Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 7, 1990 TAG: 9006070219
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: By Associated Press
DATELINE: NEWPORT, N.H. LENGTH: Medium
"Our leaders in Washington - rather than devoting inordinate resources to helping other countries with their internal problems - must begin giving greater attention to this nation's internal problems," Wilder said in prepared remarks.
"They can begin by joining me in calling for an independent investigation into this scandal of unparalleled dimensions," he said.
Wilder said the Bush administration should provide all government records on the crisis to an independent commission drawn from the investment, business, education and labor communities.
The National Commission of Inquiry into the Savings and Loan Scandal would look into the costs of the scandal, its origin, remedies and safeguards to prevent similar problems, he said.
"There are those that say that while Republicans must bear the responsibility for this scandal, any honest inquiry may embarrass some influential Democrats as well," Wilder said. "To them, I would say: `Let the chips fall where they may.' "
The $500 billion cost of bailing out troubled savings and loan institutions over the next decade will keep the United States from making needed investments in health care, transportation, education and the environment, Wilder said.
"How will we stay competitive in a changing world economy - how will our children enjoy an ever-improving quality of life - when the federal government stands by and does nothing while hundreds of billions of dollars are dumped into a black hole of boondoggles and bureaucratic incompetence?" he said.
Wilder also touted his New Mainstream political philosophy of fiscal conservatism and social progressiveness.
Wilder has denied any national ambitions despite his trip to New Hampshire and his planned two-day tour of Iowa, site of the first presidential caucuses, in late June. But as he signed off his speech to Sullivan County Democrats, Wilder said, "I look forward to seeing you again on my future trips to this great state."
In an earlier speech to the graduating class of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., Wilder praised Democratic heroes and New England natives John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy.
Wilder said he was inspired by John Kennedy's 1960 presidential campaign that broke down barriers against Catholics in elected office.
"Just as Kennedy knew that Catholicism was not an issue for the vast majority of Americans, I knew that race was not an issue for the vast majority of Virginians. Rather, it existed only within the sometimes narrow confines of the press," he said.
He told the graduates to always be honest with the public.
"You must retain the trust and the respect of the public and of your colleagues," Wilder said. "If you ever lose that trust and that respect - your Harvard education notwithstanding - your reputation will be destroyed and your career in public service finished."
by CNB