George H.W. Bush: “I have two subjects I want to address very briefly before we leave here. First, on the unemployment extension bill. This…”

“I have two subjects I want to address very briefly before we leave here. First, on the unemployment extension bill. This afternoon the House passed an unemployment bill, and the Senate is expected to act shortly; it may have already moved. But the bill that came out of the House- Senate conference is a good one. It took the best of the House and Senate positions. It's paid for, and it does not violate the budget agreement. And it preserves the fiscal discipline that is so vital to our economic recovery. There are no new taxes in the bill. It doesn't raise unemployment taxes or raise the unemployment wage-base. Most of the objectionable policies were dropped from it. The extra benefits will give unemployed Americans as much as 52 weeks of unemployment insurance. This is an important safeguard for workers who still can't find jobs as the economy continues to grow. And I'm glad that we were able to work it out with the Congress in the last couple of days. The current program runs out on Saturday. I want to make sure that people keep getting these extended benefits. Therefore, I will sign this bill as soon as it reaches my desk. And I might say at the end of this statement, once again, I was very pleased to see the Fed move to reduce the rates because clearly that will have an economic stimulus that will help get this country back to work real fast. The second subject: I have just concluded another meeting on AIDS. And with me is Bishop Swing, who ministers to many AIDS patients, is in the forefront of the struggle against AIDS. He comes from San Francisco, a friend to Barbara and to me. Also there was Dr. Burt Lee, my own personal physician but who's had an active role in AIDS--he was on the AIDS Commission before he came here; Mary Fisher, who is personally involved with the disease; Dr. Fauci, one of our Nation's leading researchers out at NIH. And I mentioned, I think, Dr. Sullivan of HHS. But we met in there, and I was asking them, how can I better convey the concern that I feel, and what can I do better to convey what we are doing? And I believe that I must have the Nation know that we're all enmeshed in the pain that people feel about this disease, whether they have the disease, afflicted by it, or whether they're people who just want to help. I think it's important to emphasize that progress has been made. And we listened to Dr. Fauci talk about the progress that's been made, the hope that he and the other great researchers and scientists in this country have for progress on the vaccines, for example; the fact there are three different ways now to try to contain this disease. And then the third point is the determination that we all feel that we must win this battle. And the bishop and Dr. Fauci pointed out to me something that I do know and perhaps have not articulated it, and that is that the United States has a key leadership role here. It's a worldwide problem. And our science is on the cutting edge. Our researchers aren't the only ones doing the job, but they are doing a superb job. I just want others around the world to know that we share their concerns, and we want to share our science with anyone we possibly can help. And so it was that area. We talked a little bit, Lou did, Lou Sullivan brought up the point he makes about the ADA bill where we are opposed to discrimination. And that bill, that forward civil rights legis- lation, addressed itself to that. So it was a good meeting. And I will continue to find ways to take to the Nation the concern that I feel, that Barbara feels on this dreaded disease. It affects so many families. And we've got to make sure that we remain doing everything we can. As we all know, the funding for research is substantially up and the requests for next year very strong. But I wish there was more even. But we'll keep doing our job. And I have learned a lot from my dear friend Bishop Swing, again. And also, I'm grateful to those others that attended the meeting. Thank you all very much. Proposed Family Life Executive Order”