Bill Clinton: “If you give a list, you file your report--you know how this works. You've got to get your votes up and make your…”

“If you give a list, you file your report--you know how this works. You've got to get your votes up and make your recommendations. But this will make a difference. This will make a difference. Let me just give you one example of the kind of thing--if I were a betting person, and I could afford it--[laughter]--I would wage a considerable amount of money that no one will ever write me a letter complaining about the demise of these regulations. But I was being reasonably conscientious, like I am, I wanted to make sure we weren't getting rid of something terribly essential, and so I asked the reinventing Government folks to give me an example of the kind of things we're getting rid of that I could relate to from my Arkansas roots. And I hate to tell you this, folks, but we're about to lose the regulation that tells us how to test grits. [Laughter] Now--it's terrible. Now, listen to this. I want you to ask yourself if you can do without this: ``Grits, corn grits, hominy grits, is the food prepared by so grinding and sifting clean, white corn, with removal of corn bran and germ, that on a moisture-free basis, its crude fiber content is not more than 1.2 percent, and its fat content is not more than 2.25 percent.'' Here's the interesting part--[laughter]--``When tested by the method prescribed in paragraph (b)(2) of this section, not less than 95 percent passes through a #10 sieve''--[laughter]--``but not more than 20 per- cent through a #25 sieve.'' [Laughter] Now, here's (b)(2); it tells you how to get that done: ``Attach bottom pan to #25 sieve. Fit the #10 sieve into the #25 sieve, pour 100 grams of sample into the #10 sieve, attach cover, and hold assembly in a slightly inclined position. Shake the sieves''--[laughter]--``by striking the sides against one hand with an upward stroke, at the rate of about 150 times a minute.'' If you've never been in a marching band, how do you know what 150 times a minute is? [Laughter] ``Turn the sieves about \1/6\ of a revolution each time in the same direction after each 25 strokes.'' [Laughter] ``The percent of the sample passing through a #10 sieve shall be determined by subtracting from 100 percent the percent remaining in the #10 sieve. The percent of material in the pan shall be considered as a percent passing through a #25 sieve.'' I don't know if we can do without that or not. What they ought to do is just have a designated taster like me in every State that knows what grits taste like. [Laughter] Now, I have to tell you, there is some real sacrifice in this, though. We've all had a good laugh, but there's some real sacrifice. I personally am having to give up this 2,700-word regulation on french fries. [Laughter] Don't worry about it, folks; our health insurance plan has counseling for this sort of thing. I'll be all right. [Laughter] Let me tell you that we've had a good laugh here today, but--and while a lot of this seems self-evident, it's not always easy to get rid of these things that are outdated and don't make any sense to us. But it's even harder to make regulations that need to be on the books but have become tangled up and senseless over the years untangled, sensible, and workable. So we're also working to make another 31,000 pages of these Federal Government regulations simpler, clearer, and more relevant to your lives--things that most of you would admit ought to be done, but just don't make sense in the way they're being done--to bring common sense back into the way we do business. Here is proof of the example. Today I want to announce a plan to reform the laws and regulations governing pension plans in our country. And almost every one of them came from you. That's why I am urging-- that's why I said to the gentleman who mentioned the IRS and the others, this is what this conference is for. When you hear this, you may want to clap, but remember, it's happening because of you. And we can do more because of you. But let me just go over this. You may recognize these ideas because we got them from you. The pension laws enacted over the last 20 years with the best of intentions are now so utterly complicated that you need a SWAT team of lawyers and accountants to help you fill out the forms and comply with the rules. Running pension plans takes so much time and costs so much money that only 15 percent of the small businesses in our country have them. Most of you just give up, and who could blame you? Simple streamlined pension plans, however, are good for everyone, for small business because they boost morale and give people a stake in the company, for workers because they encourage savings, and we need to do everything we can to see that our people put away more money for the future. So here's what we're going to propose: Start a simplified IRA-based pension plan for companies with 100 or fewer employees. Under this plan, if you guarantee your employees a certain contribution, you will be exempt from complex antidiscrimination rules. Second--I don't know how many times I've heard this myself--second, fair treatment for families who work together. Get rid of the family aggregation rule. Get rid of the family aggregation rule, which treats family members as a single entity, dishonors the hard work of individuals, and is a drag on that great American institution, the family business. Third, simplify. There is currently a seven-part test to determine whether or not someone is a, quote, ``highly compensated employee.'' That is nuts. [Laughter] So, we believe that there ought not to be a seven-part test. We simply ought to have a simple guideline that will save all of us time and money. Now, we can do all of these things without opening the system to abuses. Safeguards for fairplay are still in place. But we can do it, and we should. There is a lot more to do. I want to make two points in closing. Number one, you can make progress on these problems. It's hard work. It's more difficult than giving speeches about how bad it all is, but it can be done. The second point I want to make is, we know you made a sacrifice in time and money to come here. We know people like you made those sacrifices to come to the regional conferences and the State conferences. This is serious business. We did not ask you to do it just so we could cheer and have a good time, although that's important. We want your further ideas. We are doing these things because people like you all over America said they ought to be done. Lastly, let me say that for all of the challenges and difficulties in this country, I wouldn't swap with any other country in the world as I look to the future and what it holds. So, in a few moments, the Vice President and I are going back to the White House and we're going to welcome that fine young Air Force captain, Scott O'Grady, and his family there. And I want you to think about everything this country's got going for it. First of all, and most important, it's got you and people like you, great entrepreneurs, great citizens, people who work hard, make the most of their lives, doing the best that they can with their families, contributing to their communities. Secondly, we have more diversity in this country, more ethnic and cultural diversity, than any other advanced country. And that's a huge asset in a global economy. It's a huge asset. Thirdly, we have a phenomenal set of assets and technology and research capability. And we have a Government that can change and can be a partner as we build the economy of the 21st century. We have profound challenges. But what I want you to believe from this experience today is that we can change, we can make it better, and that it comes from you. We will listen. That's why we wanted you to be here. I want you to be screaming and yelling and having a good time. I will not send the DC police after you--[laughter]--as long as you will send me some more good recommendations so we can do this again next year. Thank you, and God bless you all.”