    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book I)]
    [March 18, 1996]
    [Pages 478-479]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks to the Community in Alexandria, Louisiana
    March 18, 1996

        The President. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for waiting in the
    cold and the wind. I am so glad to be here. I want to thank the Tioga
    High School band for playing. Didn't they do a great job? [Applause]
    Mayor Randolph, Mayor Baden, Senator Johnston, Senator Breaux,
    Congressman Fields, Congressman Jefferson, Chairman Meyer, I am
    delighted to be here, and I thank you for waiting for me.
        I want to talk just a minute, very briefly, about what you have done
    here with England Air Force Base and why that's a model of what I hope
    we'll see more of all across America. You know, when the cold war ended
    and we were moving into this global economy, the first thing that
    happened that scared a lot of Americans was the need to downsize the
    military and the plain need that the country had to reduce the size of
    our bases. A lot of people were afraid, but you people were not afraid.
    You worked together, and you were determined to make some good things
    happen here. And I have to tell you that I have been all over this
    country looking at military bases. I have worked with communities all
    over America, personally, to help them start their communities up and to
    use these bases as economic assets. There is no place in the entire
    United States that has done a better job than Alexandria has.
        Now, what I want to say, even in all this wind, is that there are
    other challenges facing us. You read in the press, I'm sure, that some
    big companies, for example, are restructuring and laying off a lot of
    people. All the time in this economy there are jobs being created, jobs
    being abolished, jobs being created, jobs being abolished. But what I
    want to say to you is that this country is moving in the right
    direction. We have 8.4 million more jobs today than we had 3 years ago
    because the American people, when they work together, can find ways to
    solve problems, meet challenges, and move forward. And if we will commit
    ourselves to a few simple things, educating all of our children and
    providing education for adults whenever they lose jobs, the moment they
    lose jobs; making the most of our resources; selling America's products
    around the world; and taking the things we have in this country, like
    these military bases, and turning them into opportunities; and if we
    will commit to say if a person loses a job they at least ought to be
    able to carry their health insurance and their pension with them so they
    can take care of their families when they start anew; if we will commit
    ourselves to making it possible for people to start small businesses and
    for every community in America to participate in the economic recovery,
    then this country is going to do just fine.
        I want you to know, when I became President, because I had been
    through a base closing in my home State, I started a whole new program
    to get the Pentagon to move more quickly, to move properties out and
    give them to the communities so that they could be used to generate
    jobs. And that is what we have done now

    [[Page 479]]

    all across America, and we're using you as a model.
        Now let me say that there's one official reason we're all out here
    on this windy day, and that is that I am here to take the next step in
    the official transition of this Air Force base to the central Louisiana
    community by formally presenting the deed for 165 acres of the base to
    Jim Meyer. So I'd like to ask him to come up here and let me present the
    deed. Mr. Meyer?
        Here it is. It is now yours.
        Mr. Meyer. Thank you.
        The President. Thank you again. God bless you. It's great to see
    you. I've had a great day.
        Thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 5:55 p.m. at the England Air Park. In his
    remarks, he referred to Mayor Ned Randolph of Alexandria; Mayor Fred
    Baden of Pineville; and Jim Meyer, chairman, England Economic and
    Industrial Development District.