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themselves, did not happen by accident but instead came as a result of
determined action to make sure that the problems were not allowed to get
out of hand.
When I became President 6 years ago, Medicare was actually projected
to go bankrupt this year. We worked hard in 1993 and 1997 to make sure
that didn't happen. Some of the actions we took at the time were not
particularly popular, but we knew they had to be done. They helped to
strengthen Medicare, and they laid the foundations from the difficult
challenges we still must face.
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Social Security and Medicare face long-term challenges, as all of
you know, with the baby boom aging, with medical science extending the
lives of millions, with the number of elderly Americans set to double by
2030. Even with today's good news, Social Security will run out of money
in 35 years, Medicare in 16 years. We cannot--we will not--allow that to
happen.
For three decades, Medicare has protected seniors and the disabled
while expressing the values of care and mutual obligations that bind
families and the generations of Americans together. Since my State of
the Union Address, I have called for devoting 15 percent of our surplus
to strengthening Medicare, while modernizing the program with real
reforms and helping seniors with prescription drugs.
When the Medicare commission completed its work 2 weeks ago, I said
we must build on their recommendations by adopting the best practices
from the private sector while also maintaining high-quality services,
continuing to provide every citizen with a guaranteed set of benefits,
and making prescription drugs more accessible and affordable to Medicare
beneficiaries.
Now we must build on the good news we have received today. We must
extend the life of Medicare even further, modernize the program even
more, and make prescription drugs even more accessible and affordable.
Medicare cannot remain static in the face of the sweeping changes in our
Nation's health care system, a system today that relies increasingly on
prescription drugs.
Today, 13 million seniors each spend more than $1,000 a year, out of
pocket, for prescriptions. Let me say that again--13 million seniors
today spend more than $1,000 a year, out of pocket, for prescription
medication. At the same time, seniors who have no drug coverage do not
benefit from the lower prices that insurance firms often can negotiate
from pharmaceutical companies. The higher prices these seniors pay are
in effect a hidden tax. We must find a way through Medicare to inject
more competition into the health care system and to provide a
prescription drug benefit.
Now, I know that some might say this good news means that we can
simply delay reform. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Strengthening and modernizing Medicare requires tough but achievable
changes. And now is the time to make those changes--now when our economy
is strong; now when our people have renewed confidence; and now when we
have time on our side so that modest changes today can have major
impacts in the years ahead.
Nothing in this report lessens the need to devote 15 percent of the
surplus to strengthening Medicare. But nothing in this report lessens
the need to make tough but achievable reforms either. And nothing in
this report lessens the need to help seniors with a prescription drug
benefit. If we wait, we will be condemning ourselves to future changes
that will be much more costly and wrenching and must less satisfying in
the end.
Today, we face a choice that is a test of our wisdom as a self-
governing people and a test of our vision of 21st century America. Will
we seize this moment of prosperity? Will we devote these surpluses to
strengthening Medicare, to strengthening our future? Or will we rush and
do the most appealing prospect of the moment, a tax cut that will
explode in later years and avoid our generation's responsibility and put
the future of Medicare at risk?
The trustees' report is welcome news, but it also contains a clear
lesson: Tough, disciplined action is good economics. It's good for
Social Security; it's good for Medicare; it's good for America. It's
very good for our children's future and for the future of our families
across the generations.
We can extend the life of Social Security and Medicare and have an
appropriate, affordable amount of tax relief specially targeted to the
neediest working families and middle class families. But we have to
apply the lessons we have learned in the last 6 years to the first years
of the 21st century. I am determined to see that we do so this year. And
the trustees' report should make it easier for us to fulfill our
responsibilities.
Thank you very much.
[[Page 537]]
Serbian Proposal To Settle Situation in Kosovo
Q. Sir, what do you think of Milosevic's offer to withdraw some
troops if NATO stops bombing?
The President. I agree with Chancellor Schroeder.
Note: The President spoke at 2:57 p.m. in the Rose Garden at the White
House. In his remarks, he referred to Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder of
Germany. The exchange portion of this item could not be verified because
the tape was incomplete.
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[Page 537]
Monday, April 5, 1999
Volume 35--Number 13
Pages 531-577
Week Ending Friday, April 2, 1999
Statement on Signing Legislation Extending Bankruptcy Code Provisions
March 30, 1999
Today I have signed into law H.R. 808, which extends the provisions
of chapter 12 of the Bankruptcy Code until October 1, 1999.
Chapter 12 of the Bankruptcy Code was enacted in 1986 to provide
bankruptcy relief to our Nation's family farmers, who at the time were
suffering through a severe agricultural crisis. The provisions of
chapter 12 enabled family farmers to meet this financial crisis by
allowing them to reorganize their debts and avoid the loss of their
farms and way of life.
Despite the general widespread economic prosperity of recent years,
many of our Nation's family farmers and ranchers are having difficulties
and face losing their property and their livelihoods. Chapter 12 is an
effective tool to mitigate the effects of the current agricultural
crisis on family farmers and ranchers and on communities that depend
upon them. By making it easier for family farmers to work out their
debts, chapter 12 also benefits creditors, who would be unlikely to
obtain repayment if these farmers and ranchers went out of business.
Although I have signed this temporary extension, I urge the Congress
to protect those family farmers and ranchers in financial distress by
making the provisions of chapter 12 permanent. I also urge the Congress
to expedite passage of my request for emergency funding of $150 million
to provide more than $1 billion in loans for farmers and ranchers.
William J. Clinton
The White House,
March 30, 1999.
Note: H.R. 808, approved March 30, was assigned Public Law No. 106-5.
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Monday, April 5, 1999
Volume 35--Number 13
Pages 531-577
Week Ending Friday, April 2, 1999
Statement on a Serbian Proposal To Settle the Situation in Kosovo
March 30, 1999
I share the view of Chancellor Schroeder that President Milosevic's
proposal is unacceptable. President Milosevic began this brutal
campaign. It is his responsibility to bring it to an immediate end and
embrace a just peace. There is a strong consensus in NATO that we must
press forward with our military action.
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Monday, April 5, 1999
Volume 35--Number 13
Pages 531-577
Week Ending Friday, April 2, 1999
Statement on the Death of Joe Williams
March 30, 1999
Hillary and I were deeply saddened to learn of the death of jazz and
blues great Joe Williams. He was a national treasure. For the better
part of this century, America was blessed with Joe Williams' smooth
baritone voice and peerless interpretations of our favorite ballads.
Hearing Joe Williams sing at the White House in 1993 remains one of my
favorite memories. Hillary and I are grateful for the opportunity to
have welcomed him back for the Kennedy Center Honors every year since.
We send our prayers and deepest sympathies to his family and friends.
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Monday, April 5, 1999
Volume 35--Number 13
Pages 531-577
Week Ending Friday, April 2, 1999
Message on the Observance of Passover, 1999
March 30, 1999
Warm greetings to all those observing Passover.
This sacred holiday commemorates God's liberation of the Israelites
from slavery and the beginning of the Jewish people's exodus from Egypt
to the Promised Land. Their
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journey through the desert was long and difficult, but they were guided
by the light of their faith and sustained by their dream of liberty.
When at last they arrived in the Promised Land, they rejoiced in their
freedom to worship God, to rebuild their communities, and to raise their
children in the traditions and beliefs of the Jewish religion.
As a people who have always cherished the values of faith and
freedom, all Americans can draw inspiration from the story of Passover.
It reminds us of our ongoing journey to build our own Promised Land,
where all people are free to worship according to their conscience and
where our children can grow up safe from the shadows of intolerance and
oppression.
As families across the nation and around the world gather to
remember the liberation of the Israelites and to teach a new generation
the ancient tradition of the Passover Seder and the reading of the
Haggadah, let us all give thanks for God's sustaining love and for the
Jewish heritage that has so strengthened and enriched our national life.
Hillary joins me in extending best wishes for a joyous Passover
celebration.
Bill Clinton
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Monday, April 5, 1999
Volume 35--Number 13
Pages 531-577
Week Ending Friday, April 2, 1999
Letter to Congressional Leaders Transmitting a Report on Chemical and
Biological Weapons Defense
March 30, 1999
Dear __________:
Attached is a report to the Congress on Chemical and Biological
Weapons Defense, submitted pursuant to Condition 11(F) of the resolution
of advice and consent to ratification of the Convention on the
Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of
Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction, adopted by the United States
Senate on April 24, 1997.
Sincerely,
William J. Clinton
Note: Identical letters were sent to J. Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the
House of Representatives; Jesse Helms, chairman, and Joseph R. Biden,
Jr., ranking member, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations; John W.
Warner, chairman, and Carl Levin, ranking member, Senate Committee on
Armed Services; Ted Stevens, chairman, and Robert C. Byrd, ranking
member, Senate Committee on Appropriations; Benjamin A. Gilman,
chairman, and Sam Gejdenson, ranking member, House Committee on
International Relations; C.W. Bill Young, chairman, and David R. Obey,
ranking member, House Committee on Appropriations; and Floyd Spence,
chairman, and Ike Skelton, ranking member, House Committee on Armed
Services.
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Monday, April 5, 1999
Volume 35--Number 13
Pages 531-577
Week Ending Friday, April 2, 1999
Letter to Congressional Leaders Transmitting a Report on Cyprus
March 30, 1999
Other Popular 1999 Presidential Documents Documents:
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