    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book II)]
    [September 12, 1995]
    [Pages 1352-1353]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on the Legislative Agenda and an Exchange With Reporters
    September 12, 1995

        The President. Let me--first of all, I want to welcome the
    leadership of the Congress here and thank them for coming down to the
    White House for the meeting today. I'm looking forward to having a
    chance to discuss a number of things, including the present situation in
    Bosnia, the status of the welfare reform legislation, the budget--
    progress toward a balanced budget, and a number of other issues,
    including the lobby reform measure passed by the Senate and the line-
    item veto and anything else that might be on the minds of the
    congressional Members who are here.
        I have said before, I will say again, I'm very hopeful that we can
    achieve common ground on this budget. This is a truly historic moment.
    We do have some different priorities, but I think we can reach an
    agreement if we work at it. It seems clear now that such cannot be the
    case by the time this fiscal year ends on October 1st, so I'm hopeful
    that we can, for a limited period of time, pass a continuing resolution.
    It

    [[Page 1353]]

    would be a straightforward resolution, appropriate for the reduction of
    spending to meet the overall budget targets, and I look forward to
    working on that.
        I believe that the American people want us to work together and get
    something done, and I think most of us want the same thing, so that's
    what we're going to talk about.

    Bosnia

        Q. President Clinton, can you give us a--[inaudible]--the way you
    see the situation in Bosnia right now and what you plan to talk about?
        The President. Well, I think the agreement signed in Geneva by the
    three parties is very, very hopeful--the Bosnian Government, the
    Croatian Government, the Serbian Government. I think the negotiations
    should continue. I'm sending Ambassador Holbrooke back there tonight. In
    terms of the bombing, that's really up to the Serbs. The U.N. Security
    Council resolution is clear, and the conditions laid out by our
    committee on the ground are clear, and we'll just have to see what
    happens there.
        Q. Mr. President, Russia is comparing the bombings to genocide.
    Other than the traditional ties to the Serbs, what do you think is
    behind Yeltsin's sterner and sterner opposition to bombings?
        The President. Well, I think you have to ask them that. Let's just
    make it clear--if you look at the facts of the bombing attacks, they are
    clearly not that. First of all, they were authorized by the United
    Nations; secondly, they came only after extreme provocation, after the
    killings, the shelling--resulting from the shelling of Sarajevo, the
    killing of innocent civilians; and thirdly, they have been very, very
    carefully targeted and carried out with great discipline and skill by
    the United States pilots and the NATO allies. There has been no genocide
    there. There has been an extraordinary amount of care and discipline but
    firmness and strength. They were appropriately done. And I want to say
    in the presence of these Members here how much I appreciate the comments
    that Senator Dole and others have made on that.
        The United States, I think, is united in being opposed to resumption
    of the killing of innocent civilians in protected areas. They said we
    wouldn't do it, we wouldn't tolerate it, and we can't.
        Thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 5:42 p.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White
    House, prior to a meeting with congressional leaders. A tape was not
    available for verification of the content of these remarks.