[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 31, Number 5 (Monday, February 6, 1995)]
[Pages 141-142]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks and an Exchange With Reporters Prior to Discussions With 
President Mircea Snegur of Moldova

January 30, 1995

    The President. Let me say, first of all, it's a real pleasure and an 
honor for me and for the United States to welcome President Snegur here 
and the whole delegation from Moldova. They have been a real model of 
commitment to democracy and to economic reform. And we have been deeply 
impressed by the work they have done, the progress they have made. And 
I'm looking forward to my visit with him.
    I also want to thank him for sending me the nice Moldovan wine last 
Christmas, which was very much appreciated here at the White House.

Mexican Loan Guarantees

    Q. Mr. President, will you have a Mexico bailout bill ready today? 
The peso and the bolsa are dropping sharply.
    The President. We certainly hope so. I worked yesterday for several 
hours on this and secured again the reaffirmation of the commitment of 
the leadership of both parties in both Houses to go forward. And we have 
put out more strong statements today about it.
    I think we just--this is something we have to do. The time is not a 
friendly factor, and I realize that the Congress had other important 
measures to debate last week, the unfunded mandates legislation in the 
Senate, the balanced budget amendment in the House. But this can be 
resolved fairly quickly, and it needs to be.
    Q. Mr. President, there's a suggestion by some leaders that support 
is eroding for the package rather than increasing. Do you--is that the 
case?
    The President. Well, I think it will increase again once people look 
at the facts, if we get a bill out there. We need to--the bill needs to 
go in. And Secretary Rubin has, and others, have negotiated in great 
detail and in good faith with the appropriate leaders in the Congress, 
the committee chairs and others. And I think they're ready for a bill to 
go forward. And it's time to get it in and go forward.
    Q. What do you think of critics who say it's a bailout for Wall 
Street?
    The President. It isn't a bailout for Wall Street. There are--first 
of all, helping the economy stay strong down there is more important 
than anything else for our working people and our businesses on Main 
Street that are doing such business in Mexico. If they want to continue 
to grow and to have that as a market, we can't let the financial 
markets, in effect, collapse the Mexican political and economic 
structure. Secondly, there are a lot of pension plans and ordinary 
Americans that have their investments tied up there. Thirdly, we have 
immigration and narcotics cooperation and control issues here involved. 
This is something for ordinary Americans. It's very much in our 
interest, and we don't want to let it spread to other countries and, 
indeed, to developing countries throughout the world. We're trying to 
promote countries that are moving toward market reforms and moving 
toward democracy, not to undermine them. And it's very much in our 
personal interest to do so. It is not a Wall Street bailout, it's in 
America's interest to build the kind of future we want.
    Q. Are you optimistic you'll get a package this week or next?
    The President. I'm optimistic that we'll pass it because more often 
than not in very difficult issues the Congress does the right thing. And 
we've got a new and different

[[Page 142]]

Congress, but I think they'll do the right thing.

Note: The President spoke at 12:08 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House. A tape was not available for verification of the content of these 
remarks.