    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
    [April 3, 1998]
    [Pages 497-500]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on the Legislative Agenda and an Exchange With Reporters
    April 3, 1998

        The President. Thank you very much. Before I read my statement, I'd
    like to make a brief comment on a momentous event which occurred during
    my trip to Africa, back here. The Vice President turned 50, and I hope all of you noticed the increased
    gravity and maturity of his aura. [Laughter] I personally am greatly
    relieved. Not long before he turned 50, as I told him when I called him,
    an elderly lady came up to me, and she said, ``I think you and that
    young man are doing such a good job.'' [Laughter] And it's nice to have
    a middle-aged team now at the White House.
        The Vice President. She was very
    elderly. [Laughter]
        The President. Let me say, Hillary and I are delighted to be back
    from what was a wonderful trip to Africa. We are working hard to
    strengthen the bonds of the African continent that I am convinced is in
    the midst of a renaissance, where political and economic liberty is on
    the rise.
        I only wish every American could have been with me every step of the
    way to see, first, Africa, not only its problems, which are profound,
    but the energy and intelligence and determination of the people. I also
    wish every

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    American could have had yet one more opportunity to see how a very
    important part of the world sees America, still as a beacon of equality
    and freedom and hope for opportunity.
        Today we learned that the unemployment rate in the first quarter of
    this year, averaging 4.7 percent, is the lowest it's been since 1970--28
    years. While there will be ups and downs, our economy continues to be
    one of the strongest in history. Over the past year we've seen the
    strongest wage growth in 20 years; inflation is still low; homeownership
    now at a record level. As we approach the longest peacetime expansion in
    our history, this is a springtime of hope and opportunity for the
    American people.
        Our economy is the product of the hard work, the creativity, the
    innovation of our citizens, and the ingenuity and drive of our
    businesses. But also it is the fruit, as the Vice President said, of the
    comprehensive economic strategy we have pursued since 1993, a strategy
    for the new economy.
        The coming months will now test our Nation. It will determine
    whether we will maintain our discipline and pursue our priorities to
    strengthen our country for the new century. We can make this a time of
    action as well as a time of abundance, to secure our prosperity well
    into the future, to widen the circle of opportunity so that all
    Americans have a chance to reap the rewards of economic growth.
        First, we should go on and balance the budget this year and do it in
    a way that continues our investment in our people and their future. With
    projected budget surpluses of $1 trillion over the next decade, I am
    pleased that Members of Congress of both parties have joined my call to
    reserve every penny of the surplus until we save Social Security first.
    This is very significant. I compliment the leadership of both parties.
    It will strengthen our Nation.
        At the same time, as we live within a balanced budget, we must
    invest to create prosperity for the future. Many times I have said that
    in the new economy, education is the leading economic indicator. We will
    continue to lead the world only if our children receive the world's best
    education. In that context, I am very concerned that the budget plan now
    working its way through the Senate will squeeze out critical investments
    in education and children.
        I believe America must address the challenges before us. Class size
    for our children--we must hire 100,000 new teachers so that we can
    reduce those class sizes. We must spur school modernization to make our
    classes smaller and our schools safer. We must invest in pathbreaking
    scientific research that will lengthen our lives and promote prosperity
    into the 21st century. And we must make those investments which will
    make credible our call for higher standards and higher performance in
    our schools. The budget now being drafted by Congress simply does not
    meet these urgent national priorities.
        I'm also determined that highway spending, though it is quite
    important and though our budget provides for a very impressive increase
    in investment in highways and mass transit, must be--such spending must
    be within the balanced budget and should not crowd out critical
    investments in education, child care, health care, or threaten our
    budget discipline.
        In the coming months I look forward to working with Congress in
    cooperation with lawmakers of both parties so that America stays on the
    path of both fiscal discipline and targeted investment, a balanced
    budget that is in balance with our values and our long-term interest in
    the future. That is what has brought us this far since 1993. We should
    not depart from that strategy now.
        Finally, I am determined to seize this historic opportunity to pass
    bipartisan legislation to protect our children from the dangers of
    tobacco. This Congress can be the Congress that saves millions of
    children's lives. I want to say that we seem to be making some progress
    on that, with the vote in the Senate committee, but there is an enormous
    amount of work still to be done. And I hope during this working recess
    the lawmakers of both Houses and both parties will be talking to the
    folks back home about the tobacco legislation and will come back here at
    the end of this month with a renewed determination to actually pass
    legislation that will get the job done.
        Our economy is the strongest in a generation; our social fabric is
    on the mend; our leadership around the world, as we saw on the trip to
    Africa, remains unrivaled. But our history and our heritage tells us
    that we can do better and that our success depends upon our constant
    effort to do better. The American people want us to use this sunlit
    moment not to sit back and enjoy but to act. We were hired by the
    American people to act. If we do so, in the 21st century the American
    dream will be more powerful than ever.

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        Thank you.

    Independent Counsel's Investigation/Tobacco
    Legislation

        Q. Do you have any comments on reports that Kenneth Starr is being
    urged to indict Monica Lewinsky and name you as a co-conspirator?
        Q. On the tobacco deal, sir, how concerned are you that one or more
    of the tobacco companies might walk away from this proposed settlement?
    And do you believe that you need their cooperation, both so that there
    is money for your budget priorities and so that you can win restrictions
    on cigarette advertising?
        The President. Well, the latter is of greater concern. That is,
    their agreement or lack of it would influence the way Congress would
    have to raise the money, through raising the price of cigarettes to
    deter more consumption and to raise the funds for the health care costs
    of tobacco and the health research and the other things that I believe
    should be funded out of this settlement. But on the advertising, of
    course, that could be a concern because of the governing legal
    precedents.
        But I still believe that the incentives are there for the tobacco
    companies to do this. With each new revelation of the strategies which
    have been vigorously pursued to market cigarettes to children, I think
    they have an enormous interest in trying to reverse the record of the
    past, to try to put this unforgivable chapter behind them, and to start
    off on a new path. So I still believe that in the end we will achieve an
    agreement which will convince them, or which they will be convinced will
    be in their interest.
        The advertising issue is the more important one from a legal point
    of view, but I think we'll get there because they have now, with this
    evidence continuing to mount up about the deliberate strategy which was
    followed, they have a big interest in pursuing it.
        On the other matter, you know, I'm not going to comment on that. I'm
    going to try to do what the Supreme Court said I should do, which is not
    to be in any way deterred by this, and I'm going on with my business;
    others will comment on that.

    Japan

        Q. Mr. President, Moody's debt rating service earlier today issued a
    warning about Japan's sovereign debt. The United States has repeatedly
    urged Japan, with little apparent success, to try to jump-start its
    domestic economy. Do you see any signs that the Japanese Government is
    now ready to take actions that would help bring it into recovery?
        The President. Well, the Prime Minister keeps moving forward in ways that then the market
    seems to believe are insufficient. And we have obviously urged
    aggressive action because we want the Japanese economy to grow. We think
    the Japanese economy is the key to stability and growth in Asia, and we
    have always wanted a strong, healthy Japanese partner.
        Japan is a great democracy; they've been a great partner for us;
    they've been a great engine of economic growth for many years, until the
    last few years. There may be some momentary disruption because now you
    have some business leaders speaking out in Japan, but it appears to us
    on the outside of this that there is an ongoing struggle between what is
    now the articulated view, not only of the United States and others but
    of the business community in Japan, about the direction that country
    should take and the entrenched resistance to that in the permanent
    government bureaucracy that followed a different strategy with great
    success in previous years. And I think we need to be both respectful but
    firm in urging the Japanese to take a bold course.
        Prime Minister Hashimoto is an able
    man, and he understands the economy, and I believe he wants to take such
    a course. What has to be done is that the people within the permanent
    government there, which have always enjoyed great power, have to realize
    that the strategies that worked in the past are not appropriate to the
    present. They have to make a break now in some ways that's not so
    different from the break that we made in 1993. You simply can't stay
    with a strategy that is clearly not appropriate to the times and expect
    it to get the results that are needed for the country.
        But Japan is a very great country full of brilliant people who have
    a great understanding of economics. And as I said, I think the
    Prime Minister understands this and is
    willing to take risks and wants to do it. And he's got this raging
    battle going on, and I have to hope that the forces of the future will
    prevail.
        Thank you.

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    Note: The President spoke at 10:08 a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto
    of Japan.