    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book II)]
    [October 27, 1995]
    [Pages 1688-1690]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks in a Telephone Conversation With Democratic Congressional
    Leaders
    October 27, 1995

        Senator Thomas A. Daschle. Hello, Mr. President.
        Representative Richard A. Gephardt. Hello, Mr. President.
        The President. How are you?
        Senator Daschle. Not good.
        The President. Tell me what's going on.
        Senator Daschle. Well, we're still working on our reconciliation
    bill. Democrats are offering a series of amendments that deal directly
    with each of the concerns that we have. But I must say it doesn't appear
    that there is any prospect of improving this bill. This bill is just as
    mean and as extreme as it was when it was introduced. It ends Medicare,
    it rewards the rich, and ravages the rest. And so I must tell you, I am
    very disappointed to report that every Democrat here in the Senate
    tonight at some point will be voting against this piece of legislation.
        The President. Tell them not to worry about it; I'm going to veto it
    anyway.
        Senator Daschle. Well, I applaud you for that because I must tell
    you it is a terrible piece of legislation. It's the wrong plan for the
    wrong reason, done the wrong way to help the wrong people. And I----
        The President. Otherwise you don't feel strongly about it.
    [Laughter] You know, this is one of those moments in our history when
    I'm grateful for the wisdom of the Founding Fathers. I mean, the
    Congress gets to propose, but the President has to sign or veto. And the
    Constitution gave me that authority, and one of the reasons for the veto
    is to prevent excess. And this is--we are willing to work with them in
    good faith to balance this budget. We believe in that. You saw what--and
    America saw earlier this week--what the Democrats did to bring the
    deficit from 290 billion down to 255, then to 205, then to 164, when we
    were all working together. And that approach has been rejected. So I
    will have no alternative but to veto it. It's excessive, and it's wrong
    for all the reasons you said.
        I just want to urge you to keep offering your amendments, standing
    up, make it clear what

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    you believe in, and tell everybody to just stay positive and just stand
    up there, stand for what we believe in.
        Senator Daschle. Mr. President, I've consulted with virtually every
    member of our caucus, and they have all indicated that if you veto it,
    we will have the votes and then some to sustain that veto.
        The President. Dick?
        Representative Gephardt. Mr. President, we have the very same
    situation in the House. We had a very united Democratic Party. As you
    know, yesterday, we had 203 votes against their plan. We even picked up
    10 Republicans who voted against the plan.
        The President. Brave souls.
        Representative Gephardt. So the phalanx is beginning to splinter a
    little bit. But they will stand behind you and sustain this veto. And I
    must tell you that I really believe the American people will be behind
    you as well.
        I was at Cambridge Hospital this morning with Joe Kennedy, and
    Hillary had been there I think about a year ago. This is a hospital, as
    you know, that has about 60 percent Medicare and Medicaid. It's a public
    hospital. And they really believe that if cuts of this magnitude go
    through, they'll have to close the hospital. And I met with the doctors
    and nurses and the staff there and told them that I believed you would
    veto this legislation if it got through and that we would stand behind
    that veto. And they applauded and applauded and applauded because it
    means whether or not there's going to be health care in that community
    and communities all over the country.
        So we're behind you, and we're going to stay there. And we
    appreciate what you're doing.
        Senator Daschle. Mr. President, I would say not only are we willing
    to support you in your position on vetoing this legislation, but I think
    it's also fair to say that every Democrat is prepared to go to work the
    day after you veto that bill to work in a constructive way to find
    alternatives and to work with Republicans to find some positive
    conclusion to this whole affair. It's important we learn to govern, that
    we work with Republicans in doing that. But obviously, they have
    concluded, as we have, that this veto is the only way that we're going
    to get it done. And so we look forward to working with you.
        The President. Well, we want to work with them, but we've got to
    stick with our principles, you know. They talk about their principles of
    balancing the budget and securing Medicare and having some kind of tax
    cut. And, you know, I accept that. I think we ought to balance the
    budget, secure Medicare, and I'm not opposed to a tax cut if it's
    properly targeted and emphasizes childrearing and education for middle
    class people.
        But I believe that the more important principles are the ones that
    have been rejected by them that we had to stand up for. I mean, here we
    are on the verge of the 21st century; no major American company would
    cut education and training and cut technology and cut research, but they
    do. We can't tolerate that.
        Nobody would--with any sense of fairness--would raise taxes on
    working families with children with incomes of $27,000 a year or less.
    That will discourage people moving from welfare to work. But that's what
    they do. Nobody who understands what the world is going to be like 10
    years from now would have the kind of cuts and crippling provisions
    related to the environment that they do.
        And of course we've been treated to a real education on Medicare and
    Medicaid which is the most grievous thing of all. I mean, we have
    obligations to our parents, to the poor children of this country, to the
    disabled people, and also to the hospitals and to the doctors and the
    others that are participating in these programs. It's just not right.
        And so we have our principles to stand for, and we'll stand for
    them. And I'm glad you're going to stand with me. And eventually America
    will be better for this. If we stand up for America and for the future
    and for the things we believe in, it's going to be all right.
        But as I said in this phone conversation, I'm probably more grateful
    today for the wisdom of the Founding Fathers than I have ever been in my
    life. They knew what they were doing, and we're going to use the
    Constitution they gave us to stand up for what's right.
        Senator Daschle. Well, thank you, Mr. President. We appreciate your
    leadership and look forward to working with you.
        The President. Thank you. Thank you, Dick.
        Representative Gephardt. Thank you, Mr. President. There's a lot of
    people that are glad you're there and glad you've got the veto pen
    today, believe me.
        The President. Well, just be of good cheer. Just go out there and
    debate these things and

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    tell them what we believe in, and it will all work out. We'll make it
    work out for America.
        Representative Gephardt. Great.
        Senator Daschle. Thank you.
        The President. Thanks.

    Note: The President spoke at 4:23 p.m. from the Oval Office in the White
    House.