Bill Clinton: “Yes, I can say that categorically. The Pentagon has considered very carefully what the possible threats to this…”

“Yes, I can say that categorically. The Pentagon has considered very carefully what the possible threats to this country's security are and before making any of those recommendations. But let me also say one of the things that I have advocated very strongly--and just in the last couple of days I've talked to Senator Graham and Governor Chiles about this--is releasing the money that was approved last year by the Congress to rebuild Homestead for purposes that will permit us always to have access to joint use of that air base if we need it. And let me just mention that Secretary Aspin and I had another long conversation yesterday morning about this. We want to rebuild the airstrip and make sure that it is adequate to take any kind of planes. We need to rebuild the control tower. We want the facility, during the transition period, at a minimum to be available for use for the Reserves, for the Guard, for the DEA, for any Coast Guard operations, all of the things that might make possible long-term dual use planning and would also make the base a valuable facility in the event that the community decided that they wanted to have it for some potential commercial use, or in the event that we can use it for both commercial and Government uses. So in any case, we're going to rebuild the capacity of the air base to actually engage in operations, which I think is terribly important. Federal Rebuilding Effort”