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THE WHITE HOUSE

                     Office of the Press Secretary
                        (Long Beach, California)         
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                  February 23, 1995

                             PRESS BRIEFING
                                   BY 
                              MIKE MCCURRY 
                                    
                        McDonnell Douglas Plant
                         Long Beach, California

12:02 P.M. PST

MR. MCCURRY: I'll take any other questions that you've got an interest in and Bob Bell from the NSC is here if you've got specific questions about the C-17.

A couple of people have asked about the numbers the President used in his remarks versus the numbers in the pool. The numbers in the pool report reflect the California job impact of the entire C-17 contract. The President, as he was addressing the McDonnell Douglas employees used numbers that relate just the McDonnell Douglas aspects of that.

That's the difference between $14 billion and $16.6 billion for the overall multiyear contract which is the total C-17 project. The extra is principally, Bob, the Pratt & Whitney portion of the contract for the engines. That's the distinction in the numbers there. The President was talking using the numbers that are relevant to the McDonnell Douglas employees. The numbers in the pool report are the overall scope of the contract.

Anything else that we need to --

Q Can you give us a readout on the President's --

MR. MCCURRY: Yes. The President, as indicated in your pool report, President Clinton placed calls to both Prime Minister Major and Prime Minister Bruton to discuss the Northern Ireland peace process en route from Washington to California. Both were warm, cordial, encouraging calls to the President. The President offered to do anything he could to help the parties continue the search for peace in Northern Ireland, and, most importantly, return to a cease-fire that would mean so much to the people of Northern Ireland. He offered to remain in contact with them. He reviewed with Prime Minister Major the meeting that Senator Mitchell had just, I believe, day before yesterday with Prime Minister Major. And the President, as I say, was encouraged as a result of the calls that the parties are continuing the search for a formula that will make good the promise of the Downing Street Declaration.

Q Has Nick Burns been asked to tone down his rhetoric on Farrakhan in State Department briefings?

MR. MCCURRY: The question was the same one I got at the briefing the other day about Nick Burns whether he had been ask to tone down comments. Not at all. The State Department spokesman, who raised great concern about the recent itinerary and visits of Minister Louis Farrakhan in Africa, spoke for the United States government when he raised serious concerns about the itinerary, about the meetings, and about what appeared to be fraternization with leaders of governments that the United States government abhors.

Anything else? We'll be around today, but our intent now by having this briefing is to pretty much give you the balance of the day off. And we'll be available immediately after the President's meeting with Prime Minister Hashimoto this evening to give you a quick readout. We believe it will most likely conform very closely to what Ambassador Mondale just briefed.

See you all later.

END 12:05 P.M. PST