    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 29, Number 11 (Monday, March 22, 1993)]
    [Pages 412-413]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Radio Address to the Nation on Defense Conversion

     March 13, 1993

        Good morning. I want to talk with you about a decision Americans
    will make very soon, one that will determine the future of our country,
    our communities, our companies, and our jobs.
        All around us, we see changes transforming our economy. Global
    competition, new technologies, and the reductions in military spending
    after we won the cold war. We can't stop the world from changing, but
    there is one decision we can and must make. Will we leave our people and
    our Nation unprepared for changes that are remaking our world, or will
    we invest in our people's jobs, our education, our training, our
    technology to build a high-skilled, high-wage future for ourselves and
    for our children?
        The choice is especially urgent because of the reductions in
    military spending here at home. Yesterday I visited the U.S.S. Theodore
    Roosevelt. That aircraft carrier and its crew served with distinction
    during the Gulf war. There's no greater honor than serving as their
    Commander in Chief. As long as I'm President, the men and women who wear
    our Nation's uniforms will continue to be the best trained, best
    prepared, and best equipped fighting force in the world.
        We must never forget that the world is still a dangerous place. Our
    military is continuing to change, not to downsize for its own sake but
    so that we can meet the challenges of the 21st century. In the post-
    cold-war era, our military can be cut even while we maintain the forces
    necessary to protect our interests and our people.
        The preliminary announcements of base closings in this morning's
    paper are part of that process. What we need to decide is whether we
    will invest in the economic security of the people who defend our
    national security. For the past 4 years our Government has done
    essentially nothing. Since 1989, 300,000 soldiers, sailors, and flyers
    have been mustered out of the service. One hundred thousand civilian
    employees of the Defense Department have also lost their jobs. And
    440,000 workers from defense industries have been laid off.
        As the business magazine Fortune has reported, these cuts cost
    840,000 jobs over the past 4 years. That's more than the combined total
    layoffs at GM, IBM, AT&T, and Sears. Too many of the men and women
    affected by defense cuts are still looking for full-time

    [[Page 413]]

    jobs or working at jobs that pay much lower wages and use fewer of their
    skills.
        These Americans won the cold war. We must not leave them out in the
    cold. That's why I propose a new national strategy to make these
    Americans have the training, the skills, and the support they need to
    compete and win in the post-cold-war economy.
        Last year the Congress appropriated $1.4 billion for defense
    conversion activities. But the previous administration did not put any
    of that money to work. Our administration's plan gets those funds moving
    immediately and calls for an additional $300 million in resources, for a
    total of $1.7 billion this year alone, and for nearly $20 billion over
    the next 5 years.
        Our plan invests in job training and employment services for
    military personnel and defense workers who have been displaced by
    declining military spending. And we'll make sure that every community
    affected by a base closing will have the help they need right away to
    plan for new businesses and new jobs. It takes 3 to 5 years for a base
    to close. We need to use that time to be ready.
        That's why I'm proposing a national strategy to make sure that all
    these communities and all these workers can use this valuable time to
    plan and to acquire the tools to build a new future.
        Our plan also invests in dual use technologies, that is, those that
    have both civilian and military applications and in advanced civilian
    technologies as well. With these technologies, defense companies can
    create new products and new jobs.
        Americans have the ingenuity to adapt to changing times. On Thursday
    I visited a defense plant just outside Baltimore that is using military
    technology to make products for commercial use. I wish you could have
    seen what I saw. Police cars with computer screens that display
    photographs of missing children and radar systems that warn the
    commercial airlines about sudden wind currents that cause accidents. I
    saw an electric car that will run 80 miles an hour, and run for more
    than 120 miles before being recharged.
        With a national economic strategy, more companies will be able to
    make the most of changes that are affecting not only defense but every
    industry, and will be able to make products like these. Our economic
    plan cuts Government spending that we don't need and brings down the
    Federal deficit that threatens our future.
        But just as important, our plan also makes the investments that we
    do need in our children's schools, our workers' skills, cutting-edge
    technologies, and our transportation and communications networks. This
    plan will create 8 million jobs, building the foundation for a new era
    where every American can profit, prosper, and produce.
        In the days ahead you'll hear a great debate in Congress about this
    plan. Some will say, don't cut anything; some will say, don't invest in
    anything. But what many of them are really saying is, don't change
    anything, because failing to invest and failing to reduce the deficit
    means failing to change the status quo.
        I'm confident that Congress and the country will choose a new
    direction for America, making our Government more effective and less
    expensive, and making the investments that make us smarter, stronger,
    and more secure. I ask you to express your support for this approach to
    Senators and Representatives. Those who support our entire plan should
    be supported. They're cutting spending that we don't need and investing
    more in what we do need.
        It's been said that while change is certain, progress is not.
    Together, we can turn away from drift and decline and choose a new
    direction with hope and growth and opportunity for every American.

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