pd11au97 The President's News Conference...

	Web GovRecords.org

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


[Page i-ii]
 
Monday, August 11, 1997
 
Volume 33--Number 32
Pages 1177-1221
 
Contents

[[Page i]]

Weekly Compilation of

Presidential

Documents



[[Page ii]]


Addresses and Remarks

    See also Bill Signings
    Business leaders, meeting on climate change--1178
    Democratic Business Council--1211
    Democratic National Committee dinner--1216
    Georgetown University Medical Center--1218
    National Urban League--1179
    Radio address--1177

Bill Signings

    Balanced Budget Act of 1997
        Remarks--1188
        Statement--1190
    Taxpayer Browsing Protection Act, statement--1195
    Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997
        Remarks--1188
        Statement--1192

Communications to Congress

    Terrorists who threaten the Middle East peace process, letter 
        reporting--1197

Communications to Federal Agencies

    Middle East peace and stability fund, memorandum--1211

Interviews With the News Media

    Exchange with reporters in the Cabinet Room--1178
    Interview with Tavis Smiley of Black Entertainment Television--1184
    News conference, August 6 (No. 150)--1198

Statements by the President

    See Bill Signings

Supplementary Materials

    Acts approved by the President--1221
    Checklist of White House press releases--1221
    Digest of other White House announcements--1220
    Nominations submitted to the Senate--1221


              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 1177]]




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


[Page 1177-1178]
 
Monday, August 11, 1997
 
Volume 33--Number 32
Pages 1177-1221
 
Week Ending Friday, August 8, 1997
 
The President's Radio Address


August 2, 1997

    Good morning. This week we reached agreement on a bipartisan 
balanced budget that honors our values, invests in our people, and gives 
middle class families a well-deserved tax cut. With overwhelming 
bipartisan support in both Houses, the Congress has sent me this 
measure, and next week I will sign it into law. This is an historic 
achievement, a plan that will strengthen our economy and prepare our 
people for the challenges of the 21st century.
    There has been a lot of cheering here in Washington, but there has 
been cheering on Main Street as well, for the real impact of this budget 
will be in the lives, the dreams, and the futures of families all across 
America. Today I want to talk to you about how this balanced budget will 
affect millions of American families. I have asked some of them to join 
me here in the Oval Office today.
    For 4\1/2\ years, our goal has been to keep the American dream alive 
and to expand opportunity for all Americans who would work for it. In 
1993, when I took office, our economy was not creating that opportunity, 
and I vowed to change our Nation's course. We put in place a new 
economic approach, cutting the deficit to create the conditions for 
growth; investing in the education and health of our people, so that all 
Americans could reap the rewards of that growth; and opening foreign 
markets to American goods and services through tough trade agreements.
    That strategy relied on tough cuts and hard choices. It produced 4 
straight years of deficit cuts and slashed our deficit by 80 percent. We 
had well begun the work of putting our fiscal house in order before this 
budget agreement. And in a real sense, what was done back in 1993 made 
it possible. The low interest rates we've enjoyed have produced economic 
expansion as well as real benefits for the middle class in the form of 
lower car payments, mortgages, and credit card rates. Now, we learned 
yesterday that unemployment is at its lowest in 24 years. The economy 
created 316,000 new jobs last month alone. Investment is up, and 
inflation is low. And family incomes finally have begun to rise.
    Our new balanced budget law gives us a chance to make sure all 
Americans have the tools to prosper in the hopeful new century ahead. 
For parents who work at home, there is an increase in the home office 
deduction. For family farmers who buy their own health insurance, there 
is a provision allowing them to deduct their health costs, just like 
other small-business people. For parents whose children go to schools 
that are crumbling, this budget helps them and their communities to 
repair those schools or build new ones. Most important, in its core 
provisions, this balanced budget will help working families live up to 
their responsibilities to their children, their parents, and their 
communities.
    One family has three children. He's a carpenter; she cares for his 
mother who lives at home with them. The $1,500 a year they will receive 
from the children tax credit will be the biggest increase in take-home 
pay they have seen for some time. In another family, the mother wants to 
go back to school but can't afford to until her own children finish 
college. The new HOPE scholarship tax credit would make it possible for 
her to live out her dreams and return to school. Another mother works 
full time but has no health insurance for her two children, one of whom 
has a heart ailment. She was told she works too many hours to receive 
Medicaid. This budget invests $24 billion in children's health care, so 
that parents like her can have greater peace of mind, knowing their 
children can get health insurance.
    This balanced budget is a victory for every parent who wants a good 
education for his or her children, for every child in our hardest 
pressed households who needs health care,

[[Page 1178]]

for every family working to build a secure future. After years in which 
wages did not rise as fast as they should, this tax cut will clearly 
provide a direct increase in take-home pay for millions of families. It 
is the best investment we can make in America's future. It is the 
achievement of a generation, and all Americans should be proud.
    This is a moment of profound hope for our country. As the new 
century approaches, we've come together to conquer one of our most 
persistent problems, and we've done it in a way that benefits all our 
people and our future. I hope that's how we'll meet all our challenges 
in the years to come, because when Congress and the President put aside 
partisanship and find common ground, when they act together for the 
common good, America can meet any goal and master any challenge.
    Thanks for listening.

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


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


[Page 1178-1179]
 
Monday, August 11, 1997
 
Volume 33--Number 32
Pages 1177-1221
 
Week Ending Friday, August 8, 1997
 
Remarks Prior to a Meeting With Business Leaders and an Exchange With 
Reporters

August 4, 1997

Helen Thomas' Birthday

    The President. Before we start, I think it's only fair to note that 
we are observing another anniversary of Helen's 50th birthday. 
[Laughter] We wanted to give you a birthday cake with a telltale number 
of----

[At this point, participants sang ``Happy Birthday.'']

    Ms. Thomas. Now may I have a press conference? [Laughter]
    The President. I'm going to make a statement, and you get the 
questions. [Laughter]
    Ms. Thomas. Thank you.
    The President. Take it to the press room and cut it up. [Laughter]
    Ms. Thomas. Thank you. This is painful. [Laughter]
    The President. You don't make it look that way. It's painful for me, 
too. [Laughter]

Action on Climate Change

    I'm glad to be joined today by the CEO's of 10 Fortune 500 companies 
who have come here to meet with me on climate change. These companies 
represent electric utilities, the oil and gas industry, finance, high 
technology, and heavy industry. They are all intimately interested in 
this issue and will be affected by whatever happens on it in our country 
and throughout the world. We want a responsible approach to climate 
change. We believe that the science makes it clear that the climate is 
changing. I want to proceed based on some fairly straightforward and 
simple principles.
    First of all, as we get ready for the Kyoto conference, I believe 
there should be realistic but binding limits to emissions of greenhouse 
gases. I believe that we have to do it in a way that keeps our economy 
growing. And I believe that we ought to embrace flexible, market-based 
policies. I believe we should reemphasize and reenergize our efforts in 
research and development to find as many technological solutions to this 
as possible and to keep our Nation in the forefront of what is now a 
$400 billion market for environmental technologies. And finally, I 
believe the agreement has to be a global one. I think all nations, 
developed and developing, should be a part of this. So this is part of 
an ongoing process that I and our administration have undertaken to try 
to make sure we're working together with all the people who would be 
affected by this issue and try to reach, hopefully, a common position.
    We're going to have a good meeting today, and I'm looking forward to 
it. And again, I want to thank all the executives for coming here and 
giving vent to their views.
    Q. What do you think of the opposition, who says there is no such 
thing as global warming and that they don't agree with the scientists--
some of the scientists?
    The President. Well, I think that the real question is--I don't 
think that very many people disagree with the fact that there is climate 
change now. I think there's some disagreement about what the impact of 
it is and what the appropriate response is. There's still some debate 
there. But I think the scientific evidence for the fact of climate 
change is pretty compelling. We had that panel of sci

[[Page 1179]]

entists, including the Nobel Prize winners here the other day, and I 
received a letter from--I don't know, over 2,500 of them--from 
scientists about it.
    So I think that there's pretty clear evidence that the climate is 
changing and could be changing substantially. There is still some 
difference about what the consequences of that will be and what we ought 
to do about it. But I think if we follow these principles, we'll be 
staking out a responsible position, which will permit us to continue to 
grow economically and do our part in the world. After all, we have only 
4 percent of the world's population, but we account for 20 percent of 
the greenhouse gas emissions, which you would expect since we have 
slightly over 20 percent of the world's output.

Budget Agreement

    Q. Mr. President, how seriously are you considering using a line 
item veto to kill some provisions of the budget you'll sign into law 
tomorrow?
    The President. Well, I asked Mr. Bowles to--once we got a budget 
agreement and it passed--to institute an intensive process to review 

Other Popular 1997 Presidential Documents Documents:

Other Documents:

1997 Presidential Documents Records and Documents