Bill Clinton: “Okay. No, no. There wasn't $17 billion, I don't think. Do you all know what he's talking about? The Federal Government…”

“Okay. No, no. There wasn't $17 billion, I don't think. Do you all know what he's talking about? The Federal Government owns land--that's a very good question. I'm glad you asked it. The Federal Government owns a lot of land on which there are trees, cattle, and minerals to be mined. Most people believe, and it's absolutely true, that essentially people have been permitted to use that land, mostly out west, to cut trees, graze cattle, and mine minerals at lower than a market rate. Now, all the people who do that have good reasons why they think the system is good, and I don't know if we've got any of those folks in the audience, but I feel that the mining fees should be raised. Originally we had, originally--he's right--we had that in our original budget. And we took it out not to take a dive on it but because, since it's a new issue, under the parliamentary rules of the Senate, we'd be subject to a filibuster. That is, you have to get 60 votes, not a majority, to pass the budget. So we are moving now a new mining reform law through the Congress which will do exactly what you say. We just had to agree to do it on a separate track. The mining reform is on track. I believe this year I will sign a mining reform law which you will be very proud of, which will require those companies to pay back to the Treasury more nearly the value of what they have gotten from the United States Government, and it will be good for the environment. It's a good question. It's going through on a separate track, and we had to break it out for parliamentary reasons because of the opposition to it in the Senate. [The network took a commercial break.] White House Staff Ms. Zahn. We're back in the Rose Garden live with a 2-hour town meeting with President Clinton. Before we get back to our audience, a quick question to you about staff. There has been a lot of criticism that you've surrounded yourself by young and inexperienced people. There has been talk that maybe there are going to be some major shakeups over the next couple of days. Are you entirely satisfied with the White House staff you have in place?”