 of the United States Good morning. I Don't have any opening statement, but I just figured that it might be a good idea to can in here and get your questions now And then I won't have to tonight at the press party at the White House The president your secretary of defense has said that Syria sponsored and directed the attack against the US Marines in October and many officials in your administration have said Privately that Iran has been behind attacks in Kuwait and in Lebanon My question sir is are we going to retaliate against the governments of Syria or Iran? No, we have taken a position and it is our policy that if this continues We're not there to shoot first or to enter into combat But i'm never going to send our men any place where they wouldn't be allowed to defend themselves And i've it's been our policy that if they are attacked they will defend Now we've seen these instances Of being attacked and we have retaliated as nearly as we can against those who have actually done the attacking and uh We Want no conflict with syria Certainly we're not there to enter into a war and we continue to try and communicate and negotiate with them to Let them know that They'll stop shooting at us. There won't be any problems between us How if Iran is the government of Iran? The ayatollah, homeania is behind some of this How do we convince Iran to stop it? No The best evidence that we have we couldn't go into court and say that the homeania ordered this But what we do know is that a group that has been taking credit for these attacks Uh, I just claim that they're responsible for many of them is a group that seems to be of some size That is definitely with an iranian Uh connection now Whether that's with the government or that they just are iranians and they seem to be Well, they voice things that would indicate that they're interested in the kind of a of a holy war They are a sect in the islamic world Mr. President, you said last saturday in your radio address that you would keep the marines in lebanon until that country had internal stability Sir that country respectfully has never had internal stability Isn't that the kind of open-ended commitment That will mean many more marines dying and years and years of an american involvement there No, I think we're making more progress than appears On the surface and the original goal was The withdrawal of the foreign forces And then the reinstitution of the government of lebanon and Helping them as we have to train and raise a force in which they can assume control over their own territory The multinational force they felt was absolutely necessary and they still feel that way to be able to Do some Maintaining of order as they would then have to move out toward their borders once the foreign forces have gone Now this is still the goal still the thing that we're trying to do In janeva there was progress made where even those who were opposing each other within the country the opposing factions Recognized the gemile government and agreed upon that government now The thing of the multinational force what i'm trying to say is there are two ways in which they could be withdrawn One of them would be That we achieve our goal The second would of course would be if there was such a Collapse of of order that there was that it was absolutely certain that there was no solution to the problem There would be no reason for them to stay there Consider withdrawing the marines if it appeared that the gemile government could not extend its authority beyond bay root And could not create some kind of coalition We're getting into hypotheticals now of what situation i'm simply saying that if there was a A complete collapse and there was no possibility of restoring order There would be no purpose in the multinational force But let me call to your attention that it's not just us That all of the nations of the multinational force within a matter of days recently Have reaffirmed Their determination that the mission is sound and that they're That we're all going to stay there Well helen isn't there growing political pressure for you to pull out very fairly soon and aren't we We lost our role as peacemaker and into a role of peacekeeper into a role of escalating violence My question is there are reports that you will pull the troops out Before the political convention of this summer I've seen those reports quoting unnamed sources again. Well, here's a named source and I will tell you now No decision that i'm going to make and anything of this kind Is related To the election or the conventions or anything political as a matter of fact On all major issues. I have reiterated More than once to our cabinet that I don't want to hear the political ramifications of any major issue and on this one There is no harder Job or part of this job Then putting our forces, let me say some place where these young men and women could be endangered and certainly there What we do in that regard is not based on any political consideration You meant of course if I run for reelection You'll know january 29th, won't you Uh, no, Helen. No, there's just no way That political the politics could be considered in an issue of this kind where the lives of Our young people in middle in uniform are involved Yes, and then i'm going to move back there We thought you were supposed to be in a budget meeting this morning, sir Although we're certainly delighted you came to see us instead Does that mean that you've already decided the basics of next year's budget? Will there be a contingency tax as secretary reagan suggested the other day? He seemed pretty solid on it. Well the Canceling of the budget meeting this morning was just for another reason. No, we're not close to any decision These are meetings in which we take up various segments of the budget preliminary Estimates and so forth So they can be handled anytime within the next few days, but with regard to a contingency tax Uh, first of all, I tell you there won't be any tax in 1984 um The thing is that's always been back of the contingency tax And I think this is what don reagan was saying Was that such a tax would only be considered On the basis of getting the spending reductions that we must have This whole matter of Looking only at the deficits out there, and I don't minimize them I've been preaching too long for a quarter of a century now against deficit spending and having these deficits but The deficit is a symptom of the problem A result of the problem The problem is the federal government is taking too big a percentage from the private sector Of the gross national product and the answer to Getting rid of deficits and not running up more deficits Comes with reducing that percentage that the federal government is taking Now if you get to the absolute point in which government cannot be any further reduced in size and cost And then it is still out of line With revenues You would have to make an adjustment on that side, but the If you would look at it Actually when a government is taking too much money Then it has got to do it. It's got to match that with one of two ways It's got to do a tax or it's got to reduce government cost one or the other and Or it's got to borrow I should say Now either way you're taking more money from the private sector whether you borrow it or whether you tax it And the real answer is to cure the disease which is to get government down to a percentage figure That is consistent with having a sound economy Well, sir, a number of economists including mr. Feldstein have said that it's because of your military spending and your tax cuts That we have these deficits and the taxes some kind of taxes are going to be the only answer I think that's been a little out of context also I reviewed the whole situation where mr. Feldstein spoke on that and he made an answer that I think any one of us could have made The answer he was said that well, yes if you If the defense budget budget were reduced and if you hadn't tried this Tax thing reduced revenues for taxes. Yes, the budget would be or the deficit would be smaller He did not say that it would be right to do those things either to increase the tax or to reduce the defense spending Now let me point out that some 20 years ago during the Kennedy administration Defense spending was 47.8 percent of our budget We're under 29 percent With regard to defense spending. We're spending about double on social reforms and social programs As to a percentage of the budget as was spent in those kennedy years. So Just to count the number of dollars You have to look at defense and say what is necessary for our national security And then if there's anything unnecessary, yes eliminated, but if everything there is necessary Sound thinking for our national security, then you can't reduce beyond that point I gotta go back to the back of the room here On arms on arms control. Do you expect to do anything take any positive measure to bring the soviets back to the negotiator? Yes, we're trying we are trying to stay in communication with them and I have to believe that they will come back because it is to their advantage to come back and They stand again as much or more than anyone in Coming back to those talks. So we're still determined on the reduction particularly of nuclear weapons And I am determined that once you start down that path We must come to the realization that those weapons should be outlawed worldwide forever 1984 be a year for a summit perhaps Um Are you trying to ask whether i'm going to be busy in 1984 or not? I uh When the time is right you don't go by what is a time period that is right for it when there is an opportunity and Evidence that we can achieve something that there is an agenda that can go on the table in which some gains can be made for both sides Then you have a summit You don't have one just to say that you've had a summit because too many people get disappointed Now he says that I've taken the last question Could I just volunteer some information though? I'm sorry that none of you maybe one of you that I didn't call on would have asked about Mr. Meese and hunger You were Well, let me just let me just say I'll volunteer instead of an opening statement a closing statement on that I believe the manner in which that's been treated. I great many of you Is totally out of context with the entire interview Which he gave The policy and my own feeling in this administration is that if there is one person in this country hungry That is one too many and we're going to do what we can To alleviate that situation and I happen to know that he feels the same way now One journalist the other night on one of the weekend talk programs Said that we should be out on the front steps of the white house Cheering those private agencies that are providing Meals and providing evening dinners and lunches and so forth To the needy. Well, I may not be out in the front steps shouting But you bet I'm cheering them as a matter of fact This is part of our private initiative program. We've done everything we can to encourage this wherever possible We have supplied surplus foods to them Because even whatever we've done we're doing more To feed the hungry in this country today That has ever been done by any administration more money is being spent more people are getting food stamps All of these things we're doing but This private sector aid is essential also Because where government can justify providing the necessities There is a need also as there's always been to help provide some of those Things over and above bare necessity that make life worth living And the private sector is doing that and doing it splendidly not only with the meals being served but with Food distribution centers and we're helping there also but The that and it all ties into the commission that Some have said well why don't we know that people are hungry? That wasn't the purpose of the commission and i'm waiting now for the january report We get anecdotes that some of you have reported on individual cases or something of people that are hungry What we want to find out is why Is it a lack of or a fault in our distribution system at the government level? Or is it that there are people out there who don't know what's available to them or how to Find their way to a government program? Or is there What i think i've i've covered most of what it could be that they don't know How to find this or that we somehow are bungling Bureaucratic wise in Making out of distribution. This is what we want to find out. Is there something we can resolve? So that there won't be anyone either through their own ignorance of what's available Or through falling between the cracks in a bureaucratic process That we can resolve that and see that there is no one overlooked Who's hungry? You know the statement was that people might be be going through a soup kitchen for Because that they wanted to do it. You you don't think that's that's happening I think was distorted in the reporting of that and that That i'll only take because it was part of my statement that i'm going to run before you ask any more questions That I think this was where there was something out of context for example We know That there are people who are not deserving of welfare who have been getting welfare and one of our jobs has been And not too well understood to weed out Because every time someone who has the means and yet is subsisting on the help of their fellow citizens Is doing that They are reducing our ability to care for the truly needy So we try to clean up there. Well, if that's true there I'm sure that it must be true In these private groups the difference is that these very worthwhile charitable efforts and the part of churches and community groups unions and others that are doing this they have no way to Establish eligibility they can't set a rule and say we're going to quiz you and determine whether They have to accept that people that come and ask for help Must be needful But on the other hand if there are people who will cheat with regard to getting welfare I think it's possible that some might be cheating in this other But that doesn't mean that you close down the private groups because i'm quite sure That the vast majority of the people who seek aid there It is of benefit to them and their families What this answer was pretty all inclusive that they were going there. They had the money They didn't want to pay Oh, we know as we had some anecdotal incidents too that we knew about