pd06no95 The President's Radio Address...

	Web GovRecords.org

<DOC>
[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents]
 [frwais.access.gpo.gov]


[Page i-ii]
 
Monday, November 6, 1995
 
Volume 31--Number 44
Pages 1951-1982
 
Contents

Weekly Compilation of

Presidential

Documents

[[Page i]]

[[Page ii]]

Addresses and Remarks

    Balkan peace process--1962
    Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America forum--1966
    Democratic congressional leaders, telephone conversation--1951
    National Jewish Democratic Council--1972
    Project XL participants--1976
    Radio address--1952
    White House Conference on Travel and Tourism--1955

Bill Signings

    Biotechnology process patent legislation, statement--1966
    Legislation rejecting U.S. Sentencing Commission recommendations, 
        statement--1961

Communications to Congress

    Iran, message transmitting notice--1965
    Telecommunications reform bill, letter--1955

Interviews With the News Media

    Exchange with reporters in the Roosevelt Room--1962

Notices

    Continuation of Iran Emergency--1964

Proclamations

    National Adoption Month--1965
    National American Indian Heritage Month--1971

Statements by the President

    See also Bill Signings
    Congressional action on proposed environmental legislation--1971
    Court decision on timber sales--1954

Supplementary Materials

    Acts approved by the President--1981
    Checklist of White House press releases--1981
    Digest of other White House announcements--1980
    Nominations submitted to the Senate--1981


              WEEKLY COMPILATION OF
          ------------------------------
              PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS

Published every Monday by the Office of the Federal Register, National 
Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC 20408, the Weekly 
Compilation of Presidential Documents contains statements, messages, and
other Presidential materials released by the White House during the 
preceding week.

The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents is published pursuant to
the authority contained in the Federal Register Act (49 Stat. 500, as 
amended; 44 U.S.C. Ch. 15), under regulations prescribed by the 
Administrative Committee of the Federal Register, approved by the 
President (37 FR 23607; 1 CFR Part 10).

Distribution is made only by the Superintendent of Documents, Government
Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. The Weekly Compilation of 
Presidential Documents will be furnished by mail to domestic subscribers 
for $80.00 per year ($137.00 for mailing first class) and to foreign
subscribers for $93.75 per year, payable to the Superintendent of 
Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. The charge 
for a single copy is $3.00 ($3.75 for foreign mailing).

There are no restrictions on the republication of material appearing in 
the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents.

[[Page 1951]]

<DOC>
[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents]
 [frwais.access.gpo.gov]


[Page 1951-1952]
 
Monday, November 6, 1995
 
Volume 31--Number 44
Pages 1951-1982
 
Week Ending Friday, November 3, 1995
 
Remarks in a Telephone Conversation With Democratic Congressional 
Leaders


October 27, 1995

    Senator Thomas A. Daschle. Hello, Mr. President.
    Congressman Richard A. Gephardt. Hello, Mr. President.
    The President. How are you?
    Senator Daschle. Not good.
    The President. Tell me what's going on.
    Senator Daschle. Well, we're still working on our reconciliation 
bill. Democrats are offering a series of amendments that deal directly 
with each of the concerns that we have. But I must say it doesn't appear 
that there is any prospect of improving this bill. This bill is just as 
mean and as extreme as it was when it was introduced. It ends Medicare, 
it rewards the rich, and ravages the rest. And so I must tell you, I am 
very disappointed to report that every Democrat here in the Senate 
tonight at some point will be voting against this piece of legislation.
    The President. Tell them not to worry about it; I'm going to veto it 
anyway.
    Senator Daschle. Well, I applaud you for that because I must tell 
you it is a terrible piece of legislation. It's the wrong plan for the 
wrong reason, done the wrong way to help the wrong people. And I----
    The President. Otherwise you don't feel strongly about it. 
[Laughter] You know, this is one of those moments in our history when 
I'm grateful for the wisdom of the Founding Fathers. I mean, the 
Congress gets to propose, but the President has to sign or veto. And the 
Constitution gave me that authority, and one of the reasons for the veto 
is to prevent excess. And this is--we are willing to work with them in 
good faith to balance this budget. We believe in that. You saw what--and 
America saw earlier this week--what the Democrats did to bring the 
deficit from 290 billion down to 255, then to 205, then to 164, when we 
were all working together. And that approach has been rejected. So I 
will have no alternative but to veto it. It's excessive, and it's wrong 
for all the reasons you said.
    I just want to urge you to keep offering your amendments, standing 
up, make it clear what you believe in, and tell everybody to just stay 
positive and just stand up there, stand for what we believe in.
    Senator Daschle. Mr. President, I've consulted with virtually every 
member of our caucus, and they have all indicated that if you veto it, 
we will have the votes and then some to sustain that veto.
    The President. Dick?
    Congressman Gephardt. Mr. President, we have the very same situation 
in the House. We had a very united Democratic Party. As you know, 
yesterday, we had 203 votes against their plan. We even picked up 10 
Republicans who voted against the plan.
    The President. Brave souls.
    Congressman Gephardt. So the phalanx is beginning to splinter a 
little bit. But they will stand behind you and sustain this veto. And I 
must tell you that I really believe the American people will be behind 
you as well.
    I was at Cambridge Hospital this morning with Joe Kennedy, and 
Hillary had been there I think about a year ago. This is a hospital, as 
you know, that has about 60 percent Medicare and Medicaid. It's a public 
hospital. And they really believe that if cuts of this magnitude go 
through, they'll have to close the hospital. And I met with the doctors 
and nurses and the staff there and told them that I believed you would 
veto this legislation if it got through and that we would stand behind 
that veto. And they applauded and applauded and applauded because it 
means whether or not there's going to be health care in that community 
and communities all over the country.
    So we're behind you, and we're going to stay there. And we 
appreciate what you're doing.

[[Page 1952]]

    Senator Daschle. Mr. President, I would say not only are we willing 
to support you in your position on vetoing this legislation, but I think 
it's also fair to say that every Democrat is prepared to go to work the 
day after you veto that bill to work in a constructive way to find 
alternatives and to work with Republicans to find some positive 
conclusion to this whole affair. It's important we learn to govern, that 
we work with Republicans in doing that. But obviously, they have 
concluded, as we have, that this veto is the only way that we're going 
to get it done. And so we look forward to working with you.
    The President. Well, we want to work with them, but we've got to 
stick with our principles, you know. They talk about their principles of 
balancing the budget and securing Medicare and having some kind of tax 
cut. And, you know, I accept that. I think we ought to balance the 
budget, secure Medicare, and I'm not opposed to a tax cut if it's 
properly targeted and emphasizes childrearing and education for middle 
class people.
    But I believe that the more important principles are the ones that 
have been rejected by them that we had to stand up for. I mean, here we 
are on the verge of the 21st century; no major American company would 
cut education and training and cut technology and cut research, but they 
do. We can't tolerate that.
    Nobody would--with any sense of fairness--would raise taxes on 
working families with children with incomes of $27,000 a year or less. 
That will discourage people moving from welfare to work. But that's what 
they do. Nobody who understands what the world is going to be like 10 
years from now would have the kind of cuts and crippling provisions 
related to the environment that they do.
    And of course we've been treated to a real education on Medicare and 
Medicaid which is the most grievous thing of all. I mean, we have 
obligations to our parents, to the poor children of this country, to the 
disabled people, and also to the hospitals and to the doctors and the 
others that are participating in these programs. It's just not right.
    And so we have our principles to stand for, and we'll stand for 
them. And I'm glad you're going to stand with me. And eventually America 
will be better for this. If we stand up for America and for the future 
and for the things we believe in, it's going to be all right.
    But as I said in this phone conversation, I'm probably more grateful 
today for the wisdom of the Founding Fathers than I have ever been in my 
life. They knew what they were doing, and we're going to use the 
Constitution they gave us to stand up for what's right.
    Senator Daschle. Well, thank you, Mr. President. We appreciate your 
leadership and look forward to working with you.
    The President. Thank you. Thank you, Dick.
    Congressman Gephardt. Thank you, Mr. President. There's a lot of 
people that are glad you're there and glad you've got the veto pen 
today, believe me.
    The President. Well, just be of good cheer. Just go out there and 
debate these things and tell them what we believe in, and it will all 
work out. We'll make it work out for America.
    Congressman Gephardt. Great.
    Senator Daschle. Thank you.
    The President. Thanks.

Note: The President spoke at 4:23 p.m. from the Oval Office in the White 
House. This item was not received in time for publication in the 
appropriate issue.


<DOC>
[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents]
 [frwais.access.gpo.gov]


[Page 1952-1954]
 
Monday, November 6, 1995
 
Volume 31--Number 44
Pages 1951-1982
 
Week Ending Friday, November 3, 1995
 
The President's Radio Address

October 28, 1995

    Good morning. I want to talk to you today about what's at stake for 
the American people in the great budget debate now taking place in 
Washington. But first, I've got some good news to report.
    Our country is on the move. Our economy is the strongest in the 
world, and it's growing. Yesterday, the official report on the economy 
for the last 3 months showed continued strong economic growth with very 
low inflation. And this week we also learned that we've cut the budget 
deficit nearly in half since I became President. It has dropped for 3 
years in a row for the first time since President Truman was in office. 
The American

[[Page 1953]]

people should be proud of their accomplishment.
    Now it's time to finish the job and balance the budget, so that we 
don't pass a mountain of debt on to our children and we free up more 
funds to be invested in our economy. But we need to do it in a way that 
reflects our core values: opportunity for all Americans to make the most 
of their own lives; responsibility--we all must do our part, no more 
something for nothing; and third, recognizing our community, our common 
obligations to preserve and strengthen our families, to do our duty to 
our parents, to fulfill our obligation to give our children the best 
future possible with good schools and good health care and safe streets 
and a clean environment; and finally, a determination to keep our Nation 
the strongest in the world.
    I have proposed a balanced budget that secures Medicare into the 
future, that increases our investment in education and technology, that 
protects the environment, that keeps our country the strongest in the 
world. Because working people do deserve a tax break, it includes a tax 
cut targeted at education and childrearing. My balanced budget reflects 
our national values.
    It's also in our national interest. We now have 3 years of evidence 
that our economic strategy works. Reduce the deficit, sell more American 
products around the world, invest in education and technology--it gives 
you more jobs, more new businesses, more homeowners, a stronger future 
for all Americans. But this week the Republican Congress voted to enact 
an extreme budget that violates our values and I believe is bad for our 
long-term interest.
    All Americans believe in honoring our parents and keeping our pledge 
that they'll live out their last years in dignity. But the Republican 
budget cuts $450 billion out of the health care system, doubles premiums 
for senior citizens. And the House budget actually repeals the rule 

Other Popular 1995 Presidential Documents Documents:

Other Documents:

1995 Presidential Documents Records and Documents