[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book II)]
[July 4, 1996]
[Pages 1072-1074]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 1072]]


Remarks on Independence Day at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, 
Maryland
July 4, 1996

    Thank you very much. First of all, Admiral Newsome, thank you for 
welcoming us, and thank you for the fine work that you and your 
colleagues do here every day to make our country stronger in so many 
ways.
    Congressman Hoyer, thank you for your leadership, thank you for 
being with us today on Independence Day and for what you do every day 
for this district and for our Nation.
    I'd like to say a special word of thanks to Craig Koppie, who saved 
both of our lives out there when the eagle got a little nervous--
[laughter]--she wanted to be free even more than we wanted to free her, 
I think--[laughter]--and to Jamie Clark and to all those here who work 
to conserve our Nation's treasures.
    We have Federal employees here. We have some State employees here 
from Maryland who are devoting their careers to preserving our 
environment, our natural resources, and our precious species. And I'd 
like to ask all the rest of us on this Independence Day to thank them 
for what they do for America. [Applause] Thank you very, very much.
    I want to thank all the people who are here from the Department of 
the Interior. I see Deputy Secretary Garamendi, and there are many 
others here from the Interior Department. We've seeded this crowd today.
    And I want to say a special word of thanks to Bruce Babbitt. We have 
fought in many ways to try to make sure that America would enhance the 
quality of its environment and enhance the diversity and strength of its 
natural resources as we continue to grow the economy and move into the 
21st century. I said when I sought this position in 1992 that I did not 
believe that we could march into the 21st century and leave our children 
and grandchildren the legacy they deserved unless we found a way to grow 
the American economy and preserve the environment, enhance our natural 
resources. Bruce Babbitt has been the point person in that endeavor. He 
has certainly endured more personal attacks for standing up for 
America's environment and for our natural resources than any other 
member of this administration. He has fought a long and sometimes lonely 
battle. But in the last year we have seen the American people clearly 
adopting the position we have fought for all along. They know that 
America's future depends upon the preservation of our natural resources. 
And that will be Bruce Babbitt's enduring legacy. I am very grateful to 
him, and I know all Americans are.
    I want to thank the State officials from Maryland who are here, 
including Maryland State Treasurer Richard Dixon and Senator Mike 
Miller, the president of the Maryland Senate; and other senators and 
delegates who are here; and people from Saint Mary's County, the county 
commissioners who are here. I thank all of them for coming. I thank John 
Griffin, the secretary of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
    And I'd like to ask, since Jamie recognized them, I'd like to ask 
Mollie Beattie's aunt and uncle to please be recognized: Herb and 
Michelle Morris. Would you all stand up and be recognized? Thank you so 
much for being here today. [Applause] Thank you.
    I want to say a few words about Independence Day and American 
eagles, but before I do, I'd like to take just a moment on our 
Independence Day to celebrate and applaud the freedom and independence 
exercised yesterday in another part of the world. As people who cherish 
the right to choose our leaders and have a say in our Nation's destiny, 
we should take just a moment on our Independence Day and reflect on what 
happened in Russia yesterday.
    When I was a boy growing up, it would have been unthinkable that in 
just a few decades the Soviet empire would be no more, the Soviet Union 
would be a collection of independent countries, and the great Russia 
would be a free country with free elections.
    Millions and millions of Russians, well over 60 percent of the 
eligible voters, returned to the polls yesterday and cast a free and 
open vote for Russia's democratic future. This is a historic 
achievement. The Russian people have turned their back on tyranny; they 
are turning the corner toward freedom. They and their leaders have 
cleared another important hurdle in building a new and enduring 
democracy.

[[Page 1073]]

    While the final results have not yet been announced, it is clear 
that a majority, a substantial majority of the Russian people, voted for 
President Yeltsin and for the path of reform. I want to congratulate 
President Yeltsin on his reelection--has a nice ring to it. [Laughter] I 
want to congratulate the Russian people most of all on this milestone. 
They have been consistent in being good citizens, turning out in these 
elections, and showing that they are fully capable of exercising the 
powers of democracy.
    So as we celebrate our freedom and independence, we applaud them for 
their freedom and independence as well. That bodes very good news for 
the future of the entire world as we move together into a new century.
    I think it is altogether appropriate for us to begin the celebration 
of our democracy on the Fourth of July with the celebration of the 
rebirth of our national symbol. After our Nation was founded two 
centuries and two decades ago, the Founders chose the bald eagle to 
represent all that America stands for. The American President has always 
carried that symbol everywhere, as I have here today.
    Since Secretary Babbitt mentioned it, and since Benjamin Franklin 
had such a good sense of humor, I'm sure he would be amused to know that 
many people identify those of us in public life with turkeys as often as 
eagles, I think. [Laughter]
    On our first Independence Day--listen to this--on our first 
Independence Day, as many as a quarter-million bald eagles soared over 
what is now the continental United States. Those eagles seemed as 
enduring as the strength, the unity, the justice, and the freedom upon 
which our Nation was founded. And so it didn't seem to matter much in 
the beginning and for a long time that their treetop habitat was 
destroyed and that they were shot down from the sky.
    But Thomas Jefferson warned Americans about our environment. He 
wrote, ``For if one link in nature's chain might be lost, another might 
be lost, until the whole of things will vanish by piecemeal.'' The bald 
eagle, the symbol of Jefferson's words in our Declaration of 
Independence, became a symbol of his warnings as well. They became the 
victims of vanishing forests and poisonous pesticides. And 25 years ago 
there remained only 400 pairs of bald eagles in the lower 48 States. Our 
noble bird was dying off.
    That made our country take a good look at itself. We saw our dirty 
lakes and streams, and we began to clean them. We saw soot and began to 
remove it and other dangerous particles from the air. We saw waste sites 
bordering places where families live and children go to school, and we 
began the work of removing hazards from our soil. We banned DDT, and 
both parties came together to pass the Endangered Species Act. Because 
America made this commitment to work together, we began to make our 
environment whole. We renewed our compact with nature.
    On this Independence Day let me say to all Americans, we must not do 
anything that would weaken our health and safety and environmental laws. 
The freedom to breathe clean air, drink safe water, pass a safe world to 
our children, to share our environment with God's other creatures, these 
are liberties we dare not take for granted and we dare not turn our back 
on. Let us rededicate ourselves to our common, nonpartisan American 
commitment to preserve the environment.
    Though human deeds almost erased America's symbol from our skies, 
human wisdom and good sense brought it back. Now the time of the bald 
eagle has come again. Now more than 4,500 bald eagle pairs nest in our 
lower 48 States.
    Two years ago Mollie Beattie, who was the first woman to serve as 
the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, released a bald 
eagle to mark a milestone in its reverse. The bald eagle was being 
officially reclassified from endangered to threatened. Last week Mollie 
Beattie passed away much too soon. But she left us an enduring legacy of 
passion for our Earth and its creatures which she instilled in all who 
were fortunate enough to know her.
    The bald eagle you saw a few minutes ago has been captive while it 
was nursed back from a fractured shoulder. And you heard Craig say when 
we released it that the bald eagle was named in honor of Mollie Beattie. 
And in her honor today I say, let us all, on Independence Day, 
rededicate ourselves to the preservation of this wonderful land and 
these wonderful creatures which God has given.
    Thank you, and God bless America.

Note: The President spoke at 10:18 a.m. at the Goose Creek Bridge. In 
his remarks, he referred to Rear Adm. Mary Newsome, Commander,

[[Page 1074]]

Naval Air Warfare Center; Craig Koppie, biologist, and Jamie Clark, 
Assistant Director for Ecological Services, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service; and President Boris Yeltsin of Russia.