[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book I)]
[February 22, 1995]
[Pages 241-242]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks Following a Meeting With Congressional Leaders and an Exchange 
With Reporters
February 22, 1995

    The President. Good morning. Everyone here? I had an excellent 
meeting this morning with the House Democratic Caucus. We discussed a 
wide range of issues. I complimented them; I compliment them again on 
the work they are doing to remain unified in pursuit of the best 
interests of the people of this country.
    I reaffirmed my willingness and desire to work with the Republican 
leadership in the Congress to advance the cause of the American people 
but that there are things which we simply disagree on and where we feel 
very strongly. I think it is ironic that here, on the 50th day of this 
100-day effort that they are making to put in their contract, the single 
most important issue in the world to them seems to be to cut the School 
Lunch Program and end it.
    An old conservative adage used to be, ``If it ain't broke, don't fix 
it.'' Here's a program that isn't broke, that's done a world of good for 
millions and millions of children of all races and backgrounds all 
across our country, and I think it would be a terrible mistake to put an 
end to it, to gut it, to undermine it. And I hope that my party will 
stand against this. I do not agree with it. I do not think it is right, 
and it seems to me that this is one of the things that we hired on to 
do, to stick up for the interest of children, for the vast middle class, 
and for our future. And I intend to do that, and I believe the Congress 
will, as well--at least those in our party will, as well.
    Mr. Leader.

[At this point, Representative Richard A. Gephardt made brief remarks.]

Tax Cuts

    Q. Mr. President, as Republicans look at balancing the books now, 
support for a big tax cut is supposedly softening and may very well 
wither and die on the Senate vine. Do you still feel that it's 
responsible to have some kind of tax cut?
    The President. Yes, I didn't--of course, I always thought their tax 
cuts were too big and couldn't be paid for. The one that I offered was, 
I think, roughly less than a third in aggregate costs of what theirs 
was. And of course, in the second 5 years, if theirs had passed, it 
would have been much greater. So I'm glad to see a sobering of attitudes 
about that.
    But I do believe, again, that our main mission here has to be to try 
to advance the cause of the American people. And we have to continue to 
bring the deficit down, but we also have to recognize that there is out 
there in this country what Secretary Reich has called an anxious class, 
people who are working harder and for whom more jobs in the American 
economy have not meant more security.
    If we allow a deduction of the cost of education after high school, 
especially if we couple that with a minimum wage increase, and 
continuing to increase the college loans and the investments in 
education, we will increase those folks' incomes in the short run in 
ways that will increase their incomes in the long run, increase their 
ability to pay taxes, and strengthen the American economy.
    So I believe a carefully targeted tax relief to the middle class, 
tied to education in ways that will grow the economy and grow jobs, is

[[Page 242]]

an appropriate thing to do. I'm glad to hear the talk of abandoning tax 
cuts of the size that were being proposed. I tried to tell the American 
people in the campaign there was no way in the wide world that could be 
done, and I welcome that talk.

Democratic Congressional Support

    Q. Does this 50-day point mark some sort of turning point for you in 
terms of shoring up, taking a firm stand on things, trying to present 
the Democratic side as a unified side against the Republicans?

    The President. Well, I think they've been doing a good job on that. 
There have been two or three issues here lately where the Democrats have 
really rallied: first, in the national security area, where they 
basically were responsible for not going back to Star Wars, which would 
have been a big mistake and, secondly, where they voted against 
abandoning our commitment to the American people to put 100,000 more 
police officers on the street. And I believe they will be even more 
unified against an attempt to destroy the School Lunch Program. So I 
feel good about that.

    But I also think we have been willing to work with the Republicans. 
You know, the bill to apply to Congress the laws that applies to the 
private sector passed overwhelmingly in the House of Representatives 
with the same level of Democratic support as Republicans support. The 
bill to reduce the burden of unfunded mandates on State and local 
governments received large Democratic support.

    So we want to work with the Republicans. But we have no intention of 
abandoning the American people to unproven theories and extreme 
positions. We're the people party, and we're going to stick up for the 
people. And when we can do that in good conscience by working with them 
to reduce the burden of Government, we want to do that, and we should do 
that. But I'm excited by the opportunity that this new period offers us 
to stand up for what we believe in.

    Q. Where will you draw the line?

    Deputy Press Secretary Ginny Terzano. Thank you.

    The President. What did you say? Thank you? You want me to quit? 
[Laughter]

    Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 10:50 a.m. at the Capitol.