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1/22/98 noon
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
UNITED STATES CAPITOL
January 27, 1998
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of the 105th Congress, distinguished guests,
and my fellow Americans:
For 209 years, it has been the President's duty to report to you on the State of the Union:
Tonight, it is a duty any citizen would cherish. Because of the hard work and high purpose of the
American people, I can report to you tonight that these are good times for America. Our
economy is prospering. Our incomes are rising. Our social fabric is mending. Our leadership in
the world is unrivaled. The state of our union is strong.
But with barely 700 days left in the 20th Century, this is not a time to rest; this is a time
to build. With faith, daring, and energy, let us achieve the America within reach. Let us achieve
an America in which medicine will allow victims of spinal cord injuries to stand up and walk.
Let us achieve an America in which scientists find cures for diseases from Alzheimers to AIDS.
Let us achieve an America in which every child can stretch a hand across a keyboard and reach
every book ever written, every painting ever painted, and every symphony ever composed. Let
us reach toward a time when a confident America, which saved civilization in this century, will
make partnerships for the peace of the new century.
Let us count our blessings. Let us summon our resolve. This is a season of promise. We
do not retreat from the future; we welcome it. Let us rise to the challenge of our unique moment,
and strengthen our nation for the 21st Century.
We are a people born in the greatest revolution in human history, and at every turning
point in our destiny we have extended the American revolution by renewing the idea of America.
This, I am convinced, is what our founders meant when they committed themselves and
their descendants down to the present generation to form a more perfect union.
George Washington asked our people to move beyond separate states, to become, as he
put it, "an indissoluble community of interest as one nation." Abraham Lincoln gave his life to
move beyond division and slavery to one nation. Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson
pushed us to reap the benefits, yet curb the abuses, of the Industrial Revolution -- so that we
could remain one nation. Franklin Roosevelt battled Depression, tyranny and fear, and the
triumph was won by America as one nation. Fifty years of Democratic and Republican leaders
from President Truman to President Bush summoned us to stand resolute through the Cold War,
while we built the world's greatest middle class at home, lifting America to new heights as one
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nation.
But by 1992, America confronted another decisive moment in its destiny. The moment
did not come upon us with the roar of guns or any other sudden crisis that usually signals a
decisive time. Quietly but with gathering force, the ground shifted beneath our feet, as we moved
into an information age, a global economy, a truly new world. Perhaps never before has one
generation seen so much change, in so short a time, in so many areas.
The changes upended old arrangements, declared new winners and losers, opened new
possibilities as they raised new perils. Suddenly we lacked a framework for the future, and a
path and a plan to master it. Our economy was in recession, our political system was paralyzed,
and our problems mounted. Too many hardworking honest Americans had to struggle to survive
and make sense of a world moving beyond their control.
But for five years now, with renewed confidence and new energy, our people have risen
as one nation to meet the challenge of change -- acting, to forge a more perfect union, to redeem
the promise of opportunity, to widen and deepen the meaning of our freedom. We have once
again taken the path of "bold persistent experimentation."
And at every step, our actions have been grounded in three principles: Opportunity for all
Americans. Responsibility from all Americans. A community of all Americans.
To make these principles real, we have moved past the sterile debate between those who
say government is the enemy and those who say government is the answer. We have forged a
new kind of government for the Information Age. Smaller. More flexible. Focused on giving the
American people the tools to make the most of this new era. Functioning as a catalyst for new
ideas. A government that replaces a sense of entitlement with a philosophy of empowerment.
In this we have had unparalleled success, thanks in large measure to the guiding work of
the Vice President in giving us the smallest government in 35 years, but one even better designed
to serve the American people.
My fellow Americans, we have a smaller government -- but we have a stronger nation.
Increasingly, we also have an economy that offers opportunity.
When I took office, the deficit for 1998 was projected to be $357 billion, and heading
higher. Today, our deficit is $22 Billion, and heading lower.
For three decades, eight presidents came before you to warn of the damage deficits posed
to the nation, the economy, and our credibility. Tonight, I come before you to announce that the
federal deficit -- once so incomprehensibly large that it had eleven zeroes -- will be, simply, zero.
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I will submit to Congress for 1999 the first balanced budget in 30 years.
And if we hold fast to our fiscal discipline, we may well balance the budget this year.
This year -- four years ahead of schedule.
Turning a sea of red ink into black is no miracle. It is the product of hard work, discipline
and wise investment by the American people. It is the product of courageous votes by Members
of Congress in 1993, some of whom sacrificed their political lives so that we might reach this
historic achievement. This nation owes them our thanks.
AN ECONOMY THAT OFFERS OPPORTUNITY
What we did, in this chamber, across this country, in these years, was nothing less than to
make America an economy of opportunity for the 21st Century.
Now, continued economic growth demands sustained fiscal discipline.
It seemed as if the prospect of a budget surplus was only minutes old before some old,
bad habits began to reappear. We must not go back to unwise spending, or untargeted tax cuts,
that risk reopening the deficit. My balanced budget plan includes 30 tax cuts targeted to the
needs of working families: tax cuts for education, for child care, for the environment. Middle
class families would pay the lowest taxes in 20 years. I ask you to enact those tax cuts now.
And whether the issue is tax cuts or spending, I ask all of you here to meet this test: approve only
those priorities that can be accomplished without adding a dime to the deficit. or a person to the
federal payroll.
What, then, should be done with any budget surplus? I believe the answer is clear.
An economy that offers opportunity must honor those who have built our prosperity over
a lifetime. We now have the power and the obligation to fulfill, for new generations yet to come,
the ancient command to 'honor thy father and thy mother.'
When he proposed retirement security for the elderly, President Franklin Roosevelt called
it a "cornerstone" of our nation. We must build on that cornerstone, to make sure that security is
as strong for our children as it has been for our parents.
So tonight, I propose that we reserve 100% of the surplus until we strengthen Social
Security. Let us reserve every penny of any surplus until we have saved the Social Security
system. Let us reserve every penny of any surplus until we have taken all the measures necessary
to preserve Social Security for the next 75 years. Let us make this fundamental promise to all
Americans watching tonight -- whether you are 70
or 50
or 20 years old -- that Social
Security will be there when you need it. Let us, tonight, make this commitment: Social Security
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first.
This must be only the beginning of a determined national effort to extend Social Security
into the 21 st Century. [Social Security reform process]
These are the principles that I believe must guide such reform. [reform principles]
Investing in people
In an economy that honors opportunity, all Americans must be able to reap the rewards of
prosperity.
[After three decades of stagnation, wages have at long last begun to rise. Now, one
simple, sensible, proven step can make a difference for millions of workers: This year, we must
raise the minimum wage to [x] an hour.]
Five years ago, we recognized that -- more than an information age, we are moving into
an education age. Standards of knowledge will determine standards of living. A diploma will
only be as valuable as the skills behind it.
Last year, from this rostrum, I said education is our highest prioirty -- and I proposed a
ten point plan to strengthen our schools. Since then, this Congress and the American people
have rersponded, in the most important year for education in a generation expanding choice
and creating 3,000 independent charter schools working to connect every classroom to the
information superhighway beginning to build an army of tutors to teach every 8 year old to
read
and the honor roll of education reform goes on and on.
We are waging and winning a quiet revolution. We are making at least two years of
college education as universal as high school is today. As of January 1, 1998, when parents write
a tuition check, they get a tax cut. Due to the most significant investment in higher education
since the GI Bill, today, for the first time in our history, we can say to every American,
regardless of income: if you work hard, you can go to college.
Let us extend that revolution of opportunity to every grade of our nation's public schools.
We must make sure all our children master the basics. Soon, for the first time, we will
have a voluntary national test based on national standards in 4th grade reading and 8th grade
math. Parents have a right to know whether students and schools measure up.
And every parent already knows the key to mastering these basics: small classes and good
teachers. Tonight I propose a national effort to reduce class size in the early grades. My
balanced budget will enable schools across the country to hire an additional 100,000 teachers to
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reduce class size in first, second, and third grade to an average of 18 nationwide. We will insist
that every one of these new teachers passes a rigorous state competency test before they are
hired. When parents take a child to the first day of school, they should know that the class is
small enough for learning and the teacher is qualified to teach.
We must also assist communities as they seek to repair old schools and build new ones.
Let me do the math: to reduce class size, you have to build more classrooms.
And I will send Congress a proposal to enslist thousands of colleges to send mentors into
middle schools and junior high schools to help students there start planning and preparing for
college.
Let us say to all our schools: Social promotion is destructive. No child in America should
graduate if he or she cannot read a diploma. And if schools stop promoting children who don't
learn, we will give you the resources you need to make sure they do. It is time to declare an end
to social promotion in America's schools.
Leading the global economy
As we enter the 21st Century, an economy that offers opportunity must seek it not just at
home, but in all the markets of the world. We are living in an era of great and global change.
We will succeed or fall short on a global scale, in a dynamic new marketplace that links billions
of people with countless ties of culture, commerce and communication. There is no turning
back. We are 4% of the world's population. We must sell to the 96% of the world's consumers
who live beyond our borders.
In the last five years, America has reached 220 trade agreements, and every single one of
tears down foreign barriers to products that bear the proud label, "MADE IN THE USA."
Today, exports are at a record high, accounting for fully one third of our economic
growth. But foreign nations still impose $60 billion in tariffs on the products and services we
sell abroad. We must continue to bring those barriers down.
This year, I will renew my request for the necessary negotiating authority to open markets
abroad. If we fail to seize the opportunities of expanded trade, our competitors surely will. That
would be a policy of America last and that's unaceeptable. We must also insist that our
trading partners enforce basic labor and environmental standards. And tonight, I ask every
nation to join with us in a new effort to fight the most abusive and exploitative practices of all -
forced child labor.
Opportunity in the new economy demands new steps to safeguard overall economic
growth. America will only prosper if the whole world prospers.
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Today, an economic crisis anywhere can affect trading partners everywhere. Recent
months have brought serious problems in the economies and financial markets of Thailand,
Indonesia and South Korea. These nations are our customers, our competitors, and our allies. If
our customers in Asia sink into recession, they won't be able to buy the goods we want to sell
them - and our exports will diminish. As competitors, as their currencies lose their value, the
prices of their goods will drop, flooding our market with low-cost products. And as our allies,
their national security affects our own. Having fought 3 wars in the Pacific during this century,
we know that the stability of Asia is a vital interest for America.
The American economy remains sound and strong -- and I want to keep it that way. But
no one should be mistaken. The turmoil in Asia will have an impact on our economy. Preparing
for a far-off storm that may reach our shores is far wiser than ignoring the thunder until the
clouds are overhead.
We can and must take critical steps to contain the effects of the financial turmoil
overseas, to minimize its impact on our economy -- steps that reflect common sense principles.
First, no nation can or should be helped if it won't help itself by putting its own house in order.
Second, when nations are willing to undertake serious economic reform, it is in our interest to
enable them to do so. Tonight, I renew my call to the Congress to renew America's commitment
to the International Monetary Fund - the financial firefighters that keep the world economy safe.
And I thank Speaker Gingrich and Senator Lott, Rep. Gephardt and Sen. Daschle, for giving
bipartisan leadership in support of of prudent and urgent action to preserve world prosperity and
protect the American economy.
An economy that offers opportunity must also offer help and hope to those Americans
temporarily left behind in the global marketplace or the march of technology.
That is why my balanced budget will triple the funding for dislocated workers.
That is why we must act to help workers whose plants have closed for any reason. We
help people when their military base closes. We should help them when their factory closes.
And that is why the Congress should act this year to pass the GI Bill for Workers -- a
Careers Bill that will consolidate the tangle of training programs and give workers a simple grant
for the training they need.
A SOCIETY THAT DEMANDS RESPONSIBILITY
A strong nation rests on the rock of responsibility.
First, a society that demands responsibility must promote the value of work, not welfare.
We can be proud that in 1996, after decades of finger pointing and failure, we ended a welfare
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system that trapped generations of Americans in a cycle of dependency. Last year, from this
podium, I challenged our nation to go further -- to move two million more Americans off of
welfare by the year 2000. Well, I am pleased to report that we've met that goal - two years
ahead of schedule.
We must do more -- increasing child support collections from deadbeat parents, providing
child care, and helping families move closer to available jobs. And above all, I ask thousands
more businesses to join the 3000 companies already in our welfare-to-work partnership.
We must replace the despair of dependency with the dignity of work.
Second, we must make it possible for hardworking families to meet their most important
responsibilities.
We have made health insurance portable from job to job. Last year, we extended health
care to up to 5 million children. This year, I challenge Congress to take the next historic steps.
Today, 160 million Americans now receive health care through managed care plans. I
challenge Congress to write into law a Consumer Bill of Rights that says: You have the right to
know all your medical options -- not just the cheapest. You have the right to choose the doctor
you want for the care you need. Traditional care or managed care, every American deserves
quality care.
Today, millions of Americans between the ages of 55 and 65 are losing their health
insurance after a lifetime of work. I challenge Congress: let these hardworking Americans buy
into the Medicare system. It won't cost the taxpayers a penny -- but the peace of mind it will
provide is priceless.
And we must help parents protect their children from the greatest health threat they face:
an epidemic of teen smoking, spread by multimillion dollar marketing campaigns.
I challenge Congress: let's pass bipartisan, comprehensive legislation that will change the
way tobacco companies do business, and raise the price of a pack of cigarettes by up to $1.50
over the next ten years if teen smoking does not go down. Today, like every day, 3000 children
start smoking, and 1000 of them will die early as a result. Let this be remembered as the
Congress that saved their lives.
In the new economy, most parents work, harder than ever - and they need more time with
their children.
The Family and Medical Leave Act has given [15] million Americans time off from work
to care for a child or a family member. I ask you to extend this law so that new mothers and
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fathers can take six months of unpaid leave when they have a baby.
Child care is the next frontier. Governments don't raise children; parents do.
[acknowledge First Lady] But our new kind of government can give parents the help they need to
raise their families right. I call upon Congress to pass a comprehensive and fiscally-responsible
plan to make child care more affordable and accessible, with new incentives for caregivers, and
tax cuts for businesses and millions of working families.
Third, a society that demands responsibility must hold individuals responsible when they
break the law -- punishing crime severely when it occurs, and preventing it from happening in
the first place.
For decades, it seemed as if rising, increasingly vicious crime was the permanent poison
of our neighborhoods, our great cities, and our nation. Now, with 100,000 new community
police on the streets, tougher punishment, and smarter prevention, we put in placed a community
based crime fighting strategy that works. I can report to you tonight that for five years in a row,
crime is down -- murder is down, robbery is down, assault is down, burglary is down
for five
years in a row, all across America.
Now I again ask Congress to pass a juvenile crime bill that provides more prosecutors
and probation officers to crack down on gangs, guns and drugs.
We must expand before and after school programs. We must give our children
somewhere to go other than the streets.
We should bar violent juveniles from buying guns once they turn 21.
And let me speak plainly about a responsibility that rests with 100 men and women in this
chamber. When the courts are clogged, criminals go free. The Senate has the Constitutional
duty to confirm judges to enforce the law and sentence the lawbreakers. Here is what the Chief
Justice of the United States wrote, and I quote: "[Judicial] vacancies cannot remain at such high
levels indefinitely without eroding the quality of justice." I ask this Congress to heed this plea,
and vote on these highly qualified judges, up or down.
Fourth, we must demand responsibility not only at home but abroad, and we shoulder
must shoulder our great and honorable responsibility of world leadership.
In this century, the American people learned that our nation has a unique role, and we
have lived up to it, in the most extraordinary and selfless defense of freedom in human history.
We defeated the two greatest totalitarian threats of all time. As a result of that effort, we are
more secure and prosperous than ever before. Now, in a new day, at the eve of a new century,
we have both the power and the duty to shape a new era of peace.
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But today's possibilities are not tomorrow's guarantees. America still must stand against
the poisoned appeals of extreme nationalism and dangerous conflicts between nations. And we
must combat an unholy axis of new threats with no respect for borders: terrorists, international
criminals and drug traffickers. These 21 st century predators feed on gifts we otherwise cherish:
the potential of technology, and the free flow of information, ideas and people. The predators
will be all the more lethal if weapons of mass destruction fall into their hands.
Just as we are building a stronger nation at home, so we are writing international rules of
the road for the 21st century, protecting those who join in the community of nations, and
isolating those who refuse. We are pursuing a new strategy of security for a new world, adapting
old institutions to changing demands
forging strong partnerships to meet common challenges
modernizing the instruments of our influence, military and diplomatic.
Here are elements of this strategy that we together must put in place -- this year.
First, within days, I will ask the Senate for its advice and consent to make three of
Europe's new democracies -- Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic -- the newest members of
NATO. For fifty years, the alliance has kept America and Western Europe secure. Now,
America is leading the way in transforming NATO for the 21st century. By taking in new
members, working with new partners, and cooperating closely with Russia and Ukraine, we can
extend the frontiers of security -- and help assure that Europe never again becomes an arena for
the horrors we have seen in this century. These formerly Communist countries have said "yes"
to democracy. I ask the Senate to say yes to them and enlarge NATO.
I also ask Congress to continue its support for our troops in Bosnia. For four years,
Bosnia was mired in the deep freeze of destruction. Now, it has begun to grow again in the
sunlight of peace.
This Christmas, I traveled to Bosnia with Senator Dole and a bipartisan Congressional
delegation. The progress is unmistakable. But it is not yet irreversible. To take firm root,
Bosnia's fragile peace still needs the secure environment only an international military force can
provide. That is why American troops should take part in a follow-on security force when the
current NATO mission ends in June. Senator Dole said it best: this is like being ahead in the
fourth quarter of a football game. Now is not the time to walk off the field and forfeit the game.
I wish you could have all been with us to visit our troops in Tuzla. They are the pride of
our nation. After five years as President, there is one thing I know with certainty: give our men
and women in uniform a clear and purposeful mission and they deliver. We must make it our
mission to deliver for them. Together, we must keep our troops well-trained and ready
improve their quality of life
and pay for the 21st century weapons they need to defeat any
enemy. Help me give America's soldiers our full support. They earn it every day.
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Next, I ask Congress to join me in pursuing the most ambitious agenda to reduce the
threat of weapons of mass destruction since the invention of the atom bomb.
This year, [TK] years after it was first proposed by President Eisenhower, a
comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty is within our reach. By ending all nuclear testing, we can
help prevent a new arms race and make it harder for non-nuclear states to develop the deadliest
of all weapons. [Endorsement announcement to come]. I ask the Senate: before the end of this
session, ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and help lift the nuclear cloud that has
shadowed our lives for fifty years.
Together, we also must confront a new hazard for the next fifty years: outlaw states,
terrorists and organized criminals armed with chemical and biological weapons.
For six-and-half years, international weapons inspectors in Iraq have been the eyes and
ears of the international community. They have destroyed more of Iraq's nuclear, chemical and
biological weapons potential than during the Gulf War itself. Now, Saddam Hussein wants to
stop them from completing their mission. Tonight, I say on behalf of all Americans: we cannot,
and we will, not let him do that. The inspectors must stay on the job until Iraq dismantles its
weapons program. Period. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. [Update TK]
At the very moment the UN inspectors are working to protect our children, Congress'
failure to pass bipartisan legislation to pay our UN debt threatens to diminish our influence with
the UN and our credibility around the world. When we give our word, we should keep our
word. America pays its bills.
Last year, the Senate ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention to protect our soldiers
and citizens from poison gas. Now, we must act to prevent an even more lethal threat: the use
of disease as a weapon of war and terror. The Biological Weapons Convention has been in force
for 25 years, but it lacks tough enforcement measures. This year, we must strengthen that treaty
with an international inspection system to detect and deter cheating. We must resolve so that a
new century does not open up new battlefields of biological horror.
In the century we are leaving, one nation rose up from isolation, to save the world --
again and again. That nation was America. And America must continue to lead the world. For
our moral strength and military might are often the only things that stand between war and peace,
chaos and stability, tyrrany and freedom. That is our chance and our challenge -- the hope of so
many generations. We must wage a long sunlit struggle. That is our heritage, our hope, and our
responsibility.
A NATION THAT LIVES BY COMMUNITY
Two centuries ago, we proclaimed to the world that we had come together to form not
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just a new nation, but "a more perfect union." More than ever, we must recognize that we are
inextricably linked by the idea of America itself. We are on a mission together, bound by duty to
strengthen our communities, our national community, and the most basic communtiy of all -- the
planet we inhabit.
Political reform & reinventing government
First of all, our government -- the instrument of our national community -- must earn the
trust of the American people.
Elections have become too expensive, fueling a fundraising arms race. For years, good
campaign finance reform bills have been brought to the floor of Congress. And for years, the
special interests and their allies have smothered those bills by filibuster. But not this year. This
year, on March 11, the Senate will vote on real, bipartisan reform proposed by Senator McCain
and Senator Feingold. Let's be clear: a vote against McCain Feingold is a vote for soft money,
for the status quo, for the loss of trust. I ask you to strengthen our national community and pass
campaign finance reform.
[Free TV?] [or] [We must always remember our goal: widening the circle of democracy.
Far too few people vote today. There may be many reasons, but there are two things we can
surely do. We should let people vote by mail as they do in Oregon. Election day everywhere
should be two days long. The world's oldest democracy must open new paths to participation in
the 21st Century.]
Government itself must reflect the best in our national community.
Under Vice President Gore's leadership, we have slashed 16,000 pages of regulations,
transformed agencies such as HUD and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and
reduced the federal payroll by 300,000 workers. Even as the workforce is shrinking, service is
improving.
We must do more to make government work better. Like every taxpayer, I am outraged
by the reports of abuses by the IRS. Today we have a new IRS Commissioner -- a hard-nosed,
high-tech businessman who has spent his career on the taxpayers' side of the bargain. But our
new commissioner needs new tools, and the public needs new protections. Last year, by an
overwhelming bipartisan margin, the House passed our sweeping IRS reforms. Months later,
that bill languishes in the Senate. Tonight I challenge the Senate: pass our bipartisan package of
IRS reforms, and do it by April 15. Professionalize the IRS -- don't politicize it.
Empowering communities
Today, homeownership is at record levels. Our new approach to government has helped
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bring the spark of private enterprise into the hardest pressed communities. My balanced budget
will build on this success, with a greater commitment to economic development, housing,
homelessness assistance than ever before. I ask you to double our Empowerment Zones,
spearheaded by Vice President Gore, which have revitalized our cities and rural areas.
Empowerment works, and we should bring the community renaissance to every corner of the
nation.
Environmental protection
And our national community is only as healthy as the air our children breathe, the water
they drink, and the Earth we leave to future generations.
For twenty-five years, protecting the environment has been a bipartisan achievement.
Last year, we toughened controls on smog and soot, moved to protect Yellowstone, the
Everglades and the magnificent redwoods of Headwaters Forest; and we expanded every
community's right to know about the toxics that threaten their children.
Tonight, I am launching a new Clean Water Initiative, a dramatic new effort to clean our
rivers, lakes and streams -- as well as a new plan to protect our food supply. In the 21st Century,
every American must have the right to eat and drink, fish and swim, in safety.
Our greatest environmental challenge is a global problem requiring global action: the
coming crisis of global warming. The vast majority of the world's scientists have emphatically
concluded that if we do not improve energy efficiency, we will disrupt our climate,
undermine our economy, and put our children and grandchildren at risk. In December, America
led the world to sign an historic treaty that unleashes the full force of the free market to cut
greenhouse gases, without new taxes or regulation.
We have it in our power to act right here, right now. I propose $6 Billion in tax cuts and
research and development to spur innovation and help families buy fuel efficient cars, help
factories run cleaner, help homes to use less energy.
Whenever we have acted to protect our environment, whether it was clean air, clean
water, or acid rain, the pessimists said it couldn't be done. Well, today our economy is the
strongest in a generation -- and our air and water are the cleanest in a generation. The pessimists
will be wrong again. Just this month, Ford, GM, and Chrysler unveiled high-performance cars
that get three times the gas mileage of the typical models today. This innovative spirit must
spread to every industry in America.
Remember who we are. We are Americans. It was on this date -- January 27, in 1880
that Thomas Edison received his first patent for the lightbulb. I am confident that the nation that
invented the light bulb and the telephone, the airplane and the semiconductor, can invent an
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economy that uses less energy and keeps growing.
One America in the 21st Century
And third, community means fulfilling, at long last, the defining American value -- the
ideal heard round the world -- that all men and all women are created equal.
It is now two centuries since we proclaimed our ideals to be self evident 134 years
since we wiped the stain of slavery from our soil 30 years, this April, since a rifle crack
ended the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., one of America's greatest patriots.
We are still beset by racial division, by the crime of discrimination, by the sin of hate.
What can we do to build one nation?
We must begin by recognizing what we still must overcome. Discrimination is un-
American. We must continue to vigorously enforce the laws that make it illegal. I ask you to
provide the resources so we can end the backlog at the antidiscrimination agency that ensures all
Americans have equal opportunity to work. 60,000 of our fellow citizens are awaiting justice.
We should recognize that we have walls to break down between us. I believe that a true
dialogue among people of different races and backgrounds and religions can help heal our
wounds
But above all, we must recognize that the greatest progress we can make toward building
one America lies in the progress we make toward strengthening our nation. When we open the
doors of college to all Americans, that builds one nation. When we cleanse our streets of crime,
that builds one nation. When we make sure that every parent has the child care they need, that
builds one nation.
Let us go forward, as Dr. King said, with "an abiding faith in America and an audacious
faith in the future of mankind." We are the inheritors of one of the great ideas of history, the idea
that it is possible to build a nation whose people are prosperous and free, yet share a sense of
connection to an enterprise, a mission for which all must be prepared to sacrifice. Only on the
forge of common enterprise have Americans of all backgrounds ever hammered out a common
identity. Only with the solvent of the American ideal can we erase our differences. That must be
our mission today as we strengthen our nation and deepen our freedom for the new millennium.
GIFTS TO THE FUTURE
So we embrace the future. We welcome it, with daring and imagination, always guided
13
13
by our enduring values.
Tonight, let us look forward to that future -- toward the millennium ahead. We see today
that this new era will be shaped by science, driven by knowledge, and powered by technology. It
will be a time of bold exploration and extraordinary promise -- and it will carry grave new
responsibilities as well.
Tonight, I propose a 21st Century Research Fund -- a substantial new initiative to support
pathbreaking research at our nation's premiere scientific institutions. We can build on
discoveries of genes for breast cancer and diabetes and make this year the year that, in the war
against cancer, we began to win.
But science does not occur in a moral vacuum. We should prevent the use of genetic tests
to discriminate against any American. And we should ratify the overwhelming consensus of the
scientific and religious community, and ban human cloning.
In the new millennium, we will continue to explore cyberspace.
It seems hard to believe, but the first time I reported to you on the State of the Union,
there was no such thing as a web page on the Internet. Today [#] web pages are created each
day. The Internet is becoming a global marketplace not just of commerce, but of ideas. I call on
all the nations of the world to make the Internet a global free-trade zone: no discriminatory taxes,
no unfair tariffs. But the Internet cannot be a value-free zone. I call on Congress to enact strict
criminal penalties for anyone who uses the Net to prey on our children.
And with daring and wonder, in the new millennium, we will continue the great mission
of exploring outer space.
Throughout the course of human history, mankind has had only one place to call home --
Earth. Beginning this year, 1998, for the first time in the history of the world, men and women
will build a new home -- a permanent space station, big as a football field, with as much
electrical power as a neighborhood. Inside its vast compartments, scientists, engineers, and
entrepreneurs from 15 nations will build our future.
And in October, a true American hero, a veteran pilot of 141 combat mission, and one
five hour space flight that inspired the world, will return to the heavens.
Godspeed, John Glenn.
But even as we imagine the future, as time and technology propel us into a new
millennium, in the coming years let us commit ourselves to honoring the past.
14
14
Nearly two hundred years ago, a tattered, battle-worn flag, its broad stripes and bright
stars still flying at the top of a Maryland fort after a fierce battle, inspired Francis Scott Key to
scribble a few words on the back of an envelope -- words that would become our national
anthem. Today that Star Spangled Banner, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the
Bill of Rights, are on display just a mile from here for all the world to see. They are America's
crown jewels. We must preserve them for the ages. This year, we will launch a state-of-the-art
effort to restore them, so that future generations can see for themselves the very words that
launched our revolution. [Note: we hope to persuade the networks to fade to the flag during this
passage]
Even as we commit to [strengthening the tattered threads of the Star Spangled banner,
darkening the ink of the Declaration, reinforcing the parchment of the Constitution,] we must
also renew the enduring values and powerful ideals they represent for the new millennium.
This long quest to renew our values, to live up to them, and to give them new life -- that
is the American idea -- and it will keep us the last best hope of humanity in the next millennium.
Looking forward to our first century, our first President told his fellow citizens that their
new country "seems to be peculiarly designated by Providence for the display of human
greatness." Our new nation, little more than a string of outposts along one coast, even then was
struggling to live up to its proclaimed ideals. But George Washington saw that the "great
experiment" launched by his generation would endure if the revolutionary values and timeless
virtues of our founding were given new life through new means and methods in each new era.
And so, my fellow Americans, it falls to us to ensure that the miracle of America endures.
To guarantee that our ideals are more than words scratched on parchment; that they are still the
most profound force for human greatness in human history. We have 700 days left before the
dawn's early light shines on a new millennium. Let us "rise up and build, and strengthen our
hand for the good work ahead." Let us come together each moment of each day to imagine the
future, and make America anew.
God Bless You, and God Bless the United States of America.
15
15
1/22/98 11:30am
FOREIGN POLICY SECTION
1998 STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
And just as we must advance our security at home, abroad America must act to advance
its security - addressing old realities and new threats.
In this century, the American people have agreed that our nation has a unique
responsibility to lead. As a result, we are more secure and prosperous than ever. And we have
been given an extraordinary opportunity and corresponding responsibility to build a new era of
peace and security.
But today's possibilities are not tomorrow's guarantees. We are making the new
economy a rising tide of opportunity by tearing down trade barriers. But too many people still
bear its burdens without reaping its benefits. We are helping age-old enemies make peace. But
the poisoned appeals of extreme nationalism and racial and religious hatreds still summon
humanity's capacity for evil. We prevailed in the superpower stand-off. But dangerous conflicts
between nations persist. And we remain vulnerable to an unholy axis of new threats: terrorism.
international crime and drug trafficking. These 21 century predators feed on the power of
technology and the free flow of information. ideas and people we cherish -- and they have no
respect for borders.
To meet these challenges, we are pursuing a new security strategy -- adapting old
institutions to new demands, forging new alliances and backing them where necessary with
America's military might. Brick by brick, we are building a solid structure for America's
security in the 21 century.
Here are some of the pieces of this strategy we must put in place together -- this year.
First, in a few days. I will ask the Senate for its advice and consent to make three of
Europe's new democracies Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic -- the newest members of
NATO. For fifty years, the alliance kept America and Western Europe secure. Now, America is
leading the way in transforming NATO for the 21 century. By taking in new members. working
with new partners. and cooperating closely with Russia and Ukraine, we can extend the frontiers
of peace and security and build a future in which Europe never again unleashes the horrors we
have seen in this century. I ask the Senate to say yes to NATO's historic enlargement.
Second, I will ask this Congress to continue its support for our troops in Bosnia. For four
years, Bosnia was mired in the deep freeze of destruction. Now, it has begun to grow again in
the sunlight of peace.
This Christmas, I traveled to Bosnia with Senator Dole and a bipartisan Congressional
delegation. We agreed that progress is unmistakable. But it is not yet irreversible. To take firm
root, Bosnia's fragile peace still needs the secure environment only an international military
force can provide. That is why I believe that American troops should take part in a follow-on
security force when the current NATO mission ends in June. Senator Dole said it best: this is
like being in a football game. we're ahead and it's the fourth quarter. Who wants to walk off the
field and forfeit the game? We should stay. finish the game and take home the win for the world
and for peace.
All of us on that trip were especially proud to visit with our troops in Tuzla. After five
years as President, there is one thing I know with certainty: give our men and women in uniform
a clear and purposeful mission and they deliver. We must make it our mission to deliver for
them. My balanced budget will allow us to keep our troops well-trained and ready. improve
their quality of life and pay for the 21 century technology they need to defeat any enemy. By
giving the budget your support, you will give America's soldiers our support. They earn it every
day.
Third. I ask Congress to join me in pursuing the most ambitious agenda to fight the threat
of weapons of mass destruction since the atom was split.
This year. the longest sought prize in arms control history. first proposed by President
Eisenhower, is within our reach: the comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty. By banning all
nuclear tests, we can help prevent a new nuclear arms race and make it more difficult for non-
nuclear states to develop these devices of destruction. [Endorsement announcement to come]. I
ask the Senate: before this session of Congress ends. ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
and help prevent the spread of nuclear weapons..
Even as we lift the nuclear threat that has hung over our heads for fifty years. we are
meeting a new hazard: rogue states, terrorists and organized criminals armed with chemical and
biological weapons.
Over the past six-and-half years, international weapons inspectors in Iraq have been the
eyes and ears of the international community. They have destroyed more of Iraq's nuclear,
chemical and biological weapons potential than during the Gulf War itself. Saddam Hussein
evicted the inspectors because they were doing their job too well. That's why the international
community insisted that they return to Baghdad. That is where they will stay until Iraq
dismantles its weapons program -- no ifs. no ands, no buts.
At the very moment the UN inspectors are working to protect our children. Congress'
failure to pass bipartisan legislation to pay our UN debt threatens to pull the rug out from under
our influence with the UN and our credibility around the world. When America gives its
word, America should keep its word. Let's pay our bills.
Last year. the Senate ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention. This year, I call on you
to pass legislation that will put this treaty into force. We made a commitment to protect our
soldiers and citizens from poison gas attack. We should make good on it.
We also must act to prevent an even more lethal threat: the use of disease as a weapon of
war and terror. Our first priority should be to stop countries from acquiring biological weapons.
The Biological Weapons Convention, in force for 25 years, lacks tough enforcement measures.
This year. I am determined to secure. as part of that treaty, an international inspection system to
deter cheating. We must act so that the 21 century does not go forward under a new cloud of
fear. The safety of our children depends on it.
There are times when only America's moral strength and military might make the
difference between war and peace chaos and security tyranny and freedom. If we forget this
inescapable lesson of the 20th century, then we will pay a price for our indifference in the 21-
America has the will to advance progress and the power to get the job done. We should embrace
this awesome responsibility for the opportunity it brings -- to shape a future more peaceful,
prosperous and secure than the past. That is our chance and our challenge. We must seize it.
1/22/98 11 a.m.
Saudy / Trips
for year
State of the Union - Foreign Policy Section
integrate
1087 Words - 9.8 minutes
them
In this century, the American people have welcomed our nation's unique responsibility to lead.
As a result, we are more secure and prosperous than ever. Old tyrannies have fallen. And we
have been given an extraordinary opportunity and corresponding responsibility to build a new
era of peace and security.
But today's possibilities are not tomorrow's guarantees. America still must guard against the
poisoned appeals of extreme nationalism and racial and religious hatreds. We must prevent
dangerous conflicts between nations from exploding into wider fires. And we must stand strong
against an unholy axis of new threats: terrorism, international crime and drug trafficking. These
21st century predators feed on the power of technology and the free flow of information, ideas
and people we cherish - and they have no respect for borders.
To meet these challenges, we are pursuing a new security strategy -- adapting old institutions to
new demands, forging new alliances and backing them where necessary with America's military
might. Just as we are building a stronger nation and safer communities by insisting on
responsibility at home, so we are writing international rules of the road for the 21st century,
protecting those who opt into the community of nations, isolating those who opt out.
Here are elements of this strategy that we together must put in place -- this year.
First, within days, I will ask the Senate for its advice and consent to make three of Europe's new
democracies -- Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic -- the newest members of NATO. For
2
fifty years, the alliance kept America and Western Europe secure. Now, America is leading the
way in transforming NATO for the 21st century. By taking in new members, working with new
partners, and cooperating closely with Russia and Ukraine, we can extend the frontiers of peace
and security -- and build a future in which Europe never again unleashes the horrors we have
seen in this century. I ask the Senate to say yes to NATO's historic enlargement.
Second, I will ask this Congress to continue its support for our troops in Bosnia. For four years,
Bosnia was mired in the deep freeze of destruction. Now, it has begun to grow again in the
sunlight of peace.
This Christmas, I traveled to Bosnia with Senator Dole and a bipartisan Congressional
delegation. We agreed that progress is unmistakable. But it is not yet irreversible. To take firm
root, Bosnia's fragile peace still needs the secure environment only an international military
force can provide. That is why I believe that American troops should take part in a follow-on
security force when the current NATO mission ends in June. Senator Dole said it best: this is
like being in a football game, we're ahead and it's the fourth quarter. Now is not the time to
walk off the field and forfeit the game.
All of us on that trip were especially proud to visit with our troops in Tuzla. After five years as
President, there is one thing I know with certainty: give our men and women in uniform a clear
and purposeful mission and they deliver. We must make it our mission to deliver for them.
Together, we must keep our troops well-trained and ready improve their quality of life and
pay for the 21st century weapons they need to defeat any enemy. Help me give America's
soldiers our support. They earn it every day.
3
Third, I ask Congress to join me in pursuing the most ambitious agenda to reduce the threat of
weapons of mass destruction since the atom was split.
This year, the longest sought prize in arms control history, first proposed by President
Eisenhower, is within our reach: the comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty. By banning all
nuclear tests, we can help prevent a new nuclear arms race and make it more difficult for non-
nuclear states to develop these devices of destruction. [Endorsement announcement to come]. I
ask the Senate: before the end of this session, ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and
help lift the nuclear threat that has shadowed our lives for fifty years.
Together, we also must confront a new hazard that threatens our security for the next fifty years:
rogue states, terrorists and organized criminals armed with chemical and biological weapons.
Over the past six-and-half years, international weapons inspectors in Iraq have been the eyes and
ears of the international community, destroying more of Iraq's nuclear, chemical and biological
weapons potential than during the Gulf War itself. Saddam Hussein evicted the inspectors
because they were doing their job too well. That's why the international community insisted that
they return to Baghdad. That is where the inspectors will stay until Iraq dismantles its weapons
program - no ifs, no ands, no buts.
At the very moment the UN inspectors are working to protect our children, Congress' failure to
pass bipartisan legislation to pay our UN debt threatens to diminish our influence with the UN --
and our credibility around the world. When America gives its word, America should keep its
word. Let's pay our bills.
4
Last year, the Senate ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention. This year, I call on you to pass
legislation that will put this treaty into force. We made a commitment to protect our soldiers and
citizens from poison gas attack. We should make good on it.
We also must act to prevent an even more lethal threat: the use of disease as a weapon of war
and terror. Our first priority should be to stop countries from acquiring biological weapons. The
Biological Weapons Convention, in force for 25 years, lacks tough enforcement measures. This
year, I am determined to secure, as part of that treaty, an international inspection system to deter
cheating. We must act so that a new century does open under a new cloud of fear. The safety of
our children depends on it.
There are times when only America's moral strength and military might make the difference
between tyranny and freedom chaos and security. If we forget this inescapable lesson of the
20th century, we will pay a price for our indifference in the 21st America has the will to advance
progress and the power to get the job done. We should embrace this awesome responsibility for
the opportunity it brings -- to shape a future more peaceful, prosperous and secure than the past.
That is our chance and our challenge. We must seize it.
1/21/98 5:30 p.m.
State of the Union -- Foreign Policy Section
In this century, the American people have agreed that our nation has a unique responsibility to
lead. As a result, we are more secure and prosperous than ever. And we have been given an
extraordinary opportunity and corresponding responsibility to build a new era of peace and
security.
But today's possibilities are not tomorrow's guarantees. We are making the new economy a
rising tide of opportunity by tearing down trade barriers. But too many people still bear its
burdens without reaping its benefits. We are helping age-old enemies make peace. But the
poisoned appeals of extreme nationalism and racial and religious hatreds still summon
humanity's capacity for evil. We prevailed in the superpower stand-off. But dangerous conflicts
between nations persist. And we remain vulnerable to an unholy axis of new threats: terrorism,
international crime and drug trafficking. These 21st century predators feed on the power of
technology and the free flow of information, ideas and people we cherish -- and they have no
respect for borders.
To meet these challenges, we are pursuing a new security strategy -- adapting old institutions to
new demands, forging new alliances and backing them where necessary with America's military
might. Brick by brick, we are building a solid structure for America's security in the 21ˢᵗ
century.
Here are some of the pieces of this strategy we must put in place together -- this year.
First, in a few days, I will ask the Senate for its advice and consent to make three of Europe's
new democracies -- Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic -- the newest members of NATO.
For fifty years, the alliance kept America and Western Europe secure. Now, America is leading
the way in transforming NATO for the 21st century. By taking in new members, working with
new partners, and cooperating closely with Russia and Ukraine, we can extend the frontiers of
peace and security -- and build a future in which Europe never again unleashes the horrors we
have seen in this century. I ask the Senate to say yes to NATO's historic enlargement.
Second, I will ask this Congress to continue its support for our troops in Bosnia. For four years,
Bosnia was mired in the deep freeze of destruction. Now, it has begun to grow again in the
sunlight of peace.
This Christmas, I traveled to Bosnia with Senator Dole and a bipartisan Congressional
delegation. We agreed that progress is unmistakable. But it is not yet irreversible. To take firm
root, Bosnia's fragile peace still needs the secure environment only an international military
force can provide. That is why I believe that American troops should take part in a follow-on
security force when the current NATO mission ends in June. Senator Dole said it best: this is
like being in a football game, we're ahead and it's the fourth quarter. Who wants to walk off the
field and forfeit the game? We should stay, finish the game and take home the win for the world
and for peace.
All of us on that trip were especially proud to visit with our troops in Tuzla. After five years as
President, there is one thing I know with certainty: give our men and women in uniform a clear
and purposeful mission and they deliver. We must make it our mission to deliver for them. My
balanced budget will allow us to keep our troops well-trained and ready improve their quality
2
of
life and pay for the 21st century technology they need to defeat any enemy. By giving the
budget your support, you will give America's soldiers our support. They earn it every day.
Third, I ask Congress to join me in pursuing the most ambitious agenda to fight the threat of
weapons of mass destruction since the atom was split.
This year, the longest sought prize in arms control history, first proposed by President
Eisenhower, is within our reach: the comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty. By banning all
nuclear tests, we can help prevent a new nuclear arms race and make it more difficult for non-
nuclear states to develop these devices of destruction. [Endorsement announcement to come]. I
ask the Senate: before this session of Congress ends, ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
and help prevent the spread of nuclear weapons..
Even as we lift the nuclear threat that has hung over our heads for fifty years, we are meeting a
new hazard: rogue states, terrorists and organized criminals armed with chemical and biological
weapons.
Over the past six-and-half years, international weapons inspectors in Iraq have been the eyes and
ears of the international community. They have destroyed more of Iraq's nuclear, chemical and
biological weapons potential than during the Gulf War itself. Saddam Hussein evicted the
inspectors because they were doing their job too well. That's why the international community
insisted that they return to Baghdad. That is where they will stay until Iraq dismantles its
weapons program -- no ifs, no ands, no buts.
At the very moment the UN inspectors are working to protect our children, Congress' failure to
pass bipartisan legislation to pay our UN debt threatens to pull the rug out from under our
influence with the UN -- and our credibility around the world. When America gives its word,
America should keep its word. Let's pay our bills.
Last year, the Senate ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention. This year, I call on you to pass
legislation that will put this treaty into force. We made a commitment to protect our soldiers and
citizens from poison gas attack. We should make good on it.
We also must act to prevent an even more lethal threat: the use of disease as a weapon of war
and terror. Our first priority should be to stop countries from acquiring biological weapons. The
Biological Weapons Convention, in force for 25 years, lacks tough enforcement measures. This
year, I am determined to secure, as part of that treaty, an international inspection system to deter
cheating. We must act so that the 21st century does not go forward under a new cloud of fear.
The safety of our children depends on it.
There are times when only America's moral strength and military might make the difference
between war and peace chaos and security tyranny and freedom. If we forget this
inescapable lesson of the 20th century, then we will pay a price for our indifference in the 21st.
America has the will to advance progress and the power to get the job done. We should embrace
this awesome responsibility for the opportunity it brings -- to shape a future more peaceful,
prosperous and secure than the past. That is our chance and our challenge. We must seize it.