    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book I)]
    [January 5, 1996]
    [Pages 10-12]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 10]]

    Remarks to Senior Citizens at St. Monica's Episcopal Church
    January 5, 1996

        Well, let me first thank Father Darko for his comments and for the
    work being done here at St. Monica's Church. I was hoping he'd say
    something--I've never seen a preacher pass up a podium. [Laughter] And
    I'm glad he didn't. [Laughter]
        I want to thank the Friendship House for the leadership shown in
    being a true friend to our seniors. I want to thank all of you
    especially for working for this Meals on Wheels program. And I want to
    thank all of you for making me feel so welcome--me and, of course, the
    members of our administration: the Secretary of Agriculture, Mr.
    Glickman; the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Secretary Shalala;
    Assistant Secretary Fernando Torres-Gil. And of course, we're joined
    here by Senator Leahy and by Congress--from Vermont, he came all the way
    from Vermont. And those that--he brought his wife with him, and she's a
    nurse. So if I get sick she can help me get out of here. [Laughter]
        I'm delighted that Mayor Barry joined us, and it's good to see you
    in good health, Mayor. And I want to say a special word of thanks to
    Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton for the brilliant job she's done in
    sticking up for these programs in the Congress. I want to thank this
    fine couple that run this program here for the work they have done.
        And I want to say a word of thanks especially to the folks who sat
    at my table and talked to me about this program and about Medicare and
    about what all is going on. I got a pretty good education. [Laughter]
    And I think most of what they said to me is true. Now--but the lady
    sitting next to me, she swears that she is 93 years old. [Laughter] You
    know, usually when somebody doesn't tell the truth about their age,
    they're kind of turning it low. But I'm not sure she didn't exaggerate a
    little bit. [Laughter] She looks awful young to me. And I thank you so
    much.
        I know all of you know this, but all across this great country of
    ours, there are seniors like you and others who depend upon meals like
    this that are federally funded. In one year alone, more than 230 million
    of these meals are served to seniors all across America. And for a lot
    of seniors, this is the only really good, warm, nutritious meal they get
    every day. Now, these meals are one of the things that are threatened by
    the shutdown that was forced by the Republicans in the House of
    Representatives.
        This strategy has been abandoned, I want to say, by the Senate
    Republicans led by Senator Dole, and was never supported by the
    Democrats in the Senate and the House. And I want to thank all of them
    for not supporting that. And I understand that there are others in the
    House among the Republicans who may want to abandon it or change it.
        But unless we do something within days, the regular Federal funds
    for the senior meals program, including the Meals on Wheels, could dry
    up. State and local charities all across America are stepping in to help
    in some cases, but the future of these meals programs could be at risk,
    and that would literally be a disaster for the lives of a lot of senior
    citizens in America. And we cannot allow that.
        Where I can, as all of you know, I have acted in this crisis to keep
    services going to the American people. And today I am going to take some
    action that will keep providing food to these senior centers even if the
    Congress doesn't correct the problem today. I agree with Father Darko;
    this is not a politically sensitive program. This is a people program.
    It shouldn't have anything to do with politics. This has been a program
    that people in both parties have supported, and it ought to be again.
        But in the event that Congress does not fix this problem, I am
    instructing the Secretary of Agriculture to provide temporary funding to
    help these centers continue to serve meals. And they have--Secretary
    Glickman can explain to the press later--they have some money that can
    be put into this meals program to keep it going for quite some time, to
    make sure that you don't get caught up in this, and we intend to do it.
        We've been able to do some other things like this. We got some money
    through the low-income heating assistance programs to some of the States
    that are having such a cold winter, where there are a lot of seniors and
    some younger people who are living in homes that are poorly heated and
    without a little extra help

    [[Page 11]]

    would have a hard time dealing with this cold winter.
        But I want to make it clear that even if we can solve this problem
    for an extended period of time, there are some problems that cannot be
    solved unless the Government is just opened back up. All the furloughed
    employees--we have one furloughed Federal employee here--they ought to
    be brought back to work, and those that are working ought to be paid.
    The services that they are instructed to provide that we all agree are
    going to be provided when we get a final budget agreement ought to be
    provided. This has never been done before in the history of the country,
    and we shouldn't continue to do it now.
        This shutdown is hurting people in every State in America. And as I
    said before, there are some things that I can do to help, like the
    heating assistance program or like keeping this Meals on Wheels program
    going. But some of these things require action by Congress. Now, today
    they said, as Father Darko said, that they might bring the Federal
    employees back and they might pay them but not let them do very much.
    And they might continue some of the so-called politically sensitive
    programs. I don't want to minimize that. That is a step in the right
    direction. Better to have this than not; that is a step in the right
    direction.
        But you should also know that there are now 20,000 young people who
    have applications for home mortgages in to the Federal Government who
    can't close those mortgages because of this shutdown. And they may lose
    those homes, their chance to buy a home. There are I think now $40
    million--$40 million in small business loans held up, because the Small
    Business Administration guarantees those loans, that would prevent
    people from starting their businesses and hiring people. And we need
    more small businesses being started. We need to create jobs for our
    people.
        There are any number of toxic waste dumps that large numbers of
    American children live near that ought to be cleaned up. And all the
    cleanup work has just been stopped in neighborhoods all across America.
        Now, this is wrong. It's wrong. And it amounts to cruel and unusual
    punishment, not only for all the people who need these services but for
    all the rest of the people in this country who pay the taxes for them.
    They are not getting what they paid for, and the people are not getting
    the services that have been authorized.
        I want to say again this--this is one of the things that came up at
    our lunch when one of the folks at the table said, ``I thank you for
    standing firm''--this shutdown does not have anything to do with
    balancing the budget. I have pledged to the Republicans--I gave my word,
    and I was raised in an old-fashioned home in an old-fashioned time,
    maybe, but I still think when you tell somebody you're going to do
    something, you ought to do everything you can to do it. That's the way I
    was raised. I gave them my word I would work with them to pass a plan
    which would bring our Federal budget into balance in 7 years, according
    to the estimates of the Congress. I gave them my word I would do that; I
    have been doing that.
        The last time there was a crisis like this the Government didn't
    shut down, but there was a budget crisis about 5 years ago and the
    President at that time was involved in those negotiations for about a
    half an hour. I have spent days and days and days working with the
    leaders of Congress, and I will do it some more. I was ready yesterday.
    We missed a day yesterday.
        But this threat of the shutdown--as much as I hate to see people
    furloughed, as much as I hate to see people working and not getting
    paid, as much as I hate to see these young people not getting their
    homes and these businesses not being funded--we've even got businesses
    that have jobs that depend on their getting permission from the
    Government to sell their products overseas, and they can't get
    permission. They may have to lay people off when they could be hiring
    people.
        I hate to see all that. But that cannot affect a single, solitary
    decision I make on what kind of a balanced budget plan we're going to
    have. Because that's this year and now, but if we're going to make plans
    for 7 years I have to know that if we're going to balance the budget, we
    are going to protect the Medicare program, the Medicaid program, the
    education of our children, the environment that we all share, and that
    we're not going to raise taxes on the hardest pressed working families.
        Now, we can balance the budget and protect all that. And that's what
    I'm trying to do. And I am behaving in these negotiations exactly as I
    would be behaving if the Government was running and if you didn't have
    to think about the Meals on Wheels program and if nobody

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    was being furloughed. But I want you to know, as much as I hate to see
    these problems, I cannot change a single, solitary decision I would
    make, because you don't want me to make a bad decision for the long run
    because of a problem we've got in the short run.
        So the time has come to stop playing politics with this. Let's do
    what our country has always done: Let the Government go on and perform
    its basic services, and let's get back to work. Every day we miss in
    these negotiations is a day we're putting off balancing the budget.
    Let's just go back to work, roll up our sleeves, balance a budget, but
    do it in a way that protects the fundamental interests of the American
    people. That's what I'm trying to do.
        And I hope by coming here today--and I not only got a very good
    meal--[laughter]--and had a lot of conversations. Lots of days I just
    eat lunch alone at my desk. I had much more fun today than I normally
    do. [Laughter] But I hope we will send a message across this country
    that this is a good and worthy program. And if the House of
    Representatives votes to put it back into funding today, we will applaud
    them and give them a pat on the back. But we want to go all the way. We
    shouldn't have any of the essential functions of Government shut down.
        You know, those young people ought to be able to get loans to start
    their businesses. Those folks ought to be able to get permission from
    the Government to sell our products to foreign countries. We're all
    buying things from other countries here every day. We ought to be
    selling our things overseas. And those young families that are having a
    chance because interest rates are low to move into homes for the first
    time, they ought to be able to do it. We should not leave this work
    undone.
        So again I say thank you. If you need it, we're going to provide the
    money to keep the Meals on Wheels program going. And we will be there.
    But I think what we all want is for our country to stop--stop all this
    political squabbling in Washington, put all the partisanship aside, and
    get back to the work of balancing the budget in a way that protects our
    obligations to our parents and our children and to the future of this
    country.
        We can do this. This is a very great country. This is hardly the
    biggest problem we ever faced. We can do it, and do it right if we'll do
    it in the kind of spirit that I have felt in this room today.
        Thank you, and God bless you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 12:34 p.m. in the Rectory Hall. In his
    remarks, he referred to Rev. Daniel Darko, pastor, St. Monica's
    Episcopal Church, and Mayor Marion Barry of Washington, DC.