    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book II)]
    [August 25, 1994]
    [Pages 1503-1504]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on Anticrime Legislation and an Exchange With Reporters
    August 25, 1994

        The President. Good afternoon. For 6 long years, the American people
    have watched and waited as Washington talked about stemming the tide of
    crime and violence in this country but did not act. Today Senators of
    both parties took a brave and promising step to bring the long, hard
    wait for a crime bill closer to an end.
        I want to salute the Senators of both Republican and Democratic
    ranks who put law and order, safety and security above politics and
    party.
        Ordinary Americans all across our country ought to take heart today.
    In the last 2 weeks, Members of Congress in both Houses and from both
    parties have thrown off the bonds of politics-as-usual to do the
    people's business. That's what the people sent us all here to do. I hope
    this crime bill will now rapidly pass the Senate and that we can move on
    doing the people's business across party lines, unencumbered by

    [[Page 1504]]

    the labels of the past and the false choices of the past, moving to a
    better future for all Americans.
        Thank you.

    Cuba

        Q. Mr. President, Fidel Castro says there's a simple way to stop the
    exodus of Cuban refugees, and that is to open up a high-level dialog
    between Washington and Havana. What's so bad about that?
        The President. Well, I think, first of all, we have asked that we
    resume our talks, as you know, or we have offered a resumption of talks
    on the whole issue of immigration. And I have been doing a careful study
    over the last few days of the nature of our immigration laws and their
    implementation, especially since the 1984 agreement signed in the Reagan
    administration. But that is what this issue is about.
        The other issues--I think President Castro or Premier Castro needs
    to be in consultation with his own folks. The people of Cuba want
    democracy and free markets. And that's always been our policy, and that
    will continue to be our policy. But I would urge the American people to
    be firm and be calm about what is going on here now. We must not let any
    nation, even a nation as close to us as Cuba, even with so many American
    citizens of Cuban descent, control the immigration policy of the United
    States and violate the borders of the United States. We have to be firm
    in this. And we will work this through to a successful conclusion, I
    believe.
        Q. Mr. President, what's wrong with talking to Cuba and Fidel Castro
    when we talk with other so-called outlaw nations like North Korea?
        The President. Well, we have a different policy of 30 years
    standing. And I think Mr. Castro knows the conditions for changing that
    policy. The discussions that have been held on a regular basis for
    several years now between our two countries have been limited to matters
    of immigration. They can be held, and we would support that.

    Health Care Reform

        Q. Mr. President, is health care dead this year?
        The President. I wouldn't say that, no. I don't think you can say
    that because--and I don't think the recess will kill it--was that what
    you were going to--and the reason I say that is because, like most of
    you, I have watched with great interest what has happened and what has
    not happened in the Senate and the House. I told you all when we started
    this issue a long time ago, now over a year ago, that it was a very
    complicated issue, that it's no accident that Presidents of both parties
    for 60 years have tried to find a way to solve the health care crisis
    and have never been able to do it, particularly in the face of intense,
    organized, and expensive efforts to stop it.
        But I think the less I say the better right now, as long as Senator
    Mitchell and Senator Chafee and Senator Breaux and others are doing
    their best to continue this dialog. I spoke to another Democratic
    Senator today who said that she felt there's still a good chance that a
    bill could come out that people would want to vote for and think was the
    right thing to do. So I think we just have to let this thing develop a
    little bit and see what happens in these dialogs. And again, I think the
    less I say about it, the better.
        Thank you very much.

    President's Vacation

        Q. When do you go on vacation?
        The President. It's still up to the Congress, isn't it?
        Q. Will you wait until the Senate goes into recess?
        The President. Oh, absolutely. I want to wait until the crime bill
    is over for sure.
        Thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 5:36 p.m. in the Rose Garden at the White
    House.