European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 4, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse Thursday March 4, 1993 . The stars and stripes Page 7 or a l r to Clinton backs return of haitians Washington a the Clinton administration told the supreme court on tuesday that the policy of intercept ing and returning haitian refugees is necessary Quot to prevent a mass migration and the loss of lives at sea a but an attorney for returned haitians argued Quot this is not Rescue. This is aiding and abetting their the court must decide by july whether the . Government s policy of stopping haitians on the High seas and returning them without considering their pleas for political Asylum violates Federal immigration Law or International treaty obligations. A Federal appeals court last year ruled that the policy was illegal but the supreme court postponed the effect of that ruling until it rules in the Case. About 37,000 people have fled the Caribbean nation in boats since their country s army overthrew elected president Jean Bertrand Aristide in september 1991. The repatriation policy begun by the Bush administration last year virtually ended such boat traffic. The Bush administration said most of those people were not fleeing violence but were trying to escape economic devastation in the hemisphere s most impoverished nation. Candidate Bill Clinton last year called the policy Quot cruel and but after his election president Clinton reassessed his position. A maybe i was too harsh in my criticism of him bus but i still think there s a big difference Between what we re doing in Haiti and what they were doing to Haiti a Clinton said tuesday. Quot and there a a big difference Between the kinds of problems that arc created by the haitian circumstance. You know something that As never brought up before Butts now painfully apparent is that if we did what the plaintiffs in the court Case want we would be consigning a Vecty Large number of haitians in All probability to some sort of death he said Many people have been lost at sea. White House spokesman George St thanopoulos said tuesday that Clinton Quot at the moment. Believes that the practice has to be Quot even though he believes this is a poli president gop discuss economics by Bic woday Washington president Clinton on tuesday held his first meetings with Republican congressional leaders who appeared divided Over How to respond to his economic plan. About two weeks after making his economic package Public Clinton and vice president a1 Gore met with the Republican House and Senate leadership on Capitol Hill. After the separate sessions gop lawmakers All described the discussions As cordial and no confrontational. But the republicans disagreed Over How their party in the minority in both houses should Deal with can tones efforts to drive his program of tax increases and spending cuts through Congress. Rep. John r. Kasich of Ohio ranking gop member of the House budget committee suggested that republicans could join with the president to Force More spending cuts Over the objections from democratic liberals. Sen. Trent Lott r-miss., however argued that neither the republicans nor the White House would want to negotiate in the end calling the disagreements Over tax increases and spending cuts Between the two Camps but House minority Leader Robert h. Michel r-i1l, and Senate minority Leader Robert j. Dole r-kan., left unclear whether the republicans wont put up their own economic blueprint to compete with Clinton a i Michel complained that the White houses failure to provide line by line budget figures made such an Effort difficult. President Clinton Republican House minority Leader Robert ii. Michel Center and vice president Al Gore head to a lunch with gop leaders. A of Illinois by for exceptional circumstances it is one he feels should be maintained for now As the Best Way he can avoid loss of life a St thanopoulos said. He added Quot the president has recon Side Rcd his position. He believes that this is the right thing to do. He believes the president has the Legal authority to carry out this ail official of Aristides exiled government refused tuesday to condemn Clinton a reversal. Quot we arc looking at contradictions that exist within a political system a said Myrto Celestin Saurel minister of social affairs. Quot his statements have now become More the policy Contr tics to be carried out by 20 coast guard ships located 13 Miles off Haiti s shores. First lady hears of minorities worries by new Day Washington a continuing to cast a wide net As she works on shaping a health care Reform plan first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton sat Down tuesday with Black and hispanic members of Congress a lawmakers whose constituents include some of the nation s neediest populations. She got an earful on issues ranging from the troubling health needs of undocumented workers and the dearth of medical research involving hispanics to the disproportionate Impact of aids and infant mortality in Black communities. Clinton the head of the White House task Force on health Reform pointedly sounded an alarm. A what i heard today is particularly important because both caucuses have a disproportionate representation in their constituencies of people who Are undeserved right now a she said. Quot and the health indices about Well being for those populations clearly demonstrate that we re not doing As Good a Job As we should in providing Quality affordable care. This will have to change she suggested. Rep. Jose Serrano . Chairman of the hispanic caucus said one of the biggest and admittedly Quot most difficult issues that his caucus discussed with Clinton was How to get health care to the thousands of mostly hispanic undocumented workers across the United states who Are poor and desperately need care. He added that it was the caucus desire to have these workers somehow included in a Universal Access package under the evolving Reform plan. He got no commitment from Clinton on the to from wire reports Washington a Ross Perot bearing Sharp words for Congress and the White House exhorted lawmakers tuesday to abandon lives of a a opulence and accused president Clinton of surrounding himself with aides a who never created a Job or ran a a you must eliminate All of the Perks and practices that have caused the american people to lose Confidence in Congress a the Texas billionaire told a House Senate committee on congressional Reform. A the White House must eliminate All of the Perks do the the 1992 Independent presidential candidate who won 19 percent of the vote was cheered by supporters and students As he entered a packed hearing room. He then lectured lawmakers about congressional perquisites and cast doubt on the ability of Clinton a economic plan to create Many jobs. Congress he said should clean up its act. It should do away with All its fringe benefits end a the junkets the trips a slash the number of committees and ban foreign lobbying he said. A do you really believe that most of us Here Are Crooks a asked rep. Lee h. Hamilton a ind. A Are we realty that bad a the Dallas businessman said americans believe Congress a is not responsive to the people. It is responsive to the special and he added a we get funny talk we done to he voiced scepticism about Clinton a $30 billion stimulus package which the White House says will create 500,000 jobs Over the next few years. A the government does not have a Good record creating jobs a Perot said. But sen. Harry Reid d-nev., challenged Perot a criticism of Clinton and the 1990 budget agreement that Congress negotiated with the Bush administration. Perot had implied that the agreement was a fraud and that lawmakers deceived the Public into believing they had been serious about reducing the budget deficit. A i listen to a lot of the advice you give but now let me give you a Little a Reid said As Perot sat in silence. A spend More time checking the facts and less listening to the a
