    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book II)]
    [November 4, 1994]
    [Pages 1996-1998]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the Los Alamitos Naval Air Station in Los Alamitos,
    California
    November 4, 1994

        Thank you very much. First I want to thank Julia. You know, I was
    looking at her make that talk and thinking a couple of things. One is,
    she's the sort of person that makes this country great. And the second
    thing is, as long as we've got people like her and people like you,
    we're going to be all right, and don't you let anybody tell you any
    different. I am delighted to be here with Bob Hood. You already heard
    him talk about the trip that he made to China with the Secretary of
    Commerce, Ron Brown. I'm delighted to be here with Congresswoman Harman,
    Senator Boxer, and of course with Senator Feinstein. I appreciate the
    comments that Senator Feinstein made on behalf of all of us about the
    importance of this agreement.
        This agreement was signed just a couple of hours ago by John
    McDonnell, your chairman, and Li Lanqing, the Vice Premier of China,
    with whom I met yesterday at the White House. It is a part of our
    ongoing efforts to expand trade in ways that maintain high-wage jobs in
    the United States, increase jobs in the United States, and help other
    countries to grow so that they can buy more and more of our products and
    provide better lives for their people as well. I am delighted by the
    fact that these jobs will be preserved in California and that others in
    Connecticut and other States will benefit.
        It would not have been possible, notwithstanding the trip to China
    by Secretary Brown and by Bob Hood, but for the work of the McDonnell
    Douglas employees and the continued commitment of all of you to become
    more and more competitive, more and more productive, more and more
    successful.
        I want to take just a minute--we've already celebrated, and I want
    us to celebrate, but I want you to understand from my point of view how
    this fits into America's future and to your future. Twenty-one months
    ago when I went to Washington to try to turn this economy around and
    rebuild our country, the unemployment rate here in California was 9.4
    percent. You had suffered because of the national recession, but you had
    also suffered because with only 12 percent of America's population, you
    had 21 percent of our defense sector, and you had taken a
    disproportionate hit, about 40 percent of the impact of the base
    closures to date, as Senator Feinstein had said.
        It was obvious to me that we had to do something to turn this
    situation around. And we began the implementation of a comprehensive,
    long-term economic strategy that was very different from what had been
    pursued in previous years. First we decided we needed to reduce the
    deficit of the United States, to free up more

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    money to invest in the private sector to create jobs in the private
    sector and to drive interest rates down. Then we decided we had to
    remove controls on American exports, especially of high-tech products
    which are disproportionately produced in California. Then we decided we
    had to increase our number of trade agreements, like NAFTA and the GATT
    world trade agreement, to open up new markets. We decided we needed to
    make a special effort to invest in new technologies and to invest in
    defense conversion, which obviously had a big impact here. Now, in
    California that meant that one-third of all the funds we've invested to
    try to help defense contractors move from defense to domestic production
    or to commercial production for the United States and the world, one-
    third of all that money was spent in investments here in California. We
    also decided that we needed a clear, sharp view about what kind of
    defense posture we needed to take ourselves into the 21st century with
    the strongest military in the world.
        I want to mention just a word about the C-17 contract because it's
    been mentioned by others. We had to fight like crazy to preserve the C-
    17. And I hope we won't ever have to fight like that again, because the
    C-17 is important not to your jobs, your jobs are incidental to the fact
    that it's important to the national security of the United States of
    America.
        And I just want to mention one thing. I think all Americans were
    filled with pride when they saw the comprehensive United States
    operation that brought President Aristide back and democracy back to
    Haiti with no casualties. I think they were filled with pride when they
    saw the lightning-like response of the United States to Saddam Hussein's
    aggression in the Persian Gulf. Others were amazed that we moved as
    quickly as we did. Why is that? Because we learned after the Gulf war,
    in which the United States took 4\1/2\ months to position our soldiers,
    our airmen, our marines, our naval personnel, and all of our equipment,
    that we had to move more quickly. And one of the things we have to have
    is much more enhanced airlift and sealift capacity. That is what the C-
    17 means. That is what we are developing.
        So if you like what you saw in Haiti, if you like what you saw in
    the Persian Gulf, then continue to support the C-17, not only because of
    the jobs in California but because of the job it allows the finest
    military in the entire world to do for the United States of America.
        We have a long way to go in California. But the unemployment rate
    has dropped, as Senator Boxer said, from 9.4 percent to 7.7 percent. The
    unemployment rate in America is at a 4-year low. Jobs are growing at 5
    times the rate they did in the previous 4 years. The United States has
    just been voted at the annual panel of international economists as the
    most productive economy in the world for the first time in 9 years. For
    the first time in 15 years, America's autoworkers will make and sell
    more cars around the world than their Japanese competitors. We are
    moving in the right direction.
        Here in California, in addition to the C-17 and this contract, I
    want to point out again the work that's being done in defense
    conversion. We are turning Norton Air Force Base over to the community.
    The Presidio has been turned into a national park. Up in northern
    California, the Alameda Naval Station will be turned over to the Port of
    Oakland. We are moving on a massive attempt to revive the capacity of
    Americans to build ships, which is benefiting the shipbuilding industry
    in San Diego that I'm sure all of you are familiar with.
        These are the kinds of things we need to continue to push ahead
    with. And there are high-technology investments, from the physics
    experiment at Stanford to the work that's just been contracted at
    Livermore Labs, to the continuing effort of our administration to
    promote the space station, something that also benefits the workers of
    California, that will take us into the 21st century with a defense that
    is smaller but still adequate to our responsibilities in the world and
    with a job base that is preserved.
        If you look around this crowd today, you will see everything that is
    best about America. What makes a country strong? Abroad, it's strong
    security, more trade, standing up for freedom and peace. At home, it's
    strong families. It's strong education systems. it's safe streets. It's
    good jobs. That is the true strength of America. That is what we are
    here to celebrate today.
        And I want to tell you that the economic strategy that we have
    pursued that is making a difference in this country would simply not
    have been possible without the support of your Congresswoman, Jane
    Harman, and your Senators, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer. It is a
    partnership. And the partnership we have with the private sector is in
    many ways, as I'm

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    sure Bob Hood will tell you, virtually unprecedented. Abroad, we are
    working hard without relief, and we will continue to work until we have
    this economy turned around again and until every Julia Clayton in the
    United States can not only be a great-grandmother but can also look
    forward to an American economy for her great-grandchildren that will be
    the envy of the world.
        Thank you, and God bless you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 3:45 p.m. In his remarks, he referred to
    Julia Clayton, McDonnell Douglas employee, and Bob Hood, president,
    Douglas Aircraft, and to an amended agreement providing for U.S.
    assembly of 20 McDonnell Douglas aircraft to be purchased by China and
    originally to be assembled in China.