Jacksonville, Florida Remarks and a Question-and-Answer Session With Community and Civic Leaders.

THE PRESIDENT. It's good to be in Jake Godbold's city and mine, too. I might say that all of his constituents or Bob Graham's constituents and all of their constituents are my constituents. [Laughter] I think this is typical of the attitude that has problems with their leadership in the Nation has struggled to overcome the embarrassment and disappointments of the past and to carry out the principles and the ideals on which our Nation was founded.

I will be going to Hollywood right after I leave Jacksonville. Miami is a city that has problems with their leadership in the black community and the relationship, as you know, between the blacks and the Cubans and also the white leaders of that city. We have other places around our Nation that face these difficult problems. Sometimes they anticipate them, they cooperate, the leadership works together, they prevent disturbances and hardships and divisiveness before it happens. And I'm very grateful to be in Jacksonville, because of that as well.

I'm not here to brag about the Federal Government nor to brag about what we have done in the last 3 1/2 years. I am here to brag about what you have done. There's a great demonstration of confidence in the future of your own great city, and in my earlier remarks outside in a tremendous welcoming event, I contrasted the attitude of Andrew Jackson, the namesake of your city, Jacksonville-confidence in one another, a commitment to hard work, recognizing our potential, and doing everything we could at the local scene, with private and government effort combined, to realize the great potential of our own free lives in the greatest of all democracies on Earth.

You are making good progress. I've been very pleased at the progress made in your public transportation system, the EDA grants that have been forthcoming to you, the new energy project on Blount Island, I flew over just a few minutes ago, the good progress that has been made with development of the private sector here in Jacksonville, and the harmony that prevails in your city.

I think another thing that you exemplify, for which I'm very grateful as President, is the good working relationship between those of us who have different backgrounds in religion, in the color of our skin, in our heritage, and even in our place of birth. It's a sign of courage and a sign of dedication, a sign of faith when people who are different can work together in a spirit of unity. And this is particularly gratifying in a time in our history when the future is uncertain, when many parts of the world are torn by strife and death and hatred, to see a community like this bound together in a spirit of brotherly love.

It's also a pleasure for me as President to see the greatness of our Nation exemplified by a strong defense commitment. Around your area, as you know, our Nation has a major investment in a strong defense. That investment is growing rapidly, because we not only have confidence in this region of our country, but also the people who are here share the belief that a nation can remain at peace only if it is strong—strong militarily, yes; but also strong economically, strong morally, strong ethically, and strong politically.

This is an election year, as you well know. It's not a time for us to be torn apart one from another. It's a time to put our record on the line, to let the American people, the people of Florida look at what we have done and judge whether or not we've been good stewards of the high office at the local, State, and Federal level in the democratic system.

I would like to say, in closing, before I answer a few questions, that you also believe in hard work. The unemployment rate 3 1/2 years ago in January was 63 percent higher for the Jacksonville area than it is now, and that shows that in spite of difficulties with the economy, you have continued to make progress. And I think that your great mayor and the people who support him here are the root of that confidence and that progress.

So, thank you for this good welcome for me. And I'm deeply grateful as President to be here in a place that makes me proud to serve the greatest nation on Earth.

And now I'd like to answer a few questions if you don't mind. Yes, sir?

QUESTIONS

THE ECONOMY

Q. [Inaudible]—we have talked about a tax cut. We are somewhat opposed to a tax cut at this time. We feel that it would be inflationary. And we would like to have your comments on—put people back to work, make them a taxpayer instead of this system of welfare. And I would like to have your comments on inflation, particularly.

THE PRESIDENT. I was pleased yesterday to get some good news on the housing starts in this country. Compared to the previous month, they were up 30 percent. This is part of a general response to the rapid fall in recent months of the interest rates, first of all, and secondly and following that very rapidly, a drop in the inflation rate. This will do a lot to give people more money in their own pocket; with the inflation rate being lower, able to purchase homes, automobiles, consumer goods. And when they purchase a home or an automobile or a refrigerator or a stove, then people who make those products can go back to work. So, I believe that the corrective action is built in.

We will stand firm, hold a steady course on economics. It is not easy in an election year, because it is so easy to promise magic answers from massive tax cuts. This has been proposed by some, but I will not do that until I'm sure that we're in control of inflation. And until I'm sure that the Federal Government has exercised proper discipline in setting an example for the rest of the Nation, I see no reason for moving ahead on a tax cut.

My belief is that in 1981 we will be prepared to take steps, including a tax cut, to hurry along a little bit the economic recovery. We don't want to stimulate the economy too much, because we don't want to rekindle the fires of inflation. That's what we've tried to do.

And also in the last few years, since I've been in office, we've tried to focus our attention on those kind of things that would provide long-term benefits for our people. I won't go into any detail about it. But one thing is that we've focused Federal help for education by a 73-percent increase in Federal funds, but leaving control of the schools at the local level of government. And we've also made it possible now so that virtually every child in the United States can get a college education regardless of the economic status of the family involved. That's the kind of progress that we've tried to make in just one of those services.

So, investments in energy, as you say, is going to be an exciting, stimulating, dynamic, wonderful opportunity for Americans in the future, something that we have never experienced before. How to do two things to cut down on oil imports: One is to save energy, with all kinds of conservation measures that would give us a better life, not a worse life; and the other one, to produce energy of all kinds other than to buy oil from overseas. This year we will send overseas $9 [90] billion of American money to buy foreign oil. It's hard for me to visualize what a billion dollars is, but what that amounts to is every man, woman, and child in the United States will, in effect, send $400 overseas, money that could be invested here. We've made the first steps toward a great investment in America's future, not only a better life for us but better security as well.

I thank you for what you said.

FEDERAL PROGRAMS FOR MINORITIES

Q. Mr. President, Edward Dawkins, president of the local chapter of the NAACP. Mr. President, what plans do you have to eradicate the inequality that blacks experience in employment, or in other words, what is your formula for the proper mix of economic, manpower, education, equal opportunity, and affirmative action to achieve equality in employment for blacks?

THE PRESIDENT. Thank you very much.

One thing that we have done, that's only now being felt in the country, is to require by law that in all the public works projects financed by the Federal Government, which is your tax money to require that 10 percent of that money goes to firms owned by minority citizens of our country. This was a proposal that was first scorned and laughed at by even some Members of the Congress, but it passed and we've been protecting the legality of that commitment in the Federal court.

Only a week or so ago, as you may remember, Ed, the Supreme Court ruled that this was indeed both a constitutional and legal requirement that when we have major public works projects, 10 percent of that commitment should go to minority-owned firms. As a matter of fact, we will do more than 10 percent; that's a minimum. We'll probably meet a goal of about 15 percent.

We've more than tripled already the investment of Federal funds—after they are collected, before they are spent—in minority-owned banks. And in the last 2 years, we have tripled the number of radio and TV stations that are owned by minority American citizens.

I have put in control, in the executive branch of Government, of the administration of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and other agencies the same civil rights workers that risked their lives, as a matter of fact, to eliminate segregation in this country. This is one of the best things that ever happened to the South—to Florida, to Georgia, to other parts of the South—and also one of the best things that ever happened to our Nation. And I have put people who are dedicated—with their lives, if necessary-to achieve equality, to make sure that under the present laws that those laws are carried out fairly.

The other thing that I've tried to do is to remember that even though all of the white people in this room might be deeply dedicated to fairness and to justice under the law, it takes people who are black and who have been deprived and who have seen their families suffer from discrimination to understand the long-range effect of just simple decisions that are made in the city council or made in the Federal Communications Commission or made in the Federal Trade Commission or, particularly, made in the Federal courts.

I don't want to make my answer too long, because I want to answer several other questions. But I have been able, since I've been President—only 3¼ years, as you know—to appoint more women Federal judges, more Spanish-speaking Federal judges, and more black Federal judges than all the other Presidents who have served our Nation in almost 200 years, and I am not through yet.

Thank you, Ed.

HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL WASTES

Q. I'm Julia Buckingham, president of the League of Women Voters of Jacksonville. Mr. President, a rash of recent incidents resulting from improper disposal of hazardous waste has made it clear that hazardous waste management practices, both past and present, represent a threat to the environment and to public health. The creation of a superfund to pay the cost to clean up and containment of releases of hazardous materials has been a major environmental priority for your administration. With this session of Congress drawing to a close, what are your plans to ensure passage of good, strong superfund legislation?

THE PRESIDENT. When I was Governor and when I served on local governments as well and when I campaigned around this Nation, it became increasingly evident to me that because Americans had not faced up to this problem in past years, that it had reached almost crisis size.

The Love Canal incident in New York State has been highly publicized, because there was, in effect, a garbage dump for chemical wastes for generations. And now, all of a sudden, people started dying; they have something wrong with their blood. The reports are that some of them might be seriously injured in the future. We don't know for sure yet about the permanent consequences. But we've had to move 700 families out of that region, because they had built their homes in a place they thought was safe.

We have about 50,000 places potentially like that in this country, where hazardous chemical wastes have in the past been dumped, and the people who lived there didn't really know it. As a matter of fact, the people who dumped the waste didn't know about the long-term effects of some of those chemicals. It would cost the Federal Government an unbelievable amount of money if the taxpayers of the Nation had to pay all of the damages that have been caused and to clean up those dump sites and to determine who is legally responsible.

So, what we thought we would do, after literally almost 2 years of hard work, was to set up a kind of insurance fund; we call it the super fund. It doesn't involve very much public money—a little bit of taxpayers' money to administer the program. But what it will do is this—to oversimplify a complicated thing. It will require chemical manufacturers to add a very tiny percent to the cost of their product, and the people who buy those chemicals will pay a little bit more, not enough to really hurt. Out of that small amount that's withheld, we will create, in effect, an insurance fund to help over a long period to clean up those dump sites and also help to pay for damages once those damages are revealed.

The Congress has responded well to this proposal, and it's making good progress in the House and has strong support in the Senate. It's one of the five or six top priority bills of my administration. I think that I can predict to you that because of widespread support from the League of Women Voters and many others—and not opposed, by the way, by the chemical industry or others—that this is the proper way to go about correcting this longstanding problem. I believe we will be successful. And when we are successful, it'll help every community in the Nation.

THE ECONOMY

Q. Do you feel, Mr. President, that you can continue your anti-inflationary efforts and avoid a severe depression that we appear to be sliding toward?

THE PRESIDENT. Yes, I think so. The reason I say that without too much hesitation is that our Nation is inherently so strong, with natural resources, with human resources, people eager to work, with a free enterprise system that brings out the best in industries and in workers, and with an accommodation by the American people of rapidly changing circumstances. Our country has always been on the cutting edge of change. We have an ability, because of the freedom in this Nation, when something does come up that we did not anticipate, a new circumstance, like a shortage of energy, to correct past mistakes and to make plans for the future to accommodate those new problems that face us. We have done this in the last 3 1/2 years, with the Congress passing, finally, legislation to set up a national energy policy.

We have been through, in 1979 and the first part of 1980, an unprecedented increase in oil prices. OPEC raised the price of oil in 12 months more than the price of oil had gone up since the first day it was discovered back in the 1800's. So, the whole world has suffered from a shock of that highly increased price of oil. Americans have cut down on their consumption, which has helped. But it created inflation that is all over the world. Israel has an inflation rate over 200 percent per year. Ours is too high.

As you know, both the interest rate and the inflation rate were approaching 20 percent before our economy adjusted to take care of this shock of OPEC oil prices and some others. But since March, when I announced my anti-inflation package, you've seen the interest rates drop very rapidly. As a matter of fact, the prime rate was dropping about 1 percent per week, and now most interest rates are lower today than they were 12 months ago. The inflation rate is coming down also very rapidly, and I predict to you that later on in the summer you'll see the inflation rate reach fairly low levels.

We've still got a basic rate that's too high, but I don't believe that we ought to panic. And if I took corrective action now, like a very massive tax reduction—I think Governor Reagan has proposed a 30-percent cut in Federal income taxes over a 3-year period; that's $280 billion by the year 1985—the shock of that and all that flood of extra money coming into the economy, I think, would restimulate the inflationary spiral in a devastating way.

So, my commitment, in spite of pressures in an election year, is to hold firm and let our economy continue to progress-the inflation rate, the interest rates, now lower; housing starts, much better than they were before; the American people, confident in ourselves. And we'll have a massive stimulation, in effect, from the new investment that we will make in better ways to conserve energy, to weatherize homes, to produce synthetic fuels. I think here in Jacksonville, in Blount Island, you'll have a mixture of coal and oil, that I think we've just given, I think, a million dollar grant for. But I see a bright future for this Nation.

I want to close my answers by saying I don't want to paint too rosy a picture for you. I don't think it would be good to mislead the American people. But we're not suffering severely yet. I don't believe that we will suffer severely. We are much better able to take care of those who are temporarily unemployed than we were back in 1973 or 1974, when we had a recession then. A family that has an unemployed person in it, however, is suffering severely, and we want to make sure that that family realizes that the corrective actions are built in, and if the economy should get worse than I think it is, I would not hesitate to take additional action. But now I believe a steady course, probably a tax reduction and other stimulating efforts in 1981, is the best course to follow. I don't want to revitalize, though, the inflationary spiral.

Q. Mr. President, I would like to, first of all, thank you for the call, the phone call I received from you at the White House.

THE PRESIDENT. Thank you, Ed.

Q. Also, I would like to, with your approval, get with three or four people from this group, look over our needs, community needs, clear them through the mayor's office, and make them known to the proper agency at the Washington level, with your permission.

THE PRESIDENT. Nothing would suit me better. I called Ed Pope, because like many of you, he's a long-time friend of mine. And I'm really glad to see you so well and here today.

CHILD WELFARE AND HEALTH CARE

Q. Mr. President. I'm Carol Lormer, representing the Junior League of Jacksonville. In the area of child action, we would like to thank you for your quick action on the child welfare reform legislation, but we urge Sou to work actively for an appropriation to fund this bill. What do you see as the outlook for the child health legislation?

THE PRESIDENT. I think it's fairly good. The new child welfare bill that was passed was long overdue. It was really landmark legislation, and it didn't get very much publicity. But I think that this will change, literally, the attitude of American people toward children who come from a divided home and who don't have permanent parents. In the past we've done too much to provide Government redtape to prevent people who hunger for parents and to prevent parents who hunger for children, if they can't have children of their own, from getting together.

Also, our commitment to women, infants', and children health care has already been more than tripled since I've been in office. The CHAMPUS program, which is primarily—for those of you who are not so well familiar with it—a preventive health program for little children. It gives Federal funds to examine a child at a very early life, beginning really at a prenatal stage, and then when a child is an infant, to see if they've got any congenital defects or any potential defects in the child that might be very costly as an adult to society if they are not corrected. We've made great progress on immunization programs as well.

My own philosophy of government is if you can prevent a person from being dependent on society by doing corrective action quite early in a person's life to prevent an unnecessary illness or to let a person develop their full potential that God has given them, it's a very, very good investment. I believe that we will see these programs adequately financed, and we have asked, as you know, in spite of a very stringent budget for 1981, to triple the funds for that particular project.

Yes, sir?

BLACK COLLEGES

Q. Mr. President, I'm Bishop Morris of the AME Church and chairman of the Black Leadership Council of Jacksonville. As the chairman of the board of trustees of Edward Waters College, I have a very serious concern about the survival of the historical black colleges. We appreciate your directive in January 1979, directing the Federal agencies to give greater support to the black colleges. And in connection with that, you established an office, a black college initiative office, in order to ensure compliance. Since the creation of the new Department of Education, however, it appears that that office is being phased out. I understand that the director has resigned and that many of the staff have left.

Now, my question is, what is the status of that office? Is it being phased out, and if so, what assurance can you give that your initiative is going to be followed through in the matter of the support of these historical black colleges?

THE PRESIDENT. I'll have to find out the answer to the first part of your question, because I'm not familiar with the fact that the special office on the black colleges is being phased out.

When I became President, and having been the Governor of Georgia, where the Atlanta University complex was so significant for changing the social structure of our Nation, I became familiar with the importance of a predominantly black college in the societal structure of our whole country. When I got there, I found that the black colleges were being neglected. And I asked you and some others, Benjamin Hays from Atlanta and others, to come up to see me, to meet with me in the Cabinet Room, and you all brought to me a list of things that you thought ought to be done to revitalize the black colleges. I think we did almost everything that you asked for.

I also sent a directive—I think it was early in '79, as you pointed out—to all of the agencies in the Federal Government, whether they dealt directly with education or not, and asked them, in the allocation of research funds, in the allocation of Government grants, and so forth, not to forget the importance of strengthening the black colleges in our country. Since then, we've continued that effort, and I believe that we are well on the way now to preventing the deterioration of the predominantly black colleges in our country. Again, in spite of a very stringent 1981 fiscal year budget to control inflation, I advocated the $15 million increase in money to go specifically for the strengthening of the black colleges.

But, Bishop Morris, if you will let me, I will find out about the particular office to which you refer, talk to Secretary Shirley Hufstedler about it. I think in the new Department of Education, one of the last things I want to see is the black colleges forgotten. So, I'll be back in touch with you within a day or two about the status of that office.

Yes, sir? Mr. Brown?

WINDFALL PROFITS TAX

Q. I would like to ask you about the windfall profits tax. It is my understanding that it will generate roughly $50 billion over the next 2 years, according to the present legislation. But there is no money earmarked for human resource services. Would you consider the inclusion of a human resource support out of that money?

THE PRESIDENT. Well, the money will actually amount to roughly $227 billion over a period of 10 years. As you know, this is a tax on the excess profits of the oil companies, brought about by increasing oil prices. Eighty-eight billion dollars of that, roughly, will go to provide new sources of energy, and I think 15 percent of the total will go to help the poor people. It's not designed for social services, but it is designed to help families both heat and cool their homes. We've increased this amount every year in the last 3 years.

I don't believe that I would recommend, I don't believe that Congress would go along with just putting that money in a general fund, because when they did pass it, they specified certain things for which it can be used. One, by the way, is to reduce taxes—I don't think that's a prospect now, but sometime in the future. Another one is to conserve energy by helping, particularly, poor people weatherize their homes, so that they can use less energy. Another one is to send cash payments to someone who has an increased fuel oil bill or heating gas bill. And, of course, others are to generate, as I said, new jobs with synthetic fuels.

But I don't think that it's possible, under that particular money, to spread it out and make it a general fund allocation. We now have about a third of our total Federal budget that goes for caring for elderly people; I would guess that that ratio will probably continue. But I don't believe I want to take the windfall profit tax money and broaden it any further than the Congress has already passed. It was hard enough for me to get that tax passed. [Laughter] And I don't want to open up a door any more to let the oil companies escape through it, while I'm trying to help the poor folks.

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITIES

Q. [Inaudible] What have been some of the achievements of the last 4 years of your administration in meeting that problem? And do you think that big government can ever be eliminated in American democracy?

THE PRESIDENT. I doubt that big government can be eliminated, because the Federal Government is responsible for the defense of our Nation; the Federal Government is responsible for handling money that is paid in through a lifetime by a working person so that they can have security after they retire, with social security, for instance; the Federal Government also collects tax money and, in effect, turns around and gives it right back for Medicare and Medicaid, to give good health for our people, to prevent infant diseases, as I described; and it is responsible for some elements of the highway system, like the Interstate Highway System, and parts of the secondary roads.

The Federal Government is becoming increasingly responsible for the operation of some of the railroads, not the strong, well-managed, profitable railroads in the Southeast, but some are on the verge of collapse. [Laughter] And if we had the same kind of management all over the Nation, we could keep the Federal Government out. But there are some roles that the Federal Government is required to play because of the failure of the nongovernmental sector, and there are some other roles, like national defense, that the Federal Government has to carry out.

We've made good progress, I think, on zero-base budgeting. Every item of the Federal Government is now scrubbed every year, and we put the old programs on the same basis as the brand new programs in the allocation of funds. Several other States have done that; I started that program, as you may know, in Georgia. We've tried to hold down the Federal Government employment rolls. We have 20,000 fewer Federal Government employees, or did the first of March, than we had the day I came in office, in spite of substantial increases in Federal expenditures. And we set a goal for ourselves, by hiring restraint, that by the end of this fiscal year, the first day of October, to reduce that by 20,000 more. At the same time, we've greatly increased the allocation of funds for defense, with a steady growth in real terms.

I think the important thing, also, is that we have cut paperwork by 15 percent, and we've begun a long effort to deregulate private industry. We've been successful in deregulating the airlines. We have been successful now in deregulating the trucking industry to a major degree. We have already deregulated investment institutions, banks, savings and loans, and so forth; I signed that bill earlier this year. We're working on rail deregulation now, which I hope will be successful. We're trying to deregulate to a major degree the communication industry.

So, we're trying to get Government's nose out of the private lives of our citizens and out of the private enterprise system as much as possible. But there are some roles that the Federal Government must continue to play. And I would say that the Federal Government is going to continue year by year to get a little bit larger, but to restrict its role to just those things that private citizens and State and local government cannot do.

My own belief is that whenever government must function, it can function better in a local community, and when a role can be carried out by a private citizen or group of citizens on a fair and equal basis under the American Constitution, that it ought to be done without government involvement at all. That's what I've been working for. I think we're making good progress.

Maybe one more question. Yes?

URBAN DEVELOPMENT ACTION GRANTS

Q. Mr. President, I represent a group of businessmen in the redevelopment of our downtown. We've been somewhat frustrated, because under our consolidated form of government, we don't qualify for UDAG funds for downtown development.

THE PRESIDENT. I know.

Q. I wonder if you have any plans to broaden the eligibility requirement to enable communities like Jacksonville to qualify.

THE PRESIDENT. Well, there are two things that you'd have to do to qualify: One is to have more people out of work, and the other one, to be poorer. [Laughter] I don't believe there's much likelihood to broaden the definition of the requirements, but I would like to point out that you more than compensate for it with the dynamism and the growth and the strength of your community. I'll just give you a couple of examples.

Last year, for instance, I believe you got in excess of $10 million for local public transportation. This is more than three times as much as you got in 1976. It's because the community got together, presented a workable plan to the Federal Government agencies, primarily the Department of Transportation, and then in competition with other communities around the Nation, you won, because you were better prepared, knew what you wanted, and moved forward on it. I think the revitalization of your downtown area has been one of the remarkable success stories of the entire country.

And the new project that we just announced on Blount Island, I think the Federal Government ought to put a million dollars in it. This would be something that would be beneficial to you in the future, and nobody knows what the ultimate size or growth of that might be.

I think you just had more than a halfmillion dollars allocated to revitalize, I think, nine of your public parks, primarily in the poorer sections of the community.

And when we've increased Federal funds for public education, I think more than 70 percent in the last 3 years, Jacksonville has more than gotten its share. We have now a situation in our country where every child, as I said earlier, no matter what the economic condition of their family might be, has a chance to go to college. If they are qualified academically, they can go to college with loans or grants or work-study programs.

We have, I think, got a good record on EDA grants for Jacksonville. And, as you know, on your people mover, we are now trying to figure out, with my personal help, how Jacksonville can qualify, although you are more prosperous and your unemployment rate is very low, less than 5 percent in Jacksonville. We're trying to find some way under the law so that you can qualify, because you've done such a good job in other respects.

But I don't want to apologize for you, because you've done such a good job in keeping your people at work. But a lot of those programs, in order for the Congress to pass them, are earmarked for communities that are in much worse shape economically than is Jacksonville and Duval County. I have a great admiration for what you've done here, and within the bounds of the law, you've got a friend in the Oval Office who will help you get your share of the tax money that you pay.

Let me say, in closing, that I've really enjoyed this session. I don't claim to know all the answers. The Federal Government is enormously complicated, and there are literally thousands of bills in the Congress every year. I try to stay up with them as much as I can. But these are challenging times. And my whole belief is that the partnership that presently exists under our urban policy between local, State, and the Federal Government is unprecedented in its effectiveness. It was designed by mayors and by county officials, with the help of Governors. And when it was finally put together, then I adopted as my own as President, and it was passed through the Congress. And I think it's worked remarkably well.

When I ran for President the first time in 1976, everywhere I went the picture was of America's cities going down the drain. It was not only New York City, but it was Philadelphia and Detroit and San Francisco, all over this Nation. Now there's a different spirit and a different attitude and a different level of achievement. We haven't solved all the problems; that's true. But it would be hard for you to go into a community where the mayor was nonpartisan, Democrat, or Republican and not have that mayor say that we have really made a lot of progress in the last 3 years in solving the problems of our cities and our communities and facing the future with confidence and the American commitment to realizing a dream of a better life for all our citizens, not just a few. Thank you.

Q. Thank you very much for being here. Mr. President, I can't tell you how proud we are of the job you're doing and how we respect the job and the office. And we know that you carry burdens everywhere you go. I'm glad you had a little time off to—he's been telling me about fly fishing. He's an expert now. [Laughter]

Let me tell you one story. He's got to get out, but I've got to tell you. He was telling me that he was up in Alaska fishing. And everybody around him wasn't doing a thing, and he was catching fish left and right. And they finally went over to one of the Secret Service and said, "How does he do that?" And they said, "He makes his own flies." And so they all came over and borrowed his flies, and then they started catching some fish. [Laughter]

THE PRESIDENT. I have enjoyed fishing lately. I also caught some sea trout on a fly rod. [Laughter]

But I'm glad to see you all again. And it makes me a lot more confident about my ability to do a good job as President, knowing I've got partners like you.

Thank you very much.