Economic Strategy and Gun Control
THURSDAY: PRESIDENT CALLS FOR CONTINUATION OF ECONOMIC STRATEGYToday, in a speech to the Business Roundtable, President Clinton will call for America to move forward on the three-pronged economic strategy and vision that have paved the way for prosperity over the past 4 years: Continuing to cut the deficit until we have balanced the budget in a way that is consistent with our values --to lower interest rates, provide new incentives for private sector investment and lay the foundation for continued growth and higher productivity. Making the vital investments in education and training that our people need --and providing tax relief that is faithful to the bipartisan balanced budget agreement; helps the economy grow; is fair to middle class families; does not explode the deficit, and targets our nation's top priority --the education of our children. Opening markets around the world and meeting the challenge of global competition head-on --especially through trade with the emerging economies of this hemisphere and Asia. The President will renew his call for fast track authority to negotiate new trade agreements, and will emphasize the importance of extending normal trade status to China, to help build through engagement a China that is stable, open and peaceful -- that respects human rights, strengthens the rule of law, and works with us to build a more secure international order. WEDNESDAY: PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES NEW GUN CONTROL MEASURE Yesterday at a Juvenile Justice Conference at Georgetown University, President Clinton announced new action to cut off young people's access to guns that can cut short their lives: President Clinton directed the Secretary of the Treasury to require federally-licensed gun dealers to post signs in their stores and issue written warnings with each gun they sell, to put adult gun purchasers on notice that selling or giving a handgun to a minor is dangerous, wrong, and illegal --leading to up to 10 years in prison. The President called on Congress to pass his Juvenile Justice legislation, which would declare war on gangs with new prosecutors and tougher penalties; extend the Brady Bill so that someone who commits a violent crime as a juvenile is barred from buying a gun as an adult; require child safety locks to be sold with guns, and keep schools open after hours and on weekends. President Clinton said: "Today, we are taking comprehensive action to protect our children and our communities from juvenile crime and gun violence. In Boston, where many of these efforts are already in place, youth murders have dropped 80% in 5 years and not a single, solitary child has been killed with a handgun in a year and a half...we can do that." | 
