pd06fe95 Remarks to the National Governors' Association Meeting...

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in the past with specific governmental agencies, and we want to do more 
of that. And as I said, the Vice President will have more to say about 
that.
    We are strongly supporting the move to get unfunded mandates 
legislation passed in the Congress and are encouraged by the work that 
was done in the United States Senate where, as I remember, the bill 
passed 86-10 last week, after a really open and honest discussion of all 
appropriate amendments. The legislation is now moving through the House. 
I think there are about 100 amendments pending, but I think they will 
move

[[Page 140]]

through it in a fairly expeditious way, just as the Senate did.
    With regard to the balanced budget amendment, it has passed the 
House; it is now in the Senate. I will say again what I've said all 
along here. It seems to me that the State legislators, the people, and 
the Governors have a right to know what is entailed in the time line if 
the effort is made. And I would hope that we would continue to take that 
right-to-know position. You have a right to know what happens. You have 
a right to know what happens if we protect Social Security. You have a 
right to know what happens if we protect Social Security and Medicare. 
You have a right to know what happens in the details of this.
    We have cut $600 billion-plus off this deficit. I am going to give a 
budget in early February to the Congress which will take over $140 
billion more in cuts. We have eliminated 100 programs; we have cut 
hundreds and hundreds of others. I want to keep bringing this deficit 
down, but I think we ought to all go into a change in the fundamental 
document of this country with our eyes wide open and knowing what the 
consequences are.
    The third thing I'd like to talk about, briefly, is welfare reform. 
For those of you who were present at the Saturday meeting, I want to 
thank you again for being there. It reminded me very much of the process 
that we went through in 1987 and 1988 when we had a Republican President 
and a Democratic Congress and a bipartisan group of Governors. And we 
worked in '87 and '88 toward the passage of the Family Support Act.
    I thought it worked then; I think it will work now, if we all work 
in good faith. We agreed that welfare has to be reformed, that the most 
important thing is to change it from a system which fosters dependence 
to one that fosters work and independence, that we ought to support 
education where it is needed, and that we ought to support responsible 
parenting.
    We agreed that, as we try to put more of the operational decisions 
back to the State and local level, there must be some strong national 
steps taken on child support enforcement, because so many of those 
orders are multi-State in their impact and because we are doing such a 
bad job as a country now in collecting child support which should 
properly be paid to children.
    We agreed that there must be more State and local flexibility; we 
agreed that there ought to be an effort to reduce teen pregnancy and 
out-of-wedlock pregnancy, generally. Governor Carper gave a very moving 
presentation of what is going on in Delaware, and as you know, I 
announced in my State of the Union that we would make a national effort 
on this which we'll have more to say about in the next few days.
    We did not reach final agreement on the questions of how the 
partnership should be structured, what the implications of a block grant 
would be, and what, in specific terms, the national interest is in 
preserving the welfare of the children of this country. I have to say 
that I basically am in favor, as I always have been, of maximum 
flexibility for the States. I was a strong supporter of the Community 
Development Block Grant Program, for example, when I served as a 
Governor. But we do have a national interest in protecting the welfare 
and the possibilities of our children.
    In 1985, for the very first time in our history, at least since 
we've been keeping such statistics, the elderly became less poor than 
the rest of the population because of the cost-of-living adjustments and 
Social Security, because of supplemental security income, because of 
Medicare. That is something I think we're all proud of.
    The flip side of that is that the poverty population itself has 
stayed the same, or has actually increased, and almost all the poor now 
are little children and their not very well educated parents, by and 
large. So we do have a national interest in the welfare of these 
children and in changing the welfare system so that it promotes 
responsibility and lifts people up without punishing children who were 
not the cause of the problems that they face in life. That, it seems to 
me, is the dividing line that we have to be animated by as we try to 
forge this new partnership. I'm excited about it; I think we can do it.
    We must pass welfare reform this year, and it has got to be real, 
meaningful, different, and better and broader than anything we've

[[Page 141]]

ever done before. And it ought to give you a great deal of flexibility 
out of--if nothing else, out of a sense of sheer simple humility that no 
one has all the answers to deal with these difficult riddles that 
threaten the stability of our families and the future of our kids.
    So I am encouraged by where we are. I thank you again for the 
executive committee resolution on Mexico. We are going to work with you 
to further the partnership between the States and the Federal 
Government. And we must pass welfare reform this year, but it ought to 
be the right kind with the right results.

Note: The President spoke at 9:58 a.m. in the East Room at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Gov. Tommy G. Thompson of 
Wisconsin.


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[Page 141-142]
 
Monday, February 6, 1995
 
Volume 31--Number 5
Pages 131-191
 
Week Ending Friday, February 3, 1995
 
Remarks and an Exchange With Reporters Prior to Discussions With 
President Mircea Snegur of Moldova

January 30, 1995

    The President. Let me say, first of all, it's a real pleasure and an 
honor for me and for the United States to welcome President Snegur here 
and the whole delegation from Moldova. They have been a real model of 
commitment to democracy and to economic reform. And we have been deeply 
impressed by the work they have done, the progress they have made. And 
I'm looking forward to my visit with him.
    I also want to thank him for sending me the nice Moldovan wine last 
Christmas, which was very much appreciated here at the White House.

Mexican Loan Guarantees

    Q. Mr. President, will you have a Mexico bailout bill ready today? 
The peso and the bolsa are dropping sharply.
    The President. We certainly hope so. I worked yesterday for several 
hours on this and secured again the reaffirmation of the commitment of 
the leadership of both parties in both Houses to go forward. And we have 
put out more strong statements today about it.
    I think we just--this is something we have to do. The time is not a 
friendly factor, and I realize that the Congress had other important 
measures to debate last week, the unfunded mandates legislation in the 
Senate, the balanced budget amendment in the House. But this can be 
resolved fairly quickly, and it needs to be.
    Q. Mr. President, there's a suggestion by some leaders that support 
is eroding for the package rather than increasing. Do you--is that the 
case?
    The President. Well, I think it will increase again once people look 
at the facts, if we get a bill out there. We need to--the bill needs to 
go in. And Secretary Rubin has, and others, have negotiated in great 
detail and in good faith with the appropriate leaders in the Congress, 
the committee chairs and others. And I think they're ready for a bill to 
go forward. And it's time to get it in and go forward.
    Q. What do you think of critics who say it's a bailout for Wall 
Street?
    The President. It isn't a bailout for Wall Street. There are--first 
of all, helping the economy stay strong down there is more important 
than anything else for our working people and our businesses on Main 
Street that are doing such business in Mexico. If they want to continue 
to grow and to have that as a market, we can't let the financial 
markets, in effect, collapse the Mexican political and economic 
structure. Secondly, there are a lot of pension plans and ordinary 
Americans that have their investments tied up there. Thirdly, we have 
immigration and narcotics cooperation and control issues here involved. 
This is something for ordinary Americans. It's very much in our 
interest, and we don't want to let it spread to other countries and, 
indeed, to developing countries throughout the world. We're trying to 
promote countries that are moving toward market reforms and moving 
toward democracy, not to undermine them. And it's very much in our 
personal interest to do so. It is not a Wall Street bailout, it's in 
America's interest to build the kind of future we want.
    Q. Are you optimistic you'll get a package this week or next?
    The President. I'm optimistic that we'll pass it because more often 
than not in very difficult issues the Congress does the right thing. And 
we've got a new and different

[[Page 142]]

Congress, but I think they'll do the right thing.

Note: The President spoke at 12:08 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House. A tape was not available for verification of the content of these 
remarks.


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[Page 142-143]
 
Monday, February 6, 1995
 
Volume 31--Number 5
Pages 131-191
 
Week Ending Friday, February 3, 1995
 
Joint Statement With President Mircea Snegur of Moldova

January 30, 1995

    At the invitation of President Clinton, President Mircea Snegur of 
the Republic of Moldova made a working visit to Washington. During their 
discussions on January 30, the two leaders welcomed the strong state of 
U.S.-Moldovan relations, which have expanded considerably since 
diplomatic contacts were established in 1992.
    President Snegur described the substantial progress made toward 
economic and democratic reform in Moldova. He mentioned that prices in 
Moldova have been completely liberalized, and reaffirmed his 
government's commitment to reduce government subsidies and privatize 
commercial enterprises. Noting Moldova's success over the past year in 
reducing inflation and maintaining the value of its currency, President 
Snegur pledged to continue working closely with international financial 
institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. 
The Moldovan President reviewed the democratic parliamentary elections 
conducted in February 1994, and the adoption of a new constitution 
enshrining respect for democratic government and fundamental human 
rights.
    President Clinton praised Moldova's economic and political 
development, which has placed that country at the forefront among the 
new independent states of the former Soviet Union, and reiterated 
continued U.S. support for Moldovan reforms. President Clinton announced 
that Moldova will receive $22 million in technical assistance in fiscal 
year 1995, targeted primarily on privatization, economic restructuring, 
health and exchanges. This brings the total of U.S. assistance to 
Moldova since 1992 to well over $200 million. President Snegur expressed 
his appreciation for U.S. assistance over the past three years and cited 
the important impact this aid has had on the success of reform in 
Moldova.
    President Clinton and President Snegur discussed the inauguration of 
new programs in 1995 to assist Moldova in creating its first stock 
exchange, to help emerging small businesses in the regions outside 
Chisinau, to expand a program of technical assistance and training in 
agribusiness development, and to establish a permanent office of the 
Western NIS Enterprise Fund in Chisinau. President Snegur requested that 
the United States further its efforts to promote U.S. investment in 
Moldova, underlining that a favorable legal framework has been 
established to achieve this goal. The Peace Corps will initiate an 
Economic Development Program, expanding its current work to include 
volunteer advisers for small businesses and local entrepreneurs.
    Moldova and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are finalizing an 
agreement for $10 million in concessional food sales in 1995, and an 
additional $2 million in food donations. The Department of Agriculture 
will also fund at least 16 Moldovan participants in the Cochran 
Fellowship Program for 1995, which provides training programs in the 
United States for selected agricultural specialists. President Clinton 
announced the United States will seek beneficiary status for Moldova 
under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). Such a step is 
designed to promote greater bilateral trade through tariff reductions on 
various commercial items. During his visit to the White House, President 
Snegur and Vice President Gore signed the Globe Bilateral Agreement for 
Cooperation. The Globe program, initiated by the United States, is an 
international environmental science and education program that will 
bring students, teachers and scientists together to study the global 
environment.
    President Snegur discussed with President Clinton the status of 
negotiations toward a peaceful settlement of the separatist dispute in 
Moldova's eastern Transdniester region. He assured President Clinton of 
his commitment to a peaceful, negotiated settlement of the dispute in 
accordance with international standards and in cooperation with the 
international community, including the Organiza- 

[[Page 143]]

tion for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). President Snegur 
described recent progress in negotiations to reestablish economic links 
between the communities on both sides of the Dniester River, and to 
formulate a special status for the Transdniester region within a unified 
Moldovan state. President Clinton lauded President Snegur for Moldova's 
exemplary approach toward peaceful resolution of this internal political 
dispute. He reaffirmed the United States' support for the independence, 
sovereignty and territorial integrity of Moldova and applauded its 
positive human rights record, particularly its treatment of national 
minorities. President Clinton reiterated that the United States would 
continue to promote a settlement of the Transdniester dispute, including 
through its cooperation with the OSCE.
    President Snegur reviewed the status of negotiations between Moldova 
and Russia concerning the withdrawal of the Russian 14th Army, noting 
the importance of the October 1994 framework agreement establishing a 
three-year withdrawal timetable. President Clinton expressed his 
expectation that Russia and Moldova would implement the terms of the 
agreement expeditiously and comprehensively, paying particular attention 
to the withdrawal of military equipment. The two presidents welcomed the 
OSCE's constructive role in following the implementation of the 
withdrawal agreement and searching for a lasting political solution of 
the problems in the eastern part of Moldova, as called for in last 
month's OSCE Budapest Summit.
    President Clinton and President Snegur noted the great strides made 
in recent years toward overcoming the division of the European continent 
and opening the way for closer cooperation among the European states. 
During President Snegur's visit to the Pentagon, he and Defense 
Secretary William Perry signed a Joint Statement on Future U.S.-Moldovan 
Defense and Military Relations. President Clinton welcomed Moldova's 
decision to participate in the Partnership for Peace, an important 
component in an emerging new security concept for Europe. Under the 
Warsaw Initiative, the United States will seek to provide Moldova 
assistance in the next fiscal year to complement Moldova's own resource 
commitments for Partnership activities. The two leaders reaffirmed their 
support for coordinated international efforts, through such structures 
as the OSCE and the United Nations, to promote peaceful solutions to 
regional conflicts.
    President Clinton and President Snegur expressed the belief that the 
visit by President Snegur contributed greatly to further strengthening 
bilateral relations. President Snegur expressed his warm appreciation to 

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