PRESS RELEASE
August 19, 1996

STATEMENT BY JOE LOCKHART
NATIONAL PRESS SECRETARY

Today, Bob Dole urged the people of New York to take a look at his record. It’s a record he would be wise to run away from. Last year, Bob Dole led the fight for Republican legislation that would have raised taxes on nearly one million New York taxpayers by cutting the Earned Income Tax Credit. He voted against the Family and Medical Leave Act that protects 3.1 million New York families and blocked raising the minimum wage.

Economists around the country warn that Dole’s economic plan would blow a giant hole in the deficit, raise interest rates and harm the economy. Just this past Friday, August 16, the Concord Coalition, headed by Republicans Warren Rudman and Pete Peterson and Democrat Paul Tsongas, commented that Dole’s plan "embodies nearly every pitfall we warned against," in their Sunday, August 4 New York Times full page ad.

President Clinton has an unmatched record of economic leadership. In New York, 475,000 workers will be eligible for a raise due to the President’s minimum wage bill. Unemployment in New York dropped from 8.4% to 6.4% and over 200,000 new jobs have been created. President Clinton also cut taxes for nearly 900,000 of New York’s working families by expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit.

President Clinton is fighting for $110 billion in tax cuts targeted for education and child-rearing, while Bob Dole’s risky $548 billion campaign promise will undermine the American dream.

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