[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000, Book I)]
[February 29, 2000]
[Pages 333-336]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks on Tobacco and Medicare and an Exchange With Reporters
February 29, 2000
The President. Good morning. I would like to say just a couple of
words about two subjects vital to the health of the American people,
Medicare and tobacco.
Throughout the life of this administration, Vice President Gore and
I have done everything we could to protect our children from the dangers
of tobacco. Five years ago, we put forward a landmark rule affirming the
FDA's authority to regulate tobacco products.
Since that time, the tobacco industry has fought our efforts at
every turn. I am heartened today by news reports that the Nation's
leading cigarette maker is now willing to accept Government regulation
of tobacco.
If Philip Morris is ready to support the FDA provisions of the
tobacco bill the industry and the Congressional leadership killed just 2
years ago, that is an important step forward.
Every day, 3,000 young people smoke for the first time, and 1,000 of
them will die earlier as a result. We have a duty to do everything we
can to save and lengthen their lives by protecting our young people from
the dangers of tobacco.
I also want to comment briefly about an important new report I am
releasing today on the future of Medicare. I am pleased to be joined
here today by some of the Nation's foremost leaders on behalf of our
senior citizens, along with a number of seniors who know from their
personal experiences what Medicare means to their lives.
In the 34 years since it was created, Medicare has eased the
suffering and extended the lives of tens of millions of Americans. It
has given young families peace of mind knowing they will not have to
mortgage their children's future to pay for their parents' health care.
If we want our children to have the same peace of mind when our
generation retires, we must act now to strengthen Medicare. When I
became President, the Medicare Trust Fund was scheduled to go broke last
year, 1999. Because of the tough actions we have taken, the life of the
Trust Fund has been extended by 16 years.
Still, we must do more. The Trust Fund is projected to go broke now
by 2015, and the new report I am issuing shows why. Not only
[[Page 334]]
will the senior population nearly double over the next 25 years, but
already today, in 40 of our 50 States, 1 in 10 Medicare beneficiaries is
85 years of age or older. This is the fastest growing group of seniors,
and they require the greatest amount of care. And they will spend--
consider this--almost a quarter of their lives on Medicare. The report
also shows that in every State in America, there are more women on
Medicare than men; on average 57 percent women, 43 percent men.
This report is the most compelling evidence to date that we must
strengthen and modernize Medicare for the long run, including adding a
voluntary prescription drug benefit. With our economy strong, our budget
balanced, our people confident, now is the time to deal with this
important issue. The budget I propose does just that while maintaining
our surplus and paying down our debt over the next 13 years to make us
debt-free for the first time since 1835. It uses the savings from debt
reduction to lengthen the life of Social Security and Medicare. It uses
competition and the best private sector practices to control costs and
improve quality in Medicare. And it provides funds to give every older
American, at long last, a choice of affordable coverage for prescription
drugs.
These drugs are an indispensable part of modern medicine. No one
creating a Medicare program today would think of creating a program
without prescription drug coverage. Yet more than three in five Medicare
recipients now lack dependable drug coverage which can lengthen and
enrich their lives. It's even worse for seniors in rural areas, who have
little or no option to purchase private prescription drug coverage. And
as today's report shows, nearly a quarter of our Nation's elderly live
in rural areas.
Our budget would extend seniors the lifeline of optional
prescription drug coverage. It creates a reserve fund of $35 billion to
build on this new benefit and protect those who carry the heavy burden
of catastrophic drug costs.
I have been gratified to see the growing bipartisan support for
adding prescription drugs to Medicare since I first proposed it last
year. But I am concerned, frankly, about two things.
First, some in the congressional majority have talked about
providing drug coverage only to the very poorest of our seniors. This
report shows that doing so would mean denying a prescription drug option
to the nearly half of all seniors who have modest middle incomes,
between $15,000 and $50,000, the majority of whom lack dependable drug
coverage as well. I think it would be wrong to deny them the opportunity
to get that drug coverage.
Second, the majority party in Congress has begun talking again about
spending the surplus on huge, risky tax cuts which would make it
impossible to pay down our debt. That would leave nothing for extending
the life of Social Security and Medicare, nothing for a voluntary drug
benefit. I believe that when they read this report, they will understand
what the consequences of such a decision would be.
The American people have worked hard to turn our economy around and
turn our deficits into surpluses. Now we have a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity to both pay down the national debt and to reform Medicare,
lengthen the life of Social Security, and add a voluntary prescription
drug benefit to the Medicare program. We owe it to the American people
to seize this opportunity this year. And I thank all of these fine
people who are with me for the contributions they are making to that
effort. Thank you.
Middle East Peace Process
Q. Are you throwing in the towel on the Middle East negotiations,
and why have you never condemned the bombing of the power plants for
civilians in Lebanon?
The President. First of all, I am not throwing in the towel. And Mr.
Ross is coming home to consult with me to see
where we are. We've made some important headway. We've still got some
stumbling blocks there. We're working harder than ever. I'm doing what I
think is most likely to succeed this year in securing dramatic advances
with the Palestinians and with Syria and with Lebanon. And I'm doing the
best I can on it, just as I have been for 7 years.
But it would be a great mistake to overread the significance of his
coming home. He's coming home because we need to talk about where we are
now and where we're going. But there is no throwing in the towel here.
China
Q. Is the China WTO vote starting to slip away from you? And what
are you going to say to the Chinese to get them to stop undermining your
message?
The President. Well, no, I don't think it's slipping away. I think
the white paper contains
[[Page 335]]
some fairly inflammatory language which caused me, once again, to say
that we have had the same policy for 20 years now: We believe in one
China, but it has to be resolved peacefully, and we are adamantly
opposed to any sort of force. The white paper also contains some
specific suggestions, however, about how a dialog might be opened.
And I understand that this is the political season over there as
well. They're having a Presidential election in Taiwan. And I have
noticed, not only in this election in America but in previous ones,
sometimes things are said in political seasons that might not be said at
other times. I'm sure you've noticed that as well.
I don't mean to trivialize this. It is very important that everyone
understand how strongly the United States views our long-standing
policy. We accept one China, we believe there must be cross-strait
dialog, and we believe there must be no violence of any kind. But I do
not sense that this vote is slipping away.
Oil Prices
Q. Americans today are paying $1.42 a gallon for gas. That's a
pretty good hit at the pump every day when they fill up their tanks. Is
there anything that your administration can do to solve that problem,
and specifically, is the release of oil from the strategic oil reserves
still on the table?
The President. The answer to the second question is yes. We're
looking at this oil swap issue. But I think that--as you know, there
have been lots of press reports about the prospect that production will
be increased and if it is, then the oil prices will go down and the
gasoline prices will go down. And that's really what is needed here. And
we'll see--I'm encouraged that that might occur. So that's the main
thing we can do. But no, I have not taken the petroleum reserve issue
off the table. And I certainly wouldn't do that in the event that we
don't seem to have any other options.
Middle East Peace Process
Q. Mr. President, if I could follow up on the Middle East question
for a moment. You have a little more than 10 months left in your
Presidency. Are you prepared to turn this process over? And will you
take steps to turn this process over to whoever your successor is?
The President. Well, if we haven't gotten it done, I will. But keep
in mind, the Israelis and the others--the Palestinians have committed to
resolve their issues by the middle of September. That's their common
commitment. And neither one of them have given up on that deadline.
And secondly, I think that on the Syrian track, given how hard it
was to get it started and how close, I believe, they are on the
substance of it--I don't think there is as much difference there as is
commonly assumed--I think it is more likely that we'll have success if
we have it this year than if we put it off.
But they're not operating on my timetable. They're operating on
theirs. And I'm doing what I can to help to get them get the job done as
quickly as possible.
Austria
Q. Mr. President, does Haider's resignation really make a difference
while the Freedom Party is still in the Austrian Government, and should
the international community normalize relations with Austria now?
The President. Well, I think the answer to your question is: I don't
know if it makes a difference or not. It might; it might not. The EU has
put out a very cautionary statement this morning, and obviously they're
closer to it than we are. I think the important thing is that the party
reject the kind of intolerance that we fear has been a part of it. And I
think the EU statement is a pretty good capturing of how we all feel
right now.
Expulsion of Cuban Diplomat
Q. The Cuban Government continues to insist that the diplomat that
was expelled on Saturday had committed no illegal acts. What is your----
The President. Well, my belief is that that matter was handled in
the appropriate way, in the way that countries always handle such
matters with diplomats. There is no difference in the way we've handled
that than the way we've handled many other cases, not just in my
administration but long before. And I don't think I should say more
about it than that.
Thank you.
Note: The President spoke at 9:46 a.m. on the South Lawn at the White
House, prior to his departure for West Palm Beach, FL. In his remarks,
he referred to U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Dennis B. Ross.
Reporters referred to Austrian Freedom Party leader Joerg Haider and
Cuban diplomat Jose Imperatori. The National
[[Page 336]]
Economic Council/Domestic Policy Council report was entitled ``America's
Seniors and Medicare: Challenges for Today and Tomorrow, a State-by-
State Status Report.''