From: The White House <[email-masked]>

THE WHITE HOUSE

                    Office of the Press Secretary

_____________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                January 29, 1993

                           PRESS BRIEFING
                      	BY GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS

                          The Briefing Room

2:45 P.M. EST

             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Any questions?
             
             Q    George, the President, when he was asked if he had
a firm commitment that at the end of the six-month period, he would
sign the executive order -- and he said, I don't expect to change my
position on it.  Is that intended to leave the door open to the
possibility that he could be persuaded that the problems, the
dilemmas are such, that there should be -- maintain some restrictions
on gays in the military?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I think it speaks for itself.  The
President has a policy.  It's a policy based on a principle.  And he
doesn't intend to change that policy.  Right now, we have the review
to undertake.  
             
             Q    If I could, I want to you ask you again a question
I asked you the other day.  The President referred several times to a
strict code of conduct.  Does he contemplate the possibility of a
dual standard of conduct -- one code to govern heterosexual troops
and another code to govern homosexual members of the service?  Or
when he refers to a strict code of conduct, is he talking about
neutral rules that would apply across the board to sexual conduct by
all troops?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Well, first of all, there has to be
a strict code for all troops.  There's no question about that.  That
said, it's not impossible that there would be different rules to
apply to different sets of people.  That's not impossible.  It's very
easy to contemplate -- would have different sorts of assignments,
different situations for the different sets of people.  But that's
precisely what this review period is intending to study. 
             
             Q    Isn't that, though, what the California court
intended to strike down?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I don't think so.  The California
court was very careful in sticking to status as the reason for not
having any discrimination.
             
             Q    You said sort of sounds like --
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  No, because it --
             
             Q    -- based on status.
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  No, it would lead -- because it
implies different forms of conduct.  I mean, this is clearly a
complicated area, which is why we need six months of study to go
through it.
             
             Q    George, can I ask a real quickie on the Palestinian
deportees?  Any progress made on that?  Have you accepted any of the
Israeli compromises?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Well, as you know, Secretary
Christopher spoke with Prime Minister Rabin this morning.  It was a
very good phone call.  We're continuing all of our diplomatic efforts
right now.  And we hope they're successful.
             
             Q    What sort of compromises are you suggesting?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I can't go into the details of the
diplomatic discussions, but they are going on right now.
             
             Q    George, -- the fact that the order today is an
interim order and the fact that it leaves open a number of questions
about how disciplinary proceedings would be handled, what else about
this compromise is in the category of things that were not the way
the President would have had them?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I'm not sure.  He said that he is
for an executive order and the ban, but it's been put off further
down the road during this period of study.  I think that he's very
pleased with the fact that the question will no longer be asked. 
He's very pleased with the stay in continuances.  I think that it's,
as he said, we had a lot of discussion over the issue of what happens
to people in this interim period who simply declare themselves or are
acknowledged homosexuals.
             
             Q    He would have preferred that they be off the hook.
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Prefer that we just have no change
at all.  I mean, a change from current policy, but that they not be
put in any different set of circumstances.
             
             Q    And those who are already by virtue of status
alone, already under proceedings would be excused from those
proceedings.
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  They would be stayed.
             
             Q    Dropped.
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Yes.  Stayed, I think, is better
than dropped.  And in this case --
             
             Q    But that's what he wanted to do.
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  -- I think that that would be
preferable to having yourself go all the way to discharge and then
having the discharged suspended and put in reserve.
             
             Q    Could you elaborate on that?  How does he justify
that?  I mean, what -- that seems like a major concession. 
Apparently the Joint Chiefs are quite pleased with this notion.
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Well, there's no question; the
President said that he didn't get everything he had hoped for.  At
the same time, let's look at what the President has achieved here. 
Number one, he has maintained the principle.  And he is issuing,
intends to issue an executive order in July.  Number two, the
question will no longer be asked.  That is a step in the right
direction.  Number three, the court cases will no longer -- will be
stayed.  They will not proceed.  At the same time, he has preserved
the principle that no one will be discharged for simply being
homosexual.  Remember, if you look at the policy closely, they will
go up to the point of being discharged, but they will not be
discharged; instead, the discharge will be suspended, and they will
be put in the standby reserve.  They will not be thrown out of the
military.
             
             Q    -- solely on status, not on conduct.
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Solely on status.
             
             Q    But you can be put in standby reserves solely on
your status.
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Yes.
             
             Q    -- separated from active duty --
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  It's separated from active duty,
but it is not being discharged; it is not being formally discharged. 
He has preserved the principle that people should not be discharged.
             
             Q    But that's only if the attorney general intervenes.
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  No, the attorney general will
suspend the discharge.  They will not be discharged.
             
             Q    Or does that person have the obligation to appeal
to the attorney general?  In other words, how does the attorney
general get into the case?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  These cases -- this only applies,
first of all, in contested cases.  So by the very fact that it's
being contested suggests that there will be the opportunity for the
attorney general to get involved.  I can say the attorney general
will suspend the discharges.  People will not be discharged during
this six-month period.  They will if it gets to that point, go to the
standby reserve.

             Q    The state says the attorney general can suspend. 
It doesn't say --
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I believe that that is
contemplated.
             
             Q    George, how does it square with the --
             
             Q    The standby reserve is nonpaid status.
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  That's true. 
             
             Q    So, I mean, you've been emphasizing they won't be
discharged; but in effect, they will be losing their job;t hey will
be losing their pay; and they will be losing their livelihood.  Is
that not true?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  For a short period of time, they
will have the opportunity to have all of that restored if the law is
changed.
             
             Q    How does it square with the California decision
that the President welcomed?  Doesn't that fly in the face of
yesterday's ruling, that people strictly on the basis of status
should not be --
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Discharged.  And these people will
not be discharged.  
             
             Q    But could I also ask you, on page two of your
release, you say the President intends to issue an executive order
July 15, lifting the ban.  But the phrasing here is, should the
current policy be changed?  And this is a White House press release. 
You seem to leave open in your press release whether, in fact, it
will be changed --
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Again, I think the President's
words speak for themselves.  He intends to issue this executive
order.
             
             Q    -- phrasing -- is this wrong, this phrase?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I'm not saying it's wrong.  I don't
think it's necessarily inconsistent.
             
             Q    But how does that uphold the principle, his oft-
stated principle that people should be able to serve in the absence
of improper conduct -- 
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  The President intend --
             
             Q    -- given that for this period of time at least,
these people will be punished for their status?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  There is no question that this is a
compromise.  The President said quite clearly he did not get
everything he hoped for or everything he worked for.  He intends to
issue an executive order that would have no discrimination based on
status in this interim period.  It was very important to the Joint
Chiefs and others that we try to maintain current policy as best we
can for the purpose of maintaining morale and discipline, which has
also been an important goal of the President's.  And this is the best
way to get from here to there.
             
             Q    But a compromise -- I mean, exactly what did the
President get that he wanted?  
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  First of all, we are not going to
have the question -- let me go through it again. 
             
             Q    But the services already agreed not to ask that
question.  They said that was not going to be a significant problem
for them.  What -- any sticky, difficult issue that the President
felt strongly on -- what did he get in this compromise?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  The judicial cases will no longer
go forward.  They will be stayed.  You can say now that it's not a
sticky issue, for the question not to be asked.  Up until yesterday,
the question was always asked.  This is a significant step in the
right direction and I think that's undeniable.
             
             At the same time, the President also believes and is
deeply committed to the other parts of his legislative agenda.  He
was not willing to gum up all of Congress for this issue -- he
believes that we should go forward.
             
             There was a great risk that the family leave bill would
be held up and it would be stopped or blocked at least for a time
period.  We had every indication that the Republicans would continue
to add this on to every single piece of legislation -- on the
economy, on education, on health care --
             
             Q    It still may.
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Well, we think that now we have the
means to go forward and the votes to go forward, and to keep this
issue off the table as best we can for the next six months.  That is
an important principle. 
             
             Q    What about, though, in six months?  I mean, he's
not planning to change his mind. 
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  The President intends to issue this
executive order.
             
             Q    George, if he doesn't have the support for it at
that time, at the end of six months, will he issue the executive
order, even if it's clear that Congress will override --
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Let's see what the situation is
after six months.  But the President intends to issue the executive
order.  We're going to learn a lot about how this can work over the
next six months.  And I think we should all watch the process.
             
             Q    Can you talk at all about what you might do over
the next six months to help solidify and build public support for an
eventual order?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Well, first of all we're going to
join in the consultation process with the Congress and the military
to study the issue and to learn about how all these authority issues
can be resolved; I mean, one other thing that I think is important
and got lost here in the last couple of weeks is that the President
is proceeding on a narrow principle, and that there were a lot of
suggestions about what his policy might imply that he doesn't intend
at all.  But it's the kind of thing that has to be looked at during
this review period.  
             
             Q    Just to follow up, do you think the President would
speak out a lot in the next six months on this issue?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I think the President's going to
start speak out right now on his economic plan, on his health care
plan, as he said in his statement on national service and his other
legislative priorities.  
             
             Q    Does the White House or the administration send any
kind of message or have any sort of contact with people who are
stayed, who are in this position where they'd lose their jobs and are
wondering whether through the hearings and process, wondering whether
they are going to get their jobs back on July 16th?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Not that I know of.  I would also
say that this is going to apply to a very, very small number of
people.  You're talking about situations where it's solely based on
status, where it's acknowledged.  I would expect that it just
wouldn't apply in that many cases; I mean, I can't put a number on
it, but we don't contemplate any kind of mass action.
                  
             Q    George, the President said after the election that
he didn't think people should have to lie about who they are.  Isn't
he, in effect, asking them to continue to lie about who they are at
least by silence during this six-month period?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  That is not his intention.  As I
said, let me just go back to it again, this is not everything the
President would have hoped for.  It is a compromise.  He is going to
continue to do what he can to further the cause for which he believes
in and the principles he believes in; but this is a compromise.
             
             Q    George, does this six-month review include the
larger question of sexual harassment issue raised by such incidents
as Tailhook?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I expect that will come up.  I also
believe that there is a report on Tailhook coming up within the next
couple of months that has already been in process.
             
             Q    George, am I correct, that during the six-month
period, the only cases that are suspended are those against former
service people?  The cases will proceed against current service
people.
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  No, the cases against current
service people are the ones that are suspended.  The cases that have
already been brought are stayed.  This issue of suspension and put on
standby reserve only applies to cases which arise after today.
             
             Q    But I think it specifically says -- I'm sorry;
forgive me for not bringing this with me -- it specifically says that
cases will proceed.
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Proceed up to the point of
discharge.  They will not be discharged.  The discharge will be
suspended; they will go into stand-by reserved -- if it gets to that
point.  I would also say that this process takes quite a bit of time. 
I mean, the process can take as much as four or five months to get to
this point.  So, in practical terms, again, you are dealing with very
limited --
             
             Q    I guess what's confusing me is that cases involving
acknowledged homosexual status being contested by the individual be
processed all the way through.  Those cases are not suspended;
they're processed; then people are separated.
             
             Q    Unless the attorney general --
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  If directed by the attorney
general, the final discharge, based only on status, will be
suspended.
             
             Q    The final discharge is suspended, but the person is
taken out of active duty.
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Well, again, we've conceded that. 
The important point, principle the President was trying to preserve
is that they will not be discharged.  We are conceding that they will
-- if it goes to that point, they will be suspended and put in stand-
by reserve.

             Q    And the initiation of new cases against people on
status only is --
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  It's not contemplated, no.
             
             Q    Will you appeal the L.A. decision?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  The President's lawyers and the
President will review that case and we'll have a decision soon.
             
             Q    But that's not an explicit part of the agreement,
is it?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  No.
             
             Q    Can I just ask you about, on the first page you say
-- the Department of Justice is seeking continuances in pending court
cases where they're trying to get back into the military once having
been discharged, which is, of course, the description of yesterday's
L.A. case.  I would think under your second paragraph on page one,
you would need to appeal in order to get the continuance.
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  No, a continuance isn't the same as
an appeal.  I mean I'm not an attorney, many of you maybe are, but an
appeal is a separate sort of action. 
             
             Q    What about the sailor himself?  Does the President,
under this six-month policy, want to see him back in the Navy or does
he want to see him frozen for six months outside the Navy?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  The President and his lawyers are
reviewing the case right now, and they'll have more to say on whether
or not they're going to appeal later.
             
             Q    So, he's in limbo right this minute as far as your
policy is concerned?
                  
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  No, at this point this case has
been decided. 
             
             Q    Brit asked you something a moment ago and you said
it is not contemplated; and I couldn't hear what it was that you were
saying is not contemplated.
             
             Q    New cases on status only.
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Preliminary investigations for
status only, no.
             
             Q    So, the various military investigative services
will be told not to start up new --
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  The current policy is --
investigations are only supposed to take place for misconduct.
             
             Q    Right, but there have been widespread charges that
that is not in fact what they do.
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  That is the intention.
             
             Q    Will there be an investigation into that?  How they
--
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  You'll have to ask the Defense
Department.  I don't know.
             
             Q    George, is it true that these people are not always
taken off of active duty?  They are not always -- they may be
suspended -- but they're not always taken away from their duties
while this case -- 
             
                  MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I just don't know.  You'll
have to ask the Defense Department; I don't know much on the history.
             
             Q    -- the commanding officer, I believe.
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Well, we still do give discretion
to the commanding officer for reassignment within this agreement.
             
             Q    George, let me ask you this as a hypothetical.
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I probably won't answer it, then. 
(Laughter.)
             
             Q    If someone on an aircraft carrier or aboard some
Air Force base or army barracks, announces in the next week that he
or she is a homosexual and that there is no misconduct, the only
thing they've declared is their homosexuality, can the various
investigative arms of the military go ahead and begin proceedings to
investigate them and to suspend them or separate them?  Does anything
happen to these people?  Will you initiate new proceedings --
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Yes.  I mean that person has the
choice of being released.
             
             Q    Yes, but you're talking about status only -- 
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Yes.
             
             Q    Status only.
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Yes.
             
             Q    What if they don't want to be released?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Then they can contest it and the
proceedings will begin.
             
             Q    The proceedings will begin.
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Yes.
             
             Q    I thought you said they weren't contemplated?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I thought we were talking about
investigations.  This is a person acknowledging on their own that
they are homosexual.  That's a different case from what you asked.
             
             Q    -- (inaudible) --
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Right.  
             
             Q    Action will be taken?
             
             Q    So, action will be taken against those who
acknowledge they're homosexual?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Right.  Acknowledge is in the
agreement.
             
             Q    Is that discretionary or is that mandatory --
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I'm not sure of that.  I think that
usually is up to the commanding officer, and we're trying to preserve
as much discretion for the commanding officers as we can.
             
             Q    Is the President unhappy with Colin Powell and some
of his refusal to make plans for cutbacks in defense spending as he
was directed to do by the President's policies?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  No, he hasn't received any report
from General Powell yet.
             
             Q    He doesn't have to have a report from General
Powell, but reports coming out in the newspaper.
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Well, he's learned not to respond
to everything he reads in the newspaper.
             
             Q    No, I mean is he reading these articles in The Post
which show that Colin Powell apparently is acting opposite from the
policies of the President?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Yes, but he'll wait for --
             
             Q    George, as a technical point -- I don't know, but I
think the policy says that -- I don't have it; I wish I had it in
front of my -- says that the cases, that they can be discharged
unless the attorney general gives --
             
             Q    It says if the attorney general.
             
             Q    Right, but I mean, it's contingent -- that the 
attorney general can suspend the discharge.  But what you're saying
is that the attorney general will suspend the discharge in all cases?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I suspect that, yes. 
             
             Q    But I mean, but technically the person could be
discharged if the attorney general, for some reason, does not suspend
--
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Technically, I suppose that's true
--
             Q    Okay, thank you.
             
             Q    -- and that's agreeable to Sam Nunn?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Yes.  Suspension is the agreed-
upon policy.
             
             Q    George, two questions about the court case.  First
of all, what is your understanding of the scope of the judge's
injunction, does it apply nationwide?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  It applies nationwide, yes.  
             
             Q    Can you tell me why, other than that's what the
White House Counsel thinks, what is the basis for thinking that,
because I've seen different reports on it?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  All I know is that it's the opinion
of the White House counsel.  I don't know all the basis of it.
             
             Q    I know, but if there's a different opinion in
another circuit, I mean --
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  There is, but apparently this one
-- again, he is reviewing it in full over the weekend.  But it's my
understanding it's his judgment, based on consultations, that it
would apply nationwide.
             
             Q    I'm sure that will be very exciting for that judge
to --
             
             Q    On that case, I thought understood Dee Dee this
morning to say that it would be appealed, or she expected it would
not be appealed -- or that she expected it would not be appealed. 
                  
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Well, the President said he
believes in the principle enshrined in the case, but he's going to
have the White House counsel review it.  He hasn't read the case yet. 
He's going to read it and will make a decision.
             
             Q    Well, if he agrees with the case why would the
judge's ultimate finding --
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  He said he agreed with the
principle.  He wants to review the case.  I mean, it's the proper
thing to do.  You can't make judgments on what you're going to do
about a case until you read it and review it.
             
             Q    Well, you're leaving open the possibility that did
not seem to be open this morning, that it might be appealed.
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I am saying that the President is
going to review the case before he makes a final decision on whether
or not to appeal it.
             
             Q    George, Senator Mitchell said today that he would
oppose an oil import fee.  Does that in any way, shape or form narrow
your options about foreign broad-based taxes --
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  No, we're going to be consulting
closely with Congress on all the options inside the economic plan.
             
             Q    Did the President talk with Mitchell about this at
all?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Not that I know  of.  I don't know,
but I don't think so.
             
             Q    Could you explain two things about -- that we
haven't gone over yet.  Down at the bottom of this statement it says,
"When a case involves only homosexual status and the person requests
a discharge, they will be released from active duty."  That's without
--
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  If it's not contested, they can
leave if they -- 
             
             Q    -- honorable discharge, not -- nothing on their
record.
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Exactly, as has always been.
             
             Q    And secondly, could you explain the last item?  Is
the transfer to protect the individual -- I think there might be a
typo in here, I don't understand what this means.
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  No, both.  The commander has the
discretion to transfer an individual either if he judges that it's in
the interest of the individual, or if he or she judges that it's in
the interest of the unit.
             
             Q    So, once one of these cases is under way, prior to
this person being put on standby reserve, he can be arbitrarily
transferred by his commander who thinks that he's --
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  This is during the proceedings but
before you get to the point of suspension or discharge.
             
             Q    Right.  But he can be moved out for no other reason
other than that he's a homosexual?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Right, but that's to a different
job, it's not to suspension; just reassigned.
             
             Q    George, I'd like to ask you two questions of
foreign affairs.  The first one has to do with the U.N.  Reports have
surfaced that Secretary General Boutros-Ghali is intending to replace
Richard Thornburgh when he retires with non-U.S. -- on the management
post.  Will the Clinton government make a stand on that to keep it in
the hands of an American?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I don't feel there is a decision
yet on that.  We'll wait and see what happens.
             
             Q    And the second question:  I asked you a couple of
days ago about the great controversy with the naming an assistant
secretary of state for Latin America  --
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Right.
             
             Q    -- Mario Baeza.  Reports keep surfacing all over
the place.  There is still a big fight over that issue, and you said
--
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  The President still hasn't made a
decision; the Secretary of State hasn't made a decision.
             
             Q    Where are we on the attorney general?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  The President is continuing with
interviews, but he's made no --
             
             Q    He's interviewed more than one person?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I believe he has, yes.
             
             Q    Does you know how many --
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I don't.  
             
             Q    Do you know how many he's interviewed?
             
                  MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I'm not sure.  I know it's
more than one.
             
             Q    And do you have a sense of the timing of it?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Not a good sense.  I mean I hope
sometime next week, but I have no --
             
             Q    You mean before the end of the weekend?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I don't know.
             
             Q    George, hopefully, according to his question, your
answer -- you implied that maybe they would just consider the
question whether it was an American at the U.N. or not.  Hopefully,
the President, before he allows this man Thornburg to continue there,
will consider the record that Thornburg made as an attorney general?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  No question about it.
             
             Q    George, the White House Counsel believes that the
California case applies nationwide; and the California judge said an
American cannot be denied service, absence of conduct.  Doesn't that
make this whole thing moot and it's a done deal?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Well, I, again, am not a legal
scholar, but the President has said that he respects the judgments of
the court and has always felt that the court is going to have an
awful big say in the final disposition of these cases.  Beyond that,
I can't comment.
             
             Q    George, when the President came in here he
apologized for being late and said he had been held up by another
issue.  What was it?
             
             Q    A problem, he said.
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  A problem, did he say problem?
             
             Q    -- yes, he did.
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  He's got problems all day --
(laughter).
             
             Q    What was the specific one to which he was
referring?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  He's been working on the economy
today; he's been working on family leave.  I'm sure he's had
conversations on health care and a lot of other issues.  I don't know
the specific thing that was on his mind immediately before walking
into this room.
             
             Q    George, bottom line in terms of the self-interest
of homosexuals today in uniform who are in the closet.  Doesn't this
policy today telegraph to them, stay in the closet for another six
months if you know what's good for you?  What incentive could they
possibly have to stop the lie.  The minute they're honest about their
status, they're booted over into the standby reserve and lose
compensation.
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Well, the President wants to do
everything he can to make sure that we have real cohesion and morale
during this interim period.  But beyond that, I can't get into the
business of giving advise or counsel or anything like that.
             
             Q    Wouldn't your expectation on the basis of the
policy you've just put out be that they'd have to be idiots to come
out of the closet, in terms of their self-interest?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Well, clearly there would be --
             
             Q    For the six-month period.
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Clearly, there would be
consequences involved in that.
             
             Q    So is it fair to assume then, that you would expect
hardly anyone to come out of the closet --
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I said that earlier.
             
             Q    -- before July 15th?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I expected there would be very few
cases of this sort.
             
             Q    George, could we have a report every day on the
progress of this Health Task Force?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Well, you can ask questions about
it every day,and I can try to answer them; Dee Dee can try to answer
them.
             
             Q    Well, what's the latest?  What's the status of it
now?  They've had several sessions, and up to date now what --
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I don't know that they've had
several sessions, but Mrs. Clinton has begun the work of the task
force.  They've had --
             
             Q     Can have a list from day to day of the witnesses
she calls?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Oh, I don't think it's that formal. 
Right now they're just getting down to nuts and bolts work.
             
             Q    -- a number of issues already today.  You talked
about the things that the President is working on, and there's quite
a few of them.  One of the things that the President talked about
when he was Governor, was that during his first term he felt like he
got --  he got involved in too many issues at once and that it may
have cost him reelection and it may have hurt him politically.  Is
there some concern on your all's part that if you go to this sort of
broad approach, that he could get into political trouble again for
the same reasons he got into trouble as Governor?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Well, the President has to deal
with problems that are brought before him.  But President's said time
and time again that he intends to focus on the four big issues that
are going to be at the core of his legislative agenda:  the economic
program, health care, national service, political reform.  
             
             Q    It hasn't worked out that way, has it, George? 
He's had --
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  He's doing it.  I mean, he's still
spending the bulk of his time on those four issues.
             
             Q    Can you explain why there was a lid put on last
night at 6:30 p.m. and then there was a meeting between the President
and Senator Nunn and Senator Mitchell and no one was told about?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I believe that Senator Nunn came
out and spoke afterwards.
             
             Q    But there was a lid put on at 6:30 p.m. and there
was no all-call.
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  That's a good question.  I know the
meeting came up at the last minute.  It was called very quickly.
             
             Q    This is not a small matter.
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  No, I understand that, and we'll
look into it.  But the meeting was called at the last minute.
             
             Q    But you would -- in the future, you would see to it
that that didn't happen.
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  We'll do our best, yes.
             
             Q    George, has the President talked today to David
Mixner or any of his other supporters in the gay community to explain
his need to compromise?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I don't think the President has,
but his staff has been in contact with him.
             
             Q    You said that one reason the President was willing
to compromise at this point was because he didn't want to gum up all
of Congress and endanger things like the family medical leave act,
and his economic program, his health care program.  But in six months
when he'll be revisiting this issue, you are likely to be engaged in
serious battles with Congress on those very simple issues.  Is it
possible that at that point the President also will be willing to
make fundamental compromises on this issue in the interest of getting
his economic program through or his health care package through?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  The President intends to follow
through on his commitment.  In six months we will have more done.  We
will have learned an awful lot more about the issue and about the
best way to implement this policy, so we'll just have to wait and
see. 
             
             Q    George, on the decision, it says you can't deny
enlistment to anybody based on their sexual orientation in the
absence of combat.  What happens if you all are confronted in this
interim period with somebody who say, "I'm gay and I want to enlist
in the Armed Forces"?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Again, the question won't be asked.
             
             Q    But I volunteer it. 
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I don't know.  That question has
been asked, and we'll have to look into that hypothetical.  But it
just hasn't happened.
             
             Q    George, has the President asked the Armed Forces to
stop sending videotapes to Congress to lobby against --
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  As far as I know.  I haven't heard
any reports.
             
             Q    But the videotapes have appeared on a lot of
television --
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I saw them on the television
programs, but I don't know anything beyond what I saw in the reports.
             
             Q    No reaction from -- the President today said the
military is very different, and one thing the military is not is a
democracy.  And it seems that some of these leaders, top military
brass have exercised their democratic rights in a far greater area
than they would tolerate from people below them when it comes to
expressing their opinion about this. 
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Well again, I don't know where
these -- exactly where these tapes are coming from, but the President
doesn't approve of them.
             
             Q    The Marine Commandant acknowledged distributing it.
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Well, then we'll have to look into
it.
             
             Q    George, has this been, in a sense, an early lesson
in consulting with Congress and the need to consult with Congress
before you start bringing up these issues?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I think the President did consult
with Congress.  If you saw Senator Nunn's press conference just a few
minutes ago, he said he's talked to the President about this as early
as August; and there were continued consultations throughout this
process.  Let's face it, this is just a difficult issue that release
deep feelings on either side.  It was going to be difficult no matter
when it came up.  
             
             Q    -- from this end of Pennsylvania Avenue.
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  But the President did consult with
Congress, his team did consult with Congress.  And again, I would
reject that it cropped up here.  There is no question that very --
back in October, November there were rumblings that Republicans and
others would be forcing a vote on this issue regardless of the
presidential action, regardless of the timing of the presidential
action, and we had to act pursuant to that. 
             
             Q    Is that why you were responding -- are you saying
you were responding, then, early because of that threat?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I think there was no question that
regardless of what the President did, unless he completely abandoned
the commitment he had made, there would have been a vote forced in
the Senate very early on it.
             
             Q    And that's why you had to act now.
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Absolutely.
             
             Q    George, there's a vote coming up in the House on
Tuesday against the special committees -- four of them; I believe
three, now.  One is on aging, one is on hunger and one is on
children.  Republicans are making a great fight to wipe out these
special committees.  They don't write laws, but they investigate and
bring out a hell of a lot of good facts.  I wonder if the President
is putting his army of lobbyists up at the Capitol to work against
the Republicans on this and keep those committees.
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  The President supports the Speaker
and the special committees.  Thanks. 
             
             Q    One other question, please, if I may on -- on a
different Pentagon matter.  Top military officials are warning
against, or cautioning against strict enforcement of the no-fly zone
in Bosnia or lifting the embargo.  How does that affect your review
of the situation and what you might do or what you might have?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  There's no question we'll take that
advice very seriously.  As I said yesterday, this is a very serious
matter that the President's advisers are reviewing right now; and
we're looking at all the options.  And we're going to take that
advice very seriously.
             
             Q    Those are two of the primary options that you were
considering.  If they're blown away, then what does that leave you
with?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Again, we are reviewing all of the
options right now and we're taking that advice into consideration.
             
             Q    George, what about the separate issue of the
commitment to stop this discrimination of civilian employees of the
federal government? 
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Again, the President has nothing to
announce yet on that.
             
             Q    Is he going to wait six months before he addresses
that issue?
             
             Q    -- change subjects for a second?  I have a general
foreign policy question.  Once all the foreign policy reviews have
been completed or almost completed, can we expect at one point in
time a foreign policy speech by Clinton?
             
             MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I expect he'll give one -- 

                                 END                    3:15 P.M. EST
             
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