December 14 – President Bush announces his nomination of Donald Robert Quartel for Federal Maritime Commissioner. December 15 – President Bush signs the Department of Housing and Urban Development Reform Act of 1989. December 16 – President Bush holds his thirtieth news conference in the Amiral Room at the Hotel L'Habitation de Lonvilliers with President of France François Mitterrand during the afternoon. The two answer questions from reporters on trade with countries in the east part of the world, the Middle East, relations between the US and Libya, the future of Haiti, terrorism, the War on Drugs, the reunification of Germany, relations between the US and France, General Noriega, Romania, Lebanon, NATO, the American role in Europe, political and economic reforms worldwide, American defense spending, the European development bank, and China. December 18 – The White House discloses that President Bush sent National Security Advisor Scowcroft on a secret trip to China the past July for the purpose of informing Chinese officials of President Bush's shock in response to the June 4 Tiananmen Square violence. President Bush signs the Veterans' Benefits Amendments of 1989 into law, which is said to increase "certain benefits" allocated to veterans through payment. President Bush announces the appointment of Edward C. Aldridge, Jr. for membership on the President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee. December 19 – Secretary of State Baker admits miscommunication on his part of when US officials first met with Beijing leadership after the Tiananmen Square massacre. President Bush signs the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989 into law. The law is said to have "significant deficit-reduction measures for fiscal year 1990". December 20 – President Bush delivers a televised address condemning military action by the United States in Panama. December 21 – President Bush holds what he calls his 30th as well as final of the year, insisting an "open-ended" commitment toward the continued deployment of American troops in Panama and tracking Manuel Antonio Noriega. December 22 – President Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush visit AIDs patients, the president commenting that some individuals are worried about contracting the disease through casual contact as part of their misinformation on how to acquire it. December 23 – President Bush moves 2,000 troops into Panama as reinforcements for US forces already there amid criticism the US is not moving quickly enough. December 26 – Press Secretary Fitzwater releases a statement saying President Bush is