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[Page 376]
 
Monday, March 7, 1994
 
Volume 30--Number 9
Pages 375-440
 
Week Ending Friday, March 4, 1994
 
Statement on the Church Bombing in Lebanon

February 27, 1994

    The killing of people at prayer is an outrage against faith and 
humanity. On behalf of the American people, I condemn in the strongest 
possible terms this latest incident in which innocent Lebanese at 
communion on Sunday morning were killed by bombs planted in a church. I 
extend my deepest sympathy to the bereaved.
    Just as Friday's massacre in a Hebron mosque was aimed at the peace 
process, this bomb attack seems clearly aimed at Lebanon's 
reconciliation process. The extremists have a common purpose, to promote 
division, strife, and war. They must and will not be allowed to succeed.
    I call on men and women of all faiths to unite in opposition to the 
forces of dark hatred. The people of the Middle East deserve a peaceful 
future. They deserve the right to pray in peace, as we join them in 
praying for it.


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[Page 376-377]
 
Monday, March 7, 1994
 
Volume 30--Number 9
Pages 375-440
 
Week Ending Friday, March 4, 1994
 
Exchange With Reporters Prior to Departure for Chicago, Illinois

February 28, 1994

Bosnia

    Q. Can you give us any sense of what is going on in Bosnia and what 
has happened----
    The President. Well, you know the essential facts, that last evening 
after midnight our time, United States aircraft, flying under NATO 
authority, warned some fixed-wing Serbian aircraft, Bosnian Serbian 
aircraft, to land, and when they didn't, they were shot down. There were 
two warnings. Every attempt was made, to the best of our information, to 
avoid this encounter.
    We have had responsibility for enforcing the no-fly zone since last 
April. It has been since last fall that there were any fixed-wing 
aircraft that we knew of violating the no-fly zone, and we're attempting 
to get more facts now. We're also trying to brief everyone involved in 
this effort to bring peace to Bosnia about the facts, and if we find out 
any more

[[Page 377]]

information, of course, we'll be glad to give it to you. But it seems 
to----
    Q. Why now? Why now? Is this a new get-tough policy?
    The President. No, no. The violations--the principal violations of 
the no-fly zone have been by helicopters, which could easily land. We've 
not had a fixed-wing violation reported of any kind, much less one we 
were in a position to do something about, to the best of my information, 
since last fall, since September. Those are much more serious because of 
the capacity they have to engage in military conduct from the air. Our 
mandate under the United Nations was to enforce the no-fly zone to 
eliminate the prospect that the war could be carried into the air.
    Q. How were you informed, President Clinton? How did you learn of 
this, sir?
    The President. Early, early this morning I was notified.

Note: The exchange began at 8:05 a.m. on the South Lawn at the White 
House.


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[Page 377-383]
 
Monday, March 7, 1994
 
Volume 30--Number 9
Pages 375-440
 
Week Ending Friday, March 4, 1994
 
Remarks in a Roundtable Discussion at Wilbur Wright College in Chicago

February 28, 1994

    The President. I'm glad to see all of you. I'm glad to also be back 
at Wright Community College where I first came in December of 1992, 
although, Congressmen and mayors, you will remember, it was in a 
different facility. This is much nicer and newer. It's good to be back 
here.
    We're here to talk about two things that relate to one another, 
crime and health care. It's appropriate that we're having this 
discussion today because today the Brady bill becomes law. It requires 
background checks on anyone who buys a handgun or gun and will help to 
keep guns out of the hands of criminals and people who are mentally 
unfit. It will prevent now, we know based on research, thousands of 
handgun murders all across our country. Here in Illinois, where you 
already have a tough law similar to the Brady law, it will prevent 
people who should not have guns from buying guns in other States, using 
them here to commit crimes.
    Before we begin, I'd like to talk with Jim Brady who made history 
with his heroic efforts, along with his wonderful wife, Sarah, to pass 
this bill. They worked for 7 long years to pass it. I want to say 
Congressman Rostenkowski has supported the bill all along the way, but 
there was surprisingly continuing opposition in Congress. It all melted 
away last year. I hope that our campaign and election had something to 
do with it. But for whatever reason, we had a good, good, strong 
bipartisan measure of support for the Brady bill. It's now the law as of 
today.
    And I just wanted--I've got Jim Brady on the phone, I think. And I 
wanted to congratulate him and thank him for his efforts. Jim, are you 
on the phone?
    James Brady. Good morning, Mr. President.
    The President. Is Sarah there?
    Sarah Brady. I'm right here, sir.
    The President. Well, it's nice to hear you both.
    Mrs. Brady. Well, it's good to hear from you.
    The President. As you know, I'm here in Chicago with a lot of people 
who understand the importance of what you've done. I'm here with doctors 
and other health care professionals who treat gunshot victims and people 
who are recovering from wounds. So I'm sure they're all very grateful to 
you, just as I am today.
    Mrs. Brady. Well, we thank you for your leadership and for their 
support. It took a real team effort to get this passed, and we thank you 
very much for it.
    The President. Well, I know that you believe this is just the 
beginning in our fight, and I know that you've got a lot of other 
objectives you want to try to achieve. I want you to know that we're 
going to be in there pulling for you and working with you.
    Mrs. Brady. Well, thank you. We appreciate it.
    Mr. Brady. We can't lose then.
    The President. You know, today, Secretary Bentsen is announcing that 
the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is taking an assault weapon 
called the ``street sweeper'' off the free market.
    Mr. Brady. Yeah.

[[Page 378]]

    Mrs. Brady. That's a wonderful move, and we applaud that highly.
    The President. The weapon was originally developed for crowd control 
in South Africa. Several years ago, the U.S. Government banned it from 
being imported, but it's still made and sold here. So today, the Bureau 
of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is reclassifying the ``street sweeper'' 
and another assault weapon, the USAS-12, as destructive devices, 
increasing the taxes on manufacturers and dealers and requiring the 
buyers to take extraordinary measures. Starting tomorrow, if you want to 
buy one, you have to appear in person, provide a photo ID with 
fingerprints, and have a local law enforcement officer verify that the 
buyer can own it in his home State. And that, I think, will make a big 
difference.
    So we're going to keep working on these things; we're going to try 
to pass this crime bill, including the assault weapons ban in it. I know 
you're going to help us. And I just want to say on behalf of Chairman 
Rostenkowski and Mayor Daley and myself and all these fine health 
professionals that are here, we appreciate you and we're grateful to 
you, and I hope you have a great celebration today.
    Mr. Brady. Thank you, Mr. President.
    Mrs. Brady. Thank you.
    The President. Thanks, Sarah. Bye, Jim.
    Mr. Brady. Bye now.
    The President. Take care.

[At this point, the telephone conversation ended.]

    Well, I'm glad we could take a little time to talk to them. You 
know, Jim Brady has paid a terrific price for the fact that we didn't 
have the Brady bill when he was wounded. I think it's remarkable that he 
and his wife are continuing to work on these matters and are continuing 
to get out there.
    Chairman Rostenkowski, I'm glad to see you here today. Glad to have 
a chance to talk about this crime issue, which you've been interested in 
for a long time and how it relates to the health care bill that we're 
working on in Congress now. Mayor Daley, I'm glad you're here. I know 
that you were the State's attorney before you were mayor, and I know 
you've worked very hard on the community policing. And every time I've 
ever talked with you, we've started our conversation with a discussion 
of crime. So I'm glad that you joined us here today.
    I'd like to talk a little bit about the crime bill that's before the 
Congress and then introduce the people here around the table and then 
invite the rest of you who are here, if we have time, to make some 
comments, because I think it's very important that we see that this 
crime problem is being manifested as a public health problem, too, and 
that many of you who deal with the cost and the human tragedy of this 
can speak very dramatically to why we need to change our laws and our 
policies.
    Our crime bill does a number of things. It contains a ``three 
strikes and you're out'' provision written properly to really cover 
people who commit three consecutive violent crimes. It gives us 100,000 
more police officers so that we can do more community policing. We know 
that that lowers the crime rate, if you have properly trained police 
officers on the streets, in the communities, who know the neighbors and 
know the kids. It bans assault weapons, and it provides funds for things 
like drug treatment and alternative treatment for first-time young 
offenders, like community boot camps.
    Today, I'm hoping that your presence here will help not only people 
in Chicago and Illinois but people all across America learn more about 
how the crisis in crime and violence is linked to the health care crisis 
in America.
    Last week, physicians from Chicago area trauma centers had a news 
conference with the Cook County medical examiner, Dr. Edmund Donahue. 
They reported that largely because of the proliferation of rapid-fire 
automatic and semi-automatic and assault weapons, gun violence has 
become one of the leading health problems in the Chicago area. More than 
2,500 people every year are treated for gunshot wounds in Chicago area 
emergency rooms, and caring for them in the emergency rooms costs $37 
million in this one community. In 1987, at Cook County Hospital, gunshot 
wounds accounted for 15 percent of the total funds used for the care of 
trauma patients. By 1992, this number had increased from 15 percent to 
35 percent.

[[Page 379]]

    At the Cook County Hospital trauma unit, from 1987 to 1992, the 
number of admissions for gunshot wounds increased from 449 to 1,220 and 
accounted for 70 percent of the overall increase in admissions. That is 
a stunning fact. And all across Illinois, 1992 was the first year in 
this State where more people were killed by guns than by auto accidents.
    According to an article in the Journal of the American Medical 
Association, gunshot wounds are expected to become the Nation's leading 
cause of traumatic death this year. From 1987 through 1992, 858,000 
armed attacks took place every year, and in 1991 and 1992, 16,000 people 
were murdered with firearms each year. This adds about $4 billion a year 
to hospital costs, and too often, of course, when one of us is struck 
with a bullet, the rest of us are stuck with the bill. About 80 percent 
of the patients who suffer firearm injuries aren't adequately insured or 
eligible for Government medical programs like Medicaid. So public 
hospitals cover the costs of the uninsured. Private hospitals charge 
higher rates for those who can pay, so the rest of us pay higher 
hospital bills, higher insurance premiums, and higher taxes.
    This morning I want to talk with you and let you basically talk to 
me and tell me whatever's on your mind about what we need to do and what 
you have experienced. The Mayor and Chairman Rostenkowski and I have 
decided we'd like to hear from you first, and then we may want to ask 
you some questions. And I know there are some other very distinguished 
people here, too, in the audience who may want to say some things. But 
let's start with the Chicago Police Superintendent, Matt Rodriguez, a 
strong advocate of community policing. And I want to thank you, sir, for 
working with our national service program to implement our summer-of-
safety where we're going to have several thousand young people working 
with police forces all across America to try to reduce the crime rate 
and relate better to the neighborhoods of this country this year. I 
thank you for that, and I want to give you the microphone for whatever 
you might like to say.

[At this point, Mr. Rodriguez discussed the Chicago Alternative Policing 
Strategy (CAPS) and explained that while the homicide rate is down in 
Chicago, the public's fear of crime has increased.]

    The President. I think one of the reasons that's happening is the 
numbers I just read off. While the overall crime rate is going down, 
even the murder rate is dropping in many of our cities, especially where 
community policing strategies have been implemented, the violence among 
young people seems to be on the rise. And among young people who are 
shot with these semi-automatic weapons, a gunshot wound is more likely 
to end in death than it was just 5 or 10 years ago because you're likely 
to have more bullets in your body. I mean, there's a lot of evidence now 
to that effect.
    So I think that the law enforcement folks in this country are not 
getting the credit they deserve in many cities, being able to bring the 
crime rate down through community strategies. But a lot of it is the 
sheer violence of certain particular things, and I think the widespread 
use of these assault weapons in gang settings.
    Mr. Rodriguez. The fastest growing segment of our criminal 
population are the young people. They're increasingly becoming the 
offenders. We find it again here in Chicago and across the country. That 
is the same indication I'm getting from other chiefs throughout the 
country.
    The President. Dr. Statter, Dr. Mindy Statter is the director of 
pediatric trauma at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Her unit 
is Level I, which means she gets the most intense and vulnerable trauma 
cases. Would you like to make a few comments?

[At this point, Dr. Statter discussed the increasing number of injuries 
being caused by adolescent violence and addressed the high cost of 
helping these victims, physically and psychologically.]

    The President. Do you have any--how long have you been doing this 

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