[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 29, Number 41 (Monday, October 18, 1993)]
[Pages 2064-2065]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks and an Exchange With Reporters Prior to a Meeting With Members 
of Congress on NAFTA

 October 13, 1993

    The President. Let me make a brief comment and then I'll answer a 
question or two.

[[Page 2065]]

    I want to thank the Members of Congress who are here today. This is, 
as you can see, a fairly large bipartisan group of House Members who 
have come for one of a series of meetings I've been having to try to 
persuade them to vote for the North American Free Trade Agreement. I 
want to reiterate that the thing that has impressed me is that more and 
more Members are trying to look beyond the politics of this issue and 
just ask what's good for America, whether it will create jobs for 
America, whether it opens the opportunity for more growth. I strongly 
believe that. I think we're making progress, and I'm looking forward to 
having a good discussion.
    I thank Mr. Michel for coming, and the Speaker who was going to come 
and couldn't come at the last minute. But we've had good support there, 
and I'm looking forward to this discussion this morning.

Somalia

    Q. Mr. President, Senator Byrd has just announced his intention to 
introduce an amendment which would cut off funding for the U.S. forces 
in Somalia February 1st, as opposed to your March 31st. (a) Do you know 
about this? (b) What are you going to do about it; what does it mean?
    The President. Well, I just talked to him. He said that he has--he 
started off at December 1st as a hard deadline and now says February 
1st, and the President can ask for an extension and the Congress can 
give. So I appreciate Senator Byrd working with me on it. I've not read 
it so I can't comment on the substance of it. I'm very interested in 
what the details are. It's not just a question of a deadline, it's also 
of not tying not just my hands but any President's hands in foreign 
policy too much.
    Our policy in Somalia, I believe, is beginning to work. I think the 
obvious import of what's happened in the last few days is that we're 
moving in the right direction, and I hope we can continue to do that. I 
can't comment about the specific resolution until I've read it and until 
I know what the alternatives are.
    Q. Are you going to get Durant out? Is there a movement there--the 
pilot, the captive American?
    The President. We're working very hard to get him out.

Note: The President spoke at 11:48 a.m. in the Roosevelt Room at the 
White House. In his remarks, he referred to Robert H. Michel, House 
minority leader. A tape was not available for verification of the 
content of this exchange.