pd06no95 The President's Radio Address...

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called spousal impoverishment. What this means is they would let a State 
say to an elderly couple that if the husband or the wife has to go into 
a nursing home, the other has to sell the house, the car, and clean out 
the bank account before there can be any help from the Government. They 
say, ``We'll then help you, and how you get along afterward is your own 
problem.''
    The Republicans say they support Medicare. They say they just want 
to reform it. But just this week we learned that the Senate majority 
leader is bragging that he opposed Medicare from the beginning, and the 
Speaker of the House admitted that his goal is to have Medicare, quote, 
``wither on the vine.'' When they say those things, it's clear that the 
Republicans come not to praise Medicare but to bury it.
    All Americans believe we have a fundamental duty to provide 
opportunity for our young people and to protect the world that God gave 
us. But the Republican budget singles out education and the environment 
for deep and devastating cuts.
    And it's a basic American value to honor hard work. But the 
congressional Republicans impose billions of dollars in new taxes and 
fees directly on working people. On average, families who earn less than 
$30,000 a year get a tax hike, not a tax cut, under their plan. Let me 
put it another way. They want to increase taxes on working families with 
children living on $20,000 a year or less and give people in my income 
group a tax cut. That is wrong. A country where Medicare withers on the 
vine, where our children are denied educational opportunity, where 
pollution worsens, where working people get a tax increase: That's not 
the kind of America I want for the 21st century.
    I want a nation that promotes opportunity and demands 
responsibility; that preserves families, increases work; that recognizes 
the duty we owe to each other; and that still is the strongest country 
in the world.
    The more the American people see of this budget the less they like 
it. That's why the Republicans in Congress have resorted to 
extraordinary blackmail tactics to try to ram their program through. 
They have said they won't pass a bill letting the Government pay its 
bills unless I accept their extreme and misguided budget priorities.
    Well, for more than two centuries, through war and depression, the 
United States has always paid its bills, always honored its obligations. 
For all their loose talk, the congressional leaders know that a default 
would have a severe impact on our country. By making

[[Page 1954]]

it more expensive for the Government to raise money, it would expand the 
deficit, unsettle financial markets, and increase interest rates. Higher 
interest rates mean higher mortgage rates for homeowners, especially the 
10 million of them whose mortgages are tied to Federal interest rates. 
Higher interest rates means higher credit card rates for consumers and 
bigger borrowing costs for businesses.
    Now, I'm not about to give in to that kind of blackmail. So Congress 
should simply stop playing political games with the full faith and 
credit of the United States of America. They should send me the debt 
limit bill to sign, as every Congress has done when necessary throughout 
American history.
    Just yesterday the Secretary of the Treasury once again asked 
Congress to remove the debt limit from the budget bill or, at the very 
least, to extend it through mid-January. That way we can resolve this 
budget impasse without hurting our economy. Even this offer was brushed 
aside.
    I will not let anyone hold health care, education, or the 
environment hostage. If they send me a budget bill that says simply, 
``Take our cuts or we'll let the country go into default,'' I will still 
veto it. And hear this: Before or after a veto, I am not prepared to 
discuss the destruction of Medicare and Medicaid, the gutting of our 
commitment to education, the ravaging of our environment, or raising 
taxes on working people.
    So I say to the Republican leaders: Back off your cuts in these 
vital areas. Until you do, there's nothing for us to talk about. You say 
your principles are a balanced budget, a tax cut, extending the life of 
the Medicare Trust Fund. I want all those things. They're my principles, 
too. But there are other important principles, the ones that I have 
outlined. They are morally right for America, and they're good for our 
economy.
    This is a time of genuine promise for our country. We're on the 
move. Our economy is the envy of the world. No nation on Earth is better 
positioned for the new century than America because of the diversity of 
our economy and our citizens, because of our commitment to excellence, 
because of our technological advantages. The 21st century will be ours 
if we make the right choices and do the right thing for the American 
people.
    Thanks for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 5:25 p.m. on October 27 in the 
Roosevelt Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on October 
28.


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[Page 1954]
 
Monday, November 6, 1995
 
Volume 31--Number 44
Pages 1951-1982
 
Week Ending Friday, November 3, 1995
 
Statement on the Court Decision on Timber Sales

October 28, 1995

    I am deeply disappointed in the court's decision to force the Forest 
Service and the Bureau of Land Management to release these sales of 
healthy ancient timber.
    My administration's agreement with the Congress on this issue was 
significantly different from the interpretation upheld this week by the 
courts. We agreed that the administration would not have to violate our 
standards and guidelines for our forest plan, and for forest management 
in general, but only speed up sales that met those standards. We do not 
believe that this extreme expansion of ancient timber sales was 
authorized by the 1995 rescission act. My administration will actively 
pursue a legislative remedy to correct this extreme result.
    At this time, however, there is no choice but to comply with the 
court's decision. The decision forces the release of timber that may 
lead to grave environmental injury to chinook salmon and other wildlife 
and damage our rivers and streams. This could jeopardize the livelihoods 
of thousands of people who depend on the Pacific Northwest's vibrant 
commercial and sport fisheries.
    I have directed the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to 
work with the companies awarded contracts to seek changes to mitigate 
any harm to salmon and other species and water quality.
    In signing the rescission legislation and in subsequent directives 
to my Cabinet, I pledged to uphold existing environmental laws and 
standards. I will continue to fight for those laws and standards.

[[Page 1955]]

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[Page 1955]
 
Monday, November 6, 1995
 
Volume 31--Number 44
Pages 1951-1982
 
Week Ending Friday, November 3, 1995
 
Letter to Senator Ernest F. Hollings on the Telecommunications Reform 
Bill

October 26, 1995

Dear Fritz:

    I enjoyed our telephone conversation today regarding the upcoming 
conference on the telecommunications reform bill and would like to 
follow-up on your request regarding the specific issues of concern to me 
in the proposed legislation.
    As I said in our discussion, I am committed to promoting competition 
in every aspect of the telecommunications and information industries. I 
believe that the legislation should protect and promote diversity of 
ownership and opinions in the mass media, should protect consumers from 
unjustified rate increases for cable and telephone services, and, in 
particular, should include a test specifically designed to ensure that 
the Bell companies entering into long distance markets will not impede 
competition.
    Earlier this year, my Administration provided comments on S. 652 and 
H.R. 1555 as passed. I remain concerned that neither bill provides a 
meaningful role for the Department of Justice in safeguarding 
competition before local telephone companies enter new markets. I 
continue to be concerned that the bills allow too much concentration 
within the mass media and in individual markets, which could reduce the 
diversity of news and information available to the public. I also 
believe that the provisions allowing mergers of cable and telephone 
companies are overly broad. In addition, I oppose deregulating cable 
programming services and equipment rates before cable operators face 
real competition. I remain committed, as well, to the other concerns 
contained in those earlier statements on the two bills.
    I applaud the Senate and the House for including provisions 
requiring all new televisions to contain technology that will allow 
parents to block out programs with violent or objectionable content. I 
strongly support retention in the final bill of the Snowe-Rockefeller 
provision that will ensure that schools, libraries and hospitals have 
access to advanced telecommunications services.
    I look forward to working with you and your colleagues during the 
conference to produce legislation that effectively addresses these 
concerns.
    Sincerely,
                                                  Bill Clinton

Note: This letter was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
October 30. Senator Ernest F. Hollings is the ranking member of the 
Communications Subcommittee of the Senate Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation Committee.


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[Page 1955-1961]
 
Monday, November 6, 1995
 
Volume 31--Number 44
Pages 1951-1982
 
Week Ending Friday, November 3, 1995
 
Remarks to the White House Conference on Travel and Tourism

October 30, 1995

    Thank you. Please sit down. This is not an endurance contest. 
[Laughter] I am delighted to be here, delighted that this day has 
finally come. I want to thank Greg Farmer for the fine job that he has 
done, and the others who are here: the FAA Administrator, David Hinson; 
the Deputy Transportation Secretary, Mort Downey; Bill Norman, the 
president of the Travel Industry Association of America. I want to say a 
special word of thanks to Lorranne Ausley-Ellis, who was the executive 
director of this conference. I don't know if she's had any sleep for the 
last week or two, waiting for you all to appear. And a thanks to my good 
friend Congressman Oberstar.
    I was telling Greg Farmer when Jim was up here speaking that Jim 
Oberstar, once he gets the bit in his teeth, he never lets go. If Jim 
had been a dog, half the people in Washington would have rabies. 
[Laughter] He is the most determined person I ever saw. And it might not 
be so bad, depending on which half it was. [Laughter]
    Jim Oberstar came to me with this idea, and I could look in his eyes 
and tell it was going to happen. I might tell you also, on a totally 
different subject, for a very long time he was one of only literally a 
handful of Members of the Congress who supported me in what I ultimately 
had to do in Haiti. Because he speaks Creole--he'd lived in Haiti--he 
knew it was the right thing to do; he knew it was the right thing for 
our country, for the cause of freedom. And when we celebrated one year 
of democratic freedom

[[Page 1956]]

in Haiti just a couple weeks ago, I thought to myself, if it hadn't been 
for Jim Oberstar and just a couple of more, this might not have 
happened. So he, in a real way, is the father of this conference, and I 
thank him for it very much.
    I do want to thank the Members of Congress and the citizens of both 
political parties who worked so hard to make this day possible. I want 
to thank those of you who took time away to attend this conference. I 
know there are a lot of people here today, as there were at the White 
House Conference on Small Business, who don't work for big companies, 
who don't have generous leave policies and travel allowances, and who 
really had to make a personal effort and a personal sacrifice to come. 
And I thank you for coming because I know what an important part of the 
tourism industry you are.
    I want to thank the State employees who are here who work with 
tourism, and the local employees and elected officials who are here. I 
want to thank the students from the Academy of Travel and Tourism 
programs who wrote essays that won prizes about encouraging people to 
visit the United States.
    I am very proud that this is the first White House Conference on 
Travel and Tourism. And I know all of you agree that it's about time.
    This industry has been near and dear to my heart since I was a 
little boy. I grew up in a resort town that also embraced a national 
park. As an adult I've had the good fortune to travel a fair amount, 
although as President I must say one of the more frustrating aspects of 
the job is I go to a lot of interesting places and never get to be a 
tourist.
    As Governor, I enthusiastically attended our Governor's Conference 
on Tourism every year. And I want you to know that this is very 
important to me personally and that this time is a very important time 
for you to be gathering here.
    This industry holds much promise for the future of America. It has a 
lot to teach us as Americans, as we stand on the dawn of a new era, 
moving from an industrial age to one that will be dominated by 
technology and information and our ability to relate to one another and 
to move quickly in terms of ideas and technology and people across the 
globe. We've moved at a breathtaking pace from the divided world of the 
cold war to a global village. If the 21st century is going to be an 
American century, we have to master this transition, as surely as we 
mastered the shift from the agricultural to the industrial economy. And 
we will.
    To meet the test of the time, we have to dedicate ourselves to 
promoting and strengthening those aspects of American society which will 
clearly work best in the global economy. And we know that trade and 
tourism and travel, all these things are tailor-made for what we do well 
and what the 21st century will value.
    That's why I have dedicated myself to helping this industry grow. A 
healthy travel and tourism industry is good for the economy, and it also 
gives Americans a larger service. If you think back to the first time as 
a child you left home to go somewhere new, recall the first time you met 
someone who was visiting you from a far off place, I know that you came 
away from the experience with a greater knowledge of other people and 
other communities, a stronger sense of the common humanity that unites 
us all. And I would guess that you returned with an increasing 
appreciation for something just as important, your own home, your own 
community, your own roots.
    Travel leads to understanding. It increases the chances of peace, 
and therefore, it increases the chances of a better life for all. When 
you just travel this land you learn the miracle of America. Our people 
are as diverse and wonderful as our landscape. Going to another State 
can almost be like going to another country, and if you come from 
another State to Washington, it's almost like space travel. [Laughter]
    Travel is also democratic, with a small ``d.'' It used to be a 
luxury reserved for the aristocracy. But in the history of American 

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