[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1991, Book I)]
[May 23, 1991]
[Pages 552-555]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks on Fast Track Legislation and a Question-and-Answer Session With 
Reporters
May 23, 1991

    The President. I assume you want to get my reaction on Fast Track. 
And I want to simply thank the leaders in Congress on both sides of the 
aisle. I want to congratulate everyone in our administration who worked 
so hard on this: Nick Calio, Fred McClure, and of course, most 
especially, Ambassador Carla Hills, who worked her heart out on this.
    And I believe this is a very important step for our country. I think 
it's a very important step for our neighbors to the south and, 
hopefully, for Europe as well. So I couldn't be more pleased. The vote 
was, frankly, larger than I anticipated, though I think I told you all 
yesterday I thought we would win. But it's a great day, it really is. 
And it's going to be good for the working man in this country and good 
for the environment, not the other way around.
    So I congratulate the leaders of Congress. I want to single out 
Congressman Dan Rostenkowski on the House side for his leadership. And I 
just couldn't be happier. It's a wonderful, wonderful end-of-week 
present, you might say, for the American people.
    Q. How pivotal do you think Mr. Gephardt's decision was in that 
margin?
    The President. Very pivotal, because Dick Gephardt, who wrestled 
with this for reasons I understood, came down, in my view, on the right 
side of it. And it wasn't an easy call for him. But he, in my view, made 
the right decision, and I'm confident that his decision brought along a 
lot of other votes because he's in the position of leader there and 
that's important.
    The Speaker played it fair all the way. So I have nothing but praise 
for Congress on this one. And I'm just delighted it worked out that way.

President's Health

    Q. Mr. President, is it true that you felt a little bit mentally 
slowed during your illness?
    The President. Rita [Rita Beamish, Associated Press], can I turn the 
question around and say this: Did I seem a little mentally slow? Here, 
I'll tell you how it is. [Laughter]
    Q. Did you feel mentally slow?
    The President. Have you ever gotten tired--has anybody here ever 
been tired? And if you have, when you're tired it's better to take it 
easier, take a little time before you come up to try and answer a lot of 
tough questions. And so, yes, I've been tired, and the medicine is known 
to do that to people. But I'm back 100 percent, snapped back, and feel 
sharp as a tack and ready to field the most tough question and do it 
rapidly. [Laughter]

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    So no, really, I'm not making this up. I feel much--each day. The 
weight is still down, but I think the American people have been 
subjected to perhaps an overdose of analysis on this. But people are 
interested, and I'm flattered by the interest, but I really am feeling 
good. I don't know what I have to do to prove it. We could jog a couple 
today, but I'm not quite ready for that. I hope to exercise this 
weekend.
    Q. ----running----
    The President. Yes, I'm going to--well, I don't know about running, 
but I'm going to exercise.
    Q. How active are you going to be this weekend, sir?
    Q. So we know what to pack.
    The President. It will be about the same. I want to do some fishing 
and play a little golf. But on running, we'll phase back into this.
    Q. Are you going to Yale?
    The President. I'm going to phase back into this up there--
[laughter].
    Q. Thank you, Helen [Helen Thomas, United Press International].

Federal Budget

    Q. Mr. President, how do you feel about the tax plan from the 
Democrats? The Democrats have----
    The President. Well, I haven't studied it yet. My first question 
would be, how do we pay for all these wonderful things, and do we worry 
about the deficit? I do. And do we stay within the budget limits, which 
I am determined they will stay within? But other than that, I'm not 
going to criticize it before I've studied it. It's just opening round.
    Q. Can I ask a Fast Track question, Mr. President?

Soviet Union

    Q. ----this morning about Mr. Gorbachev at the economic summit. You 
keep asking the question, will it contribute to reform. How are you 
inclined to answer that?
    The President. But we'll conclude that along the way. I was just on 
the phone to Prime Minister John Major this morning--Marlin may have 
told you--and we discussed this. And I'll be talking to the other 
European leaders. I think we're all agreed that if it will help, fine.
    Q. How do you measure that----
    The President. Well, we'll have to wait and see. I don't know 
exactly how you measure it. I don't know what his plan is.
    Q. Do you need a plan----
    The President. Well, see, we've got Primakov coming over here with a 
plan. Let's see what it is. If it makes sense, we'll encourage it. If we 
have some reservations about it, we owe Mr. Gorbachev, who is a friend 
that, hey, look, just had some difficulties. So, I don't want to 
prejudge it before we've even heard from the guy.
    Q. Are you disappointed from the reaction from Shamir?

Defense Bill

    Q. ----Planned Parenthood centers that you have always supported?
    The President. I haven't seen the vote today, but I support 
population efforts. I'm not--obviously not for abortion, if that's--was 
that related to the defense?
    Q. Souter was the deciding vote.
    The President. Oh, I didn't see the vote. I thought we were talking 
about the defense bill yesterday.
    Q. Will you veto the defense bill?
    The President. Well, I think this will come out of it. I hope it 
will come out so we don't need the veto. But I've done it before and I 
would again. I haven't changed my position.

Middle East Peace Talks

    Q. Are you disappointed from the reaction that you're getting from 
Prime Minister Shamir to Secretary of State Baker's comment on the 
settlements?
    The President. I asked Marlin to bring me some comments on this 
because I haven't seen those. I've had a big day today--busy day. But, 
look, Secretary Baker was speaking for this administration. And I 
strongly support what he said. And I strongly support what he's trying 
to do. There's no light between anyone in the administration. And our 
policy, as I said earlier, is well-known. And it would make a big 
contribution to peace if these settlements would stop.
    And that's what the Secretary was trying to say. And I thought he 
said it very well. And I am 100 percent for him. I noticed

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some interpretive story today that suggested that I was lightening up. 
I'm backing the man. He's knocking himself out, going the extra mile for 
peace. And one way to get there is to have the settlement policy under 
control. We don't want it expanding like this. There's nothing new in 
this. This isn't new. This is the age-old policy.
    Q. Do you think he is making a connection between the peace and the 
settlements that----
    The President. I'm stating the policy of the United States of 
America, and so was the Secretary. And I think most people in this 
country understand it and have understood it. And nothing's different. 
But we would like to see those settlements stopped. And I'm glad I had 
the chance to put a little period and exclamation point on this.
    Q. Will you be calling Shamir, sir, to discuss this?
    The President. I'm in touch with him. I have--I don't know, even 
know what--I'm a little at a loss because----
    Q. He said the Arabs have to give more and that Israel----
    The President. Well, everybody has to give. That's what I tried to 
say today. The goal is to get people talking who have been shouting at 
each other and arming against each other. And we've got an opportunity 
now because we do have new credibility--newfound, better credibility in 
the Middle East, all countries over here in my view. And so what Baker's 
trying to do, and I back him 100 percent, is to use that to get exactly 
this done, to have others compromise. Everybody has to give and listen 
and talk, come to the table, and then we'll see what happens.
    Q. Are you finding them more intransigent than you expected?
    The President. I don't know than I expected. Nobody said this would 
be a cakewalk. But we've got a ways to go before I can tell the American 
people we're there. They're all coming to the table, all those that 
we've invited. But the Secretary's working hard----
    Q. Are you going to invite----
    The President. We're doing a lot behind----
    Q. Are you going to invite anyone to Washington?
    The President. Sorry? A lot behind the scenes.
    Q. Is there anything you can do to persuade the Israelis to your 
point of view----
    Q. Invite him where?
    Q. ----beyond simply talking with them?
    The President. Well, I'm going to keep trying. I'm going to keep 
trying because I think Prime Minister Shamir knows my view on this. I 
know he knows there's nothing different between present policy and past 
policy in terms of settlements. But if you mean in the whole scheme of 
things----
    Q. Things like loan guarantees, aid----
    The President. Oh, yes. Well, I'm talking about how you get the 
peace process started. And yes, I'll be talking to anybody that's 
willing to talk about it, and so will the Secretary.
    Thank you very much.
    Q. Are you inviting them here?

Soviet Union

    Q. Are you considering a meeting with Gorbachev outside Moscow or 
London?
    The President. Not right now.
    Q. Something less than a summit?
    The President. Not right now.
    Q. Did you talk to Major about inviting Gorbachev to London?
    Q. What about women in combat?
    The President. What about it?
    Q. Did you talk to Major about whether he should invite Gorbachev to 
the summit in London.
    Q. Is he in favor of that?
    The President. Yes, we did discuss that. But his position is the 
same as mine. Gorbachev's--I mean, regarding Gorbachev, the Prime 
Minister and I are in exact sync on this. We both want to look at it and 
consider it and not leave the door closed nor open, but see what the 
proposals are. And if it will help, fine.
    I mean, Gorbachev, I am still convinced, is working the reform path, 
working the perestroika path. And I'm not going to pull the rug out from 
under him. On the other hand, we have limitations in what we can do. And 
when we do something, we want it to be meaningful. We don't want to just 
have it some gesture that doesn't help the

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struggling Soviet economy. So we're in a critical time here in terms of 
meetings, in terms of G-7 or summit. And I'm anxious to hear from Mr. 
Primakov, who is Gorbachev's special emissary. Just as he was anxious to 
hear from our agricultural specialists that went over there, come up 
with some good ideas. And this is the way you do it. You talk to each 
other and you keep going. And it's true for U.S.-Soviet, it's true for 
G-7, and it's true for the Middle East.
    Thank you all very much.

                    Note: The President spoke at 3:30 p.m. at the North 
                        Portico of the White House. The President 
                        referred to Nicholas E. Calio, Deputy Assistant 
                        to the President for Legislative Affairs 
                        (House); Frederick D. McClure, Assistant to the 
                        President for Legislative Affairs; U.S. Trade 
                        Representative Carla A. Hills; Representatives 
                        Dan Rostenkowski and Richard A. Gephardt; Thomas 
                        S. Foley, Speaker of the House of 
                        Representatives; Prime Minister John Major of 
                        the United Kingdom; Marlin Fitzwater, Press 
                        Secretary to the President; Yevgeniy Primakov, 
                        Soviet Presidential Council member and envoy for 
                        Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev; Supreme 
                        Court Associate Justice David Souter; Prime 
                        Minister Yitzhak Shamir of Israel; and Secretary 
                        of State James A. Baker III.