    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book II)]
    [August 4, 1993]
    [Pages 1333-1334]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on Signing the Executive Orders on Budget Control and the
    Deficit Reduction Fund and an Exchange With Reporters
    August 4, 1993

        The President. Before I sign these orders, I'd like to make a brief
    statement, if I might. Nothing has done more to erode the confidence of
    the American people in our Government than our chronic failure to manage
    our finances and to stabilize the economy so that it can create jobs.
    Year after year, the public has been told that sustained economic growth
    and deficit reduction would come from actions taken here. And as
    deficits have grown larger and incomes have shrunk, the people have
    become more and more skeptical, even cynical, about everything that is
    said and done here even with the best of intentions.
        We have a budget deficit, we have an investment deficit, and we
    clearly have a trust deficit in America. I am determined to do something
    about all three. I know the American people are doubtful about any claim
    by our Government, and I know they wonder if the cuts that we are
    proposing are real and if the taxes will really be used to pay down the
    deficit. That's why I want to go the extra mile to ensure that this plan
    is fundamentally different from what has been done in the past.
        This plan is based on conservative revenue estimates of future
    revenues, with year-by-year, line-by-line specific spending cuts; new
    incentives to expand the private sector's contribution to economic
    growth; minimizes the burdens on the middle class; and now creates two
    safeguards to keep a watchful eye on future spending, especially in
    entitlements, while protecting the savings produced by the plan.
        We owe the Executive orders I am about to sign to the hard work of
    the Members of Congress who are here today. The House included both
    provisions in its version of the reconciliation bill. The Senate would
    have done the same with similar amendments supported by Senator
    DeConcini, Senator Feingold, recommended publicly by Senator Bradley and
    others, but for the procedural maneuvering by people who feed the public
    cynicism by talking about deficit reduction on the one hand and
    nonetheless have prepared to block action for these needed reforms on
    the other. The fact that the Senate rules required these Executive
    orders today, that we could not do it by statute, is something that
    should be debated at a later time. But I want to make it clear that the
    Senators who are here and others strongly support what is being done.
        These orders are almost completely identical to the provisions
    adopted by the House and approved by a majority in the Senate. The
    deficit reduction order creates a deficit reduction trust fund, an
    account in the Treasury that guarantees that the savings from the
    reconciliation bill are dedicated exclusively to reducing the deficit.
    This locks in deficit reduction and mandates all members of the
    executive branch to follow these procedures.
        The entitlement and review order requires that entitlement spending
    be limited to the estimated levels included in the reconciliation bill.
    If those levels are exceeded, I will present recommendations to Congress
    on corrective action. No longer can we permit entitlement spending to
    soar out of control without some concrete action being taken to restrain
    it.
        These Executive orders are the product of years of hard work by the
    men and women represented here today. I am grateful to them for their
    inspiration and their tenacity in getting this work done.
        As important as this plan is for reducing the budget and investment
    deficits, these Executive orders deal also with the trust deficit. They
    are the assurance to the American people that our good words about
    deficit reduction and economic growth will be matched by good works

    [[Page 1334]]

    as well.

    [At this point, the President signed the Executive orders. Senator
    Dennis DeConcini then made brief remarks.]

    Economic Program

        Q. Mr. President, what have you offered him to--[inaudible]
        The President. Good Government. [Laughter]
        Q. Can you have the--will you have the vote without him?
        The President. I guess I ought to say one other thing about this. I
    still think these things should be adopted in the law. And I would be
    prepared to support, as quickly as we can get it up and voted on, a
    separate piece of legislation to do these things. And I do want to
    emphasize that.
        These Executive orders are identical, virtually identical, word for
    word, for what the Congress, the majority in the Congress, wanted. They
    clearly bind the executive branch just as much as an act of Congress.
    But I think it would be better, from the point of view of the public
    trust and also more binding on Congress, if we can pass a separate piece
    of legislation.
        So I do want to make it clear that while I support these ideas
    strongly and I will faithfully adhere to them in the Executive order, I
    have also told the Members of Congress who care about this that I am
    prepared to strongly support a separate legislation to achieve these
    objectives in the law. And I'd like to see it brought up just as quickly
    as we can after the August recess is over.
        Thank you.
        Q. Mr. President, did you know it before now that Senator DeConcini
    had not made up his mind yet?
        The President. Senator DeConcini and I agreed that this press
    conference would be about this, and not----

    Note: The President spoke at 12:39 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. The Executive orders are listed in Appendix D at the end of this
    volume.