[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book II)]
[September 11, 1993]
[Pages 1468-1469]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



The President's Radio Address
September 11, 1993

    Good morning. Today I'm in Houston with Vice President Gore. This 
week we've been talking with Americans in Ohio and California and Texas 
about our plan to reinvent Government, to make Government work better 
and cost less.
    We're living in truly revolutionary times, with profound changes 
sweeping the entire world. On Monday, Israel and the PLO will come to 
the White House to sign a courageous and historic peace accord, the 
first step in replacing war with peace and giving the children of the 
Middle East a chance to grow up to a normal life. Here at home, we're 
trying to face the future with confidence and to face the changes that 
have confronted us by owning up to our problems and seizing our 
opportunities.
    We've sharply broken with the past of trickle-down economics and 
huge deficits by adopting an economic program that drives down the 
deficit, increases investment incentives to small

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businesses and high-tech businesses, and helps our people to move from 
welfare to work.
    We seek other fundamental reforms, including a new trade agreement 
with Mexico with historic protections for labor rights and improvements 
in the environment. And we're putting the finishing touches on a health 
care reform proposal that will restore peace of mind and financial 
security to homes and to businesses all across America by providing 
health care that's always there at an affordable price.
    In this world of dramatic change, one of the biggest obstacles to 
our changing is the machinery of Government itself. It's frankly been 
stuck in the past, wasting too much money, often ignoring the taxpayer, 
coping with outdated systems and archaic technology, and most of all, 
eroding the confidence of the American people that Government can make 
change work for them.
    Reforming, indeed, reinventing Government is essential to make our 
economic, health care, and trade efforts succeed. For the last 6 months, 
Vice President Gore has been studying the problems in the Federal 
Government. His National Performance Review has found more than $100 
billion in savings that we can claim through serious and lasting 
management reforms over the next 5 years, reforms that will at the same 
time make the services we provide to you, the taxpayer, our customers, 
more efficient and more effective.
    Now, I want to ask the Vice President to tell you more about what 
he's found in this historic review.
    Mr. Vice President.

[At this point, the Vice President discussed the findings of the 
National Performance Review.]

    The President. And thank you, Mr. Vice President, for the excellent 
National Performance Review. It is important for all the reasons you've 
said and for this one: We need to earn the trust of the American people. 
Until we do that, it's going to be hard to move on these other problems, 
for the Government has to be a partner in many of the things the 
American people need to do. We not only have a budget deficit and an 
investment deficit, we've got a real performance deficit in this 
Government. And that's led to the trust deficit that you're doing so 
much to help us overcome.
    I am determined that these changes will come about. Where Executive 
action is recommended to bring change, I will take that action. Where 
legislation is needed to bring change, I will work with the Congress, 
with members of both parties, to win that legislation. Those of us in 
the business of Government owe the American people no less than making 
it the best it can be. Make no mistake about it, we've got a lot of work 
ahead of us. But we're all going to win on this.
    Again, I thank you, Mr. Vice President, and I believe the American 
people do too, for a job very well done.
    Thanks for listening.

Note: The President spoke at 9:06 a.m. from Room 810 of the Wyndham 
Warwick Hotel in Houston, TX.