[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book II)]
[October 14, 1996]
[Pages 1831-1832]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks on Signing the Wildfire Suppression Aircraft Transfer Act of 
1996 and an Exchange With Reporters in Albuquerque
October 14, 1996

    The President. Thank you, Senator Bingaman and Congressman 
Richardson. I want to thank the representatives of New Mexico's 
firefighting community here from the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of 
Indian Affairs, the volunteer firefighters, the New Mexico State 
forestry office. And of course, we've got some folks from the 
Albuquerque Fire Department over there, as well.
    I'm delighted to be staying here for the next few days. As you look 
around New Mexico you can't help being awestruck by the awesome, the 
breathtaking natural beauty of this State and of the entire West, the 
deserts, the mountains, the play of light and color. We have to do 
everything we can to protect the treasures of New Mexico. The beauty we 
see here and, indeed, throughout the West is very deep, but it's also 
fragile. We know that wildfires can ravage the landscape, threaten 
people, devastate homes and farms and businesses.
    This has been the worst year for wildfires in nearly four decades. I 
think I need to emphasize that because that is the importance of the 
legislation we signed today and the efforts that these firefighters and 
those whom they represent have made--the worst year in almost 40 years. 
The brave men and women who are with us today and the thousands of their 
colleagues put their lives on the line to protect their fellow citizens, 
our natural environment, as they battle these blazes. We owe them our 
thanks, and we should be deeply grateful that during this past year, 
despite the huge rash of wildfires, not a single firefighter lost his or 
her life in a wildfire. That's because their training, their dedication, 
and because of the equipment that they have been provided.
    We have to make sure that they have the very best possible equipment 
at their disposal. We can't tolerate a situation where any firefighter 
is unable to protect the public or themselves because of a lack of 
equipment, especially the air tankers that can muster such force and 
power to fight fires.
    The legislation I have just signed will help these and other 
firefighters to do a better job with more safety, especially when 
they're faced with wildfires. Today, the Forest Service and other 
agencies rely on an aging and shrinking fleet of 39 air tankers to fight 
fires throughout our Nation. With this measure, we allow the Department 
of Defense to sell excess military aircraft to private contractors for 
conversion into air tankers that then can be leased to our Government to 
drench the fires from the sky.
    This is a public-private partnership in the best sense, providing a 
vital service to the American public and its safety, using the skills 
and resources of the private sector to maintain a full fleet of modern 
air tankers for use by the Forest Service. It's especially fitting that 
this becomes law at the end of National Fire Prevention Week, a time we 
honor fallen firefighters and redouble our own efforts to be prudent and 
prevent fires from happening in the first place.
    Again, I want to thank those brave men and women who are here with 
me today. I thank Senator Bingaman for his leadership. I thank 
Congressman Richardson, whose district has been especially affected. I'd 
also like to thank Senators Kempthorne and Craig for what they did and 
Senator Lott for making it possible for us to bring up this bill late in 
the congressional session and get it passed eventually in both Houses on 
a voice vote. This was a good thing for America, and I was glad to sign 
the bill.

[[Page 1832]]

    Thank you very much.

1996 Election

    Q. Mr. President, Newt Gingrich yesterday----
    Q. Mr. President, Dole says he may make a renewed effort in 
California. Do you believe the race in California has tightened within 
10 points?
    The President. Well, I can't answer that question. I don't know. But 
I will say this: If California is to become a battleground in the last 3 
weeks of the election, that is something that I would welcome, because I 
believe the people there are fundamentally fair-minded and forward-
looking. And when I became President, California had the weakest economy 
in the country. Since I've been President, they've had to endure 
earthquakes and fires and floods. And in spite of all of that, they have 
shown a remarkable turnaround in so many areas, and I'm very proud of 
the partnership we have had.
    No administration in history has worked as hard on so many fronts to 
make so much progress as we have. So if that's going to be the issue for 
the last 3 weeks, I would be happy to engage in that discussion, and I 
believe I know how it will come out.
    Q. What are you going to do if Bob Dole goes negative?
    The President. I can't--I'm going to do what I always do. I'm 
preparing to do my debate, to answer whatever questions may be asked. As 
I understand it, the people who are coming are picked from undecided 
voters, a fairly small percentage of people who still have questions on 
their minds. Whatever they ask I'll do my best to answer. But Senator 
Dole will decide his strategy, and I will decide mine, and we'll see 
what the people have to say afterwards. There's nothing else to say.
    I look forward to it, just as I looked forward to the last one, and 
the most important thing, I hope, is that it will be something that 
people will feel better about when it's over. Many people said to me 
after the last debate that they thought that it had been fundamentally 
positive and that people had really learned from the debate what the 
differences between us are and what practical impact that would have in 
the next 4 years. That's all any of us could hope for, and that's what I 
hope will come out of this debate.
    Thank you.
    Q. What's your reaction to Newt Gingrich, sir?
    Q. Mr. President, you said FBI numbers show lowest crime rate, but 
here in Albuquerque we've had a record number of homicides.
    Q. Any comment on Newt Gingrich?
    The President. It's election time.
    Q. It's a waste of time, did you say?
    The President. It's election time, I said.

Note: The President spoke at 10:03 a.m. outside the Holiday Inn Pyramid 
Hotel. S. 2078, approved October 14, was assigned Public Law No. 104-
307. A portion of the exchange could not be verified because the tape 
was incomplete.