And next, help me return our civil justice system to its original purpose: dispense tice with civility. Eighteen million lawsuits a year are choking us, costing individuals and businesses billions, a tremendous drag on our morale as well as our economy

And in the next century, as we look at the likely economic competition as well as the likely opportunities, they will be beyond our borders. That means we must open up more foreign markets to sell our goods and our services and to sustain and create jobs for our people.

Reform of Government, education, health care, our legal system, opening markets abroad: addressing these issues is fundamental to America's future. Already America has changed the world. Today I'm asking you to help me change America. If Congress won't change, we'll have to change the Congress. The battle has been joined, and it's your future that we're fighting for.

Thank you for your support. And may God bless the United States of America.

Note: This address was recorded at 10:30 a.m. on March 27 in the Oval Office at the White House for broadcast after 9 a.m. on

March 28.

Remarks to State Attorneys General March 30, 1992

Well, may I salute Ken Eikenberry and Jeff Amestoy and all the State attorney generals, and salute also-whoops, there he is down there our own Bill Barr, who I think is doing an outstanding job. And I know he's working closely with everybody in this room.

Bill has his forces moving out on several fronts, from tort reform to relief of prison overcrowding. We've also started what we call the Weed and Seed initiative, our plan to get the roots, rip them out of the innercity violence, and then plant seeds of hope with more educational opportunity, with more job training, with a new approach to health care. And then we are going to keep hammering away on the need for enterprise zones. This plan joins Federal, State, and local forces to go after and to take back our

The efforts of the Justice Department help shape the kind of legacy that we leave for future generations. And our children must inherit a society that is safe, is sane and just. And I've also spoken of other meaningful legacies like jobs and a world at peace and certainly, strong families. The American heritage which I describe is one where children can sit on their porch without the fear of getting caught in an ugly crossfire, where decent people don't have to hide behind locked doors while gangs roam the streets, where the message is clear: When it comes to the law, if you're going to take liberties, you're going to lose your own, you're going to pay.

We cannot pass this legacy onto our children tomorrow unless we start going after tough crime legislation today. And for 3 years running, we have called on the Congress to pass a tough crime bill. We've pushed hard. Many of you have been at our side in trying to get something done. I want a bill that won't tie the hands of the honest cops in trying to get their jobs done, one that shows less sympathy for the criminals and certainly more for the victims of crime. And most of all, I want to get a crime bill that I can sign.

But law and order mean more than just safe streets and bigger prisons. Reforming the system also means going after public corruption in our cities and our States, the rot that eats away at our institutions and at our trust. Over the past 3 years, this administration has moved aggressively to hunt down corruption and stop it dead in its tracks.

For the record, in '89 and '90 alone the Department secured over 2,200 convictions, 2,200 in public corruption cases. Judges, legislators, and law enforcement officials, parttime crooks, full-time fakes: Nobody is immune. And this kind of crime does society real harm because these swindlers aren't satisfied merely with making crime pay; they stick the taxpayer with the tab. And millions and millions of hard-earned tax dollars are disappearing from public treasuries every single year and showing up in corruption's back pocket. And this is money that could be building roads or balancing budgets. I am preaching to the choir on this subject be

cause you all are out there on the cutting edge, on the front line all the time, trying to do something about the problem.

But the problem is greater than a few individuals who stopped caring. The problem is a system that has stopped working. And the old bureaucratic system of big Government has ground to a halt. And it's not accountable; it is not effective; and it is not efficient. It's not even compassionate. And the chronic problems we see today are sad proof that the old approaches are producing new failures. So in this election year, it's understandable, I'm sure, that we hear a lot of talk about change. You all have been fighting for change; I think I have. And yes, the time has come for change, far-reaching, fundamental reform. That's the kind of change that this country needs in the fighting-crime field. Not just in fighting crime, incidentally, and not just in Government but all across the board.

And that's why I've proposing school choice reform-just finished almost an hour meeting with our Secretary of Education on that one. So the choices about education can be made from the kitchen table, not from the halls of bureaucracy. Where it's been tried, it has been effective in improving the schools that are not chosen as well as those that are.

And I've proposed a health care reform to improve access for those who need it the most. Legal reform, we need your help on. We've got good proposals up there on Capitol Hill. Our legal reform is shaped so that Americans can start solving their problems face to face instead of lawyer to lawyer. I'm amazed at the number, the great increase in lawsuits that is really putting a damper on so many aspects in our society.

The kind of change that I'm describing is hard. It has its enemies, and the battle lines have been drawn: the allies of change versus the defenders of the status quo. So, I want to make it very clear which side I'm on; I know which side many of you are on.

So, let the cynics say that this is only a fight for the next election. We know it's a battle for the next generation. And I'm very glad you all are here. And what we'll do is go over here, and I'd love to have suggestions

from you as to how we might be doing our job better down here. And of course, I'd be glad to take questions and if they're technical, I'll kick them off to perhaps the most able Attorney General a guy could hope to have with him.

Thank you all very much.

Note: The President spoke at 10:36 a.m. in the Roosevelt Room at the White House. In his remarks, he referred to Kenneth O. Eikenberry, attorney general of Washington, and Jeffrey L. Amestoy, attorney general of Vermont.

Exchange With Reporters Prior to a Meeting With President George Vassiliou of Cyprus

March 30, 1992

Cyprus

Q. President Vassiliou, are you going to ask the United States to pressure Mr. Denktash to make some progress?

President Vassiliou. Well, I am grateful to the President for his support for a solution of the Cyprus problem, and I'm sure that the fact that he's meeting here, with him in an election campaign period, is the best proof of his interest. And I'm grateful.

President Bush. I am interested, and I

just hope we can help. Our Ambassador's sador, but now he's going on to greater purbeen wonderful and tried, a special Ambassuits. But we can't let him get too far away because he's very interested in all of that. No, but we'll talk about it, and I think your visit up there in New York probably is very important. I hope the new Secretary-General is energized. He told me he wants to be.

President Vassiliou. He's very interested. He wants to do it, and he needs your support. President Bush. Well, you can

Q. Mr. Denktash said he would like to meet you someplace.

President Vassiliou. Meetings are always easy to arrange; what is important is to have willingness to solve the problem.

Remarks at a Meeting With Health
Care Representatives
March 31, 1992

One, we want change; everybody knows we need it. We want more accessibility; everyone knows we need that. Two, we want to retain the quality of health care that has singled out the United States. And under our plan I believe we not only retain the quality, but we will be able to provide the access. And you're right, market-let that work on this. And let's not turn to a socialized medicine scheme that sounds good and that's going to cost the taxpayers an arm and a leg. So, we'll keep on it.

But I want to just find out in a little more detail what more we should be doing here because we are very grateful to HEAL for this support. And when you see a coalition of this magnitude working for this common end, it gives me great confidence we can get something done. That's the main thing: Help those people that need help, and do it in a sensible and sound way.

So, we'll see how we go.

Note: The President spoke at 11:17 a.m. in the Roosevelt Room at the White House. In his remarks, he referred to the Health Care Equity Action League (HEAL).

Message to the Congress Reporting
on the National Emergency With
Respect to Export Controls
March 31, 1992

To the Congress of the United States:

1. On September 30, 1990, in Executive Order No. 12730, I declared a national emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act ("IEEPA") (50 U.S.C. 1701, et seq.) to deal with the threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States caused by the lapse of the Export Administration Act of 1979, as amended (50 U.S.C. App. 2401, et seq.), and the system of controls maintained under that Act. In that order I continued in effect, to the extent permitted by law, the provisions of the Export Administration Act of 1979, as amended, the

Export Administration Regulations (15 C.F.R. 768, et seq. (1991)), and the delegations of authority set forth in Executive Order No. 12002 of July 7, 1977, Executive Order No. 12214 of May 2, 1980, and Executive Order No. 12131 of May 4, 1979, as amended by Executive Order No. 12551 of February 21, 1986.

2. I issued Executive Order No. 12730 pursuant to the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and laws of the United States, including IEEPA, the National Emergencies Act (“NEA”) (50 U.S.C. 1601, et seq.), and section 301 of title 3 of the United States Code. At that time, I also submitted a report to the Congress pursuant to section 204(b) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C 1703(b)). Section 204 of IEEPA requires follow-up reports, with respect to actions or changes, to be submitted every 6 months. Additionally, section 401(c) of the NEA requires that the President, within 90 days after the end of each 6-month period following a declaration of a national emergency, report to the Congress on the total expenditures directly attributable to that declaration. This report, covering the 6-month period from October 1, 1991, to March 31, 1992, is submitted in compliance with these require

ments.

3. Since the issuance of Executive Order No. 12730, the Department of Commerce has continued to administer the system of export controls, including antiboycott provisions, contained in the Export Administration. Regulations. In administering these controls, the Department has acted under a policy of conforming actions under Executive Order No. 12730 to those required under the Export Administration Act, insofar as appropriate.

4. Since my last report to the Congress, there have been several significant developments in the area of export controls:

-In light of the ongoing changes occurring in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, the Department of Commerce has been working with officials of Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, and republics of the former Soviet Union to implement and strengthen their export control systems, including pre-license inspections and post-shipment verifications. We are also en

gaged in activities with these countries to assist in the prevention of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and corresponding technology. These developments will allow for enhanced and much-needed trade in high technology items and other commodities in the region, while helping to prevent unauthorized shipments or uses of such items.

-In my last report I noted that, following negotiations with our Coordinating Committee (COCOM) partners that produced a streamlined Core List of truly strategic items subject to multilateral national security controls, the Department of Commerce implemented a new Commerce Control List (CCL), effective September 1, 1991 (56 F.R. 42824, August 29, 1991). During the current reporting period, the Department issued a conforming regulation, effective January 7, 1992, to bring the CCL into line with special country- and commodity-based controls. In this action, foreign policy provisions in the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) were revised to adjust and expand controls on Iran and Syria. Controls affecting countries designated by the Secretary of State as supporting international terrorism were also revised, with Iraq added and Yemen deleted from the list. Additionally, the transfer from the Department of State to the Department of Commerce of licensing jurisdiction over certain civil aircraft inertial navigation equipment was implemented (57 F.R. 4553, February 6, 1992).

-Our efforts to address the threat to the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States posed by the spread of weapons of mass destruction and missile delivery systems remain ongoing. In this vein, we continue to work with our major trading partners to strengthen export controls over goods, technology, and other forms of assistance that can contribute to the spread of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and missile systems:

• The United States has been working with its partners in the 22-nation Australia Group (AG) to harmonize export controls related to the proliferation of chemical and biological and biological weapons (CBW). At the December 1991 meeting, the participants agreed to control

the export of certain biological organisms and CBW-related equipment. The list considered for possible adoption by the AG in this effort is nearly identical to the draft submitted by the United States.

• Additionally, the 27-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group, in which the United States participates, is expected formally to establish a multilateral regime to control nuclear-related, dual-use items along the lines of the nuclear referral list currently administered by the Department of Commerce.

• In the area of supercomputers, we have agreed on a supercomputer safeguard regime with Japan and will be negotiating with our European trading partners to expand this regime. Supercomputer exports involve sensitive national security and foreign policy interests such as cryptology, strategic defense, and submarine warfare; the multilateral safeguard regime is therefore intended to establish uniform and effective international policies and procedures to protect supercomputers from unauthorized end-uses and end-users.

Developments in the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) include revision of the MTCR control list or "Annex," and the inclusion of missiles capable of delivering all weapons of mass destruction within the scope of the MTCR, not just those capable of delivering nuclear weapons, which were originally designated as the focus of the regime.

In response to commitments made by the People's Republic of China (PRC) to adhere to the MTCR nonproliferation guidelines, on February 21, 1992, the Department of State announced my decision to remove special missile sanctions imposed upon the PRC for the activities of Chinese entities in

volved in missile technology proliferation. As a result, certain sanctions, including restrictions on the export of high-performance computers, are being removed. Other controls affecting the PRC, such as those implemented following Tiananmen Square, remain in place.