[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book I)]
[January 6, 1996]
[Pages 12-13]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



The President's Radio Address
January 6, 1996

    Good morning. Today I want to talk with you about the great debate 
on the budget. This debate is not just about abstract numbers, and it 
certainly goes far beyond party politics as usual. It is instead about 
vital principles and momentous issues for our country. We're addressing 
profound questions about what kind of country we are and what kind of 
country we're going to be, about what we owe to each other and what we 
owe to our children and to America's future. These questions have 
dominated our politics for quite a long time now. And now it is decision 
time, time to move beyond arguments and come to conclusions.
    For 3 weeks, the Federal Government has been shut down because 
Republicans in Congress refused to enact legislation to keep it open. 
This shutdown has had a real and unfortunate impact on the lives of 
millions of Americans. Now, I'm pleased to report that Congress has 
acted to bring Government employees back to work and to reopen most 
services to the public. This sets the stage for constructive, honest, 
and focused discussions on how to balance the budget while remaining 
true to our values and true to our future.
    America is at a crossroads. One path leads to continual partisan 
conflict, where nothing is ever really resolved and each decision simply

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sets the stage for the next fight. The other path leads to national 
unity, a unity built on true solutions and real common ground. Down this 
path lies progress and strength; that has always been the right path for 
America. So I appeal to the Congress and to Members of both parties to 
put aside partisanship and work to craft a balanced budget agreement 
that upholds our values and reflects the common ground the American 
people have decided upon.
    You know, we've been talking about the budget for months. The 
American people have heard our deeply held views, and we've had time to 
listen to theirs. I believe there is an overwhelming consensus on a 
course that is also the right course for America: a balanced budget in 7 
years, because it's wrong to leave a legacy of debt to our children; a 
budget that protects Medicare and Medicaid, because we owe a duty to our 
parents, to the disabled, and to our poorest children; a balanced budget 
that protects education and the environment, because we owe a duty to 
our children and to future generations; and a balanced budget that 
doesn't single out the hardest pressed working families for higher 
taxes.
    The American people have decided that it is better for people to 
work than be on welfare, that welfare should be a temporary help, not a 
way of life, but that the solution should support children and families, 
not undermine them. Americans have decided they want a smaller 
Government that is less bureaucratic and more creative, that serves them 
as well or better with less money, and that there should be a tax cut 
that promotes educational opportunity and strengthens the ability of 
families to care for their children.
    Now, we can achieve these goals. We can balance the budget while 
remaining true to these values. This is a great challenge, but not the 
greatest one we have faced. It is not the financial numbers that are 
blocking our progress, it is political ideology. It is time now to do 
what our parents have done before us, to put the national interests 
above narrow interests.
    Later today, I will be meeting for several hours with the Republican 
and Democratic leaders of the House and the Senate. Over the past 2 
weeks, we have had serious, detailed, constructive discussions about all 
the issues before us: Medicare, Medicaid, education, the environment, 
taxes, and spending. I know that if we work together and embrace the 
possibility for a true national unity, we can reach an agreement to 
balance the budget that you will be proud of and that will be good for 
America. And that's what I am determined to do.
    This is a moment of great progress and great promise for our 
country. Many of us hold very strong views about how best to seize that 
moment. But above all else, now is the time to find common ground, for 
taking the best that each side has to offer and fashioning a sensible 
solution. That's the American way. And that is what will get us to the 
right kind of balanced budget.
    This budget debate has been difficult, demanding, and not always 
pretty. But remember, democracy is raucous and often full of debate that 
is not always pretty. But our country is still the world's greatest 
democracy, a beacon of peace and freedom for the world. I ask for the 
help of every American so that we can build an even greater future for 
our children.
    Thanks for listening.

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