Today In History: Obama Says 'Stale Thinking' Won't Help Economy; Bush Meets Privately With Saudi Heir

April 25, 2017, is the 115th day of the year, with 250 days remaining. The moon is in a waning crescent phase. Illumination is at 1 percent, with a new moon on April 26.

Obama: “Old habits and stale thinking” won’t help solve country’s problems

As part of his weekly address, former president Barack Obama reiterated a singular theme that “old habits and stale thinking” would not help solve the new and significant problems facing the United States at the time.

“So much of our government was built to deal with different challenges from a different era,” he said, describing his guiding principle:

“To help build a new foundation for the 21st century, we need to reform our government so that it is more efficient, more transparent and more creative.”

The president called for fiscal discipline and outlined the steps that his administration planned to take toward eliminating waste and increasing efficiency. First, he said, “we need to adhere to the basic principle that new tax or entitlement policies should be paid for.” He described the efforts of PAYGO, which helped transform significant deficits into surpluses during the 1990s, and called on Congress to pass PAYGO legislation “so that government acts the same way any responsible family does in setting its budget.”

Highlighting the need to divest in wasteful spending, Obama commented on the promotion of effective programs.

“We don’t want agencies to protect bloated budgets,” he said. “So, the idea is simple: agencies that identify savings will get to keep a portion of those savings to invest in programs that work. The result will be a smaller budget and a more effective government.”

He explained that his administration would “look for ideas from the bottom up.”

“After all,” the president continued, “Americans across the country know that the best ideas often come from workers, not just management.”

Lastly, Obama expressed a desire to “reach beyond the halls of government,” asserting that, since many businesses have innovative ways of using technology to save money and that a number of experts have new ideas to increase government efficiency, government can “and must” learn from these ideas.

Bush meets with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah at private ranch

One Tuesday in 2002, during the later afternoon, President George W. Bush issued remarks following his meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah at the president’s Prairie Chapel Ranch in Crawford, Texas.

“The Crown Prince and I had a very cordial meeting that confirmed the strong relationship between Saudi Arabia and the United States of America,” Bush announced.

“Our two nations share of a vision of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security. I reiterated that all parties have responsibilities to help achieve that vision: the Palestinian Authority must do more to stop terror. Israel must finish its withdrawal, including resolution of standoff — standoffs in Ramallah and Bethlehem — in a nonviolent way.”

Taking questions, Bush was asked about Israel’s then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon with regard to the president’s “characterization of [Sharon] as a man of peace.”

“I made it clear to [Crown Prince Abdullah] that I expected Israel to withdraw, just like I’ve made it clear to Israel,” Bush responded.

Stay on top of all breaking White House news by signing up for the free Patch morning newsletter.

Like the White House Patch Facebook Page.

Follow us on Twitter.

Sign up to comment on the site.

Photo credit: Tina Hager