[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book I)]
[February 22, 1993]
[Pages 179-180]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks in a Telephone Conversation With Larry Villella
February 22, 1993

    The President. Larry, it's President Clinton. How are you?
    Larry. Great. Nice to talk to you.
    The President. It's nice to hear your voice. I just heard about you 
sending me this $1,000 check on CBS Radio. We just heard it over the 
radio this morning, and I really appreciate it.
    Larry. Okay. I hope that you can use it towards the economy.
    The President. Well, I think we can. One of the things that I've 
asked our staff to do, since citizens are not in the habit of sending 
money like this, is to see whether we can legally receive it and spend 
it just the way you want. And I'm going to also see whether or not your 
suggestion can be carried out in terms of involving other people doing 
the same thing you did.
    But I think it's a remarkable thing for a 14-year-old young American 
to do. And it's very impressive that you have a business that's so 
successful that you can afford to do this.
    How long have you been doing that?
    Larry. I've been doing it for 3 years now.
    The President. And do you do it year-round?
    Larry. It's pretty much year-round, except during the wintertime we 
have a few less sales of the sprinkler.
    The President. And what's your annual--what's your sales, your 
volume of sales? How

[[Page 180]]

much do you sell every year?
    Larry. Well, so far we've sold 3,000, and it's been divided between 
the 3 years since I'm just starting out.
    The President. I think that's pretty good.
    Larry. Thank you.
    The President. Pretty impressive. What do you want to do when you 
get out of high school?
    Larry. I want to go to college and then medical school.
    The President. Do you want to be a doctor?
    Larry. I'm hoping to be a cardiologist.
    The President. That's great. Well, by the time you can get out of 
medical school and be a cardiologist the American people will be living 
much longer, but they'll all be worried about their hearts. There will 
be a big demand for what you do.
    Larry. I hope so.
    The President. Well, I certainly hope that I get to meet you 
sometime. And I'm really, really impressed that you did this. I think 
you're really a symbol of what's best in this country, and I'm proud of 
you, and I thank you for doing this. And I'm going to be back in touch 
with you about exactly what we can do with your money and whether we can 
adopt your suggestion.
    Larry. Okay. Thank you. I'd really like to meet you, too.
    The President. That's great. Tell your family hello, and you have a 
good day, okay?
    Larry. Okay. Thank you.
    The President. Bye-bye.
    Larry. Bye.

Note: The President spoke at 12:52 p.m. aboard Air Force One while he 
was en route to Everett, WA.