[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 39 (Monday, September 28, 1998)]
[Pages 1840-1841]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

September 19, 1998

    Good morning. I want to talk to you this morning about what I 
believe we must do to continue building a stronger America for our 
children and our grandchildren in the 21st century.
    We're in a time of great prosperity and even greater promise. For 
nearly 6 years I've done everything in my power to create the conditions 
for that prosperity and to make sure all Americans can share in it. 
Today, we have nearly 17 million new jobs, the lowest unemployment in 28 
years, the lowest inflation in 32 years, the smallest percentage of our 
people on welfare in 29 years, the lowest crime rate in 25 years, and 
the highest homeownership in history.
    All Americans have a right to be proud of what together we have 
achieved. But we can't let these good times lull us into a dangerous 
complacency. The turmoil we see today in economies all around the world 
reminds us that things are changing at a rapid rate. We can't afford to 
relax. Instead, we must use our new prosperity, the resources it 
produces and the confidence it inspires to

[[Page 1841]]

build a more prosperous future for all our people.
    In just 12 days now we will have the first balanced budget and the 
first budget surplus since Neil Armstrong walked on the Moon in 1969. 
This remarkable achievement is the product of hard work by the American 
people, by lawmakers of both parties who put progress ahead of 
partisanship. We have waited 29 years for this moment. Now we must ask 
ourselves, what should we make of it.
    Above all, I believe we must use this moment of prosperity to honor 
the duty across generations and strengthen Social Security for the 21st 
century. Seventy-five million baby boomers will be retiring over the 
next two decades. We must act now across party lines to make Social 
Security as strong for our children as it has been for our parents.
    In my State of the Union Address I said we should reserve every 
penny of that hard won surplus until we had taken the steps to save 
Social Security first. At the same time, I did propose tax cuts for 
education, for the environment, to help families pay for child care. But 
not a penny of these cuts comes out of the surplus. Every one is fully 
paid for in my balanced budget.
    My plan also provides tax relief to families while preserving the 
strength of the Social Security system. That is very important. When all 
the baby boomers retire, there will only be about two people working for 
every person drawing Social Security. We can make moderate changes now 
and make sure that those who retire will be able to retire in dignity, 
without imposing on, burdening, or lowering the standard of living of 
their children and grandchildren.
    Unfortunately, the Republicans in Congress have a different idea. 
The black ink in the budget hasn't even had a chance to dry; indeed, it 
hasn't appeared yet. But they already want to drain the surplus to fund 
a tax plan before we make the most of our opportunity, our historic 
opportunity to save Social Security.
    I've already made it clear that if Congress sends me a bill that 
squanders the surplus before we save Social Security, I will veto it. 
But Republicans in the House of Representatives are proceeding anyway 
and will try to pass their tax bill next week. I believe strongly that 
this is the wrong way to give American families the tax relief they 
deserve, the wrong way to prepare our Nation for the challenges of the 
future.
    So today I say again to the Republican leadership: Go back to the 
drawing board. Look at the targeted tax cuts for working families I 
proposed, and we all passed last year: $500 per child; a HOPE 
scholarship for the first 2 years of college and college credits 
thereafter; IRA incentives to save for children. They all take effect 
this year. They'll all be on your tax forms in April, and all of them 
are fully paid for.
    So I say to Congress send me a plan like that, a plan with targeted 
tax relief while preserving all the surplus until we have saved Social 
Security. Send me a plan that rebuilds our crumbling schools, that helps 
working families with child care, and supports small businesses in 
getting pension plans--and pay for it.
    Send me a tax cut that keeps us on the path of fiscal 
responsibility, that honors our obligations to our parents and our 
children. If Congress sends me a tax cut plan like that, I'll gladly 
sign it. This is a time of great hope for our Nation but a time where 
continued global economic growth demands continued American economic 
leadership. Fiscal responsibility has created our prosperity, and fiscal 
irresponsibility would put it at risk.
    Let's do the right thing to provide for the security of our parents 
and opportunity for our children into the 21st century.
    Thanks for listening.

Note: The President spoke at 10:06 a.m. from the Oval Office at the 
White House.