[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 29 (Monday, July 20, 1998)]
[Page 1411]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on Arrival at Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville, 
Arkansas

July 17, 1998

    Thank you very much. Thank you very much, General. First let me say 
I am delighted to be back home. I'm glad to be with your Congressman, 
Vic Snyder, and our Secretary of Transportation, Rodney Slater. They're 
doing a great job for you. Mr. Mayor, thank you for coming out to make 
me welcome, and thank all of you for coming out.
    I want to spend most of my time just saying hello to people in the 
crowd, but let me just make a couple of points. First of all, I am so 
grateful to the people of Arkansas for all that you did to give me a 
chance to serve as President. And I hope you take a certain amount of 
personal pride in the role you played when you read every day the news 
of our country's progress.
    I'm very grateful that I had a chance to serve in a time when, 
working together, we've got the lowest crime rate in 25 years, the 
lowest unemployment rate in 28 years, the first balanced budget in 29 
years, the lowest welfare rolls in 29 years, the lowest inflation rate 
in 32 years, and the highest homeownership in the history of America. 
I'm proud of that. You should be proud of that.
    I'm also very, very proud of the work that America is doing, and the 
role that the people who serve at this base have in it, in advancing 
peace and freedom and prosperity and security around the world. And I 
know you have some folks overseas right now doing important missions--we 
thank them for that.
    I also want to know that I consider the training mission of this 
base vital, and I'm very pleased with the Air Force report, which has 
been embraced by the Defense Department, to continue the important 
mission of the base here, and I will support that. I know you will too. 
Thank you for what you do every day.
    Now, let me say one of the things that the President cannot do 
anything about, at least in the short run, is the heat. [Laughter] So I 
think it's time to stop the speeches and start the greeting, so you can 
get out of here before anything too bad happens.
    But I'm glad to be back. Thank you. Thank you for everything. God 
bless you. Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 2:10 p.m. on the Little Rock Air Force Base 
flight line. In his remarks, he referred to Brig. Gen. Jack R. Holbein, 
USAF, Commander, 314th Airlift Wing; and Mayor Tommy Swaim of 
Jacksonville, AR. A tape was not available for verification of the 
content of these remarks.