of them. But he has not
decided whether any kind of funds are needed, and if so,
what kinds.
Q
Most of the ideas do involve Federal funding,
don't they? This is not private industry.
MR. NESSEN: This is not Federal funding. The
way the idea was presented to him, it would be a kind of --
as you know, there are, I think 23 different sort of quasi-
independent agencies which float bonds to finance rural
electrification and all those kinds of things -- housing
bonds and so forth. The way it was presented to him, this
would be something like that.
Q
What were some of the other suggestions
made, Ron?
MR. NESSEN: I, frankly, don't have my notes with
me from the meeting, Jim, and I don't recall what some of the
other ideas were.
Q
Were any of them on this scale?
MR. NESSEN: We don't know what this scale is
since no dollar figure was mentioned, that I recall.
Q
Was there no proposal for Federal funds to go
into this possible scheme? I understand it is all vague,
but is there no proposal there should be Federal aid?
MR. NESSEN: The way it was discussed at that
meeting, this particular proposal was discussed as an
agency that would float its own bonds.
Q
Where does the budget come from? I don't
understand. Does the agency float the bonds and people buy
the bonds and that is where the money comes from?
MR. NESSEN: Yes, and the money would be channeled
into --
Q
Would they have some kind of guarantee -- a
Government guarantee of the loans?
MR. NESSEN: Yes.
Q
Would it be something like the COMSAT proposition,
a sort of quasi-Federal thing, but with private financing?
MORE
#304
- 9 -
#304-8/22
MR. NESSEN: I am not familiar with the financing
of COMSAT.
Q
There are two proposals for piping natural
gas down from the north slope and Alaska, Ron. As you
know, one would go directly through Alaska and the other would
go down through the Mackenzie River through Canada.
Do you know which one the President might favor?
Has there been any indication of that?
MR. NESSEN: No.
Q
It will presumably be the one that goes
through Canada that he might talk about?
MR. NESSEN: He might talk about it with Macdonald.
MORE
#304
- 10 -
#304-8/22
Q
Could you get some of the other proposals
for the alternatives besides this bonding agency?
MR. NESSEN: Could I?
Q
Yes, and what are the alternatives--whether
we are considering private, Federal- is the range of
activities?
MR. NESSEN: Peter, first of all, there has to
be a decision made on whether any sort of financing
scheme is needed other than the normal private investment
route, and I will look into that.
My notes are not here. They are in Washington,
but I will talk to Zarb or somebody and see if we can find
out what some of the other sides were that were discussed.
Q
Isn't it already agreed that looking down
the line that sooner or later private industry would not
be able to handle some of these wide ranges of research
projects, that some are very experimental and some would
require guarantees?
MR. NESSEN: That is a decision that hasn't been
made yet.
Phil?
Q
Another subject. This wildcat strike of
the coal miners in West, Virginia, is he keeping up? Is
he aware of this, that people are not obeying the court
order?
MR. NESSEN: I frankly didn't talk to him about
it this morning.
Q
Is there a transcript on the Grand Rapids
interview? There was a story on the wires this morning.
MR. NESSEN: Maury DeJonge?
Q
Yes.
MR. NESSEN: Yes, we have a little stack of
those for those who want them.
Q
Ron, I know Callaway had some very sharp
criticism of people who are attacking Mrs. Ford's views.
He said that anybody who attacked Mrs. Ford, it is going
to backfire, anybody that attacks Mrs. Ford for political
purposes.
I just wondered, has the President talked to
Callaway about that, or do you all think that is going to
be a political issue?
MORE
#304
- 11 -
#304-8/22
MR. NESSEN: I haven't even heard it talked
about.
Q
Has the President been in touch with Dr.
Kissinger?
MR. NESSEN: He has not talked by phone with
Dr. Kissinger. He has gotten written reports.
Q
Do you all think this new thing out today
by Syria and Jordan -- they announced a joint command --
is that going to hinder your peace efforts?
MR. NESSEN: We have seen the press reports on
that, Bob, but so far have not been able to determine
precisely what arrangement it is they are talking about.
Q
If it is what it appears to be, that would
not be helpful, would it?
MR. NESSEN: I think everybody here would rather
wait and find out precisely what it is they have been
talking about.
Q
Haven't they discussed that before?
MR. NESSEN: Syria and Jordan?
Q
Yes.
MR. NESSEN: I am not familiar with the
background on it.
Q
Was the President in touch with Secretary
Dunlop last night or this morning?
MR. NESSEN: I am not aware of any calls to
Secretary Dunlop.
Q
Do you know if a meeting has been set up
for next week?
MR. NESSEN: There are no plans now for a
meeting next week.
Q
Do you expect any posting of additional
plans this afternoon?
MR. NESSEN: I would think at 5 o'clock we could
give you whatever plans there are for the evening, plus
tomorrow's golf. Unless some releases come down from
Washington, I would think that would be all we would have
at 5 o'clock.
MORE
#304
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#304-8/22
Q
Is there anything at all we have not
asked you about that that you would like to disclose?
?
What did the President do last night?
MR. NESSEN: The President had dinner at the
Scott's house and then he walked over to Larry Burdick's
place, the Red Lion, and then Iguess he went over to
Sheika's for about a half hour and then went home.
Q
How come nobody was notified?
MR. NESSEN: Because nobody knew ahead of
time exactly what it was the President was going to do.
Q
Once he went out, why couldn't there have
been some notification?
MR. NESSEN: I think there was notification he
was going to the Scott house.
Q
That is correct, but once he left there,
why couldn't there have been notification? He was out in
public in the streets of Vail.
MR. NESSEN: Bob.
Q
The Gulf Oil President says that gasoline
is going to go up 8 cents becauseof this lifting of the
tariff and decontrol and that kind of thing. Why is it
that the oil companies and the White House don't seem to
come up with the same figures?
MR. NESSEN: Bob, I think what you need to do
is go back and read precisely what it was that Mr. Lee
said. To save you the trouble, I will read you what he
said.
He said as follows: "Decontrolling old oil
would increase costs about 7 cents per gallon. As you
know, we have also used the figure 6 to 7 cents a gallon.
Then, continuing the quote, "However, if the
President takes off the $2 import fee" --- as he said he
would do -- "this would knock off about 3 cents,
making a net increase of 4 cents," so we are close there,
making a net increase of 4 cents and, because of market
conditions, they could probably not fully recover all
these cost increases in the near-term. Because of the
market conditions, the price increases would come very
slowly.
MORE
#304
- 13 -
#304-8/22
So, he ends up with a figure of 4 cents and
we end up with a figure of about 3 cents. The other
major oil companies-- for instance, Mobil--said, "The
assorted petroleum products could rise by 3 cents a
gallon, provided Ford eliminates the present $2 import
tariff." So, Mobil is saying the same as the
President's economists.
Exxon said, "Decontrol, coupled with removal of
the tariff, would lead to modest increases in raw
material costs of around 3 to 4 cents a gallon." So, we
are in line there.
Continental said it foresaw a maximum increase
of 4 cents a gallon, resulting from decontrol, but this
figure could be reduced at the retail level because of
competition.
So, you have Gulf, Exxon, Mobil and Continental
all with estimates ranging from 3 to 4 cents, and that is
essentially the same as the White House estimate.
Q
Where does that Lee stuff come from? It
is not in the wire service story.
MR. NESSEN: I checked it out because I antici-
pated a question.
Q
Who did you talk to?
MR. NESSEN: John got it from somebody.
Q
What is his full name?
Q
The wire service says his name is James,
but that is probably not complete, either.
Q
Where did it come from?
MR. NESSEN: James E. Lee. He is the President
of Gulf Oil Corporation.
Q
How much are we going to -- the press corps --
is going to see of the President's activities on Sunday?
MR. NESSEN: Bill has been working on that.
Bill, do you want to come up and give a little
preview of Libby Dam?
MR. ROBERTS: We are not exactly certain as yet,
but it looks like we are going to be able to take approxi-
mately 30 members of the press corps up to Libby by
helicopter, and we are still working on it. It will be
an expanded pool, we are pretty sure of that, but just
how expanded, we don't know.
MORE
#304
- 14 -
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MR. NESSEN: They are trying to get a chinook,
which holds 34 people, I think.
Q
What about the telephone situation?
MR. ROBERTS: The telephone situation is going to
be miserable. It looks like two or three is all we will be
able to have at Libby.
Q
You will have them at Kalispell?
MR. ROBERTS: Not so many there either.
MR. NESSEN: It may be, you may have to file
from Grand Junction.
MR. ROBERTS: No, Chicago.
Q
Where do we land up there anyway?
Q
We don't land in Chicago until when?
MR. ROBERTS: Approximately 7 p.m. Sunday, Central
Daylight Time.
Q
How much time do we have for filing before
we leave for Chicago or wherever?
MR. NESSEN: I think you could take as much time
as you want. There is no burning need to get to Chicago.
The President may go to a small dinner in Chicago, but that
is not certain yet.
Q
What is happening in Chicago?
MR. NESSEN: They are having in Chicago some
kind of sailboat races. What is the class of sailboats?
World championship of some class of sailboats. The sailboat
people are having a dinner, and I guess Mayor Daly is
hosting the dinner, and he is discussing with the White House
whether the President might come to that dinner.
It has not been resolved yet whether the President
will get there in time to go and so forth. But that will
be the only event in Chicago Sunday night so you can take
as long to file as you want to, since the pool will cover
that event.
Q
When and where will we get a fill-in on the
talks with Mr. Macdonald? OUt there or Chicago?
MR. ROBERTS: Probably on Air Force One coming
back.
MORE
#304
- 15 -
#304-8/22
MR. NESSEN: I guess we would have to give it
to the pool on Air Force One on the way to Chicago.
I really want you to know that I don't anticipate
any really long, serious discussions with Macdonald. There
is a little time in there, but, you know, I wouldn't look
for any major decisions or even major discussions during
that brief period.
Q
You will have the Libby speech available
Saturday?
MR. NESSEN: As far as I know, the President is
going to sign off on the Libby Dam speech in his meeting
with the speech writers this afternoon, so we would certainly
have that one, and the other two are in relatively good shape.
Q
When will we get the background on the Libby
Dam?
MR. ROBERTS: It may be available right now. I
will bring it down.
Q
Is there any energy element to Libby Dam?
MR. NESSEN: Libby Dam has energy elements to it.
It also deals with the environment and conservation.
Q
What about the hardware speech?
MR. NESSEN: That is going to be an economic
speech.
Q
Ron, when is the President going to meet
again with his energy advisers to determine whether some
funding mechanism is needed?
MR. NESSEN: No date has been set for the follow-up
meeting, although at that Saturday meeting before we left,
he indicated he would like to have some of the proposals
put into more specific terms by the time he returns from
this trip.
So there is no meeting being scheduled, but I would
think it would be within a week after we get back from here.
Q
Do you know how many major proposals he is
considering?
MR. NESSEN: I don't, Helen.
Q
Ron, do you anticipate, for purposes of
Sunday's stories, that we will get anything more specific
or more substantive between now and noon tomorrow other than
the Montana stuff, or will the lead be on that?
MR. NESSEN: I don't really anticipate any major
developments out of here tomorrow for Sunday's stories.
I thought about making the Libby Dam speech for Sunday a.m.s,
but that means Saturday night at 6 o'clock, which I think is
too far ahead of the actual speech to do it. So I don't
know what the Sunday story will be.
MORE
#304
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Q
Why not make it a.m.s?
MR. NESSEN: I think it is too early, Peter --
6 o'clock Saturday night.
Q
Maybe for Sunday a.m.s we could have the
President come over and talk to us? (Laughter)
MR. NESSEN: I will ask him.
Well, I think you could probably lead with the
show tomorrow night, couldn't you? (Laughter)
Q
What show? (Laughter)
MR. NESSEN: Does that about do it? Ken?
Q
Has the President had any kind of direct
dealings at all in trying to work out some kind of a
negotiation with the maritime unions?
MR. NESSEN: As I said, he talked to Dunlop a
couple of times the other day. He made his remarks over
here to the grain people, which set out his general views.
He talked to Meany that morning, and it is really in the
hands of Dunlop until the President gets back and sees
where it stands.
Q
Ron, do you sing at all? (Laughter)
MR. NESSEN: Do I sing? I can't even hum.
Q Did you get any answers to the hold-over
questions yesterday about who paid for Christy Vail and
Jack's flights?
MR. NESSEN: I didn't get that answer yet. I am
told Pam gave you the answer to the other question.
Q What other question?
MR. NESSEN: About, does the President have any
financial interest in Vail Associates.
Q
I asked on that and any other business
interests in this area besides the condominium. She
doesn't speak for the President, that I know of.
Q
What is the answer to that, Ron?
MR. NESSEN: I thought Pam had said he does not, as
far as she knows, have any financial interest in Vail
Associatessor anything else down here.
Q
Do you know how the occasion with the hardware
dealers came about, or how long ago?
MORE
#304
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MR. NESSEN: I don't, but I will check it for you.
Q
Ron, could you ask the President if he
has any. I don't think we should have a spokesman for
Vail Associates answering that question.
MR. NESSEN: I will, Fran.
Q
Has anyone stayed in the President's
condominum while he has been out here? There was some
question about whether Bass was going to come. He did
come, but there has been some question about whether he
has been using the condominium. Has he?
MR. NESSEN: Does Pam know? Has anybody been
renting the President's condominium these past couple of
weeks?
MISS CONKLIN: I asked that question but wasn't
given an answer.
MR. NESSEN: We will check that out.
THE PRESS: Thank you.
END
(AT 11:27 A.M. MDT)