    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000, Book I)]
    [January 7, 2000]
    [Pages 13-15]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on the National Plan for Information Systems Protection and an
    Exchange With Reporters
    January 7, 2000

        The President. Good morning. I want to thank Secretary Daley and President Rose of
    James Madison University, who has worked with eight other institutions
    of higher education to do information technology security training, and
    Dick Clarke from the NSC and all the
    others who worked on this project.
        I want to talk just a moment about steps we are taking today to
    defend our citizens from those who would use cyberspace to do us harm.

    [[Page 14]]

    There has never been a time like this in which we have the power to
    create knowledge and the power to create havoc, and both those powers
    rest in the same hands.
        We live in an age when one person sitting at one computer, can come
    up with an idea, travel through cyberspace, and take humanity to new
    heights. Yet, someone can sit at the same computer, hack into a computer
    system and potentially paralyze a company, a city, or a government.
        Thanks to the hard work of many people, our computer systems were
    ready for Y2K. But that experience did underscore how really
    interconnected we all are. Today, our critical systems, from power
    structures to air traffic control, are connected and run by computers.
    We must make those systems more secure so that America can be more
    secure.
        Today we are releasing a national plan to defend America's
    cyberspace, the product of a 3-year effort. This plan is not the end of
    the discussion, but the beginning of a dialog with Congress, with the
    American people, and especially with the private sector. We need to do
    more to bring people into the field of computer security. That's why I
    am proposing a new program that will offer college scholarships to
    students in the field of computer security in exchange for their public
    service afterward. This program will create a new generation of computer
    security specialists who will work to defend our Nation's computers.
        We also need to accelerate and broaden our research into computer
    security. Today I am proposing to create a new institute that will fill
    research gaps that neither public nor private sectors are filling today.
    The Institute for Information Infrastructure Protection will bring to
    bear the finest computer scientists and engineers from the private
    sector, from universities, and from other research facilities to find
    ways to close these gaps.
        As part of the 2001 budget, I am requesting $91 million for these
    and other reforms as part of an overall $2 billion budget to help meet
    our security challenges. I will work hard to get these measures passed.
    I will continue to work equally hard to uphold the privacy rights of the
    American people, as well as the proprietary rights of American
    businesses. As I said before, it is essential that we do not undermine
    liberty in the name of liberty.
        Information technology has helped to create the unprecedented
    prosperity we enjoy at the end of the 20th century. This morning we will
    announce that the unemployment rate for all of this past year was 4.2
    percent. That's the lowest in 30 years, the lowest annual unemployment
    rate since 1969, the lowest annual minority unemployment rates for
    African-Americans and Hispanics ever recorded. It is important to
    recognize the role technology has played in this remarkable economic
    prosperity. But it is also important to recognize the challenges that we
    face out there in the security area.
        I hope that this will be a completely nonpartisan issue and that we
    will work together to ensure that information technology will create
    unprecedented prosperity in the 21st century, in an atmosphere and
    environment that makes all Americans more secure.
        Thank you very much.
        Q. Mr. President----
        The President. One each. Go ahead, John [John Roberts, CBS News].

    Elian Gonzalez

        Q. Governor Bush of Florida is appealing to you to rescind the INS
    order regarding Elian Gonzalez. Is that something you would even
    consider?
        The President. I believe that they followed the law and the
    procedures. This is a volatile and difficult case. And those who want to
    challenge it will have to follow the law and the procedures. I think
    that's the only way to do this. We need to keep this out of the
    political process as much as possible, within the established legal
    channels.

    Israel-Syria Peace Talks

        Q. Are you satisfied with the cooperation that you've been getting
    from the Israeli and Syrian negotiators in Shepherdstown?
        The President. Yes. This is difficult stuff. This is very hard. But
    let me say, they're working hard, and they're trying to find ways to
    resolve their differences. And they're trying to imagine the end of the
    road here. It's a difficult, difficult set of negotiations, but we're
    working in a steady way, and I'm satisfied that everybody is working in
    good faith.
        Q. How long do you expect this to take?
        The President. I don't know--until we finish.
        Q. Mr. President, how do you see your role in Shepherdstown to get
    these talks moving?

    [[Page 15]]

        The President. Oh, I don't want to characterize that. I just try to
    get people together and identify what they have in common and identify
    what their differences are, try to get people to keep in mind the big
    picture at the end, what we want the--in this case, what we hope and
    pray the Middle East will look like in 5 years or 10 years from now. And
    then try to work these things through to the end. But we're just trying
    to be helpful, and I hope we are, and we're working at it.
        I hope you'll wish us well, and I've got to get up there.
        Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 9:28 a.m. in the South Lawn at the White
    House, prior to his departure for Shepherdstown, WV. In his remarks, he
    referred to James Madison University President Linwood Rose; National
    Coordinator for Security, Infrastructure Protection, and Counter-
    terrorism Richard A. Clarke, National Security Council; and Cuban youth
    Elian Gonzalez, rescued off the coast of Florida on November 25, 1999,
    whose custody the Immigration and Naturalization Service decided in
    favor of his Cuban father. A reporter referred to Gov. Jeb Bush of
    Florida.