waiver of the application of subsections (a) and (b) of section 402 with respect to Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia will substantially promote the objectives of section 402. A copy of that determination is enclosed. I have also received assurances with respect to the emigration practices of Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia required by subsection 402(c)(2)(B) of the Act. This letter constitutes the report to the Congress required by subsection 402(c)(2).

Presidential Determination No. 92-20

Memorandum for the Secretary of State
Subject: Determination under Section
402(c)(2)(A) of the Trade Act of 1974, as
amended-Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan,
and Russia

Pursuant to section 402(c)(2)(A) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2432(c)(2)(A)), as amended, (the "Act"), I determine that a waiver by Executive order of the application of subsections (a) and (b) of section 402 of the Act with respect to Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia will substantially promote the objectives of section 402.

You are authorized and directed to publish this determination in the Federal Register. George Bush

Executive Order 12797-Review of
Increases in Rates of Basic Pay for
Certain Employees of the
Department of Veterans Affairs and
Other Agencies
April 3, 1992

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the Unit7455(d) (2)-(3) of title 38, United States ed States of America, including section Code, in order to establish procedures for review of proposed increases in the rates of basic pay of certain employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs and of other agencies, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. The Director of the Office of Personnel Management is designated to exercise the authority vested in the President by section 7455(d) (2)-(3) of title 38, United States Code, to review and approve or disapprove the increases in rates of basic pay proposed by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and to provide the appropriate committees of the Congress with a written statement of the reasons for any such disapproval.

Sec. 2. In exercising this authority, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall assure that any increases in basic pay proposed by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs are in the best interest of the Federal Government, do not exceed the amounts authorized by section 7455, and are made only

to:

(1) Provide pay in an amount competitive with, but not exceeding, the amount of the same type of pay paid to the same category of health-care personnel at non-Federal health-care facilities in the same labor market;

(2) Achieve adequate staffing at particular facilities; or

(3) Recruit personnel with specialized skills, especially those with skills which are especially difficult or demanding.

Sec. 3. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall provide to the Director of the Office of Personnel Management such information as the Director may request in order to carry out the responsibilities delegated by this

order.

Sec. 4. The Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall provide the Sec

retary of Veterans Affairs with copy of any written statement provided to the appropriate committees of the Congress that sets forth the reasons for disapproval of any proposed increase in rates of basic pay under this order.

Sec. 5. In the case of any other law authorizing another agency to use the authority provided by section 7455 of title 38, United States Code, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall exercise the same authority in the same manner as provided for with respect to section 7455 under sections 1 through 4 of this order, and the head of such other agency shall provide information requested by the Director as provided for in section 3 of this order.

Sec. 6. Executive Order No. 12438 of August 23, 1983, is revoked.

Sec. 7. This order shall be effective upon publication in the Federal Register.

The White House,

April 3, 1992.

George Bush

April 1

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 3:54 p.m., April 3, 1992]

Note: This Executive order will be published in the Federal Register on April 7.

Statement by Deputy Press Secretary
Smith on the President's Telephone
Conversation With President Václav
Havel of Czechoslovakia
April 3, 1992

The President spoke by telephone for 15 minutes this morning with Czechoslovak President Václav Havel who had just returned from a State visit to Russia. They concurred on the critical need to galvanize international support for President Yeltsin and the Government of the Russian Federation.

Specifically, they agreed that the success of the Russian Government's landmark economic reform program was vitally important for peace and stability in Europe. Pointing to the package of economic measures he announced on April 1, the President assured President Havel of the firm U.S. resolve to

-the Vice President; Samuel K. Skinner, Chief of Staff to the President; Brent Scowcroft, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs; and members of the CIA briefing staff;

-Samuel K. Skinner;

-domestic advisers;

-the Vice President, for lunch; -Secretary of the Treasury Nicholas F. Brady.

In the evening, the President and Mrs. Bush attended the Youth for Tomorrow Gala at the Kennedy Center.

March 31

The President met at the White House with:

-the Vice President; Samuel K. Skinner,
Chief of Staff to the President; Brent
Scowcroft, Assistant to the President for
National Security Affairs; and members
of the CIA briefing staff;
-Samuel K. Skinner;
-Secretary of State James A. Baker III.

The President transmitted to Congress the 26th annual report of the Department of Housing and Urban Development for calendar year 1990.

The President announced his intention to appoint the following individuals to be members of Emergency Boards, Nos. 220, 221, 222, to investigate railroad labor disputes: Benjamin Aaron, of Santa Monica, California.

Mr. Aaron will serve as the Chairman of all

three Boards. Currently, he is a professor of law at the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law and an arbitrator in numerous industries.

David Twomey, of Quincy, Massachusetts. Mr.
Twomey will be a member of all three Boards.
He currently is an arbitrator and a professor
at the Boston College School of Management.
Eric J. Schmertz, of Riverdale, New York. Mr.

Schmertz will be a member of all three Boards.
Currently, he is a professor of law at the Hofstra
School of Law and an arbitrator in numerous
industries.

Arnold M. Zack, of Boston, Massachusetts. Mr. Zack will be a member of the two Boards handling the Conrail and Amtrak disputes. He cur

rently serves as arbitrator and mediator in numerous industries.

Preston Jay Moore, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Mr. Moore will be a member of the two Boards handling the Conrail and Amtrak disputes. He currently serves as an arbitrator in numerous industries.

April 1

The President met at the White House with:

-former President Jimmy Carter; -the Vice President; Samuel K. Skinner, Chief of Staff to the President; Brent Scowcroft, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs; and members of the CIA briefing staff; -congressional leaders; -economic advisers.

In the evening, the President and Mrs. Bush attended the National Republican Senatorial Committee Roundtable Dinner at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

April 2

The President met at the White House

with:

-the Vice President; Samuel K. Skinner, Chief of Staff to the President; Brent Scowcroft, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs; and members of the CIA briefing staff; -Samuel K. Skinner; -domestic advisers;

-Secretary of State James A. Baker III; -Hispanic leaders.

In an afternoon ceremony in the Oval Office, the President received diplomatic credentials from Ambassadors Mohamed Fall Ainina of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, Berhane Gebre-Christos of Ethiopia, Takakazu Kuriyama of Japan, and Acheikh Ibn Oumar Said of Chad.