[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 16 (Monday, April 24, 2000)]
[Pages 849-850]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Exchange With Reporters in Sequoia National Forest

April 15, 2000

National Economy

    Q.  Mr. President--[inaudible]--inflation is becoming a problem 
again that's going to screw up the stock market as it did yesterday?
    The President.  Well, you know, I try never to talk about the 
movements of the market, but let me just say, I think the fact that oil 
prices have come down will make a substantial difference. And whenever 
we have a strong economic boom, it puts some strain on the housing 
markets, but we have open markets, so new products will come in and tend 
to drive inflation down there.
    The projected inflation rate for the year is still quite modest. And 
the projected growth rate for the year is still quite strong. So I think 
if we stay with our economic policy and the American people productivity 
continues to increase, as it's going to, then I still think we'll have a 
very good year. If you look at all the elements of inflation--the fact 
that oil prices are coming down and that open markets will inevitably 
lead to a dampening of the prices of the component parts and the housing 
industry--and that's why the experts say that over the year we'll have 
very modest inflation. And I think, you know, everybody that invests 
their money will tend to look at what it's likely to be like over a 
year.
    So all I can do is try to keep the economy strong, and that's what 
I'll do. And I think

[[Page 850]]

the investment climate and markets will take care of themselves. They'll 
go up; they'll go down. But I think the long-term trends are quite 
positive.

Giant Sequoia National Monument Establishment

    Q.  [Inaudible]--who say the visit here is politically motivated and 
say you're trying to build an environmental legacy for yourself and the 
Vice President?
    The President.  Well, first of all, I think that when you can't win 
an argument, sometimes you just attack the person on the other side. 
[Laughter] The only issue here is whether we're doing the right thing. I 
have been doing this kind of thing for 7\1/2\ years now. I've been 
working on these issues. What I'm trying to do is to build a legacy for 
these children. And I think we did the right thing.
    And Secretary Glickman worked very hard to preserve all the 
functions in this area that are going on, except the logging. And I 
believe there will be a net gain economically here, because we are 
protecting these trees for life, forever. That's what I believe, and I 
just think it's the right thing to do. I've always believed this. I did 
this sort of thing when I was Governor. It's not something that I woke 
up last year and decided it would be a nice thing to do. I believe that.
    And I think--we don't have to criticize each other's motives. They 
can disagree with my decision, but I think I did the right thing, and I 
think the future will prove us out right.

Elian Gonzalez

    Q.  Mr. President, what did you tell Janet Reno about the Gonzalez 
case?
    The President.  Well, we just had a conversation about where it is. 
We reviewed where the legal case was and what her plans were. I just 
told her that I strongly supported her efforts and that we clearly had 
to uphold the rule of law.
    Q.  Do you want to see this brought to a swift end?
    The President.  Well, we have to let the court cases be decided. But 
I think the main thing is--I hope that all the people there who say they 
came to the United States because we have freedom and the rule of law 
will observe the rule of law. When this thing finally plays out, in the 
end, the law has to be obeyed. And that's basically what we talked 
about.
    We talked a little about the details and--she was the prosecutor 
there for 12 years, so she knows it very well. And she's down there 
working hard on it, and I think she'll handle it in as sensitive but 
firm a way as possible. That's basically what we talked about, just 
what's likely to happen over the next couple of days.
    But the main thing--my message is simple: She has to deal with the 
day-to-day details, but the thing that we've got to do is to make sure 
that our laws are upheld and enforced. And in the end, I'm quite 
confident they will be.

 Note:  The exchange began at approximately 9:40 a.m. on the Trail of 
100 Giants. A tape was not available for verification of the content of 
this exchange.