    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book II)]
    [October 22, 1993]
    [Pages 1805-1806]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Interview With Rolland Smith of KNSD-TV, San Diego
    October 22, 1993

    Technology Reinvestment Project

        The President. I think we're ready now.
        Mr. Smith. Mr. President, your technology reinvestment project has
    been funded for $472 million. You have received proposals for 2,850
    projects requesting $8.4 billion. Doesn't that tell us that much more is
    needed?
        The President. Absolutely. We just got another $500-plus million
    through the Congress that we'll be coming forward with next year. And in
    January I expect to ask for more money for this program. Much more money
    is needed, and I hope the Congress will now be willing to provide more
    money for it. There were both Democratic and Republican Members of
    Congress from California to the East Coast at our announcement today.
    And I'm very hopeful now that when Members of Congress see the
    incredible number of worthy projects and the potential they have to
    revolutionize our economy in America and to put our high-tech workers
    back to work and to create more jobs, that they'll be able to fund it.
    I'm very excited. But keep in mind, this is a big first step.
        Mr. Smith. Mr. President, you said in your announcement today that
    we needed new training, new markets, new technologies. What do you say
    to the General Dynamics worker who has lost his job and lost his home,
    to the biotech worker who has lost his job and home, what do you say to
    them now? They need help now.
        The President. I say that I'm doing the very best I can. We started
    cutting back on defense long before I became President. The defense cuts
    started in '87, and there was no investment in defense conversion to
    amount to anything until I took office. The Congress appropriated $500
    million last year which was not even released by the previous
    administration until I took office. I believe in defense conversion. I
    believe in helping those people through retraining, through new
    investments, through new job opportunities, through things like this
    technology reinvestment project. And I'm going to do the very best I can
    to give them the opportunities that they need and that our country needs
    for them to have.
        Mr. Smith. The UCSD project, using materials for helping to fix
    bridges and make new lightweight ones, how many jobs do you think that
    will create?
        The President. Depends on what the market for bridges are. But let
    me just say that if you look at the evidence, at literally the thousands
    of bridges in America that are in disrepair, that desperately need
    repair, and the potential that this material has to permit that repair
    to be done quickly and efficiently, there may be a virtually unlimited
    market for it. It depends on how quickly they can make sure that this
    prototype bridge they're building works and then how quickly they can
    get out to every State in the country that controls the market for
    bridge repair and market this product. But I would say that there is an
    enormous potential to generate new jobs and incomes in your area because
    of this, for the simple reason that we have thousands and thousands of
    bridges which should have been repaired in the eighties which weren't.

    Immigration

        Mr. Smith. Mr. President, we've got a border war of sorts going on
    here in San Diego. A lot of it has to do with illegal aliens coming
    across taking some jobs. And now there's an ``anti'' feeling on both
    sides, including a boycott being called for against American businesses.
    What can you do to stop the ``anti'' feeling on both sides?
        The President. Well, I think, first of all, from the point of view
    of the ``anti'' feeling on our side, we have to be able to enforce our
    immigra-

    [[Page 1806]]

    tion laws more equitably and more firmly. We welcome immigrants into
    this country; we always have. Southern California is, in many ways, the
    product of our commitment to opening our doors to immigrants. But when
    we have so many illegal immigrants and half of them now lodging in
    California at a time of economic difficulty, it undermines support for
    immigration in general. So first we have to try to enforce our
    immigration laws.
        Let me just mention that just this week the Senate passed, and I
    will soon sign, the bill that will permit 600 more border agents and 200
    others in supporting roles to help to increase our capacity to enforce
    our immigration laws. So that's a beginning.
        The second thing we have to do in your area is get that horrible
    pollution problem fixed, where you're getting all the pollution coming
    up from Mexico and raw sewage. We've got to accelerate the construction
    of that sewage treatment facility down there and do what we can to make
    sure that people pay their fair share on the Mexican side of the border.
    Congressman Filner is doing a terrific job for you back in Washington on
    that.
        The third thing we need to do on the Mexican side of the border, I
    guess, is to remind our friends in Mexico that we're not anti-
    immigration. We just want to enforce our laws. We're doing our best, I
    am at least, to pass the NAFTA treaty, and I hope that I'll have a lot
    of support in the Congress from California on that, because it will be
    good for easing the immigration pressures. So we have to assure the
    Mexicans that we want to work with them, we want to be a partner with
    them, but we have every right to want our immigration laws to be
    respected and honored.
        Mr. Smith. Okay, Mr. President, thank you very much for joining us
    this morning.
        The President. Thank you.

    Note: The interview began at 11:56 a.m. The President spoke via
    satellite from Room 459 of the Old Executive Office Building.