[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 45 (Monday, November 14, 1994)]
[Pages 2294-2296]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at the Los Alamitos Naval Air Station in Los Alamitos, 
California

November 4, 1994

    Thank you very much. First I want to thank Julia. You know, I was 
looking at her make that talk and thinking a couple of things. One is, 
she's the sort of person that makes this country great. And the second 
thing is, as long as we've got people like her and people like you, 
we're going to be all right, and don't you let anybody tell you any 
different. I am delighted to be here with Bob Hood. You already heard 
him talk about the trip that he made to China with the Secretary of 
Commerce, Ron Brown. I'm delighted to be here with Congresswoman Harmon, 
Senator Boxer, and of course with Senator Feinstein. I appreciate the 
comments that Senator Feinstein made on behalf of all of us about the 
importance of this agreement.
    This agreement was signed just a couple of hours ago by John 
McDonnell, your chairman, and Li Lanqing, the Vice Premier of China, 
with whom I met yesterday at the White House. It is a part of our 
ongoing efforts to expand trade in ways that maintain high-wage jobs in 
the United States, increase jobs in the United States, and help other

[[Page 2295]]

countries to grow so that they can buy more and more of our products and 
provide better lives for their people as well. I am delighted by the 
fact that these jobs will be preserved in California and that others in 
Connecticut and other States will benefit.
    It would not have been possible, notwithstanding the trip to China 
by Secretary Brown and by Bob Hood, but for the work of the McDonnell 
Douglas employees and the continued commitment of all of you to become 
more and more competitive, more and more productive, more and more 
successful.
    I want to take just a minute--we've already celebrated, and I want 
us to celebrate, but I want you to understand from my point of view how 
this fits into America's future and to your future. Twenty-one months 
ago when I went to Washington to try to turn this economy around and 
rebuild our country, the unemployment rate here in California was 9.4 
percent. You had suffered because of the national recession, but you had 
also suffered because with only 12 percent of America's population, you 
had 21 percent of our defense sector, and you had taken a 
disproportionate hit, about 40 percent of the impact of the base 
closures to date, as Senator Feinstein had said.
    It was obvious to me that we had to do something to turn this 
situation around. And we began the implementation of a comprehensive, 
long-term economic strategy that was very different from what had been 
pursued in previous years. First we decided we needed to reduce the 
deficit of the United States, to free up more money to invest in the 
private sector to create jobs in the private sector and to drive 
interest rates down. Then we decided we had to remove controls on 
American exports, especially of high-tech products which are 
disproportionately produced in California. Then we decided we had to 
increase our number of trade agreements, like NAFTA and the GATT world 
trade agreement, to open up new markets. We decided we needed to make a 
special effort to invest in new technologies and to invest in defense 
conversion, which obviously had a big impact here.
    Now in California that meant that one-third of all the funds we've 
invested to try to help defense contractors move from defense to 
domestic production or to commercial production for the United States 
and the world, one-third of all that money was spent in investments here 
in California. We also decided that we needed a clear, sharp view about 
what kind of defense posture we needed to take ourselves into the 21st 
century with the strongest military in the world.
    I want to mention just a word about the C-17 contract because it's 
been mentioned by others. We had to fight like crazy to preserve the C-
17. And I hope we won't ever have to fight like that again, because the 
C-17 is important not to your jobs, your jobs are incidental to the fact 
that it's important to the national security of the United States of 
America.
    And I just want to mention one thing. I think all Americans were 
filled with pride when they saw the comprehensive United States 
operation that brought President Aristide back and democracy back to 
Haiti with no casualties. I think they were filled with pride when they 
saw the lightning-like response of the United States to Saddam Hussein's 
aggression in the Persian Gulf. Others were amazed that we moved as 
quickly as we did. Why is that? Because we learned after the Gulf war, 
in which the United States took 4\1/2\ months to position our soldiers, 
our airmen, our marines, our naval personnel, and all of our equipment 
that we had to move more quickly. And one of the things we have to have 
is much more enhanced airlift and sealift capacity. That is what the C-
17 means. That is what we are developing.
    So if you like what you saw in Haiti, if you like what you saw in 
the Persian Gulf, then continue to support the C-17, not only because of 
the jobs in California but because of the job it allows the finest 
military in the entire world to do for the United States of America.
    We have a long way to go in California. But the unemployment rate 
has dropped, as Senator Boxer said, from 9.4 percent to 7.7 percent. The 
unemployment rate in America is at a 4-year low. Jobs are growing at 5 
times the rate they did in the previous 4 years. The United States has 
just been voted at the annual panel of international economists as the 
most productive economy in the world for

[[Page 2296]]

the first time in 9 years. For the first time in 15 years, America's 
auto workers will make and sell more cars around the world than their 
Japanese competitors. We are moving in the right direction.
    Here in California, in addition to the C-17 and this contract, I 
want to point out again the work that's being done in defense 
conversion. We are turning Norton Air Force Base over to the community. 
The Presidio has been turned into a national park. Up in northern 
California, the Alameda Naval Station will be turned over to the Port of 
Oakland. We are moving on a massive attempt to revive the capacity of 
Americans to build ships, which is benefiting the shipbuilding industry 
in San Diego that I'm sure all of you are familiar with.
    These are the kinds of things we need to continue to push ahead 
with. And there are high-technology investments from the physics 
experiment at Stanford, to the work that's just been contracted and 
Livermore Labs, to the continuing effort of our administration to 
promote the space station, something that also benefits the workers of 
California, that will take us into the 21st century with a defense that 
is smaller but still adequate to our responsibilities in the world and 
with a job base that is preserved.
    If you look around this crowd today, you will see everything that is 
best about America. What makes a country strong? Abroad, it's strong 
security, more trade, standing up for freedom and peace. At home, it's 
strong families. It's strong education systems. it's safe streets. It's 
good jobs. That is the true strength of America. That is what we are 
here to celebrate today.
    And I want to tell you that the economic strategy that we have 
pursued that is making a difference in this country would simply not 
have been possible without the support of your Congresswoman Jane Harmon 
and your Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer. It is a 
partnership. And the partnership we have with the private sector is in 
many ways, as I'm sure Bob Hood will tell you, virtually unprecedented. 
Abroad, we are working hard without relief, and we will continue to work 
until we have this economy turned around again and until every Julia 
Clayton in the United States can not only be a great grandmother but can 
also look forward to an American economy for her great grandchildren 
that will be the envy of the world.
    Thank you, and God bless you all.

Note: The President spoke at 3:45 p.m. In his remarks, he referred to 
McDonnell Douglas employer Julia Clayton and Bob Hood, president, 
Douglas Aircraft. This item was not received in time for publication in 
the appropriate issue.