Bill Clinton: “I rise today to bring to our attention two distinct problems facing our States and particularly our communities in New…”

“I rise today to bring to our attention two distinct problems facing our States and particularly our communities in New York as a result of the attacks on September 11. I have just come from a meeting with a number of mayors from cities all over the country, including mayors who joined us by conference phone, Democrats, Republicans, large cities, medium- and small-sized cities. They all have said with a single voice that the impact on our public safety infrastructure of the attacks is such that they are bleeding dollars. They are paying overtime constantly to our police officers, our firefighters, our first responders. They do not have the funds to provide the protection and the quick response our citizens deserve and expect. I can speak specifically about New York. We have an economic situation where we face a $10 billion shortfall in State revenues over the next 18 months. In addition, our New York State comptroller, Carl McCall, has identified $940 million in potential State and local government costs due to the current congruence of events.”