    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book I)]
    [January 30, 1995]
    [Pages 114-115]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks and an Exchange With Reporters Prior to Discussions With
    President Mircea Snegur of Moldova
    January 30, 1995

        The President. Let me say, first of all, it's a real pleasure and an
    honor for me and for the United States to welcome President Snegur here
    and the whole delegation from Moldova. They have been a real model of
    commitment to democracy and to economic reform. And we have been deeply
    impressed by the work they have done, the progress they have made. And
    I'm looking forward to my visit with him.
        I also want to thank him for sending me the nice Moldovan wine last
    Christmas, which was very much appreciated here at the White House.

    [[Page 115]]

    Mexican Loan Guarantees

        Q. Mr. President, will you have a Mexico bailout bill ready today?
    The peso and the bolsa are dropping sharply.
        The President. We certainly hope so. I worked yesterday for several
    hours on this and secured again the reaffirmation of the commitment of
    the leadership of both parties in both Houses to go forward. And we have
    put out more strong statements today about it.
        I think we just--this is something we have to do. The time is not a
    friendly factor, and I realize that the Congress had other important
    measures to debate last week, the unfunded mandates legislation in the
    Senate, the balanced budget amendment in the House. But this can be
    resolved fairly quickly, and it needs to be.
        Q. Mr. President, there's a suggestion by some leaders that support
    is eroding for the package rather than increasing. Do you--is that the
    case?
        The President. Well, I think it will increase again once people look
    at the facts, if we get a bill out there. We need to--the bill needs to
    go in. And Secretary Rubin has and others have negotiated in great
    detail and in good faith with the appropriate leaders in the Congress,
    the committee chairs and others. And I think they're ready for a bill to
    go forward. And it's time to get it in and go forward.
        Q. What do you think of critics who say it's a bailout for Wall
    Street?
        The President. It isn't a bailout for Wall Street. There are--first
    of all, helping the economy stay strong down there is more important
    than anything else for our working people and our businesses on Main
    Street that are doing such business in Mexico. If they want to continue
    to grow and to have that as a market, we can't let the financial
    markets, in effect, collapse the Mexican political and economic
    structure. Secondly, there are a lot of pension plans and ordinary
    Americans that have their investments tied up there. Thirdly, we have
    immigration and narcotics cooperation and control issues here involved.
    This is something for ordinary Americans. It's very much in our
    interest, and we don't want to let it spread to other countries and,
    indeed, to developing countries throughout the world. We're trying to
    promote countries that are moving toward market reforms and moving
    toward democracy, not to undermine them. And it's very much in our
    personal interest to do so. It is not a Wall Street bailout, it's in
    America's interest to build the kind of future we want.
        Q. Are you optimistic you'll get a package this week or next?
        The President. I'm optimistic that we'll pass it because more often
    than not in very difficult issues the Congress does the right thing. And
    we've got a new and different Congress, but I think they'll do the right
    thing.

    Note: The President spoke at 12:08 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. A tape was not available for verification of the content of these
    remarks.