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administrative marker by the George Bush Presidential
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George H.W. Bush Presidential Records
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Speechwriting, White House Office of
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Houston Forum, 3/16/89 [1]
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25
6
1
6
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
(Houston, Texas)
For Immediate Release
March 16, 1989
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
TO FORUM CLUB OF HOUSTON
George R. Brown Convention Center
Houston, Texas
12:30 P.M. CST
THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you all for that warm welcome
back, and thank you, Dick, for the introduction, sir. I want to
thank you and Dick Johnson for putting this little lunch together. I
never saw such a wonderful crowd. They say that Texas is a state of
mind, but it's still good to set both feet down on Texas earth and
come back home to Houston.
And I'm very pleased to be here. This is my first trip
back to the state since taking the oath of office some 55, 56 days
ago. My mind raced back as I was coming in on beautiful Air Force
One to about 29 years ago, approximately -- saw the Medical Center,
and Barbara, I recall, was there awaiting the birth of our daughter,
Dorothy. And now Barbara is not here. She's not expecting, but our
dog is. (Laughter.) And I think her priorities may be slightly
askewed, but she doesn't. (Laughter.
But, in any event, I am pleased to be back at this Forum
Club, which has really contributed so much to the public debate on
the important issues of the day. And I am delighted that Bob
Mosbacher is with me -- a past president of the Forum Club, now
handling a difficult assignment there as Secretary of Commerce -- not
surprisingly for those who know him, and that's most of the people in
this room -- doing a superb job. And let me just say this -- it's
nice to have a person at Commerce who understands first-hand what it
means to have built a business, to take risks, who understands what
-- that excessive regulation can be counterproductive in terms of job
creation in this country. And also on a very personal side, it is
very nice to have someone who you can kick your shoes off with and
discuss the problems of the moment. So I'm delighted that he's here
with us today, and you should all be proud of the job he is doing.
(Applause.)
In addition to Dick O'Shields and Dick Johnson, I want to
thank Judge Lindsey, Mayor Kathy Whitmeyer, and Lee Hogan for being
here and welcoming me.
- 2 -
billion in new revenue in 1990. You don't touch the tax structure,
and you have $80 billion more in revenues to the federal government.
We can stay on track to meet these Gramm-Rudman targets -- and we can
do it without raising the taxes on the working man and woman of this
country. (Applause.) The key to building a better America is
realistic, it's a realistic and workable budget, like the one we sent
up to the Congress five weeks ago.
We're working now on a plan that will help developing
nations cope with the burden of debt -- a solution that promotes
growth and stability in world markets. And, frankly, it isn't just
Latin America. Take a look at Africa; take a look at Eastern Europe.
Other countries have staggering debt problems. And we of the United
States have to take the lead, and, indeed, under the Brady ideas at
the end of last week, we have stepped out to take the lead in trying
to bring some solution to that very complex problem.
We're waging a war on drug abuse on every front, just
gearing up now with our new drug czar in place. More effective
education and awareness efforts to dry up the demand for illegal
drugs, tougher law enforcement and interdiction to cut off suppliers
and put the dealers behind bars where they belong.
It's not going to be done just by the federal
government. I want to -- I might say parenthetically -- that I do
want to find a solution to the so-called AK-47 assault weapon
problem, one that protects the rights of the legitimate sportsman,
but also protects the lives of our police officers who are laying
their lives on the line for us every single day. (Applause.) But as
I say, this problem isn't a problem just for the federal government.
I know that some may know the phrase, "a thousand points of light."
In Washington, one wag called it "a thousand pints of Lite," and I
was a little -- took umbrage with that. But I'm going to keep
talking about "a thousand points of light" because it is this spirit,
volunteer spirit of American helping American that really has the
most to do about solving this drug problem. And I salute Houston,
with Houston Crackdown, a program that is such an effort of elected
officials joining leaders in the community and education and labor
and business and whatever to do something about this.
Another problem, we're working to establish a six-month
training wage as part of a package that raises the minimum wage from
$3.35 to $4.25 an hour. And let me be clear and send this message to
those members of Congress that might be tuned in, $4.25 is my first,
and last, offer. There will be no compromise on that figure.
Anything higher will actually cost jobs by raising costs for many
employers and will have an adverse affect on inflation and on
productivity. A training wage does just the opposite. It provides
the now jobless, especially youth and minorities, a chance, a
hand-hold on the economic ladder, a means of moving up.
And we're working on a serious problem that Texans are
aware of -- the threat to our financial system that's posed by
insolvent savings and loans. Less than three weeks after taking
office, we were faced with the enormity of this problem, and I
announced a comprehensive set of proposals to take effective
- 3 -
received, and I want to see that bill passed with its central
provisions intact within the 45-day timeframe which I have challenged
Congress to act upon. And there's no excuse for delay. (Applause.)
Once the legislation is enacted, we must turn our
attention to careful and responsible handling of the assets of the
failed S&Ls. Let me be clear on a key point -- insured depositors --
those across our great state and across this country whose deposits
are insured are not at risk. They are fully protected and will
continue to be fully protected by federal guarantees. Our solution
must ensure the least possible disruption to local markets and, at
the same time, keep costs to a minimum. And let me say clearly, we
must see to it that those S&L officials guilty of criminal actions
are pursued and punished for the losses that they've caused.
These are serious challenges -- ticking time bombs that
we need to defuse without delay. And we're trying to do just exactly
that. These are by no mean the only issues that demand leadership
and prompt action. We're entering the 1990s, a horizon decade,
threshold to a whole new century.
For people my age, and for people a good deal younger,
the 21st century has been the place in our minds that we put all the
fantastic ideas, all the discoveries and inventions we couldn't dream
of experiencing in our own time. The 21st century was just another
name for a future that seemed as distant as a voyage to the moon.
Here in Houston, we have a better sense of how we can cover that
distance and transform a distant future into our destiny.
The truth is the 21st century isn't far away at all. I
graduated from school in the class of 1942. Our first graders today
will be the class of 2000. The 21st century is here -- in our kids.
The essential question today -- what are we doing to prepare for the
new world that begins 11 short years from now? And that's what my
agenda is all about. Building a better America means laying the
foundations today for the kind of future that we want.
Preparing for our future means investment -- in our
economy and in our schools. It means safeguarding the environment
against short-sighted actions that do long-term damage. It means
finding ways to preserve and strengthen indispensable institutions
like the family in the midst of social change. As I look at the
fabric of society, and then look at the instability of family
relationships, I see a real threat to our future. And so a President
-- this President, at least, should have everything he does be guided
by how do we strengthen the American family, or put it in reverse --
how do we keep from weakening the fabric of our society that is
represented by the family. (Applause.)
Preparing our future means taking a long-range look at
the international landscape to determine what policies and approaches
will keep us free, prosperous and at peace in the 21st century, as we
are today. And speaking of freedom, it means formulating a
multisource energy policy -- multisource energy policy -- that, in
the
long
run
will
- 4 -
the Congress to join with me on this -- to spur the entrepreneurial
activity that means new products, new industries and new jobs.
(Applause.) I've been hit in the political arena on this one, saying
this is a tax cut for the rich. No such thing. It is opportunity
and hope for those that want a job and don't have a job. And that's
what this capital gains tax differential will do, if we can get the
Congress to promptly move forward.
Free enterprise is the engine of growth that can lead us
into the next century. And it's up to the government to maintain a
climate that is hospitable to growth, competitiveness, productive
investment, one that gives free enterprise as much free rein as
possible. And by the way, that capital gains tax differential I
talked about will bring in, in one year alone -- estimate of the
Department of the Treasury -- will bring in in one year alone, $4.8
billion dollars more in new revenue if we go forward and enact what I
am calling on the Congress to do.
To prepare for the future, we must protect our
environment. Whether we're talking about the disposal of nuclear or
other hazardous wastes, or the discharge of CFCs into our atmosphere,
the United States, on our own and more and more in concert with other
nations, must make a clean environment a top priority. And what I've
done so far is show that this isn't talk -- we are taking action, and
incidentally -- maybe some of you saw it -- this morning I talked to
the astronauts -- the Discovery group up there in outer space, and
the need to act -- for us to all act on the environment -- was
brought home to me again today when in the Oval Office I found myself
talking to that space ship and hearing from the crew that from their
very special vantage point, looking down on planet Earth, the need
was very clear to those five people that we must protect the global
environment. (Applause.)
To prepare for the future, we must encourage and improve
education. We must recognize and reward excellence in education --
in our schools, our teachers, our students. My merit proposals for
teachers, schools, and our nation's best young science scholars will
reward the best and encourage others then to follow their example.
Our National Science Scholarships alone will provide 570 top students
up to $10,000 a year to attend the college of their choice.
And we can also strengthen our schools by introducing an
element of competition into education. Magnet schools give parents
and students the power to choose their schools and that will serve as
a powerful incentive for schools to improve their performance. This
has been tested and tried, and it works. And that's why I've urged
Congress to provide $100 million to help with the startup costs for
new magnet schools.
Preparing for the future means confronting the changing
ature of our society. What are we doing in the age of the single
arent and the two-career household to help the family survive and
prosper? I've called on Congress to adopt a set of child care
nitiatives aimed at strengthening the American family, giving
- 5 -
dollars, and the very day that that goes up there, the Congress --
one of the committees over there on the Senate side comes out -- or
the House side -- can't remember which -- comes out with a budget ten
times that much for the first year. And then they say what are we
going to do about getting the deficit under control? You've got to.
have some -- we've got to have some discipline in the Congress if
we're going to meet the deficit needs and still start to provide the
needs for the child care and other social causes that do -- should
really have a command on our resources.
To prepare for the future, we've got to map a national
security strategy that ensures our freedom and gives due weight to
each factor of change in the international scene. And that's the aim
of this series of these defense and policy reviews that I've
instructed my national security team to conduct. And some are saying
you'd better hurry up. You don't want Mr. Gorbachev to capture the
high ground with his speech at the United Nations, don't want him to
mold public opinion further in Europe. Far more important is that we
do a prudent review of our foreign policy, of our national security
requirements, and then, in concert with our allies, move forward. We
are prepared to lead this alliance, as the United States has in the
past, but I am not going to be pushed into speedy action because Mr.
Gorbachev gives a compelling speech at the United Nations, and I hope
the Soviets understand that. (Applause.)
So this is an American agenda for the long-term, and we
aren't going to clean up the environment, turn our education system
around, or create a more responsive business climate in one single
day. But, if we begin today and make steady progress, we will
succeed.
And in this kind of work, more is going on than meets the
eye -- or makes the headlines. The proof will come when we look back
from the year 2000. And I'm confident we will be able to look back
with pride on work we did to get ready for a new century --- provided
we look forward today. We must enter the 21st century as a strong
and trusted partner in the alliance of free nations and a front-line
leader in defense of freedom.
We must enter the 21st century as a productive, energetic
and innovative member of the global economy, second to none in the
technological competition that will determine economic leadership in
the decades ahead.
We must enter the 21st century as a nation whose people
enjoy freedom, opportunity, and equality of life that fulfills the
American promise -- a society that draws its strength from the
individual, the family, the community, and a government wise enough
to respect those institutions as the cornerstone of our democratic
system.
We've got work to do -- work that won't wait -- great
work to ensure that the next century now on the horizon will be the
American Century.
- 6 -
national security interest, as well as in the interest of freeing up
markets that I've talked about here earlier on, so it will be
priority. And I have a feeling that it is more apt to happen than
anytime since -- well, certainly in the last eight years that we've
watched it and followed it and run into snags. But I'm for it. The
administration is solid behind it. And the climate in Congress is
much better today for this.
And some of it is environmental, and much of it is that
people now realize we are becoming more and more dependent on foreign
oil -- it's getting close to 50 percent now. And most people, even
if they don't come from an oil-producing state or a hydrocarbon-
producing state, understand that that is not in the national interest
of the United States. So I'm optimistic about it.
I
Mr. President, could you comment on your feelings
about the future of NASA, particularly with respect to the space
station and a manned mission to Mars by the end of this century.
THE PRESIDENT: On the space station, I am strongly for
it. We have made -- taken the steps budget-wise to go forward on
that. I have not reached a conclusion on whether the next major
mission should be a manned mission to Mars, and so I'd have to say
that is -- it's not on hold, but we're asking the space council that
has been reconstituted or constituted now, to go -- come forward with
its recommendations.
The Vice President's chairing it. He'll be in Houston in
about two weeks from now. So no decision is made what happens beyond
the space station itself. And I will make that decision when I get
their recommendations. And I would have to say this as a word of
caution -- even though we've increased or requested that NASA's
budget be increased, there are constrained resources that I have to
deal with as President, and so I can't pledge instant commissioning
of this follow-on mission to Mars.
Q
Is the increased attention being given to the
private lives of public officials and candidates a good thing or a
bad thing for politics and government in this country?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, it's a -- I think there are
excesses. I think there are intrusions into people's private lives
that go beyond the public trust or go beyond one's ability to serve.
And I don't like the excesses.
And I think you all here know how I feel about the recent
proceedings regarding Senator Tower -- didn't like that because I
think it was unfair. I don't think it is fair to a man who has been
in public life and has served his country with honor to be tried by
perception and rumor. That is not the American way. (Applause.)
And people say to me, well, didn't it drag your administration down
to stand with Senator Tower? The answer is no, and I'm very pleased
the Senate Committee moved this morning on our new nominee, Dick
Cheney. But the answer is, I wasn't about to move away from John
- 7 -
Will we continue to rely on submarine-based nuclear defense?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, submarine-based nuclear defense is
and will continue to be a very important part of our deterrent.
There's no question about that. There is nothing going on in the
field of arms control thinking that would convince me to have
anything other than to preserve our technology and our ability to
deter war through preserving, strengthening that kind of defense.
In terms of the 600-ship Navy, it's a goal. I've been
for it, will continue to be for it. But I have to defer now to this
budget review and strategic review and administrative review that
I've tasked the Defense Department to come up with. And it's serious
business. They will report back soon, and then we'll have to make
our budget choices. And so I would have to defer answering how much
more will be done on a 600-ship Navy within the next budget cycle.
But as a goal, as an objective, I am for that. I believe naval power
is a significant deterrent to aggression.
I might say this inasmuch as that's the last question.
We've got 11 grandchildren, and I expect, looking at the age lines on
some of the men around here -- notice that one -- some of you may
have some grandchildren. When you get to be President, one of the
main concerns you have has got to be how do you feel about world
peace. What can you do to strengthen it? Are you optimistic or
pessimistic about the world moving away from confrontation towards
more peaceful resolution of problems?
We're in the process of reviews, as I said, and I've met
Mr. Gorbachev several times. I am convinced that I can say to our 11
grandchildren we have a real opportunity now to make this year 2000
and beyond that I was talking about more peaceful. The changes in
the Soviet Union are profound. Gorbachev himself will tell you when
you ask him about perestroika --- he said it'll never go back to the
way it was. Changes in China are profound. Barbara and I are just
back from there. It will never go back to the days when the Soviet
Union and China were in lock-step together.
But we're facing a challenge in the United States. We've
got to figure it out. We've got to measure Soviet intentions and
then move -- then come forward with proposals that will enhance the
peace for our kids and our grandkids.
)
But I wanted to leave you, my neighbors and friends, with
this thought: There is reason to be optimistic because of the
changes inside the Soviet Union and some of the changes that you're
seeing surface now in Eastern Europe. And you saw the relief of
regional tensions in Angola. Hopefully it will come to be brought to
bear in Central America. So I would say to you, my friends and
neighbors, if we do it right, if we keep strong and are not naive in
it, if we don't make drastic cuts in the security accounts of this
country, I think all of us can look forward over that horizon to a
much more peaceful world with the United States still in the
forefront of what's right for democracy and freedom.
Insert -Houster Speect Thus
from Richard Bueden
We're also working hard on a serious problem that all Texans are
acutely aware of -- that of the threat to our financial system
posed by the insolvent savings and loans. Less than three weeks
after taking office, I announced a comprehensive set of proposals
to enable us to control this problem. I am determined that we
must make the hard choices and face up to the need to reform our
system so that this problem will not be repeated ever again.
Nationwide, insolvent firms still in operation are incurring new
operating losses at a rate of more than $333 million per month --
that's about $3 million during the course of this luncheon.
These losses can be reduced, and I sent a bill to the Congress
more than three weeks ago that will allow us to put this terrible
problem behind us. It's a sound and comprehensive plan. I want
to see that Bill -- with its central provisions intact -- arrive
on my desk by May 1. There is not any excuse for further delay.
Once this legislation is enacted, we must turn our attention to
the careful and responsible handling of the assets of the failed
institutions, as well as to the complete protection of their
depositors. In this way we can ensure the least possible
disruption to local markets at the same time that overall costs
are minimized. Finally, we must also see to I that those
actions who have caused losses through and and criminal
placed they belong.
behind are investigated, bard where relent by pursued and
016168SS
Document No.
MASTERI
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
3/13/89
3/14/89 10:00 AM
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: THE FORUM CLUB OF HOUSTON
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE no comment
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
over phone
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
STUDDERT
BATES
UNTERMEYER
BREEDEN
WINSTON
CARD
ROGERS
CICCONI
PINKERTON
BOSKIN
DEMAREST
FITZWATER GRAY no comment,
over phone
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please forward any comments directly to Chriss Winston, Rm. 122,
x2930, no later than 10:00 AM, Tuesday, March 14, 1989, with an
info copy to my office. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
(McGroarty/Simon)
March 13, 1989
12:00 noon
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: 40 THE FORUM CLUB OF HOUSTON
HOUSTON, TEXAS
THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 1989
Thank you
They say that Texas is a state of mind, but
it's still good to set both feet down on Texas earth, to come
home to Houston.
I take great pride in what is happening here. After
difficult times, Houston has turned the corner. I've checked the
statistics, and they're impressive: 250 new companies each
month, 96,000 new jobs in the area in the past two years, and
(305min)
your unemployment rate is less almost than half what it was just three two (BOSIC.)
years ago. And best of all, the new Houston is being built upon
a broad economic base.
And I am especially pleased to be back at the Forum Club,
which has contributed so much to public debate on the important
issues of the day. ( (By the way, I came to Houston to share the
good news with you because they've already heard it to in Lubbock.) )
(STUD)
home
I've come to Texas to tell you we're hard at work in
Washington -- and we're making progress.
We're working to drive down the deficit. We can bring
federal spending under control -- and into balance with our
resources. We can stay on track to meet the Gramm-Rudman target
-- and we can do it with no new taxes.
The key a workable budget, like the one I
tobuilding is realistic a better (merica) and
sent to Congress seven weeks ago, the one that even the
(Pink)
Congressional Budget Office now says will meet the Gramm-Rudman
target
We're working to clean up insolvent savings and loans -- and
to clean up the S&L system, so that the questionable practices
and outright illegalities that caused the current crisis won't
happen again.
We're working now on a plan that will help developing
nations cope with the burden of debt -- a solution that promotes
growth and stability in world markets.
And we're waging the war on drug-abuse on every front: more
effective education and awareness efforts to dry up demand for
illegal drugs, and tougher law enforcement and interdiction to
cut off suppliers, and put the dealers behind bars -- where they
belong.
min wase)
These are serious challenges -- ticking time bombs that we
need to defuse without delay. And we're doing just that.
But these are by no means the only issues that demand
leadership and prompt action. Leadership is more that
crisis-management. It's more than dealing with the problems of
the day -- no matter how urgent they are.
(STUD)
The true test of leadership is knowing where we want to take
the country -- and taking the steps today to get us there.
That's working for the long term, for a payoff we won't see
today or tomorrow -- but ten and twenty years from now.
3
those
For people my age -- and for people a good deal younger
It
was
where
the 21st Century has been the place we put all the fantastic
ideas, all the discoveries and inventions we couldn't dream of
experiencing in our own time. "The 21st Century" was just
another name for a future that seemed as distant as a voyage to
the moon.
Here in Houston, you we have a better sense of how we can cover
that distance, and transform a distant future into our destiny.
The truth is, the 21st Century isn't far away at all. I
graduated in the Class of '42. Our first graders today will be
Symnhish school,
the class of 2000.
meanly upon us and we are fored withouter teal an
The 21st Century is here. The question: is what are we are doing
allwecan today to prepare ourselves for the new world that begins eleven
short years from now.
That's what my agenda is all about.
Building a better America means Waying taking the the necessary
Soundations todal
steps today to build the foundations for the kind of future we
want.
Preparing for our future means investment -- in our economy
and in our schools. It means safeguarding the environment
against short-sighted actions that do long-term damage. It means
finding ways to preserve and strengthen indispensable
institutions like the family in the midst of social change. It
means taking a long-range look at the international landscape, to
determine what policies and approaches will keep us free,
prosperous and at peace in the 21st Century, as we are today.
4
These aren't minor matters or unimportant issues.
These are concerns that will determine what kind of world we
live in -- and whether we as a people live up to our American
ideals.
And they're at the center of my agenda for a new American
Century.
To prepare for the future, we've got to invest in our
economy: We've got to create incentives to for new investment, and
aggressive R&D programs that are catalysts to technological.
and I've asked the Congress to join WITH ME on THIS--
advance. We've got to cut the capital gains tax, to spur the
entrepreneurial activity that means new products, new industries
and new jobs. Free enterprise is the engine of growth that can
lead us into the next century. It's up to government to maintain
a climate that is hospitable to growth, competitiveness and
productive investment, one that gives free enterprise free rein.
To prepare for the future, we've got to protect our
environment. Whether we're talking about the disposal of nuclear
or other hazardous wastes, or the discharge of CFCs into our
atmosphere, the United States -- on our own and in concert with
other nations -- must make a clean environment a top priority. And
what I've done so far shows this isn't just talk -- I'm taking
action.
must excaurage and improve
To prepare for the future, we've got to focus on education.
must
We've got to recognize and reward excellence in education -- in
our schools, our teachers, and our students. My merit proposals --
for teachers, schools, and our nation's best young science
5
to
scholars -- will reward the best, and encourage others follow
their example. We can also strengthen our schools by introducing
an element of competition into education. Magnet schools give
the Dower
parents and students the power to choose their schools, and that
will serve as a powerful incentive for schools to improve their
performance.
mg
also
con
means
franking
To prepare for the future we've got to cope with the
our
changing nature of society. What are we doing in the age of the
the single-parent and the two-career household to help the family
survive and prosper?
I've called on Congress to adopt a set of child care
initiatives aimed at strengthening the American family --
especially low-income working households, where balancing the
responsibilities of work and family proves most difficult.
shot but And, of course, to prepare for the future, we've got ) to map
ensures our freedom and
a national security strategy that gives due weight to each factor
of change in international scene. That's the aim of the series
of defense and foreign policy reviews I've instructed my national
security team to conduct.
We have to understand that this is an AMERICAN agenda for the
long-term. We aren't going to clean up the environment, turn
around
around our education system, create a more responsive business
if we
climate or work environment in a single day. But we must begin
we will
today, and make steady progress in order to succeed.
In this kind of work, more is going on than meets the eye --
or makes the headlines. The proof will come when we look back
6
from the year 2000. And I'm confident that we will be able to
look back with pride on work we did to get ready for a new
Century -- provided we look forward today.
-- We can enter the 21st Century as a strong and trusted
partner in the alliance of free nation, a front-line leader in
defense of freedom.
--
We can enter the 21st Century as a productive, energetic and
innovative member of the global economy, second to none in the
technological competition that will determine economic leadership
in the decades ahead.
--
We can enter the 21st Century as a nation whose people enjoy
a degree of freedom, opportunity, and a quality of life that
fulfills the American promise -- a society that draws its
strength from the individual, the family, the community, and a
government wise enough to respect those institutions as the
cornerstone of our democratic system.
We've got work to do -- work that won't wait -- great work
to ensure that the next century now on the horizon will be a new
American Century.
Thank you.
# # #
fe
Insert for Speech to
Independent Insurance Agents of America
Houston
On February 6, in the first days of my Presidency, I spoke
to the American people concerning a problem of historic
dimensions -- the enormous difficulties of our savings and loan
institutions. With more than $1 trillion in assets, these
savings institutions are an important element of both our
financial system and our national commitment to housing. Sadly,
for more than a decade troubles in the industry have grown.
Today there are hundreds of savings and loans that are insolvent
and losing money at a rate estimated at as much as $40 million
each and every day
Almost three weeks ago my Administration sent to the
Congress a 333-page bill that will allow us to stop a significant
portion of the ongoing losses. Because of the extraordinary and
unnecessary costs of this problem, I called on the Congress to
enact the necessary legislation in 45 days. That request for
quick action is based on my belief that extraordinary situations
such as this demand extraordinary efforts of our government
With the losses that must ultimately be paid continuing to mount
by the day, the price of delay is simply unacceptable.
Key members in both Houses have been working to move this
legislation. Consequently, I am prepared to give Congress the
benefit of the doubt, and to seek action within 45 working days,
or April 26. Therefore, I challenge Congress to match the speed
my Administration has shown in attacking this serious problem
head-on.
This legislation is fair and balanced, and it will protect
the American public from further unjustifiable losses. We intend
to make good on the guarantee of deposits at these institutions,
and to reform the regulatory system SO that this terrible
situation will not be repeated. We also will move vigorously
against those who have looted and defrauded insured institutions.
For the future, I am determined that standards of integrity,
prudence and financial strength should be the hallmarks of
insured institutions. Insolvent firms need not apply for the
right to hold the deposits of the American public. The rule must
be, put your own money at risk, or don't expect the taxpayers to
cover your bets.
These proposals are designed to restore our system to a
safe, sound and stable condition from which to continue serving
the American public. Above all, the American public is entitled
to demand that the abusive practices of the past will not be
allowed to reoccur.
(McGroarty/Simon)
March 15, 1989
3:30 pm
5:00
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS:
THE FORUM CLUB OF HOUSTON
HOUSTON, TEXAS
THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 1989
( (Thank you, Dick for that introduction, and I must thank
you and Dick Johnson for putting this "little" lunch together.) )
They say that Texas is a state of mind, but it's still good
to set both feet down on Texas earth, to come home to Houston.
I am pleased to be back at the Forum Club, which has
contributed so much to public debate on the important issues of
the day. I'm glad that Bob Mosbacher is with me -- a past
president of the Forum Club, now handling the tough assignment at
Commerce -- and not surprisingly, doing a superb job.
I take great pride in what is happening here. After
difficult times, Houston has turned the corner. I've checked the
statistics, and they're impressive: 280 new companies last
month, nearly 90,000 new jobs in the area in the past two years,
and your unemployment rate is almost half what it was just two
years ago. And best of all, the new Houston is being built upon
a broad economic base.
I've come home to Texas to tell you we're hard at work in
Washington -- and we're making progress. ( (By the way, I came to
Houston to share the good news with you because they've already
heard it in Lubbock.) )
2
We're working to drive down the deficit. We can bring
federal spending under control -- and into balance with our
resources. Under our budget, we'll have $80 billion dollars in
new revenue for 1990. We can stay on track to meet the
Gramm-Rudman target -- and we can do it with no new taxes.
The key to building a better America is a realistic and
workable budget, like the one I sent to Congress seven weeks ago.
We're working now on a plan that will help developing
nations cope with the burden of debt -- a solution that promotes
growth and stability in world markets.
We're waging a war on drug-abuse on every front: more
effective education and awareness efforts to dry up demand for
illegal drugs, and tougher law enforcement and interdiction to
cut off suppliers, and put the dealers behind bars -- where they
belong.
We're working to establish a six-month training wage, as
part of a package raising the minimum wage from $3.35 to $4.25 an
hour. $4.25 is my first -- and last -- offer. Anything higher
will actually cost us jobs, by raising costs for many employers,
and will have an adverse affect on inflation and productivity. A
training wage does just the opposite -- providing those now
jobless -- especially for youth and minorities -- a hand-hold on
the economic ladder, a means of moving up.
And we're working hard on a serious problem all Texans are
aware of -- the threat to our financial system posed by insolvent
savings and loans. Less than three weeks after taking office, I
3
announced a comprehensive set of proposals to take effective
action on this problem. We must clean up the S&L system, so that
the questionable practices and outright illegalities that caused
the current crisis won't happen again.
Nationwide, insolvent S&Ls still in operation are incurring
operating losses at a rate of about $300 million dollars a month
that's more than $2 million dollars during the course of this
luncheon. Three weeks ago, I sent the Congress a bill that will
enable us to take action to halt the dollar drain, and move
forward on stabilizing our S&L system. It's a sound and
comprehensive plan -- and it has been well received. I want to
see that bill passed with its central provisions intact. There's
no excuse for further delay.
Once the legislation is enacted, we must turn our attention
to careful and responsible handling of the assets of failed S&Ls.
Let me be clear on a key point: Insured depositors are not at
risk. They are fully protected, and will continue to be fully
protected.
Our solution must ensure the least possible disruption to
local markets -- and at the same time keep costs to a minimum.
And let me say clearly: we must see to it that those S&L
officials guilty of criminal actions are pursued and punished for
the losses they have caused.
These are serious challenges -- ticking time bombs that we
need to defuse without delay. And we're doing just that.
4
But these are by no means the only issues that demand
leadership and prompt action. We're entering the 1990s -- a
Horizon Decade -- threshold to a new century.
For people my age -- and for people a good deal younger --
the 21st Century has been the place in our minds that we put all
the fantastic ideas, all the discoveries and inventions we
couldn't dream of experiencing in our own time. "The 21st
Century" was just another name for a future that seemed as
distant as a voyage to the moon.
Here in Houston, we have a better sense of how we can cover
that distance, and transform a distant future into our destiny.
The truth is, the 21st Century isn't far away at all. I
graduated from high school in the Class of '42. Our first
graders today will be the class of 2000.
The 21st Century is here -- in our children. The essential
question today is: what are we doing to prepare for the new
world that begins eleven short years from now?
That's what my agenda is all about.
Building a better America means laying the foundations today
for the kind of future we want.
Preparing for our future means investment -- in our economy
and in our schools. It means safeguarding the environment
against short-sighted actions that do long-term damage. It means
finding ways to preserve and strengthen indispensable
institutions like the family in the midst of social change. It
means taking a long-range look at the international landscape, to
5
determine what policies and approaches will keep us free,
prosperous and at peace in the 21st Century, as we are today.
And speaking of freedom, it means formulating a multi-source
energy policy that, in the long run, will make us less dependent
on foreign oil
These aren't minor matters or unimportant issues.
These are concerns that will determine what kind of world we
live in -- and whether we as a people live up to our American
ideals.
And they're at the center of my agenda for a new American
Century.
To prepare for the future, we've got to invest in our
economy: We've got to create incentives for new investment, and
aggressive R&D programs that are catalysts to technological
advance. I've called for a permanent R & E -- research and
experimentation -- tax credit to create that incentive and a 13%
increase in federally funded science research.
We've got to cut the capital gains tax -- and I've asked the
Congress to join with me on this -- to spur the entrepreneurial
activity that means new products, new industries and new jobs.
Free enterprise is the engine of growth that can lead us into the
next century. It's up to government to maintain a climate that
is hospitable to growth, competitiveness and productive
investment, one that gives free enterprise free rein. And by the
way, my proposal on restoring the capital gains tax differential
6
will add $4.8 billion dollars in new revenues to the Treasury in
1990 alone.
To prepare for the future, we've got to protect our
environment. Whether we're talking about the disposal of nuclear
or other hazardous wastes, or the discharge of CFCs into our
atmosphere, the United States -- on our own and in concert with
other nations -- must make a clean environment a top priority.
And what I've done so far shows this isn't just talk -- I'm
taking action.
To prepare for the future, we must encourage and improve
education. We must recognize and reward excellence in education
-- in our schools, our teachers, our students. My merit
proposals -- for teachers, schools, and our nation's best young
science scholars -- will reward the best, and encourage others to
follow their example. Our National Science Scholarships alone
will provide 570 top students up to $10,000 a year to attend the
college of their choice.
We can also strengthen our schools by introducing an element
of competition into education. Magnet schools give parents and
students the power to choose their schools, and that will serve
as a powerful incentive for schools to improve their performance.
That's why I've urged Congress to provide $100 million to help
with the start-up costs for new magnet schools.
Preparing for the future means confronting the changing
nature of our society. What are we doing in the age of the
7
single-parent and the two-career household to help the family
survive and prosper?
I've called on Congress to adopt a set of child care
initiatives aimed at strengthening the American family -- and
giving parents a choice. I don't want federal regulators to push
churches and private groups out of the child care business. Our
1990 budget requests a 20% increase in funding for our successful
Head Start program, and institutes this new Child Care Tax Credit
for low-income households, to make balancing the responsibilities
of work and family less difficult.
And, of course, to prepare for the future, we've got to map
a national security strategy that ensures our freedom, and gives
due weight to each factor of change in the international scene.
That's the aim of the series of defense and foreign policy
reviews I've instructed my national security team to conduct.
This is an American agenda for the long-term. We aren't
going to clean up the environment, turn our education system
around, or create a more responsive business climate in a single
day. But if we begin today, and make steady progress, we will
succeed.
In this kind of work, more is going on than meets the eye --
or makes the headlines. The proof will come when we look back
from the year 2000. And I'm confident that we will be able to
look back with pride on work we did to get ready for a new
Century -- provided we look forward today.
8
--
We must enter the 21st century as a strong and trusted
partner in the alliance of free nations, a front-line leader in
defense of freedom.
--
We must enter the 21st century as a productive, energetic
and innovative member of the global economy, second to none in
the technological competition that will determine economic
leadership in the decades ahead.
--
We must enter the 21st century as a nation whose people
enjoy freedom, opportunity, and a quality of life that fulfills
the American promise -- a society that draws its strength from
the individual, the family, the community, and a government wise
enough to respect those institutions as the cornerstone of our
democratic system.
We've got work to do -- work that won't wait -- great work
to ensure that the next century now on the horizon will be a new
American Century.
Thank you very much. ((And now, unless that was all
perfectly clear to all of you, I'll take some questions.) )
# # #
(McGroarty/Simon)
March 14, 1989
7:30 pm
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS:
THE FORUM CLUB OF HOUSTON
HOUSTON, TEXAS
THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 1989
Thank you
They say that Texas is a state of mind, but
it's still good to set both feet down on Texas earth, to come
home to Houston.
I take great pride in what is happening here. After
difficult times, Houston has turned the corner. I've checked the
statistics, and they're impressive: 250 new companies each
month, nearly 90,000 new jobs in the area in the past two years,
and your unemployment rate is almost half what it was just two
years ago. And best of all, the new Houston is being built upon
a broad economic base.
And I am pleased to be back at the Forum Club, which has
contributed so much to public debate on the important issues of
the day. While Jim Baker was unable to make the trip, I have
brought along Bob Mosbacher, past president of the Forum Club,
now handling the tough assignment at Commerce.
I've come home to Texas to tell you we're hard at work in
Washington -- and we're making progress. ((By the way, I came to
Houston to share the good news with you because they've already
heard it in Lubbock.) )
2
We're working to drive down the deficit. We can bring
federal spending under control -- and into balance with our
resources. We can stay on track to meet the Gramm-Rudman target
-- and we can do it with no new taxes.
The key to building a better America is a realistic and
workable budget, like the one I sent to Congress seven weeks ago.
We're working now on a plan that will help developing
nations cope with the burden of debt -- a solution that promotes
growth and stability in world markets.
We're waging a war on drug-abuse on every front: more
effective education and awareness efforts to dry up demand for
illegal drugs, and tougher law enforcement and interdiction to
cut off suppliers, and put the dealers behind bars -- where they
belong.
We're working to establish a six-month training wage, as
part of a package raising the minimum wage to $4.25 an hour.
$4.25 is my first -- and last -- offer. Anything higher will
actually cost us jobs, by raising costs to many employers. A
training wage does just the opposite -- providing those now
jobless -- especially for youth and minorities -- a hand-hold on
the economic ladder, and a means of moving up.
And we're working hard on a serious problem all Texans are
aware of --- the threat to our financial system posed by insolvent
savings and loans. Less than three weeks after taking office, I
announced a comprehensive set of proposals to take effective
action on this problem. We must clean up the S&L system, so that
3
the questionable practices and outright illegalities that caused
the current crisis won't happen again.
Nationwide, insolvent S&Ls still in operation incur
operating losses at a rate of more than $333 million a month --
that's about $3 million dollars during the course of this
luncheon. Three weeks ago, I sent the Congress a bill that will
enable us to take action to halt the dollar drain, and move
forward on stabilizing our S&L system. It's a sound and
comprehensive plan. I want to see that bill passed with its
central provisions intact. There's no excuse for further delay.
Once the legislation is enacted, we must turn our attention
to careful and responsible handling of the assets of filed S&Ls
-- and to the complete protection of their depositors. Our
solution must ensure the least possible disruption to local
markets -- at the same time it keeps costs to a minimum. And let
me say clearly: we must see to it that those S&L officials
guilty of criminal actions are pursued and punished for the
losses they have caused.
These are serious challenges -- ticking time bombs that we
need to defuse without delay. And we're doing just that.
But these are by no means the only issues that demand
leadership and prompt action. Leadership is more than
crisis-management. It's more than dealing with the problems of
the day -- no matter how urgent they are.
4
The true test of leadership is knowing where to take the
country -- and taking the steps today to get us there.
That's working for the long term, for a payoff we won't see
today or tomorrow -- but ten and twenty years from now.
For people my age -- and for people a good deal younger --
the 21st Century has been the place we put all the fantastic
ideas, all the discoveries and inventions we couldn't dream of
experiencing in our own time. "The 21st Century" was just
another name for a future that seemed as distant as a voyage to
the moon.
Here in Houston, we have a better sense of how we can cover
that distance, and transform a distant future into our destiny.
The truth is, the 21st Century isn't far away at all. I
graduated from high school in the Class of '42. Our first
graders today will be the class of 2000.
The 21st Century is here. The essential question today is:
what are we doing to prepare for the new world that begins eleven
short years from now?
That's what my agenda is all about.
Building a better America means laying the foundations today
for the kind of future we want.
Preparing for our future means investment -- in our economy
and in our schools. It means safeguarding the environment
against short-sighted actions that do long-term damage. It means
finding ways to preserve and strengthen indispensable
institutions like the family in the midst of social change. It
5
means taking a long-range look at the international landscape, to
determine what policies and approaches will keep us free,
prosperous and at peace in the 21st Century, as we are today.
These aren't minor matters or unimportant issues.
These are concerns that will determine what kind of world we
live in -- and whether we as a people live up to our American
ideals.
And they're at the center of my agenda for a new American
Century.
To prepare for the future, we've got to invest in our
economy: We've got to create incentives for new investment, and
aggressive R&D programs that are catalysts to technological
advance. I've called for a permanent R & E -- research and
experimentation -- tax credit to create that incentive and a 13%
increase in federally funded science research.
We've got to cut the capital gains tax -- and I've asked the
Congress to join with me on this -- to spur the entrepreneurial
activity that means new products, new industries and new jobs.
Free enterprise is the engine of growth that can lead us into the
next century. It's up to government to maintain a climate that
is hospitable to growth, competitiveness and productive
investment, one that gives free enterprise free rein.
To prepare for the future, we've got to protect our
environment. Whether we're talking about the disposal of nuclear
or other hazardous wastes, or the discharge of CFCs into our
atmosphere, the United States -- on our own and in concert with
6
other nations -- must make a clean environment a top priority.
And what I've done so far shows this isn't just talk -- I'm
taking action.
To prepare for the future, we must encourage and improve
education. We must recognize and reward excellence in education
-- in our schools, our teachers, our students. My merit
proposals -- for teachers, schools, and our nation's best young
science scholars -- will reward the best, and encourage others to
follow their example. Our National Science Scholarships alone
will provide 570 top students up to $10,000 a year to attend the
college of their choice.
We can also strengthen our schools by introducing an element
of competition into education. Magnet schools give parents and
students the power to choose their schools, and that will serve
as a powerful incentive for schools to improve their performance.
That's why I've urged Congress to provide $100 million to help
with the start-up costs for new magnet schools.
Preparing for the future means confronting the changing
nature of our society. What are we doing in the age of the
single-parent and the two-career household to help the family
survive and prosper?
I've called on Congress to adopt a set of child care
initiatives aimed at strengthening the American family --
especially low-income working households, where balancing the
responsibilities of work and family proves most difficult. Our
1990 budget requests a 20% increase in funding for our successful
7
Head Start program, and institutes a new Child Care Tax Credit
for low-income families.
And, of course, to prepare for the future, we've got to map
a national security strategy that ensures our freedom, and gives
due weight to each factor of change in international scene.
That's the aim of the series of defense and foreign policy
reviews I've instructed my national security team to conduct.
This is an American agenda for the long-term. We aren't
going to clean up the environment, turn our education system
around, or create a more responsive business climate in a single
day. But if we begin today, and make steady progress, we will
succeed.
In this kind of work, more is going on than meets the eye ---
or makes the headlines. The proof will come when we look back
from the year 2000. And I'm confident that we will be able to
look back with pride on work we did to get ready for a new
Century -- provided we look forward today.
:
We can enter the 21st century as a strong and trusted
partner in the alliance of free nations, a front-line leader in
defense of freedom.
--
We can enter the 21st century as a productive, energetic and
innovative member of the global economy, second to none in the
technological competition that will determine economic leadership
in the decades ahead.
--
We can enter the 21st century as a nation whose people enjoy
freedom, opportunity, and a quality of life that fulfills the
8
American promise -- a society that draws its strength from the
individual, the family, the community, and a government wise
enough to respect those institutions as the cornerstone of our
democratic system.
We've got work to do -- work that won't wait -- great work
to ensure that the next century now on the horizon will be a new
American Century.
Thank you.
###
016168SS
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
3/14/89 10:00 AM
3/13/89
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: THE FORUM CLUB OF HOUSTON
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
STUDDERT
BATES
UNTERMEYER
BREEDEN
WINSTON
CARD
ROGERS
CICCONI
PINKERTON
BOSKIN
DEMAREST
FITZWATER
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Red too this to Chies
Please forward any comments directly to Chriss Winston, Rm. 122,
x2930, no later than 10:00 AM, Tuesday, March 14, 1989, with an
info copy to my office. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
Pudts add section on minimum wage.
add Bah mosbacher he was a farmer Prindut of this group
James W. Cicconi
add more specifies to what in hing and Assistant to the the Chief President
Deputy to of Staff
done on our specific programs.
Ext. 2702
(McGroarty/Simon)
March 13, 1989
12:00 noon
49
THE FORUM CLUB OF HOUSTON
HOUSTON, TEXAS
THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 1989
Thank you
They say that Texas is a state of mind, but
it's still good to set both feet down on Texas earth, to come
home to Houston.
I take great pride in what is happening here. After
difficult times, Houston has turned the corner. I've checked the
statistics, and they're impressive: 250 new companies each
month, 95,000 new jobs in the area in the past two years, and
your unemployment rate is less than half what it was just three
years ago. And best of all, the new Houston is being built upon
a broad economic base.
And I am especially pleased to be back at the Forum Club,
which has contributed so much to public debate on the important
issues of the day. ((By the way, I came to Houston to share the
good news with you because they've already heard it to Lubbock.))
I've come to Texas to tell you we're hard at work in
Washington -- and we're making progress.
We're working to drive down the deficit. We can bring
federal spending under control -- and into balance with our
resources. We can stay on track to meet the Gramm-Rudman target
-- and we can do it with no new taxes.
2
The key is a realistic and workable budget, like the one I
sent to Congress seven weeks ago -- the one that even the
Congressional Budget Office now says will meet the Gramm-Rudman
target.
We're working to clean up insolvent savings and loans -- and
to clean up the S&L system, so that the questionable practices
and outright illegalities that caused the current crisis won't
happen again.
We're working now on a plan that will help developing
nations cope with the burden of debt -- a solution that promotes
growth and stability in world markets.
And we're waging the war on drug-abuse on every front: more
effective education and awareness efforts to dry up demand for
illegal drugs, and tougher law enforcement and interdiction to
cut off suppliers, and put the dealers behind bars -- where they
belong.
These are serious challenges -- ticking time bombs that we
need to defuse without delay. And we're doing just that.
But these are by no means the only issues that demand
leadership and prompt action. Leadership is more that
crisis-management. It's more than dealing with the problems of
the day -- no matter how urgent they are.
The true test of leadership is knowing where we want to take
the country -- and taking the steps today to get us there.
That's working for the long term, for a payoff we won't see
today or tomorrow -- but ten and twenty years from now.
3
For people my age -- and for people a good deal younger --
the 21st Century has been the place we put all the fantastic
ideas, all the discoveries and inventions we couldn't dream of
experiencing in our own time. "The 21st Century" was just
another name for a future that seemed as distant as a voyage to
the moon.
Here in Houston, you have a better sense of how we can cover
that distance, and transform a distant future into our destiny.
The truth is, the 21st Century isn't far away at all. I
graduated in the Class of '42. Our first graders today will be
the class of 2000.
The 21st Century is here. The question is what we are doing
today to prepare ourselves for the new world that begins eleven
short years from now.
That's what my agenda is all about.
Building a better America means taking the the necessary
steps today to build the foundations for the kind of future we
want.
Preparing for our future means investment -- in our economy
and in our schools. It means safeguarding the environment
against short-sighted actions that do long-term damage. It means
finding ways to preserve and strengthen indispensable
institutions like the family in the midst of social change. It
means taking a long-range look at the international landscape, to
determine what policies and approaches will keep us free,
prosperous and at peace in the 21st Century, as we are today.
4
These aren't minor matters or unimportant issues.
These are concerns that will determine what kind of world we
live in -- and whether we as a people live up to our American
ideals.
And they're at the center of my agenda for a new American
Century.
To prepare for the future, we've got to invest in our
economy: We've got to create incentives to new investment, and
aggressive R&D programs that are catalysts to technological
advance. We've got to cut the capital gains tax, to spur the
entrepreneurial activity that means new products, new industries
and new jobs. Free enterprise is the engine of growth that can
lead us into the next century. It's up to government to maintain
a climate that is hospitable to growth, competitiveness and
productive investment, one that gives free enterprise free rein.
To prepare for the future, we've got to protect our
environment. Whether we're talking about the disposal of nuclear
or other hazardous wastes, or the discharge of CFCs into our
atmosphere, the United States -- on our own and in concert with
other nations -- must make a clean environment a priority. And
what I've done so far shows this isn't just talk -- I'm taking
action.
To prepare for the future, we've got to focus on education.
We've got to recognize and reward excellence in education -- in
our schools, our teachers, our students. My merit proposals --
for teachers, schools, and our nation's best young science
5
scholars -- will reward the best, and encourage others follow
their example. We can also strengthen our schools by introducing
an element of competition into education. Magnet schools give
parents and students the power to choose their schools, and that
will serve as a powerful incentive for schools to improve their
performance.
To prepare for the future, we've got to cope with the
changing nature of society. What are we doing in the age of the
the single-parent and the two-career household to help the family
survive and prosper?
I've called on Congress to adopt a set of child care
initiatives aimed at strengthening the American family --
especially low-income working households, where balancing the
responsibilities of work and family proves most difficult.
And, of course, to prepare for the future, we've got to map
a national security strategy that gives due weight to each factor
of change in international scene. That's the aim of the series
of defense and foreign policy reviews I've instructed my national
security team to conduct.
We have to understand that this is an agenda for the
long-term. We aren't going to clean up the environment, turn
around our education system, create a more responsive business
climate or work environment in a single day. But we must begin
today, and make steady progress -- in order to succeed.
In this kind of work, more is going on than meets the eye --
or makes the headlines. The proof will come when we look back
6
from the year 2000. And I'm confident that we will be able to
look back with pride on work we did to get ready for a new
Century -- provided we look forward today.
-- We can enter the 21st Century as a strong and trusted
partner in the alliance of free nation, a front-line leader in
defense of freedom.
-- We can enter the 21st Century as a productive, energetic and
innovative member of the global economy, second to none in the
technological competition that will determine economic leadership
in the decades ahead.
--
We can enter the 21st Century as a nation whose people enjoy
a degree of freedom, opportunity, and a quality of life that
fulfills the American promise -- a society that draws its
strength from the individual, the family, the community, and a
government wise enough to respect those institutions as the
cornerstone of our democratic system.
We've got work to do -- work that won't wait -- great work
to ensure that the next century now on the horizon will be a new
American Century.
Thank you.
###
(McGroarty/Simon)
March 13, 1989
12:00 noon
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS:
THE FORUM CLUB OF HOUSTON
HOUSTON, TEXAS
THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 1989
Thank you
They say that Texas is a state of mind, but
it's still good to set both feet down on Texas earth, to come
home to Houston.
I take great pride in what is happening here. After
difficult times, Houston has turned the corner. I've checked the
statistics, and they're 'impressive: 250 new companies each
month, 95,000 new jobs in the area in the past two years, and
your unemployment rate is less than half what it was just three
years ago. And best of all, the new Houston is being built upon
a broad economic base.
And I am especially pleased to be back at the Forum Club,
which has contributed so much to public debate on the important
issues of the day. ((By the way, I came to Houston to share the
good news with you because they've already heard it to Lubbock.))
I've come to Texas to tell you we're hard at work in
Washington -- and we're making progress.
We're working to drive down the deficit. We can bring
federal spending under control -- and into balance with our
resources. We can stay on track to meet the Gramm-Rudman target
-- and we can do it with no new taxes.
2
The key is a realistic and workable budget, like the one I
sent to Congress seven weeks ago -- the one that even the
Congressional Budget Office now says will meet the Gramm-Rudman
target.
We're working to clean up insolvent savings and loans -- and
to clean up the S&L system, so that the questionable practices
and outright illegalities that caused the current crisis won't
happen again.
We're working now on a plan that will help developing
nations cope with the burden of debt -- a solution that promotes
growth and stability in world markets.
And we're waging the war on drug-abuse on every front: more
effective education and awareness efforts to dry up demand for
illegal drugs, and tougher law enforcement and interdiction to
cut off suppliers, and put the dealers behind bars -- where they
belong.
These are serious challenges -- ticking time bombs that we
need to defuse without delay. And we're doing just that.
But these are by no means the only issues that demand
leadership and prompt action. Leadership is more that
crisis-management. It's more than dealing with the problems of
the day -- no matter how urgent they are.
The true test of leadership is knowing where we want to take
the country -- and taking the steps today to get us there.
That's working for the long term, for a payoff we won't see
today or tomorrow -- but ten and twenty years from now.
3
For people my age -- and for people a good deal younger --
the 21st Century has been the place we put all the fantastic
ideas, all the discoveries and inventions we couldn't dream of
experiencing in our own time. "The 21st Century" was just
another name for a future that seemed as distant as a voyage to
the moon.
Here in Houston, you have a better sense of how we can cover
that distance, and transform a distant future into our destiny.
The truth is, the 21st Century isn't far away at all. I
graduated in the Class of '42. Our first graders today will be
the class of 2000.
The 21st Century is here. The question is what we are doing
today to prepare ourselves for the new world that begins eleven
short years from now.
That's what my agenda is all about.
Building a better America means taking the the necessary
steps today to build the foundations for the kind of future we
want.
Preparing for our future means investment -- in our economy
and in our schools. It means safeguarding the environment
against short-sighted actions that do long-term damage. It means
finding ways to preserve and strengthen indispensable
institutions like the family in the midst of social change. It
means taking a long-range look at the international landscape, to
determine what policies and approaches will keep us free,
prosperous and at peace in the 21st Century, as we are today.
4
These aren't minor matters or unimportant issues.
These are concerns that will determine what kind of world we
live in -- and whether we as a people live up to our American
ideals.
And they're at the center of my agenda for a new American
Century.
To prepare for the future, we've got to invest in our
economy: We've got to create incentives to new investment, and
aggressive R&D programs that are catalysts to technological
advance. We've got to cut the capital gains tax, to spur the
entrepreneurial activity that means new products, new industries
and new jobs. Free enterprise is the engine of growth that can
lead us into the next century. It's up to government to maintain
a climate that is hospitable to growth, competitiveness and
productive investment, one that gives free enterprise free rein.
To prepare for the future, we've got to protect our
environment. Whether we're talking about the disposal of nuclear
or other hazardous wastes, or the discharge of CFCs into our
atmosphere, the United States -- on our own and in concert with
other nations -- must make a clean environment a priority. And
what I've done so far shows this isn't just talk -- I'm taking
action.
To prepare for the future, we've got to focus on education.
We've got to recognize and reward excellence in education -- in
our schools, our teachers, our students. My merit proposals --
for teachers, schools, and our nation's best young science
5
scholars -- will reward the best, and encourage others follow
their example. We can also strengthen our schools by introducing
an element of competition into education. Magnet schools give
parents and students the power to choose their schools, and that
will serve as a powerful incentive for schools to improve their
performance.
To prepare for the future, we've got to cope with the
changing nature of society. What are we doing in the age of the
the single-parent and the two-career household to help the family
survive and prosper?
I've called on Congress to adopt a set of child care
initiatives aimed at strengthening the American family --
especially low-income working households, where balancing the
responsibilities of work and family proves most difficult.
And, of course, to prepare for the future, we've got to map
a national security strategy that gives due weight to each factor
of change in international scene. That's the aim of the series
of defense and foreign policy reviews I've instructed my national
security team to conduct.
We have to understand that this is an agenda for the
long-term. We aren't going to clean up the environment, turn
around our education system, create a more responsive business
climate or work environment in a single day. But we must begin
today, and make steady progress -- in order to succeed.
In this kind of work, more is going on than meets the eye --
or makes the headlines. The proof will come when we look back
6
from the year 2000. And I'm confident that we will be able to
look back with pride on work we did to get ready for a new
Century -- provided we look forward today.
-- We can enter the 21st Century as a strong and trusted
partner in the alliance of free nation, a front-line leader in
defense of freedom.
--
We can enter the 21st Century as a productive, energetic and
innovative member of the global economy, second to none in the
technological competition that will determine economic leadership
in the decades ahead.
--
We can enter the 21st Century as a nation whose people enjoy
a degree of freedom, opportunity, and a quality of life that
fulfills the American promise -- a society that draws its
strength from the individual, the family, the community, and a
government wise enough to respect those institutions as the
cornerstone of our democratic system.
We've got work to do -- work that won't wait -- great work
to ensure that the next century now on the horizon will be a new
American Century.
Thank you.
# # #
Response to Gov Summe
comments; pp 5-6-7.
5
means taking a long-range look at the international landscape, to
determine what policies and approaches will keep us free,
prosperous and at peace in the 21st Century, as we are today.
These aren't minor matters or unimportant issues.
These are concerns that will determine what kind of world we
live in -- and whether we as a people live up to our American
ideals.
And they're at the center of my agenda for a new American
Century.
To prepare for the future, we've got to invest in our
economy: We've got to create incentives for new investment, and
aggressive R&D programs that are catalysts to technological
and a
I've called for a permanent RUTE tax credit to create that incentive
advance. We've got to cut the capital gains tax -- and I've
13%
asked the Congress to join with me on this -- to spur the
vicrease
in
entrepreneurial activity that means new products, new industries
fedually
and new jobs. Free enterprise is the engine of growth that can
funded
lead us into the next century. It's up to government to maintain
basic
a climate that is hospitable to growth, competitiveness and
Science
research,
productive investment, one that gives free enterprise free rein.
To prepare for the future, we've got to protect our
environment. Whether we're talking about the disposal of nuclear
or other hazardous wastes, or the discharge of CFCs into our
atmosphere, the United States -- on our own and in concert with
other nations -- must make a clean environment a top priority.
And what I've done so far shows this isn't just talk -- I'm
taking action.
Our National Schence Scholarship
alone will provide 570
6
top student up to 8,0,000
a year to attend the college of
To prepare for the future, we must encourage and improve then
choice
education. We must recognize and reward excellence in education
-- in our schools, our teachers, our students. My merit
proposals -- for teachers, schools, and our nation's best young
science scholars -- will reward the best, and encourage others to
follow their example. We can also strengthen our schools by
introducing an element of competition into education. Magnet
schools give parents and students the power to choose their
schools, and that will serve as a powerful incentive for schools
to improve their performance. That's why I 'ae unged Compress
to provide $100 million to help with starting corts of new Schools. Masuet
Preparing for the future means confronting the changing
nature of our society. What are we doing in the age of the the
single-parent and the two-career household to help the family
survive and prosper?
ayr1990 Oyr
I've called on Congress to adopt a set of child care
The called initiatives aimed at strengthening the American family --
budge requests
unglish on Cors.
especially low-income working households, where balancing the
to find
a 20%
responsibilities of work and family proves most difficult.
increase in funding And, of course, to prepare for the future, we've got to map
from successful national security strategy that ensures our freedom, and gives
Head Start due weight to each factor of change in international scene.
program, That's the aim of the series of defense and foreign policy
of
institutes reviews I've instructed my national security team to conduct.
a new
Child Carl
This is an American agenda for the long-term. We aren't
Tax
Credit
going to clean up the environment, turn our education system
for
around, or create a more responsive business climate in a single
low-iniome families.
7
day. But if we begin today, and make steady progress, we will
succeed.
In this kind of work, more is going on than meets the eye --
or makes the headlines. The proof will come when we look back
from the year 2000. And I'm confident that we will be able to
look back with pride on work we did to get ready for a new
Century -- provided we look forward today.
--
We can enter the 21st century as a strong and trusted
partner in the alliance of free nations, a front-line leader in
defense of freedom.
--
We can enter the 21st century as a productive, energetic and
innovative member of the global economy, second to none in the
technological competition that will determine economic leadership
in the decades ahead.
--
We can enter the 21st century as a nation whose people enjoy
freedom, opportunity, and a quality of life that fulfills the
American promise -- a society that draws its strength from the
individual, the family, the community, and a government wise
enough to respect those institutions as the cornerstone of our
democratic system.
We've got work to do -- work that won't wait -- great work
to ensure that the next century now on the horizon will be a new
American Century.
Thank you.
###
Revised
12:35 P.M.
3/14/89
March 14, 1989
MEMORANDUM FOR JIM CICCONI
FROM;
DENISE SCHWARZ
OFFICE OF CABINET AFFAIRS
SUBJECT;
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS; THE FORUM CLUB OF HOUSTON
LOG #016168SS
We have reviewed the attached and have no comments as of
10:30 a.m. today.
Attachment
CC: Chriss Winston
016168SS
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
3/13/89
3/14/89 10:00 AM
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: THE FORUM CLUB OF HOUSTON
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
STUDDERT
BATES
UNTERMEYER
BREEDEN
WINSTON
CARD
ROGERS
CICCONI
PINKERTON
DEMAREST
BOSKIN
FITZWATER
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please forward any comments directly to Chriss Winston, Rm. 122,
x2930, no later than 10:00 AM, Tuesday, March 14, 1989, with an
info copy to my office. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
(McGroarty/Simon)
March 13, 1989
12:00 noon
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS:
'.'
THE FORUM CLUB OF HOUSTON
HOUSTON, TEXAS
THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 1989
Thank you
They say that Texas is a state of mind, but
it's still good to set both feet down on Texas earth, to come
home to Houston.
I take great pride in what is happening here. After
difficult times, Houston has turned the corner. I've checked tl
statistics, and they're impressive: 250 new companies each
month, 95,000 new jobs in the area in the past two years, and
your unemployment rate is less than half what it was just three
years ago. And best of all, the new Houston is being built upor
a broad economic base.
And I am especially pleased to be back at the Forum Club,
which has contributed so much to public debate on the important
issues of the day. ((By the way, I came to Houston to share the
good news with you because they've already heard it to in Lubbock.)
I've come to Texas to tell you we're hard at work in
Washington -- and we're making progress.
We're working to drive down the deficit. We can bring
federal spending under control -- and into balance with our
resources. We can stay on track to meet the Gramm-Rudman Hollings. target
-- and we can do it with no new taxes.
2
The key is a realistic and workable budget, like the one I
sent to Congress seven weeks ago -- the one that even the
Congressional Budget Office now says will meet the Gramm-Rudman
target.
We're working to clean up insolvent savings and loans -- an
to clean up the S&L system, so that the questionable practices
and outright illegalities that caused the current crisis won't
happen again.
We're working now on a plan that will help developing
nations cope with the burden of debt -- a solution that promotes
growth and stability in world markets.
And we're waging the war on drug-abuse on every front: mor
effective education and awareness efforts to dry up demand for
illegal drugs, and tougher law enforcement and interdiction to
cut off suppliers, and put the dealers behind bars -- where they
belong.
These are serious challenges -- ticking time bombs that we
need to defuse without delay. And we're doing just that.
But these are by no means the only issues that demand
leadership and prompt action. Leadership is more that than.
crisis-management. It's more than dealing with the problems of
the day -- no matter how urgent they are.
The true test of leadership is knowing where we want to tak
the country -- and taking the steps today to get us there.
That's working for the long term, for a payoff we won't see
today or tomorrow -- but ten and twenty years from now.
3
For people my age -- and for people a good deal younger --
the 21st Century has been the place we put all the fantastic
ideas, all the discoveries and inventions we couldn't dream of
experiencing in our own time. "The 21st Century" was just
another name for a future that seemed as distant as a voyage to
the moon.
Here in Houston, you have a better sense of how we can cove:
that distance, and transform a distant future into our destiny.
The truth is, the 21st Century isn't far away at all. I
one college
graduated in the Class of '42. Our first graders today will be
other High
the class of 2000.
School
poor analogy
The 21st Century is here. The question is what we are doin
today to prepare ourselves for the new world that begins eleven
short years from now.
That's what my agenda is all about.
Building a better America means taking the the necessary
steps today to build the foundations for the kind of future we
want.
Preparing for our future means investment -- in our economy
and in our schools. It means safeguarding the environment
against short-sighted actions that do long-term damage. It means
finding ways to preserve and strengthen indispensable
institutions like the family in the midst of social change. It
means taking a long-range look at the international landscape, to
determine what policies and approaches will keep us free,
prosperous and at peace in the 21st Century, as we are today.
4
These aren't minor matters or unimportant issues.
These are concerns that will determine what kind of world we
live in -- and whether we as a people live up to our American
ideals.
And they're at the center of my agenda for a new American
Century.
To prepare for the future, we've got to invest in our
economy: We've got to create incentives to new investment, and
aggressive R&D programs that are catalysts to technological
advance. We've got to cut the capital gains tax, to spur the
entrepreneurial activity that means new products, new industries
and new jobs. Free enterprise is the engine of growth that can
lead us into the next century. It's up to government to maintain
a climate that is hospitable to growth, competitiveness and
productive investment, one that gives free enterprise free rein.
To prepare for the future, we've got to protect our
environment. Whether we're talking about the disposal of nuclear
or other hazardous wastes, or the discharge of CFCs into our
atmosphere, the United States -- on our own and in concert with
other nations -- must make a clean environment a priority. And
what I've done so far shows this isn't just talk -- I'm taking
action.
To prepare for the future, we've got to focus on education.
We've got to recognize and reward excellence in education -- in
our schools, our teachers, our students. My merit proposals --
for teachers, schools, and our nation's best young science
5
scholars -- will reward the best, and encourage others follow
their example. We can also strengthen our schools by introducing
an element of competition into education. Magnet schools give
parents and students the power to choose their schools, and that
will serve as a powerful incentive for schools to improve their
performance.
To prepare for the future, we've got to cope with the
changing nature of society. What are we doing in the age of the
the single-parent and the two-career household to help the famil
survive and prosper?
I've called on Congress to adopt a set of child care
initiatives aimed at strengthening the American family --
especially low-income working households, where balancing the
responsibilities of work and family proves most difficult.
And, of course, to prepare for the future, we've got to map
a national security strategy that gives due weight to each facto
the
of change in international scene. That's the aim of the series
of defense and foreign policy reviews I've instructed my national
security team to conduct.
We have to understand that this is an agenda for the
long-term. We aren't going to clean up the environment, turn
around our education system, create a more responsive business
climate or work environment in a single day. But we must begin
today, and make steady progress -- in order to succeed.
In this kind of work, more is going on than meets the eye --
or makes the headlines. The proof will come when we look back
6
from the year 2000. And I'm confident that we will be able to
look back with pride on work we did to get ready for a new
Century -- provided we look forward today.
-- We can enter the 21st Century as a strong and trusted
partner in the alliance of free nation, a front-line leader in
defense of freedom.
-- We can enter the 21st Century as a productive, energetic and
innovative member of the global economy, second to none in the
technological competition that will determine economic leadership
in the decades ahead.
-- We can enter the 21st Century as a nation whose people enjoy
a degree of freedom, opportunity, and a quality of life that
fulfills the American promise -- a society that draws its
strength from the individual, the family, the community, and a
government wise enough to respect those institutions as the
cornerstone of our democratic system.
We've got work to do -- work that won't wait -- great work
to ensure that the next century now on the horizon will be a new
American Century.
Thank you.
# # #
016168SS
Document No.
1638
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
3/13/89
3/14/89 10:00 AM
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: THE FORUM CLUB OF HOUSTON
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
STUDDERT
BATES
UNTERMEYER
BREEDEN
WINSTON
CARD
ROGERS
CICCONI
PINKERTON
BOSKIN
DEMAREST
FITZWATER
GRAY
/
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please forward any comments directly to Chriss Winston, Rm. 122,
x2930, no later than 10:00 AM, Tuesday, March 14, 1989, with an
info copy to my office. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
March 13, 1989
TO: Chriss Winston
NSC concurs.
63:28
Brent Rates Ju Scowcroft
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
CC: James Cicconi
Ext. 2702
(McGroarty/Simon)
March 13, 1989
12:00 noon
PRESIDENTEALOREMARKS:
48
THE FORUM CLUB OF HOUSTON
HOUSTON, TEXAS
THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 1989
Thank you
They say that Texas is a state of mind, but
it's still good to set both feet down on Texas earth, to come
home to Houston.
I take great pride in what is happening here. After
difficult times, Houston has turned the corner. I've checked the
statistics, and they're impressive: 250 new companies each
month, 95,000 new jobs in the area in the past two years, and
your unemployment rate is less than half what it was just three
years ago. And best of all, the new Houston is being built upon
a broad economic base.
And I am especially pleased to be back at the Forum Club,
which has contributed so much to public debate on the important
issues of the day. ((By the way, I came to Houston to share the
good news with you because they've already heard it to Lubbock.) )
I've come to Texas to tell you we're hard at work in
Washington -- and we're making progress.
We're working to drive down the deficit. We can bring
federal spending under control -- and into balance with our
resources. We can stay on track to meet the Gramm-Rudman target
-- and we can do it with no new taxes.
2
The key is a realistic and workable budget, like the one I
sent to Congress seven weeks ago -- the one that even the
Congressional Budget Office now says will meet the Gramm-Rudman
target.
We're working to clean up insolvent savings and loans -- and
to clean up the S&L system, so that the questionable practices
and outright illegalities that caused the current crisis won't
happen again.
We're working now on a plan that will help developing
nations cope with the burden of debt -- a solution that promotes
growth and stability in world markets.
And we're waging the war on drug-abuse on every front: more
effective education and awareness efforts to dry up demand for
illegal drugs, and tougher law enforcement and interdiction to
cut off suppliers, and put the dealers behind bars -- where they
belong.
These are serious challenges -- ticking time bombs that we
need to defuse without delay. And we're doing just that.
But these are by no means the only issues that demand
leadership and prompt action. Leadership is more that
crisis-management. It's more than dealing with the problems of
the day -- no matter how urgent they are.
The true test of leadership is knowing where we want to take
the country -- and taking the steps today to get us there.
That's working for the long term, for a payoff we won't see
today or tomorrow -- but ten and twenty years from now.
3
For people my age -- and for people a good deal younger --
the 21st Century has been the place we put all the fantastic
ideas, all the discoveries and inventions we couldn't dream of
experiencing in our own time. "The 21st Century" was just
another name for a future that seemed as distant as a voyage to
the moon.
Here in Houston, you have a better sense of how we can cover
that distance, and transform a distant future into our destiny.
The truth is, the 21st Century isn't far away at all. I
graduated in the Class of '42. Our first graders today will be
the class of 2000.
The 21st Century is here. The question is what we are doing
today to prepare ourselves for the new world that begins eleven
short years from now.
That's what my agenda is all about.
Building a better America means taking the the necessary
steps today to build the foundations for the kind of future we
want.
Preparing for our future means investment -- in our economy
and in our schools. It means safeguarding the environment
against short-sighted actions that do long-term damage. It means
finding ways to preserve and strengthen indispensable
institutions like the family in the midst of social change. It
means taking a long-range look at the international landscape, to
determine what policies and approaches will keep us free,
prosperous and at peace in the 21st Century, as we are today.
4
These aren't minor matters or unimportant issues.
These are concerns that will determine what kind of world we
live in -- and whether we as a people live up to our American
ideals.
And they're at the center of my agenda for a new American
Century.
To prepare for the future, we've got to invest in our
economy: We've got to create incentives to new investment, and
aggressive R&D programs that are catalysts to technological
advance. We've got to cut the capital gains tax, to spur the
entrepreneurial activity that means new products, new industries
and new jobs. Free enterprise is the engine of growth that can
lead us into the next century. It's up to government to maintain
a climate that is hospitable to growth, competitiveness and
productive investment, one that gives free enterprise free rein.
To prepare for the future, we've got to protect our
environment. Whether we're talking about the disposal of nuclear
or other hazardous wastes, or the discharge of CFCs into our
atmosphere, the United States -- on our own and in concert with
other nations -- must make a clean environment a priority. And
what I've done so far shows this isn't just talk -- I'm taking
action.
To prepare for the future, we've got to focus on education.
We've got to recognize and reward excellence in education -- in
our schools, our teachers, our students. My merit proposals --
for teachers, schools, and our nation's best young science
5
scholars -- will reward the best, and encourage others follow
their example. We can also strengthen our schools by introducing
an element of competition into education. Magnet schools give
parents and students the power to choose their schools, and that
will serve as a powerful incentive for schools to improve their
performance.
To prepare for the future, we've got to cope with the
changing nature of society. What are we doing in the age of the
the single-parent and the two-career household to help the family
survive and prosper?
I've called on Congress to adopt a set of child care
initiatives aimed at strengthening the American family --
especially low-income working households, where balancing the
responsibilities of work and family proves most difficult.
And, of course, to prepare for the future, we've got to map
a national security strategy that gives due weight to each factor
of change in international scene. That's the aim of the series
of defense and foreign policy reviews I've instructed my national
security team to conduct.
We have to understand that this is an agenda for the
long-term. We aren't going to clean up the environment, turn
around our education system, create a more responsive business
climate or work environment in a single day. But we must begin
today, and make steady progress -- in order to succeed.
In this kind of work, more is going on than meets the eye --
or makes the headlines. The proof will come when we look back
6
from the year 2000. And I'm confident that we will be able to
look back with pride on work we did to get ready for a new
Century -- provided we look forward today.
-- We can enter the 21st Century as a strong and trusted
partner in the alliance of free nation, a front-line leader in
defense of freedom.
--
We can enter the 21st Century as a productive, energetic and
innovative member of the global economy, second to none in the
technological competition that will determine economic leadership
in the decades ahead.
--
We can enter the 21st Century as a nation whose people enjoy
a degree of freedom, opportunity, and a quality of life that
fulfills the American promise -- a society that draws its
strength from the individual, the family, the community, and a
government wise enough to respect those institutions as the
cornerstone of our democratic system.
We've got work to do -- work that won't wait -- great work
to ensure that the next century now on the horizon will be a new
American Century.
Thank you.
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