pd06mr95 The President's News Conference...

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Chretien; Canadian Ambassador to the United States Raymond Chretien; 
U.S. Ambassador to Canada James J. Blanchard; and Shirley Thomson, 
director, National Gallery of Canada. This item was not received in time 
for publication in the appropriate issue.


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[Page 317-319]
 
Monday, March 6, 1995
 
Volume 31--Number 9
Pages 315-359
 
Week Ending Friday, March 3, 1995
 
The President's Radio Address

February 25, 1995

    Since I became President, I have worked hard to fulfill our 
responsibility in this time of dramatic change to preserve the American 
dream for all of our citizens and to make sure this country enters the 
next century still the strongest nation on Earth.
    Much of what we have to do, creating jobs, raising incomes, 
educating all of our citizens, promoting work over welfare, much of this 
work is harder because in the 12 years before I became President, 
Government made the problem worse, promoting inequality by over-taxing 
the middle class and not asking the wealthiest of our citizens to pay 
their fair share; reducing investments in our future, things that would 
grow jobs and incomes; and unbelievably, quadrupling the national debt.
    We have to be responsible with our tax dollars. If we don't have a 
responsible budget, nothing else can get done. That's why with each 
budget I've submitted to Congress, we've cut Government, cut the 
deficit, and still invested more in the American people so that they can 
make the most of their own lives.
    Two years ago when I submitted my first budget, some argued that it 
was impossible to dramatically reduce the deficit, increase investment 
in education and training and jobs, and create economic opportunities. 
Well, 2 years later, the facts have silenced the naysayers. We cut the 
deficit by over $600 billion; our new budget cuts it another $80 
billion. Our 1993 economic plan cut over 300 domestic programs; this new 
budget eliminates or consolidates 400 more. And still we invested more 
in education, training, and jobs. Since I took office, the economy has 
created almost 6 million new jobs.
    I remain committed to cutting the deficit further and to moving 
toward a balanced budget. The question is, what's the best way to do it? 
The United States Senate is about to vote on the so-called balanced 
budget amendment. The amendment doesn't really balance the budget, it 
simply requires Congress to come up with a drastic combination of cuts 
and tax hikes and to cram them in

[[Page 318]]

by a date certain, no matter what the other economic impacts might be, 
unless 60 percent of both Houses vote to continue to deficit spend. Now, 
there are some serious problems with this approach, and I'd like to 
mention three of them.
    First, we're fortunate that today our economy is strong. But it 
won't always be, and when the economy is weak, many people need a little 
extra help to get back on their feet. Now, when more people are out of 
work, Government spending on things like job training goes up, and tax 
revenues go down because there aren't as many taxpayers. At a time like 
this, the last thing the American people need is a tax hike or a cut in 
job training or an arbitrary cut in our national defense. But the 
balanced budget amendment will force us to make just those decisions 
every time the economy is weak. That kind of extreme fiscal policy makes 
a small recession worse. In its most exaggerated form, it's what helped 
to turn the economic slowdown of the 1920's into the Great Depression of 
the 1930's. According to the Treasury Department, if a balanced budget 
amendment had been in effect in 1992 during the height of the last 
recession, another one and a half million Americans would have been out 
of work.
    The second problem is this: The Constitution clearly establishes 
that budgetary choices should be made by elected representatives. But 
under this balanced budget amendment, budget decisions could end up 
being made by Federal judges, who certainly aren't elected. That's why 
an army of constitutional scholars from every part of the political 
spectrum, from conservative Robert Bork to liberal Laurence Tribe, have 
advised the United States Senate to defeat this amendment. We do not 
want budget decisions affecting tens of millions of Americans being made 
by unelected Federal judges.
    The third problem is this: Interest payments on our debt, run up 
between 1981 and 1993 before I took office, are so big now that paying 
our interest will soon be a bigger part of the budget than the defense 
budget. What that means is that every time the Federal Reserve raises 
interest rates to hold down inflation, that increases the deficit. Since 
this economic recovery got going, there have been seven interest rate 
increases; the last few have added more than $100 billion to our 
deficit. Now, this balanced budget amendment, therefore, could give the 
unelected Federal Reserve the power not only to raise your interest 
rates but also to cut spending on things like Head Start, childhood 
immunization, and educational opportunities for all of our children. I 
don't think that's a very good idea.
    We do need to keep reducing the deficit. We need to bring the budget 
into balance on a regular basis. What does this require? It requires 
tough decisions. Our administration has made those decisions. Except for 
the interest payments we're making on the debt, our administration is 
running a surplus for the first time in over 25 years. We are going to 
have a balanced budget for the first time in over 25 years next year, 
except for the interest payments on the debt run up just between 1993 
and 1981, in the 12 years before I came here. That's because we've made 
tough decisions. Do we need to make some more? You bet we do.
    This new Congress has been here over 50 days, but there is still no 
serious explanation of how the budget is going to be balanced by 2002 
coming out of the new leadership, even though they support balancing the 
budget by then. Why is that? That's because these decisions are tough. 
It's not easy to make the cuts we've already made. It's not going to be 
easy to make the cuts we've proposed. It's not going to be easy to go 
beyond that. But we have to do it.
    The Federal budget is a statement about our priorities as a nation. 
The American people have a right to know what's going to be cut, how 
it's going to affect them. They have a right to know that before a 
balanced budget amendment is adopted. They have a right to know it if we 
don't adopt a balanced budget amendment and we keep doing the 
responsible thing to reduce the deficit. Only recently has the new 
Republican Congress started to make its priorities clear. I want to work 
with them on this, but I believe some of their intentions run counter to 
the best traditions and the best interests of our people.
    Many of these Republican leaders seem to be saying that we ought to 
cut programs

[[Page 319]]

for children to pay for a capital gains cut for upper income people. I 
don't believe we should reduce the school lunch program, but some 
Republicans have proposed to do exactly that. Just to take that program 
for an example, it's done a world of good for millions of kids from all 
backgrounds, all across America, since Harry Truman was President. ``If 
it ain't broke, don't fix it.'' That used to be the conservative credo; 
it ought to be again.
    We shouldn't dramatically increase the cost of college tuition for 
millions of students either. But Republicans have proposed to eliminate 
the student loan subsidy and start charging interest on loans to low-
income students while they're still in college. That could increase the 
cost of their college education by more than 20 percent. We need more 
people going to college at lower cost, not fewer people going to college 
at higher cost.
    And finally, we must uphold our responsibility to care for elderly 
Americans. It's important to me and most people in our country to do 
this. But Republicans are suggesting dramatic cuts in Medicare and other 
services to our elderly citizens.
    These are some of the targets for cuts if a balanced budget 
amendment is adopted. I don't think they're the right choices for 
America. I came here to stand up for our children, for people who work 
hard to make the most of their lives, for people who've worked hard and 
played by the rules all of their lives. I don't intend to let them down.
    We must continue to reduce the deficit and to strengthen our 
economic security. We must continue to cut Government and make it work 
better. But we must be careful, not careless; lean, not mean. The only 
way to preserve the American dream for our children is to make tough 
choices and hard decisions. We can't avoid our responsibility by 
legislating those choices away and giving them to people who were not 
elected to make these decisions.
    Thanks for listening.

Note: The President spoke at 10:06 a.m. from the Oval Office at the 
White House.


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[Page 319]
 
Monday, March 6, 1995
 
Volume 31--Number 9
Pages 315-359
 
Week Ending Friday, March 3, 1995
 
Statement on the Trade Agreement With China

February 26, 1995

    I am pleased that the United States and China today signed an 
agreement on intellectual property, culminating months of hard work by 
our negotiators and their Chinese counterparts.
    This is a strong agreement for American companies and American 
workers. China will undertake immediate steps to crack down on piracy, 
enforce intellectual property rights, and provide more open access for 
U.S. exporters to the burgeoning China market. This agreement will 
eliminate practices that have cost Americans over $1 billion a year in 
high value exports. It will mean thousands of jobs for Americans in key 
industries, including computer software, pharmaceuticals, agricultural 
and chemical products, books and periodicals, and audio visual products.
    U.S. action in China is part of the broader economic strategy of my 
administration to create high paying jobs for Americans. On behalf of 
U.S. workers, we have used every tool at our disposal to fight foreign 
barriers to competitive U.S. exports.
    This new agreement also promotes broader goals in China. Greater 
respect for rule of law and greater access to intellectual property 
products both promote a more open Chinese society.


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[Page 319-321]
 
Monday, March 6, 1995
 
Volume 31--Number 9
Pages 315-359
 
Week Ending Friday, March 3, 1995
 
Remarks on Signing the Executive Order to Facilitate Payment of Child 
Support and an Exchange With Reporters

February 27, 1995

    The President. I'm glad to be joined here by the members of this 
administration who are active in child support enforcement and by 
advocates of tougher child support enforcement.
    Today the Executive order I have just signed is another important 
step in our efforts to bring the Federal Government in line with the 
basic values of ordinary Americans. People who bear children and bring 
them into this world have an absolute responsibility to do their best to 
take care of them. And

[[Page 320]]

any parent who isn't paying child support should be required to pay.
    The action I'm taking today builds on the work we've been doing for 
the last 2 years to step up child support enforcement. Just last week, 
the Department of Health and Human Services reported that we collected a 
record $703 million in delinquent child support enforcement in 1993 by 
garnishing income tax returns of parents who failed to pay. That is a 13 
percent increase in child support collection. It helped almost one 
million families.
    The Executive order I just signed will make the Federal Government a 
model employer in the area of child support enforcement. It will make it 
easier for us to find Federal employees who don't meet their obligations 
to their children. It will speed up our ability to garnish wages and 
force them to pay the child support they owe.
    Any parent who is avoiding his or her child support should listen 
carefully: We will find you. We will catch you. We will make you pay.
    Children should not suffer for their parents' mistakes. Too many 
children in this country do suffer because of their parents' 
irresponsible behavior. We can't let them be punished any longer. When 
parents don't provide the child support they owe, their children pay 
forever, and in more ways than financial.
    The toughest enforcement measures ever proposed for child support 
were part of the welfare reform legislation I sent to the Congress last 
year. Our plan said to absent parents, if you're not paying your child 
support, we'll garnish your wages, suspend your license, track you 
across State lines, and if necessary, require you to work off what you 
owe. Child support enforcement is essential to the welfare reform 
effort, and Congress should include these tough child support 
enforcement measures in the proposed welfare reform legislation. We 
should be tough on deadbeat parents, not on innocent children.
    Again, I thank all the people who have helped to put together this 
child support enforcement order. We will proceed to aggressively 
implement it.

Balanced Budget Amendment

    Q. Mr. President, What's your reading on the balanced budget 
amendment in terms of passage?
    The President. I think it's a close vote.
    Q. How close?
    Q. Have you talked to Senator Nunn yet?
    The President. I've talked all the undecided Senators, to the best 
of my knowledge. I've talked to several, anyway.
    Q. You think Nunn will hold out?
    The President. I think I should let him speak for himself.
    Q. What is it going to take to defeat it tomorrow?
    The President. I think it depends upon what those undecided Senators 
believe is the right thing to do.
    Q. Are you going to be meeting with any of them today or tomorrow, 
Mr. President? What will you be doing to try and head this thing on?
    The President. I'm not sure. I've had extensive conversations with 
all of them. I don't know what else I'll be doing.

Chelsea Clinton's Birthday

    Q. How are you going to celebrate Chelsea's birthday? Just a little 
offbeat.
    The President. Well, we're going to have dinner tonight. You know, 
it's a school day. You don't get your birthday off at school. [Laughter]
    Q. You're not going to be a deadbeat father, are you? [Laughter]
    The President. I got up this morning, and we had a nice visit this 
morning for her birthday. But we're going to have--we're going to have a 
dinner. We're going to have a family dinner tonight to celebrate her 
birthday. And then after the press of her school activities clears, 
we'll probably have a little party for her. But she didn't want one 
tonight, so we're just going to have a family dinner.
    Q. Can you raise a teenager in the White House? [Laughter]
    The President. Well, I think she's doing very well. She's doing very 
well.

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