    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book II)]
    [December 15, 1995]
    [Pages 1892-1893]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on the Budget Negotiations
    December 15, 1995

        As all of you know, today the Republicans in Congress broke off our
    negotiations on how best to balance the budget in 7 years. They said
    they would not even continue to talk unless we agreed right now to make
    deep and unconscionable cuts in Medicare and Medicaid. That's
    unacceptable. The cuts they propose would deprive millions of people of
    health care: poor children, pregnant women, the disabled, seniors in
    nursing homes. They would let Medicare wither on the vine into a second-
    class system. And these things simply are not necessary to balance the
    budget.
        You know, I don't agree with their very large tax cuts for wealthy
    Americans and for all the special interests that get help in their bill,
    but I did not require them to drop those provisions as a condition of
    just talking. But they wanted us to agree to big cuts in Medicare and
    Medicaid simply to talk.
        Last week, before these talks even began, I forwarded to Congress a
    detailed plan to balance the budget in 7 years without violating our
    values. That plan contained a large amount of deficit reduction over and
    above our original proposal. Today we made yet another good-faith effort
    to resolve our differences. I have sought reasonable discussions and
    honest compromise to balance the budget.
        Now the Republicans in Congress are not only refusing to talk; once
    again they're threatening to shut the Government down if I do not accept
    their deep cuts in health care, education, the environment, and their
    tax increases on working families. I would not give in to such a threat
    last month, and I will not give in today.
        I would remind you when we signed the last resolution, we said we
    would work in good faith to balance the budget in 7 years without
    harmful cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, education, the environment,
    agriculture, veterans benefits, and without raising taxes on working
    families.
        So let me say again--and all Americans must understand this--the
    decision by the Republican congressional majority to shut the Government
    down has nothing, nothing, to do with the discussion over the 7-year
    balanced budget plan. Congress has simply refused to pass this year's
    budgets and has forced the Government to operate on a series of
    temporary approvals so that they can use the threat of a shutdown to
    pressure me and the congressional Democrats into approving long-term
    reductions in Medicare, Medicaid, education, and the environment that we
    believe strongly are not good for America.
        It is wrong, it is simply wrong, for the congressional Republicans
    to insist that I make deep cuts in Medicare and Medicaid or they will
    not even talk, and furthermore, they will shut the Government down again
    just before Christmas.
        The Congress should simply pass straightforward legislation to keep
    the Government open. And then our negotiators should return to the table
    without threats, without ultimatums, to discuss how we can find common
    ground on balancing the budget. That is what we ought to do. That is
    what I am willing to do. And the idea that we should abandon the
    commitment we made and they agreed to just a few

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    days ago in not having unacceptable cuts in Medicare and Medicaid as a
    condition of talking is wrong, is wrong, and we should not do that.
        Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 5:39 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House.