From: Clinton-HQ@Campaign92.Org (Clinton/Gore '92)
Subject: CLINTON: Press Briefing by George Stephanopoulos 4.14.93
Organization: MIT Artificial Intelligence Lab
Lines: 996
NNTP-Posting-Host: life.ai.mit.edu





                           THE WHITE HOUSE

                    Office of the Press Secretary
_____________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                  April 14, 1993



                            PRESS BRIEFING
                       BY GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS


                          The Briefing Room


12:40 P.M. EDT
	     
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I guess I'm just prepared to take 
questions today.
	     
	     Q	  George, Bob Dole says that the Clinton 
administration's policy on Bosnia is a failure and that he wants the 
United States to take the lead in lifting the arms embargo so that 
the Bosnian Muslims can defend themselves.
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  As you know, President Clinton has 
said that that suggestion is under active consideration.  Obviously, 
this is a tragic situation in Bosnia.  And if the Bosnian Serbs don't 
come to the negotiating table in a constructive way, we'll look 
seriously at pressing for lifting the arms embargo.  In the meantime, 
we're going to continue to press for a tough sanctions resolution in 
the U.N.  We're going to continue to work on the Serbs to come to the 
negotiating table.  But the prospect of an arms embargo is something 
the President certainly will consider if the Serbs don't come to the 
table.
	     
	     Q	  How much longer are you going to give them to come 
to the table, George?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  We're working on that right now.
	     
	     Q	  It's been a long time.
	     
	     Q	  On February 19th, the President mentioned the value 
added tax in Ohio.  And when he was asked about it later by 
reporters, he said -- quote -- "That is a radical change in the tax 
system of the United States.  It's something I think we may have to 
look at in the years ahead."  Questioned again about it later he 
says, "It is not something that is now under consideration.  If we 
start considering it, I'll tell you."  It wasn't a trial balloon or 
anything, he said.  I was just discussing the tax response to a 
question.  Donna Shalala, quoted in USA Today this morning -- quote -
- "Certainly we're looking at a VAT."  What's gone on?
	     
	     Q	  The same with Alice Rivlin this morning.
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  The health care task force is 
reviewing a number of options.  They haven't made any decisions yet.  
And as I have said from this podium time and time again, we're not 
going to comment on decisions that haven't been made.
	     
	     Q	  But you have also said from this podium time and 
time again --
	     
	     Q	  Wait a minute.  Whoa, Nelly.  Whoa.  
	     
	     Q	     that that was not under consideration.
	     
	     Q	  Yes.  Clinton says, "It is not something that is 
now under consideration."  Is that no longer true?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I believe the working group, as Ms. 
Shalala says, has looked at this prospect, but no decisions have been 
made of any kind.
	     
	     Q	  Well, I know.  But he said he'd tell us about it if 
it was ever under consideration.  I take it that now he is and he 
didn't tell us about it or --
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Did he say if it was under 
consideration or if it was something to be proposed?
	     
	     Q	  "If we start considering I'll tell you."
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  If it's something to be proposed?
	     
	     Q	  "If we start considering it, I'll tell you."  
That's a direct quote.
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  The task force has looked at a 
number of different options.  They have not made any decisions yet.  
The President has not made any decisions yet.  This is -- one of the 
proposals under consideration by the task force was to go out and 
cast as wide a net as possible for different ideas on how to reform 
the health care system.  They have cast a very wide net.  They have 
looked at hundreds of different proposals -- probably thousands of 
different proposals.  But the President has not made any decisions.
	     
	     Q	  Well, is the President aware of their consideration 
of this option?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I don't know if he's been briefed 
on any preliminary conclusions or anything like that from the task 
force on this specific proposal of any kind.  I don't know that 
that's gotten to his level.  He started yesterday to go through with 
the task force a very wide range of decisions and I don't believe 
that that's been presented to him, no.
	     
	     Q	  Well, he's not relying on the USA Today to tell him 
what his task force is considering in the way of taxes.
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  No, he's going through it in a very 
deliberate fashion.  There are a number of decisions that have to be 
made.  I don't know that this proposal has reached that decision-
making point.
	     
	     Q	  If this is still under consideration, that's a 
change, at least from what we've been told by Dee Dee, I think about 
three weeks ago or so.  She said, that is not an option, talking 
about the -- had a big argument with somebody over this, so I 
remember it specifically -- and said it not once, but twice.  Is that 
not the case?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Again, I don't know if this has 
been presented to the President as something that is being looked at 
at some level in the task force.
	     
	     Q	  It was ruled it out, though.  I mean, unlike other 
options that you've kept in the mix, this one specifically was ruled 
out.
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Again, this is something that is 
being looked at, but no decision has been made of any kind.  I mean, 
it doesn't -- it's not necessarily material until you get to the 
decision-making phase.  The working groups are looking at hundreds of 
different options.
	     
	     Q	  If it was ruled out before and it's not ruled out 
now, then something has changed, George.  Yes, no?
	     
	     Q	  When a guy says in February --
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Well, the working groups are 
looking at the widest possible range of options.
	     
	     Q	  So something's changed.  They weren't looking at it 
before; they're looking at it now.
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Well, I don't know if the working 
groups have gotten to that point yet.  They are casting a very wide 
net.
	     
	     Q	  How was it possible that you and Dee Dee were able 
to sell -- definitively rule it out as an option previously and now 
are saying that, in fact, it is being considered?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Again, the working groups are 
looking at a wide range of options.  They have not --
	     
	     Q	  Do you deny that you and Dee Dee ruled it -- flatly 
ruled it out on several occasions in the past month?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I don't deny that -- I mean, those 
are the President's words.  Those are very clear.
	     
	     Q	  Subsequent to the President's words, do you deny 
that within the last month you and Dee Dee have both publicly ruled 
it out?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I don't know about the timing.  I 
think what we did was refer back to the President's words and say 
they stand.
	     
	     Q	  So don't they stand any longer?
	     
	     Q	  March 25th, Clinton said for the next four to five 
years it was ruled out.
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Well, those words -- the President 
did say that in February.  The working groups are on a separate 
track, and as I said, I don't believe --
	     
	     Q	  Separate from the President?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I don't believe this has been 
presented to the President.
	     
	     Q	  Are they considering something that the President 
--
	     
	     Q	  Has ruled out?
	     
	     Q	     has ruled out?  I mean, will the President 
consider a VAT tax?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Again, the working groups have not 
presented this to the President.  They have looked at a wide range of 
options.  I suppose that if an argument is made, he will clearly 
listen to it.  That does not mean he has decided to do it.
	     
	     Q	  Can we put this another way?  In his answer in 
Ohio, he looked at the VAT in terms of restructuring the whole tax 
system.  Under those -- that was the circumstance that he said it 
might be considered at some future point.  Is that no longer the 
case, or is that the only way that he can see a VAT emerging?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I guess I'm not sure exactly what 
you're asking.
	     
	     Q	  He talked about the VAT in the context of a 
restructured tax system, not as a specific way to finance health 
care, for example.
	     
	     Q	  Or anything else.
	     
	     Q	  Or anything else.
	     
	     Q	  It was always in the context of substituting for 
other taxes at a time of a dramatic overhaul of the whole tax system.
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Right.
	     
	     Q	  Has that change, too?
	     
	     Q	  Is that still his view?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I haven't spoken about those 
specific comments.  I think -- I can just go back to it -- are the 
working groups -- have they examined the possibility of a VAT?  Yes, 
they have.
	     
	     Q	  Certainly we're looking at a VAT, she said.
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  They have examined the possibility 
of a VAT.  Has it been presented to the President?  Has he made a 
decision?  No, he has not.
	     
	     Q	  What kind of a deal do you have when you've got the 
President's appointed task force, obviously not oblivious to his 
ruling something out except in the context of some huge down the line 
reform, goes ahead on its own and considers a tax which he has 
specifically ruled out in any context other than much later, and then 
goes ahead and announces that that's what they're looking at?  Is the 
President concerned about that sort of thing?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I think that the President's 
concern is to make sure he gets the best health care proposal 
possible.  He's concerned with making sure that they have the most 
thorough process for examining all the possible alternatives, all the 
different alternatives.  If a decision is made to go forward with 
something like that it's certainly something the President will 
explain and justify.  But no decision has been made along those 
lines.
	     
	     Q	  What does it mean exactly, though, when the 
President rules something out?  Does it mean it can get back on the 
table later if a more persuasive argument is made?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  That's just -- that's indisputably 
true.  If you -- but, at the same time, he has not ruled it in.  He 
has not made a proposal.
	     
	     Q	  What makes him open to it now when he wasn't open 
to it before?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  He's certainly willing to listen to 
the argument.
	     
	     Q	  Was he willing to listen to the argument for a 
short-term tax this year, and he wasn't willing to listen to it in 
Chilicothe?  He's now open to it --
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  The context of his comments was 
that it was not something -- he wanted to be clear that this is not 
something he was proposing, not something he was floating.
	     
	     Q	  Not something he was considering.  Those are his 
words -- "It's not something that's now under consideration.  If we 
start considering it, I'll tell you."  You're now acknowledging, are 
you not, that it is under consideration and --
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I'm acknowledging that the task 
force has studied this proposal.  I am also stating that the 
President has not made a decision on it.
	     
	     Q	  But the door is open for the President to 
reconsider including this as part of --
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Obviously, the working groups are 
looking at it.  Again, but the President has not made a decision.
	     
	     Q	  Do you know if they will make a presentation on 
behalf of the VAT to him?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I don't know that.  I assume that 
if -- I don't know what stage they are it in proposing.  I don't know 
that they're going to make the conclusion that this is something they 
should present to him.  I know this is something the working groups 
are looking at.
	     
	     Q	  Do you understand, George, that none of us are 
asking these questions in context of a decision that the President 
has made, only about what the President is considering?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I understand that, and I am 
acknowledging that the working groups have examined the issue of a 
VAT.
	     
	     Q	  And the President will consider it?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I assume that he will consider the 
argument if it is presented to him.
	     
	     Q	  Does that mean the President -- that working groups 
think that when the President says no, he means maybe?  (Laughter.)
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I think that means that the working 
groups are trying to do the most thorough job possible.
	     
	     Q	  George, can I ask you another question about 
Bosnia?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Sure.  (Laughter.)
	     
	     Q	  No, he wants us to stay on this.
	     
	     Q	  Let's do gays in the military.  (Laughter.)
	     
	     Q	  No, he got out of that swamp.
	     
	     Q	  I think we've gotten the bottom line on that VAT.  
Reggie Bartholomew, your Special Ambassador in Belgrade, today said 
that if the Serbs do not accept the agreement that has been worked 
out -- quote -- "We will do our part to pursue the lifting of the 
arms embargo together with our allies."  That seems to go a bit 
further than what you've just said --
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Sounds almost exactly what I just 
said.
	     
	     Q	  Well, do you accept -- in other words, you accept 
what Reggie --
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Well, the President has said that 
this is something that's under consideration.  It is something he 
will consider if the current actions don't bring the Serbs to the 
table.
	     
	     Q	  Isn't there some kind of timetable here?  
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Yes, there is a timetable.  There's 
going to be a vote on the U.N. resolution in about 10 days.
	     
	     Q	  That's on sanctions, that's on tightening the 
sanctions.
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  That's right, that's sanctions.  
And we believe that that will ratchet up the pressure, and we hope 
that that will bring the Serbs to the table.  As you know, Mr. 
Bartholomew also met with Mr. Churkin of Russia, and they are also 
working on ways to bring the Serbs to the table.  We will continue to 
pressure them in many different ways and this is one possible option 
as well.
	     
	     Q	  The question is whether there's a timetable for 
consideration or a vote on a decision on lifting the arms embargo, 
not the sanctions.
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  The next vote in the U.N. is on 
sanctions.  As far as I know, there are no votes scheduled on lifting 
the arms embargo.  But it is something that we have discussed both 
internally and with our allies.
	     
	     Q	  Why did Reggie Bartholomew tell the Serbs that the 
U.S. would do that?  What was the point of his telling them that?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Well, clearly, I mean, this is 
something that's under consideration, and this is something that we 
take quite seriously if they do not come to the table.  They should 
know the consequences of failing to come to the table.
	     
	     Q	  Have they been given a deadline?
	     
	     Q	  Warren Christopher has been saying the same thing 
and it hasn't seemed to change the Serbs' behavior in the least.  Why 
should the Serbs take any heed of a threat to lift the arms embargo 
when so far everything that's been done has had no effect on the 
fighting in Bosnia?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I just don't accept the premise of 
your question.  It has had an effect; the embargo is having an 
effect.  
	     
	     Q	  What effect?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  If the Serbians choose not to heed 
our warnings, then they will face the consequences.
	     
	     Q	  What effect has it had in Bosnia?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Well, the effect that it has had on 
the Serbians, it has tightened up -- they are not getting their 
shipments through.  We can brief more fully --
	     
	     Q	  In Bosnia, George.  In Bosnia what effect has it 
had?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Well, it's hard to say if it's 
stopped the aggression to date.  That is why we're continuing to 
press for the Serbians to stop.  But we believe that over time we 
will continue to weaken the Serbs and that will have   an effect.  
I'm not saying it's going to happen overnight; it clearly hasn't 
happened overnight.  But we believe that over time the sanctions can 
weaken the Serbs.  If it fails to work and if the Serbs fail to come 
to the negotiating table, we'll move forward with the embargo.
	     
	     Q	  Isn't there a working deadline, George, of the 24th 
-- the same date as the U.N. -- the scheduled U.N. vote?  Hasn't the 
United States said, along with many of the other NATO allies, that if 
the Serbs aren't willing to sign on to the peace accord by then, that 
we'll seek -- haven't we said that we will seek --
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  We've said continually we're going 
to --
	     
	     Q	  But on that deadline?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I don't have a specific date, but 
we're going to move forward with the resolution, the U.N. resolution, 
by around that time.  And if that fails to take effect, if that fails 
to bring the Serbs to the table, we will clearly consider other 
actions.
	     
	     Q	  Isn't this awfully incremental?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  We're taking a step-by-step 
approach.  We're ratcheting up the pressure and we're going to 
continue to do that.
	     
	     Q	  Is there a possibility, George, that by the time 
all these incremental steps are taken the Serbs will have achieved 
their goals and then what's the purpose?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I think the purpose is to get the 
Serbs to stop the aggression.  We are pursuing that goal on many 
different fronts.  We are pursuing it through the U.N.; we're 
pursuing it through direct talks; we are pursuing it through 
tightening the sanctions.  And we will consider lifting the arms 
embargo.  We are turning the screws up on the Serbs and we will 
continue to do that.
	     
	     Q	  But if the efforts have been unsuccessful in 
getting the Serbs to stop the aggression how effective will any 
campaign be to have the Serbs give back what they've gained?  I mean, 
once they're entrenched --
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I can't speculate on that.  We're 
going to continue to press for them to come to the table now.  We're 
going to continue to find ways to stop the aggression.  But I can't 
see into the future.
	     
	     Q	  George, on the stimulus package, House Republicans 
say they're going to hold a series of town meetings on Saturday to 
try and explain the details of your package.  They cite polls which 
show that the more people learn about it, the less they like it.  
What's your strategy to counter that?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  The strategy we have is the one 
we're going to continue.  As you saw, the President today pointed up 
the very real benefits of the summer jobs program that this package 
will provide:  700,000 new summer jobs this summer for kids in inner 
cities and suburbs to do productive work.  We are also going to point 
out the benefits of the highway money, the investments in highways.  
We're going to point up the benefits of immunization.  We're going to 
point up the benefits of Head Start.  We are going to say that the 
Republicans have a choice:  they can take action to create jobs or 
they can perpetuate the gridlock of the last four years. 
	     
	     Q	  Does it concern you, though, that the House now, 
the House Republicans are after you as well as the Senate?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  The House Republicans voted against 
it before.  They made a mistake then; they're making a mistake now.
	     
	     Q	  George, does it strike anybody in the 
administration that it's a bit strong to describe, as the President 
did this morning, the summer jobs program as -- quote -- "a 
reaffirmation of a promise of America"?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Not at all.  I think it's the 
promise of America to give kids a chance to reach their full 
potential. 
	     
	     Q	  Government-funded jobs?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  To give people a chance to work?  
Absolutely.  That is the promise of America.
	     
	     Q	  I want to follow up on something I asked yesterday 
-- where does 700,000 summer jobs, where does that figure come from?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  That is on top of.  I did look at 
it.  There are currently 600,000 summer jobs in the pipeline.  This 
will be on top of the 600,000, so it will be a total of 1.3 million.
	     
	     Q	  The 700,000 would be created by the stimulus 
package?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Yes.
	     
	     Q	  Where does that number come from?  Because we've 
been told all along that the stimulus package would create 500,000 
new jobs.  And according to Panetta, that breaks down to something 
like 200,000 full-time jobs and 150,000 summer jobs.
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Yes, but the summer -- that's when 
you do their full-time equivalence.  I mean, 700,000 individuals will 
receive jobs this summer.  When you calculate it for the full-time 
job effect, you have to do -- I don't know what the exact formula is.
	     
	     Q	  Seven hundred thousand part-time jobs --
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  -- 150,000 or --
	     
	     Q	  One to four because it's three months.
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Thank you.
	     
	     Q	  Can I follow up on that?  Did the President 
misspeak this morning when he said that some of the government money 
for these summer jobs will pay for private -- for kids to work in the 
private sector?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Not necessarily.  I mean, I think 
that there will be grants available.  That's one of the ways that you 
pay for the jobs.  At the same time, he's also issued a challenge to 
the private sector to hire kids on their own as well.  
	     
	     Q	  Tax dollars, for instance, would pay for kids to 
work at Time-Warner?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I think the Time-Warner is actually 
somebody coming forward and actually doing a grant.  That's going to 
be the bulk of it.  There could be isolated instances, though, where 
there would be grants to businesses.
	     
	     Q	  Has the President spoken with any Senate 
Republicans this week?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  
No, but there's been a lot of contact with Senate Republicans in the 
White House.
	     
	     Q	  At a lower level.  But the President hasn't?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  The President has not, no.
	     
	     Q	  Getting any closer to get the votes?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  We're continuing to work on it. 
	     
	     Q	  Anybody leaning your way?
	     
	     Q	  On Haiti, The New York Times seems to be reporting 
something of a breakthrough in Aristide's attitude towards the coup 
leaders.  Can you confirm that there has been this change, and what 
impact will it have on the process?  And what did Pezzullo have to 
say yesterday in his report?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Pezzullo did brief the principals.  
I can't confirm what's actually happening in the talks.  I would 
leave that to the negotiators themselves.  But Mr. Caputo has 
returned to Haiti.  We have received a briefing here at the White 
House from Ambassador Pezzullo.  And as we have said time and time 
again, we believe that assurances of security are important to a 
final resolution to a broader political settlement.
	     
	     Q	  George, yesterday you offered some selective 
breakdowns of how the stimulus would impact some states and cities.  
Can we get a complete breakdown by state of how these jobs would be 
impacted?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I think we have it for most states, 
yes.  And I think we can get it out.
	     
	     Q	  Could you make that generally available?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I believe we can.
	     
	     Q	  And could you do it by the component of the 
stimulus?  In other words --
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I don't know if we can do -- I know 
that we can do it by summer jobs and other jobs.  I don't know how 
deeply it can be broken down.  But clearly, we can break it down into 
summer jobs and other jobs.
	     
	     Q	  And can I follow up?  Is this the information that 
Jeff Eller and the rest of the White House is using in the ads in the 
states?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I don't know if they're ads, but 
they're press releases.
	     
	     Q	  Can you describe what those press releases contain?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  All we're doing is pointing out the 
benefits of this package to various states.  For instance, I know 
that today Senator Dole is heading up to Vermont and New Hampshire.  
And I would point out that the stimulus package, the jobs package 
creates 1,000 jobs in Vermont.  It creates 2,000 jobs in New 
Hampshire.  And the people of those states should remind him that 
this is important. 
	     
	     Q	  Where are the releases going?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  They go to the states.
	     
	     Q	  To whom?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  We can get them.  It's no problem.
	     
	     Q	  Can we get it?
	     
	     Q	  Why don't you put them out here as well?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I think we can.
	     
	     Q	  This afternoon?  Would that be possible?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I'll have to check.  I don't know.  
But as soon as we can.
	     
	     Q	  Are you focusing these press releases on states 
where there are moderate or pragmatic Republican senators?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I think we're trying to get as many 
as we can.  It's actually quite difficult to pull this together and 
we're doing our best.  We're putting them out as we get them.
	     
	     Q	  Why are you so closely tracking Senator Dole's 
schedule?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I was just following it. 
	     
	     Q	  Are press releases going along to states where he's 
visiting?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I'm not sure.  I think that 
probably there are press releases going to Vermont.  (Laughter.)
	     
	     Q	  Will there be a man in a chicken suit waiting?  
(Laughter.)
	     
	     Q	  George, as the President goes about the business of 
defending what's in his stimulus package, he doesn't address what 
seems to be the Republicans' main point, that you're funding it with 
deficit spending rather than "if it's so important, why not come up 
with the funding for it" seems to be the Republican argument.  And 
how do you answer that?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  What was answer is, we are paying 
for it over time.  And if you look at our budget, we pay for this 
package over time.  We believe right now the economy needs a jump-
start for jobs.
	     
	     Q	  You're not claiming, are you, that that doesn't add 
to the deficit this year?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I'm saying we're paying for it over 
time.  I didn't say that.
	     
	     Q	  I know that, George.  But I mean, from the 
beginning, the question -- we do have annual budgets and things --
deficit spending will pay for that this year, will it not?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  This year they clearly will.  But 
over time our budget fully pays for this program.
	     
	     Q	  What you're saying is that there are savings that 
would cover this if it were this year in future years?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Absolutely.  That's exactly what I 
said.
	     
	     Q	  I know that, but there is going to be outstanding 
debt, it will add to the national debt from this year --
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  No, we're reducing the deficit by 
$500 billion -- $514 billion over the next four years.
	     
	     Q	  You mean you're reducing it below what it would 
have been?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Exactly.
	     
	     Q	  In fact, you're adding a very large amount to the 
national debt over the period of --
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  But we're reducing it far more from 
what it would have been.  That's true.  
	     
	     Q	  Washington-type reduction.  (Laughter.)
	     
	     Q	  You're getting to be a grumpy old man.
	     
	     Q	  George, has any decision been made about the White 
House or the President's participation in the gay rights march coming 
up in a week and a half?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  We're working on the President's 
schedule now.  I believe he's going to be at the Senate Democratic 
retreat in Jamestown that weekend.
	     
	     Q	  Will he address it by phone?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I don't know about that.  It's a 
little far out, but I believe he's going to be in the Senate retreat.
	     
	     Q	  So will he have the leaders in a day or two before 
the speech?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I don't know.  I would expect that 
at some point he would meet with the leaders of some of these groups.  
I don't know the schedule on it, though.
	     
	     Q	  Will there be an AIDS czar appointed prior to or in 
conjunction with the event?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I'm just not sure.
	     
	     Q	  April 22nd is Earth Day.  What is the President 
going to do to mark that, and is it the case that he is going to sign 
the biodiversity treaty that day?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I know there's been some work on 
the biodiversity treaty.  I don't know about signing it that day, but 
I would expect he'll have a statement on Earth Day or right around 
then.
	     
	     Q	  Where is the work on the biodiversity treaty?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I'd have to check with Katie 
McGinty.  I just know that there's been some work done, but I don't 
know exactly what.
	     
	     Q	  When is Earth Day?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  The 22nd, I think.
	     
	     Q	  Why is it you know that he is going to have a 
statement on Earth Day but you don't know if he's going to have a 
statement on the gay rights march?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I said I don't know if he's going 
to meet or when he's going to meet.
	     
	     Q	  Do you have a statement on the gay rights march?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I don't, actually, no.  I wouldn't 
be surprised if he did, though.
	     
	     Q	  Do you have some details on the Miyazawa visit?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  It's a working visit on Friday and 
the President is looking forward to that in discussing a number of 
issues including Russian aid and the Japanese stimulus package and 
the trade issues between the two countries.
	     
	     Q	  There was some expectations that a second aid 
package to Russia was going to be unveiled at the G-7 meeting and, if 
I understand, it hasn't happened.  Why is that or what's the status 
on that?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  The G-7 meeting is still going on 
and, as you know, Secretaries Bentsen and Christopher have talked 
about the outlines of a possible package.  But we're going to 
continue to consult with Congress and our G-7 allies on that.
	     
	     Q?	    We will not then make any kind of announcement 
during the two-day meeting?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  The meeting's not over yet.  
	     
	     Q	  Is that when you're going to make one?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I'm not ruling out the possibility.
	     
	     Q	     the President's going to announce it tomorrow.
	     
	     Q	  Bentsen said that.
	     
	     Q	  Yes, Bentsen said it would be tomorrow.
	     
	     Q	  So did Christopher.
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I'd have to look at that, but I 
believe it is more likely that the announcement will come out of 
Tokyo.
	     
	     Q	  George, has there been further consideration here 
about going to -- sending the President out to Los Angeles?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I don't know that there's -- it's 
not something we've ruled out.  We don't have a date set for it.
	     
	     Q	  George, you all have a position or do you support 
Immigration's plan to settle 4,000 Iraqi prisoners in the United 
States?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  It's the first I've heard of it.
	     
	     Q	  George, there was a report today about the --
	     
	     Q	  Fortunately.  (Laughter.) 
	     
	     Q	     about the pace of appointments and says that 
President Clinton is behind President Bush in the number of positions 
that people have been nominated for.  Are you going to speed up the 
pace of nominations or where do you stand with it?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  We filled 814 of the President's 
appointments.  And it's broken down -- we have 384 Schedule C; 147 
noncareer SES; 213 PAS full-time.  I'm not sure what that means --
(laughter) -- 70 PA full-time.  And this is about the same -- it's 
about the same pace of President Bush.  Obviously, as you move along 
farther, once you -- each level of appointment actually has a 
multiplier effect and frees up far more appointments.  So we expect 
the process to speed up.  But we're at the pace of Bush.  Obviously 
we'd like to get these done as quickly as possible.  
	     
	     I would point out that the FBI background checks and the 
background check is far more comprehensive and it takes more time 
than our predecessors, and that is part of the holdup.  But we're 
working on it.
	     
	     Q	  Is that because of Nannygate?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I think that's an awful big part of 
it, yes.
	     
	     Q	  In the story this morning, you were at 
approximately the same pace as Bush in making appointments, but way 
behind in winning confirmations.
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  That's where the background checks 
comes into play.  That's the problem.
	     
	     Q	  That's the background checks problem?  Because I 
mean, you have a Democratic Senate --
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  No, that's not the -- you make the 
appointments, and then it takes quite a bit of time to fill out all 
the forms and have the background checks done.  That's exactly where 
the problem is.
	     
	     Q	  What's the President doing this afternoon, and 
what's on the plan for tomorrow?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  He's got some meetings -- just 
office meetings this afternoon for the most part, on a variety of 
issues that -- probably a half-dozen different issues.  And then 
he'll be -- tomorrow we'll have an event, probably again focused on 
the stimulus and jobs package out of here at the White House.  And 
Friday is the Miyazawa meeting.
	     
	     Q	  Will you be releasing his tax return tomorrow, 
George?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Either tomorrow or Friday.
	     
	     Q	  Is there going to be a pre-briefing regarding the 
Japanese Prime Minister's visit tomorrow?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I don't know about tomorrow, but 
we'll probably get something done, as we usually do, for these 
visits.
	     
	     Q	  Was Reverend Jackson here this morning and do you 
know what that was about?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  He was here.  He met with a group 
of us here at the White House, including Mack McLarty.
	     
	     Q	  Who?
	     
	     Q	  Reverend Jackson.
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Reverend Jackson.  Mack McLarty, 
me, Gene Sperling, Bruce Reed, Jeff Watson, Mark Gearan. 
	     
	     Q	  Talking about Haiti?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  We talked about general urban 
policy.  He is about to go to Los Angeles.  He was just back from 
Mississippi, where we had a good victory last night; and he's going 
on to Los Angeles.
	     
	     Q	  Did he request the meeting?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Actually, no.  He's in continual 
contact with the President.  He had written a letter on a variety of 
issues, and so we asked him to come in and talk about it.
	     
	     Q	  George, Dole is having a fundraiser for Jeffords 
tonight in Vermont.  Have you guys been  in contact with Jeffords at 
all on this?

	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I think there's been some contact, 
sure.
	     
	     Q	  Can you tell us about the contacts?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I'm not sure -- 
	     
	     Q	  Do you know who contacted him or what was said?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I know that Howard Paster talked to 
him and they just has a general talk about the package.
	     
	     Q	  And did he express his support for it now, or is he 
--
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I can't divulge the details of the 
conversation, but there have been conversations.
	     
	     Q	  The L.A. Times is reporting that abortion --
elective abortions is likely to be included in the basic health care 
package.  Is this something the President is considering?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Again --
	     
	     Q	  Along with the VAT?  (Laughter.)
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  It's certainly something that's 
been looked at, but no decisions have been made.
	     
	     Q	  What was the question?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  The L.A. Times story on whether 
abortions will be covered by the President's health plan.
	     
	     Q	  Did the President in his meeting -- did you in your 
meeting with Reverend Jackson ask his advice, solicit his advice 
about what kind of stance the White House should take in the wake of 
the verdict in L.A.?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Well, we certainly talked about the 
situation in Los Angeles and the long-term prospects for economic 
development and other issues.
	     
	     Q	  For instance, did you discuss whether it would be 
helpful for the President to go there or not?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Well, we discussed a wide range of 
issues related to Los Angeles.  That was certainly one of them.
	     
	     Q	  Letting you perhaps go out on the way you came in, 
I need to go back to Bosnia just for a second and ask --
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Oh, good.
	     
	     Q	     your reaction to Margaret Thatcher's comments 
that you're just sitting by and watching a massacre.
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Well, we've been pushing very hard 
on a number of fronts for more aggressive action.  We will continue 
to do that.
	     
	     Q	  Can you tell us if you've made any progress in your 
talks on the stimulus package getting a compromise?  I mean, we don't 
have any feel except talks are ongoing.  Have you talked to like 20 
people or --
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I don't know the numbers.  We've 
talked to several people and we've had wide-ranging sessions.  
	     
	     Q	  Anyone leaning your way?
	     
	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I can't get into that.  We're just 
going to keep working through Tuesday.
	     
	     THE PRESS:  Thank you.

                                 END                    1:10 P.M. EDT
	     
#56-04/14
	     



