[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1999, Book I)]
[January 24, 1999]
[Pages 97-98]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks to the Community in Little Rock, Arkansas
January 24, 1999

    Thank you very much, James Lee. Ladies 
and gentlemen, let me thank you for coming out today. I want to thank 
Governor Huckabee for his response to this 
terrible, terrible tornado--and Mrs. 
Huckabee--I thank them for joining us on this walking tour today and 
welcoming me back to the Governor's Mansion. It's still--it's very 
beautiful inside, and it's had a little radical surgery in the backyard, 
as I'm sure that a lot of you have seen.
    I thank Secretary Slater, the Secretary 
of Transportation, also obviously our native Arkansan, for coming down 
here with me. And they will be helping us on the rebuilding. I thank 
Congressman Snyder and Congressman Marion 
Berry from east Arkansas, who has had some 
communities hit, and representatives of our other congressional offices 
who are here today. And Lieutenant Governor Rockefeller, Attorney General Pryor, 
Secretary of State Priest, Treasurer Jimmie 
Lou Fisher, I thank all of them for being 
here. And I want to thank Mayor Pat Hays 
for coming across the river and lending a friendly, neighborly hand. 
James Lee Witt's regional director here is Buddy Young, who lives in Texas and who, as many of you 
know, was in the Arkansas State Police for many years before that.
    This is a tragedy we all take very personally. When I was--I got out 
this morning at 25th and Gaines and sort of wended my way down Arch and 
Spring toward the Governor's Mansion, and I thought about how many 
hundreds of times I had run on those streets. And all these folks kept 
coming out and said, ``The last time I saw you, you were running by 
here. And I had a roof on my house.'' And then we went over--we crossed 
Roosevelt and went down toward Martin Luther King Drive and saw a lot of 
those homes; large numbers of homes have been completely destroyed 
there.
    And I just wanted to say to you, because Arkansas always had a lot 
of tornadoes and two huge floods when I was Governor, I asked James Lee 
Witt to run the national Federal Emergency 
Management Agency so that it would not be

[[Page 98]]

political and so that it would be competent, professional, and highly 
personal. And we've dealt with everything from a 500-year flood along 
the Mississippi River to a massive earthquake in California and all 
kinds of other natural disasters. This is a trip, I'm sure--I know I, 
and I'm sure both James Lee and Rodney, 
never wanted to have to make.
    I'd like to give a word of personal encouragement to my former 
neighbors up here in the Quapaw Quarter not to give up on it. I hope 
everyone who possibly can will rebuild those homes--will rebuild the 
homes, fix the roofs, replant the trees, and keep the spirit of the 
place alive.
    And I want to say to the folks in all the counties in the State--and 
I've got a list that includes not only Pulaski but also Independence, 
St. Francis, Saline, and White Counties; we've already declared 
individual and local governments eligible for assistance there. The 
State has been declared a disaster area as more counties may become 
specifically eligible. I want to encourage all of them, as well.
    These things happen, as Governor Huckabee reminded me, that Arkansas 
had the largest number of tornadoes in one day, moving through here the 
other day, that have ever been recorded. And we grieve for the loss of 
life.
    I'd like to say especially that this is a landmark for me, this 
store here. And I'm so glad that the people who own it are going to 
rebuild it, because it used to be our family store. And Hillary and 
Chelsea and I used to come down here. We think of the fine 
pharmacist here who lost his life, and the 
others here in Arkansas. And when we survey the scope of the 
devastation, I think we can all be grateful to God that the loss has not 
been greater.
    And so this is a day when the Sun is out, and a lot of people have 
offered their helping hands. I want to thank these young people from the 
AmeriCorps program, our national service program, for being here. 
They've come in to help. We're glad to see them.
    And so I ask you to redouble your resolve and help your neighbors. 
And we'll do everything we can to be good neighbors.
    Thank you, and God bless you. Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 1:10 p.m. in the parking lot of a Harvest 
Foods store. In his remarks, he referred to Gov. Mike Huckabee, Lt. Gov. 
Winthrop P. Rockefeller, Attorney General Mark L. Pryor, Secretary of 
State Sharon Priest, and State Treasurer Jimmie Lou Fisher of Arkansas; 
Governor Huckabee's wife, Janet; Mayor Patrick Henry Hays of North 
Little Rock; and Harvard Foods pharmacist Robert E. Howard.