    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book I)]
    [June 13, 1995]
    [Pages 878-879]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Address to the Nation on the Plan To Balance the Budget
    June 13, 1995

        Good evening. Tonight I present to the American people a plan for a
    balanced Federal budget. My plan cuts spending by $1.1 trillion. It does
    not raise taxes. It won't be easy, but elected leaders of both parties
    agree with me that we must do this, and we will.
        We're at the edge of a new century, living in a period of rapid and
    profound change. And we must do everything in our power to help our
    people build good and decent lives for themselves and their children.
        These days, working people can't keep up. No matter how hard they
    work, one, two, even three jobs, without the education to get good jobs,
    they can't make it in today's America. I don't want my daughter's
    generation to be the first generation of Americans to do worse than
    their parents. Now, balancing our budget can help to change that if we
    do it in a way that reflects our values and what we care about the most:
    our children, our families, and what we leave to generations to come.
        That's why my budget has five fundamental priorities: First, because
    our most important mission is to help people make the most of their own
    lives, don't cut education. Second, balance the budget by controlling
    health care costs, strengthening Medicare, and saving Medicaid, not by
    slashing health services for the elderly. Third, cut taxes for the
    middle class and not the wealthy. We shouldn't cut education or Medicare
    just to make room for a tax cut for people who don't really need it.
    Fourth, cut welfare, but save enough to protect children and move able-
    bodied people from welfare to work. Fifth, don't put the brakes on so
    fast that we risk our economic prosperity.
        This can be a turning point for us. For 12 years our Government,
    Congress and the White House, ducked the deficit and pretended we could
    get something for nothing. In my first

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    2 years as President, we turned this around and cut the deficit by one-
    third. Now, let's eliminate it.
        It's time to clean up this mess. Here's how: First, I propose to cut
    spending in discretionary areas other than defense by an average of 20
    percent, except education. I want to increase education, not cut it.
    We'll continue to cut waste. Under Vice President Gore's leadership,
    we're already cutting hundreds of programs and thousands of regulations
    and 270,000 Federal positions. We'll still be able to protect the
    environment and invest in technology and medical research for things
    like breast cancer and AIDS. But make no mistake, in other areas there
    will be big cuts, and they'll hurt.
        Second, we should limit tax cuts to middle income people, not upper
    income people, and target the tax cuts to help Americans pay for
    college, like we did with the GI bill after World War II. Let's help a
    whole new generation of Americans go to college. That's the way to make
    more Americans upper income people in the future.
        Third, don't cut Medicare services to the elderly. Instead of
    cutting benefits, maintain them by lowering costs. Crack down on fraud
    and abuse, provide more home care, incentives for managed care, respite
    benefits for families of Alzheimer's patients, and free mammograms. For
    all Americans, I propose the freedom to take your insurance with you
    when you change jobs, to keep it longer after you lose a job; insurance
    coverage even if there are preexisting conditions in your family; and
    lower cost insurance for groups of self-employed and small business
    people. If we don't have tax cuts for upper income people, as
    congressional leaders have proposed, we won't need to make harsh cuts in
    health care or in education.
        Finally, balance the budget in 10 years. It took decades to run up
    this deficit; it's going to take a decade to wipe it out. Now mind you,
    we could do it in 7 years, as congressional leaders propose. But the
    pain we'd inflict on our elderly, our students, and our economy just
    isn't worth it. My plan will cut the deficit year after year. It will
    balance the budget without hurting our future.
        This budget proposal is very different from the two passed by the
    House and the Senate, and there are fundamental differences between
    Democrats and Republicans about how to balance the budget. But this
    debate must go beyond partisanship. It must be about what's good for
    America and which approach is more likely to bring prosperity and
    security to our people over the long run. We ought to approach it in the
    same spirit of openness and civility which we felt when the Speaker and
    I talked in New Hampshire last Sunday.
        There are those who have suggested that it might actually benefit
    one side or the other politically if we had gridlock and ended this
    fiscal year without a budget. But that would be bad for our country, and
    we have to do everything we can to avoid it. If we'll just do what's
    best for our children, our future, and our Nation, and forget about who
    gets the political advantage, we won't go wrong.
        Good night. Let's get to work.

    Note: The President spoke at 9 p.m. from the Oval Office at the White
    House.