    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000, Book I)]
    [May 5, 2000]
    [Pages 851-853]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on the Employment Report and an Exchange With Reporters
    May 5, 2000

        The President. Good afternoon. In a few moments I will depart for a
    meeting with the Senate Democrats in Pennsylvania, where we will discuss
    ways to keep our economy strong and our Nation moving in the right
    direction.
        Before I leave, I'd like to share the latest good news about our
    economy. This morning, we received the news that we have achieved 3.9
    percent unemployment. That is the lowest peacetime unemployment since
    1957. That was the year the Dodgers last played ball in Brooklyn.
        Most Americans have never lived in a peacetime economy with
    unemployment as low as it is today--indeed, its lowest rate overall in
    over 30 years. Over the last 7 years, our Nation has created 21 million
    new jobs, cut the unemployment rate almost in half.

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        I just want to make the point again that this is clear evidence that
    our economic strategy works, fiscal discipline, more investment in
    education, technology and training, the expansion of markets for
    American products and services. It's given us the lowest unemployment
    rate for African-Americans and Hispanics ever recorded, the lowest
    unemployment rate for women in more than 40 years, strong wage growth
    among all income groups.
        The American people deserve the lion's share of the credit for this
    historic achievement. But we have a responsibility to stay on the path
    that got us here, the path of fiscal discipline, debt reduction,
    expanded trade and increased investments in our future. I hope we will
    do that. This is a happy day for the people of the United States. Thank
    you.

    National Rifle Association

        Q. Mr. President, what did you think of the video done by the NRA
    some time ago?
        The President. The NRA video? I haven't seen it. I thought you were
    great in mine.
        Q. Put that in writing. [Laughter]
        Q. Mr. President, we don't know if your----
        The President. No, I really haven't seen it. I'll be glad to comment
    on it once I see it or know what's in it. But I haven't seen it.
        Q. You haven't read about it?
        The President. I heard about it, but I haven't--the one where
    they're--oh, do you mean the film where they say they're going to have
    an office in the White House? Did they make that video, or was it just
    video by someone else? I thought they were trying to keep that a secret
    until after the election.
        What I think about it--I don't know that they think that Mr.
    LaPierre will literally have an office here
    if President Bush--Governor Bush gets elected
    President. But I do believe that it's clear, from the record of Governor
    Bush in Texas and from the statements and from the increased visibility
    of the role of the NRA in the Republican National Committee, that
    whatever is done on this issue will only be done with their approval.
    They will have unprecedented influence here if the American people
    should decide that that's what they want.
        But you know, that's what you have elections for. You can--I can
    believe that without thinking anything bad about Mr. LaPierre or about Governor Bush. I
    think they may just really agree that we shouldn't close the gun show
    loophole or ban the importation of large-scale ammunition clips.
        Q. Do you think it's going to be a----
        The President. Let me just say--let me remind you, the previous
    Republican administration was not for the Brady bill, and they weren't
    for the legislation banning cop-killer bullets. That's just the way they
    think.
        But I think one of the reasons I'm glad the Million Mom March is
    occurring is that it at least raises the possibility that Americans who
    disagree, who believe that we can have commonsense gun safety measures
    to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and children, without having
    something that they believe is destructive gun control, those people may
    vote on these issues this year.
        But the American people need to understand, this is one of the four
    or five big choices before them, and they'll just have to decide, and
    that all the NRA did was to commit the truth. I mean, they told the
    truth, and what they said was right.

    ``I Love You'' Computer Virus

        Q. Mr. President, I don't know if your office has been affected or
    infected in any way, but what does this ``I love you'' computer virus
    say about the world, our society, et cetera, and how maybe even one
    person can affect it and create chaos?
        The President. Well, it says that--first of all, we've been very
    fortunate; the Government has fared well here. But it says that we've
    got a lot more work to do to protect all these systems in the private
    sector, and the Government has to keep working, too. It says that as we
    become more interconnected, in an open way, that we become--as we reap
    the benefits of greater interconnectivity, we become more vulnerable to
    the disruptive forces that would seek to--either for bad design or just
    to provoke chaos--to take advantage of it, and we just have to keep
    working on this. But I'm very gratified that the fundamental
    governmental systems seemed to have been unaffected here, and we just
    have to keep working on it.

    Usama bin Ladin

        Q. Mr. President, the State Department, the other day, issued an
    international report on terrorism. And also, this was the last of your
    administration, sir, and as Usama bin Ladin is still

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    at large, so what do you have to say about international terrorism and
    all the----
        The President. You mean about bin Ladin still being at large? Well,
    we're doing our part to change it. And I hope we'll be successful.

    Interest Rates

        Q. Mr. President, on the economy, are you afraid the Fed's going to
    raise the rate in response to the numbers?
        The President. Well, I think that these numbers have to be seen in
    terms of yesterday's numbers. Yesterday's inflation figures were quite
    encouraging, and I think they show that--core inflation at something
    like 2.4 percent, and I think the overall inflation rate will come back
    toward that, now that the oil prices are moderating. So I think that
    should be quite encouraging, not just to the Fed but to all Americans
    and to American business--that basically the productivity of the work
    force, continuing to be fueled by information technology, has enabled us
    to have an amazing amount of growth and low unemployment, at quite
    modest levels of inflation. And so that's encouraging to me, and I think
    the facts speak for themselves on that.
        Thank you.

    Vieques Island, Puerto Rico

        Q. What did you think of the Vieques operation?
        The President. Well, it went pretty well, I think. They did a good
    job.
        Thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 1:12 p.m. on the South Grounds at the White
    House, prior to his departure for Farmington, PA. In his remarks, he
    referred to Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president, National Rifle
    Association; and Usama bin Ladin, who allegedly sponsored the 1998
    bombing attacks on the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.