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Their leader once proposed making it voluntary. The Senate candidate in
Virginia, Ollie North, you know him?
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. He says Social Security ought to be voluntary. That
means we ought to kill it. That means we ought to kill it. And of
course, Senator Wofford's opponent says that he would settle for raising
the retirement age to 70, but it would be higher if he could make it
higher.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. Folks, here's my question. I know that this country
has problems. I know this State has problems. I know not everybody is
free of worry. But let me ask you something--they had it 12 years. They
have told us if we give it to them again, they will do it to us again
just like they did for the last 12 years.
In 21 months, we have turned this thing around. We're going in the
right direction. Let's don't turn back now. Let's don't turn back now.
Let me tell you, I want you to think about this, in closing, every
one of you, I want you to think about what you're going to do for the
next 8 days. And I want you to think about it in terms of what I have
just been doing. You know, I just came home from this trip to the Middle
East, and I have seen--[applause]--and I want you to think about this. A
big part of what I said in '92 was that I would give primary attention
to our problems at home because we couldn't be strong abroad unless we
were strong at home, but that we could not withdraw from the world, we
had to be involved in the world. We had to expand trade, and we had to
make the world more secure and more free. So we've expanded trade. And
I'm going to Detroit tomorrow. You know what the biggest problem in
Michigan is today? Overtime. The autoworkers are working too much
overtime. That is a high-class problem. We need more problems like that.
For the first time since the dawn of nuclear weapons, no Russian
missiles are pointed at your children. And we, we here in the United
States have been asked to help brave people all over the world as they
struggle for freedom and democracy. Whether it is in South Africa or
South Korea, whether it is in the Persian Gulf, in Kuwait and Saudi
Arabia, or in the Middle East, whether it is in Haiti or in Northern
Ireland, we are helping.
And what I want you to know is, why do you think these people want
us to help? Because they know this is a very great country. And they
respect our values, our Constitution, our devotion to democracy, our
appreciation of diversity, and our willingness to change energetically
to meet the challenges of every age. That is what they like about the
United States. To be sure, they admire our military strength, but it is
the character of our young men and women in uniform that they admire
even more than our power.
[[Page 2210]]
What I want to say to you folks is that we have to believe in
ourselves the way they believe in us, not because we're perfect but
because we can always do better and because we are now doing better
because we are taking on the problems we ignored too long. We're taking
on the tough fights, and we're moving in the right direction.
And what I want each and every one of you to do is to go out of here
and say what I said to you. Find a friend or a neighbor who is
undecided, who is a soft no on Wofford or a soft no on Singel or who
hasn't made up their mind how they're going to vote in these Congress
races. Find somebody and personally promise yourself, you are going to
seek them out and you are going to say, ``Look at the record. Look at
the alternative. Look at the future. Don't go back, go forward. Reelect
Harris Wofford. Elect Mark Singel. Elect these two Congressmen.''
Thank you, and God bless you all. Thank you. [Applause] Thank you.
Thank you.
Just remember, I love western Pennsylvania. You've been wonderful to
me. But you need to send Harris Wofford back to the Senate, elect Mark
Singel, and do it. You have 8 days. Talk to everybody you can. Bring it
home.
Thank you. God bless you all.
Note: The President spoke at 6 p.m. in the South Hall at the David
Lawrence Convention Center. In his remarks, he referred to Tom Forrester
and Peter Flaherty, Allegheny County commissioners; Linda Rhodes, State
Democratic Party chair; and William George, president of the AFL-CIO. A
portion of these remarks could not be verified because the tape was
incomplete.
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Monday, November 7, 1994
Volume 30--Number 44
Pages 2193-2275
Week Ending Friday, November 4, 1994
Statement on Signing California Desert Protection Legislation
October 31, 1994
I take great pleasure in signing into law S. 21, the ``California
Desert Protection Act,'' an Act to preserve for the American people a
resource of extraordinary and inestimable value.
The Act designates as wilderness approximately 7.7 million acres of
Federal lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management and the
National Park Service. The Act adds approximately 3 million acres to the
National Park System, including magnificent lands adjacent to the Death
Valley and Joshua Tree National Monuments, which are redesignated as
National Parks. It also establishes the Mojave National Preserve as a
new unit of the National Park System.
Few Presidents have the opportunity to preserve so valuable a piece
of this Nation's heritage. I exercise this opportunity with enthusiasm
and gratitude. I am enthusiastic because this is the first time since
1980 that the United States has set aside so rich and vast an area. The
broad vistas, the rugged mountain ranges, and the evidence of the human
past are treasures that merit protection on behalf of the American
people. I am grateful because we have successfully concluded the long
struggle to conserve these lands.
I also note that the Act establishes the New Orleans Jazz National
Historical Park. Jazz is among our country's most widely recognized
indigenous music and art forms. The creation of this park is very timely
given that next May is the 100th anniversary of the formation of the
Buddy Bolden in New Orleans, an event many see as the birth of jazz in
America.
Senators Dianne Feinstein, Barbara Boxer, Bennett Johnston, and
George Mitchell, and Congressmen George Miller, Richard Lehman, and
Bruce Vento deserve our thanks for their leadership and persistence in
passing this legislation. I also want to thank Interior Secretary Bruce
Babbitt and his staff for their tireless efforts on behalf of this
Administration priority. This achievement is a tribute to the many
citizens who worked with congressional leaders and the Administration to
ensure the protection of these desert gems.
This Act is proof that the common good and the will of the people
can prevail. Today, as I sign this bill, I am pleased to contribute my
part to the preservation of the California Desert for the enjoyment of
generations to come.
William J. Clinton
The White House,
October 31, 1994.
[[Page 2211]]
Note: S. 21, approved October 31, was assigned Public Law No. 103-433.
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Monday, November 7, 1994
Volume 30--Number 44
Pages 2193-2275
Week Ending Friday, November 4, 1994
Notice on Continuation of Iran Emergency
October 31, 1994
On November 14, 1979, by Executive Order No. 12170, the President
declared a national emergency to deal with the threat to the national
security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States constituted
by the situation in Iran. Notices of the continuation of this national
emergency have been transmitted annually by the President to the
Congress and the Federal Register. The most recent notice appeared in
the Federal Register on November 2, 1993. Because our relations with
Iran have not yet returned to normal, and the process of implementing
the January 19, 1981, agreements with Iran is still underway, the
national emergency declared on November 14, 1979, must continue in
effect beyond November 14, 1994. Therefore, in accordance with section
202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am
continuing the national emergency with respect to Iran. This notice
shall be published in the Federal Register and transmitted to the
Congress.
William J. Clinton
The White House,
October 31, 1994.
[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 12:03 p.m., October 31,
1994 ]
Note: This notice was published in the Federal Register on November 1.
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Monday, November 7, 1994
Volume 30--Number 44
Pages 2193-2275
Week Ending Friday, November 4, 1994
Letter to Congressional Leaders on Iran
October 31, 1994
Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)
Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d))
provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless,
prior to the anniversary date of its declaration, the President
publishes in the Federal Register and transmits to the Congress a notice
stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the
anniversary date. In accordance with this provision, I have sent the
enclosed notice, stating that the Iran emergency is to continue in
effect beyond November 14, 1994, to the Federal Register for
publication. Similar notices have been sent annually to the Congress and
the Federal Register since November 12, 1980. The most recent notice
appeared in the Federal Register on November 2, 1993.
The crisis between the United States and Iran that began in 1979 has
not been fully resolved. The international tribunal established to
adjudicate claims of the United States and U.S. nationals against Iran
and of the Iranian government and Iranian nationals against the United
States continues to function, and normalization of commercial and
diplomatic relations between the United States and Iran has not been
achieved. In these circumstances, I have determined that it is necessary
to maintain in force the broad authorities that are needed in the
process of implementing the January 1981 agreements with Iran and in the
eventual normalization of relations with that country.
Sincerely,
William J. Clinton
Note: Identical letters were sent to Thomas S. Foley, Speaker of the
House of Representatives, and Albert Gore, Jr., President of the Senate.
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Monday, November 7, 1994
Volume 30--Number 44
Pages 2193-2275
Week Ending Friday, November 4, 1994
Remarks in a Roundtable Discussion at the University of Michigan in
Dearborn, Michigan
November 1, 1994
The President. Thank you very much, President Duderstadt. Ladies and
gentlemen, first let me say how delighted I am to be back at this campus
again. I visited here in 1992, and I'm glad to be here again.
One of the most important commitments I made to the voters in 1992,
at least from my point of view, was that if I were to become President I
would try to do something about the student loan program to make it
easier for more people to access and for more people to go to college
and stay in college. I've been very concerned, based on my experience as
a Governor, with the number of our young people who either didn't go to
[[Page 2212]]
school or who started and then dropped out because of the high cost of
the college education, because they either couldn't get the loans or
they thought if they did get the loans they would never be able to pay
them back. I was also, frankly, outraged by the high default rate among
people who had loans and didn't pay them back. So it seemed to me that
there ought to be an easier way to get the loans, to pay them back, and
a better way to actually see that they were paid back.
What this program is designed to do is to lower the cost of the
college loans to the students, give the students more flexible repayment
terms, guarantee that if you choose to go into some line of work which
doesn't have a high salary when you get out of college, that there is a
limit to how much you can be required to repay as a percentage of your
income but that if something happens and your circumstances improve and
you want to pay the loan off quicker with lower interest rates,
obviously you have that option as well. So I came here today just to
learn how this program is working.
I want to say a special word of thanks to Congressman Ford who, as
the chairman of the House Education Committee, spearheaded this, as well
as to Congressman Dingell and Congressman Carr. We passed this program
by the narrowest of margins in the Congress. There were a lot of people
who didn't want us to pass it because there were a lot of people who
were sort of middlemen in this operation who were making a good deal of
money off the program. But this is amazing. We saved over $4 billion
over a 5-year program in the cost to the taxpayers. We already know
we're going to cut $2 billion in the cost to the borrowers. And we're
going to be able to help more people in a better way, if it is properly
implemented.
So we're here today, in large measure, to thank the University of
Michigan and to thank Wayne State for joining the program next year.
Michigan has probably had the strongest participation in the program of
any State in the country so far. It's a real tribute to the leaders of
your institutions of higher education that you're out ahead of this
curve. But I think the students of America will demand to be included in
this program, the more they hear about it, if it's properly implemented.
So I came here today to listen and see how it's going and hear from all
of you.
[At this point, two students explained that the new student loan program
is beneficial to students planning to enter lower salary professions
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