[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book II)]
[August 6, 1993]
[Pages 1346-1347]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 1346]]


Remarks on Senate Action on the Economic Program
August 6, 1993

    Thank you. Thank you very much. What we heard tonight at the other 
end of Pennsylvania Avenue was the sound of gridlock breaking. It was 
the sound of progress and change which can now resound throughout every 
corner of our great and beloved Nation.
    I want to thank the United States Senators who voted for change 
tonight, especially the Senate majority leader, George Mitchell, for his 
untiring efforts, and all the others who worked so hard for so long to 
see this night come about. I want to thank the Vice President for his 
unwavering contribution to the landslide. I thank the economic team who 
worked so hard on this from last November: Leon Panetta, who is here; 
Secretary Bentsen; Mr. Rubin; and all the people who work with them. I 
thank Mr. McLarty and all the members of the White House staff. I thank 
Mr. Altman and the war room for the work they did in the last several 
weeks. I thank especially Howard Paster and Steve Ricchetti and all 
those who worked for us in the Senate. I hope that they will get some 
well-deserved rest.
    After 12 long years, we can say to the American people tonight we 
have laid the foundation for the renewal of the American dream. The days 
of endless gridlock, rising deficits, and trickle-down economics are 
over. The days of economic growth and real opportunity for the working 
families of this country have begun.
    This was not easy, but real change is never easy. It is always 
difficult. It is always easier to sustain the status quo and to talk as 
if you were changing. But that is not why I was elected President, nor 
is it why we were sent here.
    When we came here, our national debt had quadrupled in 12 years, and 
the incomes of our forgotten working families had been stagnant for 
nearly 20 years. Our heritage of investment in our people and our 
economy had been gradually forsaken and the people of our Nation 
questioned whether anyone here in this city would take responsibility 
for our future, change the direction of our country, and ensure a better 
life for them and their children.
    After a long season of denial and drift and decline, we are seizing 
control of our economic destiny. To be sure, as I have said repeatedly, 
this is just the beginning, just the first step in our attempts to 
assert control over our financial affairs, to invest in our future, and 
to grow our economy, to deal with the health care problems, the welfare 
reform problems, the problems of crime in the streets, and the other 
things that deal with the daily fabric of life for our people. But make 
no mistake about it, this is a very, very important beginning.
    The economic program that Congress passed tonight puts $500 billion 
into a trust fund locked away for deficit reduction; $255 billion in 
specific, real, enforceable spending cuts; tax cuts for 20 million 
working Americans with marginal incomes who are trying to raise their 
children. This will reward their desire to choose work over welfare. It 
is an important advance in the fabric of opportunity and responsibility 
in this country.
    This new direction includes new opportunities for the sons and 
daughters of middle class families to go to college because it reforms 
the student loan programs in ways that make student loans more 
accessible to more people and cuts the cost in the program through waste 
reduction. It provides immunizations to give a healthy start to millions 
of American children. It provides significant new incentives for small 
businesses to grow and expand. In this sharp departure from business as 
usual, this program will create jobs, reduce the deficit, and put the 
American people first.
    In the lifetime of this country, the courage and wisdom of the 
American people in difficulty have always prevailed when we faced a 
challenge and needed a change. Sometimes in the past they have prevailed 
by the narrowest of margins in the beginning but always picking up 
steam, always marching confidently toward the future. That will be true 
in this time as well.
    We are determined not to let the American dream founder. We are 
determined to stop avoiding our problems and start facing them, to 
embrace them as challenges, to turn them into opportunities, to seize 
the future that rightfully belongs to every American willing to work 
hard, play by the rules, and take care of their children. We are 
determined that the next generation of Americans will inherit a brighter 
fu-


[[Page 1347]]

ture than we have known, just as we did from our parents. For more than 
two centuries, that has been the promise of the American dream. Tonight, 
because of the bold action taken by courageous men and women in the 
House and the Senate, that dream will not be deferred but rather be 
fulfilled.
    I am profoundly grateful tonight for the opportunity to stand here 
not simply as President but as an American citizen seeing our Nation 
once again roll up our sleeves together, tackle our problems, and march 
to tomorrow.
    Thank you, and God bless you all.

Note: The President spoke at 11:05 p.m. at the North Portico at the 
White House.