Bill Clinton: “Thank you very much, please be seated--everybody except you. [Laughter] I want to say first of all, whenever I am with a…”

“Thank you very much, please be seated--everybody except you. [Laughter] I want to say first of all, whenever I am with a group from our Nation's small towns and cities, I always feel at home. I've just come from a number of meetings. Mayor Cisneros, you should have been with me. We just had a health care briefing with leaders from cities and counties and States around the country. And then I met with the Association of Black Mayors. But I'm especially glad to be here, because one of the cities represented here is from my previous hometown of Little Rock--and I'm glad to see Mayor Sharon Priest here and Lottie Shackleford from the City of Little Rock, Congressman Thornton, and a lot of my other friends are here--along with all the other cities who won in 1992 and who are being recognized in 1993. Before he became the chairman of the Housing and Urban Development-- or the Secretary of the Housing and Urban Development Department, Henry Cisneros was the chairman of the National Civic League. And as we recognize that League for this program today, I'd also like to thank the group for generously surrendering Mr. Cisneros to the administration. [Laughter] Last week in Cleveland with Mayor Mike White, who's also here to be recognized, the Vice President and I announced how we want to change the way our National Government works and how we work with State and local government to encourage more of the kinds of successes we salute today. We believe if we can streamline Federal grant programs so that mayors can worry more about what works for their community rather than what works for grant administrators in the Federal bureaucracy, our country will work better, and we'll get more for our tax dollars. We believe that by cutting paperwork, we'll get the money to the local level more quickly and save the taxpayers money at the same time. I also want to commend our mayors for the struggle to provide health care to the citizens of our cities in spite of the barriers to access, in spite of skyrocketing costs, in spite of underfunded public health clinics and overtaxed institutions and not very much leadership from this capital for quite a long time. With the mayors' help, we can bring about comprehensive, affordable health care for all Americans and free up more of our strapped State and local budgets to invest in jobs and growth and opportunity for our people. I want to now congratulate the mayors and the delegations from each of our All-American Cities. This prestigious award recognizes America's heroes who have taken responsibility for their communities, who form partnerships among citizens, local government, and private businesses to ensure that we meet the urgent needs of our people and open new opportunities for our neighbors. The 1992 winners are here along with the 1993 winners because there was no ceremony last year. So very briefly I am going to recognize all the 1992 winners, and I think they are to my right, is that right? I will acknowledge the mayor and the city, and then if anybody is here from the city I call out, I want you to stand up, too. First of all, Mayor John Williams from Kenai, Alaska. Anybody else here? How many people live there, Mayor? Mayor Williams. Seven thousand.”