Bill Clinton

The free exercise of religion has been called the first freedom, that which originally sparked the development of the full range of the Bill of Rights.

I hope to discourage NAFTA opponents from using this issue against pro-NAFTA members, regardless of party, in the coming election.

There is no way any wealthy country in this world can increase jobs and incomes without increasing the number of people who buy that nation's products and services.

It is important that we ensure that Government policies are helpful to them and that we make sure to seek their wisdom as we decide on those policies.

Congressional approval of NAFTA is essential to our national interest.

Rejecting NAFTA would, quite simply, put us on the wrong side of history.

Turning away from this opportunity would be a serious self-inflicted wound to our economy.

I fully support the determination of the citizens of Puerto Rico to continue their commonwealth status.

The rejection of NAFTA would set back our relationship with Mexico, and Latin America beyond, for years to come.

The senior citizen community, our parents and grandparents, is one of our great resources.

We cannot run from the forces of competition.

Thank you. Please sit down. Bishop Ford, Mrs. Mason, Bishop Owens, and Bishop Anderson; my bishops, Bishop Walker and Bishop Lindsey. Now, if you haven't had Bishop Lindsey's barbecue, you haven't had barbecue. And if you haven't heard…

Good morning. This week, Americans celebrated Veterans Day, the day we set aside to thank those who served, kept us secure, and helped preserve the freedoms each of us cherish. On Thursday, after paying my respects to the veterans at…

NAFTA November 12, 1993 Today, we saw a profile in courage. Leo Purcell, president of the Massachusetts Building Trades Council, endorsed NAFTA in a letter to fellow union workers. In addition to saying, as I have, that this is a choice…

It doesn't show a lack of courage. I don't want to say that; I don't think that's fair. It shows the extent to which the organized efforts and the crying anxieties of people are combining to pull Congressmen back. I just hope that we can…

I hope we can get his vote because he's been a real leader on issues in this hemisphere. I think to be fair to all concerned, Bob Torricelli has more personal experience and knowledge of this. And the voters in his district would be more…

No, I just got it right before I came in here. I went with Joe to the Gillette factory, you know, when I was there for the dedication of the Kennedy Museum. And I know this is a tough vote for him in a large measure because Joe Moakley is…

I know he did, but let me go back to what I said before. There are also a lot of people working against NAFTA who voted for me last time. What I have got to do is to try to develop a majority for change in the Congress. It's funny, I think…

First of all, the only thing that David Mann asked me to do was to be supportive of the decision that he has made. And I told him that I would, I'd be very happy to help him deal with it. Remember, I went to the AFL-CIO convention in San…

Well, I'll give it to them in writing, I'll give it to them in public statements. I do not believe any Member of Congress should be defeated for doing what is plainly in the national interest. Now, what was your other question?

Let me start at the back and come forward. [Inaudible] First of all, I volunteered even before Newt asked, but I agree with him, that if a Republican votes for NAFTA and is opposed in the congressional races next year by a Democrat who…

Yesterday we had 10 or 11 people endorse the treaty, both Republicans and Democrats, including three Members from Ohio, a Rust Belt State where we hadn't had any endorsements before; two from Michigan. Today we have five or six--we have…

I think from the question you ask you know what my long-standing position on that issue has been. But I have to resort to the position that I have taken on this ever since these talks began, and that is that the United States should not at…

But let me respond, though, to that. When we had the donors' conference here, working both individually and multilaterally, we have commitments over the next few years for several billion dollars and a few hundred million dollars right off…

Let me answer you in this way: I have received some indications that the enforcement of the boycott is not as vigorous as it once was, but that some of the countries involved are reluctant to explicitly lift it. I wanted to raise the issue…