    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1999, Book I)]
    [April 5, 1999]
    [Pages 498-499]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the White House Easter Egg Roll
    April 5, 1999

        The President. Thank you very much. I want to welcome you to the
    White House today. And before I say anything else, I want to say in this
    season of peace for us I know all of us will send our thoughts and
    prayers to our men and women in uniform in Kosovo and our prayers and
    best wishes to the many thousands of refugees that have been generated
    by that terrible conflict.
        Now, let me first begin by thanking our sponsors who make this
    possible every year, and I thank the White House volunteers. I'd also
    like to thank the staff for preparing--listen to this--7,000 eggs for
    today's event. That's more

    [[Page 499]]

    than we ask them to prepare for a state dinner. [Laughter]
        I'd also like to thank Scholastic, Inc., for the Prescription for
    Reading program that Hillary mentioned and tell you all that we have
    tried to make this an occasion for family learning, for children and
    their parents to learn together. The Prescription is one example. You
    can also see an electronic presentation on the White House at the CD-ROM
    pavilion. You can meet American figures in our history at the Historical
    Fun Stage. There will be a lot of storytelling sessions. We have a lot
    of old regulars here and a lot of new people, like Jamie Lee Curtis, who's come to join us this year. And we
    thank all of them for participating.
        Now, I want to get on with the show, but I want to know: Where are
    the people for the Easter egg roll? Are we down there? Turn around. If
    you want to see it, they're down right behind us.
        The First Lady. And over there,
    too.
        The President. And over there. Are you ready? Where's our famous,
    faithful whistle blower? Hey, Bernie. All
    right.
        On your mark. Get ready, set, go!

    Note: The President spoke at 10:10 a.m. on the South Lawn at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to actress Jamie Lee Curtis and White
    House volunteer Bernie Fairbanks.