Bill Clinton

The legislation makes damaging structural changes and deep budget cuts that would fall hardest on children and undermine States' ability to move people from welfare to work.

I learned with deep regret this morning of the death of former President of France François Mitterrand.

We hope the sorrow of this difficult time will be eased by an appreciation of the profound contribution that President Mitterrand made to his nation and the world.

He was a great statesman.

President Mitterrand's stalwart leadership during some of the Alliance's greatest challenges leaves the people of Europe with a hard-won legacy of peace.

He was a man of vision whose strength helped bring Europe and the West through a period of tough confrontation to the peaceful, undivided Europe we are building today.

How soon? I don't know. We've been in about a 2-hour recess now, and I'm looking forward to getting back to work. And I'm prepared to work all day tomorrow. We have tentatively agreed to start again tomorrow morning, and if the weather…

Well, we have reached a point in our negotiations--we have been working in good faith now for days and days, identifying areas of agreement as well as areas of disagreement. And last evening when we ended our session and we agreed to meet…

The shutdown continues to affect millions of Americans and thousands of businesses.

This plan illustrates what we have been saying all along, that you can balance the budget in 7 years and protect Medicare, Medicaid, education, and the environment and provide tax relief to working families.

The problem with this bill is in what it does not do.

H.R. 1643 enables Federal workers to return to the job and to be paid.

We need to rise above partisanship to fashion a sensible solution that is true to our values, honors our obligations to our parents and to our children, and builds a stronger future for our country.

Clearly, this bill is only a partial solution to the partial shutdown.

I'm hopeful that we can reach agreement.

This bill is a step in the right direction— but only a step.

This plan has been prepared by Senator Daschle and if passed in its current form by the Congress, I would sign it into law.

Let us be clear: there was absolutely no excuse for this shutdown.

At this point, the Congress should work with me to reach agreement on these six measures.

But—whether you were furloughed or working—by your commitment and your sacrifice, you continued to serve our nation as loyally as ever during this crisis.

Clearly, this is no way to run the Government and deliver services and benefits to millions of Americans.

I'm prepared to just stay all day.

I hope that no Congress will ever again shut the Federal Government down in this way.

We want to welcome back those of you who have been furloughed and express our deep appreciation to all of you in the federal work force.

It is morally indefensible to hold needed Government services and hard-working Government employees hostage in a political battle.