I say it as a Commander in Chief who knows that our nuclear codes are never far from my side. Most of all, I say it as a father who wants my two young daughters to grow up in a world where everything they know and love cannot be instantly wiped out. Over the past 3 years, we have made important progress. With Russia, we are now reducing our arsenal under the New START Treaty, the most comprehensive arms control agreement in nearly 20 years. And when we are done, we will have cut American and Russian deployed nuclear warheads to their lowest levels since the 1950s. As President, I changed our nuclear posture to reduce the number and role of nuclear weapons in our national security strategy. I made it clear that the United States will not develop new nuclear warheads. And we will not pursue new military missions for nuclear weapons. We have narrowed the range of contingencies under which we would ever use or threaten to use nuclear weapons. At the same time, I have made it clear that so long as nuclear weapons exist, we will work with our Congress to maintain a safe, secure, and effective arsenal that guarantees the defense not only of the United States, but also our allies, including South Korea and Japan. My administration's nuclear posture recognizes that the massive nuclear arsenal we inherited from the cold war is poorly suited to today's threats, including nuclear terrorism. So, last summer, I directed my national security team to conduct a comprehensive study of our nuclear forces. But even as we have more work to do, we can already say with confidence that we have more nuclear weapons than we need. Even after New START, the United States will still have more than 1,500 deployed nuclear weapons and some 5,000 warheads. I firmly believe that we can ensure the security of the United States and our allies, maintain a strong deterrent against any threat, and still pursue further reductions in our nuclear arsenal. Going forward, we will continue to seek discussions with Russia on a step we have never taken before, reducing not only our strategic nuclear warheads, but also tactical weapons and warheads in reserve. I look forward to discussing this agenda with President Putin when we will meet in May. Missile defense will be on the agenda, but I believe this should be an area of cooperation, not tension. And I am confident that, working together, we can continue to make progress and reduce our nuclear stockpiles.


Of course, we will consult closely with our allies every step of the way, because the security and defense of our allies, both in Europe and Asia, is not negotiable. Here in Asia, we have urged China, with its growing nuclear arsenal, to join us in a dialogue on nuclear issues. And more broadly, my administration will continue to pursue ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. And after years of delay, it is time to find a path forward on a new treaty that verifiably ends the production of fissile materials for nuclear weapons, ends it once and for all. strengthening the global regime that prevents the spread of nuclear weapons. When I came into office, the cornerstone of the world's effort, which is the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, was fraying. Iran had started spinning thousands of centrifuges. North Korea conducted another nuclear test. Over the past 3 years, we have begun to reverse that dynamic. Working with others, we have enhanced the global partnership that prevent proliferation. The International Atomic Energy Agency is now conducting the strongest inspections ever. Countries with nuclear weapons, like the United States and Russia, will move towards disarmament; countries without nuclear weapons will not acquire them; and all countries can have access to peaceful nuclear energy. Because of these efforts, the international community is more united and nations that attempt to flout their obligations are more isolated. Of course, that includes North Korea. Here in Korea, I want to speak directly to the leaders in Pyongyang. The United States has no hostile intent toward your country. We are committed to peace. And we are prepared to take steps to improve relations, which is why we have offered nutritional aid to North Korean mothers and children. Your provocations and pursuit of nuclear weapons have not achieved the security you seek; they have undermined it. Instead of the dignity you desire, you are more isolated. Instead of earning the respect of the world, you have been met with strong sanctions and condemnation. You can continue down the road you are on, but we know where that leads. more broken dreams, more isolation, ever more distance between the people of North Korea and the dignity and the opportunity that they deserve. To the leaders of Pyongyang, I say, this is the choice before you. This is the decision that you must make. Today we say, Pyongyang, have the courage to pursue peace and give a better life to the people of North Korea.

Remarks at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul


This same principle applies with respect to Iran. Under the NPT, Iran has the right to peaceful nuclear energy. In fact, time and again, the international community, including the United States, has offered to help Iran develop nuclear energy peacefully. But time and again, Iran has refused, instead taking the path of denial, deceit, and deception. And that is why Iran also stands alone as the only member of the NPT unable to convince the international community that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes--the only member. That is why the world has imposed unprecedented sanctions, slowing Iran's nuclear program. The international community is now poised to enter talks with Iran's leaders. Once again, there is the possibility of a diplomatic resolution that gives Iran access to peaceful nuclear energy while addressing the concerns of the international community. Today I will meet with the leaders of Russia and China as we work to achieve a resolution in which Iran fulfills its obligations. It is always my preference to solve these issues diplomatically. Iran's leaders must understand they too face a choice. Iran must act with the seriousness and sense of urgency that this moment demands. Iran must meet its obligations. Treaties are binding, rules will be enforced, and violations will have consequences. We refuse to consign ourselves to a future where more and more regimes possess the world's most deadly weapons. a renewed commitment to harnessing the power of the atom, not for war, but for peaceful purposes. After the tragedy at Fukushima, it was right and appropriate that nations moved to improve the safety and security of nuclear facilities. We are doing so in the United States. It is taking place all across the world. As we do, let us never forget the astonishing benefits that nuclear technology has brought to our lives. It prevents disease in the developing world. It is the high-tech medicine that treats cancer and finds new cures. And of course, it is the energy--the clean energy--that helps cut the carbon pollution that contributes to climate change. Here in South Korea, as you know, as a leader in nuclear energy, you have shown the progress and prosperity that can be achieved when nations embrace peaceful nuclear energy and reject the development of nuclear arms. And with rising oil prices and a warming climate, nuclear energy will only become more important. That is why, in the United States, we have restarted our nuclear industry as part of a comprehensive strategy to develop every energy source. We supported the first new nuclear power plant in three decades.


We are investing in innovative technologies so we can build the next generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants. And we are training the next generation of scientists and engineers who are going to unlock new technologies to carry us forward. One of the great challenges they will face and that your generation will face is the fuel cycle itself in producing nuclear energy. The very process that gives us nuclear energy can also put nations and terrorists within the reach of nuclear weapons. We simply cannot go on accumulating huge amounts of the very material, like separated plutonium, that we are trying to keep away from terrorists. And that is why we are creating new fuel banks to help countries realize the energy they seek without increasing the nuclear dangers that we fear. That is why I have called for a new framework for civil nuclear cooperation. We need an international commitment to unlocking the fuel cycle of the future. In the United States we are investing in the research and development of new fuel cycles so that dangerous materials cannot be stolen or diverted. And today I urge nations to join us in seeking a future where we harness the awesome power of the atom to build and not to destroy. In this sense, we see how the efforts I have described today reinforce each other. When we enhance nuclear security, we are in a stronger position to harness safe, clean nuclear energy. When we develop new, safer approaches to nuclear energy, we reduce the risk of nuclear terrorism and proliferation. When nations, including my own, fulfill our responsibilities, it strengthens our ability to ensure that other nations fulfill their responsibilities. And step by step, we come closer to the security and peace of a world without nuclear weapons. I know that there are those who deride our vision. There are those who say ours is an impossible goal that will be forever out of reach. But to anyone who doubts the great progress that is possible, I tell them, come to Korea. Come to this country, which rose from the ashes of war----a country that rose from the ashes of war, turning rubble into gleaming cities. Stand where I stood yesterday, along a border that is the world's clearest contrast between a country committed to progress, a country committed to its people, and a country that leaves its own citizens to starve. Come to this great university, where a new generation is taking its place in the world, helping to create opportunities that your parents and grandparents could only imagine.


Your Majesty, this historic house has witnessed many historic occasions, but as all of our guests here today I am sure will agree, and as those who are listening on television and radio will understand, no visit to this house has a greater historical significance than your visit to the White House again. First, because in all the world today you, as Chief of State, have served longer--53 years--than any Chief of State in the world, and we honor you for that. Second, because I have the honor of receiving you here in the White House as an official state visitor. In the whole history of the United States, over 190 years, this has not been the case with any official visitor. You broke the record with four Presidents today. Third, because you are the first visitor, official visitor, to this country since my inauguration as ENTITY from the great continent of Africa, to which you have offered such outstanding leadership. For these reasons we honor you today, and also for others that I will mention briefly. We honor you because of the personal leadership that you have provided for your country, an ancient land, a proud people, but one which under your leadership has moved forward in the field of economic and social progress dramatically in these last years. Second, because in this great continent of Africa, a very old continent with many new nations, you have provided the counsel and the guidance and the leadership to the new nations, to the new leaders, which was so essential, and also the example for unity, unity which transcends differences in the continent. The fact that the Organization of African Unity is in your capital city is an indication of that leadership. But finally, to all of us who are here, those of us who go back a few years, we welcome you as one who appealed to and inspired the whole conscience of the world in 1936, when you, standing virtually alone, spoke out against aggressive totalitarianism; and as a result of speaking out, you gave an example, an example which should have been followed then, but an example which today, historians will recall, provided inspiration to leaders and people throughout the world. As we look back over your life, as we look back over your leadership, we can truly say that no chief of state or head of government can be welcomed to the United States of America who really touches our hearts more than you touch our hearts, because you stand for those great principles, principles of independence, principles of national dignity, principles of unity which transcend differences between nations.

Remarks of Welcome at the White House to Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia


I WANT each of you to know how welcome you are to this house that belongs to all of you. It seems to me that it is a little dark in here. If it is, it is because of the new budget and we are trying to economize on our light bill. It may surprise you, but the lights on this establishment are $4600 a month alone, so you can imagine how many checks will have to have deductions to even pay the light bill. I am reminded of the story that the Postmaster General told me about getting a letter from a little boy who had lost his father and whose widowed mother was having difficulty making ends meet. Please send mom $100 to help with the family. The letter wound up on the Postmaster General's desk and he was quite touched by it. He at that time still had a little money left over from what he had earned at Prudential, so he took a $20 bill out of his pocket, put it in a Postmaster General's envelope, put an air mail stamp on it, and sent it to the little boy. Much obliged for all you have done. We appreciate it. But we need another $100. If you do not mind, when you send it to momma this time, do not route it through Washington, because they deducted 80 percent of it there. I have a little statement prepared here expressing my gratitude, but I think I want to say something else before I get into that. You businessmen have a very unique role in our Government, and a very special responsibility. You are the symbols of the free enterprise system. You are what makes the difference in the type of government we have and the type that our challenger has. Someone asked me the other day if I did not think I was making a rather dangerous venture when, contrary to the practice of the last few years, I sent a budget to Congress that did not add $5 billion on to take care of increased population and increased needs, and by withholding that amount out of the economic bloodstream if I did not think we would lack the financial stimulus necessary to give us the prosperity we wanted. I have thought of that. I have carefully analyzed it and reviewed it.

Remarks to New Participants in Plans for Progress Equal Opportunity Agreements.


But I believe by trying to keep our budget this year as low as the one last year, by trying to arrest the advance and establish a ceiling, and by assuring the businessmen we are not going to keep our foot on his neck, and we are going to turn him loose to invest his capital and build new plants, provide new jobs, reward him and praise him instead of flout him and take revenge on him , I am betting that with the tax reduction and the $9 billion that will go into consumers' hands as a result of lowering the withholding from 18 to 14 percent, the lower corporation taxes we will have, although they are only slightly lower-I am betting that the free economy and private business can do for the economic bloodstream what the Government appropriations do. Now if they do not do it, I know how to spend it, but I am going to give them that chance. And it is going to be many months before we know the answer. But I sincerely and genuinely believe that any system that is just enough to give us the power that is ours today as the leading nation in the world, and that permits a son born of a tenant farmer, as I was 55 years ago, to rise to the place I now hold, I believe that is the system that is going to prevail among all the philosophies of the world. I do not think it is our population, our resources, or even our industrial know-how that are going to be the predominating factors in our victory. I think the thing that, when the final gong is sounded, the thing that is going to determine whether we survive or not, is our free enterprise system. I believe that the capitalist who sends his dollar out with the hope of getting a return on it, the manager that gets up at daylight and works to midnight and develops stomach ulcers handling the men and the money, and the worker who takes the sweat of his brow and hits that production line at a trot, taking pride in what comes off that assembly line--the combination of those three, all of whom get a slice of the pie, along with a Government that is friendly and helpful and encouraging, and providing incentive, making the fourth partner-- I believe that they can outdo and outproduce and outwork and outright any collective system in the world! I believe the individual reward that comes to each of those elements is such as to provide the incentive that will never permit any other philosophy to overtake us.


I think that is the real reason or justification we had for selling wheat to the Russians. We had it rotting in our barns and the rats were eating it. We had all that our stomachs would hold and all we could store, and we did it with a third of the acres that they have. I do not gloat over it, but it is satisfying to me to know that we have got to send our wheat over there to show them that we can feed ourselves and they cannot feed themselves. So in the final analysis, if we survive this challenge of our century, it is going to be because of the responsibilities of the free enterprise system. And you are a symbol of it. Now I came down here today to tell you not that you are just welcome in this house, but I am so proud that you are here. I am grateful to you and I want to express the gratitude of ENTITY and the gratitude of the American people to each of you and to the thousands of stockholders that you represent. Because you have taken a very strong, a very positive, and a firm step forward in signing the Plan for Progress and joining the President's Equal Employment Opportunity program. You have allied yourselves and your workers with some 141 of the leading corporations in this Nation in a demonstration that the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States still mean what they say. You have worked to eliminate bias and discrimination and prejudice from American life. We believe that you will increase your efforts in the immediate future. We believe that when you do, you keep firm faith with those forefathers who founded our great free enterprise system. We know we have the wealth, we know we have the economic power to lead the world. But we must never forget that in this world we are outnumbered 17 to 1. We must have moral standards of the highest order and consciences that are always clear of any guilt of mistreatment of our fellowman or for any artificial reason. Then we can even more proudly say that our leadership is deserved and our concepts are enduring, and there is a reason why America is first in the world picture. During my nearly 3 years as Chairman of this Committee,1 I have observed and learned. It has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my 33 years of public life. that you would like to be remembered not for your financial statement as much as for your human concern, your feeling for your fellowman, and for doing what is right and what is just.


The gathering and publication of news has a deeper significance than is sometimes realized. No large enterprise can exist for itself alone. It ministers to some great need, it performs some great service, not for itself, but for others; or, failing therein, it ceases to be profitable and ceases to exist. This is the case with the Associated Press. It is one of the eyes of mankind which never slumbers. Without ceasing, it assembles each day the events of each part of the world, and transmits them to every other part. The fundamental reason for this lies in the fact that it is felt to be of vital importance to each man, and each community, to know what other men and other communities are doing. The news is printed and read, not for the mere purpose of entertainment, amusement and recreation, but almost entirely for the practical purpose of information, in order that by means of accurate knowledge of what others are doing a course may be laid out of accurate and successful action. Faith in the American people means a faith in their ability to form sound judgments, when once the facts have been presented to them clearly and without prejudice. It is this educational work, national in its scope, that the Associated Press performs, and upon its integrity and fairness depends in large measure the course of public opinion in the United States. This work is done without any tinge of personal or political opinion. A very practical need exists, and it is met by a very practical service. It is individual in its nature. It is a personal service for each one of us, making its appeal entirely to the intelligence of the individual and recognizing fully the American ideal of intellectual independence. This conception is not exactly at variance with, but certainly supplementary to, the long cherished American ideal of the independence of the individual and the independence of the nation. The work of the Associated Press, both necessary and logical, indicates that the true method would appear to lie in recognizing the broad principle of our individual and national dependence, calculating the requirements which flow from that condition, and governing ourselves accordingly. Complete independence means complete coordination and cooperation. From this principle arises the oft-repeated law of service we can help ourselves only as we help others. A knowledge and an understanding of others become absolutely necessary, in order to make our ideals practical. One of the preeminent requirements of our country at the present time is to reestablish and emphasize in the public mind this law of service.

Address to the Annual Luncheon of the Associated Press in New York City


The danger to America is not in the direction of the failure to maintain its economic position, but in the direction of the failure to maintain its ideals. The principle of service is not to be confounded with a weak and impractical sentimentalism. It does not mean that either the individual or the nation is to assume the burdens which ought to be borne by others. It is warranted in considering self to the extent of recognizing that it is justifiable to accumulate and hold the resources which must necessarily be used to serve ourselves, our own household, and our own nation. It recognizes also the necessity of serving others, and when the need arises for meeting a moral requirement, of making individual and national sacrifices sufficient to maintain the cause of righteousness. Some of the recent developments in Washington have revealed the dangers to which I refer in a very dramatic way. Beginning nearly 10 years ago our country entered a period when conditions were altogether artificial and abnormal, culminating in the strained and lurid events of our participation in the war. The old standards of action were either suspended or entirely cast aside. Altogether too many of those in a position to do so began to take advantage of the necessities of the situation for their own profit. Finally nearly all of those in responsible positions throughout the entire civilized world had but one main object in view, which was the winning of the war. They began to make almost every consideration and motive subsidiary to that great effort. Totally inconceivable amounts of money were raised and expended with a lavishness which a few months before would have been believed impossible, and which now seems like some wild nightmare. Notwithstanding the great wave of patriotic fervor which swept over the land; notwithstanding the tremendous sacrifices which the people in every walk of life made, and stood ready to make; almost unconsciously these conditions developed, which I mention not for any purpose now to criticize, where the least scrupulous became the greatest gainers and a considerable part of our population was thrown into a morbid financial state of mind, which even the best intentioned did not wholly escape. The desire for profits and more profits kept on increasing, and the quest for easy money became well-nigh universal. All of this meant an attempt to appropriate the belongings of others without rendering a corresponding service.


This condition began to subside nearly four years ago, but it left along its course a trail of vicious and criminal selfishness which in diminishing degree has ever since been attempting to gratify an appetite grown all the sharper through indulgence, and a general credulity to rumors of large sums of money demanded and paid on account of every conceivable motive and action. From all of this sordidness the affairs of government, of course, suffered. In some of it a few public officers were guilty participants. The encouraging thing at present is the evidence of a well-nigh complete return to normal methods of action, and a sane public opinion. The gravity of guilt of this kind is fully realized and publicly reprehended. There is an exceedingly healthy disposition to uproot it altogether, and administer punishment wherever competent evidence of guilt can be produced. That I am doing and propose to continue. Another phase of lingering extravagance, from which the country has not yet fully recovered, is revealed by a consideration of the bills which are pending before the Congress, calling for an expenditure of public money. Exceedingly great efforts have been put forth to reduce the cost of government. Hundreds of thousands of public employees have been released, and every department has been thoroughly deflated and placed under most competent financial supervision. The country as a whole is demanding with great vigor every possible relief from the burden of every unnecessary public expenditure. Yet notwithstanding this, minority groups of one kind or another, and organizations, sometimes almost nation-wide in their ramifications, are making the most determined assaults upon the public treasury. I am advised by the Director of the Bureau of the Budget that careful computation discloses that there are bills pending that are seriously pressed for passage, not including the bonus, which would increase the expenditures of the Federal Government for next year by about $3,600,000,000. This would mean that outside of the Post Office Department, which is practically self-sustaining, the present rate of expenditure would be more than doubled. Each one of these items taken by itself is not large, and its supporters argue that certainly the Government can afford to make this small additional payment. But taken in the aggregate they make the stupendous sum I have mentioned, and their assumption by the Government would mean nothing less than financial disaster to the nation. The law of service must be applied to this situation.


Our country is very rich, but were its possessions increased many-fold, it would not be warranted in paying out money except for value received. Value received on the part of the Government is estimated by a general consideration of all the attending conditions. At present our country does not need a greater outlay of expense, but a greater application of constructive economy. The same state of mind is revealed again in the determined resistance which is made to the adoption of a sound method of taxation. The main argument of the opposition can all be reduced to the supposition that the general public can be relieved of taxation and a greater proportion of taxes laid oil the rich. I shall not examine the soundness of this proposal, the economic injury which it would inflict, or its impossibility as a working principle. I mention it as another example of an attempt to minister to a supposed desire to evade the law of service. It seems as though the public is assumed to desire to have the advantages of a government without paying its part of the cost of maintaining it. Besides being convinced that such a result is utterly impossible of accomplishment, I am even more firmly of the belief that it misrepresents the general attitude of the public mind. Moreover, the success of the Government does riot lie in wringing all the revenue it can from the people, but in making their burden as light and fairly distributed as possible, consistent with the proper maintenance of the necessary public functions. The Government itself, in order to be successful, and all of those connected with it, must put all of their energy upon what they can do for the people, not upon what they can get out of them. These are some of the reasons which reveal to us why, in our domestic affairs, we must be possessed of accurate information of the doings and needs of others, in order that we may best serve ourselves by serving them through appropriate action. We are all a part of one common country. To be in a healthy and successful condition economically, means a free interplay of competition in service, based upon that mutual faith in each other which we term public confidence.


Notwithstanding the disturbing character of recent revelations, notwithstanding the enormous pressure for the passage of legislation which would greatly increase the cost of maintaining the Government of the United States, notwithstanding the failure of a majority of the Congress up to the present time accurately to comprehend and expeditiously to minister to the need of taxation reform, I believe that the requirements of economy and reduced taxes will be met in a way not inconsistent with the great resources of our country. While I have thought it desirable to point out dangerous tendencies, I know that with few exceptions the management of our Government has been and is in honest and competent hands, that its finances are sound and well managed, and that the business interests of the nation, including the owners, managers and employees, are representative of honorable and patriotic motives, and that the present economic condition warrants a continuation of confidence and prosperity. It has both the power and disposition to maintain itself in a healthy economic and moral condition. But it can not do this by turning all its thoughts in on itself, or by making its material prosperity its supreme choice. Selfishness is only another name for suicide. The progress of the world rests on courage, honor and faith. If America wishes to maintain its prosperity, it must maintain its ideals. When we turn to our foreign relations, we see the working out of the same laws. If there is one ideal of national existence to which America has adhered more consistently than to any other, it has been that of peace. Whatever other faults may be charged to our country, it has never been quarrelsome, belligerent, or bent on military aggrandisement. After all, the main support of peace is understanding. It is a matter of accurate information by one government and one people about other governments and other peoples. If our country is to stand for anything in the world, if it is to represent any forward movement in human progress, these achievements will be measured in no small degree by what it is able to do for others. Up to a little more than twenty-five years ago, America gave almost its entire attention to self-development. In that it achieved an unequaled success. The service which it rendered to others was to a considerable degree one of example. It revealed the ability of the people to take charge of their own affairs. It demonstrated the soundness and strength of self-government under free institutions, while affording a refuge for the oppressed of other lands.


The great influence which the mere existence of American institutions exercised upon the rest of the world would be difficult to overestimate. At the end of a long period of steady accomplishments of this nature came the war with Spain, which left our country a world power with world responsibilities. It is not too much to say that in meeting and bringing to a successful conclusion that conflict our country performed a world service. This was followed by a period of most remarkable industrial development. There were great consolidations of properties, enormous investments of capital, and a stupendous increase of production, all accompanied by a growth of population reaching many millions. This was our condition at the outbreak of the World War. For a long time we sought to avoid this conflict, on the assumption that it did not concern us. On that subject we were lacking in accurate information. We found, at last, that while it was also the grave concern of others, it did concern us intimately and perilously. We took our part in the war at length, in the defense of free institutions. We believe, while acknowledging that we were only one of the contributing elements, that our participation was a decisive factor. The result was a demonstration of the strength of self-governing peoples, and a victory for free institutions. Our action at this time was distinctly a world service. America made its sacrifice for what it believed was the cause of righteousness. The sacrifices made on these occasions, which resulted in a benefit to others, resulted likewise in a benefit to ourselves. Even the evil effects which always arise from war and its aftermath have only tempered, not obliterated, these results. A flow of material resources set in toward our country, which is still going on. The general standards of living were raised. In the resulting plenty many of the did hardships of existence were removed. Our country came into a position where it had a greatly increased opportunity for world leadership. In moral power it took a higher rank. There can be little doubt that our presence at the treaty table softened the terms and diminished the exactions of the victorious nations, where joint covenants of defensive alliance were in part substituted for the usual territorial transfers. Our country refused to adhere to the covenant of the League of Nations with a decisive rejection which I regard as final. Following this came a continuing effort to collect reparations, which the economic chaos of Germany after a time caused to be suspended.


This resulted in the French seizure of the Ruhr, with Allied conferences, plans and discussions for renewing payment of reparations under some settled method of permanent adjustment. Although indirectly interested by reason of our commerce, and more especially because of the debts due to us, in having a European settlement, our Government felt that the fundamental questions involved in all these discussions were the direct political concern of Europe. Our policy relative to the debts due to us from European countries was well known, and we refused to submit them to these discussions. This never meant that America was not willing to lend its assistance to the solution of the European problem in any way that did not involve us in their purely political controversies, whenever opportunity presented a plan that promised to be just and effective. But we realized that all effort was useless until all parties came to a state of mind where they saw the need to make concessions and accept friendly counsel. In December of the year of 1922 our Secretary of State, Mr. Hughes, set out the American proposal in an address which he delivered at New Haven. He recognized that settlement of the reparations question was probably impossible if approached after the method of a political problem. It was not so much a question to be dealt with by public officers or diplomatic agencies, which must necessarily reflect to a very marked degree the political state of mind of the various countries, but was represented as me which could be solved by the application of pure business talent and experienced private enterprise. To such an effort of business men, unhampered by every unnecessary political consideration, Mr. Hughes expressed the belief that competent American citizens in private life would be ready to lend their assistance. Its correctness was finally demonstrated when Mr. Dawes, Mr. Young and Mr. Robinson were invited by the Reparations Commission for that purpose, and consented to serve. The finding of the experts, which is known as the Dawes Report, has recently been made and published. It shows a great deal of research and investigation, and a broad comprehension of the requirements of the situation. It has been favorably received by the Reparations Commission. It is gratifying to understand that the Allies are looking upon it with full sympathy, and Germany has expressed a willingness to cooperate in the execution of the plan. There appears to be every reason to hope that the report offers a basis for a practical solution of the reparations problem.


I trust that it may commend itself to all the European Governments interested as a method by which, through mutual concessions, they can arrive at a stable adjustment of the intricate and vexatious problem of reparations, and that such an outcome will provide for the restoration of Germany and the largest possible payments to the other countries. If this result is secured, the credit which will be due to the Secretary of State, Mr. Hughes, to ENTITY Harding for adopting it and supporting it, and to the three Americans and their assistants, by whose wisdom and discretion it was formulated and rendered so acceptable, will be sufficient to warrant the lasting approbation of two continents. A situation at once both intricate and difficult has been met in a most masterful way. Our countrymen are justified in looking at the result with great pride. Nothing of more importance to Europe has occurred since the Armistice. Part of the plan contemplates that a considerable loan should at once be made to Germany for immediate pressing needs, including the financing of a bank. I trust that private American capital will be willing to participate in advancing this loan. Sound business reasons exist why we should participate in the financing of works of peace in Europe, though we have repeatedly asserted that we were not in favor of advancing funds for any military purpose. It would benefit our trade and commerce, and we especially hope that it will provide a larger market for our agricultural production. It is notorious that foreign gold has been flowing into our country in great abundance. It is altogether probable that some of it can be used more to our financial advantage in Europe than it can be in the United States. Besides this, there is the humanitarian requirement, which carries such a strong appeal, and the knowledge that out of our abundance it is our duty to help where help will be used for meeting just requirements and the promotion of a peaceful purpose. We have determined to maintain, and can maintain, our own political independence, but our economic independence will be strengthened and increased when the economic stability of Europe is restored. We hope further that such a condition will be the beginning of a secure and enduring peace. Certainly it would remove many of the present sources of disagreement and misunderstanding among the European nations. When this adjustment is finally made, and has had sufficient time of operation to become a settled European policy, it would lay the foundation for a further effort at disarmament in accordance with the theory of the Washington Conference.


Although that gathering was able to limit capital battleships, it had to leave the question of submarines, air craft, and land forces unsolved. The main reason for this was the unsettled and almost threatening condition that still existed in Europe. A final adjustment for the liquidation of reparations ought to be the beginning of a new era of peace and good will. In the event that such a condition develops, it becomes pertinent to examine what can be done by our own country, in cooperation with others, further to rid ourselves and the rest of the world of the menace and burden of competitive armaments and more effectively insure the settlement of differences between nations, not by a recourse to arms, but by a recourse to reason; not by action leading to war, but by action leading to justice. Our past experience should warn us not to be overconfident in the face of so many failures, but it also justifies the hope that something may be done where already there has been some success, and at least we can demonstrate that we have done all that we can. As a result of American initiative there is already in existence the Hague Tribunal which is equipped to function wherever arbitration seems desirable, and based in part on that, and in part on the League, there is the International Court of Justice, which is already functioning. A proposal was sent to the last Senate by PRESIDENT Harding for our adherence to the covenant establishing this court, which I submitted to the favorable consideration of the present Senate in my annual message. Other plans for a World Court have been broached, but up to the present time this has seemed to me the most practical one. But these proposals for arbitration and courts are not put forward by those who are well informed with the idea that they could be relied upon as an adequate means for entirely preventing war. They are rather a method of securing adjustment of claims and differences, and for the enforcement of treaties, when the usual channels of diplomatic negotiation fail to resolve the difficulty. Proposals have also been made for the codification of international law. Undoubtedly something might be accomplished in this direction, although a very large body of such law consists in undertaking to establish rules of warfare and determining the rights of neutrals. One of the difficulties to be encountered would be the necessity of securing the consent of all the nations, but no doubt the agreement of the major Powers would go very far in producing that result.


I do not claim to be able to announce any formula that will guarantee the peace of the world. There are certain definite things, however, that I believe can be done, which certainly ought to be tried, that might relieve the people of the earth of much of the burden of military armaments and diminish the probability of military operations. I believe that among these are frequent international conferences suited to particular needs. The Washington Conference did a great deal to restore harmony and good will among the nations. Another purpose of a conference is the further limitation of competitive armaments. Much remains to be accomplished in that direction. It would appear to be impractical to attempt action under present conditions, but with a certain and definite settlement of German reparations firmly established, I should favor the calling of a similar conference to achieve such limitations of armaments and initiate plans for a codification of international law, should preliminary inquiries disclose that such a proposal would meet with a sympathetic response. But the main hope of success lies in first securing a composed state of the public mind in Europe. It is my firm belief that America is in a position to take the lead in this direction. It is undoubtedly too much to suppose that we hold very much of the affectionate regard of other nations. At the same time we do hold their respect. Our position is such that we are trusted and our business institutions and Government considered to be worthy of confidence. If there is disappointment in some directions that we do not enter alliances with them, it is more than overbalanced by the knowledge that there is no danger that we shall enter alliances against them. It must be known to every people that we are seeking no acquisition of territory, and maintaining no military establishment with unfriendly and hostile intent. Like our political institutions, all of this is a powerful example throughout the world. Very many of the nations have been the recipients of our favor, and have had the advantage of our help in some time of extremity. We have no traditional enemies. We have come to a position of great power and great responsibility. Our first duty is to ourselves. The freedom of the people politically, economically, intellectually, morally and spiritually, must continue to be advanced. This is not a matter of a day or a year. It may be of generations, it may be of an era. It is for us here and now to keep in the right direction, to remain constant to the right ideals.


The Bethlehem Steel Company this morning announced an across-the-board increase of almost 5 percent in steel mill products. resulting in a price increase exceeding one-half billion dollars to the American consumer, --setting back the efforts of all Americans to reverse the current inflationary trend and get back on the road to price stability, --creating pressures for price increases across the whole range of products that are made out of steel, --eroding our world competitive position and jeopardizing our balance of payments, and --aggravating the steel industry's own problems in meeting competition from foreign producers and substitute materials. Steel prices have been moving gradually upward on a selective basis. I stated last May, and I quote, The relative stability of steel prices has been one of the key favorable factors in our recent price record, and it must be preserved. The steel companies and the union reached a collective bargaining agreement yesterday. The terms of their settlement are high. That settlement will result in some increases in steel costs, but the announced Bethlehem price increase far exceeds any reasonable calculation of the cost of the wage settlement. Steel is the Nation's basic industrial product and the industry's pricing decisions affect our entire economy. Inflation in steel is inflation for the Nation. American consumers are now threatened by a price increase that will take $600 million a year directly out of their pockets and pocketbooks and at the very time they are paying increased taxes as their contribution to the urgent task of restoring price stability. According to the ticker this afternoon, Bethlehem Steel Company, with sales buoyed by second-quarter hedged buying against a strike that never came, today reported net profits of $93,400,000 for the first half of 1968, a 41 percent increase over last year's first half. The public interest must be recognized by the entire steel industry in its price decisions at this critical time. I spoke on this general subject to the Business Council, as some of you may remember, that met at Hot Springs back on May 11, 1968. I believe at the ranch on July 23, 1968, I had another statement to make on it for your reference.1 The Cabinet Committee on Price Stability made reference to it in a release to you in July of 1968. Those statements are available to you through the Press Office if you care to take them. We are reserving the $91 million for impacted school aid that the Congress added to the second 1968 supplemental bill over and above our budget.

The President's News Conference


These funds are in addition to those requested by the administration and they will add to 1969 budget expenditures. Both the House and Senate have also added another $110 million to the fiscal 1969 request for impacted school aid. Therefore, these two items will add $200 million to the 1969 budget over and above that requested. Faced with the requirement in the law to cut expenditures in the budget by $6 billion in fiscal 1969, I do not believe that it is good public policy to add another $200 million to that budget. In other words, the Congress in one breath says you must cut $6 billion from your budget as you send it to Congress, and while doing that, we add another $200 million over and above that budget. That would make $6 billion 200 million we would have to cut out. We knew that the anticipated relief expenditures for public welfare--public assistance expenditures--because of the action taken by the Ways and Means Committee by postponing for a year the legislation in that regard, will cost us probably $125 million more. We know that the Supreme Court ruling, the man-in-the-house ruling, will probably cost another $75 million, making an additional $200 million there. Because of the extra good weather and the bountiful harvest in wheat and other commodities, no human can guess, but we are anticipating the possibility that extra funds will be required for additional payments. It is not unlikely that we would have to cut $6 1/2 billion or close to $7 billion from the budget I proposed. Therefore, I do not believe that we should add to that budget now in any way, where it can be avoided. There are 4,300 school districts involved in this matter, but there are 138 school districts which receive a substantial amount of their revenue from this source. These are school districts in which there are a large number of A students. An A student is the student whose parents work or live in a Government installation and, therefore, do not contribute to the local taxes. Of the $91 million, only $22 million would go for A student entitlements, that is, where the parents live and work in Government installations and do not contribute to local taxes. Out of the $201 million for fiscal '68 and '69, approximately 25 percent, I am informed, would go to A students. I would agree to the payment for the full entitlement for A students in fiscal 1968 and 1969 if Congress had decided in its wisdom that that was essential.

The President's News Conference


It is a great honor to be with you tonight. Let me just begin by expressing special thanks to Governors Tom Kean and Mike Castle, chairman and vice chairman of the RGA , John Rollins, the finance chairman and vice chairman of the-or Glen Holden, I should say, who is exceptional efforts have helped to make this evening a success. And of course, I must also recognize our national chairman, Frank Fahrenkopf, who is here. You know, whenever I am asked to speak at a dinner, I get a little self-conscious about the length of a speech. And this is really inappropriate, but I am going to tell it anyway. I hope you have not heard it before, because usually I am an after-dinner speaker instead of a before-dinner speaker. But the joke that I was going to tell you was a little story that took place in ancient Rome at the Colosseum. A little band of Christians out there in the sand on the floor of the Colosseum, crowd up there in the seats, and then they were going to turn the lions loose on them. And the lions came roaring out and charging down on this little huddled mass of people. And one of them stepped forward and said a few quiet words, and the lion stopped and laid down. Well, the crowd was enraged that they were not going to get the show that they'd expected. Caesar was so mad that he had them bring the man to him, and he said, What did you say that made the lions act like that? He said, I just told them that after they ate there would be speeches. As one chief executive among many, I feel right at home. I have always said one of the greatest strengths of America is the diversity of our Federal system. As we have begun to loosen the bonds of centralized control, the States have shot forward, often showing Federal Government the way. The American people now look to the Republican Party as the party of new ideas. And it is Republican Governors who are out front, taking risks, breaking new ground, putting those new ideas into practice-everything from enterprise zones to welfare reform. Yes, we thought of the enterprise zone. We have not been able to get it through the Congress. But I do not know how many States now around the country have enterprise zones, and they are flourishing and succeeding in their mission. Is not it about time that Washington followed the lead of the States and passed a constitutional amendment to balance the budget?

Remarks at the Republican Governors Club Annual Dinner


the lineitem veto. I remember one new idea I had when I was Governor. It taught me a lot about leadership and its limits. When I first came into the Governor's mansion, I thought it would be a great way to improve efficiency if I asked everybody to work a few extra days a month-on Saturday. I cannot claim a lot of success with that one. But the best thing about this dinner is seeing how the ranks of Republican Governors have grown since last year. We are talking about a 50-percent increase-from 16 to 24 Governors. And we are looking to add to that number in the elections this year, with Bob Livingston running in Louisiana, Jack Reed in Mississippi, and John Harper in Kentucky. But the critical test will come in 1988. We have 12 gubernatorial races that year. Of these, 8 are seats that we have to hold on to and 4 then that we have to win. Few races could be more important, few campaigns more crucial, to the future of our country. What happens in those elections will have repercussions that extend far beyond the State capitals and far beyond State lines-all the way, in fact, to Washington, DC, and the House of Representatives on Capitol Hill. That is because reapportionment comes up in 1991. And in all too many cases, having a Republican Governor is the only shot we have at getting a fair deal. an end to the antidemocratic and un-American practice of gerrymandering congressional districts. In the races, Republicans won half a million more votes than the Democrats, but the Democratic Party won 31 more seats. In California, one of the worst cases of gerrymandering in the country, Republicans received a majority of votes in congressional races, but the Democrats won 60 percent more races. The Democratic-controlled State legislatures have so rigged the electoral process that the will of the people cannot be heard. They vote Republican but elect Democrats. A look at the district lines shows how corrupt the whole process has become. The congressional map is a horror show of grotesque, contorted shapes. Districts jump back and forth over mountain ranges, cross large bodies of water, send out little tentacles to absorb special communities and ensure safe seats. One Democratic Congressman who helped engineer the gerrymandering of California once described the district lines there as his contribution to modern art. it is the American values of fair play and decency. And it is time we stopped them.


Frank Fahrenkopf and the Republican Party have challenged the Democrats' gerrymandering in court, but ultimately it is in the State legislatures that the battle for fairness must be won. And that is why we need more Republican Governors to oversee the process and why Republicans have to campaign with all heart and soul for Republican State legislative candidates. As far as the ENTITY is concerned, he is not going to be sitting around the Rose Garden in 1988. I am going to be out on the campaign trail, telling the American people the truth about how the electoral process has been twisted and distorted, that it is time to give the votes back to the people. Vote Republican in 1988. The fact is democratic gerrymandering is just one symptom of a larger problem. We have seen a dimension of this problem this last month on the Hill during the debate over the confirmation of Judge Bork to the Supreme Court. During the hearings, Attorney General William French Smith spoke for many of us when he expressed his shock and dismay. I have never seen such misrepresentation, such distortion, and such outright lying. There are people in very important positions in this government who are lying to the American public. I have never seen anything like it, and I hope I never see anything like it again. But former Attorney General William French Smith is not alone in his opinion. One of the most respected, honorable men in this nation, Chief Justice Warren Burger, echoed this when he accused the opposition to Judge Bork of disinformation. Judge Bork's nomination will soon be before the full Senate. The purpose of Senate debate is to allow all sides to be heard. Honorable men and women should not be afraid to change their minds if they are based on that debate. It will call into question the idea of free, fair, and civil exchange. And it will mean that on critical issues, like the fight against crime and drugs and keeping those who are unelected from unconstitutionally taking power into their own hands-each of us and each of our children will be the losers. I do not believe that nominees to the Supreme Court should have to pass litmus tests administered by single-interest lobbies. Such tactics are better suited for campaigns and elections than for Supreme Court nominations. Our agenda is quite simple-to appoint judges who do not confuse the criminals with the victims and who believe the courts should interpret the law, not make it. That starts with the Supreme Court.


It takes leadership from the Supreme Court to help shape the attitudes of the courts in our land and to make sure that principles of law are based on the Constitution. This is the standard to judge those who seek to serve on the courts-qualifications, not distortions; judicial temperament, not campaign disinformation. The process of confirming Justices for our nation's highest court has been transformed in a way that should not and, indeed, must not be permitted to occur again. And, yes, people can have different opinions. But when have we ever seen an instance in which the confirmation of a Justice to the Supreme Court has resulted in private interest groups raising money and putting on television ads and campaigns as if they were running an election-and campaigns based on distortion-when the men and women of the Senate are supposed to sit, go over the qualifications of the individual that has been appointed, and make their decision on whether they believe those qualifications suit him for the position. Well, that is what we have to get back to. When the message gets out, I believe the American people will reject the politicization of our judiciary. When the people begin to hear the truth, they will demand an independent judiciary, free from high pressure politics and founded on the principle of judicial restraint. And Judge Bork is a man of courage. He is decided to push forward, to take the vote on his confirmation to the full Senate. And he is going forward because he knows that the wrong done him is nothing compared to the wrong done to our nation and our system of justice. Robert Bork deserves better. America deserves better. I cannot conclude without talking again about an issue that I found so many people are unaware of, and that is getting back to this gerrymandering that has taken place. From 1931 through 1980-50 years-only two Presidents had a Republican Congress-both House and Senate. Each one of them only had it for 2 years. One was a Democratic President, Harry Truman, for 2 of his several years, and the other one was Ike Eisenhower, who had a Republican Congress for 2 out of his 8 years. But for 46 out of those 50 years, the opposition party had both Houses of the Congress. In these, going on 8 years that I have been here, I did have one House for 6 years, the Senate, and the House of Representatives continued to be in the other party's hands.


And now for this final 2 years, we are back to having them, once again, in control in both Houses. You have people on one side out there in the legislature, then people on the other side in the Executive Office. That is not what the checks and balances were supposed to be. And certainly, when every Democratic President in those 50 years, with the exception of one 2-year period, had a Congress of their own party, and then when the Republicans had a Congress of the other party for everything but 2 years-all Republican Presidents until my term with having at least one party for a while-the significant thing is we can look back from the inside, where we are in our administration, and tell you that none of the things we have accomplished could have been accomplished had we not had that one Republican House, the Senate, for those 6 years. And now we are back to the regular way of doing things if they continue to have their way. And it all stems out there in the States, their legislators and their Governors, where the redistricting takes place. I saw it firsthand, because when I was Governor of California, one of the years for redistricting came up. And I vetoed what they came up with. And we finally ended turning it over to the Supreme Court. But they'd been in power so long that I did not even have the Supreme Court on my side. But it is so wonderful for all of you to gather here and to do what you are doing. And I know that I have to let you have your dinner and get out of here. I really was just standing here, hoping that I could think of a good get-off line. But it has been wonderful, and you have got some great Governors here. And this country's strength is based not on what is inside the beltway here in Washington, it is based on the fact that we are a federation of 50 sovereign States with a great independence. And one of the things that I will be the happiest about is that one of my goals has been, ever since I came here, to restore the Federal system and return to the States the authority and autonomy that has been unjustly seized by the Democratic Party in the years that have gone past. And let us get back to those 50 different States. Thank you all very much, and God bless you.


Businesses and families cannot get credit, and small businesses cannot secure the loans they need to create jobs and get their products to market. Now is the time for Washington to act with the same sense of urgency that Americans all across the country feel every single day. With the stakes this high, we cannot afford to get trapped in the same old partisan gridlock. That is why I have worked closely with leaders of both parties on a recovery and reinvestment plan that saves or creates more than 3 million jobs over the next 2 years, cuts taxes for 95 percent of American workers, and makes critical investments in our future--in energy and education, health care, and a 21st century infrastructure. The vast majority of the investments in the plan will be made within the next 18 months, immediately creating jobs and helping States avoid painful tax hikes and cuts to essential services. And every dime of the spending will be made available to the public on recovery.gov, so every American can see where their tax dollars are going. But as we act boldly and swiftly to shore up our financial system and revitalize our economy, we must also make sure that the underpinnings of that economy are sound; that our economic infrastructure is rebuilt to handle the traffic of the global economy; that our cutting-edge science and technology remain the envy of the world; that our policies promote the innovative and competitive nature of this economy and facilitate the incubation and commercialization of our startups and small businesses, the very engine of our job creation. These are the tasks of the Commerce Department. And I believe that Judd Gregg is the right person to help guide the Department towards these goals. Judd discovered the family business at an early age. His father, Hugh Gregg, was elected the youngest Governor of New Hampshire when judge--Judd was a boy. At a time when the mills in Nashua closed down and folks were laid off, he watched his dad work tirelessly to attract new industry, the kind that created jobs that carried with them a sense of dignity and self-worth. Judd's father even found the time to publish a book titled All I Learned About Politics, and in keeping with his legendary sense of humor, all of its pages were blank. When the book is written about Judd Gregg, it will tell the story of a man with his own proud record of service on behalf of the American people.

Remarks on the Nomination of Senator Judd A. Gregg To Be Secretary of Commerce


As a businessman, attorney, State executive councilor, Congressman, Governor in his own right, and now as a Senator, he is seen from all angles what makes our economy work for communities, businesses, and families, and what keeps it from working better. As former chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Judd has been involved in nearly every facet of public policy. And as Commerce Subcommittee chair on the Senate Appropriations Committee, he is already quite familiar with the Department I have chosen him to lead. Judd is famous--or infamous, depending on your perspective--on Capitol Hill for his strict fiscal discipline. It is not that he enjoys saying no, although if it is directed at your bill, you might feel that way. It is that he shares my deep-seated commitment to guaranteeing that our children inherit a future they can afford. Now, clearly, Judd and I do not agree on every issue; most notably who should have won the election. But we agree on the urgent need to get American businesses and families back on their feet. We see eye to eye on conducting the Nation's business in a responsible, transparent, and accountable manner. And we know the only way to solve the great challenges of our time is to put aside stale ideology and petty partisanship and embrace what works. As one of the Republican Party's most respected voices and skillful negotiators, Judd is a master of reaching across the aisle to get things done. He will be an outstanding addition to the depth and experience of my economic team, a trusted voice in my Cabinet, and an able and persuasive ambassador for industry who makes it known to the world that America is open for business. Commerce defies every wind, overrides every tempest, and invades every zone. These are the words carved into the walls of the Department that I am so pleased Judd Gregg has agreed to lead. And as we act boldly to defy the winds of this crisis and outride the tempest of this painful moment, I can think of no finer steward for our Nation's commerce. I expect the Senate's quick confirmation of their esteemed colleague, and I look forward to working with Judd in the years ahead. And I'd like Judd to say just a few words.


On Wednesday night I will present my plan to generate jobs and increase the incomes of the American people. This morning I want to talk with you for a few moments about that program, its goals, and the thinking that went into it. As I have traveled our country over the last year and a half, a single theme has emerged repeatedly from all of you in every region and from every walk of life. bold, comprehensive change to reverse the trickle-down policies of the 1980's and restore the vitality of the American dream. Over the last 12 years, while the middle class saw their tax burdens rise and their incomes go down, the wealthiest Americans, whose incomes went up, often by paperwork manipulation and moving jobs overseas, saw their taxes go down. Higher deficits came with lower taxes on the wealthy. And those deficits forced Government to cut back on essential services to the middle class, the working poor, and the neediest Americans. Good families in embattled neighborhoods saw their children getting by with outdated school books, going to school in neighborhoods that were ever more dangerous, while the wealthiest Americans in protected communities watched their bankbooks grow. Our economy suffered through two grinding recessions, and our job-creating engine stalled. The status quo simply is not working for working families anymore. The experts say we are in a robust economic recovery. our best companies doing better, people being able to refinance their homes, and consumer confidence on the upswing since the election. The unemployment rate has been over 7 percent for 14 months now, and we are 3 million jobs behind where we ordinarily would be in a real economic recovery. And the risk of doing the same old thing is far higher than the cost of change. If we do not change, the American economy and the living standards of our broad middle class will continue to decline, and many of us and most of our children will not enjoy the standard of living that past Americans have. It requires us to forsake the old order and to embrace a new one. Change means asking everyone to pull his or her own weight for the common good.

The President's Radio Address


Under my economic program, we will build an America where even the most privileged pay their fair share, not because we want to soak the rich but because we want to stop soaking the middle class and ask everybody to bear a fair share of the load; an America where the most impoverished move off welfare and go back to work; an America where middle class families who work hard and play by the rules are rewarded in their own lives and can pass on to their children a more prosperous future than they inherited from their parents; and yes, an America where Government is not immune from the sacrifices it asks of our people. Just this week I cut the White House staff by 25 percent and saved $10 million compared to the budgets of my predecessors. I have ordered further administrative cuts in Federal departments and agencies of $9 billion over the next 4 years, with more to follow from tough and smart management. I am also ordering an investigation into the enormous cash bonuses paid to officials of the departing administration. In some cases it was done just minutes before I was sworn into office. While I deeply admire the dedicated members of our Federal services, we simply cannot have extravagant payments made to departing bureaucrats and political cronies at a time when most people are tightening their belts. If Government is going to ask the American people to contribute, it must lead by example and learn to do more while spending less. That is a challenge I have embraced and one I will present to the Congress on Wednesday. Next, we will take the battle to the special interests. We will demand that those who see the Tax Code as a table game to be won rather than a social compact to be respected pay their fair share of taxes. I will keep my pledge to restore fairness to the Tax Code. We will raise taxes on the wealthiest individuals and companies in our society. That will be one of their contributions to create the high-skill, high-wage economy that we seek. And I will say to the drug companies, the insurance companies, and the others who profit from the status quo, they must join our cause to make comprehensive reforms in our medical care system. The time has come for all Americans to have affordable health care, a real chance at a healthy life. In return for these contributions, we are determined to create long-term, good-paying private sector jobs. We will encourage the development of new technologies and find markets for them all across America and around the word. We will provide special incentives to new businesses and small businesses to create the jobs of the future.

The President's Radio Address


Next week, when the full Congress returns from Easter recess, they will have less than 75 working days left to make this year a year of real progress for the American people. There is no more important critical piece of unfinished business than our need to ensure that every American, young and old, has adequate, affordable health care. Today I want to again urge the Congress to step up to this challenge by making the passage of a strong Patients' Bill of Rights and the provision of a voluntary Medicare prescription drug benefit top priorities when they return to Washington. The more than 190 million Americans who use managed care or other insurance plans have waited too long for a strong, enforceable Patients' Bill of Rights. They deserve the right to see a specialist, to emergency room care wherever and whenever they need it, and the right to hold health care plans accountable for harmful decisions. Last year, in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote, the House passed a strong Patients' Bill of Rights that provides the right protections all Americans need and deserve. But more than 6 months later, the bill is still languishing in Congress. Despite their pledge to complete a real bill, the Republican majority has not only delayed action, it is actually considering legislation that would leave tens of millions of Americans without Federal protections. We need a strong bill that protects all Americans and all plans, not one that provides more cover for the special interests than real coverage for American patients. Congress also has an obligation to strengthen Medicare and modernize it, with a voluntary, affordable prescription drug benefit. No one creating a Medicare program today would even think of excluding coverage for prescription drugs. Yet more than three in five older Americans still lack affordable and dependable prescription drug coverage. Just this week we saw further evidence of the unacceptable burden the growing cost of prescription drugs places on senior Americans. According to a report by the nonprofit group, Families USA, the price of prescription drugs most often used by seniors has risen at double the rate of inflation for 6 years running, a burden that falls hardest on seniors who lack drug coverage because they simply do not receive the price discounts most insurers negotiate. Seniors and people with disabilities living on fixed incomes simply cannot continue to cope with these kinds of price increases. That is why we must take action to help them, not next year or the year after that but this year. My budget includes a comprehensive plan to modernize Medicare and provide for a long overdue prescription drug benefit for all beneficiaries.

The President's Radio Address


I want to speak about the ongoing and increasingly urgent efforts to avoid default and reduce our deficit. Right now the House of Representatives is still trying to pass a bill that a majority of Republicans and Democrats in the Senate have already said they will not vote for. It is a plan that would force us to relive this crisis in just a few short months, holding our economy captive to Washington politics once again. In other words, it does not solve the problem, and it has no chance of becoming law. What is clear now is that any solution to avoid default must be bipartisan. It must have the support of both parties that were sent here to represent the American people, not just one faction. It will have to have the support of both the House and the Senate. Senator Reid, a Democrat, has introduced a plan in the Senate that contains cuts agreed upon by both parties. Senator McConnell, a Republican, offered a solution that could get us through this. There are plenty of modifications we can make to either of these plans in order to get them passed through both the House and the Senate and would allow me to sign them into law. And today I urge Democrats and Republicans in the Senate to find common ground on a plan that can get support from both parties in the House, a plan that I can sign by Tuesday. Now, keep in mind, this is not a situation where the two parties are miles apart. We are in rough agreement about how much spending can be cut responsibly as a first step toward reducing our deficit. We agree on a process where the next step is a debate in the coming months on tax reform and entitlement reform, and I am ready and willing to have that debate. And if we need to put in place some kind of enforcement mechanism to hold us all accountable for making these reforms, I will support that too if it is done in a smart and balanced way. But we are almost out of time. We need to reach a compromise by Tuesday so that our country will have the ability to pay its bills on time, as we always have, bills that include monthly Social Security checks, veterans' benefits, and the Government contracts we have signed with thousands of businesses.

Remarks on the Federal Budget


Keep in mind, if we do not do that, if we do not come to an agreement, we could lose our country's AAA credit rating, not because we did not have the capacity to pay our bills--we do--but because we did not have a AAA political system to match our AAA credit rating. And make no mistake, for those who say they oppose tax increases on anyone, a lower credit rating would result potentially in a tax increase on everyone in the form of higher interest rates on their mortgages, their car loans, their credit cards. hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, terrorist attacks. This is not one of those crises. The power to solve this is in our hands. And on a day when we have been reminded how fragile the economy already is, this is one burden we can lift ourselves. We can end it with a simple vote, a vote that Democrats and Republicans have been taking for decades, a vote that the leaders in Congress have taken for decades. It is not a vote that allows Congress to spend more money. Raising the debt ceiling simply gives our country the ability to pay the bills that Congress has already racked up. I want to emphasize that. The debt ceiling does not determine how much more money we can spend, it simply authorizes us to pay the bills we already have racked up. It gives the United States of America the ability to keep its word. Now, on Monday night, I asked the American people to make their voice heard in this debate, and the response was overwhelming. If you want to see a bipartisan compromise--a bill that can pass both Houses of Congress and that I can sign--let your Members of Congress know. Keep the pressure on Washington, and we can get past this. And for my part, our administration will be continuing to work with Democrats and Republicans all weekend long until we find a solution. The time for putting party first is over. The time for compromise on behalf of the American people is now. And I am confident that we can solve this problem. I am confident that we will solve this problem. For all the intrigue and all the drama that is taking place on Capitol Hill right now, I am confident that common sense and cooler heads will prevail. But as I said earlier, we are now running out of time. It is important for everybody to step up and show the leadership that the American people expect.

Remarks on the Federal Budget


Well, let me express my thanks and appreciation for the visit from President Arroyo. As we discussed during our meeting here and our delegations, the relationship between the United States and the Philippines dates back many years. It is a friendship that is forged not only in treaties and trade relationships and military relationships, but it is also strengthened by very personal ties that exist between our two countries. We are proud to have 4 million persons of Filipino ancestry contributing to our country each and every day, in all walks of life. The fact that we have Filipino veterans who have fought side by side with American soldiers on behalf of freedom, all those things have strengthened the relationship between our two countries. I am very pleased that President Arroyo has made such good progress on dealing with counterterrorism issues. She has initiated a peace process in Mindanao that we think is-has the potential to bring peace and stability to a part of the Philippines that has been wracked by unrest for too long. We are very grateful of the strong voice that the Philippines has provided in dealing with issues in Asia, ranging from the human rights violations that have for too long existed in Burma, to the problems that we are seeing with respect to nuclear proliferation in North Korea. I am looking forward to my travels to Southeast Asia, and the Philippines will be the coordinating country in the U.S. relationship with ASEAN, the primary organization-strategic organization for Southeast Asian countries. And in addition, the Philippines will be chairing the nonproliferation treaty conference that will be taking next-place next year. And so we are going to have a busy agenda together working to reduce the threat of nuclear weapons, improving the multilateral partnerships in Asia that can create greater security and greater prosperity for all countries. And in addition, we continue to be grateful for the outstanding contributions that the Philippines has made with respect to U.N. peacekeeping around the world. So although the Philippines is not the largest of countries, it, in using a phrase from boxing, punches above its weight in the international arena, and we are very grateful that President Arroyo has visited us here today. And we are looking forward to using this meeting as a way of launching even greater cooperation between our two countries in the years to come. On GDP, I do not have a crystal ball, and I have not received the figures yet, but I think if you look at the consensus of economists right now, it confirms that we have seen a significant slowing down of the contraction over the last several months.

Remarks During a Meeting With President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of the Philippines and an Exchange With Reporters


There are a lot of indicators out there that tell us that job losses, although still way too high, are not at the pace that we were seeing in January or February. Housing prices went up for the first time in 3 years. You are not seeing the huge volatility or panic that you were seeing. And so all of that is a sign that we have stepped away from the precipice. As Ben Bernanke and others across the ideological spectrum have indicated, we were in a position where we could have gone into a great depression. But I suspect that the GDP numbers will still show that the economy contracted in the second quarter, that job loss is still a huge problem. And you do not have to read GDP numbers to see that, all you got to do is talk to the American people who are still losing jobs, losing homes, and worried about their ability to keep their health care and finance their child's college educations. So we are not going to rest until we have seen not just a technical improvement in GDP but until the American people's job prospects, their incomes have rebounded, and that is going to take some time. With respect to tonight, you know, I am, I have to say, fascinated with the fascination about this evening. As you know, this idea was prompted when I was talking to Sergeant Crowley, and he said, Well, maybe I will have a beer in the White House some day, and I said, Well, you know, I am sure that can be arranged. This is three folks having a drink at the end of the day and hopefully giving people an opportunity to listen to each other. It is an attempt to have some personal interaction when an issue has become so hyped and so symbolic that you lose sight of just the fact that these are people involved, including myself, all of whom are imperfect. And hopefully instead of ginning up anger and hyperbole, everybody can just spend a little bit of time with some self-reflection and recognizing that other people have different points of view. And so I will be surprised if you guys all make this the lead as opposed to a very important meeting that we just had with one of our most important partners in the world, but the press has surprised me before.


After that introduction, I am thinking many things. I am thinking, I wonder how long it will be before Miguel will run for office. I am thinking, it is much better to have such a friend than an opponent. Thank you for being my friend in ways that are personal as well as political. You may, however, have caused me quite a problem tonight, not over Vieques but over saying I have a Hispanic soul. And if I am the first black President and the first President to have a Hispanic soul, I am afraid they will never let me go home to Ireland. What a joy it is to have somebody like you in Congress who is not ashamed to have a good time being in public life. We ought to all enjoy it and be honored. You know, when I see people trudging around here all the time, complaining about how hard public life is and all the burdens, I say, You know, they are not giving these jobs away. People come to me all the time and say, Has not this been just awful for you? You know, a few turns in the road one way or the other and I could be home doing deeds, wills, and divorces. I am grateful to be here, and I like it, every day of it. And Loretta likes it, and she is grateful to be here, and I appreciate that. Secretary Slater, who represented me at home today in Arkansas at the funeral of Daisy Bates, a great hero of the civil rights movement; Administrator Alvarez; Maria Echaveste; my former Secretary of Transportation and Energy, Federico Pen a, who did a superb job in both places, it is nice to see you. I would also like to thank another former member of my administration who is here tonight, who is now working for Vice President Gore, Janet Murguia. Her brother was just confirmed as the first Hispanic Federal judge from Kansas, so we have got one of them on the payroll, anyway. I want to thank all the people at my table and other places who had so much to do with the success of this evening, Joe and Alfie and Roger and Leo and all the others. Thank you, Joe Andrew and the others who are here from the DNC. Make sure we all have a good time out there, will you? And let me say one serious word before I go forward.

Remarks at a Democratic National Committee Hispanic Leadership Forum Dinner


There is one person I really wish were here tonight, who died a couple of days ago, the great mayor of Sacramento, California, Mayor Joe Serna. Mickey Ibarra would be here, but he is out there representing me at that service today. So I ask you all to remember Isabel Serna and the family in your prayers. They have been through a lot. He was a magnificent mayor and a great Democrat and a great friend of mine. He was one of those people who enjoyed public service, had a good time doing it, and was proud down to the last day his health would no longer permit him to serve and I ask you to remember. one, Secretary Richardson, who is still in the administration; and the other whom I wish were here, Henry Cisneros, who has served us so ably and is such a great man. I thank him. Now, as all of you know, we are trying to finish this year's budget, and we are trying to do a few other things before the Congress goes home. And I'd like to mention just a few of them because I think they relate particularly to the concerns of the Hispanic community. We are fighting to get a reaffirmation of the commitment that Congress made last year, right before the election, that the majority, the Republican majority has voted to go back on. But I am determined that we will reinstate it, and that is to put 100,000 teachers out there in the early grades so we can lower class size and give our children a better education. We are fighting to give our hardest pressed communities that still have a high crime rate 50,000 police officers on the street. We are fighting to raise the minimum wage, which I think is very, very important, especially for lower income workers, many of whom are Hispanic. You know, we lifted over 1 1/2 million Hispanics out of poverty by doubling the earned-income tax credit in 1993 and then by raising the minimum wage. And it is time to raise it again. And I hope we can prevail, and I hope you will help us. We are trying to pass hate crimes legislation. We are trying to pass legislation that will enable disabled people to go into the work force and not lose their Medicaid health insurance.


We are trying to pass the Caribbean Basin initiative and the African trade bill, which would open our markets to the Caribbean nations and African nations and open their markets more to us and put our Caribbean neighbors on a more equal footing with our Mexican neighbors in our trading relations. All of those things can still be done before the Congress goes home. And insofar as any of you have influence with anyone, I hope you will get out there and help us with our agenda, because all these things reflect the deepest values of the Democratic Party and our commitment to the future. I just want to make a couple of other points. I do not want to keep you late, and most of you have heard me give a lot of speeches. I had a very emotional day today. I was thinking about many things. I am about to leave to go to Europe. Hillary and Chelsea just left to go to the Middle East to continue the work that I was doing last week in our hope that we can, over the next 100 days, actually get a framework for a final peace agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Then I am going to Turkey and to Greece, two great friends of America, in the hope I can help them resolve some of their difficulties over Cyprus and other issues before I leave office. And then I am going on to Bulgaria, a great ally of ours, to try to keep pushing to make peace in the Balkans, where we have had to take up arms in Bosnia and Kosovo to stop ethnic cleansing and slaughter. And today I had this incredible experience, which would have been wonderful for any President but was especially wonderful for me. I hosted in the White House about 30 members of the United States Congress, Republicans and Democrats, and a couple of hundred other people to give the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award Congress can award, to the nine students who integrated Little Rock Central High School 42 years ago. For those of you who are old enough to remember that or young enough to have studied it, you may know also that, in addition to the courage of the young children and the power of the Supreme Court's decisions and the court orders, the power of the Presidency was necessary for the integration of Little Rock Central High School when President Eisenhower sent in the 101st Airborne Division and later federalized the Arkansas National Guard to stop the obstruction. Today I signed a bill naming the Old Executive Office Building after President Eisenhower because he worked there many years in the military.


That building, until the Great Depression, housed all the offices of the executive branch, including all the offices of what was then called the War Department, except for the Treasury Building and the Office of the President. So Dwight Eisenhower actually worked in that building as long as he worked in the White House as President. And his son, General John Eisenhower, who is also a noted historian, and John's wife and their daughter were there, so I asked them to come. So Dwight Eisenhower's son and granddaughter were actually present as we recognized these nine students. And because Arkansas is my home, I have lived with the reality of these people all my life, since I was 11 years old. And I said today that these nine students, in their simple desire to get a better education became, as children, our teachers. When I lived at home, literally 99 percent of all children in my State went to segregated schools. And we may have had an opinion one way or the other, but everybody more or less accepted it was the way it was. Where do you stand; what do you believe; how will we live? Thirty years later, I hosted them in the Governor's Mansion for the 30th anniversary of Little Rock Central High. I brought them all in, and I showed them all the rooms where the then-Governor planned the obstruction to keep them out the school. They got a big kick out of that. And 40 years later, 2 years ago, I went home to Little Rock, to the steps of Little Rock Central High School which in the 1920's was voted the most beautiful school building in America, and it is still a magnificent structure and I held the doors open for them, with our Governor, as they walked freely through the front door, something they had not been able to do 40 years ago. And then 2 years later, they came to the White House, with all their myriad family, kinfolks, and friends, for a celebration that truly represented America at its best. And to end it with you you and all those you represent have been so good to me and to Hillary and to the Vice President and Mrs. Gore is a great privilege. I just want to leave you with a couple of thoughts. Number one, many of you helped me in 1992 because you knew we did not want to keep on going the way we were going, because we had economic problems and social discord and political drift, and Government was discredited.


So you knew what you were against, and you were willing to try something else. But I was just an argument for most of you. Most of you never met me before I started running for President, and you decided to give me a chance. So the first thing I want to say to you is it is not an argument anymore. Together, we made a good decision, and we have changed America for the better. Seven years later, when you go home tomorrow and you go back across the country and people ask you why you were there, you can say, Well, we gave him a chance, and we tried it their way. And as has already been said, we not only have had the most diverse administration with the most diverse appointments, including the judicial appointments more of whom I am trying to get up for a vote by the way in history, but we have the longest peacetime expansion in history, 19.8 million new jobs, the lowest unemployment rate in 30 years, the lowest welfare rolls in 30 years, the lowest crime rates in 30 years, the lowest poverty rates in 20 years, the lowest female unemployment rate in 46 years, the first back-to-back budget surpluses in 42 years, with the smallest Federal Government in 37 years. It is the right direction for America. So the second thing I want to say to you is, we have got to decide now, what are we going to do with this. Because even if I pass everything I am trying to pass, if we get a good minimum wage bill and the 100,000 teachers and the 50,000 police and we get the antienvironmental riders off the bills and we pass the Caribbean Basin/Africa trade initiative, we do all the things I mentioned to you, there still will be a lot for America to do. And of all Americans, Hispanics ought to be able to think about this, our country, as we would our family. I remember one of the nicest nights we ever shared at the White House, Federico and I, was when we previewed that wonderful movie Mi Familia at the White House. In my lifetime, which is stretching on and on as the days go by, in my lifetime, this is the first chance America has had to have, on the one hand, the prosperity and confidence that we have and, on the other, to be unburdened by serious, wrenching foreign threats to our security or domestic crises.


In the 1960's we had, for a brief period more or less, the best economy we'd ever had, with low unemployment, low inflation. But we had, first, the civil rights crisis to deal with and then the war in Vietnam. Now what do you do, as a person, as a family, as a business, if things are better than they have ever been, but you can look ahead to the future and clearly see challenges and opportunities that will not be met or seized if you do not do certain things you are not doing now? What do you do? That is the great question before our people. I can tell you you know, I do not know about you, but I will just use my own life; from the time I was a little boy, one of the well, when I first ran for office, let me start with that. I asked an old sage in Arkansas politics, I said I was running really well in this race for Governor. In politics, you are always most vulnerable when you think you are invulnerable. How many times can you remember in your own life, when you broke your concentration, when you got divided, when you made a stupid mistake because you thought things were rocking along so well, nothing bad could happen? How many times has that happened to a family or to a business, where you just think things are going to roll on forever? I am telling you, this is a precious jewel we have been given, a gift we have been given as a country, to look ahead and say, Okay, what are the big challenges? You ought to make your own lists. I will just give you a few. The number of people over 65 is going to double in 30 years. Medicare is supposed to run out of money in 15 years. Seventy-five percent of our seniors cannot afford prescription drugs but need them to stay alive and maintain their quality of life. How are we going to deal with the aging of America? We have the largest number of children in our schools in history, the first time more people than the baby boom, and by far more diverse. Loretta was talking about that Republican newsletter from northwest Arkansas. Northwest Arkansas is one of the fastest growing areas of America, has been for 20 years, and one of the most racially and religiously homogeneous areas in the country. And all of a sudden, boom, they have this big infusion of Hispanics.