    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book I)]
    [January 25, 1993]
    [Pages 12-13]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on the Establishment of the National Economic Council and an
    Exchange With Reporters
    January 25, 1993

        The President. This is the Executive order which establishes the
    National Economic Council and which brings into the economic
    policymaking of the Federal Government not just the traditional
    Secretaries of Treasury, the OMB, the Council of Economic Advisers but
    also the Departments of Commerce, Labor, Agriculture, HUD,
    Transportation, Energy, EPA, as well as

    [[Page 13]]

    the Trade Office, State, so that we can all work together. I want to
    thank all of the people around this table for all the work they've done
    on this and especially Mr. Rubin for the work that he's done to try to
    reconcile all these things. I believe that this will enable us to make
    economic policy in a much more specific, clear, and effective way than
    the Federal Government has in quite a long while.

    [At this point, the President signed the Executive order.]

    Homosexuals in the Military

        Q. If the Joint Chiefs oppose this lifting of the ban on gays in the
    military, are you still going to go ahead with that?
        The President. I'm going to meet with them and discuss it this
    afternoon. But I intend to keep my commitment. I want their input on how
    we should do it, however. I think they're entitled to really be listened
    to on a lot of the practical issues.
        Q. Is this part of what you said in your Inaugural Address, that it
    will require sacrifice?
        The President. I think everybody wants to make a contribution to
    solving these problems, and we're going to give everyone the opportunity
    to do that.
        Q. How quickly will you lift this ban, Mr. President?
        The President. I don't have anything else to say about it right now.
    We're going to have a meeting----
        Q. Are you going to have a meeting on it?
        The President. I want to talk to the Joint Chiefs about that, and
    then I'll have a statement to make later.
        Q. Today?
        The President. I don't know. We've got a lot of other things to do
    today. Maybe; I don't know.

    Taxes

        Q. Mr. President, can you say anything about the consumption tax
    that Senator Bentsen addressed yesterday?
        The President. No. I thought he did a very good job on television. I
    wasn't sure that I was reading about the same interview in the press
    this morning. He said that no decision had been made, and no decision
    has been made. We have a lot of options under consideration, but no
    decision has been made.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:30 a.m. in the Roosevelt Room at the
    White House. The Executive order is listed in Appendix D at the end of
    this volume.