    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book II)]
    [November 4, 1994]
    [Pages 1985-1986]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 1985]]

    Interview With Cheryl Jennings of KGO Television, San Francisco,
    California
    November 4, 1994

    Midterm Elections

        Ms. Jennings. Mr. President, you are coming to California just
    before the November elections. Why are you choosing this State in
    particular?
        The President. Well, I, first of all, try to come often to
    California. As you know, I've done a lot of work to try to bring back
    the California economy, to try to help deal with the immigration
    problems, to try to help deal with the problems of defense conversion.
    And I feel that I have a big stake out there in the success of
    California because the success of California determines, in some
    measure, the success of America.
        And there are important races there, Senator Feinstein's race,
    Kathleen Brown's race for Governor. Many of our Members of Congress are
    in tough races for reelection. And I want to do what I can to be as
    supportive of those who have supported the approach we've taken. We're
    moving America in the right direction. In 21 months we've gone a
    considerable way toward reversing the problems that brought us the
    economic difficulties of the last 12 years. And I want the voters of
    California to give us a chance to keep on moving into the future.

    Defense Conversion

        Ms. Jennings. Two issues you brought up: military conversion, the
    defense issue, of course, and immigration. Let's start with military
    conversion. You're coming to an area in Alameda County first that's very
    heavily hit by that. What can you tell those folks? What can you offer
    them?
        The President. Well, I think most of the people there know that we
    have worked very hard, first of all, to invest significant sums of money
    in trying to help the places where bases have closed, in trying to put
    out new technology projects for the companies who have lost defense
    contracts. In the case of Alameda, we're doing what we can to move the
    port facilities over to the local community so they can be developed for
    commercial purposes.

    Midterm Elections

        Ms. Jennings. You also talked--I heard you earlier on the radio
    today--about cutbacks, Social Security, for example, veterans benefits.
    And of course, since there are so many military bases in California, a
    lot of veterans are saying, ``Hey, the Government lied to me. I made a
    contract to serve my country, and now they're not going to support me or
    pay for my benefits for the rest of my life.''
        The President. Well, we are; the Democrats are. But the Republicans
    are running for Congress, trying to get control of the Senate and the
    House, based on a commitment to a contract which says they're going to
    give huge tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans; they're going to
    increase defense spending and bring back Star Wars; they're going to
    balance the budget in 5 years. That costs $1 trillion. The only way they
    can keep that promise is to cut Government spending across the board, 20
    percent cut in Social Security, veterans benefits, Medicare, everything.
    If they take Social Security out, then they have to cut everything else
    30 percent, Medicare, veterans benefits, all those things. There is no
    other way they can keep that promise.
        If they're kidding, if they have no intention of keeping the promise
    and they're just going to do the easy things, the tax cuts, the spending
    increases, then we're looking at an explosion in Government debt,
    shipping our jobs overseas, putting our economy in deep trouble, just as
    it was when I took office.
        So I hope that the American people, and particularly the people in
    California and those retired military folks, will see this contract for
    what it is, a bogus set of promises. I hope they'll reject it and vote
    for the people who are committed to continuing to move this country
    forward and to honoring our commitments to our veterans and to the
    Social Security recipients.

    Immigration

        Ms. Jennings. Mr. President, before I lose you on the satellite,
    what about Proposition 187? That is the anti-illegal immigration issue.

    [[Page 1986]]

        The President. Yes, I'm familiar with it. I have two things to say
    about it. First of all, I sympathize with the people of California. They
    have a problem. The Federal Government should do more to help to stop
    illegal immigration and to help California bear the cost of the illegal
    immigrants who are there. But secondly, I don't think Proposition 187 is
    the way to do it. It seems to be clearly unconstitutional. And if put
    into effect, its primary impact would be on children: keeping children
    out of health clinics, which could cause public health problems in the
    general population; kicking children out of schools, which could turn
    teachers into police officers and put kids on the street where they
    could get in trouble and cause trouble for others, rather than in
    school. We already have too many kids on the street in this country.
        So I think what we ought to do is to keep working on what we're
    doing, stiffening the Border Patrol, stiffening the sanctions on
    employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants, stiffening our ability
    to get illegal immigrants out of the work force, increasing our ability
    to deport people who have committed crimes who are illegal immigrants.
    And then the Federal Government simply must continue to do more to help
    California and other States deal with the corrections, the health, and
    the education costs of illegal immigration. I am committed to doing
    that. I don't think 187 is the way to do it.
        Ms. Jennings. All right. Mr. President, thank you so much for giving
    us some of your time this morning.
        The President. Thank you, Cheryl.

    Note: The interview began at 9:59 a.m. The President spoke by telephone
    from the Holiday Inn in Duluth, MN.