[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book II)]
[September 20, 1994]
[Page 1581]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 1581]]


Remarks Prior to a Meeting With Congressional Leaders
September 20, 1994

    Good morning to all of you, and welcome. In just a moment Secretary 
Perry and General Shalikashvili will brief you on the status as of this 
morning of Operation Uphold Democracy and the situation in Haiti as we 
see it unfolding.
    But before they begin, I'd like to touch on just a few points. This 
is a very different and a much better day than it would have been had we 
not been able to successfully combine the credible threat of force with 
diplomacy. I want to thank President Carter, General Powell, and Senator 
Nunn again for their mission to Haiti and for their work in securing an 
agreement that will permit the peaceful departure of the military 
leaders.
    Our troops have already entered Haiti peacefully. Under the command 
of Lieutenant General Hugh Shelton, our troops are working with full 
cooperation with the Haitian military. We must be prepared for the risks 
that remain to the troops, but we should recognize that we are in a much 
stronger and safer position to achieve our goals in Haiti today. The de 
facto leaders are leaving power, and the democratically elected 
government will be restored.
    I want to emphasize that, in a matter of months, the United States 
troops will hand over to the United Nations the responsibility for 
completing this mission and for maintaining basic security. A much 
smaller contingent of United States forces would take part in the United 
Nations mission which will end after the next elections in Haiti in 
1995.
    I was gratified by the action of the House of Representatives 
yesterday, and I hope the Senate will follow in providing its support 
today. It's important, I think, that we also keep this in proper 
context. We have much other important business to do in the relatively 
small number of days that remain with the Congress.
    First, we have to continue to meet the challenges of the global 
economy. I hope that you will pass GATT. It is the largest world trade 
agreement in history. It will provide a global tax cut of $740 billion, 
reducing tariffs worldwide by more than a third. It means more jobs and 
growth and higher incomes for ordinary Americans. GATT was started under 
President Reagan, continued under President Bush, completed under our 
administration. It has been a bipartisan effort all the way, and I hope 
it can be completed in a speedy and bipartisan fashion this year.
    I also would urge you, as we reform the global economy, to take 
these last few days to reform the way we do business here in Washington. 
That means passing campaign finance reform, lobby reform, making laws 
that now apply to the private sector apply also to Congress. The 
American people clearly want these actions, and they deserve them. And 
again, I believe they want them on a completely nonpartisan or 
bipartisan basis.
    Lastly, let me say I know that Senator Mitchell, in rapidly 
accelerating his aging process, had further meetings yesterday on health 
care reform, and I look forward to hearing a progress report from him on 
that, and I know that all of you do, too.
    Now I'd like to recognize Secretary Perry and General Shalikashvili. 
Let me say, General Shalikashvili has to go back to the Pentagon; 
Secretary Perry does, too. So we can't take any questions here this 
morning, but he will be in the Briefing Room soon.

Note: The President spoke at 10:29 a.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White 
House.