Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/continued-economic-concerns-draw-attention-on-hill Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Transcript Amid signs of continued economic distress, President Bush and the nation's top economic policymakers fanned out across Washington, seeking to reassure roiling markets, skittish investors, and a worried public. Ray Suarez wraps up the latest economic news. Read the Full Transcript Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. RAY SUAREZ: Amid signs of deepened economic distress, President Bush and the nation's top economic policymakers fanned out across Washington, seeking to reassure roiling markets, skittish investors, and a worried public.At the White House…GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States: I'm not an economist, but I do believe that we're growing. RAY SUAREZ: … the president told reporters he was confident the economic outlook was sound. He was questioned at length on the economy. GEORGE W. BUSH: First, let me talk about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. A lot of people in the country probably don't understand how important they are to the mortgage markets. And it's really important for people to have confidence in the mortgage markets and that there be stability in the mortgage markets.And that's why Secretary Paulson announced the plan this weekend, which says that he needs authorities from the Congress to come up with a line of credit for these institutions, if needed, and that he ought to have the authority to invest capital, if needed.And so the purpose was to send a clear signal that, one, we understand how important these institutions are to the mortgage markets, and, two, to kind of calm nerves.Now, if you're a commercial bank in America and you have a deposit in a commercial bank in America, your deposit is insured by the federal government up to $100,000.My hope is that people take a deep breath and realize that their deposits are protected by our government. So these two different instances, the mortgage markets on the one hand, banking on the other. RAY SUAREZ: The president urged quick action from Congress on the housing and energy bills and reiterated his faith in the American economy. GEORGE W. BUSH: And I can remember this press conference here where people yelling, "Recession this, recession that," as if you're economists. And I'm an optimist. You know, I believe there's a lot of positive things for our economy.