[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book II)]
[December 16, 1995]
[Pages 1894-1896]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



The President's Radio Address
December 16, 1995

    Good morning. At midnight last night, for the second time in a 
month, the Republican Congress shut down the Federal Government in an 
effort to force through their unacceptable cuts in health care, 
education, and the environment.
    For weeks, my administration and the Republicans in Congress have 
been in serious negotiations over how to reach common ground on 
balancing the budget. A week ago, I forwarded to them a plan that would 
protect our principles and balance the budget in 7 years. I had hoped 
that this time would be different, that we were past the Republican 
threats to shut down the Government just to get their way.
    But yesterday, they broke off our talks. Unbelievably, they actually 
said that as a condition for our talks to continue, we had to agree 
right now to make deep and unconscionable cuts in Medicare and Medicaid. 
That is unacceptable.
    The cuts they propose would deprive millions of people of health 
care: poor children, pregnant women, the disabled, seniors in nursing 
homes.

[[Page 1895]]

They would let Medicare wither on the vine into a second-class system. 
Now, these things simply are not necessary to balance the budget.
    Let me be clear: As I have said from the beginning, I very much want 
to work with Congress to get a balanced budget. After all, working with 
the previous Congress in my first 2 years as President, we cut the 
deficit I found when I became President in half. We reduced the size of 
the Federal Government by 200,000. We ought to finish the job. We 
shouldn't leave a legacy of debt to our children, but neither should we 
leave the next generation a legacy of neglect.
    We've cut the deficit in half while continuing to invest in 
education, technology, research, the environment, Medicare, and Medicaid 
and cutting taxes on the most hard-pressed of our working people. That's 
what we ought to do in this budget plan.
    Now as far as shutting the Government down goes, this is not a 
result of our lack of agreement on a balanced budget plan; the two 
things have no connection. The facts are plain: The Congress has failed 
to pass a budget for next year and the bills that would fund the 
agencies of Government on purpose. They have deliberately done this to 
force me to accept their long-term agenda of big cuts in Medicare, 
Medicaid, education, and the environment and a tax increase on working 
people. That's what's in their balanced budget plan. But it's not 
necessary to balance the budget. So for them to cause a shutdown, 
denying Americans the services their tax dollars support, as a tactic in 
the budget debate is wrong. It's irresponsible. I won't give in to the 
threat. I didn't last time, and I can't now. Let me tell you why.
    I know you've been told that the winners and losers of this budget 
battle are all in Washington and it's all politics. But that's not true. 
America's children would bear the most pain from the sharp cuts proposed 
by the Republican Congress. If the Republican plan becomes law, millions 
of children would be denied basics they need: health care they now have, 
schooling they can count on, school lunches, a safe place to live, or 
air and water we can be sure is safe to breathe and to drink.
    Just consider what would happen to Medicaid. For three decades, 
Medicaid has been a legal guarantee for millions who need medical care. 
It has been the primary source of health care for nearly one in five 
American children. And more than half of the children on Medicaid live 
in families with working parents. It is not a welfare program. But the 
Republican plan repeals Medicaid's guarantees, and that spells disaster 
for families in the middle class who are caught unprepared. Medicaid 
helps millions of children who are disabled or who suffer from chronic 
illnesses or who have the AIDS virus. But the Republican plan could pull 
this lifeline from millions of children.
    In education, the Republican plan eliminates Head Start for 180,000 
preschoolers. It cuts our efforts to keep drugs and violence out of our 
schools. It undermines our efforts to help schools meet national 
standards of excellence for the first time. It kills the AmeriCorps 
national service program. It denies scholarships to more than 350,000 
deserving college students and takes away the best student loan program 
available to young people--it lowers the cost and eases the terms of 
repayment.
    The Republican plan would raise taxes for over 7 million of our 
hardest pressed working families. Their budget cuts would leave children 
exposed to hazardous waste. And we know that pollution affects children 
more than it does adults. We want to clean up these sites, but the 
Republican cuts would limit what we can do.
    The Republican budget cuts are aimed squarely at our children. They 
will face larger classes and fewer Head Start programs. Ten million will 
live near toxic waste sites that won't be cleaned. Fewer will be 
immunized. Millions will be denied adequate medical care. And more than 
one million will be forced into poverty.
    That is no way to treat our children. Let them threaten to shut the 
Government down. It is not necessary to do this to balance the budget, 
and so I am not going to let them hurt our children and compromise their 
future.
    Our budget proposal shows these cuts are not necessary. Our plan 
balances the budget in 7 years, reforms Medicare and Medicaid, keeps 
costs down. It protects education and gives working families with 
children a tax break, not a tax increase. It is wrong for the 
congressional Republicans to insist that I make deep cuts in Medicare 
and Medicaid just as a condition to talk. It is wrong for them to shut 
the Government down again just before Christmas. It would be wrong for 
me to accept that threat. I rejected it last month; I reject it now.

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    I know this shutdown will affect the lives of millions of Americans, 
especially at this holiday season. I'll do whatever I can to lessen the 
impact. Above all, the Republicans should come back to the table. 
Congress should immediately pass straightforward legislation to reopen 
the Government. That is the responsible thing to do. And we should be 
talking again with each other about how to balance the budget in the 
interest of the American people.
    I'll continue to fight for our American principles in this budget 
battle because that's the only way our children can come out the 
winners.
    Thanks for listening.

Note: The President spoke at 10:06 a.m. from the Oval Office at the 
White House.