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- 1 -
THE PRESIDENT HAS SEEN
4-5-99
We're going to start another Easter Egg Roll in just a few
moments. Before we do, I want to say a few words about the
men and women of our Armed Forces, who are undertaking a
mission in the Balkans for the sake of our national interests,
our values and our children's future. Our thoughts and prayers
are with them.
Ru-
loth LEW you
196
EOB
DRAFT
April 2, 1999
POTUS PARTICIPATION IN ANNUAL WHITE HOUSE EASTER EGG ROLL
DATE:
Monday, April 5
LOCATION:
Reception, State Floor
Event, South Lawn
TIME:
9:15 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
STAFF CONTACT:
Melinda Bates, 6-2324
I.
PURPOSE
You participate in this annual White House Easter event by hosting a breakfast reception,
making remarks from a stage on the driveway, and blowing a whistle.
II.
BACKGROUND
A traditional White House event, since Rutherford and Lucy Hayes, dating back to 1878. This
is the 121st White House Easter Egg Roll. We expect 30,000 guests. 400 terminally ill or
disabled children are the first on the lawn at 8:00 am.
This year, the White House Easter Egg They Ron will feature an innovative effort called Prescription
Lidna
or
for Reading. Launched by the First Lady two years ago, the Prescription for Reading initiative
works
uses the influence of doctors, health care professionals and librarians to ensure that all children
become successful readers, Doctors "prescribe" reading for parents and their children, writing
actual prescriptions for this important family activity. This year at the White House Easter Egg
Roll, children and families will receive "Prescriptions for Reading" signed by the First Lady and
X
Surgeon General David Satcher. Families will be able to "fill" these prescriptions on the White
House South Lawn by receiving a book donated by Scholastic, Inc..
Children will again roll and dye eggs on the lawn. A 40 foot giant nest is available for
children to climb. Presidential re-enactors, entertainers, Cabinet Secretaries, the Chief of
Staff, Maria Echaveste, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dawn Small's mother, and others, present stories,
music and fables on five stages. Children can learn how to send and receive an e-mail to and
from you and can write a spring or Easter greeting card. One tent hosts a CD Rom
presentation about the White House and 5-A-Day nutrition. Once again embassies are
showcased in Springtime Traditions. Kodak provides digital photos with the White House in
the background for families. Each child takes home a souvenir wooden Easter egg. Each
family is given an Easter Egg Roll poster and an Easter Egg Roll Book.
ul) our Presents to newly inchang (ardd invotimente in thered intiat we
Lunghd by N plst Leg 2 gas agor this at (me
Mot works forth li years jointy to T employee does health N impt of ready childer. to 03
III.
PARTICIPANTS
HRC
200 Reception guests, sponsors, contributors
Celebrity reader:
Jamie Lee Curtis, who will read her book "Today I Feel Silly
and Other Moods That Make My Day"
President and First Lady interpreters: George and Martha Washington, Thomas
Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Abigail Adams and Benjamin
Bannecker.
IV. PRESS PLAN
Pool press for your remarks
National Press for nightly news
V. SEQUENCE OF EVENTS TBD-
You host sponsors and celebrity entertainers at a breakfast on the State Floor. This year there
is one breakfast, from 9:15 a.m. to 9:55 a.m. Following the reception you both exit from the
Red Room, descending the stairs to a stage on the driveway while the Marine Band plays In
Your Easter Bonnet. On stage Mrs. Clinton makes brief remarks, then you make remarks, and
blow the whistle handed to you by Bernie Fairbanks or a bunny. The egg roll lanes are
directly in front of the stage, press are to your right. You then descend the stairs, work the
ropeline, if you wish, and proceed to the Diplomatic Reception Room. There you greet two
Make-a-Wish children, Mariniati Agus (13) and Nicholas Burrus (9), and depart.
VI. REMARKS
2 minutes
Remarks to be provided by Speechwriting
VII. RECEPTION
Receiving Line in the Blue Room. The first guests you greet are:
Poster presenter, Susan Loy. Susan designed last year's program and this year's poster.
Egg presenters Colleen Anderson, Chairman of American Egg Board and Lou Raffel,
President of American Egg Board. This year's egg is an image of the White House decorated
with 3,456 seed pearls displayed in a ceramic basket. (Kaye Faraca, President of the
International Egg Art Guild, is the artist).
Other sponsors and contributors.
04/02/99 FRI 15:47 FAX 202 456 7805
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the First Lady
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NTACT:
MARSHA BERR
APRIL 2, 1999
TOBY GRAFF
JULIE MASON
202-456-2960
WHITE HOUSE EASTER EGG ROLL
SCHEDULED FOR MONDAY, APRIL 5, 1999
Washington, D.C. The White House will hold its annual Easter Egg Roll on Monday, April 5,
1999. The Easter festivities include an Easter Egg Roll for children aged 3 - 6, story-telling,
historical re-enactments, musical performances, and other entertainment. Activities will take
place from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., on the South Lawn and the Ellipse.
The Easter Egg Roll has been an American tradition since the mid-19th century. The
celebration, begun on the Capitol grounds, was moved to the White House's South Lawn in 1878
by Lucy Hayes, wife of President Rutherford B. Hayes. Approximately 30,000 children and
families are expected to participate in the Easter activities.
Mon
This year, the Easter Egg Roll will highlight Prescription for Reading, an innovative effort to
emphasize the importance of reading to children. Based on reeent research showing that reading
to children in their first years of life enhances their healthy development In January 1997 First
Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton called on booksellers, publishers, libraries, hospitals, pediatricians,
health centers and others to work together to make sure that infants and toddlers who come to the
doctor have access to books and are read to regularly. In response to Mrs. Clinton's challenge,
the Prescription for Reading thership was bom to coordinate and build on existing efforts to
"prescribe" reading for children. As part of this initiative, children and families at the 1999
tody's
White House Easter Egg Roll will receive "Prescriptions for Reading", signed by First Lady
event
Hillary Rodham Clinton and Surgeon General David Satcher. Families will be able to "fill"
roll
these prescriptions OR the White House South Lawn for a free book donated by Scholastic, Inc
key member of the Prescription for Reading Partnership
As in years past, Administration officials and celebrities also will promote reading by
participating in story telling with children during the Easter festivities. Administration officials
reading aloud from their favorite books include: Attorney General Janet Reno, who will read
Janet, Queen of the Bunny Planet; and White House Chief of Staff John Podesta, who will read
Dawn and the Round-To-It Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater, Secretary of Labor
Alexis Herman, Surgeon General David Satcher, and U.S. Trade Representative Charlene
Barshefsky, will also join in reading books to children. Celebrity story-tellers include Jamie Lee
Curtis, who will read her own children's book, Today I Feel Silly, and Other Moods That Make
My Day.
- more -
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
March 31, 1997
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AT THE KICKOFF OF THE WHITE HOUSE EASTER EGG ROLL
The South Portico Balcony
11:20 A.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Let me say, first of all, it's getting warmer.
(Laughter.) And I want to thank all the sponsors who make this possible this year and the more
than 500 volunteers. A lot of them worked here all weekend. I went down and visited with
them. Let's give them all a big hand. Thank you very much. (Applause.)
This is the 119th year we've had the White House Easter Egg Roll, and every year it gets
a little better, I think, and a little different. We've worked hard to make this a good time not
only for children but for their parents and family members, so that we could have fun together
and we could learn together.
There is a Learn Big Things tent, which I hope you'll all visit. For many of the young
people, it will give them a first chance to log on to the Internet or even to visit our White House
homepage. There is a Learning Adventures tent where children can learn to use CD-ROMs and
learn about things like nutrition. Then there is the opportunity to do Easter Egg painting and to
listen to storytelling.
And I want to thank all the people who have been willing to be part of this, especially
one of our special guests today who is down here with us along with two of her four children, Dr.
Quinn Medicine Woman, Jane Seymour. Thank you, Jane, for coming. We're glad to have you
here. (Applause.)
And now, are they ready over there at the Easter Egg roll? Are you all ready? Now, you
can't start until I blow the whistle. On your mark -- are you ready? Come on, line up. Shape up
here. One of us needs to be able to run. (Laughter.) On your mark, get set, go. (Blows whistle.)
Thank you and God bless you. Happy Easter.
END
11:22 A.M. EST
http://www.pub.whitehouse.gov/uri-./oma.eop.gov.us/1997/3/31/3.text.1
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
March 31, 1997
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AT THE KICKOFF OF THE WHITE HOUSE EASTER EGG ROLL
The South Portico Balcony
11:20 A.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Let me say, first of all,
it's getting warmer. (Laughter.) And I want to thank all the
sponsors who make this possible this year and the more than 500
volunteers. A lot of them worked here all weekend. I went down and
visited with them. Let's give them all a big hand. Thank you very
much. (Applause.)
This is the 119th year we've had the White House Easter
Egg Roll, and every year it gets a little better, I think, and a
little different. We've worked hard to make this a good time not
only for children but for their parents and family members, so that
we could have fun together and we could learn together.
There is a Learn Big Things tent, which I hope you'll
all visit. For many of the young people, it will give them a first
chance to log on to the Internet or even to visit our White House
homepage. There is a Learning Adventures tent where children can
learn to use CD-ROMs and learn about things like nutrition. Then
there is the opportunity to do Easter Egg painting and to listen to
storytelling.
And I want to thank all the people who have been willing
to be part of this, especially one of our special guests today who is
down here with us along with two of her four children, Dr. Quinn
Medicine Woman, Jane Seymour. Thank you, Jane, for coming. We're
glad to have you here. (Applause.)
And now, are they ready over there at the Easter Egg
roll? Are you all ready? Now, you can't start until I blow the
whistle. On your mark -- are you ready? Come on, line up. Shape up
here. One of us needs to be able to run. (Laughter.) On your mark,
get set, go. (Blows whistle.)
Thank you and God bless you. Happy Easter.
END
11:22 A.M. EST
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THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
April 4, 1994
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AND FIRST LADY
AT EASTER EGG ROLL
The South Lawn
9:45 A.M. EDT
MRS. CLINTON: Well, welcome everyone to the Annual
Easter Egg Roll and the celebration of Easter and Spring here at the
White House. And we want to thank all of you for coming, and we
especially want to thank parents and grandparents and aunts and
uncles and big brothers and big sisters and friends for bringing all
of the children here today.
And I hope you have a chance to look at the program for
all of the events because we not only have the events for some of the
children here on the South Lawn, but we have lots of events going on
all day right behind you over by the Washington Monument on the
Ellipse. So there will be children over there who will be coming
here and we hope that you all will have a chance to go there to enjoy
everything that has been planned for today.
We are also very excited to thank all of the people who
helped put this on, and they are all listed in here. So many people
have worked so long and so hard to make this such a special day for
all of us. And I particularly want to thank Robyn Dickey of the
White House staff who coordinated all of this effort. I am so
grateful to her and to everybody who worked to make this possible.
One of the things that we do at the Easter Egg Roll is
to continue the tradition that started way, way back when President
Madison was President of the United States, and his wife, Dolley
Madison started the Easter Egg Roll. And we think that it's
wonderful that you can be doing things that children did nearly 200
years ago -- about 180 or 190 years ago -- and every year since then.
And so it's my real pleasure to introduce the President who is
following in the tradition of all the other presidents to be able to
kick off the celebration of the Easter Egg Roll -- President Clinton.
(Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. I am so glad to see all
of you here. I woke up before dawn this morning, and when I got out
just at dawn I already saw the Easter Bunnies out here walking around
plotting their strategies for the day and getting ready.
I want to thank everyone who has worked so hard on this,
and all the people who helped to sponsor it. But mostly, I just want
to welcome all the boys and girls here, all the families here, and to
thank all of you for being a part of this wonderful American
tradition. I hope you have a terrific time today. I assure you that
we're having a terrific time having you here. And I think we ought
to start. Are you ready to start?
AUDIENCE: Yes.
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THE PRESIDENT: Now we've got to get everybody lined up.
Line them up for the first roll. Now everybody, let me just say,
everybody who is here will get a -- all the children who are here,
not every adult, all the children who are here will get a souvenir
egg. Okay? And some of them were signed not just by the First Lady
and me -- some were signed by Socks. They're more valuable.
Are we ready? All right, when I blow the whistle we're
all going to start. Okay? So when I blow the whistle, all of you
cheer the kids on who are over there in the roll. Have we got a
deal? All right let's go. One, two, three, go!
END9:47 A.M. EDT
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THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
April 2, 1999
EASTER, 1999
Warm greetings to everyone celebrating Easter.
Today Christians across America and around the world commemorate
with great joy the central mystery of their faith: the Resurrection of
Jesus. In this season, we celebrate Christ's victory over sin and
death, and we rejoice in the new life that He won for us through His
suffering, death, and rising from the dead.
That new life empowers us to overcome sin and to recognize our
capacity for forgiveness and love. We have seen in our own communities
and in other nations across the globe the violence and human tragedy
spawned by hatred, intolerance, and fear born of ignorance. If we are
to destroy the roots of hatred, we must examine our own hearts and
actions and learn what we can and must do to build just communities
united in understanding and mutual respect. May this sacred season of
renewal, hope, and new beginnings inspire our efforts and light our way
to a brighter, more peaceful future.
Hillary joins me in extending best wishes for a blessed and joyous
Easter celebration.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON
# # #
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THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
March 24, 1999
STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
TO THE NATION
The Oval Office
8:01 P.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: My fellow Americans, today our Armed Forces joined
our NATO allies in air strikes against Serbian forces responsible
for the brutality in Kosovo. We have acted with resolve for several
reasons.
We act to protect thousands of innocent people in Kosovo from a
mounting military offensive. We act to prevent a wider war; to
diffusea powder keg at the heart of Europe that has exploded twice
before in this century with catastrophic results. And we act to
stand united with our allies for peace. By acting now we are
upholding our values, protecting our interests and advancing the
cause of peace.
Tonight I want to speak to you about the tragedy in Kosovo and
why it matters to America that we work with our allies to end it.
First, let me explain what it is we are responding to. Kosovo is a
province of Serbia, in the middle of southeastern Europe, about
160 miles east of Italy. That's less than the distance between
Washington and New York, and only about 70 miles north of Greece.
Its people are mostly ethnic Albanian and mostly Muslim.
In 1989, Serbia's leader, Slobadan Milosevic, the same leader who
started the wars in Bosnia and Croatia, and moved against Slovenia in
the last decade, stripped Kosovo of the constitutional autonomy its
people enjoyed; thus denying them their right to speak their language,
run their schools, shape their daily lives. For years, Kosovars
struggled peacefully to get their rights back. When President
Milosevic sent his troops and police to crush them, the struggle grew
violent.
Last fall our diplomacy, backed by the threat of force from our
NATO Alliance, stopped the fighting for a while, and rescued tens of
thousands of people from freezing and starvation in the hills where
they had fled to save their lives. And last month, with out allies
and Russia, we proposed a peace agreement to end the fighting for good.
The Kosovar leaders signed that agreement last week. Even though it
does not give them all the want, even though their people were still
being savaged, they saw that a just peace is better than a long and
unwinnable war.
The Serbian leaders, on the other hand, refused even to discuss key
elements of the peace agreement. As the Kosovars were saying "yes" to
peace, Serbia stationed 40,000 troops in and around Kosovo in
preparation for a major offensive -- and in clear violation of the
commitments they had made.
Now, they've started moving from village to village, shelling
civilians and torching their houses. We've seen innocent people
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taken from their homes, forced to kneel in the dirt and sprayed with
bullets; Kosovar men dragged from their families, fathers and sons
together, lined up and shot in cold blood. This is not war in the
traditional sense. It is an attack by tanks and artillery on a
largely defenseless people, whose leaders already have agreed to
peace.
Ending this tragedy is a moral imperative. It is also important
to America's national interest. Take a look at this map. Kosovo is
a small place, but it sits on a major fault line between Europe, Asia
and the Middle East, at the meeting place of Islam and both the
Western and Orthodox branches of Christianity. To the south are
our allies, Greece and Turkey; to the north, our new democratic
allies in Central Europe. And all around Kosovo there are other
small countries, struggling with their own economic and political
challenges -- countries that could be overwhelmed by a large, new
wave of refugees from Kosovo. All the ingredients for a major war
are there: ancient grievances, struggling democracies, and in the
center of it all a dictator in Serbia who has done nothing since
the Cold War ended but start new wars and pour gasoline on the
flames of ethnic and religious division.
Sarajevo, the capital of neighboring Bosnia, is where
World War I began. World War II and the Holocaust engulfed this
region. In both wars Europe was slow to recognize the dangers,
and the United States waited even longer to enter the conflicts.
Just imagine if leaders back then had acted wisely and early
enough, how many lives could have been saved, how many Americans
would not have had to die.
We learned some of the same lessons in Bosnia just a
few years ago. The world did not act early enough to stop that
war, either. And let's not forget what happened -- innocent
people herded into concentration camps, children gunned down by
snipers on their way to school, soccer fields and parks turned
into cemeteries; a quarter of a million people killed, not
because of anything they have done, but because of who they were.
Two million Bosnians became refugees. This was genocide in the
heart of Europe -- not in 1945, but in 1995. Not in some grainy
newsreel from our parents' and grandparents' time, but in our own
time, testing our humanity and our resolve.
At the time, many people believed nothing could be done
to end the bloodshed in Bosnia. They said, well, that's just the
way those people in the Balkans are. But when we and our allies
joined with courageous Bosnians to stand up to the aggressors, we
helped to end the war. We learned that in the Balkans, inaction
in the face of brutality simply invites more brutality. But
firmness can stop armies and save lives. We must apply that
lesson in Kosovo before what happened in Bosnia happens there,
too.
Over the last few months we have done everything we
possibly could to solve this problem peacefully. Secretary
Albright has worked tirelessly for a negotiated agreement. Mr.
Milosevic has refused.
On Sunday I sent Ambassador Dick Holbrooke to Serbia to
make clear to him again, on behalf of the United States and our
NATO allies, that he must honor his own commitments and stop his
repression, or face military action. Again, he refused.
Today, we and our 18 NATO allies agreed to do what we
said we would do, what we must do to restore the peace. Our
mission is clear: to demonstrate the seriousness of NATO's
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purpose so that the Serbian leaders understand the imperative of
reversing course. To deter an even bloodier offensive against
innocent civilians in Kosovo and, if necessary, to seriously
damage the Serbian military's capacity to harm the people of
Kosovo. In short, if President Milosevic will not make peace, we
will limit his ability to make war.
Now, I want to be clear with you, there are risks in
this military action -- risks to our pilots and the people on the
ground. Serbia's air defenses are strong. It could decide to
intensify its assault on Kosovo, or to seek to harm us or our
allies elsewhere. If it does, we will deliver a forceful
response.
Hopefully, Mr. Milosevic will realize his present
course is self-destructive and unsustainable. If he decides to
accept the peace agreement and demilitarize Kosovo, NATO has
agreed to help to implement it with a peace-keeping force. If
NATO is invited to do so, our troops should take part in that
mission to keep the peace. But I do not intend to put our troops
in Kosovo to fight a war.
Do our interests in Kosovo justify the dangers to our
Armed Forces? I've thought long and hard about that question. I
am convinced that the dangers of acting are far outweighed by the
dangers of not acting -- dangers to defenseless people and to our
national interests. If we and our allies were to allow this war
to continue with no response, President Milosevic would read our
hesitation as a license to kill. There would be many more
massacres, tens of thousands more refugees, more victims crying
out for revenge.
Right now our firmness is the only hope the people of
Kosovo have to be able to live in their own country without
having to fear for their own lives. Remember: We asked them to
accept peace, and they did. We asked them to promise to lay down
their arms, and they agreed. We pledged that we, the United
States and the other 18 nations of NATO, would stick by them if
they did the right thing. We cannot let them down now.
Imagine what would happen if we and our allies instead
decided just to look the other way, as these people were
massacred on NATO's doorstep. That would discredit NATO, the
cornerstone on which our security has rested for 50 years now.
We must also remember that this is a conflict with no
natural national boundaries. Let me ask you to look again at a
map. The red dots are towns the Serbs have attacked. The arrows
show the movement of refugees -- north, east and south. Already,
this movement is threatening the young democracy in Macedonia,
which has its own Albanian minority and a Turkish minority.
Already, Serbian forces have made forays into Albania from which
Kosovars have drawn support. Albania is a Greek minority. Let a
fire burn here in this area and the flames will spread.
Eventually, key U.S. allies could be drawn into a wider conflict,
a war we would be forced to confront later -- only at far greater
risk and greater cost.
I have a responsibility as President to deal with
problems such as this before they do permanent harm to our
national interests. America has a responsibility to stand with
our allies when they are trying to save innocent lives and
preserve peace, freedom and stability in Europe. That is what we
are doing in Kosovo.
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If we've learned anything from the century drawing to a
close, it is that if America is going to be prosperous and
secure, we need a Europe that is prosperous, secure undivided and
free. We need a Europe that is coming together, not falling
apart; a Europe that shares our values and shares the burdens of
leadership. That is the foundation on which the security of our
children will depend.
That is why I have supported the political and economic
unification of Europe. That is why we brought Poland, Hungary
and the Czech Republic into NATO, and redefined its missions, and
reached out to Russia and Ukraine for new partnerships.
Now, what are the challenges to that vision of a
peaceful, secure, united, stable Europe? The challenge of
strengthening a partnership with a democratic Russia, that,
despite our disagreements, is a constructive partner in the work
of building peace. The challenge of resolving the tension
between Greece and Turkey and building bridges with the Islamic
world. And, finally, the challenge of ending instability in the
Balkans so that these bitter ethnic problems in Europe are
resolved the force of argument, not the force of arms; SO that
future generations of Americans do not have to cross the Atlantic
to fight another terrible war.
It is this challenge that we and our allies are facing
in Kosovo. That is why we have acted now -- because we care
about saving innocent lives; because we have an interest in
avoiding an even crueler and costlier war; and because our
children need and deserve a peaceful, stable, free Europe.
Our thoughts and prayers tonight must be with the men
know
and women of our Armed Forces who are undertaking this mission
for the sake of our values and our children's future. May
God
(1.5)
bless
them
and
may
Cod
bless
America
END
8:15 P.M. EST
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Jason H. Schechter
04/03/99 09:09:12 AM
Record Type:
Record
To:
See the distribution list at the bottom of this message
CC:
Subject: Embargoed Radio Address, April 3, 1999
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
Embargoed Until 10:06 AM EST
Saturday, April 3, 1999
RADIO ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT
TO THE NATION
The Oval Office
THE PRESIDENT: As we gather in our homes during this sacred week to
observe Easter and Passover, let us take a moment to think about the plight of the people in
Kosovo, who have been forced from their homes by a campaign of violence and destruction,
and who look to us for help and hope.
The tragedy in Kosovo has been mounting for over a year now. Over the last
two weeks, Serbian forces have intensified their attacks against innocent civilians there,
leaving no doubt about the cold, clear goal of their leader, Slobodan Milosevic -- to keep
Kosovo's land while ridding it of its people.
Nearly one out of every three people in Kosovo has been made homeless since
the start of this conflict. Even before the recent surge, well over a quarter of a million people
had been displaced. Every hour of every day more arrive at Kosovo's borders, tired, hungry,
shaken by what they have been through.
Among them are elderly people, who have lived their whole lives in peace with
their neighbors, only to be told now to leave everything behind in minutes or to be killed on
the spot. Among them are small children who walked for miles over mountains, sometimes
after watching their fathers and uncles and brothers taken from them and shot before their
eyes.
Some have been shelled by artillery on their long trek to safety. Many have had
their identity papers and family records stolen and destroyed, their history in Kosovo erased,
their very existence denied.
Our nation cannot do everything. We can't end all suffering; we can't stop all
violence. But there are times when looking away simply is not an option. Right now, in the
middle of Europe, at the doorstep of NATO, an entire people are being made to abandon their
homeland or die -- not because of anything they've done, but simply because of who they are.
If there's one lesson we've learned in this century, it's that that kind of poison
will spread if not stopped. If there's one pledge that binds the past and future generations, it is
that we cannot allow people to be destroyed because of their ethnic or racial or religious
groups -- when we do have the power to do something about it.
Our military mission in Kosovo is a difficult and dangerous one, but it's
necessary and right, and we must stand with all our NATO allies to see it through. Our goal
is to exact a very high price for Mr. Milosevic's policy of repression and to seriously diminish
his military capacity to maintain that policy.
MORE
We also must open our hearts and our arms to the innocent victims of this
conflict. This week I authorized the expenditure of $50 million in emergency funds to support
the relief effort, and directed our military to do its part to get critical supplies to people in
need. We'll work with the United Nations and with the many courageous volunteers working
on the ground with non-governmental organizations from all around the world.
You can help, too. I urge you to call your local Red Cross or church-based
charity and ask them how you can get involved. Together we'll provide food, water, and
medicine, blankets, clothing and shelter to Kosovar refugees. We'll remind the victims of this
conflict that for all they have lost they have not been abandoned or forgotten.
European countries are helping as well. Kosovo's neighbors, Macedonia and
Albania, are taking the refugees in, despite the huge burden this places on these poor,
struggling nations; so are Greece, Bosnia and Bulgaria -- showing there's more mercy than
madness in the Balkans, more compassion than cruelty in this troubled region of the world.
All of us want to provide for the refugees; all of us want to make it possible for
them to return home. Let us do our part for all the innocent people whose lives have been
shattered by this conflict. And let us give our thanks to our men and women in uniform who
are risking their lives today for our ideals, our interests, and their lives.
Let us keep in our prayers the three brave American servicemen now being held
without justification in Belgrade that they may return to us soon. Let us do what we can --
and what we must -- for peace to prevail. And let us stay the course until it does.
Thanks for listening.
END
Message Sent To:
http://www.pub.whitehouse.gov/uri-./oma.eop.gov.us/1999/3/29/1.text.1
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
March 27, 1999
RADIO ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT
TO THE NATION
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Three days ago I decided the United
States should join our NATO allies in military air strikes to bring
peace to Kosovo. In my address to the nation last Wednesday, I
explained why we have taken this step -- to save the lives of innocent
civilians in Kosovo from a brutal military offensive; to defuse a powder
keg at the heart of Europe that has exploded twice before in this
century with catastrophic results; to prevent a wider war we would have
to confront later, only at far greater risk and cost; to stand with our
NATO allies for peace.
Our military operation has been underway for several nights now. In
this time, Serb troops have continued attacks on unarmed men, women and
children. That is all the more reason for us to stay the course. We
must, and we will, continue until Serbia's leader, Slobodan Milosevic,
accepts peace or we have seriously damaged his capacity to make war.
As always, America's military men and women are performing with courage
and skill. Their strength comes from rigorous training, state of the
art weaponry and hard-won experience in this part of the world. This is
the same brave and tested force that brought stability to Bosnia after
four years of vicious war. I am confident they will once again rise to
the task.
Some of them are fighter pilots, some are bombers, some are mechanics,
technicians, air traffic controllers and base personnel. Every time I
visit our troops around the world I am struck by their professionalism,
their quiet, unassuming determination. They always say, this is the job
I was trained to do. They don't see themselves as heroes, but we surely
do.
I've also been deeply impressed by the solidarity of NATO's purpose.
All 19 NATO nations are providing support, from Norway to Turkey, from
England to Italy, from Germany and France to our neighbors in Canada,
including our three allies from Central Europe, the new NATO members:
Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic.
And we should remember the courage of the Kosovar people today, still
exposed to violence and brutality. Many Americans, now, have heard the
story of a young Kosovar girl trying to stay in touch with a friend in
America by e-mail, as a Serb attack began in her own village. Just a
few days ago she wrote, "at the moment, just from my balcony, I can see
people running with suitcases, and I can hear some gunshots. A village
just a few hundred meters from my house is all surrounded. As long as I
have electricity, I will continue writing to you. I'm trying to keep
myself as calm as possible. My younger brother, who is nine, is
sleeping now. I wish I will not have to stop his dreams."
We asked these people of Kosovo to accept peace, and they did. We
promised them we would stick by them if they did the right thing, and
they did. We cannot let them down now.
Americans have learned the hard way that our home is not that far from
Europe. Through two World Wars and a long Cold War, we saw that it was
a short step from a small brushfire to an inferno, especially in the
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tinderbox of the Balkans. The time to put out a fire is before it
spreads and burns down the neighborhood. By acting now, we're taking a
1
strong step toward a goal that has always been in our national interest
-- a peaceful, united, democratic Europe. For America there is no
greater calling than being a peacemaker. But sometimes you have to
fight in order to end the fighting.
Let me end now by repeating how proud all Americans are of the men and
women in uniform risking their lives to protect peace in the Balkans.
Our prayers are with them. And our prayers are with all the people of
the Balkans searching for the strength to put centuries of divisions to
rest, and to join Europe and North America in building a better future
together.
Thanks for listening.
END
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THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
(Norfolk, Virginia)
For Immediate Release
April 1, 1999
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
TO HAMPTON ROADS MILITARY COMMUNITY
Norfolk Naval Station
Norfolk, Virginia
1:17 P.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. I'm just curious, can you all
hear me out there?
AUDIENCE: No.
THE PRESIDENT: The echo is pretty bad, isn't it. Well, if I speak
louder, is it better or worse? No difference. I'll do the best I can.
First, I'd like to thank Secretary Cohen and General Shelton for their
truly outstanding service in our administration at a difficult time.
I'd like to thank Admiral Gehman, Admiral Reason, General Pace, General
Keck, and the other leaders of all the forces represented here.
I thank Secretary Danzig, National Security Advisor Berger, and others
who came with me from the White House. Mayor Oberndorf, thank you for
welcoming me to Virginia Beach.
I'd like to say a special word of appreciation to the members of
Congress who are here -- your representatives, Congressman Scott and
Sisisky; Senator Levin, our ranking member of the Armed Services
Committee; and a special thanks to my longtime friend, Senator Chuck
Robb, who is one of the most courageous members of the United States
Congress and Virginia is very fortunate to be represented by him.
Let me say to all of you, I came here today primarily to thank two
groups of people -- our men and women in uniform, and their families,
for the service and sacrifice that makes America strong.
I just met a few moments ago with several members of families --
spouses and children of members of four different services who are
deployed away from here now. They're all over here to my right. And
whatever it is you would like to say to me today, I think there's a very
good chance they said it. They did a very good job for you, and I'm
very proud of them. (Applause.)
I heard about the financial sacrifices and I heard about human
sacrifices. I don't think that anyone could say it better than this
lady over here with this beautiful baby in the red hat, with the "I
miss you, Daddy" sign. I thank you. And this sign, "I love my TR
sailor, support our troops."
I wanted to come here today because I want America to know that the
sacrifices made by our men and women in uniform are fully mirrored by
their families back home, by the opportunities that are missed to be
with wiyes and husbands and children on birthdays and holidays, and just
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being there for the kids when they're needed at night and in the morning
as they go off to school. They are fully felt in terms of the financial
sacrifices of the family members left at home to pay the bills and see
to the health care and other needs of the children.
And America should know that and should be very, very grateful to all
of you. We are grateful and we think all Americans will be grateful as
they know what you do.
Let me also say I had a chance to speak just before I came out here
with the 510th Fighter Squadron at Aviano Air Base in Italy, part of our
Operation Allied Force in Kosovo, to thank them and to hear of their
immense pride and determination in their mission.
I know that many, many people here have friends or family members who
are working hard in our mission in Kosovo. I know this port is home to
100 ships, not only the powerful battle groups now at sea led by the
Enterprise and the Theodore Roosevelt, but also ships in the Adriatic --
guided missile destroyers like the Gonzalez; fast-attack submarines like
the Norfolk. (Applause.) Yes, you can clap for your ships, that's
okay. (Applause.)
I can't name every ship or every unit, but I know that all of you are
proud of all of them. Again, let me say, too, a special word of thanks
to the family members of those who are deployed in the Kosovo operation
now.
And let me say to all of you, we spend a lot of time -- perhaps more
time than you would think -- in the White House, and at the Pentagon,
talking about our obligations to the families of our service members.
We know that we are asking more and more of you as we have downsized the
military, and diversified and increased the number of our operations
around the world. We know that the more we ask of you, the greater our
responsibilities to you.
We know that we owe you the support, the training, the equipment you
need to get the job done. We know we owe you fair pay, decent housing,
and other support. Our new defense budget contains not only a
substantial pay raise, but increased funding to keep our readiness
razor-sharp. It is our solemn obligation to those of you who accept the
dangers and hardships of our common security.
Since the Cold War ended, we have asked more and more from our Armed
Forces -- from the Persian Gulf to Korea, to Central America to Africa
-- today to stand with our allies in NATO against the unspeakable
brutality in Kosovo.
Now, this is not an easy challenge with a simple answer. If it were,
it would have been resolved a long time ago. The mission I have asked
our Armed Forces to carry out with our NATO allies is a dangerous one,
as I have repeatedly said. Danger is something the brave men and women
of our country's Armed Forces understand because you live with it every
day, even in routine training exercises.
Now, we all know that yesterday three Army infantrymen were seized as
they were carrying out a peaceful mission in Macedonia -- protecting
that country from the violence in neighboring Kosovo. There was
absolutely no basis for them to be taken. There is no basis for them to
be held. There is certainly no basis for them to be tried. All
Americans are concerned about their welfare.
President Milosevic should make no mistake: The United States takes
care of its own. (Applause.) And President Milosevic should make no
mistake: We will hold him and his government responsible for their
safety and for their well-being.
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But I ask you also to resolve that we will continue to carry out our
mission with determination and resolve.
Over the past few weeks I have been talking with the American people
about why we're involved with our NATO allies in Kosovo, and the risks
of our mission and why they're justified. It's especially important
that I speak to you and, through you, to all men and women in uniform
about these matters.
The roots of this conflict lie in the policies of Mr. Milosevic, the
dictator of Serbia. For more than 10 years now, he has been using
ethnic and religious hatred as a path to personal power and a
justification for the ethnic cleansing and murder of innocent civilians.
That is what he did first in Bosnia and Croatia, where the United States
with our allies did so much to end the war. And that is what he is
doing in Kosovo today. That is what he will continue to do to his own
people and his neighbors unless we and our allies stand in the way.
For months, we tried and tried and tried every conceivable peaceful
alternative. We did everything we could through diplomacy to solve this
problem. With diplomacy backed by the threat of NATO force, we forged a
cease-fire last October that rescued from cold and hunger hundreds of
thousands of people in Kosovo whom he had driven from their homes.
In February, with our allies and with Russia, we proposed a peace
agreement that would have given the people of Kosovo the autonomy they
were guaranteed under their constitution before Mr. Milosevic came to
power, and ended the fighting for good.
Now, the Kosovar leaders, they signed that agreement -- even though it
didn't give them the independence they said they wanted, and that they
had been fighting for. But Mr. Milosevic refused. In fact, while
pretending to negotiate for peace, he massed 40,000 troops and hundreds
of tanks in and around Kosovo, planning a new campaign of destruction
and defiance. He started carrying out that campaign the moment the
peace talks ended.
Now the troops and police of the Serbian dictator are rampaging through
tiny Kosovo -- separating men from their families, executing many of
them in cold blood; burning homes -- sometimes, we now hear, with people
inside; forcing survivors to leave everything behind, confiscating their
identity papers, destroying their records so their history and their
property is erased forever.
Yesterday, Mr. Milosevic actually said, this problem can only be solved
by negotiations. But yesterday, as he said that, his forces continued
to hunt down the very Kosovar leaders with whom he was supposed to be
negotiating.
Altogether now, more than half a million Kosovars have been pushed from
their homes since the conflict began. They are arriving at the borders
of the country, shaken by what they have seen and been through. But
they also say -- as a delegation of Albanian Americans, many of whom
have relatives in Kosovo, told me personally in the White House
yesterday that NATO's military action has at least given them some
hope that they have not been completely abandoned in their suffering.
Had we not acted, the Serbian offensive would have been carried out
with impunity. We are determined that it will carry a very high price,
indeed. We also act to prevent a wider war. If you saw my address to
the country the other night and the maps that I showed, you know that
Kosovo is a very small place. But it sits right at the dividing line of
Europe, Asia and the Middle East; the dividing line between Islam and
Christianity; close to our Turkish and Greek allies to the south, our
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new allies, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic to the north;
surrounded by small and struggling democracies that easily could be
overwhelmed by the flood of refugees Mr. Milosevic is creating.
Already, Macedonia is so threatened. Already, Serbian forces have made
forays into Albania, which borders Kosovo. If we were to do nothing,
eventually our allies and then the United States would be drawn into a
larger conflict at far greater risks to our people and far greater
costs.
Now, we can't respond to every tragedy in every corner of the world.
But just because we can't do everything for everyone doesn't mean that
for the sake of consistency we should do nothing for no one.
Remember now, these atrocities are happening at the door step of NATO,
which has preserved the security of Europe for 50 years because of the
alliance between the United States and our allies. They are happening
in violation of specific commitments Mr. Milosevic gave to us, to our
NATO allies, to other European countries and to Russia. They are
happening to people who embrace peace and promise to lay down their own
arms. They put their trust in us, and we can't let them down.
Our objective is to restore the Kosovars to their homes with security
and self-government. Our bombing campaign is designed to exact an
unacceptably high price for Mr. Milosevic's present policy of repression
and ethnic cleansing, and to seriously diminish his military capacity to
maintain that policy.
We've been doing this for seven days now just seven days. Our
pilots have performed bravely and well, in the face of dangerous
conditions and often abysmal weather. But we must be determined and
patient. Remember, the Serbs had 40,000 troops in and around Kosovo,
and nearly 300 tanks, when they began this, before the first NATO plane
got in the air. They had a sophisticated air-defense system. They also
have a problem which has been festering for a decade, thanks to the
efforts of Mr. Milosevic to make people hate each other in the former
Yugoslavia because they are Muslims instead of Orthodox Christians or
Catholics; because they're Albanians instead of Serbians or Croatians,
or Bosnian Muslims, or Macedonians, or you have -- whatever. It is
appalling.
For decades, those people lived in peace with one another. For ten
years and more, now, a dictator has sought to make himself powerful by
convincing the largest group, the Serbs, that the only way they can
amount to anything is to uproot, disrupt, destroy and kill other people
who don't have the same means of destruction no matter what the
consequences are to everybody around them; no matter how many innocent
children and their parents die; no matter how much it disrupts other
countries.
Why? Because they want power, and they want to base it on the kind of
ethnic and religious hatred that is bedeviling the whole world today.
You can see it in the Middle East, in Northern Ireland. You can see it
in the tribal wars in Africa. You can see that it is one of the
dominant problems the whole world faces. And this is right in the
underbelly of Europe.
We have to decide whether we are going to take a stand with our NATO
allies, and whether we are prepared to pay the price of time to make him
pay the price of aggression and murder. Are we, in the last year of the
20th century, going to look the other way as entire peoples in Europe
are forced to abandon their homelands or die? Are we going to impose a
price on that kind of conduct and seek to end it?
Mr. Milosevic often justifies his behavior by talking about the history
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of the Serbs going back to the 14th century. Well, I value the history
of this country, and I value what happened here in the 18th century.
But I don't want to take America back to the 18th century. And he acts
like he wants to take Serbia back to the 14th century -- to 14th century
values, 14th century ways of looking at other human beings.
We are on the edge of a new century and a new millennium, where the
people in poor countries all over the world, because of technology and
the Internet and the spreading of information will have unprecedented
opportunities to share prosperity, and to give their kids an education,
and have a decent future, if only they will live in peace with the basic
human regard for other people -- that is absolutely anethetical to
everything that Mr. Milosevic has done. anethetic
So I ask you -- you say, what has this got to do with America?
Remember, we fought two world wars in Europe. Remember that the unity,
the freedom, the prosperity, the peace of Europe is important to the
future of the children in this room today. That is, in the end, what
this is about.
We're not doing this on our own. We could not have undertaken it on
our own. This is something we're doing with our NATO allies. They're
up there in the air, too. If there's a peace agreement, they've agreed
to provide 85 percent of the troops on the ground to help to monitor the
peace agreement and protect all the ethnic groups, including the Serbs.
This is something we are doing to try to avoid in the 21st century the
kind of widespread war, large American casualties and heartbreak that we
saw too much of in the century we are about to leave.
So this is not just about a small peace of the Balkans. But let me ask
you something. When we are moved by the plight of three servicemen,
when we stay up half the night hoping that our rescue teams find that
fine pilot who went down when his plane was hit, when we see a sign that
says, "I love my TR sailor" or "I miss my Daddy, we remember that all
political and military decisions ultimately have a human component that
is highly individualized.
Think how you would feel if you were part of the half million people
who lived peaceably in a place, just wanted to be let alone to practice
your religion and educate your children and do your work -- if people
came to your house and your village and said, pack up your belongings
and go; we're going to burn your property records, we're going to burn
your identity records. And if your husband or your son is of military
service age, we might take them out behind the barn and shoot them dead
-- just because you have a different religion, just because you have a
different ethnic background. Is that really what we want the 21st
century to be about for our children?
Now, that is what is at stake here. We cannot do everything in the
world, but we must do what we can. We can never forget the Holocaust,
the genocide, the carnage of the 20th century. We don't want the new
century to bring us the same nightmares in a different guise.
We also want to say again how proud the United States is that each of
NATO's 19 members is supporting the mission in Kosovo in some way --
France and Germany, Turkey and Greece, Poland and Hungary, the Czech
Republic, Britain, Canada -- all the others. And this is also
important.
Let me finally say -- I'd like to read you something. Near the end of
the second world war, President Roosevelt prepared a speech to give at a
holiday honoring Virginia's famous son, Thomas Jefferson. He never got
to give the speech. But it still speaks to us, his last words. And to
those of you who wear the uniform of our nation and to those of you who
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are part of the families of our uniformed service members, I ask you to
heed these words.
After the long war was almost drawing to a close, these were Franklin
Roosevelt's last words that he never got to deliver: "We as Americans
do not choose to deny our responsibilities. Nor do we intend to abandon
our determination that within the lives of our children and our
children's children, there will not be a third world war. We seek
peace, enduring peace. More than an end to war, we want an end to the
beginnings of all wars. "
That is what we are trying to achieve in Kosovo. That is what many of
you in this room, perhaps, and your colleagues, did achieve in Bosnia.
We want to end a war that has begun in Europe, and prevent a larger war.
And we want to alleviate the burdens and the killing of defenseless
people. Let us heed President Roosevelt's last words.
Let me say again, for those of you who serve and for those of you who
serve as family members, and who sacrifice as wives and husbands and
children: I thank you for your service and your sacrifice, and America
thanks you.
God bless you. (Applause.)
END
1:42 P.M. EST
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EF
21499655
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RED09
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
REMARKS FOR WHITE HOUSE EASTER EGG ROLL
THE WHITE HOUSE
ADR } 99
MARCH 31,1997
197 MAR 28 PMS141
THE PRESIDENT HAS SEEN
3-31-97
- 1 -
I
We're going to start another Easter Egg roll in just a
few moments. Before we do, I want to join Hillary in
thanking all of the sponsors who helped make this celebration
possible. I especially want to thank all the volunteers who
have worked SO hard -- more than 500 of you this year. I
know that many of you have helped before, but I see a lot of
new faces every year.
V
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for to bully 1897
may for try's
10,000 evit. esp.
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- 2 -
That's because people see how much fun you're having
out here, and how much volunteering can help children and
families. And all across our country, in every community in
America, there are hundreds of ways for all of us to get
involved. I hope that this year, in the renewing spirit of Easter
and Passover, more Americans will find the time to give
something back to their communities.
Bilae we Sj. bgin
- 3 -
The Easter Egg Roll has been a White House tradition
for 118 years, and I haven't missed it once since I became
President -- even this year, when I can't make it down to
This
the lawn. Hillary and I have always tried to make it an
occasion for family fun and for family learning, because we all
know how important it is for children -- especially very young
children -- to learn together with their parents.
- 4 -
4
This year's activities will show you how much fun
learning can be. I'm especially proud of our Learn Big
Things" tent where, for the very first time at the Easter Egg
Roll you can learn to log on to the Internet and visit our
Homepage at "whitehouse.gov" [Whitehouse dot G-O-V].
- 5 -
Once you're there, you can find out more about Easter at
the White House, and you can even send me an E-Mail
message. A lot of you kids have probably explored the
Internet at school already, but there are still a lot of schools
that don't have computers, and whose students have never
visited a website.
- 6 -
That's why we're working so hard to make sure that all of
our schools are connected to the Internet by the year 2000.
her
him
Learn Big Things" is just one of the many activities
we have in store for you today. You canlearn alou how to use
CD-ROM's at the same time you learn about the importance of
good nutrition at the "Learning Adventures" tent.
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And there are storytelling booths, egg painting contests
Peter
and lots of other things for you to do together as a family. I
paysed
hope you'll all have a great time.
Rid
phill
ared educar
Rich
And now, I'm going to blow the whistle to start
another Easter Egg Roll. On your marks, get ready, set
GO!
April 20, 2000
POTUS PARTICIPATION IN ANNUAL WHITE HOUSE EASTER EGG ROLL
DATE:
Monday, April 24
LOCATION:
Reception, State Floor
Event, South Lawn
TIME:
9:30 a.m. - 10:35 a.m.
STAFF CONTACT:
Melinda Bates, 6-2324
I.
PURPOSE
You participate in this annual White House Easter event by hosting a breakfast reception with
receiving line for event sponsors, making remarks from a stage on the driveway, and blowing a
whistle to start the egg rolling.
II.
BACKGROUND
This is a traditional White House event, since Rutherford and Lucy Hayes, dating back to 1878.
This is the 122nd White House Easter Egg Roll. We expect 30,000 guests. 250 terminally ill or
disabled children from hospitals and hospice care in the Washington area are the first on the lawn
at 8:00 am.
As always, children will again roll and dye eggs on the lawn. A 40' giant nest is available for
children to play in. Presidential re-enactors, Cabinet Secretaries, the Chief of Staff, and others
present stories, music and fables on five stages. This year's celebrity readers are Robert DeNiro,
Julie Andrews, Deborah Norville, JK Rowling (author of Harry Potter), Mary Steenburgen and
Ted Danson, Lance and Justin from 'N Sync, and Christopher Paul Curtis, who won both the
Newberry Award and the Coretta Scott King award for Bud Not Buddy. He is the first person to
win both at once, and the first African American to win the Newberry.
"Beatrix Potter" and "Paddington Bear" join a host of other Easter and White House related
strolling performers and costumed characters on the lawn.
Once again embassies are showcased in Springtime Traditions. Kodak provides digital photos
with the White House in the background for families. Dole Foods sponsors musical stage
entertainment about good nutrition. Each child takes home a souvenir wooden Easter egg, an
Easter Egg Roll poster, a souvenir historical map of the south lawn (provided by Jane Rosenthal,
Craig Hadkoff and Robert DeNiro), a Prescription for Reading bookmark, and an Easter Egg
Roll Book. 20,000 of these gifts will be given out. Our Easter Egg Roll producer is Gary
Jacob, who has done this work for you for seven years.
In 1998 the Egg Roll was cybercast for the first time. We did not repeat the cybercast in 1999,
because the audio and video technology was not yet as developed (clear) as we hoped. Now, in
just two years, the technology has shot ahead with dramatic improvements in audio and video
feeds. In the US alone, there are now 100 million computers with the capacity to hear and see
this broadcast. Therefore, we have arranged that the 2000 Easter Egg Roll will be broadcast over
the Internet, both on the day of the event, and, as archived material, for months after. Web users
can link to the cybercast at the White House web site, at the Department of Education site, at
EarthLink (world's second largest ISP) and at over 100 top Internet sites, including the most
popular children's and educational sites.
Because of this cybercast, more people will be able to see and hear this final Clinton Egg Roll
than all the people who have attended White House Easter Egg Rolls since 1878. You are truly
opening the White House to the public in ways not imagined just a few years ago. Because
anyone with a computer at home, at work, in a library or classroom will be invited "in" to the
Egg Roll, it becomes more inclusive and engaging than ever before. This cybercast project is
produced for us by Howard Lefkowitz, senior vice president of EarthLink, Inc.
III.
PARTICIPANTS
HRC
180 Reception guests, sponsors, contributors
IV.
PRESS PLAN
Pool press for your remarks
National Press for nightly news
V.
SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
You host sponsors and celebrity entertainers at a breakfast on the State Floor. These guests arrive
on the State Floor at 8:30 am. You both go to the Blue Room at 9:30 am. There you receive the
framed, original poster/program art from artist Mary Engelbreit of St. Louis. This is the first year
the same artist provides the program and poster and egg art. She is a very popular and well
known artist. Mary is accompanied by her mother.
You both then receive the annual special egg from American Egg Board Chairman Dolph Baker
and President Lou Raffel. This egg was created by Natalie Stedman of Canandaigua, NY, a
graduate of Pratt Institute School of Design. This blue egg has a jeweled door which opens to
reveal the artist's interpretation of the First Lady's office. The view from the desk looks
out the "window of opportunity" Mrs. Clinton has opened for so many during her years
of service. Placed throughout the office are symbols of causes she has supported: a teddy
bear for children, a medical symbol for health care, pictures to reflect her love of the arts.
You then greet all the sponsor guests, celebrities and their families in a receiving line. There are
approximately 40 children in these family groups.
At 10:00 am you and the First Lady exit the state floor by the Red Room door, descending the
steps to a stage on the driveway while the Marine Band plays In Your Easter Bonnet. On stage
Mrs. Clinton makes brief remarks, then you make remarks, and blow the whistle handed to you
by Bernie Fairbanks or a bunny. The egg roll lanes are directly in front of the stage; press are to
your right. This year you will have a special whistle, in your pocket, to give back to Bernie
Fairbanks, thanking him for his many years of Easter Egg Roll service. You then exit the stage,
working the ropeline, if you wish. Some of your friends are gathered on the driveway to your
left.
You proceed to the Diplomatic Reception Room. There you greet a Make-a-Wish family,
Xxxxxxxxxxxxx.
Next you greet guests from Easter Seals, in the Oval Office. (?)
VI.
REMARKS
2 minutes
Remarks to be provided by Speech writing
April 20, 2000
WHITE HOUSE EASTER EGG ROLL
APRIL 24, 2000
EVENT OVERVIEW
Not for release until Monday, April 24
CELEBRITIES
Julie Andrews reading her book Little Bo
Deborah Norville reading her book I Don't Want To Sleep Tonight
J.K. Rowling reading from one of her Harry Potter books
Two members of 'N Sync will host reading stages (Lance and Justin)
Robert De Niro, reading with Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hadkoff
Mary Engelbreit, artist, is not performing, but she is our 2000 poster, program and egg artist.
She is extremely well known and popular.
READERS
Christopher Paul Curtis reading his Newberry Award winning Bud, Not Buddy
Many Cabinet Secretaries reading favorite children's stories
Irene Smalls reading her book Dawn and the Round Tuit
Berenstein Bears read
Chambers Elementary 3rd Grade readers (East Cleveland)
PERFORMERS
Historical Interpreters: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore
Roosevelt, Benjamin Bannecker
Battersby Duo, The Bits Troupe, David Grover and the Big Bear Band, Parachute Express,
Odds Bodkin, Pamlico Joe, Chaz Rough, Odds Bodkin
Regina Ress as Beatrix Potter
SPONSORED ACTIVITIES
Dole: performance stage, a musical about good nutrition featuring Barney Broccoli and
Bobby Banana
EarthLink: Click! tent, Apple computers, children send email messages to POTUS
PAAS: egg decorating
Springtime Traditions: many embassies display their country's special celebrations, religious
and secular
Kodak, digital photos of visitors on the lawn, several sites
Giant Nest of Life, this year has a performance stage attached to it
Teddy Bear Tea Party: photo op
Krispy Kreme bunny coloring
TECHNOLOGY
This year the Easter Egg Roll will be cybercast. Eight cameras on the lawn will capture
performances, readings, activities, and the President's and First Lady's remarks. Unlike the
cybercast of 1998, this will be a wireless project. The audio and video is captured with cameras
and fed to a microwave truck parked on the grass on E. Exec. Av. From there it is sent up to a
satellite, where it is encoded for Internet sites to pick up.
There are now 100 million users in the US with the capacity to see and hear this event. We will
provide links from the WH web site, EarthLink, (world's second largest ISP) the top 100 web
sites (Yahoo, Excite, etc), the Dept of Education, and the top children's and educational sites.
Some of the celebrity readings will be available for viewing for about two weeks. The rest of the
event will be available for several months.
Amazon.com is sponsoring six kid reporters who will be covering the event, interviewing
celebrities, performers, George Washington, etc, and filing stories from their press room,
attached to the Click! tent. The children were selected by school superintendents in the
Philadelphia and Washington DC areas.
All this material will be archived for the President's library, and for the National Park Service.
LAWN CHARACTERS
The White House bunnies
Paddington Bear
Peter Rabbit
Rapid Rabbit, and others
NEW THIS YEAR
We are moving one of the egg rolls to the area south of the fountain. Half of our visitors enter
the lawn at the SE gate. We will direct them to the south egg roll and many activities in that
area. The other half of our population (staff and guests) enter through the Kennedy Garden.
They will find an egg roll in the traditional location in front of the S. Portico. We hope this
change will improve traffic flow.
GIVE AWAYS
On the lawn: M&M Mars candy tubes, as children finish rolling eggs
As they exit: a wooden Easter egg for each child, and a large clear plastic envelope
containing
Easter poster (Mary Engelbreit)
S. Lawn map by Craig Hatkoff, Jane Rosenthal and Robert De Niro,
White House Easter Egg Roll book with a new cover design for 2000
Large postcard painting of Egg Roll 1920s, from WH Historical Association
Bookmark Prescription For Reading, signed by Mrs. Clinton and Surgeon General
Sponsor bags, one per family as Reception guests exit to Lawn: Poster, egg, map, egg
cookbook, various Easter books (It's a GREAT bag)
ON THE ELLIPSE
Give Aways: Bunny Bundles (scrambled egg in pita), Dole juice, raisins, Krispy Kreme
donuts, Walkers Shortbread
Activities costumed characters and performers
Hormel Kids Kitchen reading activities
EF
26260455
RE009
Draft 4/10/98 2pm
'98 APR 10 PM2:41
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
REMARKS AT THE WHITE HOUSE
EASTER EGG ROLL
THE SOUTH LAWN
April 13, 1998
THE PRESIDENT HAS SEEN
4-13-98
- 1 -
Good Morning. I want to welcome you for this very
new
500
special day thank all the volunteers who were here early this
morning getting everx thing set up, and thank the sponsors who
have made all of this possible.
- 2 -
2
The very first time an Easter Egg Roll was held at the
White House was way back in 1878, when Rutherford B.
Hayes was President -- that was about the time your great,
great, great grandparents were your age. Nowadays, we're
combining this wonderful old tradition with some of the
newest technologies around. Usually when you think of the
Easter Egg Roll, you think of eggs and bunnies.
- 3 -
Today, we're also adding the mouse. Not just Woodrow
the White House mouse, but also the kind of mouse that's
attached to a computer.
Miller
For the first time ever, hundreds of thousands of children
in classrooms, homes, and libraries all over the world will be
able to use their computers to join us for this Easter Egg Roll.
- 4 -
Thanks to the special cameras you'll see out on the lawn,
they can watch all of the activities and learn about the Internet
at the same time. In fact, I'm told that this will be the largest
live Internet event ever held. I'm glad you are here to be part
of this historic day.
And now, are you ready to roll? ###
April 20, 2000
POTUS PARTICIPATION IN ANNUAL WHITE HOUSE EASTER EGG ROLL
DATE:
Monday, April 24
LOCATION:
Reception, State Floor
Event, South Lawn
TIME:
9:30 a.m. - 10:35 a.m.
STAFF CONTACT:
Melinda Bates, 6-2324
I.
PURPOSE
You participate in this annual White House Easter event by hosting a breakfast reception with
receiving line for event sponsors, making remarks from a stage on the driveway, and blowing a
whistle to start the egg rolling.
II.
BACKGROUND
This is a traditional White House event, since Rutherford and Lucy Hayes, dating back to 1878.
This is the 122nd White House Easter Egg Roll. We expect 30,000 guests. 250 terminally ill or
disabled children from hospitals and hospice care in the Washington area are the first on the lawn
at 8:00 am.
As always, children will again roll and dye eggs on the lawn. A 40' giant nest is available for
children to play in. Presidential re-enactors, Cabinet Secretaries, the Chief of Staff, and others
present stories, music and fables on five stages. This year's celebrity readers are Robert DeNiro,
Julie Andrews, Deborah Norville, JK Rowling (author of Harry Potter), Mary Steenburgen and
Ted Danson, Lance and Justin from 'N Sync. and Christopher Paul Curtis, who won both the
Newberry Award and the Coretta Scott King award for Bud Not Buddy. He is the first person to
win bothin the same year, and the first African American to win the Newberry.
"Beatrix Potter" and "Paddington Bear" join a host of other Easter and White House related
strolling performers and costumed characters on the lawn.
Once again embassies are showcased in Springtime Traditions. Kodak provides digital photos
with the White House in the background for families. Dole Foods sponsors musical stage
entertainment about good nutrition. Each child takes home a souvenir wooden Easter egg, an
Easter Egg Roll poster, a souvenir historical map of the south lawn (provided by Jane Rosenthal,
Craig Hadkoff and Robert DeNiro), a Prescription for Reading bookmark, and an Easter Egg
Roll Book. 20,000 of these gifts will be given out. Our Easter Egg Roll producer is Gary Jacob,
who has done this work for you for seven years.
In 1998 the Egg Roll was cybercast for the first time. We did not repeat the cybercast in 1999,
because the audio and video technology was not yet as developed (clear) as we hoped. Now, in
just two years, the technology has shot ahead with dramatic improvements in audio and video
feeds. In the US alone, there are now 100 million computers with the capacity to hear and see
this broadcast. Therefore, we have arranged that the 2000 Easter Egg Roll will be broadcast over
the Internet, both on the day of the event, and, as archived material, for months after. Web users
can link to the cybercast at the White House web site, at the Department of Education site, at
EarthLink (world's second largest ISP) and at over 100 top Internet sites, including the most
popular children's and educational sites.
Because of this cybercast, more people will be able to see and hear this final Clinton Egg Roll
than all the people who have attended White House Easter Egg Rolls since 1878. You are truly
opening the White House to the public in ways not imagined just a few years ago. Because
anyone with a computer at home, at work, in a library or classroom will be invited "in" to the
Egg Roll, it becomes more inclusive, engaging and educational than ever before. The cybercast
of this event changes it forever in many of the ways you have both emphasized: it opens the
White House to the people, it utilizes technology in easily accessible ways, and it promotes
education in an enticing way. It is a true reinvention of government. This cybercast project is
produced for us by Howard Lefkowitz, vice president of EarthLink, Inc., who brought us the
original idea in 1998 and produced the first cybercast that year.
III.
PARTICIPANTS
HRC
180 Reception guests, sponsors, contributors
IV.
PRESS PLAN
Pool press for your remarks
National Press for nightly news
V.
SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
You host sponsors and celebrity entertainers at a breakfast on the State Floor. These guests arrive
on the State Floor at 8:30 am. You both go to the Blue Room at 9:30 am. There you receive the
framed, original poster/program art from artist Mary Engelbreit of St. Louis. This is the first
year the same artist provides the program and poster and egg art. She is a very popular and well
known artist. Mary is accompanied by her mother.
You both then receive the annual special egg from American Egg Board Chairman Dolph Baker
and President Lou Raffel. This egg was created by Natalie Stedman of Canandaigua, NY, a
graduate of Pratt Institute School of Design. This blue egg has a jeweled door which opens to
reveal the artist's interpretation of the First Lady's office. The view from the desk looks out the
"window of opportunity" Mrs. Clinton has opened for so many during her years of service.
Placed throughout the office are symbols of causes she has supported: a teddy bear for children, a
medical symbol for health care, pictures to reflect her love of the arts.
You then greet all the sponsor guests, celebrities and their families in a receiving line. There are
approximately 40 children in these family groups.
At 10:00 am you and the First Lady exit the state floor by the Red Room door, descending the
steps to a stage on the driveway while the Marine Band plays In Your Easter Bonnet. On stage
Mrs. Clinton makes brief remarks, then you make remarks, and blow the whistle handed to you
by Bernie Fairbanks or a bunny. The egg roll lanes are directly in front of the stage; press are to
your right. This year you will have a special whistle, in your pocket, to give back to Bernie
Fairbanks, thanking him for his many years of Easter Egg Roll service. You then exit the stage,
working the ropeline, if you wish. Some of your friends are gathered on the driveway to your
left.
You proceed to the Diplomatic Reception Room. There you greet a Make-a-Wish family,
Xxxxxxxxxxxxx.
Next you greet guests from Easter Seals, in the Oval Office. (?)
VI.
REMARKS
2 minutes
Remarks to be provided by Speech writing
Clinton Presidential Records
Digital Records Marker
This is not a presidential record. This is used as an administrative
marker by the William J. Clinton Presidential Library Staff.
This marker identifies the place of a publication.
Publications have not been scanned in their entirety for the purpose
of digitization. To see the full publication please search online or
visit the Clinton Presidential Library's Research Room.
White House Easter Egg Roll 1999
http://www.pub.whitehouse.gov/uri-./oma.eop.gov.us/1998/4/13/I.text.
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
April 13, 1998
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AND THE FIRST LADY
AT ANNUAL EASTER EGG ROLL
The South Lawn
10:12 A.M. EDT
MRS. CLINTON: Well, we want to welcome all of you to the
120th Easter Egg Roll. And we're especially pleased that the weather is
so beautiful and that all of you could be here on the South Lawn of the
White House. And I hope everybody on the Ellipse who is standing in
line knows how happy we are to have you here as well.
So I hope you have a wonderful time. Everybody just enjoy
yourself, and especially make sure that every child enjoys him or
herself, and that every family will receive one of these little books as
you leave about the Easter Egg Roll here at the White House. And be
sure to look at your program because there are some wonderful events
going on in the tents down at the end of the lawn.
So now it's my pleasure to introduce the President of the
United States, who always starts the real activities of the Easter Egg
Roll -- President Clinton. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Good morning. Isn't it a
wonderful morning? Let me say, I want to thank all the volunteers and
all the sponsors who've made this wonderful day possible for thousands
and thousands of young people.
I also want to say that the first official White House Egg
Roll occurred here in 1878 when President Rutherford Hayes was living in
the White House. Now, a lot of things have changed since then, but the
most important thing today that you need to know is that for the very
first time, hundreds of thousands of young people will be experiencing
the White House Egg Roll through the Internet, thanks to Earthlinks, and
I want to thank them for that. (Applause.)
I'd also like to thank a number of others, and especially
Sun Microsystems, for all the work that's been done to try to open the
White House to people around the world and especially around our
country. But this day is special because of what Earthlinks has done to
let lots and lots of young people who never could come to the White
House be part of the Egg Roll.
So, are we ready to start the Egg Roll?
MRS. CLINTON: Bernie's right here.
THE PRESIDENT: Bernie, where's the whistle? This is the
one thing every year I know, no matter what else happens, I will do
right. (Laughter.) Are you ready, kids? Are you ready? I'm going to
count to three and blow the whistle. One, two, three. (Applause.)
1 of 2
4/3/99 1:23 PM
04/02/99 FRI 15:48 FAX 202 456 7805
004
HARD-BOILED FACTS ABOUT THE
WHITE HOUSE EASTER EGG ROLL
There will be 25,000 wooden eggs distributed at this year's event. The wooden eggs
feature a silhouette of the White House with children playing on the lawn, and includes
the signatures of the President and First Lady.
There will be 7,200 hard-boiled eggs used for the Egg Roll. The eggs are dyed by the
White House chef. An additional 2,500 eggs are cooked for the egg-decorating activities.
Nearly 500 volunteers, from celebrities to local citizens, help to make the White House
Easter Egg Roll a special event for the families who visit. This massive effort is
coordinated through the White House Volunteers Office.
In 1878, President Hayes and his wife Lucy officially moved the Easter activities from
the Capitol grounds to the White House grounds. The Easter Egg Roll has taken place on
the White House lawn every year since then, except during World War I and World War
II, when it was held at the National Zoo and other Washington locations.
In order to accommodate more families attending Easter Monday activities, the President
and Mrs. Clinton expanded the festivities from the South Lawn to the Ellipse in 1993.
President Clinton is the first President to consistently attend the Easter Egg Roll.
Adults must be accompanied by a child age 3 to 6 years to enter the White House South
Lawn. All persons are required to have a ticket.
American Sign Language interpreters are available for both the South Lawn and the
Ellipse activities. Signs at the gates direct hearing-impaired families to these services.
Each year the President and Mrs. Clinton invite groups of children with special needs to
enjoy the Easter Egg Roll before the lawn opens to the public. This year they welcome
many families organizations such as Childhood Brain Tumor Foundation, Easter Seals,
Grant-a-Wish Foundation, Special Olympics of Maryland, Children's National Medical
Center, and Make-A-Wish.
In the event of heavy rain or thunderstorms, Easter Egg Roll events will be canceled and
not rescheduled.
Wooden Easter eggs are available for purchase at various kiosks and gift shops. The shop
closest to the White House is the Visitor Pavilion at the Ellipse, south of the White
House. To order wooden Easter eggs by phone, call 800-273-5071.
Look for more information on the White House web site at www.whitehouse.gov.
For additional information, members of the public should call the White House Visitors
Office 24-Hour Public Events Line at 202-456-7041.
###
04/02/99 FRI 15:47 FAX 202 456 7805
0
002
Easter 1999 at the White House also features traditional egg rolls and egg dying. Dressed in
period costume, actors portraying such historical figures as George Washington, Teddy
Roosevelt, Abigail Adams and Benjamin Bannecker will perform on the South Lawn. Woodrow
the White House Mouse and official White House Bunnies will roam the lawn, greeting the
children and enjoying the festivities. Embassies from around the world are creating displays to
demonstrate how springtime is celebrated in countries including Australia, Brazil, Colombia,
Costa Rica, Croatia, Gambia, Greece, Iceland, Indonesia, Latvia, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden, and
many more.
For the sixth year in a row, the White House Easter egg collection will be on exhibit in the East
Colonnade of the White House. The collection, which features real eggs decorated by artists
from each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, was introduced by Mrs. Clinton as part
of the White House Easter Egg Roll in 1994. Coordinated by the American Egg Board, different
artists from around the country are invited each year to create an egg for the collection which is
on display for three weeks prior to Easter and through the Easter Monday activities.
In addition, the creations of master pastry chefs will be on display on the South Lawn. Just
returning home from the World Cup of Pastry in Lyon, France where they competed with 18
other nations, the silver-medal winning U.S. Team will display eight of their magnificent pastry
creations in celebration of the Easter holiday.
This year's official White House Easter Egg Roll poster was designed by Susan Loy of Moneta,
Virginia, a professional artist and calligrapher. The Easter 1999 program cover was created by
Patricia Palermino, an internationally acclaimed folk artist, from Mt. Vernon, Virginia.
Tickets are required for the South Lawn Easter Egg Roll activities, and can be picked up at the
Visitor's Pavilion on the Ellipse on Monday, April 5. Distribution of tickets will begin at
approximately 7 a.m. One person can request up to six tickets, but one of these tickets must be
used by a child between the ages of 3 and 6. The South Lawn will be open from 10 a.m. to 2
p.m. Tickets are not required for activities on the Ellipse, which will feature music and
complimentary snacks such as juice, fruit, doughnuts, Peeps, shortbread and other treats.
###
001
04/02/99 FRI 15:24 FAX 202 456 2370
WH VISITORS_OFFICE
Matt Stumpt
62505
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
EASTER AT THE WHITE HOUSE
The origins of Easter egg rolling at the White House have
often been questioned.
The first egg rolls, largely family affairs, seem to have
been held during the administration of President Andrew Johnson.
Colonel William Crook, a White House employee from 1865-1915,
wrote in his autobiography:
One pleasant feature of President Johnson's family life
in the Executive Mansion that I like to recal to my own
children is that of the egg-rolling on Easter Monday.
He wrote of the "youngsters of the President's family" dying the
eggs on Sunday for the Monday rolling, which the First Lady would
watch from the South Portico. [William H. Crook, Memories of the
White House (Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1911, p.68-69].
A family member also has attested to hearing the stories of
such activity from Andrew Johnson Patterson, the President's
grandson, who lived at the White House while his mother served as
White House hostess on behalf of her invalid mother, First Lady
Eliza Johnson.
It was under President Rutherford B. Hayes, however, that
egg rolling at the White House became a more official, public
event for the children of Washington. Damage to the U.S. Capitol
lawns from egg rolling in 1876 had led the Congress to prohibit
such activity there. This ruling was first enforced in 1878,
according to The Evening Star:
Driven out of the Capitol grounds, the children advanced
on the White House grounds today and rolled eggs down the
terraces back of the Mansion and played among the shrubbery
to their hearts content. [April 22, 1878]
Thereafter, the children were invited to the White House grounds
for the Easter Monday festivities which were regularly reported
in the local newspapers and even once in a national journal,
Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper (April 23, 1887)
Hundred and hundreds of hard-boiled eggs were rolled
down the slopes and the children went tumbling after.
They rushed, scrambled and rolled for the oval prizes,
which, when the shells were broken under the rough useage,
were eaten without much more ado
President C aveland
enjoyed the spectacle very much
002
WH VISITORS OFFICE
04/02/99 FRI 15:24 FAX 202 456 2370
A 1908 press release spelled out the key rules for the
day:
With the approval of the President, the south grounds of
the White House will be opened, in accordance with custom,
on Easter Monday
for children only, except that small
children may be accompanied by adult guardians. Adults
unaccompanied by small children will not be admitted.
Music by the service bands also has been a tradition since
John Philip Sousa and the United States Marine Band first
performed in 1889 for President Benjamin Harrison. In 1928
Sousa even wrote "Easter Monday on the White House Lawn" for
a suite entitled Tales of a Traveler.
First Families have much enjoyed the event, welcoming
thousands of children to the White House lawn, except during the
periods of the two world wars when the house and grounds were
closed to the public. In recent decades the Egg Foll has become
increasingly elaborate with additional activities and mementos
provided for the young participants.
Office of the Curator
April 1994
Shesol @ aol.com
04/04/99 02:18:17 PM
Please respond to [email protected]
Record Type:
Record
To:
Joshua S. Gottheimer/WHO/EOP
CC:
Subject: Eggs
Draft 04/04/99 1:00pm
Josh Gottheimer
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
REMARKS FOR WHITE HOUSE EASTER EGG ROLL
THE WHITE HOUSE
April 5, 1999
We?re going to start another Easter Egg Roll in just a few moments.
Before we do, I want to say a few words about the men and women of our
Armed Forces, who are undertaking a mission in the Balkans for the
sake of our national interests, our values and our children?s future. Our
thoughts and prayers are with them. I sincerely hope this sacred season of
renewal, hope, and new beginnings inspire our efforts and light our way to a
brighter, more peaceful tomorrow.
Now, let me join Hillary in thanking all of the sponsors who
helped make this celebration possible. I especially want to thank the
nearly 500 volunteers who were here early this morning getting everything
set up. I know that many of you have helped before, but I see a lot of new
faces every year -- including Jamie Lee Curtis who will be reading one of
her favorite books. I also want to thank the White House chef for boiling
and dying nearly 10,000 eggs for today?s event. That S even more work than
we ask him to do for a big state dinner.
The first time an Easter Egg Roll was held in the White House was way
back in 1878, when Rutherford B. Hayes was President -- that was about the
time your great, great, great grandparents were your age.
Hillary and I have always tried to make this an occasion for family
fun and for family learning, because we all know how important it is for
children -- especially very young children -- to learn together with their
parents.
This year S activities will show you how much fun learning can be. I
am especially proud of our Prescription for Learning initiative.
Launched by the First Lady two years ago, this is an innovative effort that
worksjointly with health care professionals and librarians to emphasize the
importance of reading to children. As part of this initiative, children,
and families at today S event will receive ?Prescriptions -- for Reading?
-- signed by the First Lady and Surgeon General Satcher -- prescriptions that
can be filled with a free book donated by Scholastic, Inc.
That S just one of the many activities we have in store for you today.
You can also see an electronic presentation about the White House at the
CD-ROM Pavilion -- and meet great American figures from our past at the
Historical Fun Stage.
There are story-telling sessions with members of my Cabinet and senior
staff, egg-painting contests, and lots of other things for you to do together
as a family.
And now, I?m going to blow the whistle to start another Easter Egg
Roll. On your marks, get ready, set
GO!
Draft 04/03/99 4pm
Josh Gottheimer
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
REMARKS FOR WHITE HOUSE EASTER EGG ROLL
THE WHITE HOUSE
April 5, 1999
We're going to start another Easter Egg Roll in just a few moments. Before we do, I
want to join Hillary in thanking all of the sponsors who helped make this celebration possible. I
especially want to thank the nearly 500 volunteers who were here early this morning getting
everything set up. I know that many of you have helped before, but I see a lot of new faces every
year -- including Jamie Lee Curtis who will be reading one of her favorite books. I also want to
thank the White House chef for boiling and dying nearly 10,000 eggs for today's event.
Today, our thoughts and prayers must be with the men and women of our Armed Forces
stationed in Balkans, who are undertaking a mission for the sake of our values and our children's
future. May this sacred season of renewal, hope, and new beginnings inspire our efforts and light
our way to a brighter, more peaceful tomorrow.
The first time an Easter Egg Roll was held in the White House was way back in 1878,
when Rutherford B. Hayes was President -- that was about the time your great, great, great
grandparents were your age.
Hillary and I have always tried to make this an occasion for family fun and for family
learning, because we all know how important it is for children -- especially very young children
-- to learn together with their parents.
This year's activities will show you how much fun learning can be. I am especially proud
of our "Prescription for Learning" initiative. Launched by the First Lady two years ago, this
innovative effort that works jointly with health care professionals, librarians to emphasize the
importance of reading to children. As part of this initiative, children, and families at today's
event will receive "Prescriptions -- for Reading" -- signed by the First Lady and Surgeon General
Satcher -- that can be filled with a free book donated by Scholastic, Inc.
"Prescription for Learning" is just one of the many activities we have in store for you
today. You can also see an electronic presentation about the White House at the CD-ROM
Pavilion -- and meet great American figures from our past at the Historical Fun Stage.
And there are story telling sessions with members of my Cabinet and senior staff, egg-
painting contests, and lots of other things for you to do together as a family.
And now, I'm going to blow the whistle to start another Easter Egg Roll. On your marks,
get ready, set
GO!