Remarks to Office of
Management and Budget Staff
The President. Before I begin my
remarks, I have an announcement to make. I have accepted the resignation of Jim
Miller as Director of the Office of Management and Budget, effective October
15th. Deputy OMB Director Joe Wright will take his place.
Now,
it goes without saying that I'm sorry to see Jim go. He's made an outstanding
contribution to our administration and our nation these last 8 years. He was
part of the team that showed up for work on our first day in office. He started
at OMB, where he was our first Administrator for Information and Regulatory
Affairs and the Executive Director of Vice President Bush's Presidential Task
Force on Regulatory Relief. He then spent 4 years as Chairman of the Federal
Trade Commission, returning to OMB in October 1985 as Director. In each post,
he served with distinction. In his first stint at OMB and as the head of the
FTC, he played a leading role in removing the shackles of excessive regulation
from our economy. I believe that a great deal of the credit for our recovery
goes to that effort. Since becoming Director of OMB, he has been at the center
of our battle to bring the deficit down. And it says something that it's been
coming down almost from the day he took over.
Jim, what can I say to an old comrade-in-arms
and to your lovely wife, Demaris, but thank you,
Godspeed, and God bless you. By the way, Jim will become a distinguished fellow
at the Center for the Study of Public Choice at
It
will be hard to fill Jim's shoes, but if there's a man to do it, it's Joe
Wright. And Joe is also what the Navy calls a plank holder. He's been here from
the very first day and has been Deputy Director of OMB since 1982. Joe has
headed our management improvement programs, which are among the least heralded
but, for my money, most important accomplishments of our administration. He has
also chaired the board that oversees our inspectors general and their
employees. If there's any man who can say that he has saved the American people
billions of dollars in our campaign against waste, fraud, and abuse in the
Government, it's Joe Wright. And, like Jim, Joe has
also been up to his neck in our budget negotiations with Congress. Joe, you're
already aboard, so I won't say, welcome aboard, but I will say it'll be great
to know that your sure and steady hand is on the tiller at OMB.
Now,
for those of you who don't work here, let me say, welcome to the White House
complex. White House complex -- that's because nothing in
And
the budget process is why we're here today. You are the ones who are changing
this never-ending government game of Dungeons and Dragons -- and changing it
for good. You are showing those who thought they had a monopoly on Washington
wisdom and who said that the budget process was an impossible scrabble and who
said that anyone who tried to reform it would do it only at his or her own risk
-- you are showing them they didn't have a clue. And that's why, in my book,
you should go to the head of the class. With your help, we are overcoming, at
last, 40 years of government, and particularly congressional, indecision,
mismanagement, and delay. The history here is astounding. I doubt that there's
1 American in 10,000 who knows how bad things had become or how hard and long
we in our administration and our friends in Congress have fought to fix them.
But
let me say that I've never lost faith that we would win in the end, although I
know some did, and I can understand that. After all, there have seemed at times
to be so few of us -- and so many of those who had an interest in things as
they were -- well, that sometimes it's reminded me of a scene from an old
western. The marshal and his deputy are about to ride into a wild town that
they're supposed to clean up. And the marshal turns to the deputy and says: ``This place is filled with 2,000 of the worst thieves,
gunslingers, and desperadoes in the West. It's you and me against them all, and
I'd say the odds are just about even.'' [Laughter]
But
think for a minute of the record of the last 40 years. Since 1948 not once have
all of the Government's appropriations bills been passed by Congress, forwarded
to the President, and approved by the start of the fiscal year. Only once were
all 13 appropriations bills even out of Congress when the fiscal year began,
and that was 10 years ago. Some departments have been running with stopgap
funding for years. Treasury, for example, has had only one appropriations bill
in the last 8 years. For the rest of the time, it was funded entirely through
continuing resolutions, a practice which, among other things, can disrupt major
contracts and undermine the critical business of the Government.
From
the day I was sworn in as President until today, I should have received a total
of 91 appropriations bills for signature or veto. Congress has sent me only 37,
and only 9 were here by the start of the fiscal year. In fact, until a few
weeks ago, it had been a long time since I'd seen any appropriation bills at
all, anytime in the year -- not since
Last
January when I delivered my State of the Union Address to Congress, I noted how
the entire rickety system had collapsed at the beginning of that fiscal year.
We'd had 4 continuing resolutions lasting 41 days the first time, 36 days the
second, 2 days the third, and 3 days the last time. And then along came the
continuing resolution that contained all the Government's appropriations7E 7E
in 7E 7Eone7E 7E gigantic7E 7E mountain7E 7E of7E 7E a bill. It was 1,057 pages
long, weighed 14 pounds, and was 2 months late. Even Congress didn't know what
was in it. They sent it to us so late that we had only a few hours -- not days,
hours -- to sign, or shut down the Government. Now, I know I don't have to
remind many of you of that fiasco, because you were among the 300 people on our
staff at OMB who had to read it. You have my sympathy. [Laughter]
There
was, of course, a lot in that bill I didn't like. But I decided to sign it
because to do otherwise, it would have closed down the Government. But as I
told Congress in January -- right after I just about crushed my finger dropping
that paper monster on the podium -- [laughter] -- I wasn't fooling when I did
that. [Laughter] It had been underneath. It was sore for 3 days. [Laughter]
Well, I told them the next time they sent me a bill like
that I won't sign it.
And
the warning's been taken to heart. Already Congress has passed and I have
signed six appropriations bills: Energy and water, HUD, Labor and HHS, Treasury
and Postal Service, Interior, and military construction. I also expect to
receive three other bills shortly: Transportation; foreign operations; and
Commerce, Justice, and State. And that will leave just three bills with which
we have problems. Congress and our administration are working together to iron
out the differences and finish the Nation's business when it should be
finished. I've said many times that I want to receive all the remaining
appropriations bills, ones that I can sign, by this Friday. On our end of
And
when I sign the last of these bills, I expect that my thoughts will turn to a
special American. Forty-one years ago, just before the Government started down
the path of never getting its business quite done, a man came to Washington who
was destined to become one of our great Senators. Today, on the eve of his
retirement, he is chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and second
ranking majority member of the Armed Services Committee. He has been a
supporter of our drive to restore
Well,
John Stennis is a man of integrity, and he is a
patriot. He knows how much it means to our nation's future to get the budget
process back on schedule. I'm dedicating our drive to finish the budget process
on time this year to Senator Stennis. And I hope
every Member of the Senate, as well as the House, will think of their votes on
timely appropriations bills as a way to salute Senator Stennis
and to thank him for 41 years of service to our beloved land.
And
to each of you, let me also say thank you. You are the unsung heroes of this
momentous change in how Federal business is conducted. Without you, it wouldn't
be happening. Because of you, our nation will be stronger in the years to come.
I
thank you, and God bless you all.
Director
Miller. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you for those nice things you said
about me. You can't imagine the importance of your support and confidence in me
over the last several years in boosting my morale. I certainly look forward to
working with new colleagues: Jim Buchanan, Bob Tollison
and Richard Fink, David Kaplan, Mark Crain, and Betty Tillman. But when we
talked this morning, I indicated to you this OMB staff is something very, very
special in
Mr.
President, in choosing Joe Wright as my successor, you could not have chosen
more wisely. Joe is a loyal, knowledgeable, indefatigable leader, and I am sure
that he will provide the best leadership for OMB in the coming months. And I
assure you, moreover, Mr. President, of a smooth transition. The transition
will be as smooth as a muddy, shallow lake in the calm day in
Finally,
Mr. President, thank you for the challenge and the opportunity to have served
you these past years. Eight years ago, before your election, I signed on to the
Reagan-Bush team, and I have cherished every second of that opportunity. It's
been the most rewarding of my career. I would not take anything for it. I feel
about my experience working for you, Mr. President -- and I've drawn this
analogy before -- it reminds me of when I received my Ph.D. from the
Deputy
Director Wright. Well, Jim, let me start out by saying that's not true. We'll
miss you a great deal -- a great deal. In your 1978 campaign, Mr. President,
you stated: ``I pledge to you to restore to the Federal Government the capacity
to do the people's work without dominating their lives. I pledge to you a
government that will not only work well but wisely.'' That was at the 1980
convention, and you cannot imagine the impact that had on a great number of us
that decided: Now, that is the administration that we want to be in. That is the
person that we want to come in and work for and follow.
I
had the pleasure of spending my first year in your administration under
Secretary Mac Baldrige. He was truly a terrific
person and a good Cabinet officer. But I had no idea what a wonderful challenge
it would be until I joined OMB 6 years ago -- in following your policies
because at that time we were losing $1 billion to $1\1/2\ billion a week to the
deficit as a result of the recession that you inherited from your predecessor. But the bank that I was in before -- if that would have happened,
you would have devalued the portfolio of the predecessor and then started
fresh. But we couldn't do that, so we started working with diligence to
get that deficit down.
As
a result of the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings bill, the balanced budget agreement, and,
Mr. President, your slogan of just say no to tax increases, by golly, we were
able to go ahead and make the most significant reduction in the deficit that's
happened. And we're still working on it, and we will win on that deficit. It
will come down. During the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings and balanced budget
agreements, Jim Miller was right out there in front the entire time. Mr.
President, he served you well, with distinction and with results.
But
while also doing that, I had the excitement of being your point man, for
example, on the welfare reform bill that was just passed. And I think it's
absolutely amazing that we could get meaningful work requirements as part of
the reform of our welfare system. And we couldn't have done it without you.
It's a tremendous achievement. Also on the housing bills, the highway bills --
and to also have the true privilege of following your guidance on the Reform
'88 management improvement program -- as when you said we did not come in here,
Joe, to just make changes; we came in here to make fundamental changes in the
way the Government operates.
You
asked for a cash management system on a $2 trillion cash flow. It's in place.
You asked for a credit management system on a $1 trillion portfolio. It's in
place. And the largest Federal governmentwide
financial accounting and control system is going in place right now, Mr.
President. It's an important time right now, preparing your last budget and
hopefully George Bush's first, working with the National Economic Commission as
they come in with their recommendations. I am honored that you selected me for
this task, truly honored.
But
I've got to say that I've got the most competent group of professional work
force and workhorses in front of you that you've got in the entire Federal
Government -- the professional staff of the Office of Management and Budget.
And with that, we will put together a package that you will be very proud of.
And it will be the start of the final 3 years of Gramm-Rudman
to get the deficit down to balance.
My
wife, Ellen, and I -- this is my wife, Ellen; say hi -- [laughter] -- are very
pleased to join your Cabinet family. And Jim, I've been riding shotgun for you
for 2 years. Okay, you've been guiding the horses. I'll move on over, and I
hope I do you proud. I drive the horses straight. Thank you very much.
Note: The President
spoke at