    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000, Book I)]
    [March 11, 2000]
    [Pages 432-433]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
     March 11, 2000

        Good morning. In just a few days, Congress will begin to write the
    next year's budget. This is an important challenge we in Washington take
    up every year, with important consequences for the American people.
    Today I want to talk to you about the outcome I seek for our families
    and our future.
        I've always thought you could tell a lot about people's priorities
    by what they do first. For me, above all, that means maintaining the
    fiscal discipline that has brought us to this point of unprecedented
    prosperity, with 21 million new jobs, the lowest unemployment in 30
    years, the longest economic expansion in history. It means staying on
    the path to make America debt-free by 2013. It means saving Social
    Security, strengthening Medicare, modernizing it with a voluntary
    prescription drug benefit that so many of our seniors need and too few
    can afford. And it means continuing to put the education of our children
    first, with higher standards, more and better trained teachers, after-
    school and summer school programs, modernizing our schools.

    [[Page 433]]

        These are my first priorities. I think they're most Americans' first
    priorities. But it seems the congressional majority has hardly given
    them a second thought. Before Republican leaders have put a single penny
    toward strengthening Social Security or Medicare, before they put a
    single penny toward a prescription drug benefit, before they put a
    single penny toward educating our children, they've allocated nearly
    half a trillion dollars to risky tax cuts. More than half our money
    already spent--and not a penny on our most pressing priorities.
        Unfortunately, the majority tried to take us down this road before.
    Last year, they went for one big tax cut with one big grab. This year,
    they're doing it piece by piece, one tax cut after another. Just this
    week, we saw Republican leaders attach special-interest tax breaks to
    what should have been a simple raise in the minimum wage. Now, all these
    cuts together add up to a serious threat to Social Security and
    Medicare. They would make it impossible to pay down the debt by 2013 or
    make vital investments in education, fighting crime, protecting public
    health and the environment, and other urgent national priorities.
        As the budget process begins, I urge Republican leaders to change
    their course and steer clear of a fiscal dead end. It's wrong for
    America. It was wrong last year, and it's wrong this year. Let's do
    first things first.
        I urge Congress to write a budget that puts aside enough funds from
    our hard-won surplus to eliminate the debt by 2013; to write a budget
    that strengthens and modernizes Medicare with a prescription drug
    benefit; to write a budget that extends the solvency of Social Security;
    one that invests in education, extends health coverage to more American
    families, and meets other pressing priorities.
        Of course, Congress still has plenty of time to get its work done
    right and get it done on time. I hope it will do so. If Congress takes
    care of first things first, we can also give targeted tax relief to
    America's families: a tax credit to help pay for college or save for
    retirement; a tax credit to help care for aging or ailing loved ones; a
    tax relief to reduce the marriage penalty; tax relief to reward work and
    family with an expanded earned-income tax credit; an increased tax
    credit for child care expenses.
        I will work with any Member of either party to get these things
    done. We can get them done, but only in the context of a realistic,
    responsible, balanced budget, one that maintains our fiscal discipline
    and makes the most of this great moment of prosperity. Now, that's a
    budget that makes sense, one that works for working Americans.
        Thanks for listening.

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