[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 10 (Wednesday, February 11, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H390-H391]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  ECONOMIC REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT--MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE 
                  UNITED STATES (H. DOC. NO. 105-176)

  The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House the following message 
from the President of the United States; which was read and, together 
with the accompanying papers, without objection, referred to the 
Committee on Joint Economics and ordered to be printed:

To the Congress of the United States:
  For the last 5 years this Administration has worked to strengthen our 
Nation for the 21st century, expanding opportunity for all Americans, 
demanding responsibility from all Americans, and bringing us together 
as a community of all Americans. Building a strong economy is the 
cornerstone of our efforts to meet these challenges.
  When I first took office in 1993, the Federal budget deficit was out 
of control, unemployment was unacceptably high, and wages were 
stagnant. To reverse this course, we took a new approach, putting in 
place a bold economic strategy designed to bring down the deficit and 
give America's workers the tools and training they need to help them 
thrive in our changing economy.
  Our strategy has succeeded: the economy has created more than 14 
million new jobs, unemployment is at its lowest level in 24 years, and 
core inflation is at its lowest level in 30 years. Economic growth in 
1997 was the strongest in almost a decade, and the benefits of that 
growth are being shared by all Americans: poverty is dropping and 
median family income has gone up nearly $2,200 since 1993. We also saw 
the biggest drop in welfare rolls in history. Many challenges remain, 
but Americans are enjoying the fruits of an economy that is steady and 
strong.


                 the administration's economic strategy

  From the beginning, this Administration's economic strategy has had 
three crucial elements: reducing the deficit, investing in people, and 
opening markets abroad.
  Deficit reduction. In 1993 this Administration's deficit reduction 
plan set the Nation on a course of fiscal responsibility, while making 
critical investments in the skills and well-being of our people. When I 
took office, the deficit was $290 billion and projected to go much 
higher. This year the deficit will fall to just $10 billion and 
possibly lower still. That is a reduction of more than 95 percent, 
leaving the deficit today smaller in relation to the size of the 
economy than it has been since 1969. And this year I have proposed a 
budget that will eliminate the deficit entirely, achieving the first 
balanced budget in 30 years.
  Beyond that, it is projected that the budget will show a sizable 
surplus in the years to come. I propose that we reserve 100 percent of 
the surplus until we have taken the necessary measures to strengthen 
the Social Security system for the 21st century. I am committed to 
addressing Social Security first, to ensure that all Americans are 
confident that it will be there when they need it.

  Investing in our people. In the new economy, the most precious 
resource this Nation has is the skills and ingenuity of working 
Americans. Investing in the education and health of our people will 
help all Americans reap the rewards of a growing, changing economy. 
Those who are better educated, with the flexibility and the skills they 
need to move from one job to another and seize new opportunities, will 
succeed in the new economy; those who do not will fall behind.
  That is why the historic balanced budget agreement I signed into law 
in 1997 included the largest increase in aid to education in 30 years, 
and the biggest increase to help people go to college since the G.I. 
Bill was passed 50 years ago. The agreement provided funds to ensure 
that we stay on track to help 1 million disadvantaged children prepare 
for success in school. It provided funding for the America Reads 
Challenge, with the goal of mobilizing a million volunteers to promote 
literacy, and it made new investments in our schools themselves, to 
help connect every classroom and library in this country to the 
Internet by the year 2000.
  The balanced budget agreement created the HOPE scholarship program, 
to make completion of the 13th and 14th years of formal education as 
widespread as a high school diploma is today. It offered other tuition 
tax credits for college and skills training. It created a new 
Individual Retirement Account that allows tax-free withdrawals to pay 
for education. It provided the biggest increase in Pell grants in two 
decades. Finally, it provided more funds so that aid to dislocated 
workers is more than double what it was in 1993, to help these workers 
get the skills they need to remain productive in a changing economy.
  But we must do more to guarantee all Americans the quality education 
they need to succeed. That is why I have proposed a new initiative to 
improve the quality of education in our public schools--through high 
national standards and national tests, more charter schools to 
stimulate competition, greater accountability, higher quality teaching, 
smaller class sizes, and more classrooms.
  To strengthen our Nation we must also strengthen our families. The 
Family and Medical Leave Act, which I signed into law in 1993, ensures 
that millions of people no longer have to choose between being good 
parents and being good workers. The Health Care Portability and 
Accountability Act, enacted in 1996, ensures that workers can keep 
their health insurance if they change jobs or suffer a family 
emergency. We have also increased the minimum wage, expanded the earned 
income tax credit, and provided for a new $500-per-child tax credit for 
working families. To continue making progress toward strengthening 
families, the balanced budget agreement allocated $24 billion to 
provide health insurance to up to 5 million uninsured children--the 
largest Federal investment in children's health care since Medicaid was 
created in 1965.

[[Page H391]]

  Opening markets and expending exports. To create more good jobs and 
increase wages, we must open markets abroad and expand U.S. exports. 
Trade has been key to the strength of this economic expansion--about a 
third of our economic growth in recent years has come from selling 
American goods and services overseas. The Information Technology 
Agreement signed in 1997 lowers tariff and other barriers to 90 percent 
of world trade in information technology services.
  To continue opening new markets, creating new jobs, and increasing 
our prosperity, it is critically important to renew fast-track 
negotiation authority. This authority, which every President of either 
party has had for the last 20 years, enables the President to negotiate 
trade agreements and submit them to the Congress for an up-or-down 
vote, without modification. Renewing this traditional trade authority 
is essential to America's ability to shape the global economy of the 
21st century.


           seizing the benefit of a growing, changing economy

  As we approach the 21st century the American economy is sound and 
strong, but challenges remain. We know that information and technology 
and global commerce are rapidly transforming the economy, offering new 
opportunities but also posing new challenges. Our goal must be to 
ensure that all Americans are equipped with the skills to succeed in 
this growing, changing economy.
  Our economic strategy--balancing the budget, investing in our people, 
opening markets--has set this Nation on the right course to meet the 
goal. This strategy will support and contribute to America's strength 
and providing our people with the skills, the flexibility, and the 
security to succeed. We must continue to maintain the fiscal discipline 
that is balancing the budget, to invest in our people and their skills, 
and to lead the world to greater prosperity in the 21st century.

                                                  William J. Clinton.  
  The White House, February 10, 1998.

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