Bill Clinton: “Association February 5, 1996 Good morning. Governor Thompson, Governor Miller, to all the Governors, welcome back to the…”

“Association February 5, 1996 Good morning. Governor Thompson, Governor Miller, to all the Governors, welcome back to the White House and back to Washington for the annual meeting of the NGA. I know that you have been working very hard in a bipartisan fashion to try to reach agreement on a number of issues that are important to your people and to us here in Washington, including Medicaid and welfare, issues of education and training, and I look forward to discussing those. I do want to say that all these issues have to be seen in light of the most important issue still facing us here today, and that is the Federal budget. As required by law, today I am submitting to Congress my proposed budget for fiscal year 1997. It balances the budget in 7 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office's economic estimates. I want the Governors now to work with us to balance this budget, and I am very hopeful that we can achieve a balanced budget this year. The plan I propose cuts hundreds of programs, continues our efforts to downsize the Government, but it protects Medicare, Medicaid, education, and the environment and cuts taxes for working families.…”