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Statement on the National [Laughter] So I feel right at home. [Laugh- Emergency With Respect ter] I don’t know whether Bob Koerber and to the Taliban the people at Waterfield are insured against July 6, 1999 heatstroke by strangers happening in along the way, but let me say that I am delighted I have signed an Executive order imposing to be here today. I’ve had a good day already. financial and other commercial sanctions on And I’ve got a large group with me, and the Afghan Taliban for its support of Usama I can’t mention them all, but I’d like to men- bin Ladin and his terrorist network. The tion a few of them. First I want to thank Taliban has allowed the territory under its Secretary Slater, who is, as all of you know, control to be used as a safe haven and base also from Arkansas and worked with me on of operations for Usama bin Ladin and the the Delta commission. I want to thank our al-Qaida organization, who were responsible Secretary of Agriculture, Dan Glickman; our for the bombings of our embassies in Secretary of Labor, Alexis Herman, who is Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tan- here with me; our SBA Administrator Aida zania, last year, murdering 12 Americans, Alvarez. Reverend Jackson, thank you for nearly 300 Kenyans and Tanzanians, and being here. wounding another 5,000. To this day, bin I’d like to thank David Bronczek from Ladin and his network continue to plan new FedEx; Jack Haugsland from Greyhound. attacks against Americans, without regard for We’ll introduce our panelists later. I’d also the innocence of their intended victims or like to say a special word of thanks to Lieu- for those non-Americans who might get in tenant Governor Ronnie Musgrove and his the way of his attack. The United States has family. They’re here, and we thank him for tried repeatedly, directly and working with his interest in the development of the Delta. other governments, to persuade the Taliban Our Congressmen, Bennie Thompson, to expel bin Ladin to the United States for from this district, thank you. And I under- trial or, if that is not possible, to a third coun- stand Congressman Ronnie Shows from Mis- try where he will face justice for his crimes, sissippi is also here—Ronnie is standing up and to end the safe haven it gives to bin there; thank you. And we have two visitors Ladin’s network, which lives and trains in who have come from a long way away to be Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. These ef- with us, Congressman Jim Clyburn from forts have failed. The Executive order I have South Carolina and Congressman Paul signed will deepen the international isolation Kanjorski, all the way from Pennsylvania, of the Taliban, limit its ability to support ter- down here. Thank you very much. rorist networks and demonstrate the need to And we thank Attorney General Mike conform to accepted norms of international Moore for being here, and all the other peo- behavior. The order does not affect humani- ple from Mississippi who are here. tarian aid, food, and medical supplies for ci- Let me say again to Bob Koerber and all vilian use. It is not aimed at the people of the folks here at Waterfield, we thank you Afghanistan, but at the Taliban. Those who nurture terrorism must understand that we for giving us a chance to both tour this plant will not stand by while those whom they pro- and to camp out in some of your space. tect target Americans. And I would like to be very brief. I’ve learned to attenuate these remarks of mine. Yesterday it was 100 degrees in Hazard, Ken- Remarks in a Roundtable Discussion tucky; we had 10,000 or 15,000 people out- on Investment in the Mississippi side. And I said I don’t believe I better give Delta Region in Clarksdale, this speech I was going to give. Mississippi Hello, Governor Mabus. It’s nice to see July 6, 1999 you. Welcome. Thank you very much for being here. And I think my friend William The President. Thank you. Please be seat- Winter is here. Governor Winter, are you ed. Well, it’s hot as a firecracker in here. here somewhere? He met me at the airport.

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So anyway, I talked for about 5 minutes, and exempt business group. It is a real success I’d like to do that. story. Just since 1994, it’s given financial or I just want to tell you exactly why we’re technical assistance to more than 600 compa- here. First of all, the people in the Delta nies, including Delta Laundry and Com- know better than anybody else that while this puters here in Clarksdale. country has had an unbelievable run—we’ve Now, we set these operations up all over had the longest peacetime expansion in our the country. Overall, the ECD here has history, nearly 19 million jobs since the day helped to generate more than 5,000 jobs and I took the oath of office. We have the lowest $200 million in annual sales. Bill Bynum, the recorded rates ever of unemployment among CEO and president of ECD is here. We African-Americans and Hispanics. We have thank him for being here today. the highest rate of homeownership ever. We Today corporations represented here with have a million kids lifted out of poverty. me are going to invest $14 million more in Now, having said all that, in the Delta, the the ECD, so they’ll have more money to loan poverty rate is much higher than the country out to people here to create more jobs. as a whole; in this county, it’s over twice as Today, around the country, there will be high. The unemployment rate is higher than about $150 million more announced to be the national average, and the investment rate invested in organizations like this. is lower. In addition to that, I’m trying to get Con- Now, a lot of you—I remember when I gress to pass a bill which will give tax incen- was out on a barge in the Mississippi River tives, tax credits, and loan guarantees to peo- outside Rosedale with Ray Mabus back in ple to invest in the Delta and other poor the mid-eighties, and we signed this agree- areas of America, just like they get today to ment with the then-Governor of Louisiana invest in poor areas around the world. I think about all the things we wanted to do with that it’s a good thing that we encourage peo- the Delta. And then we worked on the Delta ple to invest in Africa, Latin America, and commission for all those years. A lot of good the Caribbean, but they ought to have the things have happened here, and I want to same incentives to invest in the Mississippi talk a little about some of them. But I want Delta and Appalachia and the Native Amer- you to know I am making this tour of Amer- ican reservations and the inner cities. That ica for one simple reason: I want everybody is what we’re trying to do here. We’re trying in America to know that while our country to close what Reverend Jackson calls the ‘‘re- has been blessed with this economic recov- source gap.’’ ery, not all Americans have been blessed by Now, let me say, we’ve got a lot of other it, that it hasn’t reached every place. challenges in the Delta. We have a terrible I want our country to know that there are crisis in American agriculture today. Last great opportunities out here for investment year we came up with billions of dollars to for jobs in America. I want them to know try to keep our farmers going. This year we’re what we have done already to make it easier going to have to do it all over again. And for people to make the most of those oppor- we’ve got a lot of other problems. But fun- tunities and what we’re still trying to do. damentally, what I want America to know is Now, let me say, ever since I became that every place in the country, and today President, I have done what I could to in- this place, is full of good people, capable of crease investment in undeveloped areas doing good work, who can be trained to do through the empowerment zones, which give any kind of work. And we are going to do tax credits and put tax money into distressed everything we can in the Government to give areas, through the enterprise communities, the financial incentives necessary for people through getting banks to more vigorously ap- to invest here. proach the Community Reinvestment Act, And I want to make the same point I made and setting up community development fi- yesterday: Everybody in America has a selfish nancial institutions or supporting those that interest now in developing the Delta. Why? are already in business, like the Enterprise Because most economists believe that if Corporation of the Delta. It’s a private, tax- we’re going to keep our economic recovery

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going without inflation, the only way we can One of the reasons that I’m trying so hard possibly do it is to find more customers for to pass this legislation is not every place in our products and then add more workers at America can be in an empowerment zone, home. If you come here, you get both in the even if we keep increasing them every year. same place. You get more workers and more So what I want to do is to make every area consumers. So it’s good for the rest of Amer- in America that needs an investor equally eli- ica as well. gible to get the investors’ attention by being So again, I say I am delighted to be here. able to get these kinds of tax benefits, so we I had a wonderful time in Memphis last can get more money into these development night, but I ate too much. I’m sorry it’s so corporations and then have equal tax incen- hot, but I hope nobody passes out. And I tives for investors to go into high unemploy- want to give Secretary Slater now a chance ment areas—those two things, if we have to talk to our panelists, and then I want all enough people like you who are as good as of you to think about, when we leave here, it as you have been, I think will make a huge what we can do to show people the oppor- difference. I think it will really, in the next tunity that’s here now, and what you could 5 or 6 years, would make a breathtaking dif- do to help me pass, on a bipartisan basis, ference, because people are out here looking the necessary tax incentives and loan guaran- at these markets now. And I want to thank tees to say to any investor, anywhere in you. America, if you come to the Mississippi [The discussion continued.] Delta, you can get at least a good a deal as you could investing anywhere else in the The President. Let me say this very brief- world. And we’re right here at home, and ly. I was there when you started, and I was we need you. delighted when I heard you were going to Thank you very much. be on the program. I wish we’d had time today—we don’t—to tell everybody the fas- [At this point, the discussion proceeded.] cinating story of how you got started, how you found the equipment to do the brown The President. I just want to emphasize rice in the first place. And someday you for everybody who is here listening, because ought to write it up, because no one who a lot of you may be able to come to Bill with understands what was going on in America a good idea, there are—it’s not just that there at the time would believe it. And it’s a real is not enough money available in this area tribute to your initiative. And I’m glad you’re for good investments, someone has to decide still doing well and glad you’re still growing. what’s a good investment. And what he has Thank you for being here today. Thank you. done is to basically go out and get money from other people who, on their own, would [The discussion continued.] never have the time or effort or maybe even The President. Let me say, I’m delighted the inclination to make these investments, that you’ve done so well over these years but they trust them to do it—including our since you began in Arkansas. I remember community development fund, which, as you when you planted roots in Pine Bluff. I just heard, has given him $4.5 million. think it’s worth pointing out that the South Hillary and I, when we were in Arkansas, Shore Bank of Chicago, which financed you, helped to set up the Southern Development was really the first great community develop- Bank in Arkansas, as you know, so we believe ment bank in the United States. And they in this. In addition to that, I want to empha- were inspired, among others, by a man size one other thing. In the empowerment named Muhammad Yunus from Bangladesh, zone program that the Vice President has run who has now made millions of loans to poor, for us over the last 6 years, people who invest poor village people in Bangladesh through there can get substantial tax benefits for in- the bank you set up. vesting, and then they get tax benefits for Hillary and I had some contact with him; hiring people. But they don’t get them if that’s what led to the establishment of the they’re outside of these zones. bank in Arkadelphia and to my belief that

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we in the National Government ought to do omy in our lifetime, when will we ever get more to support people like Bill. I think— around to it? again, you’ve just heard now three stories, And remember—put yourself in my posi- and two of them involve people who have tion. I sit in Washington all the time, trying had to get credit. A lot—I always say one to think about how can we keep this eco- of Clinton’s laws of politics is, when some- nomic recovery going, adding more jobs, rais- body tells you that a problem is not a money ing incomes, without having inflation. If we problem, they’re almost always talking about get inflation, then the Federal Reserve will someone else’s problem, not their own. To have to raise interest rates so much the eco- a great extent, this is a money problem. You nomic recovery will slow down. have all these talented people and all these The only way to do it—I will say again good ideas; there is a pretty even distribution to all of America—the only way to do it is of human resources and ability in this whole more customers, which then makes possible world, but there is not an even distribution more employees, when you can do that with of access to capital. And that’s what it is we’re higher productivity and no inflation. The best trying to fix. So I thank you. place in America to do that is a place which has not yet felt recovery. This is a big deal. [The discussion continued.] I want to thank all of our business leaders The President. You have an announce- for coming. And all of our great entre- ment, right? Okay. You’re being way too preneurs here in the Delta, I want to thank modest. Now, you know, this lady is the as- you. I know we could stay here until tomor- sistant plant manager here. According to my row if we could all keep breathing. notes, she also is the mother of five children. I do want to point out that except for the When this place was in bankruptcy, they took occasional reverend of the cloth and the odd it out, and they’ve turned it around. They’re politician, the head of the electric utility is doing good business; they’re expanding their the only guy still wearing his coat because work force. And I think what we need, frank- he wants you to use more juice. [Laughter] ly, are more people that have this particular And I think that is very impressive. I want expertise, particularly in the Delta, because to thank our friend from Greyhound because there’s more than one place like this. we may always need some people to be able Our host was telling us there’s another to get to and from jobs that aren’t in the place across the river in Arkansas that he’s small towns of rural America but who want been looking at now. If we had a core of to live in rural America. That’s been one of people who had this skill to go with what the big challenges Secretary Slater has tried our local venture capitalist and banker here to face with welfare reform, even; trying to is doing for us, we could really do some good. make sure people who live in the inner cities But I think we ought to recognize that what can at least get to the suburbs, or who live these people have done here and the jobs in small towns and get to a big city so they that they’ve given folks the opportunity to can take a job without having to undermine hold is quite important and could be a good their ability to be good parents. model for others in the Delta. So I thank And I want to thank my friend Bob Cabe you for what you’ve done. from Blue Cross. You need to know that in our former lives, we were both lawyers. And [The discussion continued.] he’s a very special economic development ex- The President. Well, I know we’ve got to pert for me, because in 1981, I was the wrap up. If you don’t remember anything youngest ex-Governor in the history of Amer- else when you leave, remember what Cathy ica with very limited future prospects, and said—not just the $500 million, although he and his firm offered me a job. So I am that’s real money even in 1999; that’s very living proof that economic development impressive. This is a good business oppor- works, thanks to Bob Cabe, and I thank you tunity here. If we cannot fully develop the very much. And I want to thank, again, all Delta now when we have the strongest econ- these people for their wonderful work.

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The story needs to go out across America. been. And we can’t rest until every American This is a good investment. This is a good deal. who wants to work has a chance to get a good We will help you. We will help you. We have education, a good job, and raise a family in institutions to help you. We have tax relief a strong community. to help you. And more and more, our finan- And what we’re proposing to do is simply cial institutions are coming up with the to say to the investors of the country, take money. But America needs to wake up and a look at the Delta, take a look at these other recognize that the best new market for Amer- places in America that haven’t grown as they ican products and for new American invest- should have, and we will give you the same ment is right here in the U.S. of A. tax and other incentives to invest in American Thank you very much, and God bless you. new markets that we give you today to invest around the world. I think we ought to give NOTE: The President spoke at 10:25 a.m. at the people the same incentive to go to the Delta. Waterfield Cabinet Co. In his remarks, he re- That’s the message—you help us get the ferred to Robert C. Koerber, president and chief executive officer, and Cora Porter, assistant plant message out. manager, Waterfield Cabinet Co.; civil rights lead- Good luck, God bless you, and thank you er Jesse Jackson; David J. Bronczek, executive vice for making me feel welcome. Thank you. president and chief operating officer, Federal Ex- press; Jack W. Haugsland, executive vice president NOTE: The President spoke at 2:09 p.m. at Clarks- and chief operating officer, Greyhound Lines, dale Airport prior to departure for East St. Louis, Inc.; Lt. Gov. Ronnie Musgrove, State Attorney IL. A tape was not available for verification of General Mike Moore, and former Governors Ray the content of these remarks. Mabus and William Winter of Mississippi; former Gov. Charles (Buddy) Roemer of Louisiana; William J. Bynum, president, Enterprise Corpora- tion of the Delta; Muhammad Yunus, founder and Remarks to the Community chief executive officer, Grameen Bank, Ban- in East St. Louis, Illinois gladesh; Catherine P. Bessant, president, Com- munity Development Banking Group, Bank of July 6, 1999 America; J. Wayne Leonard, chief executive offi- cer, Entergy Corp.; and Robert D. Cabe, execu- Thank you. Well, ladies and gentlemen, I tive vice president for legal, governmental rela- used to think that I was reasonably astute tions, and community services, Arkansas Blue at public affairs, but I don’t have any better Cross & Blue Shield. Former Governors Mabus sense than to get up here and try to speak and Roemer were vice chairs of the now-defunct behind Mayor Powell, Cathy Bessant, and Lower Mississippi Delta Development Commis- Jesse Jackson. I don’t know how smart I am sion. A tape was not available for verification of the content of these remarks. today. [Laughter] Let me say to all of you, it is wonderful to be here. Madam Mayor, thank you for Remarks on Departure From making us feel so welcome and for your ster- Clarksdale ling leadership. I’m delighted to be here with July 6, 1999 Jackie, your hero, and my friend who is all of our heroes. Thank you. New Markets Initiative Thank you, Dave Bernauer, for this won- I will be very brief. It’s hot. You’ve waited derful Walgreens store. I’m going to go in for me a long time, and I appreciate it. I’m and shop in a minute—add to the local com- glad to be back here. I’m glad to be in the munity. Thank you, Mel Farr, for bringing Delta. I’m glad to have brought business jobs and opportunities and cars, even in 2 leaders from all over the country here today. months’ installments, to every community in We are trying to send a message to Amer- this country. [Laughter] Thank you. Thank ica that good people live here; they have not you, Reverend Jackson, for believing that we fully participated in this economic recovery could keep hope alive in every city and rural that has swept our country and lifted up area in this country, and it could be good America’s economy as strong as it’s ever business to do so.

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