ployment anymore. It seems strange to me that we're still talking about a figure down there that has to do with the people who, through no fault of their own, are unemployed. And yet, at the same time, we have, today, virtually 110 million people employed. But the significant thing is you can say, well, also our population has increased. But the potential employment pool consists of all people, male and female, between the ages of 16 and 65.

Today the highest percentage of that potential pool is employed than has ever been employed in our entire history. So, do we honestly know what the figure of full employment is? I do know that if you take the present unemployed in our country, and you go down to what could be considered possible long-term unemployment or the potentially unemployed-permanently unemployed, I should say, not potentially, you will find that only a small percentage of the unemployed have been unemployed for 26 weeks or longer. And everyone else, in other words, fits into that pool of people who are either new entrants into the job market-just as last month, when the figures showed this morning, when we increased employment by 230,000 in the last month, at the same time the job market increased by 90,000 people. So, you take those figures and bring it down to those that are obviously having problems getting a job. Most people, when you say the number of people unemployed, they think in terms of a single pool of people that are out there month after month with no job. It's an ever-changing pool, except for that little fringe at the top which is, say, at 6 months some of them even then get jobs, but they've been unemployed that long.

And, so, I've been asking for some studies to find out what really is full employment. I remember some years ago we said it was 4 percent. Well, if you check back, you'll find no one did any research to determine is 4 percent the correct figure for the people that will always be either voluntarily in between jobs or just newly entering the job market

But as we take hope in 110 million people at work, is there not the danger that we will overlook what we must admit arethere are pockets of unemployment

The President. Oh, yes.

Q.where it's absolutely devastating if not hopeless?

The President. Yes, that's why this Job Training Partnership Act that we brought about after we came in-we found that the job training programs of the past have been tremendously expensive. They were spending about as much as it would cost to go to Harvard. Not that I suggest Harvard as an answer to employment. [Laughter] But we found that the job training was, in many instances, training people for jobs that did not exist anywhere near their home area.

So, this partnership thing is a partnership between local government, local industry. and the Federal Government to train people for the jobs that are available in their particular areas. And it has had a job placement rate tremendously higher than any other previous job training programs. So, this is what we must continue to do and even emphasize and do more, as I say, to add more to this, because, yes, the national rate of unemployment doesn't mean that it's evenly distributed.

There are some places-well, I like whenever I'm in a city, including Washington, I like to count the help wanted ads on Sunday in the Sunday paper, those pages of just column after column of employers looking for employees. Well, last week it was around 50 pages in the Washington Post When I was out in California, it topped 60 pages in the Los Angeles Times. Now, these are employers seeking employees, and it isn't that these are for great skilled jobs for which there just aren't people trained for that. You look at them, and these are a cross section of everything from maids and receptionists and clerk typists and truck drivers and whatever you want to name.

Now, it suggests to me also, then, that maybe the answers, as the demography changes in our country, maybe some of the answer is simply help people move, a redistribution program. And this is part of our program also. It is not only job training, but if it's an area where the whole industrial background has changed, then why not help those people get to places where there is a market for their talent.

Secretary of Agriculture

Mr President, there's a job opening in the administration John Block has resigned. What are your criteria for his replacement? What kind of person should it be? Farmer, businessman, politician?

The Prendent No, it should be just like Jack Block, somebody that's walked in the furrows he's plowed in his own ground and that is a farmer and knows about that. And this is what we'll be looking for, someone with that kind of experience and firsthand knowledge of farm problems. Deficit Reduction

Q Agriculture, Defense, so many Federal programs will be affected when and if Gramm-Rudman takes effect. One of those that's estimated will be seriously affected is the drug interdiction program along our southern borders Perhaps half their budget might go How does that reconcile with the priority your administration has put on drug enforcement and interdiction?

The Prendent Well, if I read your question correctly, I think what we're referring to here is the ultimate thing that if the Congress will not agree with proposed cuts, then an enforced cutting that is prescribed–50 percent for defense, 50 percent for the other programs I hope we never have to come to that If the Congress will cooperate with us in making the cuts that have to be made where we have selection over them, we'll never have to resort to that sequestering of programs in which you just automatically go in with a meat ax ap proach and they're automatically cut I never favored that part of the legislation at ad. We have to have a willingness to cut

And if you look at the budgeting proe ess-you know, I squirm a little when they keep calling it the President's budget The Presidents budget consists of the estimate that the people who have to run the programs under the various Cabinet departments and agences—what they estimate it will cost them to carry out the programs that have been passed by the Congress of the United States. The President, under the Constitution, cant spend a nickel, it's all datated. But it's always seemed strange to me in the budgeting process. They ve an

nounced they'll have a program to do something. All right. We turn it over to the people that are going to run that program. And then we sit down with them-long hours around a table like this-about what is it going to cost to achieve the purposes set out by the Congress in that program. And we arrive at a figure that the people are going to have to run the program say, "This is it, and we can do it for this." Then you send it up on the Hill, and you find Congressmen who aren't going to have anything to do with running the program saying, "Oh, no, you got to spend more money than that." And they pass more money than we say is necessary for the program.

Q If I could follow up on GrammRudman, because I think we'll be hearing a good bit of it in the year to come, Mr. President Some people on the Hill say that was the coward's way out, the Congress' coward's way out of the budget dilemma Do you agree?

The President If anything, it might have been that part where, if you can't come to a meeting of the minds, you sequester, and it's enforced-the cutting And no one has to take any blame for it, it's written into the law It wasn't a coward's way out, if you stop to think The thing that appealed to me--as a matter of fact, by sheer coinctdence, down here in this end of town, I had brought in an idea that why don't we set up a several year plan for planned reductions of the deficit leading to a point in the future that we can say, "Here, we will have balanced the budget" And then have an amendment to the Constitution that says we have to keep it balanced. And suddenly, realize that up on the Hill are—or learned that they were talking about the same thing. the Gramm Rudman Hollings – bli From that part of it, there's nothing cowardly about it It's a disciplinary measure

If instead of every year you have to fight over the single budget, whether you can get the cuts to start whittling at that deficit, you have a program that says, "All right, were all agreed that starting here with the deficits to there, we're going to reduce them annually at a rate that gets us to zero" Then, the discipline that s exerted on

all of us is that if any one of us, on our side or on their side up on the Hill wants or advocates increased spending over and above this 5-year plan, why, they're breaking ranks in a 5-year program that has a definite goal. And I think that this is something that's been lacking for a long time. Defense Spending

Q. If I can just follow up on that briefly, In facing this discipline, as you say, is it realistic to continue to think that the Penta

gon's budget can continue where it is or

increase?

The President. Well, the Congress itself, in the budget resolution, had passed a resolution that called for in 1987 a 3-percent real growth, and they had agreed to that. I think that it is proper and that we should do it. I don't think there's any way that we can retreat from what is the first and prime responsibility of the Federal Government, which is the security of the United States. Five years ago, when I came here, half the airplanes in our Air Force and in our naval force couldn't get off the ground on any given day because of a lack of spare parts or fuel or lack of pilots. The same thing was true of naval ships that couldn't leave harbor. Well, today we've got a working military. And of all the things I think I can be proud of, that is the thing I'm most proud of, is the young men and women in our country today in uniform. We haven't seen anything quite like it, certainly in peacetime, and in my lifetime.

Cuba-U.S. Relations

Q. It's been 25 years since we've had relations with Cuba. And most of our Latin American friends and Caribbean friends have warmed relations with Fidel Castro. Some of them have normalized relations. And he's sent signals to us that he's ready to sit down and negotiate. Do you see that happening?

The President. Such signals were sent to us some time ago in our administration, and we moved immediately. And they were just signals Nothing resulted from our attempt at having negotiations and talks with them about the problems between us So, I think the ball is kind of in his court. If he really means it, then let him propose to us some

things he's willing to talk about and redress some wrongs that need redressing.

Q. What would he have to do?

The President. Oh, I think there are a number of things: restoration of freedom to his own people, the right of those people who were driven from his country to travel back and forth and visit their families and friends, release of political prisoners. Now, we did get some exchange, a small number of those. But we also found out in the Mariel boat exodus to the United States of

people-that he loaded us up with somenot political prisoners, prisoners, all right, with records as long as your arm in every kind of brutal crime you can name. And we've been shipping them back to him as fast as we can.

Q. Mr. President, could I just for a

Q. One more terrorism question. Your emphasis in the last few days on Libya and the problems with Colonel Qadhafi give the impression that he is responsible, or that his nation is responsible, for the bulk of the export of international terrorism. Number one, do you believe that? Secondly, if Mr. Qadhafi were to magically disappear from the planet Earth this evening, how much would that reduce the international terrorism problem?

The President. But I couldn't give you a figure on that, and I don't know that I've ever indicated that it is the bulk. There are other nations in the world that are surreptitiously helping terrorism along. But we will soon be releasing a white paper on what we know about his financial support, training, things of that kind. And we do have the evidence.

Now, one thing that I can name, just as an example, because this has been out and made public already. The men who are lying in the hospital, wounded, from Rome and the Vienna undertaking, and those that died, those terrorists that died, they were

carrying passports, Tunisian passports. These passports, we happen to know, were the passports that the Libyan Government confiscated from the workers in Libya who had come across the border-as people do here in our own country-to work in Libya, but were from Tunis. And then, because of some arguments he was having with the Tunisian Government, he expelled them from his country, sent them home, and confiscated their passports. So, here turn up some terrorists, and they're carrying the passports that were taken away by the Labyan Government

And you feel they couldn't have gotten those without the official support of the Labvan Government?

The Prendent I don't see any way that they could have, no But there are other things even more potent than that

() How soon will you be releasingThe President I don't know what the

schedule is on that

Mr. Fortier. I think it has been released this afternoon by the State Department. The President. Being released this afternoon by the State Department

Thank you, Mr. President.

The President Thank all of you very much. Appreciate it.

Note. The interview began at 1 pm in the Roosevelt Room at the White House. Partici pants included Norm Wagy, Storer Communications, Inc, Andy Cassells, Cox Communications, Jack Hurley, Gannett News Service Television, John Dimsdale, Post Newsweek Stations, Inc, and Gregg Risch, Group W/Westinghouse Broadcasting Susan K Mathis was Special Assistant to the Prestdent and Director of the Office of Media Relations Donald R. Fortier was Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs

learning disabilities, mental retardation, and other physiological abnormalities such as heart, kidney, and skeletal defects

This knowledge led the Surgeon General of the United States to issue an advisory in 1951, which strongly encourages women who are pregnant or considering pregnancy to avoid the use of alcohol because of the potentially serious adverse consequences The Surgeon General's advisory also stresses the preventability of these consequences

The Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 189, has designated the week beginning January 12, 195ty, as "National Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Awareness Week” and author ized and requested the President to mur a proclamation in observance of this week

Nou. Therefore 1 Rnaid Reagan Pres dent of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the week of January 12 to 18, 1956 as National Fetal Alcohol Syn drome. Awareness Week I applaud the ef forts of the medical scientific community,

stand other nations moving into Libya to take commercial advantage of our departure. We will consult with all our key allies to pursue the goal of broader cooperation. Italy's Prime Minister Craxi, in whose country one of the recent attacks occurred, properly emphasized the necessity not only of coping with terrorists but identifying "those states that guarantee terrorist protection and the possibility to arm and organize themselves to carry out their bloody raids." Qadhafi's Libya is such a nation, and we call upon other nations to join us in denying it the normal economic and diplomatic privileges of the civilized world. If these steps do not end Qadhafi's terrorism, I promise you that further steps will be

taken.

And thank you, and that concludes my

statement.

But wait; before taking your questions, let me extend a warm welcome back to one of your colleagues, Sarah McClendon [McClendon News Service]. Sarah's been absent for a while, but she's back now, and I'm delighted. Sarah is a true Washington institution who's seen a lot of history that she's covered aggressively and fairly. Sarah's kept several of my predecessors, eight Presidents in all, and me on our toes over the years. And I'm truly honored that she chose tonight for her first public appearance, but I had a feeling she wouldn't miss this. So, you see, it's not that we haven't been holding press conferences; I was just waiting for Sarah to come back. [Laughter) And in honor of her return, I'd like to offer Sarah the first question. Don't worry, Mike [Mike Putzel, Associated Press], you'll get the second one. Sarah?

Medicare

Q. Thank you, Mr. President. That was very nice of you, and I appreciate it. Sir, I want to call your attention to a real problem we've got in this country today. The hospitals and the doctors are sending the elderly sick home too soon, before they're really ready to go, and that makes a burden on their families. This all seems to be based on the Medicare payment formula, and I know that there's a fear across the land from Gramm-Rudman for fear that the Medicare payments may be reduced fur

ther. I wonder if you can't have your experts make a solution to this.

The President. Sarah, I can't tell you what the final decision has been on this. We have been looking at this entire program, things that can be done and should be done, and also the possibility we're looking at as to whether we can't find something to take care of catastrophic illnesses. I tried to do this when I was Governor in California, and I couldn't get any public interest in it at all. I guess everyone has a feeling it'll never happen to them. But we are looking at this and as to what we can do with regard to some of the problems that have arisen, because, as you know, the program has expanded in cost greatly. Medical care and, well, health care, generally, has been one of the highest factors in the increase in inflation. So, I promise you, we're looking at it.

about the fact that Canada gets her medical Q. Well, sir, has anyone ever thought care with a little extra taxation but practically free? Why couldn't we start something

like that?

The President. Well, we're looking for an

swers.

All right, Mike [Mike Putzel, Associated Press].

Libya and Terrorism

Q. Mr. President, you said in your opening statement that there is irrefutable evidence that Colonel Qadhafi was involved in the airport attacks. The European allies seem less convinced. What proof is there of Qadhafi's involvement in those attacks?

The President. Mike, the only thing I can say in answering that question-and I can't do all that you would like to do because there are things that should not be revealed-but I can assure you that we have the evidence. We have the evidence of the amount of training that has been given; that, too, he has denied. I don't think he's capable of telling the truth about these things. But we know the location of training camps for terrorists, and we also know that Abu Nidal has more or less moved his headquarters there into Libya So, we speak with confidence. And I would like to remind you that in the first moments or days or hours following these last two, he did openly