home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Software Vault: The Gold Collection
/
Software Vault - The Gold Collection (American Databankers) (1993).ISO
/
cdr11
/
wh930513.zip
/
05-13C.TXT
< prev
next >
Wrap
Internet Message Format
|
1993-06-13
|
32KB
From @lex-luthor.ai.mit.edu:hes@REAGAN.AI.MIT.EDU Thu May 13 18:13:15 1993
Date: Thu, 13 May 1993 13:10-0400
From: The White House <75300.3115@compuserve.com>
To: Clinton-News-Distribution@campaign92.org
Subject: AM Press Briefing by Dee Dee Myers, May 13th, 1993
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
_____________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release May 13, 1993
PRESS BRIEFING
BY DEE DEE MYERS
The Briefing Room
9:50 A.M. EDT
MS. MYERS: Good morning. Okay, a few quick
announcements. Today's schedule, the President has a small business
event in the OEOB, room 450, at 10:30 a.m.; at 12:30 p.m., lunch with
the Vice President; 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. he does his usual Thursday
photos with folks from around the country; and then at 8:00 p.m. he
is at the National Law Enforcement Officers candlelight vigil, and he
should be back at the White House at around 9:00 p.m.
Q What kind of remarks does he have there?
Q What is he doing at that event?
MS. MYERS: It'll be some crime-related remarks. No new
policy unveilings.
Q Any legislative push for the crime bill or
anything?
MS. MYERS: No. I'm sure he will -- he generally talks
about the crime bill and the Brady bill whenever he has a chance to.
He may talk a little bit about community policing, which is included
in the empowerment zones proposal and other places.
Q photographers dinner after that?
MS. MYERS: No photographers dinner.
Q Janet Reno, will she be there?
MS. MYERS: I don't know. I believe so. But I'm not
100 percent sure.
Q There will be remarks?
MS. MYERS: Yes.
Q Dee Dee, there was only one photo op listed at 4:30
p.m. Are there others?
MS. MYERS: There are several -- wheelchair basketball
team, National Association of Private Enterprise, a group of military
aides from the White House, and that's it.
Q And there will photo ops in all three of those?
MS. MYERS: Actually the only one that's a photo op is
the wheelchair basketball team.
Q Why is he snubbing the photographers?
MS. MYERS: I don't think he's snubbing them. He's
going to the candlelight vigil. He's been to, as you know, three
press dinners this year. He's obviously taken that seriously and
will continue to attend those press dinners throughout his tenure
here.
Q This administration likes photographers better than
the Ford --
MS. MYERS: We like you all the same. We love all of
you very much. (Laughter.)
Q What's the --
MS. MYERS: It's Small Business Week, and I don't know
what the exact structure of the event is, actually. He's going to
make remarks, talk a little bit more about the deficit reduction
trust fund, touch on some of the themes he talked about yesterday,
and he'll actually have a new proposal -- but an announcement to make
on incentives for small business.
Q As part of something that already exists, like
empowerment zones, or --
MS. MYERS: No, no, as part of reconciliation.
Q Can you tell us where the Bosnia-Macedonia --
everything stands now? We're getting such mixed signals as though
it's off the stove now and so forth.
MS. MYERS: Actually it's not. It's moving forward.
There has not been a lot of change from yesterday. But where we are
is, as the President said yesterday, troops in some kind of
peacekeeping force in Macedonia is something that's been raised.
It's not something that's imminent, but it has been raised as a means
of keeping the conflict from spilling over into other parts of the
region.
In the meantime --
Q He is still considering that?
MS. MYERS: Yes, it's something that's on the table; but
again, no decisions have been made and no deployments are imminent.
Q Is Kosovo also being considered as part of that?
MS. MYERS: It's something that's been raised by the
allies.
Q What was the question?
MS. MYERS: The question was, is Kosovo under
consideration, putting some kind of peacekeeping force in Kosovo.
Q Can I ask under what authority we would put these
peacekeeping troops in? Have they been invited by the governments?
I mean, I may have missed it --
MS. MYERS: In Macedonia there's already a CSCE force in
there. It's really a monitoring force. What's being considered,
really, is an expansion of that under CSCE authority. That is the
same sort of -- it's an expansion of that program that is currently
being looked at. I believe the troops are -- now are Scandinavian.
Q Regarding Kosovo, I mean, is the President in
favor, would be in favor of sending U.S. troops there as part of an
international force?
MS. MYERS: What he's said is he's in favor of taking
action to keep the conflict from spilling over. There is some
concern about the ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, but no decisions have
been made. It's something that's been raised by the allies, but not
something that we've made a decision on yet.
Q Dee Dee, up until this point, the whole -- the
thing the President was saying is that there would be no troops,
period, unless there was a peace agreement --
MS. MYERS: In Bosnia.
Q Right. But what is the motivation now to even
think about putting troops in? Is this basically to placate the
Europeans?
MS. MYERS: No, the President has said we have several
objectives here. One is to keep the conflict from spilling over, the
others are to stop the Serbian aggression and to stop ethnic
cleansing. I think there has been, throughout this conflict, grave
concern that the conflict could spill over and that similar ethnic
disputes could erupt in other parts of the region. Putting people in
Macedonia or Kosovo, which is not something that is being actively
pursued right now, would be a means of containing the conflict.
Q Dee Dee, how would their presence contain it? I
still don't understand that. You're saying that, just by being there
it will prevent a spillover?
MS. MYERS: Absolutely.
Q why?
MS. MYERS: Why? Yes, because I think there will be
people on the ground to keep either some kind of -- to keep the Serbs
from either moving into another part of --
Q Physically keep them from moving in?
MS. MYERS: That would certainly be part of it, or to
monitor their actions to prevent them from sort of organizing some
kind of an aggressive action.
Q So you're sending them into a combat situation?
MS. MYERS: Well, it's to prevent a combat situation.
It's not currently a combat situation. It is very different than
what's happening in Bosnia.
Q So those are things he is not actively pursuing
now? What is he actively pursuing?
MS. MYERS: At this time, we're continuing to consult
with the allies. As you know, the President is continuing to press
for further action. I think over the course of the last couple of
weeks, what's developed is a consensus that we do need to take
additional steps to show that the international community is not
going to allow ethnic cleansing and Serbian aggression to go
unchecked, that we have to take action to contain the conflict.
Q Does he still think that he can't convince Europe
-- at one stage to use military steps or to resort to force against
the Serbs?
MS. MYERS: I don't think those options are off the
table. I think we're continuing to press forward and continuing to
consult on a number of options. The President has not changed his
view of the situation, as he pointed out yesterday. And, again, I
would point out that there is a consensus that the international
community should take additional action. So we'll continue to press
forward.
Q How do you get to that point?
MS. MYERS: That was the result of Christopher's trip,
the Secretary of State's trip. That's something that I think all of
the allies have confirmed.
Q They ought to do something, but they don't know
what to do? Is that --
MS. MYERS: Well, at this point, yes. They want to do
something, we're continuing to press for consensus on what that would
be. Obviously, one of the things that's happening is that the
sanctions against the former Yugoslav republic, Serbia and Montenegro
are having an impact, and we're going to continue to watch Milosevic
to see if he is sincere and committed to the embargo of all but
humanitarian and food aid to the Bosnian Serbs.
Q What does it look like so far on that?
MS. MYERS: We're continuing to monitor it. Some of the
news reports have been mixed, but we're continuing to look for
additional efforts.
Q Well, what does your monitoring show -- that it's
airtight, that it's a sieve, that he's living up to it? It's been,
what, a week now?
MS. MYERS: We're still monitoring it, but I think
there's clearly been a reduction in support.
Q Do you agree with the British -- came on today that
this whole thing is causing a rift between the two countries and the
allies in Europe because the Clinton administration is pushing them
so hard?
MS. MYERS: It's causing a rift between the European
countries, or between us and the European countries?
Q The United States and the European countries,
particularly Britain.
MS. MYERS: I think we disagree with that. Obviously,
we're going to continue to press. This is something that the
President feels strongly for and something that we've worked hard on
for the last several weeks. But I think we have good relationships
with our European allies, and we're committed to keeping that
relationship strong and acting in a multilateral fashion to stop the
conflict in Bosnia.
Q Do you anticipate the President doing anything this
weekend? This referendum vote is Saturday and the Europeans have
made it clear that they don't want to take any action or additional
steps until after that vote. Do you anticipate the President working
Saturday and/or Sunday in consultation with the allies?
MS. MYERS: I think the consultations are ongoing. The
President doesn't have any particular meetings scheduled. It may
take another day to get the results of that referendum. We don't
have any events tied to that.
Q Is it a watershed for U.S. policy?
MS. MYERS: No. As we've said before, we don't believe
it's legitimate. But some of our allies are committed to seeing what
the results are, and in the meantime we'll continue to consult with
them and press forward towards consensus.
Q Is the President involved in those consultations,
or has he taken himself out of that and is letting subordinates do
that?
MS. MYERS: He's obviously being kept informed, but the
consultations themselves are primarily happening with the Secretary
of State and others. Nothing's scheduled.
Q And your statement on Monday that action on Bosnia
was in a holding pattern, is that still the case?
MS. MYERS: I think what I meant to convey was that a
lot of the allies are committed to waiting until the referendum over
the weekend. In the meantime, we're going to move forward, pressing
for a consensus for additional action.
Q You said a minute ago that clearly a consensus to
press for future action -- what evidence is there of that?
MS. MYERS: That's --
Q Recognizing that the allies want to wait for the
weekend referendum, what consensus -- what evidence can you show us
now that there's a consensus for further action?
MS. MYERS: I think that was the outcome of the
Secretary of State's trip to Europe. And I think that is something
that the allies have confirmed, that they believe we need to take
additional action, and we're pressing for a consensus on exactly what
that action would be.
Q? Illustrated how?
MS. MYERS: Through the results of his consultations
with them, through their comments subsequent to it. I think they've
all said that they believe that the international community needs to
do more on -- and what we're working on now is to forge a consensus
on exactly what steps we should take.
QQ Well, they have -- with the exception of Italy
declined to back the President's call for military action.
MS. MYERS: Well, I would say -- we haven't said that
there is a consensus at this point on exactly what steps should be
taken, but I think that the President's leadership has driven the
international community to the point that they all agree that
additional steps should be taken. And we'll continue to work with
them to reach consensus on what those steps are.
Q Dee Dee, now that the Croats and the Muslims are
fighting, is it true that there is a lessening of support among the
-- on the U.S. side for lifting the arms embargo period?
MS. MYERS: Well, I think our position hasn't changed.
I think clearly the conflict is an issue of concern and something
that we'll watch very closely.
Q Has the President changed his thinking at all on
it?
MS. MYERS: No.
Q Dee Dee, is that possibility of lifting that arms
embargo, is that becoming less of a reality though even though he
hasn't changed his views given the opposition of Europeans?
MS. MYERS: Well, the situation is fluid but I think the
President's position has not changed, and we'll continue to press for
consensus for further action with the allies, but the President's
position has not changed.
Q Dee Dee, is it the President's feeling that should
the Serb's reject the Vance-Owen plan to reach a referendum, the
Europeans would have to accept the steps proposed by the President
that they would have no way out -- is that his feeling?
MS. MYERS: I don't want to characterize what their
response would be other than to say we're going to continue to press
for further action.
Q I was asking just because a French Minister -- said
this morning that in fact France doesn't have -- doesn't hold much
stock -- is a bit irrelevant, which show that, in fact, regardless of
the result France will continue to oppose the lifting of the embargo
and even air strikes. So what kind of a chance does the President
have of convincing Europeans if they think that anyway -- in fact,
irrelevant?
MS. MYERS: Well, I think the consultations are ongoing.
And we're going to continue to press, and we'll see what happens.
But I don't think that as far as we're concerned the referendum has
an impact one way or another on the our plans.
Q What impact has the Pentagon report on the success
or lack of it of airpower in the Gulf had on the President's
consideration of that option in Bosnia?
MS. MYERS: I don't know that he's had a chance to
evaluate that yet.
Q Well, on the referendum among the Bosnian Serbs, is
it still the U.S. government's position that the results of the
referendum have no credibility?
MS. MYERS: Absolutely.
Q The Times has a story this morning that the United
States -- the administration has asked Mexico to accept former
representative Jim Jones as the U.S. ambassador there. Is that
correct?
MS. MYERS: I can't confirm appointments until we make
them.
Q I wouldn't ask you to confirm the appointment, I
was asking you to confirm whether we've asked Mexico to accept him?
(Laughter.)
MS. MYERS: Same answer.
Q Now that the President has recommended this or
proposed this deficit reduction trust fund, how does the White House
intend to get that into, through Congress? I mean, have you got
somebody to draft the bill? Are you working on it here? What's the
state of play on that?
MS. MYERS: Yes, there's -- I'm not sure exactly what
the -- we will introduce legislation through the -- it will become
part of the reconciliation process. And I'll have to get back to you
on what exact steps. But we're optimistic that we can get it through
Congress; there's a lot of support in Congress for it.
Q Are you going to work to --
MS. MYERS: It will be legislation. I'm not sure who
the cosponsors have been. As you know, Rep. Schumer and others have
been the main proponents of this in the past, and Senator Bradley on
the Senate side. So we'll work with Congress to get legislation
introduced. It'll probably have a lot of cosponsors.
QQ Is it fair to say that you sort of sprung this on
Congress because many of those who even thought this would have been
a good idea were surprised that it happened yesterday?
MS. MYERS: Well, I think it was something that we had
discussed with various members and staffs over the course of several
weeks. I don't think we gave them a lot of lead time that we were
going to announce it yesterday, but they knew that it was something
that we were considering and something that the President was looking
favorably at.
Q And he put this out there because the poll results
you were getting from around the country were showing that people
weren't buying the economic program without some proof that the
President was seriously committed to reducing the deficit?
MS. MYERS: I think that clearly people are willing to
contribute more if they believe that the money will be spent
prudently and for things like deficit reduction. I think it was an
opportunity -- an opportunity for the President to be very specific,
to have a specific plan that says, yes, these additional taxes and
these spending cuts will go toward deficit reduction. So I think
it's an opportunity -- we're focusing on the economic plan this week
and it makes its way through the Ways and Means Committee. That
process is going extremely well. And this is just an excellent
opportunity for the President to show that he's committed to deficit
reduction.
Q Isn't it true, as the Republicans were quick to
charge yesterday, that there really is no net deficit reduction in
the Clinton administration; that when you leave office, at the end of
the first term, say, the deficit will be approximately what it is
today?
MS. MYERS: That's just not true. There will be --
Q what was the deficit last year, and what would
the deficit be?
MS. MYERS: That's an irrelevant measure, because if you
look at what the deficit projections were under the Bush five-year
plan, and what the deficit projections are under the Clinton plan.
There's a tremendous amount of deficit reduction, both in cumulative
terms and in real terms.
Q Well, all that means is your holding the line on --
MS. MYERS: No, it means that we're reducing the deficit
-- reducing the deficit by $500 billion over five years, and as a
percentage of GNP by 50 percent. It goes from 4. -- I can't
remember; I don't have the numbers in front of me. But we cut the
deficit as a percentage of GNP in half over five years, which is
infinitely more than the previous two administrations have done with
the deficit, when see it skyrocket both in real terms as a percentage
of GNP.
Q Are there any plans to address the nation, even
tentative, on the Bosnia situation?
MS. MYERS: No plans.
Q If there as military -- would you call the Desert
Storm model of getting congressional approval and setting a deadline?
MS. MYERS: We just haven't gotten to that point. I
just can't speak to plans that -- about decisions that haven't been
made.
Q Can you jump ahead to tomorrow, what's on the
schedule?
MS. MYERS: Yes. Glad you asked. At 1:00 p.m. the
President will hold a press conference in the Rose Garden, weather
permitting. And if the weather is not good, we'll do it here. It is
just a regular old press conference as opposed to anything more
specific. In an ongoing series of press conferences, I might add.
(Laughter.) Oh, dozens, dozens.
Q third one --
MS. MYERS: This is the third one, dedicated just to
letting you guys talk about what you want to talk about.
Q Have you really counted how many questions he's
answered?
MS. MYERS: It's over 500, so it's a lot.
Q You're keeping track?
MS. MYERS: Actually, I'm sure by tomorrow we'll have
the specific number for you.
Q Can we like an Arsenio Hall, 1,000-question --
MS. MYERS: We might have to do a big ceremony around
the 1,000th question. Have some -- I don't know --
Q Don Imus will probably get it.
MS. MYERS: Yes, he probably will. That's a good idea.
Saturday he's doing his radio address. That's the only public event
on the schedule as of now. Sunday, no public events.
And Monday morning we will leave for Los Alamos, New
Mexico, and then on to San Diego. Monday night we will do a town
hall meeting in San Diego at the studios of KGTV, Channel 10, which
is the ABC affiliate in San Diego. It'll be 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Pacific Time, and we have the coordinates if anybody's interested.
And it will be a small studio audience, and it's 40 to 50 local
residents.
Q Any other cities involved?
MS. MYERS: We will probably got to Los Angeles on
Tuesday.
Q I mean, any other cities involved --
MS. MYERS: I don't know what the structure -- that's a
good question. I don't think so.
Q Could you finish that up, Dee Dee? Los Angeles --
MS. MYERS: We'll probably go to Los Angeles Tuesday
morning and then come back to Washington. We don't have an event
scheduled yet in Los Angeles.
Q What's in Los Alamos?
MS. MYERS: It's defense conversion.
Q Is he planning on converting Los Alamos to
something? I mean, is there a specific --
MS. MYERS: No --
Q I mean, they have a very specific job there.
MS. MYERS: They do. But the President's been there
before and talked about -- there is obviously civilian uses for the
kinds of technology that they specialize in there.
Q Could you give us an approximate departure time on
Monday?
MS. MYERS: It'll be in the morning. We'll do the event
in Los Alamos and then get to San Diego in the evening, Pacific Time.
So I don't think it'll be a real early departure.
Q Is there any -- comment on --
Q Return time on Tuesday? Dinner time -- late night?
MS. MYERS: Sometime in the evening probably, early
evening.
Q Dee Dee, is there any comment on the French
government's request today that the Blair House agreement be
renegotiated?
MS. MYERS: No comment on that. We'll continue to push
forward toward framework for GATT by the G-7 meeting in Tokyo and
we'll continue to press for that.
Q The President hasn't been informed yet or he
doesn't want to comment it or --
MS. MYERS: No, I'd have to take the question.
Q Can we get back to Bosnia just for a brief minute?
Senator Biden's comments Tuesday in the Senate have ruffled a lot of
feathers in Europe -- they were pretty -- does the President share
his views? Does he feel the way he stated them was helpful to his
achieving a consensus?
MS. MYERS: The President said on Tuesday that he wasn't
going to characterize at all Senator Biden's comments, and went on to
say that his position, the U.S. position is well-known in Europe and
we'll continue to work with our allies. We believe that this is an
international problem that requires multilateral action; and we'll
continue to press for a multilateral solution.
Q Dee Dee, back on the economy, given the wholesale
price figures yesterday and the retail price figures today, is the
administration concerned that inflation is once again becoming a
problem?
MS. MYERS: Well, at this point, we don't believe
there's a lot of inflationary pressure, but it's something we'll
continue to watch.
Q What's the status of that -- investigation on the
plot against Bush?
MS. MYERS: It's ongoing. Don't have any report on it
today.
Q They're not back yet?
MS. MYERS: No.
Q Is Sessions going to get the coup de grace today?
MS. MYERS: I believe he's meeting with the Attorney
General today. And beyond that --
Q What does it mean --
MS. MYERS: She said that she -- the question was, is
Sessions going to get the coup de grace today -- (laughter) -- in
Helen's usual delicate terms.
Q Off with his head. (Laughter.)
MS. MYERS: That's right. (Laughter.)
Q Give him a push. (Laughter.)
MS. MYERS: The Attorney General will meet with -- the
answer is, the Attorney General will meet with Director Sessions
today. The Attorney General, when she's prepared, will present a
report to the President, who will review it and make a decision.
Q Will the President meet with Sessions?
MS. MYERS: Nothing's scheduled.
Q He's asked for that.
MS. MYERS: We haven't made -- nothing -- he'll wait
until he gets the report from the Attorney General and make a
decision on that.
Q How long could that take, Dee Dee?
MS. MYERS: The Attorney General is reviewing the
allegations against him and Sessions' defense.
Q And what's the time frame on all of this?
MS. MYERS: There's no particular time frame, but
obviously Janet Reno has said it's something that she wants to move
forward with, and is meeting with Sessions today as part of that
process.
Q Is it likely today, the final decision by the
President?
MS. MYERS: No, no, no. At some point the Attorney
General will present a report to the President. She hasn't done that
yet. She's meeting with him, I think, as part of the preparation
process.
Q
MS. MYERS: Not that I know of.
Q Have a replacement yet?
Q What else is the President doing tomorrow?
MS. MYERS: The only other public event is he's meeting
with the White House Fellows at 5:00 p.m.
Q No meetings with lawmakers? No meetings with --
MS. MYERS: Nothing's scheduled. That could change,
depending on what happens. But there's nothing scheduled.
Q No meetings with national security folks or
diplomatic advisers?
MS. MYERS: Nothing's scheduled. He continues to,
obviously, receive regular updates. He's in regular contact with his
National Security Adviser and others on Bosnia and other
international situations.
Q But nothing's scheduled outside his normal morning
briefing?
MS. MYERS: No formal meetings scheduled.
Q On Ways and Means, you said the process is going
extremely well. How many exemptions is the administration willing to
accept on the energy tax?
MS. MYERS: Well, we don't have a specific number of
exemptions on the energy tax. Obviously we're going to work with the
House Ways and Means members to reach something that's acceptable,
that protects the President's overall goals. And so far we've very
gratified by the way the whole reconciliation process has gone in a
number of committees. For example, yesterday the direct loan program
got out of Labor and Education, in the Senate, which was extremely
gratifying. The whole process is going very well, and we think that
the House will probably vote on it tonight -- the House Ways and
Means Committee.
Q Dee Dee, on the Ways and Means, since it appears
that the ITC is dead in the water, is the President proposing these
small business incentives as an alternative to the permanent --
MS. MYERS: I would say, don't miss the President's
small business event this morning.
Q Is he going to mention corporate income tax? Is he
willing to compromise, come down from the 36 as Rosti wants?
MS. MYERS: Well, we're willing to work with the House,
obviously, to reach a compromise that both meets with the President's
objectives, which is a plan that is ultimately fair, that raises
revenue by going back to the people who did the best in the 1980s,
who saw their incomes go up but their taxes go down. We think that
we will achieve that. We're very happy with the way the process is
going so far and the way it's preserving not only the specifics, many
of the specifics of the President's plan -- the vast majority of the
specifics -- but also the intention of the President's plan. But I
don't think we'll have any specific comment on that today, but he
will talk about other small business incentives.
Q Is the President giving a reception for the Middle
East negotiators at some point?
MS. MYERS: None is scheduled at this point.
Q Can I go back to the economy for just a second, the
inflation -- do you think that's a one-time thing, weather-related,
or do you have a reason for why the jump if you don't think there's
inflationary pressure --
MS. MYERS: Let me take that question, or have one of
our economists respond.
Q Is there a briefing this --
MS. MYERS: George is briefing at noon -- 12:30 p.m.
Q Where was the President this morning? It appeared
that he wasn't in the Oval Office this morning. Do you know where he
was?
MS. MYERS: He came in at 9:30 a.m. -- I think -- he was
definitely in there for a meeting at 9:30 a.m. I think before that
he was at the Residence, yes.
Q At 9:30 a.m. -- all right --
THE PRESS: Thank you.
END10:16 A.M. EDT