    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1999, Book I)]
    [January 27, 1999]
    [Pages 114-115]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Telephone Remarks Announcing a New Partnership To Restore Pacific
    Coastal Salmon
    January 27, 1999

        The President. Thank you very much. And I want to say to all of you
    on the phone and, obviously, our friends from Washington here in the
    Oval Office, that I am very, very grateful to all of you and to others
    in your States and in the tribes who have made a priority of preserving
    the salmon. And I'm grateful to you for making sure that those of us who
    do not hail from the Pacific Northwest understood the gravity and the
    urgency of the issue.
        We want to help you bring the salmon back. And the Vice President
    and I today are announcing, as a part of my fiscal year 2000 budget, a
    new $100 million fund to help States and tribes restore coastal salmon.
    The funds can be used up and down coastal rivers and streams to rebuild
    habitat, restore spawning grounds, give salmon a new lease on life. And
    if we work together, I'm sure that we can succeed in restoring this
    symbol of your region's heritage and ensure that for all time to come
    the salmon will still be thriving.
        I want to thank again all of you for what you have done. We can't
    succeed here without your energy, your vision, your determination. And I
    know how passionate folks out there are about their salmon, and I'm
    confident we can succeed, and I believe this $100 million will help.
        Governor Locke, I'd like to call on you
    first. And tell Mona I said hello and Hillary
    and I are thinking about her and you, and we look forward to another
    beautiful baby. I'd like for you to speak and then maybe Governor
    Knowles, Chairman Billy Frank, and Governor Kitzhaber.

    [At this point, the teleconference continued.]

        The President. Thank you very much. I know you're all busy and have
    many other things to do. I just want to thank you for what I said
    earlier. You brought this to our attention; you asked us to do
    something. We're committed to this; we have to pass this now. But this
    needs to be a long-term commitment to partnership on the part of the
    Federal Government. And I want you to help us pass it in Congress. I
    want you to help us work with you to implement it. And I want you to
    continue to make sure

    [[Page 115]]

    that we are aware of exactly what's happening in your backyard.
        I think this is very important to the future of the entire country,
    that we prove we can do this together. And this is something that every
    single one of you will always be proud of having taken a leadership role
    in.
        Thank you very much, and goodbye.

    Note: The President spoke at approximately 1:15 p.m. from the Oval
    Office at the White House. The transcript released by the Office of the
    Press Secretary also included the remarks of Vice President Al Gore;
    Governors John A. Kitzhaber of Oregon, Gary Locke of Washington, and
    Tony Knowles of Alaska; Representative Norman D. Dicks; California State
    Secretary of Resources Mary D. Nichols; Northwest Indian Fisheries
    Commission Chairman Billy Frank, Jr.; County Executive Ron Sims of King
    County, WA; and Mayor Paul Schell of Seattle, WA. In his remarks, the
    President referred to Governor Locke's wife, Mona Lee.