Bill Clinton: “Good morning. I am delighted to be here with a number of Governors from around our country to talk about the budget…”

“Good morning. I am delighted to be here with a number of Governors from around our country to talk about the budget debate now in Washington. All these Governors who are here present and all those who are not have to balance the budget, but they're accountable for doing so in a way that increases opportunity for their people and holds the people together, maintains the bonds of community. That's what we're trying to do here. Yesterday I gave the Congress a budget that balances in 7 years without devastating cuts in Medicare and Medicaid, education and the environment and that does not raise taxes on working families. There are many differences between the budget that I vetoed, which Congress passed, and the one that I've presented. But perhaps the starkest one of all is the different treatment of Medicaid. The Republican budget would be a disaster for States and for the people who depend upon Medicaid. It would ask the States to do more and more and more for the elderly, for the disabled, for poor children and pregnant women and give them less help to do it. It would force them to make unconscionable and unnecessary choices between senior citizens and disabled people, between people with AIDS and nursing home residents. The plan would end the guarantee of quality medical care that now exists for 26 million Americans, a guarantee that has been on the books for three decades now. The Republicans are insisting that we repeal the guarantee that no poor child, pregnant mother, poor senior citizen, or disabled person will be denied quality medical care. That would eliminate the guarantee of nursing home care for as many as 300,000 people. All told, if current patterns of coverage prevail, some 8 million people could be denied health care coverage under Medicaid, nearly half of them children. No one would want to do this in any State, but many States would have no choice under the budget now pending. So I just want to be clear about this. I very much want to work with the Republican Congress to get a balanced budget. But I will not, I will not, permit the repeal of guaranteed medical coverage for senior citizens, for disabled people, for poor children and pregnant women. That would violate our values. It is not necessary, and therefore, if it continues to be a part of the budget, if necessary, I would veto it again. We cannot, we must not, do this. This would do more harm to more people and do more to undermine the stability of State governments and the life of the States in our country than any other provision of this budget, in all probability, and we just cannot do it. So I want to make that clear. On the other hand, let me say again, I am reaching out the hand of cooperation to Congress. I did yesterday. I do so again today. But there are some things that we cannot and should not change and back away from. That resolution that was passed that permitted the Government to go forward said that we would protect Medicare, Medicaid, education, and the environment. That's what it said. I've done my part. I've offered a 7-year budget. We cannot destroy Medicaid. Federal Reserve Board Chairman”