[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 8 (Monday, February 28, 1994)]
[Pages 349-353]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on the Technology Reinvestment Awards and Earthquake Relief and 
an Exchange With Reporters

February 23, 1994

    The President. Thank you. I have to bear so much bad news, I must 
say that's the only time I've ever been introduced as the bearer of good 
news. Thank you, Mr. Vice President, and thank you all for being here, 
the members of the administration, the Members of the Congress, and our 
distinguished guests from California. We're glad to see all of you here.
    We are here to announce some new help for California as you work to 
come out of the consequences of the earthquake. But first I want to talk 
about the announcement made just this morning at the Pentagon to which 
the Vice President referred.
    This morning we announced the latest round of awards in our 
Technology Reinvestment Project, which helps companies and workers in 
defense industries to develop technologies to meet our Nation's 
commercial and military needs. This is the fourth round of TRP awards 
we've announced since October. So far, $605 million in competitive 
Federal grants awarded on merit have gone to firms and communities 
through this innovative program. It's a cornerstone of our reinvestment 
and conversion initiative, recognizing that those who worked so hard to 
win the cold war should not be unduly burdened by cutbacks in military 
expenditures and that all the work they have done, the expertise they've 
developed, the barriers that they have broken, should be turned to the 
advantage of America as we move into the 21st century.
    The TRP is of special interest to the people of California because 
California has been on the leading edge of military technology. And 
converting this know-how for dual use and commercial applications will 
help our country move into the next century as the economic leader of 
the world, using things that relate from biomedical and environmental 
technologies to advanced transportation and communications systems, all 
rooted originally in our investments in national defense.
    The projects which have been funded are exciting; they're 
futuristic; they're farsighted; they have potentially enormous 
beneficial impact to all the American people. I can't tell you about all 
of them--we awarded 50 just today--but let me just mention a couple.
    One involves the Bay Area Rapid Transit System and Hughes Aircraft. 
Together they'll develop an advanced automated train control system that 
will identify the precise location of every train, even those in 
tunnels. That will allow trains to operate at closer distances to each 
other, and that means the existing infrastructure can double its rider 
capacity.

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    Another project will establish a technology center in Cerritos, 
California, to transfer leading-edge composites manufacturing technology 
to 16,000 small defense and commercial firms just in the Los Angeles 
area. The University of California at San Diego will work with Alcoa 
Electronic Packaging and Hewlett Packard to offer displaced defense 
engineers a 2-year master's program in world-class manufacturing 
engineering. This will emphasize foreign language training and include 
an internship in international manufacturing companies. The aim, of 
course, is to help these folks build on their old skills with new 
learning to keep them vital and employed and to keep our country 
competitive in the global marketplace, to provide economic opportunity 
and shore up military strength, and to ensure that the people who won 
the cold war won't be left out in the cold. That's what this TRP, the 
Technology Reinvestment Project, is all about. And that's why I'm proud 
it's proving to be such a success.
    I will say that on the last round of grants, I think California 
won--again, I will say, on a purely competitive basis--almost 40 percent 
of the total dollars. And when you consider the fact that when we 
started this, the State of California, with 12 percent of the country's 
population, had over 21 percent of the Nations's military expenditures 
and has had almost 40 percent of the base closings, the last two rounds 
of base closings, and over 40 percent of the last round of base 
closings, it is heartening that in the race for the technologies of the 
future and, therefore, the jobs of the future, that the whole conversion 
effort is obviously beginning to work in the way that it ought to work.
    Let me now say a few words about our continuing efforts to deal with 
the consequences of the earthquake. In the 5 weeks since the Northridge 
earthquake, our administration has worked closely with State and local 
officials, as all of you know, to try to help families, businesses, and 
communities. We are working to get the whole region back on its feet 
again. All of you know what the Vice President has already said, that 
the FEMA Director, James Lee Witt, Secretary Cisneros, Secretary Pena, 
Mr. Panetta, and many, many others have worked tirelessly to try to deal 
with the problems that were generated by the earthquake.
    Immediately after the earthquake, I extended the period for which 
Federal Government's paid the entire cost of FEMA disaster assistance 
and increased from 75 to 90 percent the share paid by the Federal 
Government for FEMA public assistance programs. Now, today we are 
announcing some loan guarantees which will help to meet the remaining 
share owed by the State of California.
    Congress has appropriated new funds for FEMA, for the Small Business 
Administration, for the Departments of Transportation, Housing and Urban 
Development, Education, and Veterans Affairs to rebuild these homes and 
businesses, to house the homeless, to repair the highways and bridges, 
to restore the damaged schools and other facilities.
    I do want to say a word of thanks to Secretary Pena for trying to 
accelerate the construction process. We stood on one of those totally 
broken sections of highway, and they said it was going to take a year to 
fix. I can only imagine how mad the drivers would be. I know how mad the 
drivers get at me when we stop traffic at one intersection for 2 minutes 
here. I multiplied 2 minutes times whatever the number is to get to one 
year, and it seemed to me that we ought to try to make the contracts go 
faster. I thank you for that.
    Recently, your Governor, Speaker Brown, the Senate president pro tem 
Bill Lockyer, Mayor Riordan, and other officials have asked if there was 
any way we could lend California the money they believe is needed to pay 
the State and local share of the FEMA assistance costs.
    Today I am asking Secretary Cisneros to offer loan guarantees 
totaling more than $500 million to jurisdictions affected by the 
earthquake, including the cities of Los Angeles and Santa Monica, Los 
Angeles and Ventura Counties, and other towns and communities which 
suffered damages. This loan guarantee authority we are extending to 
local governments will enable them to obtain loans from private lenders 
at below-market rates that will take some of the bite out of the cost of 
recovery. The assistance will be provided under HUD's Community Develop- 


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ment Block Grant Section 108 loan guarantee program. I've asked 
Secretary Cisneros to work with the local governments to work out 
repayment terms that meet the needs of local communities. The Secretary 
is also committed to providing technical assistance in preparing the 
applications and to expedite the review process. This will ensure that 
the flow of assistance to those in need in southern California will 
continue without interruption.
    I've asked the Federal agencies whenever possible to use their 
discretionary authorities to waive rules and regulations to expedite the 
delivery of further assistance.
    This step today builds on these efforts. It reflects a commitment 
that our administration has made to the people of California, a 
commitment to do all that we can to help your people work their way out 
of this disaster, day-in and day-out, until all the work is done.
    In recent years, the citizens of southern California, in particular, 
have endured multiple disasters, from riots to fires and mudslides and 
now the earthquake. That's what people around here call a character-
building experience. I just want you to know that I am committed to 
ensuring that our Government continues to meet those obligations that we 
have to give you the opportunity to make a full comeback in the face of 
this latest setback.
    Let me just say one other thing, if I might. Even though this is a 
time of renewal and reconstruction for the people of Los Angeles and 
California, it's also a day of sadness for many people in that area and 
for many of the rest of us who believe in the rule of law and appreciate 
those who enforce it. Yesterday, as all of you know, a rookie 
policewoman named Cristy Lynne Hamilton was shot and killed in the line 
of duty less than one week after she became a commissioned police 
officer. A teenager with a semi-automatic weapon hardly gave her a 
chance to emerge from her patrol car before she was shot down. She 
received her diploma, as I said, just 5 days ago. At the academy, she 
was honored by her classmates as being the most inspirational officer 
candidate. And now her city has lost a policewoman who could have made a 
difference to people on her beat. Her force has lost its ninth officer 
this year. Her children have lost a mother. There have been too many 
funerals and too many folded flags presented to too many grieving 
survivors.
    Our duty is clear: We have pending before the Congress an 
opportunity to pass crime legislation that is both tough and smart, that 
would put another 100,000 police officers on the street, a proposal of 
real value for the cities of California, and at the same time, ban the 
kinds of semi-automatic weapons that are used for killing people like 
Cristy Hamilton and which have no justification for sporting or hunting 
purposes.
    I hope that we can make this legislation law and that we can do it 
soon. Many of you in this room have worked for a long time on these 
issues. Senator Feinstein, in particular, got the semi-automatic weapons 
ban into the Senate crime bill, and we all thank you for that.
    All I can tell you is that we are here primarily to celebrate our 
coming together to overcome the destructive impacts of an act of God. It 
is time that we here in Washington muster the courage and the fortitude 
to do something to help you also overcome the acts of people that have 
no basis in law or honor, not only to honor the memory of Cristy Lynne 
Hamilton and all those others like her we have lost but to defend the 
honor of the American people to live together as human beings in a 
common community.
    Thank you very much.
    The Vice President. Before the President takes questions, let me say 
we inadvertently forgot to acknowledge Secretary Ron Brown who's played 
a special and leading role in organizing the administration's response 
to a whole range of economic problems, in particular in the State of 
California. And we wanted to remedy that oversight.
    The President. Thank you.

Ames Spy Case

    Q. Mr. President, are you satisfied so far with the Russian response 
to the espionage arrest? And what do you think of Senator DeConcini's 
proposal today that there be a 60-day freeze on Russian aid until we get 
answers from the Russians?
    The President. First of all, this morning I met with my national 
security team for

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some length of time before the Secretary of State went up to the Hill. 
And we decided then what we had already decided, that I should emphasize 
to you that--to you, the American people through the press--that I have 
known about this particular case for some time.
    I have continued to pursue our policies toward Russia because 
Russia, like other countries, is not a monolith. It is not a single 
force. It is many forces and many developments occurring at once. I 
still believe it is in the interest of the United States to support 
democracy, to support the movement toward economic reform, to support 
the absence of weapons proliferation, to support the denuclearization of 
Russia. And therefore, I think we should be careful before we make 
specific determinations about aid flows. A lot of our aid flows, for 
example, are directly to individuals who are trying to privatize their 
businesses, having nothing to do with government or government policies. 
Most of our government aid is in the form of aid to take down the 
nuclear weapons. And I don't think anyone thinks we should slow that up.
    This is a serious case. It is an unusually serious one because of 
factors I cannot discuss. But I also believe that, given all the facts 
as I understand them--and I know, I think, quite a bit about it--that we 
are pursuing the proper policy. And at this time, I think we have lodged 
the formal protest and a strong one. I think we should wait and see what 
the full response of the Russians is before we make any other 
determinations.
    Q. Have you had any response yet? And what do you expect them to do? 
I mean, what gesture are you waiting for?
    The President. Let's give them a chance to make an adequate 
response, and we'll see what happens.
    Q. Have you instructed Director Woolsey to begin a damage 
assessment? And have you been given any preliminary briefing as to the 
scope of damage?
    The President. The answer to the first question is, yes, the damage 
assessment is ongoing. The answer to the second question is, I have 
gotten a preliminary assessment. They are working on it. I had a good 
discussion with Mr. Woolsey today. I am satisfied, by the way, that the 
CIA worked with the FBI very well over a considerable period of months. 
Keep in mind they have been working against the worst consequences for 
some considerable period of time now while they've been attempting to 
complete the investigation and wrap up the case.
    Q. Sir, do you intend to discuss this with Mr. Yeltsin? You've had a 
lot of personal discussions with him. Is it going to put this on a 
personal level?
    The President. We may well discuss it, but I can't make a decision 
on that at this time until we see what the official reaction of the 
Russians is and until I have a little bit more time to reflect on what 
our options are, sir. I don't think I'm in a position to make that 
decision right now.
    Q. So far the reaction has been, what are we making such a fuss 
about, since we spy and they spy and we both know each others spies. Is 
it hypocritical of the United States to make this fuss?
    The President. First of all, we're making a fuss about this man. 
This man was not just a spy, this is a person who is a 31-year veteran 
of the CIA. So quite apart from the Russians, this was a very serious 
offense against the United States of America by one of its citizens. So 
this is a very serious matter. Also, it is a serious matter because of 
issues which I am not at this moment at liberty to discuss. What I said 
yesterday is this was a serious case going back several years. I do not 
think the facts of this case at this time undermine in any way, shape, 
or form the policy we have followed for the last year toward President 
Yeltsin and his Government and the forces of change in Russia; I do not 
believe that. But this is a very serious case, and it has to be pursued 
aggressively, and we will do that.
    Q. Don't you think there was a real lapse in finding these people?
    The President. Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 2:30 p.m. in the Grand Foyer at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Gov. Pete Wilson of California; 
Speaker Willie Brown of the California Assembly; and Los Angeles Mayor 
Richard Riordan.

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