    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
    [July 13, 1999]
    [Pages 1192-1197]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks to the Communications Workers of America Convention in Miami
    Beach, Florida
    July 13, 1999

        Thank you for that wonderful welcome. You, in particular. [Laughter]
    Thank you, President Bahr, Mrs. Bahr, members of the executive committee. President
    Sweeney, it's great to see you here, to see
    all of you out here and all of those behind. I always knew the CWA was
    behind me, but when I saw so many people up here, I thought it was a
    literal truth today. [Laughter]
        I want to say I also believe that two gentlemen who came with me are
    still here, Florida representatives, our Democratic Congressman,
    Representative Alcee Hastings, and
    Attorney General Bob Butterworth. I
    welcome them here.
        I came here, first and foremost, to say a simple thank you. Thank
    you for what you do to make America great. Thank you for what you have
    done for me and the Vice President. Thank you for the help you have
    given us to move this country forward.
        Harry Truman once said, whenever labor does well, the whole country
    does well. As usual, he was right. You prove it. The CWA is stronger
    than it's ever been, and America is more prosperous than it has ever
    been. The bounty we enjoy today is in no small measure the result of
    your hard work, every day programming computers, manning customer
    service centers, electronically filing news stories, running MRI
    machines, laying the very cable of the information superhighway. The CWA
    is building the new economy of the 21st century,
        In that endeavor, the Clinton-Gore administration and our allies in
    Congress have been your partners. Remember what it was like when I
    became President 6\1/2\ years ago? Unemployment was high; the deficit
    was huge and rising; poverty and inequality were increasing; our social
    problems were getting worse. We promised to make a new covenant with the
    American people: opportunity in return for responsibility; a community
    of all Americans; and a Government committed to giving the American
    people the tools and conditions they needed to solve their problems and
    make the most of their own lives.
        That strategy was set in motion with our economic plan in 1993. In
    the years since, we have turned the red ink of deficits into the black

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    ink of surpluses, lowered interest rates, and fueled an economic
    expansion of truly historic proportions. Meanwhile, we've nearly doubled
    investment in education and training; put more police on the street and
    taken more guns out of the hands of criminals; invested more in
    technology, medical research, in cleaning up the environment; passed
    family leave and other family-friendly measures, including substantial
    tax cuts to help families pay for college and to help families raise
    their children. We showed, in other words, that our Democratic
    administration could balance the budget while honoring our values.
        Now, because we believe it is wrong for any child to be without
    access to the Internet, one of the greatest vehicles of opportunity the
    world has ever seen, we created our E-rate program to make sure every
    classroom--thanks to the leadership of Vice
    President Gore--every classroom in America can be hooked up to the
    Internet by the year 2000. We're well over half way there now, and I
    thank you for your role in that. I also want to thank Morty Bahr for serving on the advisory council on the national
    information infrastructure, which laid the groundwork for the E-rate
    program, which has brought discount after discount after discount to
    poor schools and libraries throughout America to make sure everybody can
    afford to be part of the information superhighway.
        Now, because we believe all Americans should have the means to
    upgrade their skills, we unveiled in January a new initiative to offer
    literacy and job training to every single working American who needs it
    now and who will need it in the future. And again, Morty Bahr was there with me at the unveiling, having served on
    our 21st century work force commission.
        And now, because we believe that to be secure means meeting the
    challenge of the aging of America by reforming Social Security and
    Medicare, providing more health care security, more retirement security,
    and strengthening our economy, we have put forward a sweeping proposal
    to use most of our surplus for these purposes.
        Today I want to talk to you in detail about the challenge of
    strengthening and modernizing Medicare for the 21st century. The simple
    problem is that more Americans are living longer. That's a high-class
    problem. But with the baby boom retirement just ahead of us and more
    Americans living longer, the number of Medicare beneficiaries is simply
    growing faster than the number of workers paying into the system. By the
    year 2015, the Medicare Trust Fund will be insolvent, just as the baby
    boom generation begins to retire and enter the system, eventually
    doubling the number of Americans over 65 by the year 2030.
        Over the last 6\1/2\ years, we've taken some important steps to
    strengthen Medicare. When I first became President, Medicare was
    scheduled to go broke this year. We've helped to extend the life of the
    Trust Fund to 2015 by fighting waste, fraud, and abuse, and taking tough
    action to contain costs, in 1993 and in 1997.
        But we must do more, not only to extend the solvency of Medicare but
    to ensure that its benefits keep up with the advances of modern science.
    No one, for example, no one would devise a Medicare program, if we were
    starting from scratch today, without including a prescription drug
    benefit. It wasn't as important back in 1965. Many of the drugs we now
    use to treat heart disease, arthritis, and other conditions didn't even
    exist back then when Medicare was first created.
        When it comes to securing health care and its benefits, nobody--
    nobody--has done more than the CWA. When it comes to controlling health
    care costs and maintaining quality of care, no union has worked harder
    or more cooperatively with employers and insurers than the CWA. What you
    have done for your retired members, we as a nation must now do for all
    our senior citizens.
        Last month I set out a plan to secure and modernize Medicare. Here
    are its elements:
        First and foremost, my plan would provide what every single
    objective expert has said Medicare must have if it is to survive: more
    resources to shore up its solvency. The plan would devote 15 percent of
    the Federal budget surplus over the next 15 years to Medicare to extend
    the life of the Trust Fund to 2027.
        Second, the plan will use the force of competition and the best
    practices now in the private sector to keep costs down without
    sacrificing quality.
        Third, the plan will allow Americans between the ages of 55 and 65
    who don't have health insurance, on the job or in their retirement, to
    buy into Medicare in a way that does not compromise the solvency of the
    Trust Fund. This is a huge issue today, with more and more

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    early retirees and others who don't have health insurance and simply
    cannot afford it in the private marketplace in the years when they may
    be most vulnerable.
        Fourth, the plan will modernize Medicare's benefits to match the
    advances of medical science. For example, almost every week, researchers
    seem to develop a new preventive screening to catch diseases in their
    early stages. Unfortunately, the copayments Medicare charges for these
    tests leads many seniors struggling to pay rent and utility bills to put
    off getting those tests done until it's too late. It makes no sense for
    Medicare to put up roadblocks to screenings and then turn around and
    pick up the much more expensive hospital bills the screenings might have
    avoided. That's why our plan will eliminate the deductible and all
    copayments for all preventive services. We pay for it by requiring
    modest copays for lab tests that are often overused and indexing the
    very modest part B premium.
        But we must help. If we're going to do this right, we must help
    seniors to meet their greatest growing need, the need for affordable
    prescription drug coverage.
        Now, many of our friends in the other party say, ``Well, a lot of
    seniors have drug coverage today.'' Well, that's right, a lot do. But 15
    million don't, and more are losing it every single day; and a lot of
    them are paying an arm and a leg for very modest coverage. For those who
    have good plans, they're not having any problems because our plan on
    this is entirely voluntary. It provides voluntary prescription drug
    coverage, paid for largely with resources we will save from making
    Medicare more competitive and innovative, plus a small fraction of the
    surplus that is dedicated to Medicare.
        This benefit will cover half of all prescription drug costs, up to
    $5,000, when fully phased in, with no deductible at all, and all for a
    modest premium that will be less than half the price the average Medigap
    policy costs, and will not apply--will not apply--to seniors up to 130
    percent of the poverty line. This is a good deal for America, and we
    ought to do it. It is a program our seniors can afford, provided in a
    way the rest of America can afford.
        Nobody knows better the value of prescription drug coverage than
    union men and women who have fought hard for drug benefits more generous
    than those I'm proposing. But retired unionists are among the fortunate
    few. I say again, nearly 15 million Medicare beneficiaries lack
    prescription drug benefits altogether. Nearly half of them are not poor;
    they're middle class Americans. With prescription drug prices rising,
    the pressure is on employers to cut back or eliminate prescription drug
    coverage, and it's becoming more intense. Much of that pressure is
    coming from competing employers who don't offer these benefits. You and
    your employers should not have to fight this battle by yourselves.
        Of course, America works best when we work together to meet our
    common challenges. Yesterday at the White House, I met with leaders of
    both parties to discuss the budget and my plan for Medicare. I was
    pleased that Republican leaders expressed a willingness to work together
    with us. But they are putting together a tax plan today that leaves no
    resources available from the surplus for strengthening Medicare. That is
    why I am asking Republican leaders, in the interest of saving Medicare,
    to reconsider the size of their tax cut plan. First things first.
        We worked very hard in putting this plan together to squeeze every
    penny of savings we could out of Medicare without harming the quality of
    care. But to extend the life of the Trust Fund for a quarter century
    without devoting a portion of the surplus to Medicare would mean--listen
    to this--would mean holding spending increases in Medicare to a rate
    that is more than 60 percent below what private insurance is expected to
    grow. It can't be done. That would severely cut both the quality and the
    quantity of health care available to seniors on Medicare, and that will
    not happen on my watch. I won't let it happen.
        I am pleased that there does seem to be an agreement between the
    Republican leaders and our Democratic leaders and myself to devote that
    portion of the surplus attributable to Social Security taxes just to
    Social Security. But it is critical that we have a so-called lockbox
    that actually locks in the debt reduction that we get from not spending
    that money and gives the benefit of that debt reduction to Social
    Security, so that we can extend the life of the Trust Fund, as my plan
    does, the Social Security Trust Fund, to 2053, adding 53 years from here
    to there. That's important.
        I'll be talking more about this later, but the Social Security Trust
    Fund is expected to last until 2035 now. It's even more important that
    we devote some of these funds to Medicare

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    right now because Medicare is expected to be insolvent almost 20 years
    earlier, in 2015.
        We, as a nation, have got some big choices to make in the next few
    months. We've got to decide what to do with this surplus. Did you ever
    think a few years ago we'd even be having this conversation? We had a
    $290 billion deficit when I took office; it was supposed to be up to
    $380 billion this year. We quadrupled the debt--4 times--quadrupled the
    debt in 12 years. So I realize that it's tempting for a Congress to say,
    ``Well, 16 months before election, let's do what is most immediately
    pleasing, whether it's right for America over the long run or not.''
    This is a big test for us, for our wisdom, for our judgment, for our
    concern for our people and their future.
        I think the right choice is to devote most of the surplus to saving
    Social Security and Medicare. Let me tell you and let me walk through
    this with you again because, under our plan, besides reforming and
    saving Social Security and Medicare, this plan will allow us to pay off
    publicly held debt to make America debt-free in 15 years for the first
    time since 1835.
        Now, what does that mean to the Government? It means when you pay
    your tax money, we're not spending 13, 14, or 15 cents on every dollar
    of your taxes just to pay interest on the debt. It means that future tax
    burdens can be lower.
        What does it mean to ordinary citizens right now and every year from
    now on? It means if America is on a path to becoming debt-free, interest
    rates will be lower. That means businesses can borrow at less cost. That
    means more new investment, more jobs, and more money for higher wages.
    It means average families can borrow at less cost. That means lower home
    mortgages, lower credit card payments, lower car payments, lower college
    loan payments. I'm telling you, the average family will save a whole lot
    more under this plan looking after our future than they will under the
    tax cut plan offered by the other party.
        Now, because their plan spends almost all the non-Social Security
    related surplus on a tax cut, it would not only do nothing to restore
    Medicare; it would require deep cuts in those things we need to be
    investing the most in: in education, in hiring those 100,000 teachers,
    in medical research, in technology, in preserving the environment, in
    modernizing our national defense. We won't have the money to do that.
        And again I say, this is a mistake because our plan has a sizable
    tax cut, nearly a quarter trillion dollars for middle income families to
    meet their crucial needs for child care, for long-term care, for saving
    for retirement. It provides tax cuts for building world-class schools,
    for developing and installing new environmental technologies, for
    funding the new markets initiative, which I highlighted on my tour to
    the poorest parts of America last week, simply to say we will give you
    the same tax breaks to invest in poor areas in America we give you to
    invest in poor areas overseas. It is the right thing to do.
        So here's the choice: We can save Social Security and Medicare and
    make Medicare better. We can make America debt-free, giving our children
    a stronger economy and all of you lower interest rates. We can still
    have a good-size tax cut, but not as large as the one the Republican
    leaders propose.
        Again I say, their plan would spend almost the entire non-Social
    Security portion of the surplus on tax cuts. It wouldn't extend the
    solvency of Medicare by a single day. Depending on how they do it, it
    might not extend the solvency of Social Security by a single day. It
    would force drastic cuts in education, research and technology, defense,
    and the environment. It would mean not paying off the debt and leaving
    us and our children more vulnerable to higher interest rates, a higher
    level of Government spending for interest payments alone, higher taxes
    in years to come, a weaker economy, itself more vulnerable to the kind
    of global financial turmoil we've all seen in the last couple of years.
        So that's the choice: an America debt-free, with Social Security
    intact and Medicare even better, and a substantial tax cut; or a return
    to the ``spend now, pay later'' approach that will not save and
    strengthen Medicare, may or may not lengthen the life of Social
    Security, will certainly cut education and other vital programs, and
    again I say, over the long run, will be far more costly to every person
    in this room and every working family in the entire United States.
        I believe we all want--Republicans and Democrats and independents--
    the strongest possible America for our children. I'm encouraged by the
    tone and the substance of the meeting I had yesterday with the leaders
    of Congress

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    in both parties. So I ask again the Republican leaders in Congress, for
    the sake of saving Medicare and strengthening our future, to reduce the
    size of your tax cut and join us in putting first things first.
        If we would sit down at the table like responsible family members
    and figure out how much it would cost us to meet our current obligations
    to education, defense, and other things, what we have to do to save
    Social Security and Medicare, not just for the baby boom generation but
    for their children and grandchildren who otherwise will be spending
    money they need to get along, to pay for education, to pay for the
    future on their parents, then we could figure out how much is left over
    for the tax cut. That's what I've tried to do, because I think it's the
    right thing for America. First things first, putting people first. It's
    the American way.
        To my fellow Americans who may think that this is just one of those
    Washington debates, and one side makes their side sound good and the
    other side makes their side sound so good, and it's all just a bunch of
    politics, all I can offer is the record of the last 6\1/2\ years.
        Think about it; with your help, we have nearly 19 million new jobs,
    the longest peacetime expansion in history, the lowest crime rate in 26
    years, the lowest welfare rolls in 30 years, the highest homeownership
    in history, the lowest minority unemployment rates ever recorded. We
    have declining rates of teen pregnancy, smoking, and drug abuse. We have
    cleaner air, cleaner water, and safer food. We've got 90 percent of our
    children immunized against serious childhood illnesses for the first
    time. We've had 100,000 young people working in our communities in
    AmeriCorps, making America better and earning their way to college. The
    record indicates that when we say something is good for America's
    future, it probably is good for America's future.
        That's why we're trying to pass this Patients' Bill of Rights
    they're debating up there today. Think how you would feel-- that's what
    I asked the Senators to do today--think how you would feel if it was
    your child, your wife, your husband, and the question was, your doctor
    says you need to see a specialist and your HMO accountant says you
    don't. Should you have to hassle it out for 3 months? And then, if the
    damage is irrevocable, shouldn't you be able to hold somebody
    accountable? Think how you would feel.
        Think how you would feel if--God forbid--you got hurt in an accident
    outside this convention hall and the ambulance had to drive you past two
    or three hospitals until they finally got to one covered by your HMO.
    Depending on what kind of injury you had, it could just be much more
    painful or terribly devastating.
        Think how you would feel if your small employer changed health care
    providers in the middle of your wife's pregnancy or in the middle of the
    husband's chemotherapy treatment, and they said, ``I'm sorry; I know
    this is traumatic. I know you're 6 months pregnant and you've had a
    terrible pregnancy, but here's a new doctor for you. I know your life is
    on the line and you've got great confidence in this doctor supervising
    your chemotherapy treatment, but here's a new doctor for you.''
        I just try to think about what's right for the American people. Oh,
    they'll tell you how much it costs up there. But we put in the Patients'
    Bill of Rights for the Federal employees; its cost, less than a buck a
    month a policy to comply with. The Congressional Budget Office says
    that, at the most, it would cost $2 a month a policy. Don't you think
    it's worth $24 a year to know that when you need to see a specialist,
    you can see one?
        So that's what we're trying to do with our proposal to modernize
    schools, to finish hiring 100,000 teachers, to put even more police on
    the street, and take even more guns out of the hands of more criminals;
    and that's what we're trying to do by shining the light of enterprise
    and opportunity at America's poorest communities; and most of all,
    that's what we're trying to do with our plan to save Social Security and
    Medicare, provide that prescription drug benefit, and make America debt-
    free.
        You know, in a year and a half, I'll retire with a pretty nice
    pension. I'll be all right, regardless. Thanks to the CWA, most of you
    will be all right, regardless. But you know, if we haven't learned
    anything in the last 6 years, it ought to be that the policies that help
    the least of us help all of us; that when we strengthen America's
    families and workplaces and communities, we're all better off.
        A lot of people that have made a lot of money out of the stock
    market in the last 6\1/2\ years, when it's more than tripled, they'd
    have been all right if the stock market hadn't gone up. But they're a
    lot better off because the lives

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    of average Americans have gone up. That's why the stock market's done
    better.
        And so again, I'll say to all of you, we've got this phenomenal
    opportunity, the opportunity of a lifetime, of a whole generation, to
    use the last 16 months of this century to get the 21st century off to a
    rousing start for America. We just have to be faithful to the covenant
    we made with the people in 1992. We have to put first things first. We
    have to put people first. And if we do it, watch out, you ain't seen
    nothin' yet.
        God bless you, and thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 1:35 p.m. in Hall D at the Miami Beach
    Convention Center. In his remarks, he referred to Morton Bahr,
    president, Communications Workers of America, and his wife, Florence;
    John J. Sweeney, president, AFL-CIO; and Robert A. Butterworth, State
    attorney general.