Cites Problem as He Develops Legislative Agenda : Bush Calls Homeless ‘National Shame’

From behind the thick glass of his armored limousine, President Bush spotted the cluster of homeless people on Vermont Avenue here as he sped to a speech at a downtown hotel.

From his windows in the White House, he can see them too--”ragged, pathetic figures huddled over the steam grates of the Ellipse,” he said.

They are, he told an insurance agents’ conference Tuesday, “an affront to the American dream--a national shame, if you will.”

Faces Problems

The President used his speech to the national legislative conference of the Independent Insurance Agents of America to call attention to this problem and a number of others that he said he must address as his legislative agenda takes shape.

“My agenda is this: to confront the emerging problems of the future today,” Bush said.

White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater said that the President, “within the next few days,” will outline his views on the recent report from his handpicked ethics commission on improving ethical standards for government officials, and that he is setting in motion a series of Administration meetings with congressional leaders on the federal budget.

Bush also spoke of a need to review the awarding of huge damage judgments by juries in insurance cases.

On the homelessness problem, he said: “Homelessness affects a small proportion of Americans but concerns us all. We must seek the root causes and devise the most practical solutions for the homeless.”

When asked whether the President was planning an initiative to tackle the problem, Fitzwater told reporters that the remarks represented “a follow-up to his general concerns expressed during the campaign.”

He said that Jack Kemp, secretary of housing and urban development, is “looking into a number of housing proposals at HUD with the President’s direction and promotion.”

“The word has gone forth to come up with solutions, and that’s the direction we’re moving in,” he said.

On the subject of “tort reform,” Bush told the insurance agents: “Of course, there are many litigants who deserve a jury’s sympathy--we can start from that premise.’

But, gaining a wave of applause from the insurance agents, he said: “When local governments cannot install playgrounds, when businesses are bankrupted, when mothers struggle to find an obstetrician . . . then it is time to consider limiting some of these outrageous settlements.”

“Tort reform is critical to the health of businesses and volunteer organizations alike,” he said.

Studying Proposals

Later, Fitzwater said that the Justice Department “is taking a look” at reform proposals.

At the start of the day, Bush dropped in on a meeting among leaders of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith and senior White House officials.

“We must condemn all attacks on the Jewish religion, the Jewish heritage, clearly, unequivocally and without exception,” he told the group. “This nation must stand for tolerance, for pluralism and a healthy respect for the rights of all minorities.”