    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book I)]
    [June 7, 1996]
    [Pages 872-875]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on the National Economy and an Exchange With Reporters
    June 7, 1996

        The President. Good morning. Today we have been given fresh evidence
    that the American economy is growing steady and strong. What the job
    report today shows is that when we make tough choices, there is
    absolutely no limit to what the American people can do to create jobs
    and opportunity. This report says that in the past 2 months the American
    economy has created half a million jobs and that for 21 months in a row
    now, the unemployment rate has been under 6 percent, that real wages for
    hard-working Americans are finally on the rise because of their growing
    productivity.
        When I took office our Nation faced a very different economic
    picture. Four years ago unemployment was 7.6 percent and rising, the
    deficit was skyrocketing, job growth was very, very slow. We put into
    place a comprehensive and tough economic package to create growth and to
    generate jobs. We cut the deficit in half, expanded trade to record
    levels, and invested in our people and their future. The result has been
    sustained economic growth, based on sound principles. Inflation is low;
    investment is up; a higher percentage of new jobs are private sector
    jobs than at any time since the 1920's.
        When we put this strategy into place it was bitterly opposed by many
    people. They warned it would hurt the economy. They did everything they
    could to derail it, and it survived by the barest of margins in the
    Congress. Well, 3\1/2\ years later, it is now clear that the tough
    choices produced good results for the American people.
        I said we would cut the deficit in half; the deficit will be cut by
    more than half in 4 years. I said this plan would create 8 million jobs;
    the latest job figures, including the annual revision of the Bureau of
    Labor Statistics, indicate that the economy in 3\1/2\ years has produced
    9.7 million new jobs for the American people. That is growth, and growth
    without inflation.

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        We should not turn from an economic strategy that is working. We
    should finish the job of balancing the budget, of reforming welfare, and
    of extending the benefits of economic growth to all Americans by passing
    the Kassebaum-Kennedy bill, by raising the minimum wage, by providing
    for the portability of pensions, and by extending guaranteed education
    to the 13th and 14th years. These are the things we should do, building
    on this strategy, not departing from it.
        Thank you.
        Q. Mr. President----
        Q. Mr. President, Willie Brown said you shouldn't come to----
        Q. The markets are already dropping----
        The President. Wait, wait. One at a time, one at a time. What?
        Q. The markets are already dropping because of this news. What do
    you say to that?
        The President. Well, let me remind you that the stock market is a
    lot better than it was when I took office. It's up about 2,000 points, I
    think--more than 2,000. Whenever we have really robust job numbers--and
    we had 348,000 this month, and then I think about 160,000 last month--
    there is the fear of inflation, and that always has an impact in the
    market.
        But if you look at the conditions, I think as the market has a
    chance to go through this day and the days ahead, there is no evidence
    of inflation in this economy. These jobs are being created by the
    productivity of American businesses and the American work force. That's
    why we're finally seeing some real wage gains now for American workers.
    And keep in mind, the manufacturing sector has been arguing for years
    that we can grow more rapidly, we can create more jobs without inflation
    because of productivity and because of the competition to which we're
    subject from other countries.
        So I think that this thing will work itself out. Over the long
    period, the market follows the strength of the economy, and that's why
    the market today is so much higher than it was 3\1/2\ years ago.
        Go ahead, Helen [Helen Thomas, United Press International].
        Q. Aren't you concerned that higher interest rates will drive----

    President's Visit to San Francisco, CA

        Q. Mr. President, Willie Brown says you should not come to San
    Francisco because of gay protests against your stand on same-sex
    marriage and so forth. Are you going? What do you think of that?
        The President. Well, I think that Willie Brown is a great mayor, but
    I believe that I should not cancel my trip to San Francisco. I promised
    Senator Feinstein and her husband I would come to their home. I have a
    long-standing commitment to go by and see the Presidio and see what
    we've been trying to do there to help the people of California.
        And on the issue, let me just say I believe the record is clear. I
    don't think any President has ever been more sensitive to the
    fundamental human concerns or the legitimate interests of gay Americans
    than I have. And I have been roundly criticized for it in many quarters.
    But from the time I ran for office in 1992, I expressed my position on
    the whole concept of marriage in the law. That is--it's been my position
    all along. I can't change that position. I have no intention of changing
    it. I have also said I have no intention of being a party to letting
    this legislation moving through Congress become an excuse for diverting
    and dividing the American people and getting into a round of gay-
    bashing. I am bitterly opposed to that. I will not participate in it.
    But I have no intention of canceling my travel plans.
        Yes, go ahead, Wolf [Wolf Blitzer, CNN].

    Senator Bob Dole

        Q. Mr. President, do you think--what do you think of Senator Dole's
    latest effort to finesse the Republican Party platform on the issue of
    abortion rights? And do you think--as a follow-up, do you think it would
    be right for you and Senator Dole to sit down during these final days of
    his in the Senate?
        The President. Well, I'd be happy to do that. As I said, there is
    this one issue, this Kassebaum-Kennedy bill, that we both agree on, and
    I would do anything I could to work with him on it and to let him leave
    his many years in the Senate with a good, positive memory that this was
    something that was done for the American people.
        I have always said that elections would be decided based on the
    honest differences between candidates, but we should not waste one
    single day preventing something from being done when we have areas of
    common agreement. And if I could do anything to work with Senator Dole
    to help achieve that and to leave

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    him with a good, positive, lasting accomplishment for the American
    people as he leaves the Senate, I would be more than happy to do it.
        Q. What about the abortion rights platform position of Senator Dole?
        The President. Oh, I'm sorry. Well, I think it is a good thing for
    anyone to urge that we lower the rhetoric and stop lobbing these verbal
    bombs at one another. But when you lower the rhetoric, the stark
    difference in our policies remains there. He is in favor of a
    constitutional amendment to ban abortion, and I am not. So there is a
    real difference there that I don't think can be papered over. But I
    think anything that restores civility to this debate is a positive
    thing, and I applaud him for saying that.

    Economic Growth and the Federal Reserve

        Q. Do you believe that today's unemployment and employment report is
    a sign or a signal that economic growth can be higher and faster than
    the Federal Reserve seems to think it should be?
        The President. Well, I believe it is a sign that we can grow the
    economy without inflation if our workers and our businesses are
    productive. But I would remind you that what Chairman Greenspan has said
    in the past is that at least he has no preconceived notions of how fast
    the economy can grow. And the Fed will now have a month to evaluate
    this. They don't meet until next month some time. And if they see that
    we are producing this level of job growth with no inflation, then I
    would think the interest rates should stay down, not only the Fed rates
    but the rates that the market sets.
        This is a terrific commentary not only on the actions we took early
    to get the interest rates down and opening markets which helps to create
    higher wage jobs for Americans but also in the increasing productivity
    of the American work force, which will only be accelerated if we can
    increase the education level of our workers.
        Peter [Peter Maer, NBC Mutual Radio].

    U.S. Aircraft Tragedy in Croatia

        Q. Mr. President, you've been briefed, we know, on the circumstances
    that led up to the plane crash that killed Commerce Secretary Brown.
    What are your personal reflections on what you were told, and what
    assurances have you been given that steps are being taken to prevent
    this from happening again on future VIP trips?
        The President. Let me say, first of all, I had an extensive briefing
    yesterday by the Commanding General of the Air Force and by the general
    whom he put in charge of the review. And as you might imagine, for me it
    was a very painful personal experience because of my relationship with
    Secretary Brown and because of the people that were on that plane that I
    knew and those business leaders that we relied on and that relied on us.
        But I have to tell you, I felt a great sense of respect for General
    Fogleman that the Air Force was completely thorough and prompt and
    brutally honest in its evaluation of what went on. And some steps have
    already been taken to avert the possibility that any of these errors
    could be made again, and I am convinced, absolutely convinced, that
    others will be taken.
        I also would tell you that if you had sat through the briefing as I
    did--I kept thinking that this peculiar mix of circumstances, if only
    one or two little things had happened the crash might not have occurred.
    That whole unit over there was working so hard to do so much different
    kind of work, but that this is why--because the risks are always there,
    this is why the procedures, the rules that the Air Force puts in place,
    are so important to be followed.
        And so I would say that the American people should feel reassured
    that the top leadership of the Air Force got to the bottom of this, did
    it in a hurry, and was completely honest, with no back-covering at all
    in its straightforward report on this accident.

    Church Burnings in the South

        Q. Sir, there was another fire at a black Southern church last
    night, sir. Do you think there is a national conspiracy or a resurgence
    in racism in America?
        The President. Well, I'm going to have more to say about that
    tomorrow at my radio address. All I can tell you right now is we are
    working very hard to get to the bottom of this. When I was in Louisiana
    last week, where several of these bombings--these burnings have
    occurred, I spoke personally to the United States Attorney about it to
    get a personal report on what the status was in Louisiana of those cases
    and to reaffirm my determination to do everything we could to get to the
    bottom of it. So I'll have

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    some more to say about it tomorrow. We will be doing everything we can.

    Senator Bob Dole

        Q. Mr. President, to follow up on Wolf's question, you have just a
    few days left before Senator Dole leaves the Senate. Would you like to
    invite him here at this moment?
        The President. Well, we have had some indirect communication back
    and forth about how we ought to proceed from here on out. I don't think
    we should discuss it in a press conference.
        I do want to say again how much I feel, along with all Americans,
    that I thank him for his years of service in the Senate. I do believe he
    is trying to pass this Kennedy-Kassebaum bill. I'd like to try to help
    him do it. And I would like for him to feel that he is leaving the
    Senate on a positive note.
        I can't say that I have the same good wishes about the next 5
    months, but I would like to do that. And so I hope we can work it out.
        Thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 9:50 a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Gen. Charles H. Coolidge, Jr.,
    USAF, who was in charge of reviewing the U.S. aircraft tragedy in
    Croatia.