President Bush Meets with Bicameral and Bipartisan Members of Congress to Discus

THE PRESIDENT: I want to thank the leaders of the House and the Senate for coming. I appreciate our presidential candidates for being here, as well.

We are in a serious economic crisis in the country if we don't pass a piece of legislation. I want to thank the spirit of bipartisan cooperation that's taking place here in Washington. One thing the American people have to know is that all of us around the table take this issue very seriously and we know we've got to get something done as quickly as possible. And this meeting is an attempt to move the process forward. My hope is that we can reach an agreement very shortly.

I want to thank the Secretary of the Treasury for working hard with the members. I thank the members for working long hours like they've been doing to come up with a solution that's bipartisan and that will solve the problem.

Thank you very much.