[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 29, Number 11 (Monday, March 22, 1993)]
[Pages 452-453]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Breakfast for Members of the House of Representatives

 March 19, 1993

    Last night I went to bed early--at 1:15 a.m.--for you, and I was 
taking odds on how many of you would actually be here this morning at 
8:30 a.m. [Laughter] This may be a greater test of loyalty than the 
votes yesterday. [Laughter]
    I want to say to you, Mr. Speaker, a special word of thanks, and in 
his absence, to Mr. Gephardt, to whom I talked last night sometime after 
midnight. I want to thank you, David Bonior, for your work. And I want 
to say a special word of thanks for the southern-drawled discipline of 
Butler Derrick, the fine job he did. I love to listen to Butler talk. He 
makes me sound like a Yankee. [Laughter] I'd also like to thank the 
other leaders up here on the platform but especially the two chairs who 
are here, Mr. Natcher and Mr. Sabo, for the work they did.
    And I want to thank, of course, most of all, all of you for what you 
did yesterday. And I want to thank your constituents, the people who 
made this possible. If it hadn't been for the American people voting for 
a change in direction in this country, communicating that to you, and 
telling you that they would stay behind you if you made the tough 
decisions, none of this would have been possible.
    Yesterday was a great day of victory for ordinary Americans and for 
the proposition that this Government can work for them again, that we 
don't have to be mired in gridlock, that we don't have to spend all of 
our time posturing and dividing and running for cover instead of moving 
into the future. It was a wonderful beginning. I think it's important to 
remember that it's just a beginning, that you now have to encourage your 
colleagues on the other side of the Capitol to act and that we all have 
to continue to stay in touch with the people who sent us here. When I 
leave you today, I'm going to Atlanta to try to continue my dialog with 
the American people and to say we still have a great deal of work to do 
to create the jobs and invest in our people and reduce the deficit. But 
people know that it's working.
    You know, this last week I have had to take a good deal of time off 
to deal with the

[[Page 453]]

foreign policy responsibilities of the President. But one of the most 
interesting things that happened during the last week is that every 
world leader with whom I met at some point during the conversation said 
that America seems to be on the move again, that it's exciting to see so 
much happening here.
    I just want to say on behalf of all of you who were working last 
night, who missed the White House correspondents' dinner, I'll give you 
a list of my jokes on the way out--[laughter]--but you won't have to 
endure them again.
    We are looking forward, the Vice President and I and all of our 
family, to working with you as we complete this work. This can be a 
historic year for this country. You acted with unbelievable dispatch. I 
don't think that a budget resolution has ever been passed so quickly and 
one has ever been this comprehensive and acted on this quickly. It is a 
wonderful beginning but is just the beginning. And let's, all of us, 
determine that we're not going to quit until our job is done. Let's urge 
the people, as I said, in the Senate to join hands with us and move 
forward quickly now. And let's stay in touch with the folks back home 
and tell them what we're really doing is giving the Government back to 
them.
    Thank you very much, and God bless you.

Note: The President spoke at 8:55 a.m. in the East Room at the White 
House.