Federal Budget

President Bill Clinton spoke to reporters about legislation under consideration by Congress which placed new restrictions on how America conducted foreign policy and slashed the budget in foreign affairs. The president believed these bills threatened the ability to preserve America’s global leadership and to safeguard the security and prosperity of the nation in the post-Cold War world. He “urged Congress to send him a bill that protected the fundamental interests of the American people--a bill that he can sign.” Media questions focused on the president’s plan for balancing the budget in ten years; whether the president would veto the foreign affairs bill; whether the tragedy in Oklahoma City had altered the president’s attitude toward the Sinn Fein party in Northern Ireland or toward Gerry Adams who defended terrorist actions in Britain; efforts to stop Serb aggression; and efforts to consumate the transaction for Saudi Arabia to buy Boeing and McDonnell-Douglas commercial transpo close