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Final 05/05/98 11:00am
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
REMARKS ON THE DEDICATION OF THE REAGAN BUILDING
THE RONALD REAGAN BUILDING AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE CENTER
WASHINGTON, DC
May 5, 1998
Acknowledgments: Mrs. Reagan; Admin. David Barram, GSA; Sec. Daley; Sens.
Moynihan and Dole; Gen. Powell; Sec. Schultz; Mayor Barry; Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton;
Members of Congress and my Cabinet
I am glad, Mrs. Reagan, that you are able to join us on this special occasion. You have
always shown remarkable grace under extraordinary pressure--both in your service as America's
First Lady and now, as ever, in your devotion to President Reagan. You still radiate the elegance
and charm that were the hallmark of the Reagan White House. From your pioneering efforts to
keep our kids safe from drugs, to your public support for every family facing Alzheimer's, your
nation thanks you--and Hillary and I thank you.
The only thing that could make this day more special is if President Reagan were able to join us
here as well. But in a way he is here: his unflagging optimism, proud patriotism, and unabashed
faith in America still resonate in freedom's capital city.
As Senator Moynihan just described, the Reagan Building is the completion of that
challenge issued 37 years ago by President Kennedy. This building will house everything from
the Agency for International Development to the Wilson Center for Scholars. It is fitting that the
plaza on which we gather bears the name of Woodrow Wilson. From Wilson to Reagan, this
building spans this American Century.
The world has changed considerably in the years since President Reagan left office. For
half a century, American leaders of both parties waged a Cold War against aggression and
repression across the globe. Today, freed from the yoke of totalitarianism, new democracies are
emerging around the world--enjoying newfound prosperity and a long-awaited peace.
The nations of the world should savor the fruits of this victory: free markets, free
elections, free peoples. But we must not grow complacent; we cannot presume that the fight for
freedom is fully won. No peace can be permanent unless it is backed by the leadership of great
nations. We have seen the end of the Cold War, but not, as some have contended, the end of
history. America's resolve did not crumble with the Berlin Wall, a piece of which stands in this
building. And America's ideals shall never collapse like Communism and recede from the world
scene.
If the history of this American Century has taught us anything, it is that we will either
1
work to shape events or we will be shaped by them. We cannot be partly in the world; we cannot
lead in fits and starts or anytime we believe it suits our interest. We must lead boldly and
consistently and without reservation. Because freedom is always in America's interest.
America's security and prosperity depend above all else upon our willingness to lead in
the world. President Wilson said that Americans were participants in the life of the world, like it
or not. But his countrymen did not listen; and the result was a Great Depression, the rise of
Fascism in Europe and Asia, and a Second World War. Our nation learned then that America
could not withdraw from the world.
That is why a new generation of Americans reached outward in the years after World War
II. They built new alliances of peace and new engines of prosperity around the globe: NATO,
the United Nations, the IMF. It was no accident that, during this period of great American
leadership abroad, Americans experienced unparalleled economic growth at home. And it was
no accident that freedom's great triumph came on America's watch.
Today, on the edge of a new century, the challenges we face are more diverse. But the
values that guide America must remain the same. Information technology does not resolve all
conflicts between nations, it creates new challenges. The expansion of global commerce does
not diminish our responsibility to lead, it heightens it.
At this critical moment, at this time of transition, America faces a choice: Will we retreat
within our borders? Or continue to lead in the world? If we have faith in this great experiment,
"the American experiment" [George Washington], then our responsibility is clear, and the
outcome is evident.
But today's possibilities are not tomorrow's guarantees. We must remain true to the
commitment that every American leader of both parties has made during the last 50 years.
We fought, those 50 years, for a Europe undivided and free. Last week, Congress took an
important step toward that goal by welcoming Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic into
NATO. The alliance that helped keep the peace for a half-century now brings us closer than ever
to a united Europe, democratic and secure. Now Congress has another opportunity to protect the
national interest and fulfill America's responsibilities around the world. It can pay our share of
support to the IMF and settle our obligations to the United Nations.
Just as we fought for democracy, we worked 50 years for economic freedom. The
International Monetary Fund has played a crucial role in steering the global economy in the right
direction: toward financial stability and self-sustaining growth. In this age of economic
interdependence, a commitment to the IMF is an investment in our own prosperity. That is why,
fifteen years ago, President Reagan made what he called an "unbreakable commitment" to the
IMF. If we today break that commitment, we jeopardize the strongest American economy in
decades. We must not risk it.
2
Finally, we fought 50 years for peace and security as part of the United Nations. America
was a founder of the U.N. We are proud to be its host and believe in its ideals. As President
Reagan said in 1985, the U.N. stands as "the symbol of the hopes of all mankind for a more
peaceful and productive world. We must not," he said, "disappoint those hopes." If we are to
fulfill those hopes in the 21 st century, we must pay our debt to the United Nations. America is a
country that pays its bills.
History has taught America never to stand passively in the face of great change.
American leaders like Ronald Reagan have understood: We will shape change or be shaped by
it. To retreat from our responsibilities is to invite danger and instability; to embrace the
obligations of leadership is to build a better future for all. The commerce that will be conducted
in this great building will be testament to the opportunities of a truly global economy. As I stand
within the Reagan Building, and look across the expanse of Wilson Plaza, I am confident that we
will again make the right choice for America and for the world, take up where President Reagan
left off, and lead freedom's march boldly into the 21st century, the next American Century.
3
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37
After 224 years, the American revolution continues
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38
THE WHITE HOUSE
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Draft8 01/24/00 11:40pm
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
UNITED STATES CAPITOL
WASHINGTON, DC
January 27, 2000
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, honored guests, my fellow
Americans: We are fortunate to be alive at this moment in history. Never before has our nation
enjoyed, at once, so much prosperity, social progress, and self-confidence with so little internal
crisis or so few external threats. Never before have we had such a blessed opportunity - and,
therefore, such a profound obligation - to build the more perfect union of our founders' dreams.
There is no better moment to dream new dreams for our nation and act on them.
We begin the new century with over 20 million new jobs in the last seven years. The
fastest economic growth in more than 30 years; the lowest unemployment rate in 30 years; the
lowest poverty rate in 20 years; the lowest African-American and Hispanic unemployment rate
on record; the highest home ownership ever; the first back-to-back budget surpluses in 42 years -
and the largest budget surplus in history.
Next month, America will achieve the longest period of economic growth in our entire
history.
Our economic revolution has been matched by a remarkable revival of the American
spirit: Crime down by 25 percent, to its lowest level in more than 30 years. Teen births have
dropped seven years in a row and adoptions are up by 30 percent. Welfare rolls have been cut in
I
half to their lowest levels in 32 years, and seven million Americans have moved off welfare and
are moving into work.
My fellow Americans, the state of our union is the strongest it has ever been.
As always, most of the credit for what we have achieved belongs to the American people.
Your hard work - to raise your families and live your dreams, you have prepared our nation for
the 2 1st century.
My gratitude also goes to all of you in this chamber who have worked with us to make
the tough decisions, to put progress above partisanship for the sake of our people.
Eight years ago, it was not clear to most Americans that there would be much to celebrate
in the year 2000. Our nation was gripped by economic distress, social decline, political gridlock,
and discredited government. In 1992, at a time of rising crime, mounting deficits, and high
unemployment, the title of a best-selling book asked: "What went wrong?
But in the best traditions of our nation, America determined to set things right. We
replaced outdated ideologies with bold, new ideas anchored in basic, enduring values:
opportunity for all, responsibility from all and a community of all Americans.
2
We went beyond the debate over whether government was the problem or the solution to
a government dedicated to giving the American people the tools to solve their own problems, to
being a catalyst for new ideas, and a partner with Americans in all other walks of life.
We refused to keep making the false choices that paralyzed Washington for too long;
with the smallest federal government in 37 years. We turned record deficits into record
surpluses, and doubled our investment in education. We cut crime, not by choosing prevention
or punishment, but by choosing both, with 100.,000 community police and the Brady Law,
which has kept guns out of the hands of a half-million criminals. We protected the environment,
not by pitting economic growth against environmental progress, but by choosing both - with
cleaner air, safer water and food, and record amounts of precious land protected.
We emphasized both opportunity and responsibility: That's how we ended welfare as we
knew it - requiring work, but protecting health care and nutrition for children and investing more
in child care, transportation and housing for their parents who are making the move from welfare
to work. That's how we have helped parents to succeed at work and at home - with ideas like
Family and Medical Leave, which 20 million Americans have used for childbirth or to care for
sick loved ones, and immunizing 90 percent of our children for the very first time. And that's
how we are opening the doors of college to all - with more Pell grants, more affordable college
loans, and already almost 5 million recipients of the HOPE Scholarship.
Opportunity and responsibility: That's how we have engaged 150,000 more young
Americans in citizen service, in building One America, one community at a time, through
3
AmeriCorps as they earn money to further their own college education. That's how we seized
the opportunities of a global era - with 270 new agreements to expand trade and open markets
for American products, while pushing for an end to child labor and advances in the global
economy and environment. That's how we've advanced our interests around the world - by
standing up for peace from Bosnia to Ireland to the Middle East; by expanding NATO; by
building new partnerships in Asia, Latin America and Africa; by fighting terrorism and the
spread of weapons of mass destruction.
In 1992, Vice President Gore and I had a roadmap. Today we have results. More
important, we have the chance of a lifetime to build the future of our dreams if we stay on the
path that got us here. Building on our progress always moving forward always gaining
ground.
But you can't gain ground if you're standing still. For too long this Congress has been
standing still on some of our most pressing national priorities. Let's begin with them.
I ask you to pass a real patients bill of rights. To pass common-sense gun-safety
legislation. And, again, I ask you to raise the minimum wage.
Two years ago, I stood before you as we reached our first balanced budget and said let's
show our responsibility to the next generation, by maintaining our fiscal discipline and saving
the surplus for Social Security. Because we resisted the temptation to stray from the path of
fiscal discipline, we have had back to back surpluses and are doing something that would have
4
seemed unimaginable seven years ago. We are paying down our national debt. If every one in
this chamber will join me in staying on this path, we now know that we can pay down the debt
in 13 years and make America debt free for the first time since Andrew Jackson was president in
1835.
In 1993, when we took our first major step to put our fiscal house in order with the
passage of the deficit reduction act, I asked your former colleague, my first Secretary of the
Treasury, and a true American statesman, Lloyd Bentson, to lead that effort. America is better
off for his service.
But beyond paying off the debt, we need to make sure that the benefits of that debt
reduction go to preserving two of the most important programs for every family in America -
Social Security and Medicare. I ask you tonight to work with me to make a bi-partisan down
payment on Social Security reform by ensuring that it is strong and safe for the next 50 years.
We should also use the benefits of debt reduction to secure Medicare so that this generation of
older Americans -- and the next -- never have to worry about medical care. And to provide a
prescription drug benefit so that no senior has to choose between medicine and food..
But all of this is just a start. Now we must lift our sights and take what Theodore
Roosevelt, at the dawn of the last century, called "the long look ahead."
We live in revolutionary times. The way we communicate. The way we work. The way
we learn. The way we live. The way we are increasingly connected to each other and to people
5
around the world. My fellow Americans, we have crossed the bridge we built to the 21st
century. Now we must shape a 21st century American revolution of opportunity, responsibility,
and community. We must be, as we were in the beginning, a new nation.
The first American revolution was not won with a single shot. The continent was not
settled in a single day. The challenge of expanding freedom was not accomplished with one
march. The dreams for which we strive are always bold. But the lesson of our history and the
lesson of the last seven years is that we make great strides toward them step by step.
OPPORTUNITY AND RESPONSIBILITY IN EDUCATION
First and foremost, we need a 21st century revolution in education, guided by our faith
that every child can learn. We have the largest, most diverse group of students ever. They will
enter an economy that rewards education more than ever.
That is why, for seven years, we have worked harder than ever to improve our schools,
by following a fundamental strategy: Invest more, but demand more in return. Since 1993 we
have nearly doubled investment in education and training. At the same time we have helped
nearly every state set higher academic standards for their schools.
Scores on college entrance exams are now going up, even as more students from more-
diverse backgrounds are taking the test. And some of the most impressive academic gains are
happening in schools in some of America's poorest neighborhoods.
6
Still, too many schools are a long way from where they need to be. We are doing too
little for these schools, and expecting too little of them. We must not let another generation of
children languish, when we know how to help. Every child who needs it should have access to
preschool. Every child who needs it should have afterschool and summer school to meet high
standards. Every child should learn from great teachers. Every student should graduate high
school with a diploma that means something. And every young person in America should know
that if they want to go to college, they can afford to.
We know this can be done. I have visited schools in some of America's poorest
neighborhoods that have turned themselves around through the same proven formula: more
accountability, higher standards, and extra help to make sure children reach those standards. I
have sent Congress a reform plan based on that formula, a plan that holds all states and school
districts accountable for progress. and rewards them for results. Each year, the national
government invests more than $15 billion in our public schools. It's time to change the way we
invest that money, to support what works and stop supporting what doesn't.
But just as we must demand more than ever from our schools, tonight I propose that we
invest more than ever in our schools.
Let's double our investment to help states and districts turn around their worst-
performing schools-or shut them down. And let's give bonuses to states that succeed in
making scores go up.
7
Let's double our investment in quality afterschool and summer school programs. They
boost academic achievement and keep children off the street and out of trouble. If we do this, we
can give every child in every failing school in America the chance to meet high standards.
We know that children who learn early learn best. Since 1993, we've put over 160,000
more children in Head Start and improved its quality. Tonight, I propose the largest funding
increase for Head Start in history. This will lay the foundation for our long-term goal: universal
pre-school for every child who needs it.
We know that children learn best in smaller classes with good teachers. For two years in
a row, Congress has supported my plan to hire 100,000 new, qualified teachers, to lower class
sizes in the early grades. This year, I ask you to make it three in a row. But with two million
teachers retiring in the next decade, we must do more. Tonight, I propose a $1 billion initiative
to bring the best and the brightest into teaching, to get bad teachers out of the classroom, and to
reward good teachers - because none of us would be here without them.
We know public school choice works when parents have real choice. That's what charter
schools provide. When I became President, there was just one independent public charter school
in America. Today there are 1,700. My budget assures that we will meet our goal of funding
3,000.
We know that for children today, having access to the Internet is as vital as access to a
library. In 1994, only 35 percent of schools and only three percent of classrooms were connected
8
to the Internet. Today, with the help of the Vice President's E-rate program, 89 percent of
schools and 51 percent of classrooms are hooked up. And the money is there to connect them
all. The problem is that a third of all schools are in serious disrepair - not just with leaky roofs
but with walls too old to wire to the Internet. Tonight, I propose $1.3 billion to help 5,000
schools make immediate, urgent repairs. And I renew my call for a tax credit to help build or
modernize 6,000 schools nationwide - to put our students in modern classrooms and get them
out of trailers.
We know that smaller high schools are safer and help students learn more. But since
World War II, American high schools have grown five times bigger. We must help districts
convert large, factory-style high schools into smaller schools where the often-cruel forces of peer
pressure can be softened by the influence of caring adults.
We must do more to prepare young students for college and convince them they can go.
Two years ago, Congress crossed party lines to create our Gear Up program, enabling college
students to mentor at-risk middle school students. I propose to double the number of children
reached, to 1.4 million, and to offer disadvantaged students the same college test prep courses
wealthier students use to boost their scores.
We know that to make the American Dream achievable, we must make college
affordable. For seven years, on a bipartisan basis, we have taken actions toward that goal: more
Pell grants, more-affordable student loans, education IRAs, and our HOPE scholarship tax cut.
9
Today, 67 percent of high school graduates go on to college, up almost 10 percent since 1993.
Yet still, millions of families feel the strain of paying college tuition. They need help.
I propose a landmark $30-billion college opportunity tax cut. It will give middle class
families a tax deduction for up to $10,000 in tuition costs--providing as much as $2,800 in much
needed tax relief. With this new college opportunity tax cut, plus Hope Scholarships, a Pell
grant increase, and other aid, we can say that we have made four years of college available to all.
REWARDING WORK AND STRENGTHENING FAMILIES
We need a 21st Century revolution to reward work and strengthen families, in a world
where more and more parents work, but the most important work of all - still - is raising
children.
One of the most powerful incentives to work has been the Earned Income Tax Credit, a
targeted tax cut for working families. The "E" in "EITC" is about earning; about working; about
taking responsibility and being rewarded for it. In my first address to you, I asked Congress to
greatly expand the EITC, and we did. As a result, in 1998 alone, the EITC helped more than 4.3
million Americans work their way into the middle class - double the number in 1993.
Tonight, I propose another major expansion of the EITC. We should reduce the marriage
penalty for the EITC, making sure that it rewards marriage, and family, just as it rewards work;
10
and we should expand the tax credit for families with more than two children. Our plan would
provide those families up to $1,200 more in tax relief. They're working hard to reach the middle
class. We should help them.
Rewarding work and family requires us to make sure that men and women get equal pay
for equal work. Working women have made significant strides: the female unemployment rate
is the lowest in 40 years, and the female-headed household poverty rate is the lowest ever
recorded. But women still earn only about 75 cents for every dollar men earn. That's just not
good enough. We must provide the resources to enforce present equal pay laws, and train more
women for high-paying, high-tech jobs. And we should pass the Paycheck Fairness Act.
Working parents need quality, affordable child care. Many spend up to a quarter of their
income on child care. Last year, we helped parents provide care for about 1.75 million children.
But that's only one tenth of those eligible under federal law. My child care initiative, along with
the funds secured in welfare reform, would make child care better, safer, and more affordable for
another 650,000 children.
To help millions of parents with moderate incomes, we should expand the child care tax
credit. And let's take the next big step. Let's make the tax credit refundable for low-income
families. For those making under $25,000 a year - too little to earn a refund today - that means
up to $2,400 more for child-care costs. Let's get this done. Parents should be able to balance
work and family - not have to choose between them.
11
Tens of millions of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. As hard as they work, they
still don't have the opportunity to save. Too many work for a small business that lacks the
resources to provide pensions. Too few can make use of the IRAs and 401-Ks that so many
Americans are using to accumulate wealth, or save for a first home or a dignified retirement.
Every family that works hard should have that chance. Tonight, I propose a major new initiative
to ensure that all Americans can save. These new [TK] Savings Accounts will give low- and
moderate-income families the help they need - matching their contributions, however small,
dollar for dollar, every year they save. And we should go further. We should pass a major new
50 percent tax credit for any small business that provides a meaningful pension to all of its
workers.
From my first days as President, we have worked to give families better access to better
health care. In 1993, many workers lost their coverage when they changed or lost their jobs;
many lost their jobs when they took time off to care for a sick loved one. And when employers
failed to provide it, many working families had nowhere to turn to provide health care for their
children.
Working together, we have changed that: by providing family and medical leave; by
protecting coverage between jobs; and by passing a Children's Health Insurance Program. In
less than a year, enrollment in CHIP has doubled, to 2 million children. We're on our way to our
goal of 5 million. To ensure that we meet it, I propose that we enroll children where they are:
schools, HeadStart classrooms, and child-care centers. Because every child in America deserves
a healthy start in life.
12
But there is more we must do - to insure not only children, but entire families that lack
coverage. Tonight I propose that we follow Vice President Gore's suggestion and make hard-
pressed parents eligible for the insurance that covers their kids. If we do this, not just for
children but for these 6.5 million parents, we can make sure that families have the health care
they need. With these steps alone, we can cover nearly one quarter of the uninsured in America.
And let's give a real, affordable option to the fastest growing group of uninsured: people
between 55 and 65 who lose their coverage. Last year, I called on Congress to let them buy into
Medicare. This year, 1 propose we also give them a tax credit when they do so, to make this
option more affordable.
We must also do more for citizen caregivers - the record numbers of Americans
providing for aging or ailing loved ones at home. More and more this is a common choice, but
rarely an easy - or an inexpensive - one. Last year, I proposed a $1,000 tax credit for long-term
care. This year, let's pass it - and triple it to $3,000.
Taken together, these proposals mark the largest investment in health care in the 35 years
since Medicare. We owe it to our people to pass it this year.
Let's make another pledge: let's improve mental health care. My budget makes the
largest increase ever to expand community mental health services. And I want to thank someone
13
who has waged this battle on all fronts, fighting for the mentally ill homeless, working to break
down the barriers that keep people from the help they need: Tipper Gore.
Nearly one in three American children grows up in a home without a father - and these
children are five times more likely to live in poverty than children with both parents at home.
Demanding and promoting responsible fatherhood is the critical next stage of welfare reform.
We have already begun to crack down on fathers who fail to pay child support by denying them
drivers' licenses and creating a national database to track them across state lines. As a result,
child support payments have doubled since 1993. The number of unwed fathers who legally
acknowledge their paternity has tripled. And the percentage of children born into unwed homes,
after skyrocketing for decades, has begun to level off.
We must work toward the day when every father in America takes responsibility for his
children. We can begin with tougher measures against fathers who fail to pay child support, like
booting their cars and denying them passports. And we should require fathers to work - while
helping them find work - so they can pay the child support they owe.
We know this can make a difference. Carlos Rosas of St. Paul, Minnesota enrolled in a
father's program in 1996 when he was not making enough to keep up with his child support
payments to his 13-year-old son, Ricardo. Since continuing his education and graduating from
technical school, Carlos has landed a good job and is able to better support his son, both
financially and emotionally. Contrary to conventional wisdom, many fathers, like Carlos, want
14
to do right by their children, and we should help them. Carlos is with us tonight. And we should
let him know that we support his commitment to support his child.
RESPONSIBILITY AND CRIME
Crime in America has dropped every year for the past seven years -- the longest
continuous decline on record. For seven years, we've helped wage the fight--from passing the
Brady bill to funding 100,000 new community police officers. Our nation is safer, but no one
believes America is safe as it can be. Let's set a higher goal. Let's make America the safest big
country in the world.
Last fall, Congress supported my plan to hire up to 50,000 more police officers, with
special help for high-crime neighborhoods. I ask you to continue that support this year.
Last year, after the Columbine tragedy, Congress considered common-sense gun safety
legislation to require Brady background checks at gun shows, child safety locks for all new
handguns, and a ban on the importation of large-capacity ammunition clips. With courage-and
a tie-breaking vote by the Vice President-the Senate faced down the gun lobby, stood up for the
American people and passed this legislation. But the House failed to follow suit.
We've all seen what can happen when guns fall into the wrong hands. Daniel Mauser
was only 15 years old when he was gunned down at Columbine High School. He was an
amazing kid, a straight-A student, a good skier. Like all parents who lose their children, his
15
father Tom has borne unimaginable grief. Somehow Tom has found the strength to honor his
son by transforming that grief into action. Earlier this month, he took a leave of absence to fight
for tougher gun safety laws. 1 pray that his courage and wisdom will move this Congress to
make common-sense gun safety legislation the very next order of business.
We must do more. States require hunters and automobile drivers to have licenses. It is
long past time for states to require licenses for handgun purchasers as well.
We've shown that we can strengthen gun laws and better enforce laws already on the
books. Federal gun crime prosecutions are higher today than in 1992, and are up 25 percent
since 1998. But again, we must do more. I propose to hire more federal and local gun
prosecutors, and more ATF agents to crack down on illegal gun traffickers and bad-apple dealers
who supply guns to criminals and juveniles. We must give law enforcement the tools to trace
every gun used in a crime in America. And we must create a national ballistics network capable
of tracing almost any bullet left at a crime scene to the gun of the criminal who fired it.
[Let me say something else. I think it is important that the gun industry take more
responsibility in changing the way it designs, markets and distributes firearms. There are
responsible citizens in the gun industry who want to work with us to make sure the guns they sell
don't wind up in the wrong hands and that kids aren't killed accidentally with them. Part of the
answer may be in new technologies that could reduce accidents.]
16
Listen to this: the accidental gun death rate of children under 15 is nine times higher in
the U.S. than in 25 other industrialized nations--combined. Technologies now exist that could
lead to guns that can only be fired by the adults who own them. I thank the gun manufacturers
who are developing these smart guns, and ask all other manufacturers to join them. And I ask
Congress to help by increasing funds for research in these technologies to keep our kids safer.
Every parent I know worries about violence in the media. We need to give parents more
tools to raise their kids right in today's culture. I thank the entertainment industry for accepting
my challenge to put voluntary ratings on TV programs and video and Internet games. This year,
I challenge the industry to go farther. Let's do as the First Lady has suggested, and give parents
a single, voluntary rating system for all their children's entertainment -- a system that is easy to
understand and enforce.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of offenders leave our prisons, only to wind up back
in trouble with the law. To keep our communities safe, we must do more to monitor ex-
offenders and give them the support they need to become responsible citizens. Two-thirds of ex-
offenders who are sent back to prison are drug abusers. But if they get drug treatment, they are
far less likely to commit another crime. We must provide them with that treatment, along with
regular drug testing and a simple bargain: stay clean and you stay free; do drugs and you do more
time.
OPENING NEW MARKETS
17
GLOBAL CHANGE AND AMERICAN LEADERSHIP
It is not enough to master the possibilities of the new economy at home. We must also
lead and shape another revolution that is sweeping our world: globalization. It is the central
reality of our time - a process tearing down barriers and building new networks between nations,
peoples, economies and cultures.
Globalization is irreversible, driven even further by the explosion in information
technology. Change this profound is both liberating and threatening. But our open, creative
society stands to benefit more than any other - if we understand and act on the new realities of
interdependence. We must maintain our military and economic might. But we cannot assure
our well being without also being an essential part of every vital global network, as a good
neighbor and good partner. We cannot keep going forward by holding other countries, especially
poor ones, back. We cannot build our future without helping others to build theirs.
Clearly, one thing we can and must do is to keep international trade growing, and
growing fairly. Trade now accounts for one-quarter of our economy. It creates good jobs and
brings us new products and technologies. We need to keep that trade growing, and growing
fairly. That means enforcing our own rules to protect our workers, our industries, and our
environment. It means a global economy based on the rule of law. It means making
international trade - and the WTO - more open and responsive to public concerns. We will not
build our prosperity on the sweat of children, or the ruin of our environment.
18
We must also reach out to developing economies; and I ask Congress to finalize our
groundbreaking African and Caribbean Basin trade initiatives. This will help Americans
economically and forge new partnerships for a more secure, democratic world.
But mastering the demands of globalization is about much more than economics. It is
about seizing an unprecedented opportunity to build a future of security, prosperity and freedom,
while dealing with the dangers that still imperil our national interests. What are the critical
challenges we face in the coming century?
One will be to encourage our former adversaries Russia and China to emerge as stable,
prosperous, democratic partners of the United States. Both countries are being held back from
reaching their potential: Russia by the legacy of communism, by economic crisis, by a cruel and
futile war in Chechnya; China by the illusion that it can buy stability at the expense of freedom.
But think how much else has changed: 5,000 former Soviet nuclear weapons dismantled;
Russian soldiers serving with ours to keep peace in the Balkans; Russian people democratically
electing their leaders d for the first time. And in China, a society more open to the world than at
any time in its history. No one can know for sure what direction these great countries will
choose. We can make sure that we do everything in our power to see that both are on the inside
of the global community, playing by the rules, not on the outside denying them.
Congress should support the agreement we negotiated to bring China into the WTO, by
passing Permanent Normal Trade Relations. If we do, America's companies and workers gain
19
new opportunities in every sector of China's vast market, but China gains no new access to ours.
This agreement is good for America and will promote the cause of change in China.
Another critical challenge will be to protect our security from conflicts that pose the risk
of wider war, especially those rooted in ethnic and religious tensions. Our modern world is still
bedeviled by our most ancient failing - fear of those different from us. In too many places, that
fear is exploited by cynical leaders clinging to power or waging war on their neighbors.
America cannot prevent every conflict or stop every outrage. But where our interests are
at stake and we can make a difference, we must be peacemakers. For when human beings
anywhere are singled out for destruction, it is our common humanity that suffers. And left
unresolved, such tragedies can throw whole regions into turmoil, overwhelm the world's
capacity to help the innocent, and threaten us more directly.
We should be proud of America's role in bringing the Middle East closer than ever to a
comprehensive peace. We should be proud of our work to bring peace in Northern Ireland;
proud of our efforts in East Timor and Africa, in promoting reconciliation between Greece and
Turkey, in working to defuse crises between India and Pakistan, and in defending human rights
and religious freedom.
And we should be proud of the men and women of our armed forces who stopped the
ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, enabling a million innocent people to return to their homes. Today,
20
instead of struggling to defeat something evil, we can focus on building something good: a
Europe undivided, democratic and at peace for the first time in history.
When Slobodan Milosevic unleashed his terror in Kosovo, Captain John Cherrey was one
of the brave airmen who turned the tide. And when another American plane went down over
Serbia, he flew into the teeth of enemy air defenses to bring his fellow pilot home. Captain
Cherrey, we honor you with our gratitude, and with our promise to finish the work you helped
begin.
Another critical challenge is to keep the inexorable march of technology from giving
terrorists and hostile nations the means to undermine our defenses, and force us to live in fear
again. The same advances that have shrunk cell phones to fit in the palms of our hands can also
make weapons of terror easier to conceal and easier to use.
We must meet this threat: by helping Russia keep its arsenal secure and reducing both
our nuclear arsenals; restraining nuclear and missile programs in North Korea and Iran;
preventing Iraq from threatening its neighbors. We are increasing our preparedness against
biological attack and developing a system to defend against the missiles of outlaw nations -
while working to preserve our Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with Russia. My budget devotes $2
billion to protect our vital computer systems from hackers and criminals in any corner of any
country.
21
We must also strengthen global standards against proliferation. I hope we can have a
bipartisan dialogue this year to build a consensus on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty which
will eventually lead to its ratification. America must remain a leader in the struggle for a safer
world.
Another critical challenge is to keep global stability from being threatened by a gap
between rich and poor. We cannot accept a world in which a part of humanity lives on the
cutting edge of a new economy, while another lives on the bare edge of survival. Part of the
answer is expanded trade. A bigger part is the expansion of freedom.
From Nigeria to Indonesia, more people won the right to choose their leaders in 1999
than in 1989, the year the Berlin Wall fell. Yet new democracies need help in delivering for their
people. We must stand by neighboring countries like Colombia, fighting for its people's lives -
and for our children's lives - - against the poison of drugs. I have proposed a two-year, $1.6
billion package to help Colombia; and I ask for your support. And if we want to put the drug
barons out of business, let's go after what they value most: their money. This year, I will
propose legislation to crack down harder on money laundering, here and around the world.
In a world where 1.3 billion people live on less than a dollar a day, we must also reduce
the debts of impoverished countries. I ask Congress to continue to support that effort.
And America must help more nations break the bonds of disease that hold down their
people. It is unacceptable that last year in Africa, AIDS killed ten times as many people as war
22
did. My budget invests $150 million in the fight against this and other infectious killers. And I
will ask the world to join us in an initiative to speed the delivery and development of vaccines.
Today, I am proposing a tax credit that will say to private industry: if you develop vaccines for
diseases like malaria, TB and AIDS, we will help pay for them, and together save millions of
lives.
And I will ask Congress to increase our support for international family planning by $170
million. That money will help families live healthier lives, and it will save the lives of thousands
of women and children.
All this comes down to a central challenge, the most important of all: will America
continue to lead? In the 20th century, America was thrust into global leadership by the forces of
history. Now America must choose: to direct the new forces of history or be driven by them.
Clearly, America must lead boldly and consistently and with a clear understanding of what
globalization and increasing interdependence require of us.
To lead, we must remain strong. We have reversed the decline in defense spending that
began in 1985. We must continue to keep our military the best trained, best equipped in the
world. My budget invests in readiness and in 21ˢᵗ century weapons. It raises salaries for our men
and women in uniform and ensures America's veterans the thanks and honor they have so richly
earned.
23
We must also continue to fund the one percent of our budget that supports the diplomacy
that keeps our soldiers out of war. Last year, Congress worked with me to maintain that
commitment and resume paying our UN dues and arrears. Let's do it again this year. And let's
remember: building a stronger global community will only strengthen our community here at
home.
RESPONSIBILITY, OPPORTUNITY, AND THE ENVIRONMENT
We have no higher obligation to our children, and their children, than to be wise stewards
of our air, water, and land. I am grateful for the many opportunities the Vice President and I
have had to honor this commitment - and finally to put to rest the notion that you can't expand
your economy and protect the environment at the same time. As our economy has grown, we
have rid countless neighborhoods of toxic waste, ensured cleaner drinking water for millions of
families, and taken unprecedented steps to improve the air we breathe.
In the past three months alone, we have acted to preserve pristine backcountry lands in
our National Forests and created three new National Monuments - adding to the tens of millions
of acres we are protecting for all Americans, for all time. Not since the days of Theodore
Roosevelt has the nation come together to save so much precious land in the continental United
States.
But our communities are growing, and our commitment to conservation must keep
growing as well. So tonight, as part of my Lands Legacy Initiative, I propose creating, for the
24
first time, a permanent conservation endowment to save our wildlands, protect our coastlines,
and restore our wildlife. This endowment would provide nearly $1.5 billion each year - by far
the largest, most enduring investment in land preservation ever proposed.
Last year, the Vice President launched a major new effort to help make communities
more livable - so children will grow up next to parks rather than parking lots, and parents don't
sit in endless traffic when they could be home with their kids. Tonight, we propose new funding
for advanced transit systems for saving farms and other precious open spaces
and for
helping the major cities around the Great Lakes protect their waterways and enhance their quality
of life.
As we work to protect our natural resources, we must help other nations that are
struggling to protect theirs. The rainforests are the lungs of our planet - the source of more than
a quarter of the oxygen on earth. Yet these lush sanctuaries of life are disappearing at the rate of
more than 50 acres a minute. Tonight, I propose a new plan to help countries from the Amazon
to the Congo Basin strengthen their economies by preserving, rather than destroying,
irreplaceable forests.
The greatest environmental challenge of the new century is global warming. Scientists
tell us that the 1990s were the hottest decade of the entire millennium - and that if we fail to
reduce emissions of greenhouse gases now, deadly heat waves, droughts, and floods will become
more frequent with each passing year.
25
But thanks to remarkable new technologies, we can meet this challenge - and we can do
it in ways that produce more widespread, more sustainable economic growth.
Last week, at the Detroit Auto Show, automakers unveiled cars that use advanced
materials and dual fuel sources to get 70 to 80 miles a gallon the fruits of a unique partnership
the Vice President has led. We've helped develop windows that drastically cut energy bills by
keeping out four or five times as much heat and cold as normal windows do. We're helping to
bring the benefits of advanced space research into our homes with solar roofing tiles and fuel
cells that produce all the electricity a family needs - and no pollution at all. Before you know it,
we'll be producing clean fuels from crops and getting the equivalent of hundreds of miles from a
gallon of gas.
To help spur these new technologies, I propose giving major tax incentives to businesses
for producing clean power from crops, wind, or sun and to families for buying energy-
efficient homes and appliances. And when new super-efficient cars hit the showroom floor, we
should provide people who buy them with up to $3,000 in tax credits, effectively cutting their
sticker price and ensuring even greater appeal.
But let's be frank: we have the technology to make all new cars more fuel efficient right
now. So tonight, I call on auto industry leaders to join us in designing a new strategy for
reversing the recent decline in average fuel economy. You've committed to higher efficiency in
Europe. Let's do the same right here at home.
26
We must also meet the worldwide challenge of global warming by giving developing
countries the tools to grow in ways that strengthen their economies and protect the environment.
So tonight, I propose a new [$100 million] initiative to help these countries adopt the newest
clean-energy technologies. Nations can now achieve prosperity without following the old
patterns of growth that brought us global warming. Let's help them follow a better, more
modern path.
THE OPPORTUNITY AND RESPONSIBILITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
In the new century, innovations in science and technology will be key not only to the
health of our environment. Sustained investments in scientific research will also yield dramatic,
almost miraculous, improvements in the quality of our lives.
In the last century, the life expectancy for the average American increased from 47 to 77
- thanks to discoveries such as penicillin and the development of vaccines for many childhood
diseases. Today, we are on the cusp of advances that will not only help us live far longer but far
better.
Later this year, researchers will finish the first complete sequence of the human genome - -
the very blueprint of life. This will lead to a revolution in our ability to detect, treat, and prevent
diseases from Alzheimer's to cancer to AIDS. If we delay the onset of Alzheimer's by just five
years, we could empty half the nursing home beds in America.
27
Research at the intersection between biomedical research and engineering will also lead
to amazing breakthroughs. Scientists are already working on an artificial retina to treat certain
kinds of blindness, and methods of directly stimulating the spinal cord to allow people who are
paralyzed to walk.
Scientists have recently identified three of the genes that cause Parkinson's Disease - and
they will soon begin to test elegant therapies that will turn off these faulty genes for good.
Tonight, I want to thank these scientists for their brilliant work. I also want to salute Michael J.
Fox - the talented actor, director, and producer who was diagnosed with Parkinson's nine years
ago. Michael, on behalf of the million young and older Americans struggling with Parkinson's, I
thank you for giving so much of yourself to accelerating the hunt for a cure.
Advances in science and engineering are also the engine of our economic growth.
Consider the impact of information technology. Because of our early investments in developing
microprocessors, satellite communications, and the Internet, America now leads the world in
information technology - an industry that accounts for one third of our economic growth and that
generates jobs that pay almost 80 percent more than the private sector average wage.
In the future, we will have devices that can translate foreign languages as fast as you can
speak, enabling anyone to tap into the world's knowledge instantly - - from anywhere
materials ten times stronger than steel at only a small fraction of the weight unimaginably
powerful computers made with DNA strands rather than silicon chips. These and other
28
breakthroughs may enhance our economy and our society even more profoundly than the
Internet does today.
For all these reasons, my budget will include an unprecedented $3 billion increase in the
21st Century Research Fund. We will boost support for biomedical research at the National
Institutes of Health, double the largest dollar increase for the National Science Foundation in its
50-year history, and greatly expand funding for information technology, clean energy,
university-based research, and NASA's never-ending quest in space.
It is up to all of us to ensure that this new age of science and technology is also a new age
of enlightenment, reflecting our most cherished values.
First and foremost, we must ensure that citizens' privacy - financial and medical - is
protected. Last year, our administration proposed rules to protect every citizen's most sensitive
information, his or her medical records. This year, we will finalize those rules. We have also
taken steps to protect our people's financial records. But these are only the first steps, as I said
when I signed the financial modernization bill into law. I will soon send legislation to the
Congress to complete this important unfinished business.
We will also take action to prevent genetic discrimination - so no employer ever reviews
your genetic records along with your resume. We will make sure that the actions of the
government itself contain strong privacy protections. And tonight, I want to issue a strong
challenge to on-line companies to do more to protect their customers' privacy.
29
Second, we know that our medical professionals work wonders every day; but we also
know that their first obligation is to do no harm. My budget makes the largest investment in
history to eliminate medical errors and enhance patient safety. Because no American should
ever fear that their health care will jeopardize their health.
If we do all these things, we can ensure that the march of human discovery will only
quicken in the century before us - enhancing our lives, and the lives of our children, in ways that
we can only begin to imagine today.
COMMUNITY
In the era of globalization, we must work even harder to strengthen the bonds of our
local communities and our national community.
We should begin with ways to widen the circle of citizen service until it embraces every
American. There is a new spirit of service in America-a movement we have supported with
revolutionary new partnerships between government and private citizens.
Four years ago, I asked corporate leaders to join us in helping people move from welfare
to work. Today, 12,000 companies have hired nearly 650,000 of our fellow citizens.
30
Over the past seven years, we have created many other successful partnerships. To battle
drug abuse and AIDS. To teach young people to read. To Save America's Treasures. To fight
teen pregnancy. To prevent youth violence. To promote racial healing. To help our young
people serve.
But there is much more to be done, we need more citizen servants.
Veterans of AmeriCorps, like veterans of our military and the Peace Corps, are a pool of
know-how and can-do. Tonight, I propose the creation of the Americorps Reserves to activate
former AmeriCorps members in times of crisis including natural disasters.
Our senior population represents a huge army of workers and volunteers who want and
deserve a chance to serve. So, tonight, I say to seniors across America - we need your work,
your wisdom and your service. Get involved if you are not and stay involved if you are.
If we believe that charity begins at home, we must reward lower and middle income
Americans who tithe and contribute to charities. Right now, only those who earn enough to
itemize can claim a tax deduction for charitable contributions. Tonight, I propose new tax
incentives to allow low and middle income citizens to claim that same deduction.
Faith-based organizations are on the frontlines in our communities helping Americans
fight substance abuse, providing opportunities for young people to get back on the right track.
31
We can respect the line between church and state and still do more to support the good works of
these groups. [TK Specific examples to come]
There is even more we can do to breathe fuller life into the idea of citizenship. That's
why we're proposing to invest more in teaching civics and English to new immigrants. That's
why in this year of the census, every one of us must not only stand up and be counted. We must
also stand up and be heard.
So I say to all Americans: whatever your party, whatever your ideology, whatever you
do, make your voice heard. Vote.
We are going to use 21st century technology to open new doors to the democratic process.
Two generations ago, Franklin Roosevelt used the new medium of radio for his fireside chats.
Starting next month, 1 will use the new medium of the Internet to launch Webside Chats-
interactive discussions to connect more Americans to our democracy.
Our national community is undergoing one of the greatest demographic transformations
in history. Within ten years there will be no majority race in our largest state, California. In a
little more than 50 years there will be no majority race in America.
In a more interconnected world, will we make diversity our greatest strength? As we
have seen in recent years, from Northern Ireland to Africa, from the Balkans to the Middle
32
East racial and ethnic conflict too often spark terror and war. And no country is exempt from
hatred-even our own.
We have seen a man dragged to death in Texas simply because he was black. A young
man murdered in Wyoming simply because he was gay. In the last year, we've seen the
shootings of African Americans, Asian Americans, and Jewish children simply because of who
they were. We must draw the line. This is not the American way. In America, we must do more
than tolerate diversity--we must celebrate it. Without further delay, we must pass the Hate
Crimes Prevention Act and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.
The work of building One America must be the work of all Americans. We must
rededicate ourselves to the ideals of justice and opportunity for all that are at the heart of our
democracy. No American should be subjected to discrimination in finding a home, getting a job,
going to school, or securing a loan. Tonight, I propose the largest ever investment to enforce
America's civil rights laws. Let's make sure protections in law are protections in fact.
Last February, I created the White House Office on One America to coordinate our
efforts and help build community partnerships for racial reconciliation. We are reaching out
across our nation - to religious leaders, to corporate leaders, to the legal community to enlist the
help of American in building the One America of our dreams.
33
This fall, at the White House, one of America's leading scientists, said something we all
need to remember: all human beings are genetically 99.9 percent the same. Modern science
affirms what ancient faith has taught us: the most important fact of life is our common humanity.
My fellow Americans, each time I prepare for the state of the union, I approach it with
great hope and great expectations for our nation. But there is no escaping the fact that tonight is
different. For tonight, we stand on the mountaintop, with a new millennium spread out before
us. Behind us we see the expanse of American achievement, and ahead even wider frontiers of
possibility.
So, as we take our long look ahead, we must ask ourselves: How will we make the most
of this moment of promise?
Tonight, let us pledge to ourselves and to our children:
At a time of undreamed of economic growth, we will, step by step, bring opportunity to
every American in every community.
At a time of record surpluses, we will, step by step, make America debt free for the first
time since 1835.
At a time when our people are living longer than ever, we will, step by step, ensure that
they live healthier, with quality, affordable healthcare for all Americans.
34
At a time when science and technology are transforming our world, we will, step by step,
realize their full promise and, at every step, harness our progress to our values.
At a time when we have proved we can grow the economy and protect the environment,
we will, step by step, reverse climate change and secure our planet for our grandchildren.
At a time of steadily falling crime, we will, step by step, make America the safest big
nation on Earth.
At a time when more parents are working, we will, step by step, ensure that all parents
have the tools to succeed at work and in raising their children and that none of those children
are raised in poverty.
At a time when knowledge is the key to our children's future, we will, step by step, see
to it that all of them begin school ready to learn and graduate ready to succeed.
At a time when globalization brings both new promise and new perils, we will continue
to be the world's indispensable nation - a strong leader and a better neighbor.
At a time when America is growing more diverse than ever, we will become at last what
our founders pledged us to be so long ago -- one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all.
35
This is the long look ahead, unreachable in one year, but clearly within reach of a great
people with big dreams, determined to work together and move ahead, step by step.
When the framers were crafting our Constitution, Benjamin Franklin reflected on a
painting of the sun, low on the horizon, hanging in Independence Hall. He said, "I have often
wondered whether that sun was rising or setting. Today I have the happiness to know it is a
rising sun." Well, today because each generation of Americans has kept the fire of freedom
burning and lighting new frontiers of possibility, we bask in the warmth of Mr. Franklin's rising
sun. Now it is our time. We will be judged by the deeds and dreams we pass to our children.
And on that score, we will be held to a high standard, indeed. Because our chance to do good is
so great. So, let us look to the rising sun. After 224 years, the American revolution continues.
We remain a new nation. As long as our dreams outweigh our memories, America will be
forever young. That is our destiny. And this is our magic moment.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.
36
SOTU 2000
NOTES FOR CONSIDERATION FROM DISCUSSIONS
January 14/15, 2000
From Penn, Podesta and others
Intro/conclusion: we're prepared for 21ˢᵗ Century - economy good, society good. We're not
just better off, we're better.
Long look ahead/ big challenges. Broader vision future - programs and steps along the way.
Internet privacy - technology, genetic privacy
FLOTUS - ratings, privacy
IDA - see Andrea Kane
Fiscal discipline - in intro and later near SOC security section (debt, etc.); tax credits;
Less references to VPOTUS
Add booting cars
Reference: first back to back surplus
References to FLOTUS box.
Ellen E. Olcott
01/24/2000 08:30:17
Record Type:
Record
To:
Joshua S. Gottheimer/WHO/EOP@EOP
CC:
Subject: sou prep, first 3/4 of side b, tape one.
1/24/00
DRAFT/not proofed
tape one, side B
STATE OF THE UNION SPEECH PREPARATION
(this portion is 3/4 of tape one, side b)
THE PRESIDENT: (in progress) - - somewhere else, or try to
get somebody else to pick on up. If this is one of the wonderful
things I want to say that we are going to mention, let's make
sure they know what the hell I'm talking about. That's the only
point I'm making. Okay?
Then on the charter schools, I'd like to just goose it just
a little bit, that's the next paragraph, by saying - - if we're
going to say with this we know - - this is another thing you all
need to think about whether you want the reprise in this section
to be "we know, we know, we know." Is it likely to be a "we know
it all"? You know what I mean? I just want you to think about
that. I don't have an opinion. I actually liked it last night
when I read it, but this morning it struck me as maybe a little
too
I
(inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT: But you get up to 10 if you don't. But,
anyway, here's the way I rewrote this. "We know public school
choice works if parents have a real choice. That's what charter
schools are all about." "That's what charter schools are all
about" or "that's what charter schools provide. "When I became
President, there was just one independent public charter school
in all America. Today, there are 1,700" -- there are actually
more than 1,700. "My budget assures that we will meet our goal
of funding 3,000. Let's give our parents real choice." Or
"parents and students real choice."
Q
(Inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT: Not only that, it's nothing new about it.
But this is the problem, because if you do this, then you're
beginning to set your long-term goals. But I did that a couple
of other places. You ought to say, one way you might start this
is say, "look, America has been working hard for several years to
improve our schools, as our pool of students has grown larger and
ever more diverse, and as education has grown increasingly
important.' You know, "for seven years we have, blah, blah,
blah."
And then you say, "these things are going up and some of the
most impressive" -- you know. But you want to get into the big
ideas. Now, for example, and then you can say, if you get into
the big ideas then you can talk about what you're doing and you
could put this at the education section. You can say, "for those
who doubt that all children can learn, let me tell you the story
of
"
Q Or, "for those who doubt that these things can work,
let me tell you about
"
THE PRESIDENT: "that all children can learn and that we
know how to do it. Let me tell you a story." See, I think that
way if you want to flip - - see, this is all out of order here,
we've got a little public school, we've got a little Head Start,
we've got a little after-school, we've got a little turn around
failing schools. You know what I mean? If you didn't have to
put this in there right now and you started with, "what kind of
system do we want? Do we want a system where everybody has got
access to pre-school, everybody who needs it has got access to
after-school programs; during the school day they're in school
with good teachers, high standards, strong systems of
accountability that every district has a program to turn around
failing schools or shut them down; and when kids do get out of
high school they're encouraged to go to college and every single
one of them can afford to go." That's what you want, that's your
dream, you know? You can use higher form rhetoric, but you get
the idea.
And I think then you talk about, "what steps are we going to
take toward that goal?" And I think this is a structure you
could use a lot of these. "What steps are we going to take
toward that goal?" Then you litanize the things. You find you
can do it quicker, I think. And you don't have to say - - I mean,
I did it here, but "let's double the investment to fund" like
here. I'll just give you an example. If you go to page seven in
the middle of the thing, the rest of it I just sort of I
rewrote some things. But let's take, "we know the states and
districts who managed to turn around work performance
(inaudible) - - shut them down. Last fall, Congress passed my
plan" - - see that paragraph?
Joshua S. Gottheimer
01/24/2000 09:09:10 PM
Record Type:
Record
To:
Terry Edmonds/WHO/EOP@EOP
CC:
Subject: ALL of sou tape one, side b
Forwarded by Joshua S. Gottheimer/WHO/EOP on 01/24/2000 09:09 PM
Ellen E. Olcott
01/24/2000 08:58:57 PM
Record Type:
Record
To:
Joshua S. Gottheimer/WHO/EOP@EOF
CC:
Subject: ALL of sou tape one, side b
1/24/00
DRAFT/not proofed
tape one, side B (ALL)
STATE OF THE UNION SPEECH PREPARATION
THE PRESIDENT: (in progress) -- somewhere else, or try to
get somebody else to pick on up. If this is one of the wonderful
things I want to say that we are going to mention, let's make
sure they know what the hell I'm talking about. That's the only
point I'm making. Okay?
Then on the charter schools, I'd like to just goose it just
a little bit, that's the next paragraph, by saying -- if we're
going to say with this we know -- this is another thing you all
need to think about whether you want the reprise in this section
to be "we know, we know, we know." Is it likely to be a "we know
it all"? You know what I mean? I just want you to think about
that. I don't have an opinion. I actually liked it last night
when I read it, but this morning it struck me as maybe a little
too --
Q
(inaudible.)
because if we do this" you have put us on a path to getting
there. In other words, you may not want to sound like, you know,
"here's my 10 year plan" because, you know, you've got one year
left. But you put increases and you can basically say - - what
you're basically saying is if everybody in the future put an
increase as big as I just did, then we can get to universal
pre-school, we can get to universal after school." And that's
factual (inaudible.) If people continue adding to the increases
that you're doing now, you can reach
THE PRESIDENT: Okay. That's okay to be -- that's like not
being self-serving, either. You can say, "okay, other people
have to finish this, but if they do this, they can."
But do you see what I'm saying? This stuff is all strewed
out and if you're going to use some of them, miss some which
is okay with me it should be done at the end, in terser form,
to illustrate all children can learn. I also think since you're
talking about a revolution in education, I think that short
shrift is given to the closing the digital divide, what we did
with the e-rate, what we're doing. You've got fabulous
statistics about 1994, when Vice President Gore and I started
this program, only 14 percent of our schools and 11 percent of
our classrooms connected. Today, over half out classrooms and
over 80 percent of our schools are connected.
94
Q
(inaudible)
get tain jeel
MARA
THE PRESIDENT: See what I mean? Those are gripping
PLEASE
statistics, and that's what people think of the school
VET
inths
modernization. Then you could go into this, "but you know, still
a third of our schools are in serious disrepair, with leaking
roofs and electrical wiring too antiquated to close the digital
divide" or something. You see what I'm saying? We've got to
51%
paint more picture there.
Now, the other thing is, I know Bruce believes in this, and
I certainly do, because the research has been clear for a decade
now, since well before we got here, about making our high schools
safe and better for smaller there's now a decade of research
Juar
which shows that the optimal size of a class, that it has to be
about 100 to have the density necessary to offer the variety of
inkets
courses and quality of instruction and lab and stuff like that.
But if it gets over 300, you start getting in trouble. For a
icon
graduating class, not classroom class junior class, senior
class, sophomore.
35%
94
And so now there's this new rush on this. And this was I
think referencing that New York Times article (inaudible.) I
like this and I know how passionately you believe in it. The
89%
only problem is, when I say this sentence no one will know what
the hell I'm talking about.
there. In other words, you may not want to sound like, you know,
"here's my 10 year plan" because, you know, you've got one year
left. But you put increases and you can basically say what
you're basically saying is if everybody in the future put an
increase as big as I just did, then we can get to universal
pre-school, we can get to universal after school." And that's
factual (inaudible.) If people continue adding to the increases
that you're doing now, you can reach
THE PRESIDENT: Okay. That's okay to be - - that's like not
being self-serving, either. You can say, "okay, other people
have to finish this, but if they do this, they can."
But do you see what I'm saying? This stuff is all strewed
out and if you're going to use some of them, miss some which
is okay with me it should be done at the end, in terser form,
to illustrate all children can learn. I also think since you're
talking about a revolution in education, I think that short
shrift is given to the closing the digital divide, what we did
with the e-rate, what we're doing. You've got fabulous
statistics about 1994, when Vice President Gore and I started
this program, only 14 percent of our schools and 11 percent of
our classrooms connected. Today, over half our classrooms and
over 80 percent of our schools are connected.
Q
(inaudible)
THE PRESIDENT: See what I mean? Those are gripping
statistics, and that's what people think of the school
modernization. Then you could go into this, "but you know, still
a third of our schools are in serious disrepair, with leaking
roofs and electrical wiring too antiquated to close the digital
divide" or something. You see what I'm saying? We've got to
paint more picture there.
Now, the other thing is, I know Bruce believes in this, and
I certainly do, because the research has been clear for a decade
now, since well before we got here, about making our high schools
safe and better for smaller -- there's now a decade of research
which shows that the optimal size of a class, that it has to be
about 100 to have the density necessary to offer the variety of
courses and quality of instruction and lab and stuff like that.
But if it gets over 300, you start getting in trouble. For a
graduating class, not classroom class -- junior class, senior
class, sophomore.
And so now there's this new rush on this. And this was I
think referencing that New York Times article (inaudible.) I
like this and I know how passionately you believe in it. The
only problem is, when I say this sentence no one will know what
the hell I'm talking about.
Q
(inaudible)
THE PRESIDENT: What has this got to do, this making them
smaller, what has this got to do with a tax credit and a spending
program that is at best designed to make a real dent in a
pre-existing problem with schools at the size they are. And if
we are doing something over and above that to promote small high
schools, what is it that we're doing. So what's the answer to
that?
Q
Well, this issue (inaudible). -- communities can use
to trying new ways to doing this by basically either building
schools within schools or - - (inaudible) -- construction, but
they can use it to rearrange things SO that their schools are
smaller.
THE PRESIDENT: Have you asked Riley? Have we talked to him
at the Education Department about how they would write this
section?
I
No.
THE PRESIDENT: Does he have a good speechwriter.
I
Yes. What I was going to suggest on the education is
that Bruce and I
(end tape one, side A)
THE PRESIDENT: -- [in progress] See that? You see the sign
that says "Nano-USA"? This is nanotechnology? Okay, each one of
these little blocks in the letters is a single carbon monoxide
molecule deposited on a copper surface. Now listen to this: over
100 million letters of this size would fit on a human hair.
Q
Oh, my goodness.
THE PRESIDENT: That's how small that is.
Q
(Inaudible) DNA
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, and I saw this DNA computer. It's
something I thought we might mention. I still don't think we've
got enough sort of modern in this speech.
But anyway -- here's what I want to do. I'm going to give
you this, but I will go over with you now the changes I make,
because I think they 11 be hard for you to read. Basically what
I did was I know we've got to cut 1,500 words out. Basically
I cut - - depending on what ending we used -- between 320 and 400
words out of it. But I put - - because I put a bunch of stuff in.
I cut a lot more than that, but I jammed a lot of stuff back in
here.
Here's the way, you know, you want this action and snappy.
I said, "I challenge Congress not only to pass this measure, but
to make dramatic, new investment in ideas we are working." And I
say, "first, let's double the investment Congress made last year
to fund proven efforts by state and local districts to turn
around their worst performing schools or shut them down and allow
parents to choose other public schools for their children. And
let's give bonuses to states that succeed in making schools go
up." You've got "across the board here," I guess I understand
what you're doing, but you don't have to say that, it can be in
the regs or whatever.
"Second, let's double our investment in quality after-school
and summer school programs that boost academic achievement. They
also keep children off the street and out of trouble. If we do
this, we can give every child and every failing school in America
the chance to meet high standards.' See, that's good. See what
I mean?
Then you go into, you know, our goal of universal
pre-school. But if you've already said all the goals up there,
you'll get confused. And I would say, "universal preschool,' I
wouldn't say for every four year old in America. I know that's
like we're being honest because we can't afford every three year
old, but there's a lot of early, head start, you've got a lot of
states out there trying to get the three year olds in. I think
by trying to be sort of ever so meticulous you could cause
yourself more trouble than you have. As long as you - - that's my
view, anyway.
Q
Mr. President, can I just suggest a possible
formulation as you're doing this, which is, you know, you've just
gone through and talked about revolutionary change. Even when
you're saying "let's double" this, it still to me has a little
bit of sound like, again, I've got a really great Labor/HHS
appropriations bill.
THE PRESIDENT: No, but if you tell them that everybody can
be in one of these schools - -
Q Right. But can I just -- if, for example, on
after-school, I think if you more -- (inaudible) -- I mean, look,
when you called me the other day you said, this New York Times
article is right, you can't expect a school - - (inaudible)
we've got to, we as a country, have to commit ourselves to a time
when the accident of birth will not determine whether everyone
has a pre-school --
THE PRESIDENT: I agree with that.
I
And that's kind of our goal. Then what your budget is,
you -- you know, "that is why I put the largest Head Start,
because if we do this" -- you have put us on a path to getting
THE PRESIDENT: But you get up to 10 if you don't. But,
anyway, here's the way I rewrote this. "We know public school
choice works if parents have a real choice. That's what charter
schools are all about." "That's what charter schools are all
about" or "that's what charter schools provide.' "When I became
President, there was just one independent public charter school
in all America. Today, there are 1,700" -- there are actually
more than 1,700. "My budget assures that we will meet our goal
of funding 3,000. Let's give our parents real choice." Or
"parents and students real choice."
Q
(Inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT: We just did say "public school choice."
What?
I
I think that's playing on their field. (inaudible) on
ours.
THE PRESIDENT: Gee, I don't think so. It's an anti-voucher
message. I mean, it's our whole deal.
Q
(Inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT: Take the last "let's give" out. "My budget
assumes we'll meet our goal of funding 3,000." Okay. On this,
again I don't -- "we know that to make the American dream more
achievable we must make college more affordable." I'd take
"more" out. I mean, we're going to assert that if they pass this
everybody can go. I'd say "we know that to make the American
dream achievable, we must make college affordable. " "For seven
years, on a bipartisan basis, we have moved toward that goal."
Right? Okay.
This, "our efforts are paying off," you could lose that
sentence. You could say, "today, 67 percent of high school
graduates go on to college, up almost 10 percent since 1993. Yet
still millions of families feel the strain of paying college
tuition.' I don't know if you need to say "middle class, " you
can say, "they need help." And we're being trashed for not doing
more for poor people, although I think when they realize that
the 15 percent (inaudible) gets a 28 percent tax credit -- I
don't think that the Times understood that when they trashed it.
I
They understood. It's just automatic with them. It's
just HOPE Scholarship. There's nothing you can do.
THE PRESIDENT: They didn't like the HOPE Scholarship,
either?
Q
You know what, it's like when I argue with them, it's
not terrible, they just feel like they're -- it's not terrible.
Really. They feel like their role in life is to push for Pell
grants -- and they understand.
THE PRESIDENT: It would suit me, Gene, if we took
everything we don't put in the IDAs and put into Pell grants. I
don't give a damn. All right.
Now, in the next sentence, I think you can lose that first
sentence. I just don't think it's necessary. I mean, it's
self-evident: I would say, "I propose a landmark" "they need
help. "They feel the strain of paying for college tuition, they
need help. Therefor, I propose a landmark, $30 million college
-- $30 billion -- college opportunity tax cut. It will give
middle class families a tax deduction for up to $10,000 in
tuition costs, providing as much as $2,800 in much needed tax
reliefs."
Now, do you want to say to people in all eligible income
brackets, so they understand that people in a 15 percent bracket
can get $2,800? You might think of whether you want to say that.
Then I would say, "with this new college opportunity tax cut,
plus HOPE Scholarships" -- we do increase Pell grants, don't we?
Q
Yes.
THE PRESIDENT: - - "a Pell grant increase" -- I'd put that
in there - - "a Pell grant increase and other aids, we can say
that every American who wants to go to college can go." I wish
we could think of some more gripping way to say that, but that's
it.
Now, I rewrote this next paragraph because I think we really
mushed it up. Is there some reason you didn't want to use the
word "gear up" here? I'd say, "we must do more to prepare
young students from disadvantaged backgrounds for college and to
convince them they can go." See, I think they can go better - -
that's the way was can say to every American, "we have opened the
doors of college to all." I like that better up there. That was
our previous phrase. "We can say to every American, finally, we
have opened the doors of college to all." That's a more gripping
thing, at the end of the above paragraph.
And then you say, "we must do more to prepare young students
from disadvantaged backgrounds for college and to convince them
they can go." "And they can go" -- it makes a lot more resonance
there. Then I'd say, "last year Congress crossed party lines to
create the GEAR-UP program, enabling college students to mentor
at-risk middle school students. I propose to double the number of
children reached to 1.4 million, to offer disabled, disadvantaged
students the same prep courses wealthier students use to boost
their scores on college entrance exams.
Q
That's actually a different - - that's actually a new
initiative.
THE PRESIDENT: Okay. "I also propose to offer
disadvantaged students the same test prep courses wealthier
students to boost their scores on college entrance exams." That
will get a good hand. "And to provide grants to help
disadvantaged students succeed once they're in college." See, if
you say, grants to colleges to help them see once they're in
college, you know what I mean?
Q
As much as I like this initiative, I'm not sure, the
last sentence, I'm not sure.
THE PRESIDENT: Lose it. I think the college entrance exam,
you know -- lose it. I mean, it's important, but --
2
I think it's a college grant program. I think the test
prep course is kind of a neat idea, I think that notion would
stay - -
THE PRESIDENT: That's great.
Q
I'm saying the last sentences is this college
completion thing we've worked on, it's $30 million, it's
important. But unless you explain to people that minority kids
are dropping
THE PRESIDENT: Drop it.
I
Shouldn't we move this before? I mean, shouldn't it be
first we have to help more kids get to college and then we've got
to have - -
THE PRESIDENT: Sure. Look, if you go back and do what I
wanted, and you plug this Ruth Summerlin (phonetic) down at the
end, then you can do it seriatim by age. Okay?
Now, if you do that, and you put Ruth Summerlin here, then
you have to put this thing on Hillary, where I think it belongs.
It doesn't belong here, it belongs in the family section where,
Bruce, I also want to find a phrase for second chance home. If
we're going to do that sucker, let's get some credit, because
there's a whole constituency out there on a second chance homes,
and we've been advocating it for years.
Q
And then we have the same thing with the family section
THE PRESIDENT: We've got the same problems with the family
section. We'll get there. We're in the rewarding work and
strengthen the -- but what I'd like to do is to talk about - -
because I could say some other nice things about Hillary in
connection with this. See, but then if you have any doubt that
children can learn, then I think -- then at the end of the family
section, if you have any doubt that we really can cross party
lines and put people first, and the families -- then what I would
do, personally, is to mention first -- because Gore taught me a
lot about this, like I say, when we set it up with the federal
employee -- there will be some reluctance about, you know, is
Clinton doing this just for politics and all that.
I would start with what we did on disabilities last time, to
let people keep their medical insurance. It's a pro-family,
pro-work thing. And then I would talk about how wonderful was
that this unanimous Congress wanted to help do something about
foster care. That first we liberalized adoptions and then we'd
done more for kids that are aging out of foster care. And then I
thank Hillary for that, she's been working on for a lifetime.
And I have to say -- I need to say that in the State of the
Union, because one of the things we found in New York is that she
is in New York the way Al Gore was in the country, she's famous.
But people don't know anything about here. They have no idea
what she's done, just like people had no idea what he'd done.
And some of these focus groups -- like an 80 percent
conversion rate among undecided voters when you fill them with
information.
&
Famous, but unknown.
THE PRESIDENT: But, yeah, it's a high-class problem. Okay.
Let's go down to the second -- but do you see what I mean? The
only problem I see is whether, you know, you get some of these
commentators and they're doing psycho-babble and they say, well,
why did he mention Tipper Gore before he mentioned his own wife
and all that. I don't think we'll have to deal with that. You
know, we're dealing with some whacked-out folks here.
(Laughter.)
Okay. "We need a 21st century revolution to reward work and
strengthen families." Now, listen, this is how I -- I would
putts up here because I think this is the first time people say
this. You've got this at the end of the speech, I would put it
up here. I would say, "we need a 21st century revolution to
reward work and strengthen families. In a world where more and
more parents work, but the most important work is still raising
children. The most important work of all still" -- I don't want
to divide the verb. "But the most important work of all, still,
even in this modern world, still is raising children." Now, it
means you've got to drop it at the end. I think it's better than
all this, "work hard, play by the rules, be rewarded,
self-respect." You say the same thing in fewer words.
Okay. Then I would say -- the only thing I'd say on the
EITC thing is, "as one of my first actions as President" - -
I
think it's better to say, "in my first address to you I asked
Congress to greatly expand.' See? That involves them. Okay?
Q
Mr. President, do you want to use some of this maybe
in the (inaudible) transition there. Your '92 campaign line was
more specific -- (inaudible) -- if you work --
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah, I like it. I'd like that put back in.
That's a touchstone line, I like it.
Q But you see at that point we could, like the education
section, define a couple of goals like that. It shouldn't be
without health care. It shouldn't be without a parent.
THE PRESIDENT: Okay, now, let me just say here, when you
get from the EITC, right, you're dealing with primarily people
not moving from welfare to work, but people already in the work
force. Primarily. I think the sequencing of this whole section
is all screwed up. I love the individual paragraphs, but I think
the sequencing a mess. You go from the EITC to housing vouchers,
without calling them housing vouchers, without explaining what
we're doing. And what I think should be done is, at the very
least, I think we should go -- and then you go into the homeless
people. Right?
What I think you ought to do, what my instinct is that you
go from the tax system to child care to the child care tax
credit. What is the child care tax credit now, $500?
Q
It's the dependent care, which is about
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah, okay.
Q
Mr. President, one thing could be appended if you
wanted to kind of cap that one of your theories, one of your
visions or Clinton (inaudible) has been reward -- reducing the
disincentives to work rewarding work. Things that fit in that
category are EITC, minimum wage, welfare reform, child care and
health care. Those are all the things that are like taxes on
work, that used to keep people --
THE PRESIDENT: They are, but the problem with putting them
all in there, Gene, is that most of the people who get the EITC
are working, wouldn't go on welfare if you paid them as long as
they could work, and the same is true of child care. So what I
would like to see is -- if we can just talk about this a little.
We ought to think about whether we're going to put the minimum
wage in here again. But hear me out.
If you move from the EITC to child care to explaining how
then you say how in welfare reform we were really, we're grateful
that so many people have moved from welfare to work, but we've
got one continuing people, which is a lot of people want to move
from welfare to work, but they don't live where the jobs are and
they can't get to them. So in the last few years we've been
trying to give these housing vouchers and now we're up to 100,000
or whatever and we want to more than double that, because, blah,
blah, blah.
I don't know. This is a big deal if you can explain it.
But if you just speak in shorthand, I don't think people will
understand. And on the homeless thing, this is good because it
gives you a way to mention Tipper. But it doesn't say anything
that we are doing or have done to alleviate the problem.
Q
We've got a few things we can put there.
THE PRESIDENT: You see what I'm saying, though?
(Inaudible) have done, are doing or proposed to do to alleviate
the problem. One of the things that Guiliani had going for him
is that most people in New York thought that he was wrong just to
throw, indiscriminately kick people out of the shelters. They
think he's getting them off the streets and the liberals had it
(inaudible) all these years and nobody ever took anybody off the
street. And you know, what the hell, I'm being compassionate by
letting these poor mentally ill people nod out on the street
every night, even if it's 20 degrees? So there's a lot of - -
I think -- is this what Tipper wants mentioned about her
this year?
Q
Either this or mental illness.
THE PRESIDENT: I mean, I think it's weird.
Q
It's weird to mention her here.
Q
The mental illness thing -- (inaudible) --
THE PRESIDENT: You could do that in the health care section
by pointing out, you know, what are the experiences of parity,
what we found out with the federal government or whatever. You
need to think of the hook, because -- but you can say, "last year
we had this conference and we learned this and we're going to do
that.' But you've got to have -- it's got to be tied not only to
the conference last year, but what came out of the conference
last year that we're going to do this year, that she either gets
credit for. So I think you ought to think about that.
Q
(Inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT: Well, you guys figure it out. But I
personally think it's better in the health care thing. and then
&
You don't really have to mention the housing vouchers
unless you're going to explain it.
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah, but if you scratch this paragraph,
then you can go down to one sentence on homelessness. I think we
ought to mention homelessness, but then you can reference
something in the budget for it. But still you go -- see, it's
kind of weird. You go from EITC to child care to -- then you go
to the -- which is big, what we did in child care is big. Then
if you go to the housing vouchers here then all of a sudden
you're in the health care. The sequencing here needs some
thought.
Now let's talk about the health care thing. Now, my premise
here is that the education and the health care thing are the
biggest substantive things we're proposing. And I think our
proposal gets short shrift here, both in rhetoric and -- here's
the way I did it. I left the first paragraph. Let me just read
this.
"Working together we have changed that by providing family
and medical leave, by protecting coverage between jobs and by
passing a children's health insurance program. In less than a
year, enrollment in CHIP has doubled to 2 million children.' And
I would be more positive here, I'd say, "we're on our way to our
goal of 5 million. We can meet it by enrolling children where
they are, in schools, churches and child care centers.' See what
I mean? You compress that.
Then I'd have a new paragraph and I'd say, "despite our
progress on children, there are more Americans without health
insurance today than there were in 1993, when we were
unsuccessful in providing coverage for all Americans." You may
not want to leave that in there, you may want to take that out.
"Many of the uninsured adults, about 9 million of them" -- I
think it's 9 million, that's the last number you guys gave me
"are parents of children who are eligible for CHIP. Tonight I
propose that we follow Vice President Gore's suggestion and make
these parents eligible for the insurance that covers their
children."
See, that's a little more clear and makes it sound like a
bigger deal. Now, if you want it to be a bigger deal still, you
would say, "this has the potential to provide medical coverage
for" well, if got them all, it would be 9 million, for let's
say "for a total of 12 to 14. This initiative has a total of 12
to 14 million, which is about a third of all the uninsured in the
country." It's a big deal. This needs to be big.
Now, the other thing I was going to ask is, we've been doing
all this fiscal responsibility up front, you are going to go back
to do that, I agree with Gene entirely on that. I understand it.
Keep in mind, people know from nothing about this, right? You
don't want people to think this is a totally left-wing program
that we're going to go out there and just tell all these people
if you're poor enough, here, come get your health insurance - -
because that's not what this does. This is a buy in, right,
people pay according to their ability to pay? Isn't that right?
Q
-- no, CHIP expansion is --
THE PRESIDENT: No, I know. But parents -- not all these
parents are going to get this thing for free, are they?
Completely for free?
Q
They would -- yeah, they would get --
THE PRESIDENT: They would up to 100 percent of the poverty
line, right?
Q
States could go up to 200 percent.
THE PRESIDENT: But states could go up to 200 percent. But
don't states, if they go above 100 percent, have the option to
require people to make some sort of matching payments for the
insurance?
Q
I didn't think so.
THE PRESIDENT: Do you know, Bruce?
Q
Let me check. I think the answer is, Mr. President, is
that you can choose a Medicaid -- it's just like CHIP, if you
choose the Medicaid option -- (inaudible). Or you can set up
your own.
THE PRESIDENT: But the Tennessee waiver lets them pay to
get into Medicaid.
Q
Mr. President, one way to describe this -- (inaudible)
- - parents and children is -- (inaudible) -- writing family
coverage.
THE PRESIDENT: My point is, you might not like the way I've
rewritten it, but it damn sure needed to be rewritten because it
didn't have any bigness to it, it didn't have any bite to it, it
didn't have any oh-my-God they're going to solve a third of this
problem. You see what I'm saying?
And then you can say, "let's give real, affordable options
to the fastest growing group of uninsured people, those between
55 and 65 would lose their coverage. Last year I proposed that
we let them buy into Medicaid. This year I propose we also give
them a tax credit when they do so." See? "tax credit when they
do so to make this option more affordable. And, again, how many
people are we talking about here? Wasn't it 600,000, isn't that
what you said?
Q
(Inaudible.)
Q
Harry and Louise Harry and Louise endorse this
program, SO shouldn't you? (Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah. I wish we could get Harry and Louise
to come to the State of the Union, but I think that's a little
too much. We want them in the Oval. We want them to come here.
It's okay with me.
Q
I don't know if people know what it is.
THE PRESIDENT: You don't know if they know who Harry and
Louise are?
I
Right. I think that's more of a message to the
Congress.
THE PRESIDENT: Okay. Now, the next paragraph, again, we
need ooomph here. These are big damn things. This is the
biggest stuff we're doing. And so we need -- along with the
education stuff -- and we need to make it sound big. "We must
also do more for" -- I would say -- "for citizen care-givers.
The record numbers of Americans providing for aging or ailing
loved ones at home. More and more this is a common choice, but
rarely an easier inexpensive one. Last year I proposed a $1,000
tax credit for long-term care. This year, let's triple that, to
$3,000. And this year, let's pass it.' See what I mean?
And you don't have to get into all that families -- because
when you say 60 percent of a family's long-term care costs, you
know what I'm thinking? I'm sitting there thinking, does that
mean the average long-term care cost is $5,000 or is this - - if
it was like a tax deduction instead of a credit. You know, you
get into this, you know what I mean? Because a lot of people pay
a hell of lot more than $5,000.
So I think you just can't blow by that. It's huge. They
got a lot of support last year at only $1,000; there will be huge
support at $3,000. But we've got to make it big.
Q
(Inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT: "This year, thanks to our economic
prosperity" or "thanks to our improved economy, we can do
better. Let's triple it, to $3,000; and this year, let's pass
it." See, you can explain why you're tripling it, we're in
better shape. "This year, thanks to our improved economy, we can
do even better. Let's triple it, to $3,000; and this year, let's
pass it."
2 Mr. President, can I -- I think that's a bad path for
us to go, because actually what you're doing is you're keeping
the exact same (inaudible) tax cut, even though things have
gotten better.
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah, you're right. You're right. "This
year, thanks to the fact that you dumb bastards didn't like our
USA accounts, let's triple this." How's that? (Laughter.)
Q
That's honest. (Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: I wish I could give just one speech like
that. (Laughter.)
Q
Can I raise a point off of this, which is that we don't
put together the tax cuts in the speech into a middle class tax
cut anywhere.
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah, okay. You guys mark that off. That's
why I'm going through this. I want you to make all these notes
and try to do this. There may be a way to compress the record,
do different sectional stuff, you know?
Now, let me tell you, I just redid the paycheck fairness
thing. I rewrote it. But again I question whether this belongs
here, at the end of health care. Doesn't this belong up with
EITC and child care an all that? I mean, this is sort of --
we've got to really get this reordered so it's logically -- it
doesn't look like follow the bouncing ball here.
But here's how I reword it, I said, "rewarding work and
family requires us to make sure that men and women get equal pay
for equal work." In other words, I'd just as soon didn't say,
"if we this, then that." I just say it. "Working women have
made significant strides. The female unemployment rate" -- now,
you guys say, the last numbers I was given said the female
unemployment rate was the lowest in 40 years and the
single-parent poverty rate the lowest in over 50 years. What I
had in the statement today that you gave me was that it was the
lowest since the end of World War II; the unemployment rate and
the single-parent household poverty rate was the lowest ever
recorded. That's what I had today.
But what I had in one of the printed weekly reports was 40
years and 56 years, or something. So just make sure that
whatever the right thing to say is, just say the right thing,
whatever the right thing is, in the most graphic possible way.
Okay? I'd say -- not with single mothers working than ever,
everybody knows that. And that forgets about the non-single
mothers that are working, and single women who aren't mothers who
are working. You know, I'd say, "the female unemployment rate
is, the single parent poverty rate is" or whatever, "household
poverty rate."
But then I'd say, "but women still earn less than 77 cents
for every dollar for men. That is just not good enough. We
should pass the paycheck fairness act and provide the needed
resources.' You know, I was wrong about this and you were right,
the first time. It reads better to say, "we must provide the
resources to enforce present equal pay law and to train more
women for the high paying, high tech jobs. Okay? "where they
are traditionally under-represented," right? "And we should pass
the paycheck fairness act."
I think you were right, the way you had it the first time.
I think I'm wrong about that. I think the act sounds like a
bigger deal. Okay? "This year" so Gene won't feel too bad --
"I again propose" -- (laughter.)
I
I'm not sure I would say, "more single mothers.' It
highlights
THE PRESIDENT: That's what I mean. I scratched that. I
did, I scratched. I scratched "more single mothers are working
than ever, the women's unemployment rate the lowest in 50 years."
I said, "the female unemployment rate is; the single parent
household" -- whatever "single parent poverty rate is." In
other words, just get that other thing out of there, because you
don't want to get single mothers, married mothers, blah, blah,
blah.
Now, on this fathership initiative, I have two questions.
One is, we've got to kind of - - you've tightened it up, all
right. But if you're going to make this big of a deal out of it,
don't you need Exhibit A, with mentioning Carlos Rojas (phonetic)
or not? That's my first thing. And my second thing is, I
wouldn't say step-by-step here if you're going to step-by-step
your way through the end. You said "step-by-step" at the
beginning, I wouldn't mention "step-by-step" again because this
is "step-by-step," we've already said that, until the end. Okay?
Just stylistically.
Now, "toughly measured against fathers who owe child
support, such as booting their cars." We don't have any federal
proposal on this, or we do?
Q
What we're proposing is federal legislation --
(inaudible) -- require states to have an optional --
THE PRESIDENT: Okay. Now, I don't understand what the last
sentence means. I mean, I thought that was a law now, I thought
we were enforcing it more. I don't understand what legislation
we're sending up and what it's supposed to achieve that is not
now in present law.
I
Two things. First, we have a program to provide money
for work programs for fathers. A reformulation of the welfare to
work -- SO we're putting -- money, it is focused on (inaudible).
And second, we're proposing as a part of this (inaudible) package
that we have essentially the same kind of work requirement for
fathers (inaudible.) We don't have an actual work requirement
now. States have the option to (inaudible) work for -- there's
no individual requirement for fathers.
THE PRESIDENT: Okay. So let me say again what I think.
Even though that's too many words, at least I have an idea now of
what this means. I had no idea of what the hell we were talking
about when I read this sentence. This is like good rhetoric, but
it doesn't say that -- "and we have to do more to support absent
fathers who owe child support so they can work and pay that
support. And to require those who can to do so." See,
something like that. Something that explains what it is we're
doing, instead of restating our value in generic terms,
unconnected to what our proposal is.
Okay. Let's talk about crime here. Now the issue here is
you know, again, we run the risk of sort of repeating
ourselves. Because we're going to mention some of these things,
these achievements twice.
Q Can I just go back? On the family section, I don't
know what you think (inaudible), something like starting off with
the basics (inaudible) which is having a parent or you can do
foster care and adoption. And if you have a parent but he's not
here, making sure to support -- to pay them the support,
(inaudible), you need a proper income. Then I'd do the EITC.
Then I'd do the minimum wage --
THE PRESIDENT: You can do that, and you can do Hillary like
that. Or, if you wish, you can wait until the end and you can do
a reprise of the end of the education section -- "if you doubt
that all can children can learn," "if you have any doubt that if
we band together, across party lines, to put families first, we
can make progress. Look at what we've done in the last two years
on two important issues. First, the ability of disabled
Americans to work." And it gives you a way to mention
disability, because we don't mention them in this --
"Second, our determination to double the number of adoptions
out of foster care and to do more for children who age out of
foster care. This Congress has unanimously taken strong action
in both those areas. I want to thank you and I want to
especially thank" -- see? If you put it at the end of the
section you can parallel the sight of the person you did at the
education thing. However, if you do that, you've got to put the
fatherhood thing up closer.
But at any rate, Mark's right. You need almost a chart where
you mention all these, paragraphs, initiatives, and then figure
out what the logical order is. But I know that the order here is
wrong, and the equal pay is the most obvious one.
All right, let's talk briefly about crime here. Here's what
I had said about crime. And I reordered some sentences here.
"Crime in America has dropped every year for the past seven
years, the longest continuous decline ever recorded. For seven
years we've helped America fight crime, from passing the Brady
bill to funding 100, 000 new community police officers."
And then here's what I did, I pushed this other stuff down
below and I said, "But while we are grateful that America is much
safer, no one believes America is safe enough. It's time to
shoot for our real goal. Let's make America the safest big
country in the world.' See, you can do this without screwing up
your end goals, I think. Then you go, "last fall, Congress
supported my plan to hire up to 50,000 more police officers, with
special help for high-crime neighborhoods. I ask you to continue
that support this year.'
Then you say, "last year" -- and I saved some space here in
the next two "last year, after the Colombine tragedy, Congress
considered common sense gun registration, to require Brady
background checks,' blah, blah. "In the face of enormous
pressure from the gun lobby, the Senate, acting with courage and
responsibility, and with a tie-breaking vote by the Vice
President, passed this legislation. This year, I hope the House
will finally follow suit. The lives of our children" -- blah,
blah.
Then I said, in the second paragraph, instead of "last year
in Littleton, I said, "we've all seen what can happen when guns
are allowed to fall into the wrong hands. One of the students
killed at Colombine High School was Daniel Mauzer, (phonetic),
age 15. Daniel was an amazing kid, a straight-A student, a good
skier.' Now, I rewrote this because I think it is important that
we you know, we're singling this guy out and we're singling
parents out who lose their kids in this way, but I think this is
a good way. I said, "like all parents who lose their children,
his father, Tom, has borne unimaginable grief. Somehow, Tom has
found the strength to honor his son by transforming his grief,
not translating his grief, to honor his son by transforming his
grief into action. Earlier this month he took a leave of absence
from his job to fight for tougher gun safety laws. I pray that
his courage and wisdom will move this Congress to make common
sense gun safety legislation the very next order of business."
See, you don't want to say "first" because they 11 already
have done a thing or two. The "very next order of business,'
that his courage will move the Congress. This ought to be a
shameless guilt pedal. Of course, we know that guys like Tom
DeLay can't be guilt pedaled, and have no shame. Nearly
everybody has got too much or too little.
And then I would have another paragraph and say, "the very
next order of business And then I'd say, "we must do more.
And this is the way I would word this, and then I want to turn
back over to my conversation with John last night. "States
already require hunters and automobile drivers to have licenses
to reduce accidents and keep guns out of the wrong hands. " I
would flip that. I would say, "States already require automobile
drivers and hunters to have licenses, to reduce accidents and
keep guns out of the wrong hands. " And then I would say, "it is
long past time for states to require licenses for handgun
purchasers, as well."
Now, I want to ask you again, what is the constitutional
authority, given the Brady bill case, for us to require this
affirmative burden on the states? They said we couldn't even
make county sheriffs do background checks.
Q
Well, that's what they say. We still have the
authority. They didn't strike down the entire -- they just
struck down the ability to compel (inaudible) sheriffs to go and
check records.
THE PRESIDENT: So how are we going to compel local revenue
officers, or local whoever else to --
I
Here's how the proposal would work. (Inaudible.)
States would have the option to either do it themselves or, if
they chose not to, have a federal back up system. Which is
exactly how (inaudible) works now.
THE PRESIDENT: So it's consistent with that and we wouldn't
be making them do it, we'd give them the choice in doing it.
Q
(Inaudible.) But it's conditioned on federal money - -
THE PRESIDENT: Okay. But I think, you see, reading it,
don't say "states require it." "States already require
automobile drivers and hunters to have licenses, to reduce
accidents and to keep guns out of the wrong hands. It is long
past time for states to require licenses for handgun purchasers,
as well.
Q
I'm not sure states require hunters to have licenses to
keep guns --
THE PRESIDENT: Well, then --
Q
(Inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT: Well, how about this. Just say, "states
already require hunters and automobile drivers to have licenses;
it's long past time for states to require licenses for handgun
purchasers, as well." You save the words. Okay?
You think this is too cute? "To those who say instead of
strengthening gun laws, we ought to enforce ones we've already
got. To them I say, we already are?"
Q
I think it's too cute.
THE PRESIDENT: Too cute?
Q
Yeah.
THE PRESIDENT: How about, why don't we just say, "we must
also improve the enforcement of gun laws already on the books" - -
"of the gun laws now on the books."
Q
What if you said, you know, "look at the facts"?
THE PRESIDENT: No, because it's too obvious. What you want
to do -- look, we don't want to win an ad war with the
Republicans on this. The American people don't know this yet,
they don't know that they have an attack on us; they don't know
that we have an answer. All that know, the NRA and the gun nuts
know that now. And they also know, based on their research and
polling that it works for them, a little bit. So we don't want
to act like this is a -- any of this construct here politicizes
that. We should -- "we also have to vigorously enforce the laws
on the books. Here are the facts now; here's what I propose."
It's a big proposal. The facts are good, and the proposal
is good.
(End tape one, side b.)
When I became President, there was just one independent public charter school in all
need
?
America. Today there are 1700. My budget assures that we will meet our goal of funding 3000,
so that when parents choose a public school they have real ehoice:
We know that to make the American Dream cheaper more achievable, we must make college
more affordable. For seven years, we have taken actions, on a bipartisan basis, to reach that
goal: more Pell grants, more affordable student loans, education IRAs, and our HOPE
scholarship tax cut. Our efforts are cléarly paying off. Today, 67 percent of students who
graduate high school go on to college, up almost 10 percent since 1993. still, millions of
middle class families are feeling the strain of paying college tuition. They need help.
middle-class
In an economy that increasingly runs on brain power, we should give tax felief to people
who are investing in education. My budget provides a landmark $30 billion college opportunity
tax cut, to help millions of middle class families pay for college It will give families a tax
deduction for up to $10,000 in tuition costs- providing as much as $2,800 in much needed tax
relief. With this new college opportunity tax cut, plus Hope Scholarships and other aid, we can
the doo- to college Is open to any student to none wants to learn. base collige door offective
say that every American who wants to go to college can go.
We must also say to middle school students from disadvantaged backgrounds, who may
think college is unaffordable, or not for them, that it is for them. My budget doubles to 1.4
help guide
It offers disadvantaged students the same test prep courses wealthier students use to boost their from students dis-
million the number of at-risk middle school students who receive mentoring by college students.
scores on college entrance exams. And it provides grants to colleges to help disadvantaged
advantage
students succeed once they're in college. emolled
back
If you have any doubt that by reaching across party lines, we can lift the lives of children,
open
days
consider this: the thirty percent increase in the number of children adopted out of foster care.
The first real increase in thirty years. And it happened because a bipartisan majority worked
with us to make it happen. And we are improving foster care for the children it serves and
of
supporting those who turn 18 and leave foster care without a permanent home. Tonight, I want
to honor the person who has led in this effort, someone who has worked tirelessly for children as
long as I have known her: Hillary Rodham Clinton.
face? better for
Clinton Presidential Records
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marker by the William J. Clinton Presidential Library Staff.
This marker identifies the place of a tabbed divider. Given our
digitization capabilities, we are sometimes unable to adequately
scan such dividers. The title from the original document is
indicated below.
DRAFT 9
Divider Title:
JL
Draft9 01/25/00 11:30am
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
UNITED STATES CAPITOL
WASHINGTON, DC
January 27, 2000
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, honored guests, my fellow
Americans: We are fortunate to be alive at this moment in history. Never before has our nation
enjoyed, at once, so much prosperity, social progress, and self-confidence with so little internal
crisis or so few external threats. Never before have we had such a blessed opportunity - and,
therefore, such a profound obligation - to build the more perfect union of our founders' dreams.
There is no better moment to dream new dreams for our nation and act on them.
We begin the new century with over 20 million new jobs in the last seven years. The
fastest economic growth in more than 30 years; the lowest unemployment rate in 30 years; the
lowest poverty rate in 20 years; the lowest African-American and Hispanic unemployment rate
on record; the highest home ownership ever; the first back-to-back budget surpluses in 42 years -
and the largest budget surplus in history.
Next month, America will achieve the longest period of economic growth in our entire
history.
Our economic revolution has been matched by a remarkable revival of the American
spirit: Crime down by 25 percent, to its lowest level in more than 30 years. Teen births have
dropped seven years in a row and adoptions are up by 30 percent. Welfare rolls have been cut in
1
half to their lowest levels in 32 years, and seven million Americans have moved off welfare and
are moving into work.
My fellow Americans, the state of our union is the strongest it has ever been.
As always, most of the credit for what we have achieved belongs to the American people.
With your hard work - to raise your families and live your dreams -- you have prepared our
nation for the 21 st century.
My gratitude also goes to all of you in this chamber who have worked with us to make
the tough decisions, to put progress above partisanship for the sake of our people.
Eight years ago, it was not clear to most Americans that there would be much to celebrate
in the year 2000. Our nation was gripped by economic distress, social decline, political gridlock,
and discredited government. In 1992, at a time of rising crime, mounting deficits, and high
unemployment, the title of a best-selling book asked: "America: What went wrong?"
But in the best traditions of our nation, America determined to set things right. We
replaced outdated ideologies with bold, new ideas anchored in basic, enduring values:
opportunity for all, responsibility from all, and a community of all Americans.
2
We went beyond the debate over whether government was the problem or the solution to
a government dedicated to giving the American people the tools to solve their own problems, to
being a catalyst for new ideas, and a partner with Americans in all other walks of life.
With the smallest federal government in 37 years, we turned record deficits into record
surpluses, and doubled our investment in education. We refused to keep making the false
choices that paralyzed Washington for too long. We cut crime, not by choosing prevention or
punishment, but by choosing both, with 100,000 community police and the Brady Law, which
has kept guns out of the hands of a half-million criminals. We protected the environment, not by
pitting economic growth against environmental progress, but by choosing both - with cleaner air,
safer water and food, and record amounts of precious land protected.
We emphasized both opportunity and responsibility: That's how we ended welfare as we
knew it - requiring work, but protecting health care and nutrition for children and investing more
in child care, transportation and housing for their parents who are making the move from welfare
to work. That's how we have helped parents to succeed at work and at home - with ideas like
Family and Medical Leave, which 20 million Americans have used for childbirth or to care for
sick loved ones, and immunizing 90 percent of our children for the very first time. And that's
how we are opening the doors of college to all - with more Pell grants, more affordable college
loans, and already almost 5 million recipients of the HOPE Scholarship.
Opportunity and responsibility: That's how we have engaged 150,000 more young
Americans in citizen service, in building One America, one community at a time, through
3
AmeriCorps as they earn money to further their own college education. That's how we seized
the opportunities of a global era - with 270 new agreements to expand trade and open markets
for American products, while pushing for an end to child labor and advances in the global
economy and environment. That's how we've advanced our interests around the world - by
standing up for peace from Bosnia to Ireland to the Middle East; by expanding NATO; by
building new partnerships in Asia, Latin America and Africa; by fighting terrorism and the
spread of weapons of mass destruction.
In 1992, Vice President Gore and I had a roadmap. Today we have results. More
important, we have the chance of a lifetime to build the future of our dreams if we stay on the
path that got us here. Building on our progress always moving forward always gaining
ground.
But you can't gain ground if you're standing still. For too long this Congress has been
standing still on some of our most pressing national priorities. Let's begin with them.
I ask you to pass a real patients bill of rights. To pass common-sense gun-safety
legislation. And, again, I ask you to raise the minimum wage.
Two years ago, I stood before you as we reached our first balanced budget and said let's
show our responsibility to the next generation, by maintaining our fiscal discipline and saving
the surplus for Social Security. Because we resisted the temptation to stray from the path of
fiscal discipline, we have had back to back surpluses and are doing something that would have
4
seemed unimaginable seven years ago. We are paying down our national debt. If every one in
this chamber will join me in staying on this path, we now know that we can pay down the debt in
13 years and make America debt free for the first time since Andrew Jackson was president in
1835.
In 1993, when we took our first major step to put our fiscal house in order with the
passage of the deficit reduction act, I asked your former colleague, my first Secretary of the
Treasury, and a true American statesman, Lloyd Bentsen, to lead that effort. America is better
off for his service.
But beyond paying off the debt, we need to make sure that the benefits of that debt
reduction go to preserving two of the most important programs for every family in America -
Social Security and Medicare. I ask you tonight to work with me to make a bi-partisan down
payment on Social Security reform by ensuring that it is strong and safe for the next 50 years.
We should also use the benefits of debt reduction to secure Medicare so that this generation of
older Americans -- and the next -- never have to worry about medical care. And to provide a
prescription drug benefit so that no senior has to choose between medicine and food.
But all of this is just a start. Now we must lift our sights and take what Theodore
Roosevelt, at the dawn of the last century, called "the long look ahead."
We live in revolutionary times. The way we communicate. The way we work. The way
we learn. The way we live. The way we are increasingly connected to each other and to people
5
around the world. My fellow Americans, we have crossed the bridge we built to the 21st
century. Now we must shape a 21st century American revolution of opportunity, responsibility,
and community. We must be, as we were in the beginning, a new nation.
The first American revolution was not won with a single shot. The continent was not
settled in a single day. The challenge of expanding freedom was not accomplished with one
march. The dreams for which we strive are always bold. But the lesson of our history and the
lesson of the last seven years is that we make great strides toward them step by step.
OPPORTUNITY AND RESPONSIBILITY IN EDUCATION
First and foremost, we need a 21st century revolution in education, guided by our faith
that every child can learn. With the largest, most diverse group of students ever, an economy
that rewards education more than ever, we must set the highest goals for education ever: Every
child who needs it should have access to preschool. Every child who needs it should have
afterschool and summer school to meet high standards. Every child should learn from great
teachers. Every student should graduate high school with a diploma that means something. And
every young person in America should know that if they want to go to college, they can afford
to.
For seven years, we have worked hard to improve our schools, following a fundamental
strategy: Invest more, but demand more in return. Since 1993, we have nearly doubled
investment in education and training. At the same time, we have helped nearly every state set
higher academic standards for their schools.
6
Scores on college entrance exams are now going up, even as more students from more-
diverse backgrounds are taking the test. And some of the most impressive academic gains are
happening in schools in some of America's poorest neighborhoods.
I have visited schools across this country, in some of America's poorest neighborhoods,
that have turned themselves around through the same proven formula: more accountability,
higher standards, and extra help to make sure children reach those standards. I have sent
Congress a reform plan based on that formula, a plan that holds all states and school districts
accountable for progress, and rewards them for results. Each year, the national government
invests more than $15 billion in our public schools. It's time to change the way we invest that
money, to support what works and stop supporting what doesn't.
But just as we must demand more than ever from our schools, tonight I propose that we
invest more than ever in our schools.
Let's double our investment to help states and districts turn around their worst-
performing schools-or shut them down. And let's give bonuses to states that succeed in
making scores go up.
Let's double our investment in quality afterschool and summer school programs. They
boost academic achievement and keep children off the street and out of trouble. If we do this, we
can give every child in every failing school in America the chance to meet high standards.
7
We know that children who learn early learn best. Since 1993, we've put over 160,000
more children in Head Start and improved its quality. Tonight, I propose the largest funding
increase for Head Start in history. This will lay the foundation for our long-term goal: universal
pre-school for every child who needs it.
We know that children learn best in smaller classes with good teachers. For two years in
a row, Congress has supported my plan to hire 100,000 new, qualified teachers, to lower class
sizes in the early grades. This year, I ask you to make it three in a row. But with two million
teachers retiring in the next decade, we must do more. Tonight, I propose a $1 billion initiative
to bring the best and the brightest into teaching, to get bad teachers out of the classroom, and to
reward good teachers - because none of us would be here without them.
We know public school choice works when parents have real choice. That's what charter
schools provide. When I became President, there was just one independent public charter school
in America. Today there are 1,700. My budget assures that we will meet our goal of funding
3,000.
We know that for children today, having access to the Internet is as vital as access to a
library. In 1994, only 35 percent of schools and only three percent of classrooms were connected
to the Internet. Today, with the help of the Vice President's E-rate program, 89 percent of
schools and 51 percent of classrooms are hooked up. And the money is there to connect them
all. The problem is that a third of all schools are in serious disrepair - not just with leaky roofs
but with walls too old to wire to the Internet. Tonight, I propose $1.3 billion to help 5,000
8
schools make immediate, urgent repairs. And I renew my call for a tax credit to help build or
modernize 6,000 schools nationwide - to put our students in modern classrooms and get them
out of trailers.
We know that smaller high schools are safer and help students learn more. But since
World War II, American high schools have grown five times bigger. We must help districts
convert large, factory-style high schools into smaller schools where the often-cruel forces of peer
pressure can be softened by the influence of caring adults.
We must do more to prepare young students for college and convince them they can go.
Two years ago, Congress crossed party lines to create our Gear Up program, enabling college
students to mentor at-risk middle school students. I propose to double the number of children
reached, to 1.4 million, and to offer disadvantaged students the same college test prep courses
wealthier students use to boost their scores.
We know that to make the American Dream achievable, we must make college
affordable. For seven years, on a bipartisan basis, we have taken actions toward that goal: more
Pell grants, more-affordable student loans, education IRAs, and our HOPE scholarship tax cut.
Today, 67 percent of high school graduates go on to college, up almost 10 percent since 1993.
Yet still, millions of families feel the strain of paying college tuition. They need help.
I propose a landmark $30-billion college opportunity tax cut. It will give middle class
families a tax deduction for up to $10,000 in tuition costs -- providing as much as $2,800 in
9
much needed tax relief. With this new college opportunity tax cut, plus another Pell grant
increase and other aid, we can say that we have made four years of college available to all.
REWARDING WORK AND STRENGTHENING FAMILIES
We need a 21 st Century revolution to reward work and strengthen families, in a world
where more and more parents work, but the most important work of all - still - is raising
children.
One of the most powerful incentives to work has been the Earned Income Tax Credit, a
targeted tax cut for working families. The "E" in "EITC" is about earning; about working; about
taking responsibility and being rewarded for it. In my first address to you, I asked Congress to
greatly expand the EITC, and we did. As a result, in 1998 alone, the EITC helped more than 4.3
million Americans work their way into the middle class - double the number in 1993.
Tonight, I propose another major expansion of the EITC. We should reduce the marriage
penalty for the EITC, making sure that it rewards marriage, and family, just as it rewards work;
and we should expand the tax credit for families with more than two children. Our plan would
provide those families up to $1,200 more in tax relief. They're working hard to reach the middle
class. We should help them.
Rewarding work and family requires us to make sure that men and women get equal pay
for equal work. Working women have made significant strides: the female unemployment rate
10
is the lowest in 40 years, and the female-headed household poverty rate is the lowest ever
recorded. But women still earn only about 75 cents for every dollar men earn. That's just not
good enough. We must provide the resources to enforce present equal pay laws, and train more
women for high-paying, high-tech jobs. And we should pass the Paycheck Fairness Act.
Working parents need quality, affordable child care. Many spend up to a quarter of their
income on child care. Last year, we helped parents provide care for about 1.75 million children.
But that's only one tenth of those eligible under federal law. My child care initiative, along with
the funds secured in welfare reform, would make child care better, safer, and more affordable for
another 650,000 children.
To help millions of parents with moderate incomes, we should expand the child care tax
credit. And let's take the next big step. Let's make the tax credit refundable for low-income
families. For those making under $25,000 a year - too little to earn a refund today - that means
up to $2,400 more for child-care costs. Let's get this done. Parents should be able to balance
work and family - not have to choose between them.
Tens of millions of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. As hard as they work, they
still don't have the opportunity to save. Too many work for a small business that lacks the
resources to provide pensions. Too few can make use of the IRAs and 401-Ks that so many
Americans are using to accumulate wealth, or save for a first home or a dignified retirement.
Every family that works hard should have that chance. Tonight, I propose a major new initiative
to ensure that all Americans can save. These new [TK] Savings Accounts will give low- and
11
moderate-income families the help they need - matching their contributions, however small,
dollar for dollar, every year they save. I also propose a major new 50 percent tax credit for any
small business that provides a meaningful pension to all of its workers.
From my first days as President, we have worked to give families better access to better
health care. We have made sure workers can keep their coverage when they change jobs or take
time off to care for a sick loved one. And we passed the Children's Health Insurance Program,
so that workers who don't have health coverage through their employers can get it for their
children. In less than a year, enrollment in CHIP has doubled, to 2 million children. We're on
our way to our goal of 5 million. To ensure that we meet it, I propose that we enroll children
where they are: schools, HeadStart classrooms, and child-care centers. Because every child in
America deserves a healthy start in life.
But there is more we must do - to insure not only children, but entire families that lack
coverage. Tonight I propose that we follow Vice President Gore's suggestion and make hard-
pressed parents eligible for the insurance that covers their kids. If we do this, not just for
children but for these 6.5 million parents, we can make sure that families have the health care
they need. With these steps alone, we can cover nearly one quarter of the uninsured in America.
And let's give a real, affordable option to the fastest growing group of uninsured: people
between 55 and 65 who lose their coverage. Last year, I proposed that we let them buy into
Medicare. This year, I propose we also give them a tax credit when they do so, to make this
option more affordable.
12
Record numbers of Americans are providing for aging or ailing loved ones at home.
More and more this is a common choice, but rarely an easy - or an inexpensive - one. Last year,
I proposed a $1,000 tax credit for long-term care. This year, let's pass it - and triple it to $3,000.
Taken together, these proposals mark the largest investment in health care in the 35 years
since Medicare. We owe it to our people to make that investment this year.
Let's make another pledge: let's improve mental health care. My budget makes the
largest increase ever to expand community mental health services. And I want to thank someone
who has waged this battle on all fronts, fighting for the mentally ill homeless, working to break
down the barriers that keep people from the help they need: Tipper Gore.
Nearly one in three American children grows up in a home without a father - and these
children are five times more likely to live in poverty than children with both parents at home.
Demanding and promoting responsible fatherhood is the critical next stage of welfare reform.
We have already begun to crack down on fathers who fail to pay child support by denying them
drivers' licenses and creating a national database to track them across state lines. As a result,
child support payments have doubled since 1993. The number of unwed fathers who legally
acknowledge their paternity has tripled. And the percentage of children born into unwed homes,
after skyrocketing for decades, has begun to level off.
We must work toward the day when every father in America takes responsibility for his
children. We can begin with tougher measures against fathers who fail to pay child support, like
13
booting their cars and denying them passports. And we should require fathers to work - while
helping them find work - so they can pay the child support they owe.
We know this can make a difference. Carlos Rosas of St. Paul, Minnesota enrolled in a
cut
father's program in 1996 when he was not making enough to keep up with his child support
IN
payments to his 13-year-old son, Ricardo. Since continuing his education and graduating from
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technical school, Carlos has landed a good job and is able to better support his son, both
financially and emotionally. Contrary to conventional wisdom, many fathers, like Carlos, want
to do right by their children, and we should help them. Carlos is with us tonight. And we should
let him know that we support his commitment to support his child.
If you have any doubt that we can reach across party lines to reward work and strengthen
families, remember this: Last year, we came together to help people with disabilities keep their
health insurance when they go to work. And we have come together to improve foster care; to
support those who leave it at age 18; and to greatly increase the number of foster children who
find loving families in permanent homes. A bipartisan majority worked with us to make it
happen; and I thank you. Of course, I am also grateful to the person who has led in this effort,
someone who has worked tirelessly for children and families as long as I have known her: my
wife, Hillary.
RESPONSIBILITY AND CRIME
14
Crime in America has dropped every year for the past seven years -- the longest
continuous decline on record. For seven years, we've helped wage the fight -- from passing the
Brady bill to funding 100,000 new community police officers. Our nation is safer, but no one
believes America is safe as it can be. Let's set a higher goal. Let's make America the safest big
country in the world.
Last fall, Congress supported my plan to hire up to 50,000 more police officers, with
special help for high-crime neighborhoods. I ask you to continue that support this year.
Last year, after the Columbine tragedy, Congress considered common-sense gun safety
legislation to require Brady background checks at gun shows, child safety locks for all new
handguns, and a ban on the importation of large-capacity ammunition clips. With courage -- and
a tie-breaking vote by the Vice President -- the Senate faced down the gun lobby, stood up for
the American people and passed this legislation. But the House failed to follow suit.
We've all seen what can happen when guns fall into the wrong hands. Daniel Mauser
was only 15 years old when he was gunned down at Columbine High School. He was an
amazing kid, a straight-A student, a good skier. Like all parents who lose their children, his
father Tom has borne unimaginable grief. Somehow Tom has found the strength to honor his
son by transforming that grief into action. Earlier this month, he took a leave of absence to fight
for tougher gun safety laws. I pray that his courage and wisdom will move this Congress to
make common-sense gun safety legislation the very next order of business.
15
We must do more. States require hunters and automobile drivers to have licenses. It is
long past time for states to require licenses for handgun purchasers as well.
We've shown that we can strengthen gun laws and better enforce laws already on the
books. Federal gun crime prosecutions are higher today than in 1992, and are up 25 percent
since 1998. But again, we must do more. I propose to hire more federal and local gun
prosecutors, and more ATF agents to crack down on illegal gun traffickers and bad-apple dealers
who supply guns to criminals and juveniles. We must give law enforcement the tools to trace
every gun used in a crime in America. And we must create a national ballistics network capable
of tracing almost any bullet left at a crime scene to the gun of the criminal who fired it.
[Let me say something else. I think it is important that the gun industry take more
responsibility in changing the way it designs, markets and distributes firearms. There are
responsible citizens in the gun industry who want to work with us to make sure the guns they sell
don't wind up in the wrong hands and that kids aren't killed accidentally with them. Part of the
answer may be in new technologies that could reduce accidents.]
3,0
CHONSE
Listen to this: the accidental gun death rate of children under 15 is nine times higher in
the U.S. than in 25 other industrialized nations--combined. Technologies now exist that could
lead to guns that can only be fired by the adults who own them. I thank the gun manufacturers
who are developing these smart guns, and ask all other manufacturers to join them. And I ask
Congress to help by increasing funds for research in these technologies to keep our kids safer.
16
Every parent I know worries about violence in the media. We need to give parents more
tools to raise their kids right in today's culture. I thank the entertainment industry for accepting
my challenge to put voluntary ratings on TV programs and video and Internet games. This year,
I challenge the industry to go farther. Let's do as the First Lady has suggested, and give parents
a single, voluntary rating system for all their children's entertainment -- a system that is easy to
understand and enforce.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of offenders leave our prisons, only to wind up back
in trouble with the law. To keep our communities safe, we must do more to monitor ex-
offenders and give them the support they need to become responsible citizens. Two-thirds of ex-
offenders who are sent back to prison are drug abusers. But if they get drug treatment, they are
far less likely to commit another crime. We must provide them with that treatment, along with
regular drug testing and a simple bargain: stay clean and you stay free; do drugs and you do more
time.
OPENING NEW MARKETS
We need a 21st Century revolution to open new markets, start new businesses, and hire
new workers right here in America - in the inner cities, poor rural areas, and Indian reservations
- places not yet blessed by our nation's prosperity. Over the last six months, I have traveled to
many of these places - joined by many of you - to shine a spotlight on the enormous potential in
these communities. Everywhere I've gone, I've met talented people eager for opportunity.
They're eager to work. I say: let's put them to work.
17
For business, it's the smart thing to do. For America, it's the right thing to do. And if we
don't do it now, when will we ever get around to it?
I ask Congress to give businesses the same incentives to invest in America's new markets
as they have to invest in foreign markets. Tonight, I propose a New Markets Tax Credit that is
more than twice the size of what I proposed last year. With this and other new incentives, we
can spur [$TK billion] in private-sector capital to create new businesses and to help firms expand
or relocate to our inner cities or rural areas. And we should increase the tax incentives that
promote growth in our Empowerment Zones - which, with Vice President Gore's leadership,
have been bringing prosperity to distressed areas for five years now.
I thank the business leaders who are not just seizing these opportunities - but creating
them. I challenge every business to do the same.
This is not a Democratic or Republican issue; it's an American issue. Mr. Speaker, it was
a powerful moment last November when you joined me and Reverend Jesse Jackson on stage at
Englewood High School, in your home state of Illinois, and pledged to work with us. I thank
you for your commitment and I look forward to working with you.
I hope we can also agree to make special efforts to support our Indian reservations, where
unemployment is extreme - as high as 70%. My budget increases our investment in health care,
18
education, law enforcement, and infrastructure by more than $1 billion. In this new century, we
should honor our historic responsibility to the first Americans - Native Americans.
We must also fulfill our obligation to our farming communities, the lifeblood of our land.
When I signed the farm bill in 1996, I feared it would work well only in good times and not in
bad - especially for family farmers. In recent years, they have endured droughts, floods and
historically low prices due to financial crises abroad. We simply must strengthen the farm safety
net and invest in farm conservation. The Freedom to Farm Bill cannot become a "freedom to
fail" bill.
This spring, I will lead a New Markets tour to focus on the disturbing gap between those
who have the tools to succeed in the new economy, and those who don't. That "digital divide"
exists along lines of education, income, region, and race. It is one of the great civil rights
challenges of this Information Age.
[We are now on track to meeting our goal of connecting every classroom and library to
the Internet.] But now, we must connect all our citizens to the Internet - everywhere they live
and work. My budget helps to train more teachers, wire more classrooms, and connect more
communities to the economic mainstream. If America closes this digital divide, we can open a
new era of opportunity for all.
GLOBAL CHANGE AND AMERICAN LEADERSHIP
19
It is not enough to master the possibilities of the new economy at home. We must also
lead and shape the revolution that is sweeping our world: globalization. It is the central reality
of our time - a process tearing down barriers and building new connections between nations,
peoples, economies, and cultures.
Globalization is irreversible, driven even faster by the explosion in information
technology. Change this profound is both liberating and threatening. But our open, creative
society stands to benefit more than any other - if we understand and act on the new realities of
interdependence. We must maintain our military and economic might. But we cannot lead
alone. And we cannot keep going forward by holding other countries, especially poor ones,
back. We cannot lead without being at the center of every vital network, being a good neighbor
and good partner. We cannot build our future without helping others to build theirs.
International trade now accounts for one-quarter of our economy. It creates good jobs
and brings us new products and technologies. We need to keep that trade growing, and growing
fairly. That means enforcing our own rules to protect our workers, our industries, and our
environment. It means making international trade - and the WTO - more open and responsive to
concerns about the dignity of work and the quality of life. And it means a global economy based
on the rule of law.
We must also reach out to developing economies. I ask Congress to finalize our
groundbreaking African and Caribbean Basin trade initiatives. This will help Americans
economically, and build new partnerships for a more secure, more democratic world.
20
But mastering globalization means more than economics. It means seizing an
unprecedented opportunity to build a future of security, prosperity and freedom, while dealing
with the dangers that still imperil our national interests. Tonight I ask: What are the critical
challenges we face in the coming century?
One will be to encourage our former adversaries Russia and China to emerge as stable,
prosperous, democratic partners of the United States. Both countries are being held back from
reaching their potential: Russia by the legacy of communism, by economic crisis, by a cruel and
futile war in Chechnya; China by the illusion that it can buy stability at the expense of freedom.
But think how much else has changed: 5,000 former Soviet nuclear weapons dismantled;
Russian soldiers serving with ours to keep peace in the Balkans; Russian people democratically
electing their leaders for the first time. And in China, a society more open to the world than at
any time in its history. No one can know for sure what direction these great countries will
choose. We can make sure that we do everything in our power to see that both are on the inside
of the global community, playing by the rules, not on the outside denying them.
Congress should support the agreement we negotiated to bring China into the WTO, by
passing Permanent Normal Trade Relations. If we do, America's companies and workers gain
new opportunities in every sector of China's vast market, but China gains no new access to ours.
This agreement is good for America and will promote the cause of change in China.
21
Another critical challenge will be to protect our security from conflicts that pose the risk
of wider war, especially those rooted in ethnic and religious tensions. Our modern world is still
bedeviled by our most ancient failing - fear of those different from us. In too many places, that
fear is exploited by cynical leaders clinging to power or waging war on their neighbors.
America cannot prevent every conflict or stop every outrage. But where our interests are
at stake and we can make a difference, we must be peacemakers. When human beings anywhere
are singled out for destruction, our common humanity suffers. Left unresolved, such tragedies
can throw entire regions into turmoil, overwhelm the world's capacity to help the innocent, and
threaten us more directly.
We should be proud of America's role in bringing the Middle East closer than ever to a
comprehensive peace. We should be proud of our work in building peace in Northern Ireland.
We should be proud of our efforts from East Timor to Africa; in promoting reconciliation
between Greece and Turkey; in working to defuse crises between India and Pakistan, and in
defending human rights and religious freedom.
And we should be proud of the men and women of our armed forces who stopped the
ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, enabling a million innocent people to return to their homes. Today,
instead of struggling to defeat something evil, we can focus on building something good: a
Europe undivided, democratic and at peace for the first time in history.
22
When Slobodan Milosevic unleashed his terror in Kosovo, Captain John Cherrey was one
of the brave airmen who turned the tide. And when another American plane went down over
Serbia, he flew into the teeth of enemy air defenses to bring his fellow pilot home. Captain
Cherrey, we honor you with our gratitude, and with our promise to finish the work you helped
begin.
Another critical challenge is to keep the inexorable march of technology from giving
terrorists and hostile nations the means to undermine our defenses, and force us to live in fear
again. The same advances that have shrunk cell phones to fit in the palms of our hands can also
make weapons of terror easier to conceal and easier to use.
We must meet this threat: by helping Russia keep its arsenal secure and reducing both
our nuclear arsenals; restraining nuclear and missile programs in North Korea and Iran;
preventing Iraq from threatening its neighbors. We are increasing our preparedness against
biological attack and developing a system to defend against the missiles of outlaw nations -
while working to preserve our Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with Russia. My budget devotes $2
billion to protect our vital computer systems from hackers and criminals in any corner of any
country.
We must also strengthen global standards against proliferation. I hope we can have a
bipartisan dialogue this year to build a consensus on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty which
will eventually lead to its ratification. America must remain a leader in the struggle for a safer
world.
23
Another critical challenge is to keep global stability from being threatened by a gap
between rich and poor. We cannot accept a world in which a part of humanity lives on the
cutting edge of a new economy, while another lives on the bare edge of survival. Part of the
answer is expanded trade. A bigger part is the expansion of freedom.
From Nigeria to Indonesia, more people won the right to choose their leaders in 1999
than in 1989, the year the Berlin Wall fell. Yet new democracies need help in delivering for their
people. We must stand by neighboring countries like Colombia, fighting for its people's lives -
and for our children's lives - against the poison of drugs. I have proposed a two-year, $1.6
billion package to help Colombia; and I ask for your support. And if we want to put the drug
barons, criminals and terrorists out of business, let's go after what they value most: their money.
This year, I will propose legislation to crack down harder on money laundering, here and around
the world.
In a world where 1.3 billion people live on less than a dollar a day, we must also reduce
the debts of impoverished countries. I ask Congress to continue to support that effort.
And America must help more nations break the bonds of disease that hold down their
people. It is unacceptable that last year in Africa, AIDS killed ten times as many people as war
did. My budget invests $150 million in the fight against this and other infectious killers. And I
will ask the world to join us in an initiative to speed the delivery and development of vaccines.
Today, I am proposing a tax credit that will say to private industry: if you develop vaccines for
24
diseases like malaria, TB and AIDS, we will help pay for them, and together save millions of
lives.
And I will ask Congress to increase our support for international family planning by $170
million. That money will help families live healthier lives, and it will save the lives of thousands
of women and children.
All this comes down to a central challenge, the most important of all: will America
continue to lead? In the 20th century, America was thrust into global leadership by the forces of
history. Now America must choose: to direct the new forces of history or be driven by them.
Clearly, America must lead boldly and consistently and with a clear understanding of what
globalization and increasing interdependence require of us.
To lead, we must remain strong. We have reversed the decline in defense spending that
began in 1985. We must continue to keep our military the best trained, best equipped in the
world. My budget invests in readiness and in 21 st century weapons. It raises salaries for our
men and women in uniform and ensures America's veterans the thanks and honor they have so
richly earned.
We must also continue to fund the one percent of our budget that supports the diplomacy that
keeps our soldiers out of war. Last year, Congress worked with me to maintain that commitment
and resume paying our UN dues and arrears. Let's do it again this year. And let's remember:
building a stronger global community will only strengthen our community here at home.
25
RESPONSIBILITY, OPPORTUNITY, AND THE ENVIRONMENT
We have no higher obligation to our children, and their children, than to be wise stewards
of our air, water, and land. I am grateful for the many opportunities the Vice President and I
have had to honor this commitment - and finally to put to rest the notion that you can't expand
your economy and protect the environment at the same time As/our economy has grown, we
have rid countless neighborhoods of toxic waste, ensured cleaner drinking water for millions of
families, and taken unprecedented steps to improve the air we breathe.
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In the past three months alone, we have acted to preserve pristine backcountry lands in
proved
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our National Forests and created three new National Monuments - adding to the tens of millions
of acres we are protecting for all Americans, for all time Not since the days of Theodore
secur
Roosevelt has the nation come together to save so much precious land in the continental United
(and
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But our communities are growing, and our commitment to conservation must keep
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growing as well. So tonight, as part of my Lands Legacy Initiative, I propose creating, for the
as dor
first time, a permanent conservation endowment to save our wildlands, protect our coastlines,
a
and restore our wildlife. This endowment would provide nearly $1.5 billion each year - by far
the largest, most enduring investment in land preservation ever proposed.
Last year, the Vice President launched a major new effort to help make communities
more livable - so children will grow up next to parks rather than parking lots, and parents don't
26
sit in endless traffic when they could be home with their kids. Tonight, we propose new funding
for advanced transit systems for saving farms and other precious open spaces and for
helping the major cities around the Great Lakes protect their waterways and enhance their quality
of life.
As we work to protect our natural resources, we must help other nations that are
struggling to protect theirs. The rainforests are the lungs of our planet)- the source of more than
a quarter of the oxygen on earth. Yet these lush sanctuaries of life are disappearing at the rate of
more than 50 acres a minute. Tonight, I propose a new plan to help countries from the Amazon
to the Congo Basin strengthen their economies by preserving, rather than destroying,
irreplaceable forests.
The greatest environmental challenge of the new-century is global warming. Scientists
tell us that the 1990s were the hottest decade of the entire millennium - and that if we fail to
reduce emissions of greenhouse gases now, deadly heat waves, droughts, and floods will become
more frequent with each passing year.
But thanks to remarkable new technologies, we can meet this challenge - and we can do
it in ways that produce more widespread, more sustainable economic growth.
My (ar
Retort
Last week, at the Detroit Auto Show, automakers unveiled cars that use advanced
materials and dual fuel sources to get 70 to 80 miles a gallon - the fruits of a unique partnership
the Vice President has led. We've helped develop windows that drastically cut energy bills by
underly
27
keeping out four or five times as much heat and cold as normal windows do. We're helping to
bring the benefits of advanced space research into our homes with solar roofing tiles and fuel
cells that produce all the electricity a family needs - and no pollution at all. Before you know it,
we'll be producing clean fuels from crops and getting the equivalent of hundreds of miles from a
gallon of gas.
To help spur these new technologies I propose giving major tax incentives to businesses
for producing clean power from crops, wind, or sun and to families for buying energy-
that Ind a 3/c
efficient homes and appliances, And when new super efficient cars hit the showroom floor, we
include up to &
should provide people who buy them with up to $3,000 in tax credits, effectively cutting their
sticker price and ensuring even greater appeal.
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But we have the technology to make all new cars more fuel efficient right now. So
tonight, I call on auto industry leaders to join us in designing a new strategy for reversing the
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recent decline in average fuel economy. You've committed to higher efficiency in Europe.
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Let's do the same right here at home.
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We must also meet the worldwide SGLONAD challenge of global warming by giving de veloping
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countries the tools to grow in ways that strengthen their economies and protect the environment.
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Scionight I propose a new [$100 million] initiative to help these countries adopt the newest
clean-energy technologies. Nations can now achieve prosperity without following the old
patterns of growth that brought us global warming. Let's help them follow a better, more
modern path.
28
THE OPPORTUNITY AND RESPONSIBILITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
In the new century, innovations in science and technology will be key not only to the
health of our environment. Sustained investments in scientific research will also yield dramatic,
almost miraculous, improvements in the quality of our lives.
In the last century, the life expectancy for the average American increased from 47 to 77
- thanks to discoveries such as penicillin and the development of vaccines for many childhood
diseases. Today, we are on the cusp of advances that will not only help us live far longer but far
better.
Later this year, researchers will finish the first complete sequence of the human genome -
the very blueprint of life. This will lead to a revolution in our ability to detect, treat, and prevent
diseases from Alzheimer's to cancer to AIDS. If we delay the onset of Alzheimer's by just five
years, we could empty half the nursing home beds in America.
Research at the intersection between biomedical research and engineering will also lead
to amazing breakthroughs. Scientists are already working on an artificial retina to treat certain
kinds of blindness, and methods of directly stimulating the spinal cord to allow people who are
paralyzed to walk.
Scientists have recently identified three of the genes that cause Parkinson's Disease - and
they will soon begin to test elegant therapies that will turn off these faulty genes for good.
29
Tonight, I want to thank these scientists for their brilliant work. I also want to salute Michael J.
Fox - the talented actor, director, and producer who was diagnosed with Parkinson's nine years
ago. Michael, on behalf of the million young and older Americans struggling with Parkinson's, I
thank you for giving so much of yourself to accelerating the hunt for a cure.
Advances in science and engineering are also the engine of our economic growth.
Consider the impact of information technology. Because of our early investments in developing
microprocessors, satellite communications, and the Internet, America now leads the world in
information technology - an industry that accounts for one third of our economic growth and that
generates jobs that pay almost 80 percent more than the private sector average wage.
In the future, we will have devices that can translate foreign languages as fast as you can
speak, enabling anyone to tap into the world's knowledge instantly - from anywhere
materials ten times stronger than steel at only a small fraction of the weight unimaginably
powerful computers made with DNA strands rather than silicon chips. These and other
breakthroughs may enhance our economy and our society even more profoundly than the
Internet does today.
For all these reasons, my budget will include an unprecedented $3 billion increase in the
21st Century Research Fund. We will boost support for biomedical research at the National
Institutes of Health, double the largest dollar increase for the National Science Foundation in its
50-year history, and greatly expand funding for information technology, clean energy,
university-based research, and NASA's never-ending quest in space.
30
It is up to all of us to ensure that this new age of science and technology is also a new age
of enlightenment, reflecting our most cherished values.
First and foremost, we must ensure that citizens' privacy - financial and medical - is
protected. Last year, our administration proposed rules to protect every citizen's most sensitive
information, his or her medical records. This year, we will finalize those rules. We have also
taken steps to protect our people's financial records. But these are only the first steps, as I said
when I signed the financial modernization bill into law. I will soon send legislation to the
Congress to complete this important unfinished business.
We will also take action to prevent genetic discrimination - so no employer ever reviews
your genetic records along with your resume. We will make sure that the actions of the
government itself contain strong privacy protections. And tonight, I want to issue a strong
challenge to on-line companies to do more to protect their customers' privacy.
Second, we know that our medical professionals work wonders every day; but we also
know that their first obligation is to do no harm. My budget makes the largest investment in
history to eliminate medical errors and enhance patient safety. Because no American should
ever fear that their health care will jeopardize their health.
31
If we do all these things, we can ensure that the march of human discovery will only
quicken in the century before us - enhancing our lives, and the lives of our children, in ways that
we can only begin to imagine today.
COMMUNITY
In the era of globalization, we must work even harder to strengthen the bonds of our
local communities and our national community.
We should begin with ways to widen the circle of citizen service until it embraces every
American. There is a new spirit of service in America-a movement we have supported with
revolutionary new partnerships between government and private citizens.
Four years ago, I asked corporate leaders to join us in helping people move from welfare
to work. Today, 12,000 companies have hired nearly 650,000 of our fellow citizens.
Over the past seven years, we have created many other successful partnerships. To battle
drug abuse and AIDS. To teach young people to read. To Save America's Treasures. To fight
teen pregnancy. To prevent youth violence. To promote racial healing. To help our young
people serve.
But there is much more to be done, we need more citizen servants.
32
Veterans of AmeriCorps, like veterans of our military and the Peace Corps, are a pool of
know-how and can-do. Tonight, I propose the creation of the Americorps Reserves to activate
former AmeriCorps members in times of crisis including natural disasters.
Our senior population represents a huge army of workers and volunteers who want and
deserve a chance to serve. So, tonight, I say to seniors across America - we need your work,
your wisdom and your service. Get involved if you are not and stay involved if you are.
If we believe that charity begins at home, we must reward lower and middle income
Americans who tithe and contribute to charities. Right now, only those who earn enough to
itemize can claim a tax deduction for charitable contributions. Tonight, I propose new tax
incentives to allow low and middle income citizens to claim that same deduction.
Faith-based organizations are on the frontlines in our communities helping Americans
fight substance abuse, providing opportunities for young people to get back on the right track.
We can respect the line between church and state and still do more to support the good works of
these groups. [TK Specific examples to come]
There is even more we can do to breathe fuller life into the idea of citizenship. That's
why we're proposing to invest more in teaching civics and English to new immigrants. That's
why in this year of the census, every one of us must not only stand up and be counted. We must
also stand up and be heard.
33
So I say to all Americans: whatever your party, whatever your ideology, whatever you
do, make your voice heard. Vote.
We are going to use 21st century technology to open new doors to the democratic process.
Two generations ago, Franklin Roosevelt used the new medium of radio for his fireside chats.
Starting next month, I will use the new medium of the Internet to launch Webside Chats---
interactive discussions to connect more Americans to our democracy.
Our national community is undergoing one of the greatest demographic transformations
in history. Within ten years there will be no majority race in our largest state, California. In a
little more than 50 years there will be no majority race in America.
In a more interconnected world, will we make diversity our greatest strength? As we
have seen in recent years, from Northern Ireland to Africa from the Balkans to the Middle
East racial and ethnic conflict too often spark terror and war. And no country is exempt from
hatred-even our own.
We have seen a man dragged to death in Texas simply because he was black. A young
man murdered in Wyoming simply because he was gay. In the last year, we've seen the
shootings of African Americans, Asian Americans, and Jewish children simply because of who
they were. We must draw the line. This is not the American way. In America, we must do more
than tolerate diversity--we must celebrate it. Without further delay, we must pass the Hate
Crimes Prevention Act and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.
34
The work of building One America must be the work of all Americans. We must
rededicate ourselves to the ideals of justice and opportunity for all that are at the heart of our
democracy. No American should be subjected to discrimination in finding a home, getting a job,
going to school, or securing a loan. Tonight, I propose the largest ever investment to enforce
America's civil rights laws. Let's make sure protections in law are protections in fact.
Last February, I created the White House Office on One America to coordinate our
efforts and help build community partnerships for racial reconciliation. We are reaching out
across our nation - to religious leaders, to corporate leaders, to the legal community to enlist the
help of American in building the One America of our dreams.
This fall, at the White House, one of America's leading scientists, said something we all
need to remember: all human beings are genetically 99.9 percent the same. Modern science
affirms what ancient faith has taught us: the most important fact of life is our common humanity.
My fellow Americans, each time I prepare for the state of the union, I approach it with
great hope and great expectations for our nation. But there is no escaping the fact that tonight is
different. For tonight, we stand on the mountaintop, with a new millennium spread out before
us. Behind us we see the expanse of American achievement, and ahead even wider frontiers of
possibility.
35
So, as we take our long look ahead, we must ask ourselves: How will we make the most
of this moment of promise?
Tonight, let us pledge to ourselves and to our children:
At a time of undreamed of economic growth, we will, step by step, bring opportunity to
every American in every community.
At a time of record surpluses, we will, step by step, make America debt free for the first
time since 1835.
At a time when our people are living longer than ever, we will, step by step, ensure that
they live healthier, with quality, affordable healthcare for all Americans.
At a time when science and technology are transforming our world, we will, step by step,
realize their full promise and, at every step, harness our progress to our values.
At a time when we have proved we can grow the economy and protect the environment,
we will, step by step, reverse climate change and secure our planet for our grandchildren.
At a time of steadily falling crime, we will, step by step, make America the safest big
nation on Earth.
36
At a time when more parents are working, we will, step by step, ensure that all parents
have the tools to succeed at work and in raising their children and that none of those children
are raised in poverty.
At a time when knowledge is the key to our children's future, we will, step by step, see
to it that all of them begin school ready to learn and graduate ready to succeed.
At a time when globalization brings both new promise and new perils, we will continue
to be the world's indispensable nation - a strong leader and a better neighbor.
At a time when America is growing more diverse than ever, we will become at last what
our founders pledged us to be so long ago -- one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all.
This is the long look ahead, unreachable in one year, but clearly within reach of a great
people with big dreams, determined to work together and move ahead, step by step.
When the framers were crafting our Constitution, Benjamin Franklin reflected on a
painting of the sun, low on the horizon, hanging in Independence Hall. He said, "I have often
wondered whether that sun was rising or setting. Today I have the happiness to know it is a
rising sun." Well, today because each generation of Americans has kept the fire of freedom
burning and lighting new frontiers of possibility, we bask in the warmth of Mr. Franklin's rising
sun. Now it is our time. We will be judged by the deeds and dreams we pass to our children.
37
And on that score, we will be held to a high standard, indeed. Because our chance to do good is
so great. After 224 years, the American revolution continues. We remain a new nation. As long
as our dreams outweigh our memories, America will be forever young. That is our destiny. And
this is our magic moment.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.
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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 tabbed divider. Given our
digitization capabilities, we are sometimes unable to adequately
scan such dividers. The title from the original document is
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DRAFT 10
Divider Title:
Draft 01/26/00 4:45am
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
UNITED STATES CAPITOL
WASHINGTON, DC
January 27, 2000
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, honored guests, my fellow
Americans: We are fortunate to be alive at this moment in history. Never before has our nation
enjoyed, at once, so much prosperity and social progress with so little internal crisis or so few
external threats. Never before have we had such a blessed opportunity - and, therefore, such a
profound obligation - to build the more perfect union of our founders' dreams.
We begin the new century with over 20 million new jobs. The fastest economic growth
in more than 30 years; the lowest unemployment rate in 30 years; the lowest poverty rate in 20
years; the lowest African-American and Hispanic unemployment rates on record; the highest
home ownership ever; the first back-to-back budget surpluses in 42 years.
Next month, America will achieve the longest period of economic growth in our entire
history.
Our economic revolution has been matched by a revival of the American spirit: Crime
down by 25 percent, to its lowest level in more than 30 years. Teen births have dropped seven
years in a row and adoptions are up by 30 percent. Welfare rolls have been cut in half by more
than 7 million to their lowest levels in 32 years.
1
My fellow Americans, the state of our union is the strongest it has ever been.
As always, most of the credit belongs to the American people.
My gratitude also goes to all of you in this chamber who have worked with us to put
progress above partisanship for the sake of our people.
Eight years ago, it was not so clear to most Americans that there would be much to
celebrate in the year 2000. Then our nation was gripped by economic distress, social decline,
political gridlock, and discredited government. In 1992, at a time of rising crime, mounting
deficits, and high unemployment, the title of a best-selling book asked: "America: What went
wrong?"
But in the best traditions of our nation, America determined to set things right. We
replaced outdated ideologies with a bold, new vision anchored in basic, enduring values:
opportunity for all, responsibility from all, and a community of all Americans.
We went beyond the debate over whether government was the problem or the solution -
one of the false choices that had paralyzed Washington for too long. Instead, we reinvented
government, transforming it into a catalyst for new ideas, a partner that gives our people the tools
to solve their own problems.
2
With the smallest federal government in 37 years, we turned record deficits into record
surpluses, and doubled our investment in education. We cut crime: not by choosing prevention
or punishment, but by choosing both, with 100,000 community police and the Brady Law, which
has kept guns out of the hands of half a million criminals. We protected the environment: not by
pitting economic growth against environmental progress, but by choosing both - by cleaning the
air and water, and protecting precious land.
We emphasized both opportunity and responsibility. That's how we ended welfare as we
knew it - requiring work, but protecting health care and nutrition for children, and investing
more in child care, transportation and housing for their parents who are making the move from
welfare to work. That's how we have helped parents to succeed at work and at home - with
family leave, which 20 million Americans have used to care for a newborn child or a sick loved
one.
In 1992, Vice President Gore and I had a roadmap. Today we have results. More
important, America again has the confidence to dream big dreams, and the chance of a lifetime to
make them real. The great question before us is how to make the most of this moment.
We live in revolutionary times: The way we work. The way we learn. The way we live.
The way that, more and more, we are connected to each other and to people all around the world.
My fellow Americans, we have crossed the bridge we built to the 21st Century. Now, we must
shape a 21st-Century American revolution of opportunity, responsibility, and community. We
must be, as we were in the beginning, a new nation.
3
Theodore Roosevelt, at the dawn of the last century, said that "the one characteristic more
essential than any other is foresight. it should be the growing nation with a future which takes
the long look ahead."
So let us lift our sights and describe the view - our vision - of the century ahead. Let us
set great goals, and take the next steps to reach them. At a time of expanding prosperity and
receding crime, at a time of globalization, a time when science and technology are transforming
our world, let us take the long look ahead and pledge:
To ensure every child begins school ready to learn and graduates ready to succeed. To
bring prosperity to every American community, and ensure that no working parents raise their
children in poverty. To eliminate the debt for the first time since 1835. To make America the
safest big country on earth. To reverse the course of climate change and leave a cleaner, safer
planet. And to become at last what our founders pledged us to be so long ago - one nation,
under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
These are great goals, worthy of a great nation. We will not reach them all this year. Not
even this decade. But we will reach them. Let us remember that the first American revolution
was not won with a single shot. The continent was not settled in a single year. But the lesson of
our history and the lesson of the last seven years is that we make great strides toward great goals
by moving step by step: building on our progress, always gaining ground.
4
Of course, you can't gain ground if you're standing still. For too long this Congress has
been standing still on some of our most pressing national priorities. Let's begin with them.
I ask you to pass a real patient's bill of rights. To pass common-sense gun-safety
legislation. And, again, I ask you to raise the minimum wage.
Two years ago, I stood before you as we reached our first balanced budget and said:
Let's show our responsibility to the next generation, by maintaining our fiscal discipline and
saving the Social Security surplus for Social Security. Because we refused to stray from the path
of fiscal discipline, we are doing something that would have seemed unimaginable seven years
ago: We are paying down the national debt. If every one in this chamber will join me in staying
on this path, we can pay down the debt entirely in 13 years and make America debt-free for the
first time since 1835 when Andrew Jackson was president.
In 1993, we began to put our fiscal house in order with the Deficit Reduction Act,
winning passage in both houses by just one vote. Your former colleague, my first Secretary of
the Treasury, helped lead that effort - and he is here with us tonight. Lloyd Bentsen, you have
served America well.
Beyond paying off the debt, we need to make sure that the benefits of debt reduction go
to preserving two of the most important guarantees we make to every American - Social
Security and Medicare. I ask you tonight to work with me to make a bipartisan down payment
5
on Social Security reform by allocating the interest savings from debt reduction to ensure that it
is strong and sound for the next 50 years.
But this is just the start of our journey.
OPPORTUNITY AND RESPONSIBILITY IN EDUCATION
First and foremost, we need a 21st century revolution in education, guided by our faith
that every child can learn. At a time when education is more than ever the key to our children's
future, we must ensure that all our children have that key. That means universal preschool and
afterschool, the best trained teachers in every classroom, and college opportunities for every
student in America.
For seven years, we have worked hard to improve our schools, with opportunity and
responsibility: Investing more, but demanding more in return. Since 1993, we have nearly
doubled investment in education and training. At the same time, we have helped nearly every
state set higher academic standards for their schools.
Reading scores, math scores, and college entrance scores are up. And some of the most
impressive gains are in schools in poor neighborhoods.
All have succeeded with the same proven formula: more accountability, higher standards,
and extra help to ensure all children can reach those standards. I have sent Congress a reform
plan based on that formula. It holds all states and school districts accountable for progress, and
6
rewards them for results. Each year, the national government invests more than $15 billion in
our schools. It's time to change the way we invest that money, to support what works and stop
supporting what doesn't.
As we demand more than ever from our schools, we should invest more than ever in our
schools.
Let's double our investment to help states and districts turn around their worst-
performing schools - or shut them down. And let's give bonuses to states that succeed in
making test scores go up.
Let's double our investment in afterschool and summer school programs. They boost
academic achievement and keep children off the street and out of trouble. If we do this, we can
give every child in every failing school in America the chance to meet high standards. And we
will be on a path toward what I believe should be a goal for our nation: that in [TK] years, every
public school in America will offer afterschool and summer school, and every child will be able
to go.
We should achieve another goal as well: making sure every child has access to quality
preschool. Since 1993, we've put nearly doubled our investment in HeadStart and improved its
quality. Tonight, I propose we add another $1 billion to HeadStart, the largest increase in the
program's history. If we continue this level of new commitments, then we can provide quality
preschool to every child in America by 20[TK].
7
We know that children learn best in smaller classes with good teachers. For two years in
a row, Congress has supported my plan to hire 100,000 new, qualified teachers, to lower class
sizes in the early grades. This year, I ask you to make it three in a row.
And to make sure all teachers know the subjects they teach, tonight I propose a $1 billion
teacher quality initiative. It will recruit more talented people into the classroom, reward good
teachers for staying there, and give all teachers the training they need to meet high standards.
We know real public school choice works. That's what charter schools provide. When I
became President, there was just one independent public charter school in America. Today there
are 1,700. My budget assures that we will meet our goal of 3,000.
We know we must connect all our classrooms to the Internet. We're getting there. In
1994, only three percent of classrooms were connected. Today, with the help of the Vice
President's E-rate program, more than half are. But we can't finish the job when a third of all
schools are in serious disrepair, many with walls and wires too old for the Internet. Tonight, I
propose $1.3 billion to help 5,000 schools make immediate, urgent repairs. And I renew my call
for a tax credit to help build or modernize 6,000 schools - to put our students in modern
classrooms and get them out of trailers.
We know smaller high schools are safer and help students learn more. But since World
War II, American high schools have grown five times bigger. [CK] We should double our
8
efforts to help districts convert factory-style high schools into smaller schools, where children
can get more individual attention and support.
We must do more to prepare students from disadvantaged backgrounds for college and
convince them that the money is there and they can go. Two years ago, Congress crossed party
lines to create our Gear Up program, enabling college students to mentor at-risk middle-school
students. I propose to double the number of children we reach, to 1.4 million; and to offer
disadvantaged students the same college test-prep courses wealthier students use to boost their
scores.
We know that to make the American Dream achievable, we must make college
affordable. For seven years, on a bipartisan basis, we have taken actions toward that goal: larger
Pell grants, more-affordable student loans, education IRAs, and our HOPE scholarship tax cut.
Today, 67 percent of high school graduates do go on to college, up almost 10 percent since 1993.
Yet millions of families still strain to pay college tuition. They need help.
I propose a landmark $30-billion college opportunity tax cut. It will give middle class
families a tax deduction for up to $10,000 in tuition costs. With this new college opportunity tax
cut, plus another Pell grant increase, we can say we have made four years of college available to
all.
REWARDING WORK AND STRENGTHENING FAMILIES
9
We need a 21st Century revolution to reward work and strengthen families. In a world
where the demands on parents are greater than ever, our goal must be to give every parent the
tools to succeed at work and at the most important work of all - raising their children. That
means making sure every child has loving care and that none grow up in poverty; that all parents
have the tools to bring children up right; and that every family has the support to care for aging
parents.
One of the most powerful incentives to work has been the Earned Income Tax Credit for
working families. The "E" in "EITC" is about earning; about working; about taking
responsibility and being rewarded for it. In my first Address to you, I asked Congress to greatly
expand the EITC, and we did. As a result, in 1998 alone, the EITC helped more than 4.3 million
Americans work their way into the middle class - double the number in 1993.
Tonight, I propose another major expansion. We should reduce the marriage penalty for
the EITC, making sure it rewards marriage just as it rewards work; and we should expand the tax
credit for families with more than two children. Our plan would provide those families up to
$1,200 more in tax relief. Americans working hard to reach the middle class should not raise
their children in poverty.
In today's world, we can't reward work and family unless men and women get equal pay
for equal work. Working women have made significant strides: the female unemployment rate
is the lowest in 47 years, and the female-headed household poverty rate is the lowest ever
10
recorded. Women still earn only about 75 cents for every dollar men earn. We must do better by
providing the resources to enforce present equal pay laws, training more women for high-paying,
high-tech jobs, and passing the Paycheck Fairness Act.
Working parents need quality, affordable child care. Many spend up to a quarter of their
income on child care. Last year, we helped parents provide care for about 1.75 million children.
But that's only a tenth of those eligible under federal law. My child care initiative, along with
funds already secured in welfare reform, would make child care better, safer, and more
affordable for another 650,000 children.
To help millions of parents with moderate incomes, we should expand the child care tax
credit. And let's take the next big step. Let's make that tax credit refundable for low-income
families. For those making under $25,000 a year, that could mean up to $2,400 more for child-
care costs. We all say we're pro-work and we're pro-family. Passing this proposal would prove
it.
Tens of millions of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. As hard as they work, they
still don't have the opportunity to save. Too few can make use of IRAs and 401-K retirement
plans. That is why I have long supported so-called Individual Development Accounts that help
working families to save for a first home, or a college education, or a dignified retirement. I
believe it is time to lift this idea to a new level. We should expand Individual Development
Accounts until we can reach every low- and moderate-income family in America. We will
match their contributions, however small, dollar for dollar, every year they save. I also propose
11
a major new tax credit for any small business that provides a meaningful pension to all its
workers.
From my first days as President, we have worked to give families better access to better
health care. We have made sure workers can keep their coverage when they change jobs or take
time off to care for a sick loved one. We have increased coverage for preventive tests. And in
1997, we passed the Children's Health Insurance Program - CHIP - so that workers who don't
have health coverage through their employers can get it for their children. In less than a year,
enrollment in CHIP has doubled, to 2 million children. We're on our way to our goal of 5
million.
But there are still more than 40 million Americans without health insurance, more than
there were in 1993. Tonight I propose that we follow Vice President Gore's suggestion to make
hard-pressed parents eligible for the insurance that covers their kids. Together with our
children's initiative, this would enable over 10 million Americans to have the health care they
need. With these steps alone, we can cover nearly one quarter of the uninsured in America.
And let's give a real, affordable option to the fastest growing group of uninsured: people
between 55 and 65 who lose their coverage. Last year, I proposed that we let them buy into
Medicare. This year, I propose that we also give them a tax credit when they do so, to make this
option more affordable.
12
When the Baby Boomers retire, Medicare will be faced with caring for twice as many of
our citizens - and yet it is far from ready to do so. We must not ask our children to shoulder our
burden. We must strengthen and modernize Medicare now.
My budget includes a comprehensive plan to reform Medicare and make it more efficient
and competitive. It dedicates nearly $400 billion of our budget surplus to keep Medicare solvent
past 2025, and, at long last, to add voluntary, affordable coverage for prescription drugs.
Lifesaving drugs are an indispensable part of modern medicine; no one creating the
Medicare program today would even consider excluding coverage for prescription drugs. And
yet more than three in five seniors now lack dependable drug coverage. We cannot let another
year pass without giving all our seniors affordable prescription drugs.
Record numbers of Americans are providing for aging or ailing loved ones at home.
More and more this is a common but difficult and costly choice. Last year, I proposed a $1,000
tax credit for long-term care. Frankly, that wasn't enough. This year, let's triple it to $3,000 -
and pass it.
And we can't forget a health care need too often overlooked: mental health. My budget
makes the largest increase ever to expand community mental health services. I want to thank the
person who led the first White House Conference on Mental Health last year, who has led all our
efforts to break down the barriers to decent treatment of mental illness: Tipper Gore.
13
Taken together, these proposals mark the largest investment in health care in the 35 years
since the creation of Medicare. We owe it to our people to make that investment this year.
Nearly one in three American children grows up in a home without a father - these
children are five times more likely to live in poverty than children with both parents at home.
Clearly, demanding and supporting responsible fatherhood is the critical next stage of welfare
reform. We have already begun to crack down on fathers who fail to pay child support. As a
result, child support payments have doubled since 1993.
We must work toward the day when every father in America takes responsibility for his
children. We can begin with tougher measures against fathers who fail to pay child support,
from booting their cars to denying them passports. But we should also do more to help these
fathers find work so they can pay child support. My budget will help 40,000 fathers go to work
and do right by their children.
If there is any issue on which we can reach across party lines it is in our common
commitment to reward work and strengthen families. Remember what we did last year. We
came together to help people with disabilities keep their health insurance when they go to work.
And we came together to improve foster care; to support those who leave when they turn 18; and
to increase dramatically the number of foster children who find loving families. A bipartisan
majority worked with us to make it happen; and I thank you. And of course, I am also very
grateful to the person who has led our efforts from the beginning, who has worked tirelessly for
children and families for thirty years now: my wife, Hillary.
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RESPONSIBILITY AND CRIME
Crime in America has dropped every year for the past seven years -- the longest decline
on record, thanks to a national consensus on community police, sensible gun control, and
effective prevention that we helped to forge. But nobody believes America is safe enough. So
let's set a higher goal: let's make America the safest big country in the world.
Last fall, Congress supported my plan to hire up to 50,000 more police officers,
concentrated in high-crime neighborhoods. I ask you to continue that support this year.
Soon after the Columbine tragedy, Congress considered common-sense gun safety
legislation to require Brady background checks at gun shows, child safety locks for all new
handguns, and a ban on the importation of large-capacity ammunition clips. With courage -- and
a tie-breaking vote by the Vice President -- the Senate faced down the gun lobby, stood up for
the American people, and passed this legislation. But the House failed to follow suit.
We've all seen what can happen when guns fall into the wrong hands. Daniel Mauser
was only 15 years old when he was gunned down at Columbine. He was an amazing kid, a
straight-A student, a good skier. Like all parents who lose their children, his father Tom has
borne unimaginable grief. Somehow Tom has found the strength to honor his son by
transforming his grief into action. Earlier this month, he took a leave of absence from his job to
fight for tougher gun safety laws. I pray that his courage and wisdom will move this Congress to
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make common-sense gun safety legislation the very next order of business; and I thank him for
being here tonight.
We've shown that we can strengthen gun laws and better enforce laws already on the
books. [Federal] gun crime prosecutions are higher today than in 1992, and are up 25 percent
since 1998. But again, we must do more. I propose to hire more federal and local gun
prosecutors, and more ATF agents to crack down on illegal gun traffickers and bad-apple dealers
who supply guns to criminals and juveniles. We must give law enforcement the tools to trace
every gun - and every bullet - used in a crime in America.
Tonight, I propose legislation requiring handgun buyers to get a photo-ID license from
their states, showing that they passed a Brady background check and took a gun safety course.
Every state already requires hunters and automobile drivers to have a license. They should do
the same for handgun purchasers.
Today, the accidental gun death rate of children under 15 is nine times higher in the U.S.
than in the 25 other industrialized nations - combined. Technologies now exist that could lead to
guns that can only be fired by the adults who own them. I ask Congress to fund research in
technologies for Smart Guns - guns that can only be fired by the people who own them. I also
call on responsible leaders in the gun industry to work with us on smart guns and other steps to
keep guns out of the wrong hands and keep our kids safe.
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Every parent I know worries about the impact of violence in the media on their children.
I thank the entertainment industry for accepting my challenge to put voluntary ratings on TV
programs and video and Internet games. But the ratings are too numerous, diverse, and
confusing. Therefore, I ask the industry to accept the First Lady's challenge to develop a single,
voluntary rating system for all children's entertainment, one that is easier for parents to
understand and enforce.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of offenders leave our prisons, only to wind up back
in trouble with the law. We should make sure that ex-offenders who sincerely want to turn their
lives around get the treatment and training to stay off drugs, find jobs and become responsible
citizens.
OPENING NEW MARKETS
We need a 21st Century revolution to open new markets, start new businesses, and hire
new workers right here in America - in the inner cities, poor rural areas, and on Indian
reservations - places not yet blessed by our nation's prosperity. Over the last six months, I have
traveled to many of these places - joined by many of you - to shine a spotlight on the enormous
potential in communities from the Mississippi Delta to Watts to the Pine Ridge Indian
Reservation. Everywhere I've gone, I've met talented people eager for opportunity, eager to
work. I say: let's put them to work.
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For business, it's the smart thing to do. For America, it's the right thing to do. And if we
don't do it now, when will we ever get around to it?
I ask Congress to give businesses the same incentives to invest in America's new markets
that they have to invest in foreign markets. Tonight, I propose a New Markets Tax Credit more
than twice the size I proposed last year. With this and other incentives, we can spur $22 billion
in private-sector capital to create new businesses and help firms expand or relocate in inner cities
or rural areas. And we should increase the tax incentives that promote growth in our
Empowerment Zones - which, with Vice President Gore's leadership, have been bringing
prosperity to distressed areas for five years now.
I thank the business leaders who are not just seizing these opportunities - but creating
them. And I challenge every business to do the same.
This is not a Democratic or a Republican issue; it is an American issue. Mr. Speaker, it
was a powerful moment last November when you joined me and Reverend Jesse Jackson on the
stage at Englewood High School, in your home state of Illinois, and pledged to work with us. I
thank you for your commitment and I look forward to working with you.
This spring, I will lead a New Markets tour to focus on the gap between those who have
the tools to succeed in the new economy, and those who don't. This "digital divide" is the great
civil rights challenge of the Information Age.
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We must go beyond connecting classrooms and libraries to make the Internet available to
all citizens. My budget provides funds to establish over 1,000 community computer centers, and
funds to ensure that all new teachers are trained to use the Internet. It also contains tax
incentives for corporations to help close the digital divide. And I ask high-tech leaders to help
America reach a great goal. By 20tk, let's make the computer and the Internet as common in
homes as the telephone is today.
I hope we can also agree to make special efforts to support our Indian reservations, where
unemployment is as high as 70%, and poverty remains rampant. My budget increases our
investment in economic and job development, health care, education, and law enforcement by
more than $1 billion. In this new century, we should honor our historic responsibility to
empower the first Americans.
We must also fulfill our obligation to our farming communities, the lifeblood of our land.
When I signed the farm bill in 1996, I said there was a great danger it would work well for
family farmers in good times but not in bad. In recent years, they have endured droughts, floods
and historically low prices. Congress cannot stand by and watch the Freedom to Farm Bill
become a Freedom to Fail bill. We simply must work together to strengthen the farm safety net,
invest in land conservation, and create new markets by expanding our program for bio-based
fuels and products.
GLOBAL CHANGE AND AMERICAN LEADERSHIP
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We cannot realize the possibilities of the new economy just within our own borders. We
must also lead and shape another revolution that is tearing down barriers and building new
networks among nations, economies and cultures: globalization.
It is the central reality of our time. Change this profound is both liberating and
threatening. But there is no turning back. And our open, creative society stands to benefit more
than any other - if we understand and act on the new realities of interdependence. We must
maintain our military and economic might. But we cannot lead without being at the center of
every vital network, as a good neighbor and partner. We cannot build our future without helping
others build theirs.
We must push forward on a new consensus on open trade. Those of us who believe
passionately in the power of open trade must ensure that trade is about lifting both our living
standards and our values, and never about tolerating child labor or a race to the bottom on the
environment and worker protection. Make no mistake: Open markets and a rule-based trading
system are the only viable ways to raise living standards, reduce global poverty and assure the
free flow of ideas. There is only one direction for America on trade: we must go forward.
And we must reach out to make developing economies our partners in prosperity - which
is why I ask Congress to finalize our groundbreaking African and Caribbean Basin trade
initiatives.
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Globalization is about more than economics. Our purpose must be to bring the world
together around democracy, free markets and peace. And we must resist the forces that threaten
the world with deadly weapons, acts of terror and poisoned appeals to ethnic and religious
hatred.
With that in mind, let me describe the fundamental challenges I believe America must
meet to shape the 21st century world in a way that advances our interests and serves our ideals.
First is to encourage our former adversaries Russia and China to emerge as stable,
prosperous, democratic nations. Both are being held back from reaching their potential: Russia
by the legacy of communism, by economic turmoil, by a cruel and futile war in Chechnya; China
by the illusion that it can buy stability at the expense of freedom.
But think how much else has changed: 5,000 former Soviet nuclear weapons dismantled;
Russian soldiers serving with ours in the Balkans; Russian people electing their leaders for the
first time in a thousand years. And in China, a society more open to the world than ever before.
No one can know for sure what direction these great countries will choose. But we must do
everything in our power to see that they choose wisely, to be constructive members of the global
community, and not outside it.
That is why we must support those Russians struggling for a democratic future; continue
to reduce our nuclear arsenals and to help Russia safeguard weapons and materials that remain.
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That is why Congress should support the agreement we negotiated to bring China into the
WTO, by passing Permanent Normal Trade Relations. Our markets are already open to China.
This agreement will open China's markets to us. It will advance the cause of peace in Asia and
promote the cause of change in China.
A second challenge is to protect our security from conflicts that pose the risk of wider
war. America cannot prevent every conflict or stop every outrage. But where our interests are
at stake and we can make a difference, we must be peacemakers. For when human beings
anywhere are singled out for destruction, it is our common humanity that suffers. And left
unresolved, such tragedies can throw whole regions into turmoil and threaten us more directly.
We should be proud of America's role in bringing the Middle East closer than ever to a
comprehensive peace; building peace in Northern Ireland; working for peace in East Timor and
Africa; promoting reconciliation between Greece and Turkey; working to defuse crises between
India and Pakistan; defending human rights and religious freedom.
And we should be proud of the men and women of our armed forces who stopped the
ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, enabling a million innocent people to return to their homes. Today,
instead of struggling to defeat something evil, we can focus on building something good: a
Europe undivided, democratic and at peace for the first time in history.
When Slobodan Milosevic unleashed his terror in Kosovo, Captain John Cherrey was one
of the brave airmen who turned the tide. And when another American plane went down over
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Serbia, he flew into the teeth of enemy air defenses to bring his fellow pilot home. Captain
Cherrey, we honor you with our gratitude, and with our promise to finish the work you helped
begin.
A third challenge is to keep the inexorable march of technology from giving terrorists and
hostile nations the means to undermine our defenses. The same advances that have shrunk cell
phones to fit in the palms of our hands can also make weapons of terror easier to conceal and
easier to use.
We must meet this threat: by helping Russia keep its arsenal secure and reducing both
our nuclear arsenals; restraining nuclear and missile programs in North Korea and Iran;
preventing Iraq from threatening its neighbors. We are increasing our preparedness against
biological attack and developing a system to defend against the missiles of outlaw nations -
while working to preserve our Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with Russia. My budget devotes $2
billion to protect our vital computer systems from hackers and criminals in any corner of any
country.
I also hope we can have a bipartisan dialogue this year to build a consensus on the
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty which will eventually lead to its ratification. America must
remain a leader in the struggle for a safer world.
A fourth challenge is to ensure the stability of our planet is not threatened by a gulf
between rich and poor. We cannot accept a world in which a part of humanity lives on the
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cutting edge of a new economy, while another lives on the bare edge of survival. We must do
our part, with expanded trade, expanded aid and the expansion of freedom.
From Nigeria to Indonesia, more people won the right to choose their leaders in 1999
than in 1989, the year the Berlin Wall fell. Yet new democracies need help in delivering for their
people. We must stand by neighboring countries like Colombia, fighting for its people's lives -
and for our children's lives - against the poison of drugs. I have proposed a two-year, $1.6
billion package to help Colombia; and I ask for your support.
In a world where 1.3 billion people live on less than a dollar a day, we must do what the
Pope and so many other religious leaders have asked: reduce the debts of the poorest countries.
I ask Congress to continue to support our effort.
And America must help more nations break the bonds of disease that hold their people
down. Last year in Africa, AIDS killed ten times as many people as war did. My budget invests
$150 million in the fight against this and other infectious killers. And I will ask the world to join
us in an initiative to speed the delivery and development of vaccines. Today, I am proposing a
tax credit that gives an incentive to private industry: develop vaccines for diseases like malaria,
TB and AIDS, and we will help pay for them. Together, we can save millions of lives.
All these challenges come down to one question: Will America continue to lead? In the
20th century, America was thrust into global leadership by the forces of history. Now America
must choose: to shape the new forces of history or be driven by them.
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To lead, we must remain strong, keeping our military the best trained, best equipped in
the world. My budget invests in readiness and in 21st century weapons. And it raises salaries
for our men and women in uniform and ensures our veterans the thanks and honor they have so
richly earned.
We must also continue to fund the one percent of our budget that supports the diplomacy
that keeps our soldiers out of war. Last year, Congress worked with me to maintain that
commitment and resume paying our UN dues and arrears. Let's do it again this year. And let's
remember: building a stronger global community will only strengthen our community here at
home.
RESPONSIBILITY, OPPORTUNITY, AND THE ENVIRONMENT
I am grateful for the opportunities the Vice President and I have had to honor our
responsibility to the environment - and finally to put to rest the notion that you can't expand the
economy while protecting the environment. As our economy has grown, we have rid more than
500 neighborhoods of toxic waste and ensured cleaner air and water for millions of families. In
the past three months alone, we have acted to preserve roadless lands in our National Forests and
created three new National Monuments - adding to the tens of millions of acres we are
protecting for all Americans, for all time.
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But our communities are growing, and our commitment to conservation must keep
growing as well. Tonight, I propose creating a permanent conservation endowment to restore
wildlife, protect coastlines, and save natural treasures from California redwoods to the
Everglades. This Lands Legacy endowment represents by far the most enduring investment in
land preservation ever proposed.
Last year, the Vice President launched a new effort to help make communities more
livable - so children will grow up next to parks, not parking lots, and parents can be home with
their kids instead of stuck in traffic. Tonight, we propose new funding for advanced transit
systems for saving precious open spaces and for helping major cities around the Great
Lakes protect their waterways and enhance their quality of life.
We must also help other nations protect their natural resources. The rainforests are home
to more than half the world's species - yet these sanctuaries are disappearing at the rate of more
than 50 acres a minute. Tonight, I propose a new plan to help countries from the Amazon to the
Congo Basin strengthen their economies by preserving, rather than destroying, irreplaceable
forests.
The greatest environmental challenge of the new century is global warming. Scientists
tell us that the 1990s were the hottest decade of the entire millennium - and that if we fail to
reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, deadly heat waves and droughts will become more
frequent, coastal areas will be flooded, economies disrupted.
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Many people in the United States and around the world believe we can't cut greenhouse
pollution without slowing economic growth. In the Industrial Age that was true. In the digital
economy, it isn't. New technologies make it possible to cut harmful emissions and provide more
growth.
Last week, at the Detroit Auto Show, automakers unveiled cars that get 70 to 80 miles a
gallon - the fruits of a unique Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles, led by the Vice
President. We're helping to bring the benefits of advanced space research into our homes with
solar roofing tiles and fuel cells that produce all the electricity a family needs - and no pollution.
Before you know it, we'll be producing clean fuels from crops and getting the equivalent of
hundreds of miles from a gallon of gas.
To help spur these new technologies, I propose giving major tax incentives to businesses
for producing clean energy and to families for buying energy-saving homes, appliances, and
the next generation of super-efficient cars.
Because global warming is a global challenge, I also propose a new $100 million
initiative to help developing countries adopt the newest clean-energy technologies. We must
help them follow a cleaner, more modern path to economic growth.
THE OPPORTUNITY AND RESPONSIBILITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
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In the new century, innovations in science and technology will be key not only to the
health of the environment but to miraculous improvements in the quality of our lives and
advances in the economy.
Later this year, researchers will complete a first draft of the entire human genome - the
very blueprint of life. It is important for every American to recognize that their tax dollars have
fueled much of this research - and that this and other wise investments in science are leading to a
revolution in our ability to detect, treat, and prevent disease. For example, scientists have
recently identified three genes that cause Parkinson's Disease - and they will soon begin to test
therapies that will turn off these faulty genes for good. Patients with some forms of leukemia
and breast cancer may soon receive sophisticated new drugs that precisely target cancer cells,
with little or no risk to healthy cells. And researchers are working on methods of directly
stimulating the spinal cord in ways that would to allow people who are paralyzed to walk.
Science and engineering innovations are also propelling our remarkable prosperity.
Information technology alone now accounts for one third of our economic growth, with jobs that
pay almost 80 percent above the private sector average. Without government-funded research,
computers, the Internet, and communications satellites might not even exist.
We must continue this research. The future will bring devices that can translate foreign
languages as fast as you can speak materials ten times stronger than steel at only a small
fraction of the weight
DNA computers the size of a droplet that would have the processing
power of the fastest supercomputers available today.
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My budget will include an unprecedented $3 billion increase in the 21st Century
Research Fund, the largest increase in civilian research in a generation. We will boost support
for biomedical research at the National Institutes of Health, double the largest dollar increase for
the National Science Foundation in its history, and greatly expand funding for information
technology, clean energy, nanotechnology, university-based research, and NASA's never-ending
quest in space.
As new breakthroughs are made, we must use them in ways that reflect our most
cherished values. First and foremost, we must safeguard our citizens' privacy. Last year, our
administration proposed rules to protect every citizen's medical records We have also taken the
first steps to protect the sanctity of financial records. Soon I will send legislation to the Congress
to finish the job.
We should also take action to prevent genetic discrimination - so no employer ever
reviews your genetic records along with your resume. We will make sure that the actions of the
government itself ensure strong privacy protections. And tonight, I challenge on-line companies
to do more to protect their customers' privacy.
My budget also makes a significant investment in eliminating medical errors, which TK
[Jennings will complete]. Our medical professionals work wonders every day, but Americans
should never have to fear that their health care will jeopardize their health.
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If we do all these things, we can ensure that the march of human discovery will only
quicken in the century before us - enhancing our lives, and the lives of our children, in ways that
we can only begin to imagine today.
COMMUNITY
Because people today must cope with so many profound changes, it is even more
important that we strengthen the bonds of our local communities and our national community.
No tie binds different people together like citizen service. There is a new spirit of service
in America-a movement we have supported with AmeriCorps, an expanded Peace Corps, and
unprecedented new partnerships between government and private citizens.
For example, four years ago, I asked corporate leaders to join us in helping people move
from welfare to work. Today, 12,000 companies have hired nearly 650,000 of our fellow
citizens off the welfare rolls.
Over the past seven years, we have created many other successful partnerships with
businesses, foundations, and community groups. To battle drug abuse and AIDS. To teach
young people to read. To Save America's Treasures. To fight teen pregnancy. To prevent youth
violence. To promote racial healing.
We can do more to help Americans help others.
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If we believe that charity begins at home, we must reward lower and middle income
citizens who tithe and contribute to charities. Right now, only those who earn enough to itemize
can claim a tax deduction for charitable contributions. Tonight, I propose new tax incentives to
allow low and middle income citizens to claim that same deduction.
Faith-based organizations are on the frontlines in our communities helping Americans
fight substance abuse, providing opportunities for young people to get back on the right track.
We must do more to support the good works of organizations like Lutheran Social Services in
Brockton, Massachusetts which runs a Second Chance Home for unwed teen mothers. We can
do this and still respect the line between church and state.
There is even more we can do to breathe fuller life into the idea of citizenship. That's
why we're proposing to invest more in teaching civics and English to new immigrants.
Our national community is undergoing one of the greatest demographic transformations
in history. Within ten years there will be no majority race in our largest state, California. In a
little more than 50 years there will be no majority race in America.
In a more interconnected world, will we make diversity our greatest strength? As we
have seen around the world, racial and ethnic conflict too often spark terror and war. And no
country is exempt from hatred-even our own.
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We have seen a man dragged to death in Texas simply because he was black. A young
man murdered in Wyoming simply because he was gay. In the last year, we've seen the
shootings of African Americans, Asian Americans, and Jewish children simply because of who
they were. We must draw the line. This is not the American way. In America, we must do more
than tolerate diversity - we must celebrate it. Without further delay, we must pass the Hate
Crimes Prevention Act and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.
The work of building One America must be the work of all Americans. We must
rededicate ourselves to the ideals of justice and opportunity for all that are at the heart of our
democracy. No American should be subjected to discrimination in finding a home, getting a job,
going to school, or securing a loan. Tonight, I propose the largest ever investment to enforce
America's civil rights laws. Let's make sure protections in law are protections in fact.
Last February, I created the White House Office on One America to coordinate our
efforts and to help build community partnerships for racial reconciliation. Now we are reaching
out across our nation - to religious leaders, to corporate leaders, to the legal community, to enlist
all Americans in building One America.
This fall, at the White House, one of America's leading scientists, said something we all
need to remember: all human beings, genetically, are 99.9 percent the same. Modern science
now affirms what ancient faith has taught us: the most important fact of life is our common
humanity.
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My fellow Americans, each time I prepare for the State of the Union, I approach it with
great hope and expectations for our nation. But there is no escaping the fact that tonight is
different. For tonight, we stand on the mountaintop of a new millennium. Behind us we see the
expanse of American achievement, and ahead, even wider frontiers of possibility.
We should be filled with gratitude and humility for our prosperity and progress, awe and
joy at what lies before us, and determination to make the most of it.
When the framers finished crafting our Constitution, Benjamin Franklin stood in
Independence Hall and reflected on a painting of the sun, low on the horizon. He said, "I have
often wondered whether that sun was rising or setting." "Today," Franklin said, " I have the
happiness to know it is a rising sun." Well, today, because each generation of Americans has
kept the fire of freedom burning and lighting new frontiers of possibility, we bask in the warmth
of Mr. Franklin's rising sun.
Now it is our time. We will be judged by the deeds and dreams we pass on to our
children. And on that score, we will be held to a high standard, indeed. Because our chance to
do good is so great. After 224 years, the American Revolution continues. We remain a new
nation. As long as our dreams outweigh our memories, America will be forever young. That is
our destiny. And this is our moment.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.
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