    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
    [July 30, 1999]
    [Pages 1353-1354]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on Senate Action on a Proposed Republican Tax Cut
    July 30, 1999

        The Senate made the wrong choice for America's future today. By
    pushing through a tax plan that is too big and too bloated, the majority
    party has pushed aside our vital national priorities.

    [[Page 1354]]

        The Republican tax cut is so large it would undo our fiscal
    discipline and imperil our prosperity. It would crowd out our
    commitments to pay down the debt, to save Social Security, and to
    strengthen and modernize Medicare with a long-overdue prescription drug
    benefit. And it would demand drastic cuts in defense, education, law
    enforcement, agriculture, and the environment.
        Let's be clear on what exactly this fight is about and what it
    isn't. It's not about whether to cut taxes. It's about whether to have
    tax cuts that save Social Security and Medicare, or tax cuts that
    undermine them; tax cuts in the national interest, or tax cuts for
    special interests.
        I will not sign a tax plan that shortchanges our seniors and our
    young people. I will not sign a plan that signs away our future. If
    Congress passes that kind of plan, I will veto it.
        We should put first things first. We should pay down the debt, save
    Social Security, strengthen and modernize Medicare, and keep our crucial
    national commitments. We can do these things and still have the right
    kind of tax cuts. I urge the Congress to put aside plans that are
    plainly wrong for America and to work with me for what's right.