ROBERT RUBIN
August 16, 2000

The former treasury secretary tells the Democratic convention that Al Gore will continue the economic policy of the Clinton/Gore administration. Below is the text of his prepared remarks.

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Thank you. This convention meets in good economic times. The bold economic strategy of President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore was indispensable to that accomplishment. Eight years ago, our country was in an economic morass; and we should not forget that when we think about what has been accomplished and about the future. The federal government was running massive deficits. Unemployment and interest rates were high, job creation and confidence were low, and our country was widely viewed as facing a future of economic mediocrity. President Clinton and Vice President Gore put in place a comprehensive economic plan absolutely central to changing all that, a plan that passed the United States Senate by just one vote - the tie-breaking vote of Vice President Gore. Today we see the results. 7-1/2 years of solid growth and low inflation. Record budget surpluses instead of record budget deficits. 22 million new jobs. Incomes increasing at all income levels. Business prosperity. The lowest black and Latino unemployment rate ever recorded. I worked with Al Gore for 6-1/2 years, and he was a powerful and EFFECTIVE force in all of the major economic policy decisions that contributed so critically to this record. When doing what was best was also politically hard, Al Gore was a strong leader. Deficit reduction, balancing the budget, trade liberalization, education, health care, programs for distressed rural areas and inner-cities - from the very beginning, he was at the center of all that was done. Today, he is committed to moving forward with this strategy that has worked so well. Strong fiscal discipline, investment in our people, and trade liberalization. The alternative choice in this election, rejects fiscal discipline and is wrong for our economic future. Times have been good, but there are no guarantees and there will continue to be great challenges ahead. America needs a president who has the understanding and the courage to do what is best for our economic future in a very complicated world. That man is Al Gore. I believe that support for Al Gore is support for sound and sensible economic policy and a strong economy in the years ahead.