[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
[September 23, 1999]
[Pages 1575-1576]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks on Returning Without Approval to the House of Representatives 
Legislation on Taxpayer Relief
September 23, 1999

    Good morning. Thank you. Thank you very much. Please be seated. 
Thank you, and good morning. As all of you know, Congress has sent me 
the tax bill I have repeatedly pledged to veto. In a moment, I will do 
that because, at a time when America is moving in the right direction, 
this bill would turn us back to the failed policies of the past.
    In the 12 years before I became President, irresponsible policies in 
Washington piled deficit upon deficit, quadrupling the national debt, 
leading to high interest rates, eventually bringing us the worst 
recession since the Great Depression. Interest rates and unemployment 
were to high; wages were stagnant; growth was slow.
    Vice President Gore and I came into office determined to change all 
that with a new economic strategy focused on fiscal discipline, expanded 
trade, investment in our people. The strategy has worked. In the past 
6\1/2\ years, it has produced lower interest rates and ushered in the 
longest peacetime expansion in our history, with more than 19 million 
new jobs, rising wages, the lowest unemployment in a generation, and 
recordbreaking levels of homeownership. And by balancing the budget for 
the first time in a generation, we have changed red ink to black, 
turning a deficit of $290 billion into a budget surplus of $99 billion 
this year, with growing surpluses projected for years to come.
    The American people understand that these are not simply numbers on 
charts. The progress we've made is something they see and feel every day 
in more jobs, higher paychecks, HOPE scholarships that help send their 
children to college, lower interest rates for owning a home and buying a 
car. This is the right course for our people and our Nation. It is 
making a difference in the lives of Americans. And they want us to stay 
on it.
    Our hard-won prosperity gives us, also, the chance to do something 
few people ever have, the chance to invest our surplus to meet the long-
term challenges of America. We can lift the burden of debt from the 
shoulders of the next generation. We can secure the future of Social 
Security and Medicare. We can ensure

[[Page 1576]]

a first-rate education and modern schools for our children.
    Unfortunately, the tax bill Congress has sent me would deny those 
opportunities to the American people. The bill is too big, too bloated, 
places too great a burden on America's economy. It would force drastic 
cuts in education, health care, and other vital areas. It would cripple 
our ability to pay down the debt. It would not add a day to the Social 
Security Trust Fund. It would not add a day to the Medicare Trust Fund 
or modernize Medicare with prescription drug coverage. Nearly a trillion 
dollars in tax cuts, but not one dollar for Medicare. I will veto this 
bill because it is wrong for Medicare, wrong for Social Security, wrong 
for education, and wrong for the economy.
    Now, in the face of my determination to do this, many in Congress 
seem ready to throw in the towel. That would be a disservice to the 
American people. They sent us all here to get things done. And we have 
proved in the past, with the welfare reform bill of 1996 and the 
Balanced Budget Act of 1997, that we can work together to get things 
done and bring good results to our country. So, instead, I ask Congress 
not to go home until we have worked together once again in a good-faith 
effort to meet the long-term challenges our people face.
    First, let's reach a bipartisan agreement to save Social Security. 
The congressional majority's current plan and its so-called lockbox 
would fail to protect the Social Security surplus from being spent, and 
it would not add a day to the Social Security Trust Fund. Instead of 
this weak lockbox and no additions to the Trust Fund, I ask Congress to 
work with me to construct a real lockbox that would keep Social Security 
solvent until the year 2050.
    Second, let's work together to save Medicare. With Medicare facing 
insolvency in just 16 years and with three out of four seniors lacking 
dependable, affordable prescription drug coverage, we know we must not 
put off this challenge. Months ago, I put forth a detailed plan for 
Medicare that would reform and modernize it with a voluntary 
prescription drug benefit. It would address the immediate, critical 
needs of teaching hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and other 
priorities, while extending Medicare's solvency to the year 2027.
    Now, I don't expect the Republican majority to agree with me on 
every detail of my plan. I never thought that would be the case. But I 
do expect, and the American people have a right to expect, that we will 
work together in good faith to meet these long-term objectives.
    Third, we should fulfill our obligations to the future by producing 
a real budget that pays down the debt, brings down interest rates, and 
makes vital investments in education, the environment, national 
security, biomedical research, health care, and other areas so vital to 
our future.
    If we do this, within the framework I have outlined, we can not only 
invest in our future; we can pay down America's debt over the next 15 
years and make our country debt-free for the first time since Andrew 
Jackson was here and planted that big magnolia tree in 1835.
    So I say again, let's do first things first: pay down the debt; save 
Social Security; save and modernize Medicare; invest in education.
    In the days ahead, I will ask the Republican majority to work with 
me to fulfill these fundamental obligations we have to our children and 
to our future. If we can work together to meet these objectives, we can 
also work together to pass tax relief we can afford, affordable, middle 
class tax relief that reflects the priorities of both parties and the 
values of the American people. That would be a good bill I would happily 
sign.
    Every generation of Americans is called upon to meet the challenges 
of its time. But few have the unprecedented opportunity we have to meet 
the challenges not only of our time but the great challenges of our 
future. We must seize that opportunity.
    Thank you very much.

Note: The President spoke at 11:10 a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White 
House.