The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour

maz by at an evening i'm robert mcneill in new york in this special edition of the newshour were about to hear an address by president clinton live from the oval office that's followed by republican reply from senator fred thompson of tennessee also on the newshour tonight a debate on republican plans to cut all funding for special interest caucuses and roger mudd as a farewell conversation with outgoing democratic veteran dan rostenkowski of illinois earlier today white house press secretary dee dee myers said president clinton would give a thematic speech tonight one to look forward and talks about who's going to fight for ordinary americans was going to put the government on their side and make government work for them again and reflect their values the president's expected to outline tax and spending cuts in doing so he joins the debate already underway senate republicans and house democrats unveiled their own proposals earlier this week

house republicans also included a middle class tax cut in their contract with america tonight marks the first time since last month's elections the president clinton has addressed the country in a nationally televised speech it comes at a time when his own approval numbers are slipping today on your times cbs news poll showed only thirty eight percent approve of the president's performance as compared to forty three percent in november now here is president clinton my fellow americans hours is a great country with a lot of the problems but at this holiday season everybody knows that all is not well with america that millions of americans are hurting frustrated disappointed even angry there's a time of enormous change in our challenges both political and personal it involves government are but it goes way beyond government to the very core of what matters most to us the question is what we're going to do about let's start with the

economic situation i ran for president to restore the american dream and to prepare the american people to compete and win in the new american economy for too long too many americans have worked longer for stagnant wages and less security for two years we pursued an economic strategy that has helped to produce over five million jobs that even though the economic statistics are moving up most of our living standards are it's almost as if some americans are being punished for their productivity in this new company we got to chase that more jobs are enough we have to raise incomes fifty years ago american president propose the gi bill of rights to help returning veterans war a war to go to college buy a home and raise their children that built this country tonight i proposed a middle class bill of rights there are four central ideas in this bill of rights first college tuition should be tax deductible just as we

make mortgage interest tax deductible because we want people own their own homes which have my college tuition deductible because we want people to go to college specifically i propose that all tuition for collins community college graduates who professionals who will pursue education or worker retraining actor hi asked to be fully deductible face up to ten thousand dollars a year for families making up two hundred and twenty thousand dollars a year education after all is a bigger impact on earnings and job security than ever before so let's invest the roots of today's recovery into tomorrow's opportunity second ray other child is a tough job in the sitcom so we should help middle class families raising children when i did start last year by passing the family leave law making college loans more affordable and by giving fifty million american families with incomes and twenty five thousand last year less on average tax cut of more than a thousand

dollars a year now i want to cut taxes for each child under thirty faced up to five hundred dollars which are this tax cut would be available to any family whose incomes less than seventy five thousand dollars third we should help the low income people to save money by allowing every american family earning under a hundred thousand dollars to put two thousand dollars a year tax free and ira an individual retirement account but i want to be able to use a mud a little nod as fertile you'll be able to withdraw from this on tax free money for education medical expenses the purchase of a first home the care of an elderly parent forth since every american used the skills necessary to prosper in the new economy and most of you will change often found the time we should take the billions of dollars the government now spends on dozens of different training programs and give it directly to you pay for training if you lose your job but what about what

we can pay for this middle class bill of rights by continuing to reduce government spending including subsidies to powerful interests based more on influence in the we can sell our entire operations the government no longer needs to run and time dozens of programs over the states and communities that know best how to solve their own problems my plan will save billions of dollars from the energy department cut down the transportation department and shrinks sixty problems in the four at the department of housing and urban development our reinventing government initiative led by vice president gore already has helped shrink bureaucracy and free up money to pay down the deficit and that's the party already we pass budgets to reduce the federal government to a small size and thirty years and that cut the deficit by seven hundred billion dollars that's over ten thousand dollars for every american family in the next few days will unveil more of articles and i've instructed vice president to review every single government department probe for the reductions we worked hard to get control of this message to the

government that includes four pounds over in the twelve years before i took office that's a big burden on you about five percent of your income tax goes to prayer for welfare foreign aid but twenty eight percent of that goes to pay for interest on the debt drama between nineteen eighty one and they i was inaugurated president i challenged him in congress to work with me to enact a middle class bill of rights without adding to the deficit and without any new cuts in social security medicare i know some people just want that the government one and i'm a less popular now but i won't do it i won a leader not on the new government the back on the side of hard working americans a new government for the new economy created what's more high quality low cost service oriented just like our most innovative private companies i'll work with a new republican majority and my fellow democrats in congress to build a new american economy to restore the american dream it will be easy believe you me the special interests have not gone into hiding just because of the election in november

as a matter of fact there appear stronger than ever and that's why more than ever we need a lobby reform campaign finance reform and reform to make on his liver the law also puts on other people together we can pass welfare reform in health care reform that were also more about what i'll do to work with the new congress in the state of the union address in january with here's what i want when i want support ideas that sound good but are paid for ideas that we can the borrowers we've made in previous two years working families it isn't hard for people who are doing their dead level best to raise your kids and work their way into the middle class ideas and undermine the fight against crime for a clean environment for better schools before the strike and wellbeing of our armed forces and foreign policy in other words we must be straight with the american people about the real consequences of all budgetary decisions marcus welby as an audience fan of bison thousand opportunities

does it promote values like family were responsibility and community doesn't contribute to strengthening the new economy if it does all before no matter who proposes and i hope congress will prove it as the same way let's worry about making progress not taking credit but our work in washington will be enough and that's where you come in this all starts with you or we can cut taxes and expand opportunity but governments can raise your children go to school for you in your employees who wanted to raise our saw problems in your neighborhood that require your personal commitment in short government can exercise your citizenship it works the other way around the problem of this new world are complicated and we want a lot to learn that means citizens have to listen as well as talk we need less hot rhetoric of more open conversation less mouse more chair we need to put aside the politics of partial destruction and

demonization that have dominated too much of our debate most of us are the good people trying to do there and if we all hated each other that way we would do that we have got to be a community yes some people did take advantage of the rest of us are breaking a lot of using the welfare system and flaunting our immigration laws that's wrong and i were in the stop but the truth is that most people in this country without regard to their race their religion their income their position on divisive issues most americans get up every day go to work the way the law pay their taxes and raise their kids the best they can and most of the share the same real challenges in this new car will be a lot better job of meeting those challenges that we work together and find unity strength in our diversity when you have more income or uniting has been the violence that we start acting like it we could face of visual conference i still believe deeply that there's nothing wrong with america that

can't be fixed by what's right with america this is not about politics as usual as i said for years it's not about moving letter right before not about government be bad or good about what kind of government will best enable us to fulfill our god given potential and it's not about the next election that's your hands meanwhile i'm going to do what i think is right my rule for the next two years will be country first and politics as usual did last i hope the new congress will follow the same and i hope you will to this country works best when it worked together for decades at fort and we get one more americans a chance to live out their dreams i know i'm blessed to be one of them i was born a widowed mother in a time when the state's income was barely have to mention that the first person in my family to finish college thanks to money my parents couldn't really afford scholarships loans and have those

jobs it breaks my heart to see people with their own dreams for themselves and their children chatter and i'm going to do all i can to turn around but i need your help we can do it with all of our problems this is still the greatest country in the world spending not in the twilight with a lot of our greatest days we still have a lot of the final four let's all remember that at the holidays and douglas in a moment we'll have the republican response to president clinton the president's not the only one in washington proposing a tax cut on tuesday house democratic leader richard gephardt upstaged the president in africa climate would reduce taxes for families earning less than seventy five thousand dollars earlier today senator phil gramm of texas unveiled the tales of republican plan under it the income tax exemptions for children would double and twenty five hundred to five thousand dollars the program would cost one hundred and twenty four billion over five years with a ford senator graham propose

sixteen percent across the board and cuts of various departments are now speaking from capitol hill we have senator fred thompson the newly elected a republican senator from tennessee he was sworn in just last week when he won a special election to complete the remainder a vice president al gore's senator and now senator fred thompson so i'm fred thompson on november eight the voters of tennessee elected me to represent them in the united states senate and that i have been asked to speak to you on behalf of the new republican majority in congress and republican elected officials interstate community no one in sight for the support and confidence you've placed in the book collection you record a record number of republican governors state legislators and mayors all around the camp for the first time in forty years republicans will be in the majority in both houses and our government especially in washington

needed that big day those of us who just came to town oh claim outlawing answer and still have gone back in the box but one thing we do know we know why you sent us here to cut big government down the session adjourned congress around and it's our country in a new direction we campaigned on these principles and now we're going to do something that's become all too unusual in american politics we're going to do exactly what we sit in fact the changes are taking place first congress is getting its own house in order republicans are cutting the number of committees and we're cutting staff one of the first bills we as in january says that congress just eleven of the same laws that congress imposes on about ailes by the congress will pass a monologue where it actually starts have a little interview we're also working with republican governors are going to stop that washington knows best ground for mandating that your state local governments

do all kinds of things that end up boston new higher taxes and we're going to pass a balanced budget amendment to the constitution to control government spending that's what we'll do in january other changes will take more time but we will continue to move straight ahead to turn lemons and reducing the tax burden on families and working people and we're going to tackle a welfare system that pays people more not the work going to work one of the most important of course we got back the executive branch of government and the faceless bureaucracy is which more and more on our lives this week the republican congressional leadership asked the president immediately stop federal agencies from issuing regulations until we've had a chance to cut some real also these issues we need the support of the president and the democrats in congress and we will work together with but over the past two years the president and the democratic controlled congress have opposed the balanced budget amendment proposed more big government spending

and tried to put a bunch of new government bureaucrat in charge of your health care until a few weeks ago they were even saying we didn't even need a tax cut yet from what we are denied the president's vision for the future now it's a lot like what republicans have campaigned to listen to which i would need your vote the selection apparently get the president's attention possessions and it represents a real change of heart was a local mobile if we can actually caught watching them down the sides and put the savings back into the pockets of the people learn that we won't need argue over who gets the credit or who thought of the audio first if however the president's words are based more on public opinion polls and a real conviction if we're just talking about politics here instead a fundamental change in direction then we're going to be very much at cross purposes we must do more than re shuffle agencies and take money from one questions that it's mrs we welcome the president to help us to lead america in a new direction but in

the fall because we're moving on we know it's time to change its system where americans work hard raise their families and obey the law are taxed regulated than ignored while their government becomes bigger and more arab in every day the rest of america that's what hard for it your government and your continued support and change because what are americans can bring we can do thanks for listening you know you and your family have a happy and healthy holiday season newly elected tennessee senator fred thompson delivering the republican response to the president's address which denied cutting the funding for so called special interest caucuses in congress a republican promise that's making waves on capitol hill will debate the matter activist background report from margaret warner

last week house republicans began to carry out their pledge to reform and streamline congress and one of their first moves was to propose eliminating the budget staff and office space of congressional caucuses what we tried to do today was to eliminate that one ea the thirty taxpayer funded special interest caucuses on the hill these groups can continue to exist whatever reform there are one hundred and forty caucuses on capitol hill composed of members of congress with similar constituent interests for example many members from farm districts belong to the beef caucus several members from rust belt states belong to the steel caucus and there is even a minor league baseball caucus for members with minor league teams in their districts many you're the one hundred and forty caucuses are informal and many run out of one member's congressional office the twenty eight of them are more formally organized as so called legislative

service organizations or tell us owes they use taxpayer money and capitol hill office space the zealous owes other principle targets of the republican house cleaning the most prominent of these groups is the congressional black caucus founded in nineteen seventy to mobilize african american house members around issues important to them the high profile group wields considerable clout in close legislative battles as he did during this year's fight over the crime bill and its annual meeting in washington remembers plot strategy and exchange ideas across the president and other major political figures in addition to the black caucus they include the hispanic caucus and the caucus for women's issues congressman quite easy and form a the outgoing chairman of the black caucus call the republican proposal an attack against the increasing power of minorities review yesterday's action taken by the republican conference as an assault

on diversity in the congress an attempt to disband our communities through congressional ethnic and philosophical question but republicans like congressman scott clue insist it's time to end taxpayer funding for these groups there's a bottom line in all this which is trying to save money and you can save money and why should cut jobs and it was time to kill yourself actually the four million dollars in savings will revert to members office accounts for other uses but the cuts will free up sixteen offices and eliminate ninety six staff jobs among the other caucuses to be eliminated for the democratic and republican study groups to organisations credited with doing reliable legislative analysis from members of both parties representative david obey a past chairman of the democratic study group says cutting these two caucuses serves a political motive for the new republican leadership the recommendations if they are allowed to spend will blind and purple of the minority party in

its ability to analyze legislation moving through this place and they were eliminated any real ability for any individual republican to get information from any information source except the republican leadership and that i think is not the kind of a dictatorial atmosphere that you want to have in there in any institution like that but the republicans seem determined to make these cuts day along with the cuts they propose to sell the very building where most of the caucuses reside we take up the debate now with new jersey democrat donald payne incoming chairman of the congressional black caucus and pat roberts republican from kansas and a longtime educator for reform of the caucus system that reason roberts is this to say we understand is this a done deal now or does it still need to be approved by the whole house i'm not sure that an educator robinson much as i think i am an equal opportunity review i'll let that go i think that the way that this was slated is that

when we have our first meeting of the house of a house oversight many which used to be the awesome inspiration committee that the us owes will simply be decertified and that will be the case or at least that's what i hope will be the case and at a time when we have cut for select committees and three four committees and committees staffed by one third and we are really really getting at the problem of the patronage system and we're downsizing i think the question is why on earth keep twenty eight caucuses were members take their office accounts give that money to a special interest caucus occupies space on capitol hill and then spend the money and this is exceedingly important to spend the money in ways that members and staff simply cannot do the way the money that has been spent in the past is simply not in accord with all of the house ethics rules so we have a scandal waiting to happen as well as trying to downsize and

streamline the congress this has nothing to do with partisanship or ideology or race it is called the cleanup of the congress congressman payne you think this is going to happen is is the way it's going to be huge you don't have to be very wealthy and it seems like it would be difficult to defeat if there is a unified republican effort to eliminate alice of how we think that forcible and so it's a misnomer to say that you're going to save i think a number of five million dollars of taxpayers' money as it's been already indicated by the pope proponent of this cell cut is that the money will not be saved by the taxpayers that money will simply revert back to your office staff budget and so there is not one single saving the taxpayers so far as the so called five million dollars is concerned the second of four dylan there are a number of things that hauser you have the document room where people can review legislation

you have the franken office are well we sell a building and then turn around and find that there's not enough space and then rent space in a building we sell i don't i think that that makes them a us congressman matt roberts about the point that that the money would actually be saved to the taxpayers congressman cause it'll just go back to the office accounts of the congressmen who were donating it now to these groups but i understand that then one of the claims that we just did them every view here as of yesterday with all the carcasses and by the way there are still some money messing these are the groups that aid or four parties that thirty five million dollars over ten years and seven point seven billion is messy and if you look at some of the expenditures it's very questionable in regards to fruit of my patients and trips in their old fundraisers in some very questionable activities i liked ever passed on it before of the audits are missing even as of this day there is one point nine

million in the combined balance of all these caucuses that money will go directly to the treasury i know there's been some talk that it would go to the contingency fund of the house or revert back to the member's offices that's not the case so there's almost two million dollars that will be saved immediately plus sixteen in regards to the office space is not only in the house annex building that in the rayburn building the longworth building and a can of building as well as an answer to my good friend and by the way congratulations on becoming the new chairman of the black caucus i know it will be a very effective partners they're not to close their doors by any means that an answer to her you know today is concerned we're going to move the fighting our commission and we're also move the document room back into the chapel to get direct access we hope we can sell the building we hope we can get there that are listening and it sounds as though they are going to save some of the description we just heard well i think that the description this has a lot of the irregularities and one good

example we talk about the chart that was for fairness the legislative service organizations and this chart shows that there are thirty three persons that work of the s t o a demographic study group writer and about ninety four the republican study group the actual number of that person for them crack study group was eighteen one half of the numbers so there are a tremendously glaring and actresses eyewitness report that has been done we are concerned that we don't know what type of what has been done but when eighteen percent of the polls of thirty three when a chart has been made and distributed to all memes on in congress i think that we have the potato will look at this well we obviously have a disagreement over what will be saved and d and the amounts which we can't resolve here but me ask you congressman payne is the black caucus says a mr rahman suggests going to be able to do

quite well without this funding while many members of black caucus feel that the reason for the other twenty seven organizations of the thrown out with the black caucus is primarily to get to the black caucus other comedies are the real target absolutely we've been a very strong and we've been very forceful and vocal and um you know when there's a crow in foreign countries the first thing that is it happens is they shut down the press they shut down access it seems that the black caucus the hispanic caucus the women's caucus these groups will be attempted to be silenced but we will continue to have our voices heard mr roberts what is that charges be made widely by the hispanic caucus by a growing german louvre may be called ethnic cleansing which are real attempt is to silence these people who were voices from

for the last time i let the name that roberts was not serbian i'm not an ethnic cleansing going on and raise some money and ideology the one group that is probably more upset at the and the rest of the action taken by the republican conference is the republican study committee paul weiland brewery is certainly a is a conservative about over the right field bleachers and duncan hunter is a colleague of mine from california board member of the american conservative union this was an equal opportunity reform jc watts who is a black republican indicated they're there republican study committee and environmental and energy study committee which frankly that benefited me as a republican from energy states more than the congressional black caucus this decision is about taxpayers money are the only money in fact during the debate in the

conference the only to our caucuses that were mentioned not the hispanic farmers not a women's card is not the bipartisan not all the rest of the campus we're two and that was the democrats' study group and the republican study group roman talking about eighty six people the hispanic caucus has three black caucus says three and a women's caucus has two black caucus has over ninety members i'm sure these three employees will be employed by somebody in the black caucus they can be in a meeting room anytime but they cannot have that chat and spend it or things that we cannot spend it for according to ethics and as extremely important how do you get that answer congressman payne the buried savior said it's an equal opportunity reform well there's no question that you're not a special target well i think that you know it's a matter of interpretation of there has been a target of the black caucus ever since we really grew in and strengthen develop our

agenda this art is a way to get there is a failing of this away to the silence us of course it will not we will be as aggressive will be created or we will move forward with an agenda to speak of people voices of those who have no passport so it's not going to hurt you really it's going to make it more difficult words it will hurt us when we had to eliminate staff the matter which it operated before because was extremely affective with those three persons but with them having the target we were able to achieve a tremendous amount this was looked at as a young as a threat and therefore one way to deal with threats it's an attempt to silence them and any magda nassar second reason roberts we heard the democratic congressman toby say in the air a little background or we get it coming back to the democratic and republican study group's obscurity said then your recommendation would blinded cripple a minority party now the democrats in their ability to

analyze legislation well i mean this is the first time i've heard that you know they really be worried about the minority until he became a minority and they did and i really have to talk about this and i said my goodness you can go to your committee staff even though he researched that even though the leadership step you have access to one hundred and forty caucuses around here or expertise you know the congressional research service and the library of congress why on earth do we need a separate group of about eight a periodic reports the same argument was made in regards to the republican study committee of those nine people have been assimilated into our research facilities a policy committee i think we'll get along fine it every congressman will have a marvelous opportunity for access for as much information we're not short on paperwork that comes into the inbox around here i can assure you you know were supposed to be at two places at the same time over at the time

but we have so many subcommittees and committees and caucuses it's incredible we get anything done this is a streamlining effort there's a downsizing every answer reform to prevent something that has really been a scandal and our go back to that other important point has been money spend for food for liquor for transfer fund raisers for very part two activities there hasn't been passed on the only art of the week that we've been able to achieve is the one that my office conducted our listeners in the third charge of time and i'm including all twenty eight caucuses in the past ten years and spent thirty five million bison are missing seven point seven and today at last check for still missing and we're going to send one point nine nine seconds let's give congress and then an opportunity once are about the most appropriate spending money well to my knowledge there is no less appropriate spending of money i don't think that this as i indicated a thirty three person staff that was indicated in the charts

as opposed to eighteen persons veterans that it showed there glaring and actresses let me just say finally reading from our my colleague we really really have just couples are either written eleven at la's cells in particular the demise of the dnc and others severely damaged as the power structure of house democrats clusters of report that they had solved its political has nothing to do with taxpayers many have to leave it there gentlemen thank you both in our conversation with dan rostenkowski after eighteen terms the former chairman of the house ways and means committee was defeated in his reelection bid last month as he leaves office the chicago democrat was still face a criminal indictment roger mudd talked to him last week i don't often and maybe look for a new way to serve my

community it is not easy to tell how well last of the house he's carrying his defeat it was probably not a surprise to him certainly not after his indictment last may on charges of embezzling more misusing public money and campaign funds that indictment is the one subject he will not talk about in fact the warmth reporters not even to ask him about i have decided on the advice of conscience that i would have no further comment on this matter thank you for coming today good afternoon with fire on all other subjects he's loquacious proud prickly physically intimidating and determined to be remembered as something other than a chicago ward healer he has been a professional politician since he was twenty four first in the illinois legislature than in the us house of representatives he came to washington in nineteen fifty nine as mayor daley's boy but somewhere along the line he discovered there was as much

pleasure in applying his formidable political skills and making good public policy as there was in playing inside politics rostenkowski leave with many reputations a man of considerable political courage became a lottery or the dominating chairman of a great congressional committee a talented exporter of the system and it spoils and a party and other institutional markets he also leaves with more than half a million dollars in legal that's italy is facing a criminal trial and possibly prison and he leaves beaten by an old irish republican whose victory says rostenkowski has his father big joe ross and turning over in his grave in his capitol hill office it's walt now better rostenkowski talked recently about all that i read the morning paper that the new speaker newt gingrich r have a reading list for members of the congress declaration of independence of those papers could talk to foreigners

but i don't i don't dream of the subscriber what gingrich has been recommended with respect of freshmen members it but i think he's doing one great job with respect and reshaping congressman pence bring one proof will be how affective is going to be in his leadership position getting people to who were to follow there are a lot of controversial things in the proposal no right of one thing to lead a minority that wants to be averse and stubborn it's a loving fully the majority when you have to adopt proposal sorry and i think that they're going to have a good hundred days and after that the

democrats to start reacting to what you were up for c the gingrich speaker shipping law well it's certainly a movement in a new direction for foreigners rose openness openness is good but i don't know how much progress you can make you know when we opened the committee on ways and means to the billion to the clintons a pleasure oh when we close down the committee and go into executive session and people feel free that you know there the argument certainly mayor limited and as much confidence is possible that we did things possibly in for over forty dollars that were really would've taken a slew of four days that's a tradeoff on the democratic side or i don't know what you'd call a trail of but i think people when

people expect their government to react immediately and with the advent of television and know that this is people can understand why we can't solve a problem problem immediately my mother wore when she heard of an interview you ask dave you think he's going to the president has dropped out and i said i don't know but i would ask them you know not all the world it's great i promise i read the paper the other day that you're now over half million dollars in legal fees as

vivid work what he wanted or i don't all ended there there was the suggestion or teach school it's not sure but i enjoy getting in again and lecturing talking talking to the student body's of various colleges about the practical view politics i'm a practical i think a public so i try to do what's possible what's what happened here is we try it we try to write part of legislation we're imperfect society i get as much as i possibly can of the legislative product hoping that in the future we'll get more if we are moving in a certain direction but we certainly believe could solve prohibited from coming here well it is the problem is that that that is the problem that you're running into

that nobody really wants to the area until your legal driver out behind it accessible not a problem from a compensable so you said that the that for twenty five years you have not that catered to the media but what you do is that you bring home with projects to your district that you write that the wall is that what you want on your tombstone i didn't think i wrote that i mean how i have said this so are many get out whenever i was in a negotiation and lead over my shoulder looked at mice my technical spec people in damascus as good law and a gift for her i think if i were going to have something on my tombstone says it's the rustic customer good law iraq and after gossipy he wrote the law that takes about a hundred years

of when when you use to survive the primary or what you are american mart did you know then that you know i didn't i didn't think i was but you know you'll given the prize for two years there's a reaction i campaigned i reminded people of what i had done but roger i didn't lose exclusively you know there's a whole new change of government taking place a fundamental right and you know when you lose the speaker and who's the chairman of the judiciary committee i use as many democrats as we lost and i'm in that sweet but i think that that

the democratic ticket at the top in illinois was not as powerful as it could have been the you know the end result is that the republicans swept the stake we do not i'm not saying that it's their fault or it's anybody's work there was a lot she said that it will work and you're going to have it and you know i sell the beginning if you have not been invited you would have been reluctant or i think so but it or question do you have a question about but in your wildest dreams did you ever think that you'd be defeated by a thirty two year old irish catholic republican our work more could never have liked the job well i think that michael

flannigan was walking and i don't know you know to add to his credit he beat me but i wonder like i think the lenders mortgage do for woodward jr in it piece of advice was about what like a flag on a refrigerator without affecting even the socks i asked them like three from chicago and ninety percent of his district is a huge problem isn't just don't like any of them plaques that the push to carve a lot of not nice to realize that you're a family with a lot with god he's young and my youngest child and also parties involved would have that job he'll be a good legislator an overview it's a

democratic gesture and i think he's aware of the fact that you know fighting the brady bill is not being for an assault weapons is not going to be a problem that community but his position on abortion it is is a kind of a closet resentment i think that these are things that his opponent in the next election or a lot of anger and you know and he's like you know he's not a desire to bring that project for the solution that's what dirk what is your own opinion of what president clinton spent on like us on and i'm more infatuated with this guy and an idea that any other president lyndon

johnson join the production of legislation died i had pens all that world with johnson signed and acting legislation for hard and things like that i think bill clinton is committed to the good principles of the democratic party and helping society gray's it's a it's a burden on the middle class and i believe we've made some mistakes but then again what president has but nobody's been negative on president of the united states is an effort that you people in the media have a trial and that's why you know i think i think our job yourself through they disappoint accept their responsibility let's see how good they are after the hundred days when we balance the budget and get the line item veto let's see how

they're going to pay for everything that they want to do i want to do the same thing by one of the eyes of the american people say this is going to cost you money you think of president clinton is in trouble for renomination no reelection that'll be a problem but you know i'm not surprised at him and i'm like i said this president clinton who was my friend and i were going through a series of wonder bread the question here is is he going to be a one term president if that happens that people will remember only stayed away a like other one from president could very well fade away he's selling used at ease a man of principle and you'd stand up for fiscal responsibility and roger fiscal responsibility it's not popular because you're youthful

curtail program when you look back forty two years of driving that station wagon when you're in chicago cubs in the six thirty point out of all their backing for the divided family wife not wanting to come here major stress on you and your children you look back and everybody on a look back and when you look back is it all worth it to oriental bazar i would i would do it only you weren't going to anyway in the day's other news former president carter said he may go to bosnia this weekend to help restart peace negotiations between the warring sides bosnian serb leader rather than heritage requested the carter visit is part of a new peace plan and his trip would not be officially sanctioned by the white house alone or probably florida bosnia on a us military

plane but us officials expressed skepticism about the trip we have report narrated by david simon's of worldwide television news this isn't the first time the bosnian serb leader is a bid to raise hopes nothing has come over the avengers this latest proposal is a request the jimmy carter to mediate in a new peace plan the plan includes the free movement of un convoys in bosnia release of all detained un peacekeepers a cease fire in and around san diego and the reopening of the airport the bosnian president was characteristically dismissive of candidate and he's in brussels where nato defense ministers meeting there was a deep skepticism about the bosnian serb proposals even if the price to implement the six points to be made well we would welcome that that was not in a sound enough reason for stopping as nearly all those proposals could be reversed almost immediately meanwhile un peacekeepers have been delivering aid in san diego was also unimpressed by

that have come as a complete surprise and humans puzzle since its of including very similar cease fire proposal to the bosnian serbs without success russian president yeltsin today extended a deadline for chechen rebels to stop those three are all rebellion there were scattered fighting between both sides outside the capital grozny today there were also signs of dissent among some of the russian soldiers german man and of independent television news reports on the road to a group of chechen women prepare for another attempt to slow the russian army by passive resistance is of emotion mixed with they're with the man in front of march the russian lines about a mile away in the tanks of the church holt of his people before i confronted the russians the last two days has been holding secret talks with the

russian commanding general this morning jacket agreed to take us into the russian line this week all of his station wagon towards the tanks moved forward since entering chechnya and today we learned that this in your offices have been resisting moscow's order to attack the church hymns chick if wanted to pay another visit to the commander of the nineteenth which was division general richard like last night's the general told a russian journalist that he expected to be relieved of his command because of his refusal to advance this morning jacket was told that the general has been called back to headquarters russia was filming them gen richards who was filmed earlier this week in a church and demonstrators on the line has apparently developed serious doubts about the wisdom of attacking grozny if confirmed this represents a serious crisis for moscow not such a clear that is carrying out an extraordinary one man mission to build bridges with the russian troops and undermine the desire to

fight it is not clear that at least one russian army division is dragging its feet in what was supposed to be a decisive use of force against the chechens vice president gore held talks in moscow today on economic and technological cooperation with russia he also repeated president clinton's position on the situation in chechnya during a visit to red square with his wife tipper any questions and recapping today's top story president clinton tonight propose sixty billion dollars in tax cuts which he called a middle class bill of rights in part the plan would allow families earning up to hundred forty thousand dollars to write off as much as ten thousand dollars in college tuition each year families with incomes of

up to seventy five thousand dollars would get a tax credit of up to five hundred dollars for each child under the age of thirteen individuals that are up to two thousand dollars a year in tax free retirement withdrawals from an ira would be allowed for education a first home or catastrophic illness and under the plan tax rates would be created for job training is to god and said the overall proposal would be financed by cuts in federal agencies and a freeze on some government spending republicans said they hope president clinton's tax pledge was based on real conviction and not just politics and so these are for tonight we'll be back tomorrow with republican leader newt gingrich was for reaction to president clinton speech i'm robert macneil the night funding for the macneil lehrer newshour has been provided by the archer daniels midland company with edm ingredients in thousands of consumer products it's no wonder at the world and by new york life yet another example of the

wise investment philosophy new york life has been following for the last one hundred and fifty years and by the corporation for public broadcasting and by the annual financial support from viewers like you many are how many

i mean many video cassettes of the macneil lehrer newshour are available from pbs video call one eight hundred three to eight pbs one thousand it's big