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THE WHITE HOUSE

                      Office of the Press Secretary
                       (Indian Wells, California)

For Immediate Release February 15, 1995

STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY

After a review under the auspices of the Vice President's National Performance Review, the Administration concluded that USIA, AID and ACDA should continue to pursue their missions as independent agencies under the foreign policy direction of the Secretary of State.

The core functions of AID--sustainable development, USIA--public diplomacy, and ACDA--arms control are as important in the post-Cold War period as they were before and they can most effectively be carried out by independent agencies working closely with State Department offices.

The review the Vice President directed also concluded that the State Department, and each of the other agencies, should continue to conduct thorough reinvention activities to attain greater efficiency and effectiveness and eliminate activities that can no longer be justified. The review also identified some specific areas of duplication and overlap between and among the four agencies which are to be eliminated while maintaining the independence of the agencies. The four agencies are now implementing these decisions.

The Administration looks forward to working with the Congress to determine how to improve the efficiency of the foreign affairs process. It also will seek the support of the Congress for the full Administration budget request for foreign activities which we view as the minimum necessary to meet our objectives in the world.

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