    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1999, Book I)]
    [February 17, 1999]
    [Page 199]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on Senator Frank R. Lautenberg's Decision Not To Seek Reelection
    February 17, 1999

        Senator Frank Lautenberg has been a great public servant and a
    principled champion of the people of New Jersey and the children of
    America. He has done as much as any other citizen to protect our young
    people from tobacco, was the author of the national law raising the
    drinking age, and passed legislation barring those convicted of domestic
    abuse from owning guns. He has led our efforts to pass a clean
    environment on to the next generation. With his hardheaded business
    sense, he has helped bring balance to the books of the Federal
    Government, working with me to craft a balanced budget that invests in
    the education and health care of our people. Frank Lautenberg has been
    tough, tireless, and tremendously effective. And more than that, he has
    been a great friend. Hillary and I wish him the best.