    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book I)]
    [April 17, 1995]
    [Pages 539-540]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on Signing the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and
    Management Assistance Act of 1995
    April 17, 1995

        Thank you very much. Thank you, Alice Rivlin, for your hard work on
    this issue and for being such a devoted resident of the District of
    Columbia. I told somebody in the Oval Office before we came out here
    that, unlike a lot of us who are transients, Alice Rivlin's not going
    anywhere. [Laughter] And she desperately wanted this to be done well.
        Congressman Davis, Congressman Clinger, Congresswoman Morella,
    Congresswoman Norton, Mayor Barry, President Clarke, members of the City
    Council, and other friends of the District of Columbia, this is a very
    important day and a very important piece of legislation for all of us
    who care about our country's Capital and for all of us who love
    Washington as a city. I have lived here not only as President but also
    as a college student. I know this to be a city not only of our national
    monuments and political centers but also a city of neighborhoods, of
    Shaw and Anacostia and Cleveland Park and Adams Morgan and so many
    others.
        So this is a very important day for a city, a city and thousands and
    thousands of people who live in it, who love it, who care about it, who
    have lives, many of them who have nothing to do with the politics of the
    Nation's Capital but who deserve to live in a city that works, that
    functions, and that also can symbolize the very best in America.
        The health of the city and the security of its citizens have been
    threatened by the financial crisis. And I applaud all those who have
    come together to work together to begin the road back.
        The purpose of the bill I am signing today is just that; it is a
    road back. The Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Act
    will speed the District's recovery and return to fiscal health and will
    help over the long run to improve the delivery of services to its
    citizens.
        For the past 2 years, I've worked hard to turn the economy of our
    country around. And we've seen dramatic improvements in the deficit, in
    the ability of this country to create jobs, and having a Government that
    is both smaller and more efficient.
        But none of that means very much to people whose own lives are
    troubled with insecurity. And the citizens of the District of Columbia
    need to know that security, stability, growth, and opportunity will be
    the hallmarks of their living in our Nation's Capital.
        This effort, as Alice Rivlin has said, is proof of what we can
    accomplish when we work together, when we put the interests of real
    people first, when we ignore partisan politics, and when we get on with
    the job at hand.
        I want to thank Alice Rivlin, as I said, for all the work that she
    has been doing. I want to thank the Members of the Congress here
    present. Congressman Davis, I think, when he came to the Congress, never
    could have imagined that this would be his first big assignment.
    [Laughter] He is now, I guess, an honorary citizen of Washington, DC.
    Eleanor Holmes Norton, when she ran for Congress, probably never
    imagined that this would be one of the most important pieces of
    legislation which she would have to undertake. But they have worked
    together in good spirit, in good faith. And I thank them, along with the
    other Members who are present and Congressman Walsh and others, and also
    the Members of the Senate who worked so expeditiously on this
    legislation.
        The legislation calls for the creation of the Financial
    Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority to monitor and
    certify District budgets and borrowing, to get the city back on solid
    financial footing. I expect to appoint the five members of this
    Authority very soon. All of them will have a commitment to this city,
    and all of them will either live or work here.
        Our goals are clear. There are tough choices in the short term, but
    I am confident that this

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    legislation will lead to better services, a more responsive government,
    to safer streets, and to a stronger city for the citizens of this
    District. All of them deserve that, and America needs that.
        Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 12:35 p.m. in the Roosevelt Room at the
    White House. In his remarks, he referred to Mayor Marion Barry of the
    District of Columbia and David Clarke, District of Columbia Council
    president. H.R. 1345, approved April 17, was assigned Public Law No.
    104-8.