[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 29, Number 29 (Monday, July 26, 1993)]
[Pages 1432-1433]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on National Service Legislation and an Exchange With Reporters

 July 23, 1993

    The President. Good morning, everybody. Before I leave I'd like to 
make a couple of comments, if I might.
    First of all, I was frankly somewhat disappointed yesterday at the 
delay in the progress of the national service legislation in the Senate. 
This is one idea that all Americans should be able to agree on. We know 
we have broad bipartisan support. Several Republican Senators have told 
us that they like the bill and intend to support it. And I very much 
hope that next week whatever considerations were moving the Republican 
Senate toward filibuster will evaporate.
    Mr. Segal and all the people supporting national service have worked 
hard with Republicans and Democrats from the inception of this 
legislation. We have a very large number of Republican supporters in the 
House of Representatives, as well as the Democrats, and significant 
support in the Senate. And this is not the bill to delay. America needs 
this. It's a very important part of our efforts to open the doors of 
college education to all Americans and give hundreds of thousands of 
young Americans over the next few years a chance to serve their country 
while earning

[[Page 1433]]

credit against their college costs. I think it's very important that we 
move on it.
    The next thing I would like to say is I'm very encouraged and I have 
very positive feelings about the progress made in the conference on the 
budget plan. The conferees are obviously determined to move toward the 
largest deficit reduction package in history and to do it in a way that 
promotes growth and jobs. I was quite encouraged that some of the 
provisions that were agreed on yesterday were those that I think are 
important to encourage people to invest in new jobs in this country, 
including the provision long championed by Senator Bumpers to give a 
significant tax break to people who make investments of 5 years or 
longer in new businesses and smaller businesses in this country. So I 
think we're off to a good start on that, and I'm very hopeful about the 
spirit that is prevailing in the conference today.

Deputy Counsel Vincent Foster,  Jr.

    Q. Mr. President, do you have any update on the Park Police or the 
Justice Department on Vince Foster and the investigation?
    The President. No. It's just a normal, routine thing that would be 
done. I don't think anything's going to come out other than what you 
already know.
    Q. What will you say about your friend in Arkansas?
    The President. That he was a wonderful person. That I don't think 
that any of us will ever know exactly why his life ended the way it did. 
But today I think that we should all determine not to judge his life by 
the way it ended solely. He was a terrific friend, a great father, a 
great husband, a great lawyer. He was one of the ablest and best people 
I ever knew in my life. That's what makes this day the more painful. But 
we have to accept the fact that there are many things we're not in 
control of, many things we don't understand, and we have to be grateful 
for what his life was.
    Thank you.

Midwest Disaster Assistance

    Q. The floods--what about the funds, and are they playing politics 
on the flood issue?
    The President. Who?
    Q. The House?
    The President. I don't think we should read too much into that. 
Let's wait and see what happens next week. There are people in the House 
that have very strong feelings about the procedures by which matters 
should be brought to vote and debated, and I think that's what's going 
on. I wouldn't read too much into that one way or the other. Let's wait 
and see what they do. I think they'll work through it next week.

    Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 8:15 a.m. on the South Lawn at the White 
House prior to his departure for Little Rock, AR. A tape was not 
available for verification of the content of these remarks.