Statement on the National Economy

Today we learned that during the full 4 years of my first term, the economy added 11.5 million new jobs—the first time any administration has ever created more than 11 million jobs and well above the 8 million new jobs I had set as our goal. The combined rate of unemployment and inflation was lower than during any other administration since Lyndon Johnson was President. And the deficit fell by 63 percent, from $290 billion in 1992 to $107 billion in 1996. Now we must continue our work of balancing the budget while investing in people. The budget I released yesterday will balance the budget by 2002, contributing to continued strong growth with low inflation. I look forward to working with congressional leaders to pass a balanced budget that maintains our crucial investments in education and training.