Remarks announcing the initiative to streamline government - Bill Clinton's speech, March 3, 1993 - Transcript

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, March 8, 1993

In short, it's time our Government adjusted to the real world, tightened its belt, managed its affairs in the context of an economy that is information based, rapidly changing, and puts a premium on speed and function and service, not rules and regulations.

Americans voted for a change last November. They want better schools and health care and better roads and more jobs, but they want us to do it all with a Government that works better on less money and is more responsive. The American people may not know specifically how to do it, although many of them have good particular ideas, but I'm confident our people are willing to try new ways and they want us to experiment. They want us to do things that have worked in other contexts now in the National Government, and that's what we are here to do today.

I thank the Vice President for his willingness to lead this effort. I thank the Members of Congress who are here and those who are not who are supporting us. And I earnestly enlist the support of the American people and especially the employees of the United States Government in this important effort.

I'd like now to introduce the Vice President, who will be in charge of this effort of performance review for the next 6 months, for his statement.