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Departure Statement - Guns and Budget 3/16/00
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Departure Statement - Guns and Budget 3/16/00
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Departure Statement - Guns & Budget 3/16/00
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91
6
10
3
Final 03/16/00 9:30am
THE PRESIDENT HAS SEEN
3-16-00
Jeff Shesol
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
DEPARTURE STATEMENT
ON GUN LEGISLATION AND THE BUDGET
THE WHITE HOUSE
CC:
March 16, 2000
Speechwriting
Good afternoon. I'd like to say just a few words
before I depart.
Yesterday, the House took a small but significant step
down the long road toward a common-sense gun bill. At
long last, House members from both parties have
loosened the grip of the gun lobby enough to say: It's
time to get to work. It's time - after eight months, after
so many senseless shootings - it's time for House and
Senate conferees to resolve their differences on this
crucial legislation.
The American people have spoken clearly and
consistently about the need to protect our children from
gun violence. The House, it now appears, is listening. I
hope Republican leaders will listen, too.
1
Yesterday's vote leaves them no more excuses for
stalling; no more excuses for holding this process hostage;
no more excuses for keeping the conferees from meeting
and working together to keep guns out of the wrong
hands.
Of course, a meeting is just a beginning. Congress
should keep working until it sends me a bill I can sign -
legislation that closes the gun show loophole, requires
child safety locks with all new handguns, and bans the
importation of large-capacity ammunition clips.
A courageous bipartisan majority has said no to the
attack ads, no to the name-calling, and no to the threats.
Yesterday, they stood up for the American people and
stood up to the gun lobby.
2
But there are further tests ahead. We are just a month
away from the anniversary of Columbine, and Congress
has yet to send me a common-sense gun bill. The clock is
ticking. America is waiting - to see whether Congress
will answer to the interests of our children and not to
intimidation by the NRA.
I also want to say a few words about the budget that
House Republicans proposed yesterday. A budget, of
course, is more than a balance sheet. It's a blueprint for
America's future. For seven years, our administration has
worked to build that future on a solid foundation of fiscal
discipline. But the budget proposed by Republican
leaders would erode our fiscal discipline.
3
It would weaken, not strengthen, the foundation that
Americans have worked so hard to build for our future.
Before devoting a single dollar to pay down the debt,
or extend the solvency of Social Security and Medicare,
or provide a voluntary prescription-drug benefit, or invest
in our children's education, Republicans in Congress have
already spent almost half a trillion dollars in irresponsible
tax cuts. Almost half a trillion dollars, and - as the
Republican budget now makes clear - they' re just getting
started.
This Republican budget is unrealistic; its enormous
tax cuts are unwise; and the risks it poses are simply
unconscionable. It is every bit as risky and costly as the
budget they tried to pass last fall.
4
Once again, their budget would undermine our ability to
make America debt-free by 2013, or to strengthen Social
Security and Medicare, or to add a voluntary prescription-
drug benefit. It would also slash our most pressing
priorities across the board - from education to the
environment; from law enforcement to public health;
from scientific research to basic nutrition.
This, as I have said, is the wrong path for America. It
would lead us straight into a fiscal dead-end. Again, I
urge Republican leaders to change course - and write a
budget that maintains our fiscal discipline, meets our most
pressing priorities, and makes the most of this moment of
prosperity. Thank you.
5
Margaret M. Suntum
03/16/2000 12:31:57 PM
Record Type:
Record
To:
See the distribution list at the bottom of this message
CC:
Subject: remarks of the President upon departure for St. Patrick's Day lunch
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
March 16, 2000
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
BEFORE DEPARTING FOR ST. PATRICK'S DAY LUNCH
The South Lawn
11:50 A.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon. I'd like to say just a
few words before I go up to the Speaker's annual St. Patrick's
Day luncheon about three issues.
Yesterday the House took a small, but significant step,
down the long road toward common-sense gun safety legislation.
House members from both parties have said it's time to get to
work, after eight months and other senseless shootings; it's time
for the House and Senate conference to resolve the differences
between the two bills and send one to me.
The American people have spoken clearly and
consistently about the need to protect our children from gun
violence. The House is listening. I hope the Republican leaders
in the House and the Senate will listen and get this conference
underway.
Of course, a meeting is just a beginning. Congress
should keep working until it sends me a bill I can sign that
closes the gun show loophole, requires child safety locks with
all new handguns, bans the importation of large-capacity
ammunition clips. Again, I hope they will reconsider and restore
the provision that hold adults responsible if they knowingly or
recklessly let little children have access to guns.
A courageous, bipartisan majority in the House has now
said no to the attack ads, no to the name-calling and no to the
threats. They have stood up for the American people, but there
are further tests ahead. The clock is ticking and America is
waiting to see whether Congress can really produce a bill that
responds to the interests of our children and not the
intimidation of the NRA.
I'd also like to say a few words about the budget the
House passed yesterday. It is more than a balance sheet; every
budget is. It's a blueprint for our future. For seven years,
our administration has worked to build a future based on fiscal
discipline. The budget proposed by the Republican leadership
would erode that discipline. It would weaken, not strengthen the
foundation Americans have worked so hard to build for the future.
Before devoting a single dollar to pay down the debt,
or extend the solvency of Social Security or Medicare, or provide
a voluntary prescription drug benefit, or invest in our
children's education, the majority's budget already spends almost
half a trillion dollars in tax cuts almost half a trillion
and, as the Republican budget makes clear, they're just getting
started.
This is unrealistic, unwise. The risks it poses are
unconscionable. It is as risky and costly as the budget they
proposed last year that I vetoed. It. would undermine our ability
to make America debt-free by 2013; to strengthen Social Security
and take it out beyond the life of the baby boom generation; to
lengthen the life of Medicare and add a voluntary prescription
drug benefit.
It would slash our most pressing priorities across the
board, from education and the environment, from law enforcement
to public health, from scientific research to basic nutrition.
It would be impossible for them to follow the path that we have
all agreed on to modernize our defense forces and improve the
quality of life of our men and women in uniform.
This is the wrong path for America. The only way they
could meet their spending priorities with this tax cut is to go
back to huge deficits. I asked the leadership to change course,
to go back and write a budget that maintains our fiscal
discipline and meets our most pressing priorities.
Now, the third issue I would like to mention very
briefly is that I have just met with the Secretary of Energy and
his team and my economic team, and we have talked about the
present difficulties that Americans are facing because of the
price of gasoline and the high price of oil, and what our short-
and longer-term options are. and we've been working very hard on
this now for several weeks, and we hope to have some things to
say about it over the next few days.
But this is I'm encouraged by a lot of the
developments that are going on. I hope there will be some relief
soon when the OPEC meeting occurs. But I do believe we need to
do more on our own here in America to deal with some of the
things we've learned, some of the pressure points we've learned
are on our people in these last few months.
So I just want to notify you that we are working on
this and we will have some more to say later, and I don't want to
be late to the Speaker's St. Patrick's Day lunch.
I
Mr. President, on the question of gun control
I
Mr. President, have you spoken in person to any of
the leaders of the OPEC nations to increase
THE PRESIDENT: Wait, wait. The answer is, we have
made clear what my public position is. I've said no more to
anybody privately than I've said in public. I think it is in the
interest of the OPEC nations and in the interest of the consuming
nations to have a stable price of oil that gives them a fair
return on their oil, enables them to run their countries and
finance their budgets, but is not SO high that it runs the risk
of promoting inflation or recession, which will reduce the demand
for oil by cratering the economies of other countries and hurting
ours, and hurting a lot of innocent people in the process.
So the trick is to find the right balance. Oil was way
too low last year because they increased production right as
demand dropped after the Asian financial crisis. Now, the price
is too high because they cut production right as demand increased
when Europe and Asia were growing more again.
So we've got to get this back into balance. That's
what I want to do. I think it's very much in their interest, and
I haven't said any more in private than I'm saying to you in
public, but we are working that.
I
Mr. President, Wayne LaPierre, last night on the
news, said the blood of Ricky Birdsong is on your hands. I was
wondering if you would like to respond to that personally, sir,
and also go to the underlying issue of enforcement? The NRA
contends the administration has been lax up until very recently
on the enforcement issue.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, first of all, most of those I
think the television news, some of the reports answered the
Birdsong case in great detail, and I don't have anything to add
to that. And again, I will say, I don't think -- getting into a
personal spat with Mr. LaPierre about tactics that I don't think
any American appreciates and that all Americans can see through
is not worth doing.
I think on the enforcement issue, if you just go back
and look at the facts that were reported on the news last night
in this case, I think it makes the case. The question is: What
should the states do? What should the federal government do?
What is the appropriate thing to do in the Brady cases? And I
believe what we've tried to do is the right course.
I think the Attorney General has tried to increase
federal gun prosecutions. We've asked for resources to do more.
But we've also tried to do it in a sensible way that left a lot
of the burden and the criminal law where it belongs, with the
local prosecutors. And I think to try to take a case like that,
where actually the Brady bill worked, and if we had more
comprehensive checking SO that no one could sell a gun without a
Brady background check, we'd have an even safer society, is not a
very good argument for the other side to make.
And I think it's truly ironic that the NRA is now
criticizing us for not throwing everybody in jail that fails a
Brady background check when they opposed the Brady Bill. If it
had been up to them, we wouldn't be doing these background
checks, and 500,000 more felons, fugitives and stalkers would
have handguns, SO --
Q
Is there a break in the Irish impasse?
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. We're working it.
Q
Can I follow up on that, sir? Mr. President, why
do you think the NRA has chosen this particular moment, though,
to attack you?
THE PRESIDENT: I have no idea. I really don't know.
Must be a good fundraising tactic. I honestly don't know. I
don't know.
Q
Because they've had their way mostly on Capitol
Hill, it seems, up to this point.
THE PRESIDENT: I don't know. I think they know that
the majority of the American people support us on this bill, and
if they get the bill before the Congress, it will pass. So maybe
it's some strategy to try to keep it from ever being in an
acceptable form to be voted on one way or the other.
I don't know. You'll have to ask them. I can't figure
it out. Thanks.
Final 03/16/00 9:30am
Jeff Shesol
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
DEPARTURE STATEMENT
ON GUN LEGISLATION AND THE BUDGET
THE WHITE HOUSE
March 16, 2000
Good afternoon. I'd like to say just a few words
before I depart.
Yesterday, the House took a small but significant step
down the long road toward a common-sense gun bill. At
long last, House members from both parties have
loosened the grip of the gun lobby enough to say: It's
time to get to work. It's time - after eight months, after
so many senseless shootings - it's time for House and
Senate conferees to resolve their differences on this
crucial legislation.
The American people have spoken clearly and
consistently about the need to protect our children from
gun violence. The House, it now appears, is listening. I
hope Republican leaders will listen, too.
1
Yesterday's vote leaves them no more excuses for
stalling; no more excuses for holding this process hostage;
no more excuses for keeping the conferees from meeting
and working together to keep guns out of the wrong
hands.
Of course, a meeting is just a beginning. Congress
should keep working until it sends me a bill I can sign -
legislation that closes the gun show loophole, requires
child safety locks with all new handguns, and bans the
importation of large-capacity ammunition clips.
A courageous bipartisan majority has said no to the
attack ads, no to the name-calling, and no to the threats.
Yesterday, they stood up for the American people and
stood up to the gun lobby.
2
But there are further tests ahead. We are just a month
away from the anniversary of Columbine, and Congress
has yet to send me a common-sense gun bill. The clock is
ticking. America is waiting - to see whether Congress
will answer to the interests of our children and not to
intimidation by the NRA.
I also want to say a few words about the budget that
House Republicans proposed yesterday. A budget, of
course, is more than a balance sheet. It's a blueprint for
America's future. For seven years, our administration has
worked to build that future on a solid foundation of fiscal
discipline. But the budget proposed by Republican
leaders would erode our fiscal discipline.
3
It would weaken, not strengthen, the foundation that
Americans have worked so hard to build for our future.
Before devoting a single dollar to pay down the debt,
or extend the solvency of Social Security and Medicare,
or provide a voluntary prescription-drug benefit, or invest
in our children's education, Republicans in Congress have
already spent almost half a trillion dollars in irresponsible
tax cuts. Almost half a trillion dollars, and - as the
Republican budget now makes clear - they're just getting
started.
This Republican budget is unrealistic; its enormous
tax cuts are unwise; and the risks it poses are simply
unconscionable. It is every bit as risky and costly as the
budget they tried to pass last fall.
4
Once again, their budget would undermine our ability to
make America debt-free by 2013, or to strengthen Social
Security and Medicare, or to add a voluntary prescription-
drug benefit. It would also slash our most pressing
priorities across the board - from education to the
environment; from law enforcement to public health;
from scientific research to basic nutrition.
This, as I have said, is the wrong path for America. It
would lead us straight into a fiscal dead-end. Again, I
urge Republican leaders to change course - and write a
budget that maintains our fiscal discipline, meets our most
pressing priorities, and makes the most of this moment of
prosperity. Thank you.
5
Final 03/16/00 9:30am
Jeff Shesol
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
DEPARTURE STATEMENT
ON GUN LEGISLATION AND THE BUDGET
THE WHITE HOUSE
March 16, 2000
Good afternoon. I'd like to say just a few words before I depart.
Yesterday, the House took a small but significant step down the long road toward a
common-sense gun bill. At long last, House members from both parties have loosened the grip
of the gun lobby enough to say: It's time to get to work. It's time - after eight months, after so
many senseless shootings - it's time for House and Senate conferees to resolve their differences
on this crucial legislation.
The American people have spoken clearly and consistently about the need to protect our
children from gun violence. The House, it now appears, is listening. I hope Republican leaders
will listen, too. Yesterday's vote leaves them no more excuses for stalling; no more excuses for
holding this process hostage; no more excuses for keeping the conferees from meeting and
working together to keep guns out of the wrong hands.
Of course, a meeting is just a beginning. Congress should keep working until it sends me
a bill I can sign - legislation that closes the gun show loophole, requires child safety locks with
all new handguns, and bans the importation of large-capacity ammunition clips.
A courageous bipartisan majority has said no to the attack ads, no to the name-calling,
and no to the threats. Yesterday, they stood up for the American people and stood up to the gun
lobby. But there are further tests ahead. We are just a month away from the anniversary of
Columbine, and Congress has yet to send me a common-sense gun bill. The clock is ticking.
America is waiting - to see whether Congress will answer to the interests of our children and not
to intimidation by the NRA.
I also want to say a few words about the budget that House Republicans proposed
yesterday. A budget, of course, is more than a balance sheet. It's a blueprint for America's
future. For seven years, our administration has worked to build that future on a solid foundation
of fiscal discipline. But the budget proposed by. Republican leaders would erode our fiscal
discipline. It would weaken, not strengthen, the foundation that Americans have worked so hard
to build for our future.
Before devoting a single dollar to pay down the debt, or extend the solvency of Social
Security and Medicare, or provide a voluntary prescription-drug benefit, or invest in our
children's education, Republicans in Congress have already spent almost half a trillion dollars in
irresponsible tax cuts. Almost half a trillion dollars, and - as the Republican budget now makes
clear - they're just getting started.
1
This Republican budget is unrealistic; its enormous tax cuts are unwise; and the risks it
poses are simply unconscionable. It is every bit as risky and costly as the budget they tried to
pass last fall. Once again, their budget would undermine our ability to make America debt-free
by 2013, or to strengthen Social Security and Medicare, or to add a voluntary prescription-drug
benefit. It would also slash our most pressing priorities across the board - from education to the
environment; from law enforcement- to public health; from scientific research to basic nutrition.
This, as I have said, is the wrong path for America. It would lead us straight into a fiscal
dead-end. Again, I urge Republican leaders to change course - and write a budget that maintains
our fiscal discipline, meets our most pressing priorities, and makes the most of this moment of
prosperity. Thank you.
2
LANCE
Revised Draft 03/15/00 8:30pm
Jeff Shesol
III
Thill
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
DEPARTURE STATEMENT ON GUN LEGISLATION AND THE BUDGET
THE WHITE HOUSE
March 16, 2000
Good afternoon. I'd like to say just a few words before I depart.
Yesterday, in a bipartisan vote, the House took a small but significant step down the long
road toward a common-sense gun bill. House members have loosened the grip of the gun lobby
enough to say, at long last. It's time to get to work. It's time - after eight months, after so many
senseless shootings - it's time for House and Senate conferees to resolve their differences on this
crucial legislation.
The American people have spoken clearly and consistently about the need to protect our
children from gun violence. The House, it now appears, is listening. I hope Republican leaders
will listen, too. Yesterday's vote leaves them no more excuses for stalling; no more excuses for
holding this process hostage; no more excuses for keeping the conferees from meeting and
working together to keep guns out of the wrong hands.
Of course, a meeting is just a beginning. Congress should keep working until it sends me
a bill I can sign - legislation that closes the gun show loophole, requires child safety locks with
all new handguns, and bans the importation of large-capacity ammunition clips.
We are just one month away from the anniversary of Columbine. The clock is ticking.
America is waiting - to see whether Congress will answer to the interests of our children and not
the intimidation of the NRA.
I also want to say a few words about the budget that House Republicans proposed
yesterday. A budget, of course, is more than a balance sheet. It's a blueprint for America's
future. For seven years, our administration has worked to build that future on a solid foundation
of fiscal discipline. But the budget proposed by Republican leaders would erode our fiscal
discipline. It would weaken, not strengthen, the foundation that Americans have worked so hard
to build for our future.
devoting
Before dedicating a single dollar to pay down the debt, to extend the solvency of Social
Security and Medicare, to provide a voluntary prescription-drug benefit, or invest in our
children's education, Republicans in Congress have already spent almost half a trillion dollars in
irresponsible tax cuts. Almost half a trillion dollars, and - as the Republican budget now makes
clear - they're just getting started.
This Republican budget is unrealistic; its enormous tax cuts are unwise; and the risks it
poses are simply unconscionable. It is every bit as risky and costly as the budget they tried to
pass last fall. Once again, their budget would undermine our ability to make America debt-free
1
by 2013, or to strengthen Social Security and Medicare, or to add a voluntary prescription-drug
benefit. It would also slash our most pressing priorities across the board - from education to the
environment; from law enforcement to public health; from scientific research to nutrition.
junic
This, as I have said, is the wrong path for America. It would lead us straight into a fiscal
dead-end. Again, I urge Republican leaders to change course - and write a budget that maintains
our fiscal discipline, meets our most pressing priorities, and makes the most of this moment of
prosperity. Thank you.
2
Draft 03/15/00 7:00pm
Jeff Shesol
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
DEPARTURE STATEMENT ON GUN LEGISLATION AND THE BUDGET
THE WHITE HOUSE
March 16, 2000
Good afternoon. I'd like to say just a few words before I depart.
perterdan
Finally, the voice of the American people has broken eight months of silence on Capitol
Hill. The House, in a bipartisan vote, has taken a small but significant step down the long road
toward common-sense gun legislation. House members loosened the grip of the gun lobby
enough to say, at long last, it's time to get to work. It's time - after so many months, after so
many senseless shootings - it's time for House and Senate conferees to meet and to resolve their
differences on common-sense gun legislation.
The House has spoken. I hope Republican leaders are listening. Yesterday's vote leaves
no more excuses for stalling; no more excuses for holding this process hostage; no more excuses
for keeping the conferees from meeting and working together to protect our children. Of course,
a meeting is only a beginning. Congress should keep working until it can send me a real bill that
closes the gun show loophole, requires child safety locks with all new handguns, and bans the
importation of large-capacity ammunition clips. That's the outcome the American people want;
and that's a bill I can sign.
We are merely one month away from the anniversary of Columbine. The clock is
ticking. America is waiting - and watching - to see whether Congress will answer to the
interests of our children and not the intimidation of the NRA.
I also want to say a few words about the budget that House Republicans proposed
yesterday. A budget, of course, is more than a balance sheet. It's a blueprint for America's
future. For seven years, our administration has worked to build that future on a solid foundation
of fiscal discipline. But the budget proposed by Republican leaders would erode our fiscal
starting
discipline. It would weaken, not strengthen, the foundation that Americans have worked so hard
wrong
place
to build for our future.
Before dedicating a single dollar to pay down the debt, to extend the solvency of Social
Security and Medicare, to provide a voluntary prescription-drug benefit, or invest in our
children's education, Republicans in Congress have already spent almost half a trillion dollars in
irresponsible tax cuts. Almost half a trillion dollars, and - as the Republican budget now makes
clear - they're just getting started.
This Republican budget is unrealistic; its enormous tax cuts are unwise; and the risks it
poses are simply unconscionable. It is every bit as risky and costly as the budget they tried to
pass last fall. This year, once again, their budget would undermine our ability to become debt-
free by 2013, or to strengthen Social Security and Medicare, or to add a voluntary prescription-
1
drug benefit. It would also slash our most pressing priorities across the board from law
enforcement to the environment to public health. prose cuts we have devastating effect
spen
on our
[Let's put the Republican cuts in real terms. The FBI - cut by 1,100 agents. The Drug
Enforcement Agency - cut by 900 agents. The number of air traffic controllers - cut by more
daily lives-
than 2,000. The Republican budget would cut all new toxic waste cleanups and cut off 25 that
from FBI
are ongoing; it would cut off National Science Foundation grants to more than 15,000-
to toxic..
researchers, educators and students; and it would cut off nutritional benefits to three-quarters of a
use
million low-income women, infants, and children.]
first
This is the wrong path for America. It would lead us straight to a fiscal dead-end. Again,
I urge Republican leaders to change course - and write a budget that maintains our fiscal
discipline, meets our most pressing priorities, and makes the most of this moment of prosperity.
to
Thank you.
2
Amer
Draft 03/15/00 5:30pm
Jeff Shesol
Greenberg
Brinkley
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
bademap holding
DEPARTURE STATEMENT ON THE BUDGET
this process hostage.
THE WHITE HOUSE
March 16, 2000
GUN LEG.
And once
HEL listened to ful An.
not to (drship, people
they meet...
Good afternoon. I'd like to say just a few words before I depart.
not to NRA
e
the HER has spouen- no more excuse for the leaders to drag feet on letting
believe
Yesterday, a bipartisan majority in the House stepped up to its responsibility, stood up to The conf
- after eight long months, after so many senseless shootings - it's time for the House and Senate
the gun lobby, and said, simply, that it's time to get to work. It's time stop the delay. It's time meet Thilleg.
of
that once
Then do
to work together to protect our children ant their diffs on common sense gun leg -
meet, it
made Lond me a biu
they they listen
The House has taken a constructive step, must but there's real work ahead. The House open and
an
honest
their Ph,
Senate conferees should meet, yes; but they should do more than that. They should talk honestly dialogue
their
about their differences and keep talking until they're resolved. Most important, they should Remember,
constitions,
finally reach a real agreement - one that closes the gun show loophole, requires child safety The whilept.
the
locks with all new handguns, and bans the importation of large-capacity ammunition clips.
these res.
of passing
people
We are one month away from the anniversary of Columbine. The clock is running.
is to
theire
supposed
America is waiting. And America is watching - to see whether Congress puts the safety of our
children above the power - and the pressure-tactics - of the NRA.
to rep,,
Then
I also want to say a few words about the budget that House Republicans proposed
They can
yesterday. A budget, of course, is more than a balance sheet. It's a blueprint for America's
resolve differs future. For seven years, our administration has worked to build that future on a solid foundation
t givene
of fiscal discipline. But the budget proposed by Republican leaders would erode our fiscal
discipline. It would weaken, not strengthen, the foundation that Americans have worked so hard
a bill
to build for our future.
Before dedicating a single dollar to pay down the debt, to extend the solvency of Social
Security and Medicare, to provide a voluntary prescription-drug benefit, or invest in our
children's education, Republicans in Congress have already spent almost half a trillion dollars in
irresponsible tax cuts. Almost half a trillion dollars, and - as the Republican budget now makes
clear - they're just getting started.
This Republican budget is unrealistic; its enormous tax cuts are unwise; and the risks it
poses are simply unconscionable. It is every bit as risky and costly as the budget they tried to
pass last fall. This year, once again, their budget would undermine our ability to be debt-free by
2013, or to strengthen Social Security and Medicare, or to add a voluntary prescription-drug
benefit. It would also slash our most pressing priorities across the board, from law enforcement
to the environment to public health.
unacceptable?
1
Let's put the Republican cuts in real terms. The FBI - cut by 1,100 agents. The Drug
Enforcement Agency - cut by 900 agents. The number of air traffic controllers - cut by more
than 2,000. The Republican budget would cut all new toxic waste cleanups and cut off 25 that
are ongoing; it would cut off National Science Foundation grants to more than 15,000
researchers, educators and students; and it would cut off nutritional benefits to three-quarters of a
million low-income women, infants, and children.
This is the wrong path for America. It would lead us straight to a fiscal dead-end. Again,
I urge Republican leaders to change course - and write a budget that maintains our fiscal
discipline, meets our most pressing priorities, and makes the most of this moment of prosperity.
Thank you.
2
ARTFL Project: Roget's Thesaurus, 1911
http://machaut.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/ROGET.sh?word-irresponsible
ARTFL Project: Roget's Thesaurus, 1911
New!! Robert Parks and the ARTFL Project are pleased to release our initial implementation of the
Wordsmyth English Dictionary-Thesaurus.
Searching for: irresponsible
927a. Exemption.
N. exemption, freedom, irresponsibility, immunity, liberty, license, release, exoneration, excuse,
dispensation, absolution, franchise, renunciation, discharge; exculpation &c. 970. V. be exempt &c. adj.
exempt, release, acquit, discharge, quitclaim, remise, remit; free, set at liberty, let off, pass over, spare,
excuse, dispense with, give
V. desire; wish, wish for; be desirous &c. adj. have a longing &c. n.; hope &c. 858. dispensation,
license; stretch a point; absolve &c. (forgive) 918; exonerate &c. (exculpate) 970; save the necessity.
Adj. exempt, free, immune, at liberty, scot-free; released &c. v.; unbound, unencumbered;
irresponsible, unaccountable, not answerable; excusable.
Phr. bonis nocet quisquis pepercerit malis [Lat][Syrus].
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MORAL OBLIGATIONS 2. Moral Sentiments
964. [Absence or violation of law.] Illegality.
N. lawlessness; illicitness; breach of law, violation of law, infraction of the law; disobedience &c. 742;
unconformity &c. 83.
arbitrariness &c. adj.; antinomy, violence, brute force, despotism, outlawry.
V. desire; wish, wish for; be desirous &c. adj. have a longing &c. n.; hope &c. 858.
mob law, lynch law, club law, Lydford law, martial law, drumhead law; coup d'etat[Fr]; le droit du plus
fort[Fr]; argumentum baculinum[obs3][Lat].
illegality, informality, unlawfulness, illegitimacy, bar sinister.
trover and conversion[Law]; smuggling, poaching; simony.
[person who violates the law] outlaw, bad man &c. 949.
V. offend against the law; violate the law, infringe the law, break the law; set the law at defiance, ride
roughshod over, drive a coach and six through a statute; ignore the law, make the law a dead letter, take
the law into one's own hands.
smuggle, run, poach.
Adj. illegal[contrary to law], unlawful, illegitimate; not allowed, prohibited &c. 761; illicit, contraband;
actionable.
unwarranted, unwarrantable; unauthorized; informal, unofficial; injudicial[obs3], extrajudicial.
lawless, arbitrary; despotic, despotical[obs3]; corrupt, summary, irresponsible; unanswerable,
unaccountable.
[of invalid or expired law] expired, invalid; unchartered, unconstitutional; null and void; a dead letter.
[in absence of law] lawless, unregulated
Adv. illegally &c. adj.; with a high hand, in violation of law.
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ARTFL Project: Roget's Thesaurus, 1911
New!! Robert Parks and the ARTFL Project are pleased to release our initial implementation of the
Wordsmyth English Dictionary-Thesaurus.
Searching for: unrealistic
515. Imagination.
N. imagination; originality; invention; fancy; inspiration; verve.
warm imagination, heated imagination, excited imagination, sanguine imagination, ardent imagination,
fiery imagination, boiling imagination, wild imagination, bold imagination, daring imagination, playful
imagination, lively imagination, fertile imagination, fancy.
"mind's eye"; "such stuff as dreams are made of" [Tempest].
ideality, idealism; romanticism, utopianism, castle-building.
dreaming; phrensy[obs3], frenzy; ecstasy, extasy[obs3]; calenture &c. (delirium) 503[obs3]; reverie,
trance; day dream, golden dream; somnambulism.
conception, Vorstellung[Ger], excogitation[obs3], "a fine frenzy"; cloudland[obs3], dreamland; flight of
fancy, fumes of fancy; "thick coming fancies" [Macbeth]; creation of the brain, coinage of the brain;
imagery.
conceit, maggot, figment, myth, dream, vision, shadow, chimera; phantasm, phantasy; fantasy, fancy;
whim, whimsey[obs3], whimsy; vagary, rhapsody, romance, gest[obs3], geste[obs3], extravaganza; air
drawn dagger, bugbear, nightmare.
flying Dutchman, great sea serpent, man in the moon, castle in the air, pipe dream, pie-in-the-sky,
chateau en Espagne[Fr]; Utopia, Atlantis[obs3], happy valley, millennium, fairyland; land of Prester
John, kindgom of Micomicon; work of fiction &c. (novel) 594; Arabian nights[obs3]; le pot au lait[Fr];
dream of Alnashar &c. (hope) 858[obs3].
illusion &c. (error) 495; phantom &c. (fallacy of vision) 443; Fata Morgana &c. (ignis fatuus) 423[Lat];
vapor &c. (cloud) 353; stretch of the imagination &c. (exaggeration) 549; mythogenesis[obs3].
idealist, romanticist, visionary; mopus[obs3]; romancer, dreamer; somnambulist; rhapsodist &c.
(fanatic) 504; castle-buildier, fanciful projector.
V. imagine, fancy, conceive; idealize, realize; dream, dream of, dream up; "give to airy nothing a local
habitation and a name" [Midsummer Night's Dream].
create, originate, devise, invent, coin, fabricate; improvise, strike out something new.
set one's wits to work; strain one's invention, crack one's invention; rack one's brains, ransack one's
brains, cudgel one's brains; excogitate[obs3]; brainstorm.
give play, give the reins, give a loose to the imagination, give fancy; indulge in reverie.
visualize, envision, conjure up a vision; fancy oneself, represent oneself, picture, picture-oneself, figure
to oneself; vorstellen[Ger].
float in the mind; suggest itself &c. (thought) 451.
Adj. imagined &c. v.; ben trovato[It]; air drawn, airbuilt[obs3].
imagining &cv. v, imaginative; original, inventive, creative, fertile.
romantic, high flown, flighty, extravagant, fanatic, enthusiastic, unrealistic, Utopian, Quixotic.
ideal, unreal; in the clouds, in nubibus[Lat]; unsubsantial[obs3] &c. 4; illusory &c. (fallacious) 495.
fabulous, legendary; mythical, mythic, mythological; chimerical; imaginary, visionary; notional; fancy,
fanciful, fantastic, fantastical[obs3]; whimsical; fairy, fairy-like; gestic[obs3].
Phr. "a change came o'er the spirit of my dream" [Byron]; aegri somnia vana[Lat][obs3]; dolphinum
appingit sylvis in fluctibus aprum [obs3][Latin][Horace]; "fancy light from fancy caught" [Tennyson];
"imagination rules the world" [Napoleon]; l'imagination gallope[Fr], le jugement ne va que le
pas[French]; musaeo contingens cuncta lepore [Latin][Lucretius]; tous songes sont mensonges[French];
Wahrheil und Dichtung| German]. DIVISION (II) COMMUNICATION OF IDEAS SECTION I.
NATURE OF IDEAS COMMUNICATED.
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ARTFL Project: Roget's Thesaurus, 1911
New!! Robert Parks and the ARTFL Project are pleased to release our initial implementation of the
Wordsmyth English Dictionary-Thesaurus.
Searching for: imprudent
460. Neglect.
N. neglect; carelessness &c. adj.; trifling &c. v.; negligence; omission, oversight, laches[Law], default;
supineness &c. (inactivity) 683; inattention &c. 458; nonchalance &c. (insensibility) 823; imprudence,
recklessness &c. 863; slovenliness &c. (disorder) 59, (dirt) 653; improvidence &c. 674; noncompletion
&c. 730; inexactness &c. (error) 495.
paralipsis, paralepsis, paraleipsis [in rhetoric].
trifler, waiter on Providence; Micawber.
V. be negligent &c. adj.; take no care of &c. (take care of &c. 459); neglect; let slip, let go; lay aside, set
aside, cst aside, put aside; keep out of sight, put out of sight; lose sight of.
overlook, disregard; pass over, pas by; let pass; blink; wink at, connive at;gloss over; take no note of,
take no thought of, take no account of, take no notice of; pay no regard to; laisser aller[Fr].
scamp; trifle, fribble[obs3]; do by halves; cut; slight &c. (despise) 930; play with, trifle with; slur, skim,
skim the surface; effleurer [Fr]; take a cursory view of &c. 457.
slur over, skip over, jump over, slip over; pretermit[obs3], miss, skip, jump, omit, give the go-by to,
push aside, pigeonhole, shelve, sink; table [parliamentary]; ignore, shut one's eyes to, refuse to hear, turn
a deaf ear to; leave out of one's calculation; not attend to &c. 457, not mind; not trouble oneself about,
not trouble one's head about, not trouble oneself with; forget &c. 506; be caught napping &c. (not
expect) 508; leave a loose thread; let the grass grow under one's feet.
render neglectful &c. adj.; put off one's guard, throw off one's guard; distract, divert.
Adj. neglecting &c. v.; unmindful, negligent, neglectful; heedless, careless, thoughtless; perfunctory,
remiss; feebleness &c. 575.
inconsiderate; uncircumspect[obs3], incircumspect[obs3]; off one's guard; unwary, unwatchful[obs3],
unguarded; offhand.
supine &c. (inactive) 683; inattentive &c. 458; insouciant &c. (indifferent) 823; imprudent, reckless
&c. 863; slovenly &c. (disorderly) 59, (dirty) 653; inexact &c. (erroneous) 495; improvident &c. 674.
neglected &c. v.; unheeded, uncared-for, unperceived, unseen, unobserved, unnoticed, unnoted[obs3],
unmarked, unattended to, unthought of, unregarded[obs3], unremarked, unmissed[obs3]; shunted,
shelved.
unexamined, unstudied, unsearched[obs3], unscanned[obs3], unweighed[obs3], unsifted, unexplored.
abandoned; buried in a napkin, hid under a bushel.
Adv. negligently &c. adj.; hand over head, anyhow; in an unguarded moment &c. (unexpectedly) 508;
per incuriam[Lat].
Int. never mind, no matter, let it pass.
Phr. out of sight, out of mind.
Page 131
699. Unskillfulness.
N. unskillfulness &c. adj.; want of skill &c. 698; incompetence, incompentency[obs3]; inability,
infelicity, indexterity[obs3], inexperience; disqualification, unproficiency[obs3]; quackery.
folly, stupidity &c. 499; indiscretion &c. (rashness) 863; thoughtlessness &c. (inattention) 458 (neglect)
460; sabotage.
mismanagement, misconduct; impolicy[obs3]; maladministration; misrule, misgovernment,
misapplication, misdirection, misfeasance; petticoat government.
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absence of rule, rule of thumb; bungling &c. v.; failure &c. 732; screw loose: too many cooks.
blunder &c. (mistake) 495; etourderie gaucherie[Fr], act of folly, balourdise[obs3]; botch,
botchery[obs3]; bad job, sad work.
sprat sent out to catch a whale, much ado about nothing, wild-goose chase.
bungler &c. 701; fool &c. 501.
V. be unskillful &c. adj.; not see an inch beyond one's nose; blunder, bungle, boggle, fumble, botch,
bitch, flounder, stumble, trip; hobble &c. 275; put one's foot in it; make a mess of, make hash of, make
sad work of; overshoot the mark.
play tricks with, play Puck, mismanage, misconduct, misdirect, misapply, missend.
stultify oneself, make a fool of oneself, commit oneself; act foolishly; play the fool; put oneself out of
court; lose control, lose control of oneself, lose one's head, lose one's cunning.
begin at the wrong end; do things by halves &c. (not complete) 730; make two bites of a cherry; play at
cross purposes; strain at a gnat and swallow a camel &c. (caprice) 608; put the cart before the horse;
lock the stable door when the horse is stolen &c. (too late) 135.
not know what one is about, not know one's own interest, not know on which side one's bread is
buttered; stand in one's own light, quarrel with one's bread and butter, throw a stone in one's own garden,
kill the goose which lays the golden eggs, pay dear for one's whistle, cut one's own throat, bum one's
fingers; knock one's head against a stone wall, beat one's head against a stone wall; fall into a trap, catch
a Tartar, bring the house about one's ears; have too many eggs in one basket (imprudent) 863, have too
many irons in the fire.
mistake &c. 495; take the shadow for the substance &c. (credulity) 486; bark up the wrong tree; be in
the wrong box, aim at a pigeon and kill a crow; take the wrong pig by the tail, get the wrong pig by the
tail, get the wrong sow by the ear, get the dirty end of the stick; put the saddle on the wrong horse, put a
square peg into a round hole, put new wine into old bottles.
cut blocks with a razor; hold a farthing candle to the sun &c. (useless) 645; fight with a shadow, grasp at
a shadow; catch at straws, lean on a broken reed, reckon without one's host, pursue a wild goose chase;
go on a fool's goose chase, sleeveless errand; go further and fare worse; lose one's way, miss one's way;
fail &c. 732.
Adj. unskillful &c. 698; inexpert; bungling &c.v.; awkward, clumsy, unhandy, lubberly, gauche,
maladroit; left-handed, heavy-handed; slovenly, slatternly; gawky.
adrift, at fault.
inapt, unapt; inhabile[Fr]; untractable[obs3], unteachable; giddy &c. (inattentive) 458; inconsiderate &c.
(neglectful) 460; stupid &c: 499; inactive &c. 683; incompetent; unqualified, disqualified, ill-qualified;
unfit; quackish; raw, green, inexperienced, rusty, out of practice.
unaccustomed, unused, untrained &c. 537, uninitiated, unconversant &c. (ignorant) 491[obs3]; shiftless;
unstatesmanlike.
unadvised; ill-advised, misadvised; ill-devised, ill-imagined, ill- judged, ill-contrived, ill-conducted;
unguided, misguided; misconducted, foolish, wild; infelicitous; penny wise and pound foolish &c.
(inconsistent) 608.
Phr. one's fingers being all thumbs; the right hand forgets its cunning; il se noyerait dans une goutte
d'eau[Fr]; incidit in Scyllam qui vult vitare Charybdim[Lat]; out of the frying pan into the fire; non
omnia possumus omnes [Lat][Vergil].
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863. Rashness.
N. rashness &c. adj.; temerity, want of caution, imprudence, indiscretion; overconfidence, presumption,
audacity.
precipitancy, precipitation; impetuosity,; levity; foolhardihood[obs3], foolhardiness; heedlessness,
thoughtlessness &c. (inattention) 458; carelessness &c. (neglect) 460; desperation; Quixotism,
knight-errantry; fire eating.
gaming, gambling; blind bargain, leap in the dark, leap of faith, fool's paradise; too many eggs in one
basket.
desperado, rashling[obs3], madcap, daredevil, Hotspur, fire eater, bully, bravo, Hector, scapegrace,
enfant perdu[Fr]; Don Quixote, knight- errant, Icarus; adventurer; gambler, gamester; dynamitard[obs3];
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boomer [obs3][U. S.].
V. be rash &c. adj.; stick at nothing, play a desperate game; run into danger &c. 665; play with fire, play
with edge tools.
carry too much sail, sail too near the wind, ride at single anchor, go out of one's depth.
take a leap in the dark, buy a pig in a poke.
donner tete baissee [Fr]; knock, one's bead against a wall &c. (be unskillful) 699; rush on destruction;
kick against the pricks, tempt Providence, go on a forlorn hope, go on a fool's errand.
reckon one's chickens before they are hatched, count one's chickens before they are hatched, reckon
without one's host; catch at straws; trust to a broken reed, lean on a broken reed.
Adj. rash, incautious, indiscreet; imprudent, improvident, temerarious; uncalculating[obs3]; heedless;
careless &c. (neglectful) 460; without ballast, heels over head, head over heels; giddy &c. (inattentive)
458; wanton, reckless, wild, madcap; desperate, devil-may-care.
hot-blooded, hotheaded, hotbrained[obs3]; headlong, headstrong; breakneck; foolhardy; harebrained;
precipitate, impulsive. overconfident, overweening; venturesome, venturous; adventurous, Quixotic, fire
eating, cavalier; janty[obs3], jaunty, free and easy.
off one's guard &c. (inexpectant) 508[obs3].
Adv. post haste, a corps perdu[Fr], hand over head, tete baissee[Fr], headforemost[obs3]; happen what
may, come what may.
Phr. neck or nothing, the devil being in one; non semper temeritas est felix [Lat][Livy]; paucis temeritas
est bono multis malo [Lat][Phaedrus].
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Jeff Shesol
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
DEPARTURE STATEMENT ON GUN LEGISLATION AND THE BUDGET
THE WHITE HOUSE
March 16, 2000
Good afternoon. I'd like to say just a few words before I depart.
Finally, the voice of the American people has broken eight months of silence on Capitol
Hill. The House, in a bipartisan vote, has taken a small but significant step down the long road
toward common-sense gun legislation. House members loosened the grip of the gun lobby
enough to say, at long last, it's time to get to work. It's time - after so many months, after so
many senseless shootings - it's time for House and Senate conferees to meet and to resolve their
differences on common-sense gun legislation.
The House has spoken. I hope Republican leaders are listening. Yesterday's vote leaves
no more excuses for stalling; no more excuses for holding this process hostage; no m'ore excuses
for keeping the conferees from meeting and working together to protect our children. Of course,
a meeting is only a beginning. Congress should keep working until it can send me a real bill that
closes the gun show loophole, requires child safety locks with all new handguns, and bans the
importation of large-capacity ammunition clips. That's the outcome the American people want;
and that's a bill I can sign.
We are merely one month away from the anniversary of Columbine. The clock is
ticking. America is waiting - and watching - to see whether Congress will answer to the
interests of our children and not the intimidation of the NRA.
I also want to say a few words about the budget that House Republicans proposed
yesterday. A budget, of course, is more than a balance sheet. It's a blueprint for America's
future. For seven years, our administration has worked to build that future on a solid foundation
of fiscal discipline. But the budget proposed by Republican leaders would erode our fiscal
discipline. It would weaken, not strengthen, the foundation that Americans have worked so hard
to build for our future.
Before dedicating a single dollar to pay down the debt, to extend the solvency of Social
Security and Medicare, to provide a voluntary prescription-drug benefit, or invest in our
children's education, Republicans in Congress have already spent almost half a trillion dollars in
irresponsible tax cuts. Almost half a trillion dollars, and - as the Republican budget now makes
clear - they're just getting started.
This Republican budget is unrealistic; its enormous tax cuts are unwise; and the risks it
poses are simply unconscionable. It is every bit as risky and costly as the budget they tried to
pass last fall. This year, once again, their budget would undermine our ability to become debt-
free by 2013, or to strengthen Social Security and Medicare, or to add a voluntary prescription-
1
drug benefit. It would also slash our most pressing priorities across the board, from law
enforcement to the environment to public health.
[Let's put the Republican cuts in real terms. The FBI - cut by 1,100 agents. The Drug
Enforcement Agency - cut by 900 agents. The number of air traffic controllers - cut by more
than 2,000. The Republican budget would cut all new toxic waste cleanups and cut off 25 that
are ongoing; it would cut off National Science Foundation grants to more than 15,000
researchers, educators and students; and it would cut off nutritional benefits to three-quarters of a
million low-income women, infants, and children.]
This is the wrong path for America. It would lead us straight to a fiscal dead-end. Again,
I urge Republican leaders to change course - and write a budget that maintains our fiscal
discipline, meets our most pressing priorities, and makes the most of this moment of prosperity.
Thank you.
2
Richard L. Siewert
03/14/2000 05:20:56 PM
Record Type:
Record
To:
Jeffrey A. Shesol/WHO/EOP@EOP
CC:
Subject: look at this
Forwarded by Richard L. Siewert/WHO/EOP on 03/14/2000 05:20 PM
Patrick M. Dorton
03/14/2000 09:32:25 AM
Record Type:
Record
To:
Richard L. Siewert/WHO/EOP@EOP
CC:
Subject: look at this
MARCH 14, 09:22 EST
U.S. Plans Another $1B Debt Buyback
By JEANNINE AVERSA
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Treasury, brimming with cash,
plans to buy back another $1 billion of the national debt
Thursday, the second repurchase in a week.
The Treasury Department said today that Thursday's debt
buyback operation will involve 11 outstanding issues of
30-year bonds issued between May 1988 and November
1991. The bonds carry coupon interest rates ranging from
7.875 percent to 9.125 percent.
By buying back some of its older, higher-yielding securities,
the government over the long run expects to save money
on interest payments.
On Thursday, the Treasury paid $1.345 billion to repurchase
$1 billion of debt, its first repurchase in 70 years. That $1
billion is a tiny fraction of the $5.7 trillion national debt. Of
that total, $3.6 trillion is held by the public.
The new era of bulging government surpluses - helped by
a booming economy that is generating lots of tax revenues
- is making it possible for the Treasury to repurchase
some debt.
Treasury will buy back the debt using a process known as a
``reverse auction," in which the government selects offers
on a competitive basis based on the lowest prices.
Anyone holding a 30-year bond issued between May 1988
and November 1991 can seek to participate in the second
buyback operation but must do so through brokers, known
as primary dealers, who handle the initial sales of Treasury
securities.
The offers must be submitted by 11 a.m. EST Thursday and
the winning offers will be announced around midday.
In January, Summers announced that the government
planned to buy back up to $30 billion this year.
The first budget surplus in 29 years - $69.2 billion -
occurred in 1998, followed by last year's record $124.4
billion surplus, the first back-to-back surpluses since 1956
and 1957, when Dwight Eisenhower was president.
On the Net: The Treasury Department's site:
http://www.ustreas.gov/