    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
    [November 5, 1999]
    [Pages 1998-2002]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Interview With Maria Elvira Salazar of
    Telemundo Noticiero in Hartford, Connecticut
    November 5, 1999

    Enforcement of Gun Control Laws

        Ms. Salazar. Before we talk about your visit here to Hartford, the
    head of the NRA, Charlton Heston, said that the White House and the
    Justice Department lack the spine to enforce the existing gun control
    laws. How do you respond to this?
        The President. Well, first of all, let me say what the substance of
    his claim is. They say that we are bringing
    fewer criminal prosecutions in the Federal courts for violations of the
    gun laws than were being brought a few years ago. The truth is that
    prosecutions for violations of the gun laws are increasing in America.
    But we have a partnership between the Federal prosecutors and the State
    prosecutors. And more of the minor cases are being brought at the State
    level now, and the major multistate cases are being brought at the
    Federal level. So it is simply not true that the gun laws are not being
    enforced.
        But let me say, the more important thing is--why is Charlton
    Heston saying this? Because he doesn't want
    us to do background checks when people buy guns at gun shows or at urban
    flea markets. He didn't want us to do background checks when people
    bought handguns in gun stores, and they said it wouldn't do any good.
    But we know that 400,000 people, because of a criminal background,
    couldn't buy guns under the Brady bill. We know we've got the lowest
    crime rate and the lowest murder rate in 30 years. So he's just wrong
    about it.
        We also know that America is still a country that's too dangerous,
    because we're the only country in the world that still doesn't have
    enough sensible restraints on keeping guns out of the hands of criminals
    and children. So I disagree.

    New Markets Initiative

        Ms. Salazar. Okay. Let's talk about, now, your visit to Hartford.
    Tell us why this new markets initiative is so important to you.
        The President. It's important to me because even though we have the
    longest peacetime economic expansion in history, over 19 million new
    jobs, highest homeownership ever, lowest unemployment rate in 29 years,
    the lowest welfare rolls in 30 years, the lowest poverty rates in 20
    years, the lowest Hispanic- and African-American unemployment rates we
    have ever recorded. In spite of all that, there are still all these
    people and places that have not felt this recovery, that need
    investments and businesses and jobs and hope. And I believe that we need
    to convince the American business community that these are markets to
    invest in. And I think we ought to give them the same incentives to
    invest in poor areas in America we give them to invest in poor areas in
    Latin America or Africa or Asia. That's the whole deal, and I think it
    will work.
        Ms. Salazar. And what incentives can you offer them that are not in
    place right now?
        The President. We can offer them tax credits, and we can offer them
    loan guarantees. And

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    we can offer them modest expenditures of public funds to support these
    kinds of investments. They will make a big difference.
        For example, if--let's just take a poor neighborhood in Houston or
    San Antonio or even here in Hartford, where there's a very large
    Hispanic population. Let's suppose that we wanted to have a $150 million
    investment. Under this proposal, if my bills were to become law, they
    could put $50 million in equity, and they would get a 25 percent tax
    credit. They could borrow $100 million and have it under a Federal loan
    guarantee, which would dramatically lower the interest rate. So you
    would say, okay, you're taking a little bit of a risk investing in a
    poor area, but we will cut the risk way, way down.

    Plight of Hispanic-Americans

        Ms. Salazar. Beautiful. There are 30 million Hispanics in the United
    States and counting. Yet a disproportionate number live in poverty, do
    not have health care, and can't get a job. Why has the American dream
    eluded them?
        The President. Well, let me start with the positives. We also have
    more successful Hispanics in America than ever before, more people like
    you and the people that work for Telemundo. We have the lowest
    unemployment rate we have ever recorded, and we started keeping separate
    Latino unemployment rates in the early seventies.
        Now, why is it still a problem? Number one, a lot of the Hispanic
    population of America are recent immigrants. Recent immigrants always
    have more problems with health insurance and with employment. They
    haven't very often mastered English; they often don't have the right
    contacts. So part of that's inevitable.
        But there are some other things that I'd like to point out. Because
    of the family traditions that have been so strong in Hispanic families,
    very often the children would leave school early to go to work. And that
    worked for generation upon generation of Hispanic families, the people
    that had been here for 50, 60, 80 years. It doesn't work anymore because
    if you drop out of high school, your chances of getting a good job with
    a growing income are very, very small.
        And the biggest separate social problem we have with Hispanics in
    America today is the dropout rate from school is way too high. Last
    year, for the first time ever, the graduation rates of non-Hispanic
    whites and African-Americans was almost identical. So the black--you
    know, the message is there. Hispanics are still dropping out at a very
    rapid rate.
        So we have started this Hispanic education initiative to try to
    overcome that. But a lot of it is culture. We must get the message out
    that this doesn't work anymore. It worked a long time; it won't work
    anymore. You can't do it. You've got to stay in school. And we have to
    try to get more Hispanic young people to go on to college.
        So I think that's very, very important. I think that is--there are a
    lot of other things, but that's--the single most significant thing that
    we can do something about is getting people to stay in high school. The
    fact that we have so many immigrants, they'll always have more problems
    in the beginning, and we just have to integrate them as quickly as we
    can.
        Ms. Salazar. I think you have answered my next question, but I want
    to ask you anyway, and it has to do with youth. In the barrio in New
    York City, or in any barrio in the United States, there is a 12-year-old
    boy whose name is Juan Gonzalez, let's say. His parents struggle to make
    a living and provide him with a decent education. What message do you
    have for him, a kid that was born in the United States?
        The President. My message to him is, if you stay in school and you
    learn your lessons, no matter how difficult your economic circumstances,
    you can now go on to college in America.
        We have changed the rules in the last 6 years. If your parents come
    up with some money, they can get a tax credit back for it. We have more
    generous scholarships. We have more other funds for you to go. You must
    stay in school. You can go to college if you stay in school. And if you
    do, you can make the life that you dream of.

    Cuba

        Ms. Salazar. Let's talk a little bit about Cuba. The democratically
    elected leaders of 17 Spanish-speaking nations will gather in Havana in
    the next couple of weeks. Are you concerned that they are legitimizing
    Castro's government?
        The President. I'm a little concerned about it. I think the
    important thing is, when they go there, I hope that they will reaffirm
    their support for democracy and for human rights and for a transition to
    democracy and to an open economy in Cuba.

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        As you know, most countries don't agree with our policy on Cuba.
    They think that it hurts the Cuban people, that it hurts the American
    business community, and that it doesn't speed the transition away from
    Castro because they think we give him an excuse for the failures of the
    Cuban society, that he can blame everything on us instead of having to
    take responsibility for himself. And you know, this argument is now
    occurring more and more among Cuban-Americans of all age groups. And so
    it's a debate we ought to continue to have.
        The most important thing for me, though, is I have--every time I
    have reached out to Cuba, and I have tried to increase contacts, to make
    it easier for people in America to send money home, to have direct
    telephone service, to have more trips to Cuba more accessible for
    people, and you know, something happens. He put
    journalists in jail, or shot the Brothers to the Rescue people out of
    the air. And they were--those people were murdered. It was illegal for
    them to be shot. I don't care--even if they had been inside the
    territorial waters of Cuba, which they weren't, there is a convention
    which binds the United States and Cuba which would not have permitted
    them to be shot down, because they did not present a threat. So all my
    efforts to change things have been met with a rebuff. And it makes me
    wonder whether he really wants this to change, because he can always use
    us as an excuse.
        But if the countries want to go there and meet, I understand that.
    If they differ with us on their policy, I respect their right to differ.
    But I hope when they're in Cuba, they will make it clear that they're
    for democracy and human rights.
        Ms. Salazar. Have you expressed this to any of the Presidents?
        The President. Absolutely. Yes, I have. I have said that to every
    one of them that I have seen since they made the decision to go down
    there.
        Ms. Salazar. And do you ever foresee normalized relations with
    Castro and the United States?
        The President. I think it would be difficult for relations to be
    completely normal. I think we could certainly do a lot more for food,
    for medicine, in other ways, if the circumstances were right. And I
    think that if there were a clear commitment to a transition to democracy
    and human rights, which were clear and verifiable, I think that you
    could see some really dramatic changes. I think--you know, if we could
    just have a commitment to have no more shootings, like the shootings of
    the airplanes, and to have no more clear oppressings of human rights, it
    would be easier.
        I think the American people would like to be reconciled with the
    Cuban people. And I think we are--it is painful. It's painful most of
    all, I think, for the Cuban-Americans.
        Ms. Salazar.  Definitely. I come from that group. They tell me two
    more questions. I need to do Colombia, and I need to do Vieques. I need
    to do two more.
        The President.  Yes, you do them. You do need to do those.

    Colombia

        Ms. Salazar.  Okay. Yes, I do. Colombia--Washington is debating
    billions of dollars in aid to that country. Serious problem. Do you
    foresee, or could the United States be dragged into the civil war that
    they are living?
        The President.  Well, first of all, let me say we already give a lot
    of aid to Colombia. They are--after Israel and Egypt, Colombia is the
    third-biggest recipient of American aid.
        I am very concerned about the combination of the narcotraffickers
    and the people that have been engaged in the civil war down there
    totally destabilizing Colombia. They've already hurt the economy.
    They've divided the society. They've weakened the country and its
    government. And it is a big, big country with enormous significance for
    all of Latin America. If you look at the Venezuelan border, the trouble
    we've seen there, if you look at all the problems that could be
    presented with Panama, with the canal going back there, and if you look
    at all the countries to the south, if you look at Bolivia, Peru, the
    problems they've had there, the future of Colombia is very, very
    important. And Colombia borders Amazonia, and all the problems that
    could be created there. So we should be working with them, and we should
    help them.
        But, you know, if you look at the whole of the history of America's
    involvement in Latin America, if we were to become directly involved, I
    think it would ensure a disastrous result for the Colombian Government,
    and people would accuse us of being imperialists in some way. I have
    worked very hard to reach out to Latin America in a way that no other
    American President has, at least since President Kennedy, to be a
    friend, to be a partner, to be supportive,

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    and not to be a dictator, not to be an imperialist, not to be abusive in
    our relationship.
        So I'm going to keep trying to help Colombia. But I don't think we
    should be drawn directly into their conflict, because I think it would
    boomerang. I don't think it would work, and I think it would actually
    hurt the cause of freedom and the integrity of governments in Latin
    America.

    Vieques Island

        Ms. Salazar. Vieques, sir. The U.S.S. Eisenhower is scheduled to
    begin exercises December 1st off the coast of Puerto Rico in Vieques.
    Will you approve the use of live fire?
        The President. Before that happens, I hope and believe there's a
    chance that we will reach an accommodation between the Navy and the
    Government and the representatives of Puerto Rico.
        Let me say, as I've said before, I think the fact that there was an
    agreement made back in 1983, that then the Navy and the Defense
    Department regularly and flagrantly ignored, treating Puerto Rico as if
    it were still a colony, is really at the root of all this.
        I think that, as you know, that the Pentagon has a point, in the
    sense that if you look at what we had to do in Kosovo, for example, or
    what we had to do earlier in Bosnia, they need to be able to train. They
    have to be able to do live-fire training somewhere. They need to be able
    to fly over water. We also have to do landings. You know, when we
    restored the democratically elected government of Haiti, thank God there
    was no violence, but there could have been. And we have to practice, you
    know, how do we approach on the shore?
        On the other hand, we don't want to be in a position of jamming down
    the throat of Puerto Rico, and the people and the elected officials of
    Puerto Rico, one bad memory after another of a longstanding relationship
    where we didn't honor our commitments.
        So what Secretary Cohen has tried to do
    is take the security report he got saying, you know, we need to use
    Vieques for 5 more years and the reality of the feelings of the people
    of Puerto Rico and the positions of the leaders, and we're trying hard
    to work through both of those in a way that there can be an agreement.
        I think the most important thing is we get out of this treating
    Puerto Rico as if it were literally, for these purposes, a colony of the
    United States. It is not a colony. And if--you know, I think the
    Congress should give them an authoritative vote on whether they want to
    be a State or continue commonwealth status. I mean, the last vote they
    had was very close, narrowly for commonwealth, but it wasn't a
    sanctioned vote by the Congress.
        So I have done as much as I could to try to restore the integrity of
    the relationship between the people and the Government of Puerto Rico
    and the United States. And so for me, because I'm the Commander in Chief
    and I also have heavy responsibilities to ensure the preparedness and
    the integrity of our Armed Forces--there's a reason we lost no pilots on
    Kosovo. It's because they train hard, and they're careful. And we try to
    save lives.
        So this is a very difficult decision. But I believe there is an
    agreement which can be made here, which respects the legitimate
    interests both of the people of Puerto Rico, particularly those that
    live on Vieques, and the national security interests of the Navy. And so
    they're trying to get there. And before I answer the specific questions,
    I'm going to give them a chance to get there. We've got about a month,
    and we're going to work hard at it.

    Immigration Policy

        Ms. Salazar. Two weeks, sir. One more, on immigration. Immigration
    laws have disrupted the lives, or many people think that they have
    disrupted the lives of thousands of Hispanic families, or they consider
    that's the way. Will the issue be resolved before you leave office?
        The President. Well, many of the difficulties have been resolved. We
    have repealed almost 100 percent of the cuts that were imposed in the
    welfare reform law. And we have tried to alleviate some of the very
    harsh impacts of the law which would require the return of people who
    have been here for a long time.
        Ms. Salazar. Who have children who were born here.
        The President. That's right. And I am now trying--and also by
    Executive order--everything I could do without an act of Congress, I
    believe I have done. So the specific answer to your question is, we've
    done a lot. There are still some important things to do. And I will do
    my best. I can't say whether it will be done or not, because some of the
    things that have to be done require an act of Congress. And the Congress
    has actually been pretty helpful to me in this since '96, in putting the
    pieces

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    back together. And I'm doing my best to stop any more family disruption.
        Ms. Salazar. And you are aware of the disruptions and the problems?
        The President. Oh, absolutely. It's been terrible problems. And I
    have tried to minimize them, and I will continue to work on it.

    New York Senate Race

        Ms. Salazar. Well, I was going to ask you about who you were going
    to vote for in Senate, State Senate of New York, but they won't let me.
        The President. I think you know. I will authorize you----
        Ms. Salazar. You live in New York now, sir, right?
        The President. I will authorize you to tell the people who I'll vote
    for for Senator in New York.

    Note: The interview was recorded at 7:20 p.m. on November 4 in the
    Performance Studio at the Artists Collective for later broadcast and was
    embargoed for release by the Office of the Press Secretary until 6 p.m.
    on November 5. In his remarks, the President referred to actor Charlton
    Heston, president, National Rifle Association; and President Fidel
    Castro of Cuba.