Night Owl 9/Night Owl CD-ROM (NOPV9) (Night Owl Publisher) (1993).ISO/044a/wh930403.zip/4-3A.TXT

Internet Message Format | 1993-04-05 | 7KB

From @lex-luthor.ai.mit.edu:[e-mail] Sat Apr  3 19:43:25 1993
Date: Sat, 3 Apr 1993 13:01-0500
From: The White House <[e-mail]>
Subject: Text of President's Closing Remarks at Forest Conference
To: [e-mail]


USNEWS  04-02-93 10:34 PET
bc-forest-summit-4 04-02
  Text of Closing Remarks by Clinton at Forest Conference
  To: National Desk, Environment Writer
  Contact: The White House, Office of the Press Secretary,
  202-456-2100
  PORTLAND, Ore., April 2 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following is the
text of closing remarks by President Clinton at the Forest Conference.
  Oregon Convention Center
  Portland, Ore.
  6:10 p.m. PST
  THE PRESIDENT: I want to thank all of you for being here and for
sitting through this long day, and all of the participants for
everything you've done. I'd like to thank the Cabinet for coming and
participating, and the Vice President and our staff for all the work
they did to put this meeting together.
  One of the things that has come out of this meeting to me loud and
clear is that you want us to try to break the paralysis that presently
controls the situation, to move and to act. I hope that as we leave
here we are more committed to working together to move forward than
perhaps we were when we came.
  I tell you, I'll never forget what I've heard today -- the stories,
the pictures, the passion from all of you. In a funny way, even when
you were disagreeing, everyone of you was a voice for change; everyone
of you was saying we can't possibly do any worse than to stay within
the framework which has now undermined our ability to work together
and to build a sense of common community.
  Too many people are being hurt and too many resources are being
threatened. And we're going to do our best to turn this away from at
least the short-term politics of just trying to avoid the tough
decisions.
  I intend to direct the Cabinet and the entire administration to
begin work immediately to craft a balanced, a comprehensive, a
long-tern policy. And I will direct the Cabinet to report back to me
within 60 days to have a plan to end this stalemate. (Applause.)
  Meanwhile, I want each of our Cabinet to look within the
departments to determine which policies are at odds with each other.
It is true, as I've said many times, that I was mortified when I began
to review the legal documents surrounding this controversy to see how
often the departments were at odds with each other, so that there was
no voice of the United states. I want the Cabinet members to talk with
each other to try to bring these conflicts to an end, which at their
extreme, have had our own agencies suing one another in courts, often
over issues which are hard to characterize as monumental.
  I want everyone to examine his or her approach to existing legal
and administrative proceedings to see if inadvertently any of us are
hampering the march toward a solution of the larger issues, or even
toward the particular ones now in litigation.
  Regardless of what we are doing, our efforts must be guided, it
seems to me, by five fundamental principles.
  First, we must never forget the human and the economic dimensions
of these problems. Where sound management policies can preserve the
health of forest lands, sales should go forward. Where this
requirement cannot be met, we need to do our best to offer new
economic opportunities for year-round, high-wage, high-skill jobs.
  Second, as we craft a plan, we need to protect the long-term health
of our forests, our wildlife and our waterways. They are, as the last
speaker said, a gift from God, and we hold them in trust for future
generations.
  Third, our efforts must be, insofar as we are wise enough to know
it, scientifically sound, ecologically credible, and legally
responsible.
  Fourth, the plan should produce a predictable and sustainable level
of timber sales and non-timber resources that will not degrade our
destroy our forest environment.
  And, fifth, to achieve these goals, we will do our best, as I said,
to make the federal government work together and work for you. We may
make mistakes, but we will try to end the gridlock within the federal
government. And we will insist on collaboration, not confrontation. We
will do our best to do our part. We will act with a single purpose and
a single agenda, once we have a chance to get all these departments
working on their respective responsibilities.
  But I want to say, too, that all of you have demonstrated to me
today your willingness to do your part. I ask you not to let this be
the end of it. This conference has established a dialogue. Even when
it was somewhat funny between Mr. Kerr and Miss Mater, it was still a
dialogue. And it's got to continue between us and you and among
yourselves. You have got to be a part of this solution. Even if we
make the most enlightened possible decisions under the circumstances,
they will be all the more resented if they seem to be imposed without
a continuing mechanism for people whose lives will be affected here to
be involved.
  So when you leave here today, I ask you to keep working for a
balanced policy that promotes the economy, preserves jobs and protects
the environment even as you may disagree, as Mr. Thomas said, over how
the word ``balance'' should be defined. When you hit an impasse, I
plead with you not to give up, and don't turn against your neighbors.
You don't have to fight in a court of law anymore. You can work with
us to try to have a long-term solution.
  If you feel frustrated -- at times, all of us will -- I ask you to
stay at the table and to keep talking and keep trying to find common
ground. I don't want this situation to go back to posturing, to
positioning, to the politics of division that has characterized this
difficult issue in the past. I hope we can stay in the conference room
and stay out of the courtroom. If we don't give up or give in to
deadlock or divisiveness or despair, I think we can build a more
prosperous and a more secure future for our communities and for our
children. And I think we'll be proud years from now that we were here
today.
  I thank you for caring and for coming, for speaking out and for
reaching out. And I ask you to continue to work with us, so that this
Forest Conference is the beginning, not the end of a solution.
  But we will move. We will move. And I will do my best to assume the
responsibility the American people have given me to try to break this
deadlock in a responsible way. I just ask you to remember that this
listening cannot be a one-shot deal. We've got to continue to work
together. And I think, if we do, we'll all be pleased with the
results.
  Thank you very much. (Applause.)
  End 6:19 P.M. PST
  -0-
  /U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/