[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 29 (Monday, July 25, 1994)]
[Pages 1535-1538]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Exchange With Reporters

July 22, 1994

    The President. Good morning. I have just met with my national 
security team, and I want to tell you about the new steps I have ordered 
to respond to the situation in the border regions near Rwanda.
    The flow of refugees across Rwanda's borders has now created what 
could be the world's worst humanitarian crisis in a generation. It is a 
disaster borne of brutal violence, and according to experts now on site, 
it is now claiming one life every minute.
    Today I am announcing an immediate and massive increase in our 
response. These efforts will be directed from the White House through my 
National Security Adviser Anthony Lake, working with Deputy Secretary of 
Defense Deutch, AID Administrator Atwood, and General Shalikashvili, and 
Brigadier General John Nix of our European Command will command a joint 
task force to head our efforts on the ground.

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    From the beginning of this tragedy, the United States has been in 
the forefront of the international community's response. As the crisis 
has gotten worse, our response has also grown.
    In May, when the first wave of Rwandan refugees fled to Tanzania, I 
ordered the release of $15 million in aid. These monies helped to 
prevent the kind of problems in Tanzania we are now seeing in Zaire. 
Since that time, we have authorized an additional $135 million in relief 
in the area. Beginning in May, I ordered an airlift of relief supplies. 
Since then, we have flown over 100 missions.
    On May 10th, the Vice President met with the United Nations 
Secretary-General and the head of the Organization of African Unity in 
an effort to expand the U.N. peacekeeping force in Rwanda. The following 
week, the Security Council approved a resolution authorizing that 
expansion. Then I ordered the Department of Defense to provide 
equipment, including 50 armored personnel carriers to aid the 
peacekeepers.
    Throughout June and July, I ordered increases in our relief efforts 
as the crisis escalated. I sent senior administration officials to the 
region, including Brian Atwood, the Administrator of AID.
    Today, I have ordered an immediate massive increase in our efforts 
in the region in support of an appeal from the United Nations High 
Commissioner for Refugees. I've ordered the Defense Department to 
establish and manage an airlift hub in Uganda, which will be used as a 
staging area for around-the-clock operations for shipments of relief 
supplies to the refugees in the Rwandan border regions. Consultations 
are underway now with the Government of Uganda.
    I have directed the Defense Department to assist in expanding 
airlift operations near the refugee camps in Goma and Bukavu. We will 
provide personnel and equipment to enable these airfields to operate on 
a 24-hour basis. I've ordered our military to increase the capacity to 
receive, transfer, and distribute goods at these airfields. Our aim is 
to move food, medicine, and other supplies to those in need as quickly 
as possible.
    I've directed the Pentagon to establish a safe water supply and to 
distribute as much water as possible to those at risk. Safe water is 
essential to stop the outbreak of cholera and other diseases that 
threaten the refugees.
    Today and tomorrow, about 20 million oral rehydration therapy 
packages will be delivered, packages that were purchased through AID and 
delivered on U.S. military aircraft to the refugees in order to try to 
stem the cholera outbreak.
    Our task in Rwanda is twofold: First, to alleviate the suffering as 
quickly as possible; second, to take steps to establish conditions that 
will enable the refugees to return home. To achieve the second 
objective, I have ordered the State Department and our Ambassador to the 
United Nations, who is here with us today, to take immediate action to 
help create those conditions. The United States will support and urge 
the immediate deployment of a full contingent of United Nations 
peacekeepers to Rwanda to provide security for the return of the 
refugees.
    We are making clear to the new leaders of Rwanda that international 
acceptance, including American recognition, depends upon the 
establishment of a broadbased government, the rule of law, and efforts 
at national reconciliation. We're taking action to counteract the 
propaganda of the extremist Hutu elements who continue to urge Rwandans 
to flee. Taken together, these steps will help to relieve the suffering 
of the Rwandan refugees and create conditions for their return home.
    As I said yesterday, we face here a growing human catastrophe. The 
United States not only supports the efforts of the international 
community, but is and will continue to take a leading role in those 
efforts. In the days to come as Americans see this heartbreaking 
unfolding tragedy, the suffering must not only touch our hearts, it must 
move Americans all across our Nation to reach out with their own private 
contribution to relief organizations. And it must move us as a Nation to 
take the practical actions that this crisis demands.
    Q. Mr. President, how much will all of this cost? And how many U.S. 
troops will be engaged in this operation?
    The President. Well, I'd like to leave the details on that question 
to those who will brief you. It will be in excess of $100 million.

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We'll have modest commitments of American manpower, but enough to do the 
job.

Health Care Reform

    Q. The leadership came here last night and told you that your health 
care plan for all intents and purposes is dead and that they are going 
to start over with something very different from what you had proposed. 
How do you feel about that? Are you willing to accept this turn of 
events?
    The President. First of all, I want to tell you--I had a prediction 
last night. I said to the leadership--they said, ``What should we say?'' 
I said, ``Well, I have been saying for 4 weeks we have agreed to 
dramatically change this plan. We're going to string it out. We have to 
have a longer phase-in. We have to have less bureaucracy. We have to 
have totally voluntary small business alliances, and we have to give a 
bigger break to small businesses to get them to buy into it. I'll bet if 
you go out there and say it, it will be treated as news.'' And that is 
exactly what happened. That is exactly what I said to the Governors. 
That is exactly what I've been saying for the last 3 or 4 weeks.
    And I'm glad that it finally is going out to the American people. We 
listened to the American people, all of us did. So we said--when I sent 
my plan to the Congress, I implored the Congress to go out and offer 
suggestions for changing it, for improving it, for making it better. I 
did that from day one. I am still waiting for someone else to produce a 
bill who believes there's another way to achieve universal coverage.
    I thought it was a very good meeting because the leaders reaffirmed 
their belief that our objectives should stay the same: universal 
coverage, so that we can provide security to those who have health 
insurance and cover those who don't. Now, one-sixth of our people--
remember, America is going in the wrong direction. Only the United 
States is reducing the number of people with health coverage every year. 
Secondly----
    Q. But are you going to accept anything----
    The President. Secondly, our goals are the same. We reaffirmed them; 
the leaders reaffirmed them: universal coverage, quality and choice, an 
emphasis on preventative and primary care, and discipline in 
constraining costs, not only for the Government so that we don't 
increase the deficit but also for people in their private insurance 
plans. And we will have a bill in the Senate and a bill in the House 
that will achieve those objectives.
    The burden is then on others. Finally, the burden must go to others. 
I would remind you now we have the American Medical Association, several 
other physicians groups, the Nurses Association, the nonprofit hospital 
association, virtually every medical center in the country, a huge group 
of small businesses, a huge group of large businesses, and a wide array 
of others who support these four goals. The bill that we will come out 
with, I am confident, will reach these four goals. How we reach them is 
now up to the Congress working with the White House. But the burden is 
on those who think they have a better idea to come forward with it.
    Someday we are going to have to focus on those who have other 
alternatives. That is my objective. I think we will reach those four 
goals. I thought it was a great meeting, and my prediction was that if 
they would go out and say what I've been saying for a month that it 
would make news. And sure enough, it did. And I feel very, very good 
about it.
    Now I have to turn this over to them to answer more questions about 
Rwanda.

Note: The President spoke at 11:50 a.m. in the Briefing Room at the 
White House. In his remarks, he referred to Boutros Boutros-Ghali, 
United Nations Secretary-General; Salim Salim, Secretary General, 
Organization of African Unity; and Sadako Ogata, United Nations High 
Commissioner for Refugees. A tape was not available for verification of 
the content of these remarks.

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