Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, August 4, 1993 TAG: 9308040159
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
"There are now only two choices - our plan or no plan," Clinton declared in the Oval Office broadcast. "It won't be easy and it won't be quick, but it is necessary . . . . Without deficit reduction, we can't have sustained economic growth."
The 20-minute address was the latest phase in an intense administration lobbying campaign as the plan moves toward final action by Congress in the most important test of the young Clinton presidency.
As Clinton and his Cabinet worked feverishly Tuesday to sway undecided lawmakers, Republican adversaries pounded away at the the mix of tax increases and spending cuts as standard tax-and-spend Democratic politics and warned the legislation is likely to flatten the nation's economic recovery.
In his remarks, Clinton stressed that the budget plan is the only way out of "economic danger," and that it lives up to "every one of the principles" he outlined in his economic package.
"At stake is the very rival of the American dream," he said, urging listeners to ask their senators and representatives to support his plan. "We can't afford not to act."
Clinton used charts to repeat familiar arguments that the plan would be fair to all Americans. He said it would take the most "from those who make the most," protects older Americans from "punitive" cuts in Social Security and Medicare," and "keeps the faith" with working families by giving tax breaks to the working poor.
He called it "a bold step, and the first step on a journey to give our nation a comprehensive economic strategy."
To bolster his arguments that the plan would deliver on its deficit-cutting promise, Clinton announced that he would sign executive orders today designed to ensure deficit relief. One would set up a "deficit trust fund" to supposedly ensure that tax revenues would be set aside for deficit reduction. A second order would require the president and Congress to set targets to control entitlement spending.
While the American public was the direct audience for his appeal, his indirect target was the lawmakers who hold the swing votes that will determine whether his package squeaks through Congress. After six months of debate, the House is expected to vote Thursday and the Senate on Friday on an economic plan that in latest form includes about $255 billion in tax cuts and $241 billion in new taxes.
Suspense built on Capitol Hill before the coming showdowns as Clinton appeared to gain some support from wavering Democrats in the Senate while there seemed to be some slippage in the House. But the outcome remained too close to call.
In the Senate, where Democrats need to change the mind of at least one of seven opponents of the bill, all eyes were on Sen. Dennis DeConcini, D-Ariz., a moderate who voted against the Senate version of the legislation in June but who recently won a major concession that would lower the number of Social Security recipients who pay higher taxes on their benefits.
DeConcini said he would reveal his fateful decision today.
by CNB