    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book II)]
    [November 14, 1995]
    [Pages 1755-1757]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on the Federal Government Shutdown
    November 14, 1995

        Good afternoon. Today, as of noon, almost half of the Federal
    Government employees are idle. The Government is partially shutting down
    because Congress has failed to pass the straightforward legislation
    necessary to keep the Government running without imposing sharp hikes in
    Medicare premiums and deep cuts in education and the environment.
        It is particularly unfortunate that the Republican Congress has
    brought us to this juncture because, after all, we share a central goal,
    balancing the Federal budget. We must lift the burden of debt that
    threatens the future of our

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    children and grandchildren. And we must free up money so that the
    private sector can invest, create jobs, and our economy can continue its
    healthy growth.
        Since I took office, we have cut the Federal deficit nearly in half.
    It is important that the people of the United States know that the
    United States now has proportionately the lowest Government budget
    deficit of any large industrial nation. We have eliminated 200,000
    positions from the Federal bureaucracy since I took office. Our Federal
    Government is now the smallest percentage of the civilian work force it
    has been since 1933, before the New Deal. We have made enormous
    progress, and now we must finish the job.
        Let me be clear: We must balance the budget. I proposed to Congress
    a balanced budget, but Congress refused to enact it. Congress has even
    refused to give me the line-item veto to help me achieve further deficit
    reduction. But we must balance this budget without resorting to their
    priorities, without their unwise cuts in Medicare and Medicaid, in
    education and the environment.
        Five months ago I proposed my balanced budget plan. It balances the
    budget in the right way. It cuts hundreds of wasteful and outdated
    programs. But it upholds our fundamental values to provide opportunity,
    to respect our obligations to our parents and our children, to
    strengthen families, and to strengthen America because it preserves
    Medicare and Medicaid, it invests in education and technology, it
    protects the environment, and it gives the tax cuts to working families
    for childrearing and for education.
        Unfortunately, Republican leaders in Washington have put ideology
    ahead of common sense and shared values in their pursuit of a budget
    plan. We can balance the budget without doing what they seek to do. We
    can balance the budget without the deep cuts in education, without the
    deep cuts in the environment, without letting Medicare wither on the
    vine, without imposing tax increases on the hardest pressed working
    families in America.
        I am fighting for a balanced budget that is good for America and
    consistent with our values. If they'll give me the tools, I'll balance
    the budget.
        I vetoed the spending bill sent to me by Congress last night because
    America can never accept under pressure what it would not accept in free
    and open debate. I strongly believe their budget plan is bad for
    America. I believe it will undermine opportunity, make it harder for
    families to do the work that they have to do, weaken our obligations to
    our parents and our children, and make our country more divided. So I
    will continue to fight for the right kind of balanced budget.
        Remember, the Republicans are following a very explicit strategy
    announced last April by Speaker Gingrich to use the threat of a
    Government shutdown to force America to accept their cuts in Medicare
    and Medicaid, to accept their cuts in education and technology and the
    environment. Yesterday they sent me legislation that said we will only
    keep the Government going and we will only let it pay its debts if, and
    only if, we accept their cuts in Medicare, their cuts in education,
    their cuts in the environment, and their repeal of 25 years of
    bipartisan commitments to protect the environment and public health.
        On behalf of the American people, I said no. If America has to close
    down access to education, to a clean environment, to affordable health
    care to keep our Government open, then the price is too high.
        My message to Congress is simple: You say you want to balance the
    budget, so let's say yes to balancing the budget. But let us together
    say no to these deep and unwise cuts in education, technology, the
    environment, Medicare, and Medicaid. Let's say no to raising taxes on
    the hardest pressed working families in America. These things are not
    necessary to balance the budget. Yes to balancing the budget; no to the
    cuts.
        I know the loss of Government service will cause disruption in the
    lives of millions of Americans. We will do our very best to minimize
    this hardship. But there is, after all, a simple solution to the
    problem. All Congress has to do is to pass a straightforward bill to let
    Government perform its duties and pay its debts. Then we can get back to
    work and resolve our differences over the budget in an open, honest, and
    straightforward manner.
        Before I conclude, I'd like to say a word to the hundreds of
    thousands of Federal employees who will be affected by this partial
    shutdown. I know, as your fellow citizens know, that the people who are
    affected by this shutdown are public servants. They're the people who
    process our Social Security applications,

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    help our veterans apply for benefits, care for the national parks that
    are our natural heritage. They conduct the medical research that saves
    people's lives. They are important to America, and they deserve to be
    treated with dignity and respect. I will do everything I can to see that
    they receive back pay and that their families do not suffer because of
    this.
        But it is my solemn responsibility to stand against a budget plan
    that is bad for America and to stand up for a balanced budget that is
    good for America. And that is exactly what I intend to do.
        Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 2:38 p.m. in the Briefing Room at the White
    House.