[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 43 (Monday, November 1, 1999)]
[Pages 2160-2162]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on Departure for the Capitol and an Exchange With Reporters

October 27, 1999

Debt Reduction

    The President. Good afternoon. Nearly 7 years ago, at a time of 
economic distress, social division, and political drift, we set out on a 
course to put America's fiscal house in order with an economic strategy 
rooted in common sense and common values, committed to bringing down the 
deficit, investing more in people, and expanding trade.
    With the historic 1993 economic plan and the 1997 Balanced Budget 
Act, we made the tough choices to reduce the deficit and balance the 
budget the right way. Year-in and year-out, we have resisted politically 
attractive but economically unwise tax cuts that would have abandoned 
this commitment and taken us in the wrong direction. It hasn't been 
easy, and all along the way many said our approach wouldn't work. Some 
Members of Congress who, in 1993, took the courageous stand for our 
future even lost their seats as a result of what they did.
    But this economic strategy has paid off. We have the longest 
peacetime expansion in history, 19\1/2\ million new jobs, the lowest 
unemployment rate in 29 years, the lowest welfare rates in 30 years, the 
lowest poverty rates in 20 years, the highest homeownership in history.
    America has now enjoyed 7 consecutive years of fiscal improvement 
and economic growth, withstanding along the way the Asian financial 
crisis and helping to bring the world back toward prosperity. Now we 
have further evidence that our economic plan is working.
    Today the Department of the Treasury and the Office of Management 
and Budget are releasing the financial totals for the fiscal year that 
just ended. It is now official, and I'm proud to announce that we posted 
a budget surplus of $123 billion, the largest surplus in American 
history.
    And in the last 2 years alone, we have paid down our Nation's debt 
by $140 billion, the largest debt reduction in our Nation's history. We 
have closed the book on deficits and opened the door on a new era of 
economic opportunity. These new numbers also show that last year we came 
within $1 billion of balancing the budget without using the Social 
Security surplus, for the first time in decades.
    Unfortunately, this year's Republican budget reverses that course, 
spending about $18 billion from the Social Security surplus, according 
to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office. That is wrong, and it 
doesn't have to be. Congress should pass the plan I submitted that meets 
our priorities, doesn't rely on the Social Security surplus, and 
continues our aggressive efforts to pay down the debt.
    According to today's report, America's debt is now $1.7 trillion 
lower than it was projected to be when I took office. What does that 
mean? For America it means lower interest payments on our debt and lower 
interest costs across-the-board. Last year the Government paid $91 
billion less in interest than was projected in 1993, creating a virtuous 
cycle that boosted the budget surplus and further reduced the debt.
    For American business, debt reduction means that the Government is 
borrowing less, so there's more capital for business to invest at more 
modest prices. As a result, investments in technology, in particular, 
have boomed, bringing greater productivity, more jobs, higher wages.
    The best story is perhaps what it means for working families. That's 
what the chart to my left shows. Debt reduction means lower interest 
rates and more money. It means $2,000 less in home mortgage payments for 
the typical family. It means $200 less in car payments and $200 less in 
college loan payments. Debt reduction really means a tax cut and a 
sizable one for America's families. It proves that putting our fiscal 
house in order helps every American household.
    Now, in spite of our progress, the congressional majority has 
continued to try to take us off this path, first with an irresponsible 
tax plan that I vetoed and then with a budget that fails to live up to 
our values and our interest for the future. Even without their tax cut--
can you just imagine the fix we'd be in if that tax cut had become law? 
Even without their tax cut, they are set to spend several billion 
dollars of this year's Social Security surplus, while trying to disguise 
it with gimmicks. They are even set to enact an

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across-the-board spending cut that would have a destructive impact on 
our efforts to educate our children, protect our environment, and 
modernize our military. Even with all this, they would not extend the 
solvency of Social Security or Medicare by one single day.
    That is why, yesterday, I sent legislation to Capitol Hill that 
would ensure that all the Social Security surplus goes to debt 
reduction. And just like when a family cuts its debt, this will result 
in lower interest payments for the Government. I have also proposed, 
therefore, that we use these interest savings from Social Security 
surplus contributions to our debt reduction to extend the life of Social 
Security until the year 2050, which will encompass the life span of most 
of the baby boomers.
    Now, we can do this and still have a budget that puts 100,000 
teachers in the classroom, 50,000 police on the street, provides real 
protection for our environment, strengthen and modernizes Medicare, and 
keeps us on track to becoming debt-free for the first time since 1835.
    Today's good news is a result of hard-won economic choices that put 
our people first. That strategy has created the most prosperous economy 
in generations. If we seize this historic moment, we can now create a 
generation of prosperity. That is the debt we still owe to our children 
and to America's future in the new century.
    I am committed to working with the Congress to make good on that 
commitment and to get the job done.
    Thank you very much.

Attack at the Armenian Parliament

    Q. Mr. President, how concerned are you about the situation in 
Armenia, and who do you believe is responsible for that coup
attempt?
    The President. Well, as to the last--I'm very concerned about it and 
my heart and prayers go out to the people of Armenia and the families of 
the very important officials who have been killed already. We are not 
sure who is responsible. The situation is ongoing. As soon as we know 
more, we will let you know.
    We have a good relationship with Armenia, and as you know, we've 
done a lot of work with Armenia and Azerbaijan to try to resolve the 
difficulties surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh. The two Presidents have been 
very forthcoming, and this is a real blow to that country and to that 
region, and I'm very sorry about it. But I don't know any more at this 
time.

Privacy of Medical Records

    Q.  Mr. President, is it really possible to keep a privacy of 
medical records guaranteed at a time of electronic data keeping and when 
those records are worth a lot of money in marketing?
    The President. Well, they are worth a lot of money in marketing, 
which is why we're determined to keep them private, except in 
appropriate circumstances or where the patients, themselves, agree.
    It's a complicated question, as you know, which is, presumably, why 
the Congress in 1996 agreed to let me take executive action if they were 
unable to resolve it legislatively. I still think as a matter of policy, 
because it's such an important sweeping matter, it would be better if we 
could have legislation on this. But I intend to proceed and to propose 
the regulations, open them for public comment.
    I do believe that there are technological fixes which could protect 
the privacy of records. It's complex; we're trying to make the rules as 
understandable, as clear as possible, and as susceptible of enforcement 
and honoring as possible by the people who have to implement them.
    But this privacy issue is a big deal. And the more we become 
digitalized and the more all of our records are stored electronically, 
the more we'll have to do. In the financial modernization bill, which 
we've reached agreement on, I'm very pleased that we were able to allow 
the financial modernization to proceed, which, I think, will be good for 
our economy. I'm very pleased that we were able to preserve the strong 
Community Reinvestment Act, which has been a major part of our anti-
poverty strategy. But I do think there--the privacy rules are not as 
strong as they might be, and I hope there will be an

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effort, congressionally, to deal with that issue as well.

Trade With Europe

    Q. Mr. President, when you talked to Mr. Prodi today, did you talk 
about American beef and the bananas? What are the results of these 
conversations?
    The President. Well, they agreed to work with us to try to resolve 
both those matters in an expeditious fashion. They are causing real 
trouble, not only between the United States and the European Union but 
for our efforts to build a global trading system. Because if there is an 
international body which is supposed to resolve these disputes and you 
win and then you win again and then you win again and nothing happens, 
it's very frustrating. It undermines our ability to build support in the 
Congress and in the country for a new trade round which, as you know, I 
think is very, very important.

Nuclear Weapons in Armenia

    Q. Sir, on Armenia, on nuclear weapons, are there nuclear weapons or 
nuclear stores in Armenia that you know about?
    The President. I believe that what we have done on the nuclear 
weapons issue and getting the nuclear weapons out of all the republics 
of the former Soviet Union, except for Russia, is well-known, and I have 
no reason to believe that we have not succeeded in that.

Payment of United Nations Dues

    Q. Mr. President, what would be the message sent if the U.S. again 
fails to pay its U.N. dues? And will you use your veto pen to ensure 
that the U.N. dues are paid this year?
    The President. Well, I have already vetoed the legislation which 
didn't provide for that, as you know. And now I'm working very, very 
hard to try to resolve that. I hope that the responsible leaders in the 
Senate and the House, in the Republican and the Democratic Party, in the 
pro-life and pro-choice camps, will work through this.
    It is wrong for the United States not to meet its responsibilities 
to the United Nations, and we get a lot out of that. You know, there are 
these people in Kosovo and elsewhere around the world, in East Timor and 
other places, doing work that America does not have to do because of the 
United Nations. And all they want us to do is to pay our fair share, and 
that's what I think we ought to do.
    I've got to go to President Ford's Medal of Freedom now--I mean, 
Congressional Medal.
    Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 2:40 p.m. on the South Grounds at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to President Robert Kocharian of 
Armenia; President Heydar Aliyev of Azerbaijan; and President Romano 
Prodi of Italy, who met with the President in his capacity as President 
of the European Council.