ment. I look forward to consulting closely with Congress and the American people about how best to put its provisions into effect. I want to congratulate all our trade negotiators, many of whom have hardly slept in the last several days, and especially Ambassador Mickey Kantor for this historic breakthrough. The American people should know that they were well represented by people I personally observed to be tough and tireless and genuine advocates for our interests and our ideals. All of us can be proud that at this critical moment when many nations are facing economic troubles that have caused them to turn inward, the United States has once again reached outward and has made global economic growth our cause. This year we've worked hard to put the economic interest of America's broad middle class back at the center of our foreign policy as well as our domestic policy. Not since the end of World War II has the United States pushed to completion trade agreements of such significance as NAFTA and GATT. We've shown leadership by example. We've set forth a vision for a thriving global economy. And our trading partners to their credit have also rallied to that cause. Today's agreement caps a year of economic renewal for our Nation. It should give us added reason for confidence as we enter the new year. But it should also reinforce our determination to do better in the new year. Helen [Helen Thomas, United Press International]. Russia Q. Mr. President, are you concerned, as many seem to be, over the rise of ultranationalism in Russia? And do you have any bulwark against a replay of the thirties if this happens to Russia, if there is this kind of closing out and rise of what's being considered fascist The President. Well, let me say, of course I am concerned about some of the comments that have been made by the leader of the so-called Liberal Democratic Party in Russia. I think no American, indeed, no citizen of the world who read such comments could fail to be concerned. On the other hand, I think it's important to recognize that we don't have any evidence at this time that the people who voted for that party were embracing all those comments, or indeed, may have even known about them. And we don't yet know what direction the new Parliament will try to take. Am I concerned about that? Yes, I am. Do I think that this means there will be a big new dangerous direction in Russian policy? I don't think there's any evidence to support that. Q. How about your policy? The President. Well, because I don't policy, I don't see any basis for a change in know that there will be any change in Russian our policy at this time. On the other hand, it's something that we'll have to watch and work with. I think it calls on all of us to redouble our efforts to support the process of reform in Russia in a way that the ordinary citizens can understand will redound to their benefit. I believe this was clearly a protest vote, fueled by people who have been in, many of them, in virtual economic free fall and who have also suffered the kind of psychological damage that comes to people when they work harder for less money or when they lose their jobs or when they don't see any better day at the end of all the change. It is a more extreme example of what you have seen in our Nation and in other nations throughout the world. Thankfully, in the West where you've seen protest votes or votes against the established order of things, they've been within much more normal channels of debate. But I think plainly we have to assume that this is primarily a protest vote. We have to watch it. We have to stand up for what we believe in. But I think we should continue to support reform in Russia. Rita [Rita Braver, CBS News]. Q. Sir, even if it is a protest vote, what can the U.S. do, if anything, to reverse this tide? And what's to say that it isn't going to keep going in the direction of fascism? The President. Well, first of all, some of it's being done already. I mean, I think the wide publicity being given to all the comments and statements will give you some in dication before too long about whether people in the street in Russia embrace the stated print positions on all the things that have been said or whether it was a protest vote. But again let me say, keep in mind, this is the first popularly elected Parliament under a legitimate system of elections, to the best of my knowledge, that Russia has ever had. There are now two centers of democratic legitimacy in Russia, the President and the Parliament. And they will interface with one another in ways that are some predictable and some that are unpredictable. You can tell that from our experience here. I think it's important at this moment not to overreact. I don't mean to say we shouldn't be sensitive, but I just think let's wait and see who the people are who take their seats in the Parliament and what they do and what they say. Q. Mr. President, is Yeltsin under increasing pressure to hold the elections now before 1996? And if so, do you think he should? The President. I don't know about that. I don't have an opinion about that. I think that's a decision for them to make. Jim [Jim Miklaszewski, NBC News]. President's Popularity Q. Mr. President, in recent opinion polls, your personal and job approval ratings have been on a steady and some might say significant rise, while Ross Perot's have been pretty much plummeting. I mean, what's going on here? Can you tell us? Q. And he has a followup. [Laughter] Q. [Inaudible] Thank you very much. The President. Either you guys are going to be really mad at him for asking the question or he has some check that I have bounced that he has a picture of. [Laughter] Q. Can't wait for the kicker. The President. What I think is happening is, first of all, the American people are beginning to feel—just beginning, there's a long way to go-beginning to feel some benefit of the economic changes brought on by the lower interest rates and the higher investment. I mean, when you have, like we had last month, a 19-year low in the number of people who are late paying their home mortgages and when millions of people refinance their homes in a year, when you have the job rate picking up, those things are bound to have an effect. Then I think we had a series of highly publicized struggles for change in the Congress that came out in favor of the position that our administration had taken. And the most visible ones lately, obviously, were NAFTA and the Brady bill. So I think those were the two reasons why. I think the American people want results and they also want an administration that will take on the tough problems and try to see them through. Q. And Mr. Perot? The President. I can't comment on that. You ought to ask the Vice President about that. [Laughter] Middle East Peace Process Q. On the Middle East, Mr. President, on the Middle East, do you think there's still hope? The date has passed The President. Absolutely. Absolutely. Q. Have you talked to any of the parties? The President. No, but I met with the Secretary of State this morning, and we talked about it. I asked him to talk to me about it, and we are still planning on going forward with our initiatives next year. It will be a major part of what we're going to do. Thank you very much. Health Care Reform Q. Mr. President, on health care, a quick question on health care? The President. One more. All right, one more, one more. [Laughter] It's Christmas, guys. Q. It seems as if a lot of Republicans seem to be really going after the health care reform proposal as you initially advanced it, and they're saying now they don't want to compromise. Jack Kemp says that it may have started off as an iceberg; it's going to wind up ice cubes. And Cheney is now saying he's totally opposed to it. Gingrich is saying there's no room for compromising on many of the aspects of the health care reform package. How far are you willing to go in making this health care package palatable to Republicans so it won't simply be a Democratic initiative? The President. Well, I told you what my principles were. My principles are two: uni versal coverage, without which you will never slow the rate of cost increase and stop the cost shifting; and a package of comprehensive benefits. I don't want to go through the whole catastrophic insurance fight that Congress had a few years ago. You all remember what happened there. Beyond that, I'm willing to talk to them about it. But I would just point out that today the questions really should be directed to them: What is your position? We now know that there are another 2.3 million people without insurance, that number of uninsured going up steadily. How do you justify leaving in place a system that costs 40 percent more of our income than any other system in the world and does much less? What is your justification for the status quo? It is the most bureaucratic system that exists anywhere in the world, and it has not worked. So their rhetoric, you know, I realize you can lob rhetoric that sounds very good, but I don't think that the rhetoric corresponds to the reality of the proposal. The proposal we made leaves in place the choice of doctors, gives more consumer choice to the American people than they have today, and will simplify lives for America's physicians if it passes. So I would have to say again, I welcome this debate, and it's fine to have a debate over principles on this issue. I want to. I told you what my two were. So when they say that they want to fight us, my question back is, what's your answer to the fact that the number of uninsured Americans is going up every single day? It's going in the wrong direction. Our plan would take it in the right direction. Thank you. NOTE: The President's 38th news conference began at 2:10 p.m. in the Briefing Room at the White House. Remarks on the Resignation of Les Ladies and gentlemen, it is with real sadness that today I accept Secretary Aspin's re quest to be relieved of his duties as Secretary of Defense for personal reasons. I am very grateful that he's agreed to remain at his post until January 20th, and beyond if necessary, so that we can plan together for the coming year and effect a smooth transition at the Pentagon. Les has been a close adviser and a friend of mine for a long time. I have valued his wise counsel as a key member of our national security team. And I have told him that after he takes the break he's requested, I very much hope he will consider other assignments for this administration. During a lifetime of public service in Congress, with our transition, and at the Pentagon, Les Aspin has made invaluable contributions to this Nation's defense and security. None of them have been more significant than his service as Secretary of Defense. Along with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he has provided solid leadership for our uniformed and civilian defense personnel during a period of transition that is historic and has at times been unsettling. He helped launch creative policy responses to the fundamental changes of this era, from the dissolution of the Soviet empire to the growing challenges of ethnic conflict and weapons proliferation. And through it all, he has led with character, with intelligence, with wisdom, and the unflappable good humor that is both his trademark and his secret weapon. One of his most important contributions in this past year has been his efforts to help our administration relate our defense strategy in this new era and our defense spending. Under his leadership, the Pentagon conducted the first comprehensive review of our forces since the end of the cold war. This now well-known, bottom-up review has provided our Nation with a profile of this era's threats and a vision of our force structure that will guide our Nation's military for many years to come. He's provided steady leadership for the entire defense community as it has confronted the inevitable downsizing that accompanied the end of the cold war. He acted on the recommendations of the base closure commission in a way that demonstrated equity, responsibility, and a great concern for the communities and the families that were hit hard by the closure of our military facilities. And as we've reduced our force levels, he's been the first to voice concerns for the men and women in uniform who shoulder the burden of our national security. His leadership has also been invaluable in helping our country to adapt to our military social changes. He led the way in our efforts to open the doors for women to serve our Nation in combat roles and helped to ensure more equitable rules toward homosexuals in our military. He's provided creative leadership as he's mobilized the Pentagon to develop new and stronger responses to the many security challenges of this new era, such as his new counterproliferation initiative. And on a range of tough decisions and tough challenges abroad, from Bosnia to Korea, he has called them as he saw them, bringing to bear a lifetime of experience and dedication and a razor-sharp mind to our Nation's security interest. Above all, Secretary Aspin has provided deep strategic thinking and leadership at a time of profound change in this world. As a result, when our citizens go to bed tonight, we can do so secure in the knowledge that our Nation is building the right forces and acquiring the right capabilities for this new lieved of your duties after your years of intense, unselfish and extraordinarily effective service to our nation and its security. I am grateful that you are prepared to remain at your post through January 20, or beyond if necessary, as we work through the immediate issues before us and as we manage a smooth transition to your successor. I hope that after you have taken the break you have requested, you will consider other important assignments that you would find challenging and personally rewarding. I am proud of your accomplishments over the past year, and you should be, as well. In the Congress, in the campaign and as Secretary of Defense, you have been an effective. leader in efforts to harness together our defense strategy and defense resources, culminating in this year's Bottom Up Review. Together with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, you skillfully managed difficult issues-such as the military service of homosexuals and women in combat-that could have proved both deeply divisive and damaging to our military effectiveness and readiness. You helped conduct the first review of our nuclear posture since the end of the Cold War and advanced a new counter proliferation strategy. And you helped in the distinguished appointment of a new Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General John Shalikashvili. All of this took skill and hard work, and all Americans are in your debt for it. I look forward to urging you once again to bring your great skills and deep devotion to your country's service. With admiration, Dear Mr. President, Bill Clinton asked me It has been one year since you to serve as your Secretary of Defense. It has been an honor for me to work with you as we have reshaped our country's military to protect Americans in a vastly changed world. I am proud of the progress we have made in dealing with these changes. We now have a clear strategic sense of the new dangers we now face. After a year's work we will be able to secure our country against these new dangers with a Bottom Up Force. By strategically defining the strengths we need and hon estly projecting how much this force will cost, we have also built a new consensus to invest what is necessary to underwrite this Bottom Up Force. As a result we have moved for the first time in fifteen years away from the polarizing debates about how much we should spend on defense and worked together to build the military strengths we know we need. This has helped end the gridlock that for years kept us from governing and from concentrating on our agenda at home. We have also worked together with our uniformed military leadership to find common ground on some difficult social issues that were avoided in the past and which could have divided our military. So we can now ensure that we will have a ready to fight force without the continuing distractions of these controversies. As you know, dealing with these changes have made it a tough year for us all-tough issues, tough calls. I share your pride in the progress we have made. But now, as we have discussed on previous occasions, I ask you to relieve me of the duty as your Secretary of Defense on January 20. I ask this for quite personal reasons. I have been working continually for over two decades to help build a strong American military. It's time now for me to take a break and undertake a new kind of work. Of course, I pledge my every effort to support you and my successor in a smooth and orderly transition. You can continue to draw on one of the strongest and most talented senior management teams the Department of Defense has ever seen. Bill Perry and General Shali will give you a continuity of leadership as my successor works with the Senate to assume office. Finally, I want to thank you for the honor of serving you and our country. You are a great Commander-In-Chief. I know that while you are our President our country will grow in all of its strengths, Americans will continue to be secure, our men and women in uniform will always be honored, and we will be true to our best values as a people. Sincerely, Les Aspin 1. Quantitative limitations on imports of certain dairy products established pursuant to section 22 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933, as amended (7 U.S.C. 624) (the “Act”), are set forth in subchapter IV of chapter 99 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTS”). 2. In accordance with section 22 of the Act, the Secretary of Agriculture advised the President that he has reason to believe that changed circumstances exist with respect to the product coverage of the import quota for malted milk and articles of milk or cream, and that changed circumstances exist with respect to the import quota licensing requirement for dried cream and for malted milk and articles of milk or cream. The Secretary further advised that circumstances exist that require restoration of the quota treatment for margarine cheese that existed prior to the conversion of the Tariff Schedules of the United States to the HTS. Furthermore, the Secretary advised that circumstances exist that require that U.S. Note 3(a)(iii) to subchapter IV of chapter 99 of the HTS be clarified with respect to the term "other" countries as it appears in the subheadings subject to the provisions of such note. 3. Based upon this advice, the President directed the United States International Trade Commission (the "Commission") to initiate an investigation under section 22(d) of the Act (7 U.S.C. 624(d)) to determine whether the HTS should be modified with respect to: (a) the exclusion of cajeta not made from cow's milk, provided for in subheading 1901.90.30 of the HTS, from the quota on malted milk and articles of milk or |