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Hispanic Chamber of Commerce - New Orleans 9/8/89 [1]
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25
6
4
7
Biden response -P.7 7
(Smith/Blessey)
September 5, 1989
Draft Three
HISPANIC
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: HISPANIC CHAMBER
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1989
President Quintela -- how about that, two Odessa boys on the
same platform. Secretary Lujan -- and I'm proud to say that,
with Secretary Cavazos, ours is the first Administration to have
two Hispanic Cabinet officials. Ladies and gentlemen. Friends.
I want to thank you for that gracious introduction. And for
the warmth of your reception. And let me salute you for choosing
as your convention site this beautiful City by the River.
Pearl Buck once described falling "in love with Louisiana
generally and New Orleans in particular." Well, that feeling
helps make New Orleans special.
And I take special pleasure in stet
being with you today.
For we meet not as strangers, but "vecinos" [Ve-CEE-noze:
Spanish for "neighbors"]. And as businessmen and women. But
mostly, perhaps, as citizens who understand how Hispanics have
helped America create a greater land for us all.
Nine years ago, America officially began The Decade of The
Hispanic. And now, at decade's end, Hispanics are America's
fastest-growing -- and, often -- fastest-rising minority.
Enriching America socially and academically, economically and
spiritually. Living, more than ever, the American Dream.
2
In one sense, the past decade has reaffirmed that dream --
the dream which brought your parents, your grandparents, and some
of you to America. For you came to build a better life ---- and
you are building it. Building it in our schools, our police
forces, and in small and large business. Building it for your
kids -- and my grandkids [PAUSE]
all eleven of them.
But in another sense, the past decade is but a preview of
coming attractions. For it can be a gateway to tomorrow --- much
as America has been a gateway for you. The theme of this
convention is "gateway to the Americas." Well, today it is
gateways I'd like to talk about: Gateways to the prosperity and
stability that make progress possible.
First, the gateway to the prosperity which fosters equal
is the free enterprise system.
noted that
view
opportunity, Or as Winston Churchill said: Some people regard
free
and
private enterprise as a predatory tiger to be shotx Others look
But
free enterprise for
on it as a COW they can milk, Not enough people see it as a
what it really is: a
healthy horse, pulling a sturdy wagon."
Churchill spoke those words in 19 . And in 1989 they're
more true than ever. For Hispanic business is a healthy horse.
America is that healthy wagon. And on the buckboard, with the
reins up-high, are entrepreneurs like you.
No government planner, for instance, decided that Marconi
would invent the wireless. Or that something called an auto
would rise from the dust of Dearborn. And what might have
happened -- or worse, what might not have happened -- had the
Wright brothers been forced to wait for Washington's approval
3
before testing their flying machine? [PAUSE]
If they had,
I might have come here today by steamboat, not by air.
They knew, as you do, that the gateway to prosperity isn't
bigger government. It's bigger dreams.
Look at Pedro Garza, a former migrant worker who overcame
disability to own a construction company with $4.5 million in
sales. Or Patricia Rivera, the Hispanic Businesswoman of the
Year. Or the father-and-son team of Louis and Fred Ruiz, who in
1964 started a food business in an old warehouse with a battered
stove, small freezer, and single mixer. And who now employ 534
workers. They prove -- as you do -- that while government can
opportunity, it is Americans who seize opportunity.
Over the past decade, heroes like these -- and millions of
unsung Hispanic-American heroes -- have sought a ladder, not a
crutch. Here's a partial score card of your success: Since
1980, Hispanic-American-owned businesses have doubled. And
today, they total nearly 250,000. They boast more than
full-time employees. And earn $15 billion in receipts each year.
Impressive? You bet. Good enough? Never. For as long as one
Hispanic-American is bereft of hope, that is one American too
many.
You know, my home state's to the west of here. Place called
Texas. And equidistant from Houston and New Orleans is the home
state of America's favorite humorist. Will Rogers. Once, Will
said of the bureaucracy, "We are always reading statistics and
figures. Half of America does nothing but prepare propaganda for
4
the other half to read. " Propaganda won't build a gateway to
prosperity. But partnerships can, and are.
Partnerships are cooperative efforts involving government
private enterprise, and voluntary organizations. As Vice-
President, I supported the President's Task Force on Private
Sector Initiatives. And knowing how partnerships can spur
development, we have tried to build on what the Reagan
Administration fostered.
I think, for example, of the Minority Small Business and
Capital Ownership Development Program -- the "8-A" program --
?
which helps Hispanics and other minority-owned companies obtain
Federal contracts. Or our nationwide education and counseling
services for small business owners; today -- count 'em -- 13,000
retired executives voluntarily serve. And we've tried to spur
extend
projects like loan program 7-A, which this year will grant $2.6
in loans
billion to help more than 265,000 firms. Projects which are
helping Hispanics travel America's gateway to the future.
These partnerships will aid the shop owner in Los Angeles,
the small developer in Des Moines. And so will one final project
I'd like to mention: A partnership with the 1990 census. Today,
there are 19.5 million Hispanic-Americans. I urge you to make
them count. Tell your friends and neighbors to cooperate with
Census officials. Don't let the Decade of The Hispanic go
unreflected in this survey. So remember that the more accurate
the Census is, the greater Hispanics' influence. And how this
5
partnership -- like our other partnerships -- can help people
help themselves.
So far, I have talked of the prosperity which can better the
lives of every American. And in that context, let me speak of
our
The relationship first had with of Mexico. tate that I met with as ter the election as Pres.
and
- Two months ago, I met with President Salinas at the Economic
Salimas
Mexico
was pleased to renew our fuendship
Summit. Since then, by restructuring her economy. hu reducing
and reaching agreement with her creditors
trade barriers and honoring her creditors through the pact
Commercial bank crechters
with the Bankers Advisory Committee Mexico has opened the
gateway of increased trade with America. We welcome this
commerce. For Mexico is our third most largest important trading
partner. And we look forward to next month's State visit by
President Salinas. Together, we can build a gateway to the 1990s
that will provide both Mexico and America with economic
opportunity and stability.
Now, let me speak of another kind of trade. A more
destructive kind of trade. The drug trade.
Consider these statistics. Last year, the government
estimated that 23 million Americans used illegal drugs on a
"current" basis -- that is, at least once in the preceding 30
days. Last year, more than 8 million people used cocaine. And
almost 1 million used it once a week or more. Last year,
hundreds of thousands of babies were born to mothers who use
drugs -- babies born desperately sick, weeks or months premature.
A Nation with those numbers cannot long preserve its soul.
6
That is why three nights ago, I announced America's first
national, comprehensive, and coordinated strategy to wage
unconditional war against the scourge of drugs.
Our drug plan has four major elements.
First, enforcement, using our laws and criminal justice
system. For America must take back the streets. We need more
jails, more prisons, more courts, more prosecutors. And tougher
sentences. Drug dealers deserve a gateway, all right -- a
gateway to the slammer. And for the ultimate drug violators --
the kingpins themselves -- they should receive the ultimate sentence: the
cleath penalty.
Second, interdiction, as a tool of foreign policy. Working
with other governments, we're going to break the international
drugs rings who grow and process cocaine and crack.
The third part of our strategy is treatment, to help addicts
who want to get clean. With special emphasis on expectant
mothers. And finally, our drug program aims to stop use before
it starts. Through education and prevention. From grade school
to graduate school.
This plan can help stop the trade I spoke of earlier. Some
trade builds lives. Drug trade takes lives. Lives like the New
York woman, Maria Hernandez, I talked about Tuesday night -- shot
to death in her bedroom one morning because she and her husband
and it to the drug trade we
had confronted local dealers. We must save lives. And end this
must stop
trade. But it won't come cheaply. easily.
be easy.
7
Maybe you tuned in Tuesday night. If so, you heard me
propose a 1990 drug budget totaling almost $8 billion -- the
largest single increase in history. An increase of $1.4 billion
for drug-related spending on law enforcement. Over $233 million
$
321 million, a 53% increase, for treatment programs.
more for prevention programs. An additional $260 million in aid
next year for Columbia, Bolivia, and Peru, a five-year, $2-
billion program to counter the producers, the traffickers, and
the smugglers.
Now, I know: Already, there are some who criticize this
yet mony of these critic
program. Not tough enough, they cláim -- this from ultra
They say we aren't
liberals who oppose the death penalty. Doesn't spend enough,
meet
yet our proposal & 40% higher than any othert allernative
they fantasize this, from people who want your good money to
currently being consided by the Corgress what they face
bail us out of their bad Big-Government ideas.
to understand is that juderly a program only kg its
price try
As usual, these people want the Federal government to spend
far more not do more, just spend more. And as usual, they
don't say how we're going to pay for their "Tax and spend"
bureaucracy. Well it's no mystery: Their answer is what it
always is -- more taxes -- they're like hapless moths drawn to a
flame. Yes, as they request, we will support treatment and
prevention. But unlike the Far Left, we will not ignore the
thugs and slugs who control our streets.
For while government will do its part -- as with any
partnership, government can't do it alone. We're all in this
together -- from cops to teachers, from parents to clergymen.
And we'll have to fight together to crush the drug menace at
every turn. Fighting in the barrios, and the boardrooms. In the
8
cities, and the towns. Winning kid-by-kid, house-by-house, and
neighborhood-by-neighborhood Putting the emphasis where the
problem is -- locally, in the community.
Fellow parents and businessmen -- fellow Americans -- that's
where you come in. For drug use isn't merely numbers. It's the
young boy tormented by cocaine addiction. Or the pregnant mother
whose crack use impairs her child. At stake is the very future
of the Hispanic community. I'm referring to our kids.
So I challenge you: Get involved. There are so many who
need your help. Join grass-roots groups like the Miami Coalition
of leaders from business, education, government, and law
enforcement to stop drug use. Take the time to really know your
neighborhood at home and work. Help your church, and anti-drug
parents'groups. Support drug programs in your children's school.
Finally, let me ask you -- as fellow businessmen and women
-- to start something no one else can do: Use your place of
business as a storefront against drugs. Display brochures and
banners. Employ volunteer counselors. Be a symbol for your
community, and especially its youth. Join the ranks of the
caring and committed. Help win this great crusade.
Will you enlist? I believe you will. For Barbara and I
have spent much of our lives among Hispanic Americans. Building
a business. Raising children. Trying to live, like you, the
values of faith, family, work, community, and above all, freedom.
Our son Jeb's wife, Columba, is Hispanic. And they've got three
9
kids. So, you see, the Bush family feels doubly blessed. The
Hispanic culture is our culture, too.
In Hispanic America, roots run deep -- and aspirations high.
Its people ask not the promise of success --- only the opportunity
to succeed.
In Hispanic America, citizens reject reject tyranny and oppression.
the
And the dependency which starves the spirit and cheats the soul.
Hispanic America is at her best when the challenge is
greatest. So together, let us open the gateways of prosperity
and stability. And build for our children a better tomorrow.
They are the trustees of America's future. Let their horizons
touch the sky.
I appreciate your kindness, and the chance to share this
occasion. God bless you, thank you all, and God bless America.
# # #
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
09/07/89
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: U.S. HISPANIC CHAMBER OF CHAMBER
(09/07 draft six)
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
STUDDERT
BATES
UNTERMEYER
BREEDEN
ROGERS
CARD
BENNETT
CICCONI
PINKERTON
DEMAREST
WINSTON
FITZWATER
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
The attached has been forwarded to the President.
RESPONSE:
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
"SEP"
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
September 7, 1989
08:28
INFORMATION
MEMORANDUM TO THE PRESIDENT
THROUGH:
CHRISS WINSTON
FROM:
CURT SMITH CS
SUBJECT:
REMARKS TO U.S. HISPANIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
I. SUMMARY
On Friday, September 8, at noon, you will address the U.S.
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Convention in the Fairmont Hotel in
New Orleans. Secretary Lujan will attend. About 1,000 people
are expected to be in the audience.
II. DISCUSSION
The enclosed remarks (15 minutes) discuss trade with Mexico,
Hispanic-American achievements, and the four main elements of
our drug strategy. In particular, the remarks emphasize what the
Administration is doing for Hispanic-Americans. The remarks
request their involvement as businessmen and community members to
fight the war on drugs.
Note: On page three in the fourth paragraph, the first
sentence is bracketed because there is some concern about
mentioning the "8-A" program due to possible Justice Department
litigation.
(Smith/Blessey)
September 7, 1989
Draft Six
HISPANIC
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: HISPANIC CHAMBER
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1989
President Quintela -- how about that, two Odessa boys on the
same platform. Secretary Lujan -- and I'm proud to say that,
with Secretary Cavazos, ours is the first Administration to have
two Hispanic Cabinet officials. Ladies and gentlemen. Friends.
Today we meet not as strangers, but "vecinos" [Ve-CEE-noze:
Spanish for "neighbors"]. And as businessmen and women. But
mostly, perhaps, as citizens who understand how Hispanics have
helped America create a greater land for us all.
Nine years ago, America began what has been called The
Decade of The Hispanic. And now, at decade's end, Hispanics are
one of America's fastest-growing minorities. Enriching America
socially and academically, economically and spiritually. Living,
more than ever, the American Dream.
In one sense, the past decade has reaffirmed that dream --
the dream which brought your parents, your grandparents, and some
of you to America. For today you are building a letter life.
Building it in our schools, our police forces, and in small and
large business. Building it for your kids -- and my grandkids
[PAUSE]
all eleven of them.
But in another sense, the past decade is but a preview of
coming attractions. For it can be a gateway to tomorrow -- much
2
as America has been a gateway for you. The theme of this
convention is "gateway to the Americas." Well, today it is
gateways I'd like to talk about: Gateways to the prosperity and
stability that make progress possible.
First, the gateway to prosperity, is the free enterprise
system which fosters equal opportunity. Winston Churchill noted
that some people view free enterprise as a predatory tiger to be
shot and others look on it as a COW they can milk. But not
enough people see free enterprise for what it really is: a
healthy horse, pulling a sturdy wagon.
Churchill spoke those words in 1953. And in 1989 they're
truer than ever.
No government planner, for instance, decided that Marconi
should invent the wireless. And what might have happened -- or
worse, what might not have happened -- had the Wright brothers
been forced to wait for Washington's approval before testing
their flying machine? [PAUSE]
If they had, I might have
come here today by steamboat, not by air.
They knew, as you do, that the gateway to prosperity isn't
bigger government. It's bigger dreams.
Look at Pedro Garza, a former migrant worker who overcame
disability to own a construction company with $4.5 million in
sales. or Remedio Diaz Oliver [Reh-MEH-dee-o DE-ahs 0-lee-VER],
the Hispanic Businesswoman of the Year. or the father-and-son
team of Louis and Fred Ruiz, who in 1964 started a food business
in an old warehouse with a battered stove, small freezer, and
3
single mixer. And who now employ 534 workers. They prove -- as
you do -- that while government can encourage opportunity, it is
Americans who seize opportunity.
Over the past decade, heroes like these -- and millions of
unsung Hispanic-American heroes -- have made big dreams come true
for themselves and so many others. Here's a partial score card
of your success: Since 1980, Hispanic-American-owned businesses
have nearly doubled. And today, they total more than 400,000.
And earned revenues of $20 billion in 1987 alone. Impressive?
You bet. Good enough? Never. For as long as one Hispanic-
American is bereft of hope, that is one American too many.
So as we work to extend the prosperity that blesses our
country today to all citizens, government can play a unique role
as a catalyst for opportunity.
As Vice-President, I supported the President's Task Force on
Private Sector Initiatives. And knowing how cooperation can spur
development, we have tried to build on what the Reagan
Administration fostered.
[[ I think, for example, of the "8-A" program and Commerce
Department programs which have helped thousands of Hispanic and
other minority-owned companies.] or our nationwide education
and counseling services for small business owners; today -- count
'em -- 13,000 retired executives voluntarily serve. And we've
tried to spur projects like loan program 7-A, which this year
will extend about $2.6 billion in loans to help nearly 250,000
4
firms. Projects which are helping Hispanics travel America's
gateway to the future.
These partnerships will aid the shop owner in Los Angeles,
the small developer in Des Moines. And so will one final project
I'd like to mention: the 1990 census. Today, there are 19.5
million Hispanic-Americans. I urge you to make them count. Tell
your friends and neighbors to cooperate with Census officials.
Don't let the Decade of The Hispanic go unreflected in this
survey. So remember that the more accurate the Census is, the
greater Hispanics' influence and ability to help people help
themselves.
So far, I have talked of the prosperity which can better the
lives of every American. And in that context, let me speak of
our relationship with Mexico.
The first head of state that I met with after the election
was President Salinas and two months ago, I was pleased to renew
our friendship at the Economic Summit. Mexico, by restructuring
her economy, reducing trade barriers and reaching agreement with
her commercial bank creditors has opened the gateway of increased
trade with America. We welcome this commerce. For Mexico is our
third-largest trading partner. And we look forward to next
month's State visit by President Salinas. Together, we can build
a gateway to the 1990s that will provide both Mexico and America
with economic opportunity and stability.
5
Now, let me speak of another kind that of trade. A more
destructive kind of trade that slams shut the gateways of
opportunity. The drug trade.
Consider these statistics. Last year, the government
estimated that 23 million Americans used illegal drugs on a
"current" basis -- that is, at least once in the preceding 30
days. Last year, more than 8 million people used cocaine. And
almost 1 million used it once a week or more. Last year,
hundreds of thousands of babies were born to mothers who use
drugs -- babies born desperately sick, weeks or months premature.
A Nation with those numbers cannot long preserve its soul.
That is why three nights ago, I announced America's first
national, comprehensive, and coordinated strategy to wage
unconditional war against the scourge of drugs.
Our drug plan has four major elements.
First, enforcement, using our laws and criminal justice
system. For America must take back the streets. We need more
jails, more prisons, more courts, more prosecutors. And tougher
sentences. Drug dealers deserve a gateway, all right -- a
gateway to the slammer. And for the ultimate drug violators --
the kingpins themselves -- they should receive the ultimate
sentence: the death penalty. And in that context, I sent my
crime package to the Congress three months ago. It has
languished in the Senate Judiciary Committee. We can't win the
war if the weapons don't reach the front. It's time for action
now.
6
The second part of our drug plan is interdiction, as a tool
of foreign policy. Working with other governments, we're going
to break the international drugs rings who grow and process
cocaine and crack.
Then, there is the third part of our strategy: treatment to
help addicts who want to get clean. With special emphasis on
expectant mothers. And finally, our drug program aims to stop
use before it starts. Through education and prevention. From
grade school to graduate school.
This plan can help stop the trade I spoke of earlier. Some
trade builds lives. Drug trade takes lives. And it is the drug
trade we must stop. But it won't be easy.
Maybe you tuned in Tuesday night. If so, you heard me
propose America's first national comprehensive strategy to end
drug use and drug trafficking. We are proposing a drug budget
totaling almost $8 billion -- the largest increase in history.
Now, I know already there are some who criticize this
program. Not tough enough, they claim -- yet many of these same
critics oppose the death penalty.
They say we aren't spending enough. Well, as I said
Tuesday, those who judge this strategy by its price tag don't
understand the problem. Let me repeat: This is an almost $8
billion program with record funding increases. A program that is
comprehensive and touches every aspect of the drug problem.
And those same critics who complain we aren't spending
enough are the same ones who complain that they don't know how we
7
can fund the proposal
unless, of course, we raise taxes.
Well, I know and the American people know, that to some the first
and only answer is to raid the taxpayers' pockets. That's not
the right answer, and we have sent to Congress a way to fund the
strategy without raising taxes or increasing the deficit. All
the critics have to do is implement it.
Government will do its part but government won't win the
battle alone. This isn't just a federal problem, it's a national
problem. We're all in this together -- from cops to teachers,
from parents to clergymen. And we'll have to fight together to
crush the drug menace at every turn. Fighting in the barrios,
and the boardrooms. In the cities, and the towns. Winning kid-
by-kid, house-by-house, and neighborhood-by-neighborhood.
Putting the emphasis where the problem is -- locally, in the
community.
Fellow parents and businessmen -- fellow Americans -- that's
where you come in. For drug use isn't merely statistics. It's
the young boy tormented by cocaine addiction. or the pregnant
mother whose crack use impairs her child. At stake is the very
future of the Hispanic community. I'm referring to our kids.
So I challenge you: Get involved. There are so many who
need your help. Join grass-roots groups like the Miami Coalition
of leaders from business, education, government, and law
enforcement to stop drug use. Take the time to really know your
neighborhood at home and work. Help your church, and anti-drug
parents'groups. Support drug programs in your children's school.
8
Finally, let me ask you -- as businessmen and women -- to do
something no one else can do: Use your place of business as a
storefront against drugs. Display brochures and banners. Employ
volunteer counselors. Be a symbol for your community, and
especially its youth. Join the ranks of the caring and
committed. Help win this great crusade.
Will you enlist? I believe you will. For Barbara and I
have spent much of our lives among Hispanic Americans. Building
a business. Raising children. Trying to live, like you, the
values of family, religion, and above all, freedom. Our son
Jeb's wife, Columba, is Hispanic. And they've got three kids.
So, you see, the Bush family feels doubly blessed. The Hispanic
culture is our culture, too.
In Hispanic America, roots run deep -- and aspirations high.
Its people ask not the promise of success -- only the opportunity
to succeed.
Hispanic America is at her best when the challenge is
greatest. So together, let us open the gateways of prosperity
and stability. And build for our children a better tomorrow.
They are the trustees of America's future. Let their horizons
touch the sky.
I appreciate your kindness, and the chance to share this
occasion. God bless you, thank you all, and God bless America.
# # #
REMARKS: HISPANIC CHAMBER
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1989
PRESIDENT QUINTELA -- HOW ABOUT THAT, TWO ODESSA
BOYS ON THE SAME PLATFORM. SECRETARY LUJAN -- AND I'M
PROUD TO SAY THAT, WITH SECRETARY CAVAZOS, OURS IS THE
FIRST ADMINISTRATION TO HAVE TWO HISPANIC CABINET
OFFICIALS. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. FRIENDS.
- 2 -
TODAY WE MEET NOT AS STRANGERS, BUT "VECINOS" [VE-
CEE-NOZE: SPANISH FOR "NEIGHBORS"]. AND AS BUSINESSMEN
AND WOMEN. BUT MOSTLY, PERHAPS, AS CITIZENS WHO
UNDERSTAND HOW HISPANICS HAVE HELPED AMERICA CREATE A
GREATER LAND FOR US ALL.
NINE YEARS AGO, AMERICA BEGAN WHAT HAS BEEN CALLED
THE DECADE OF THE HISPANIC. AND NOW, AT DECADE'S END,
HISPANICS ARE ONE OF AMERICA'S FASTEST-GROWING
MINORITIES.
- 3 -
ENRICHING AMERICA SOCIALLY AND ACADEMICALLY,
ECONOMICALLY AND SPIRITUALLY. LIVING, MORE THAN EVER,
THE AMERICAN DREAM.
IN ONE SENSE, THE PAST DECADE HAS REAFFIRMED THAT
DREAM -- THE DREAM WHICH BROUGHT YOUR PARENTS, YOUR
GRANDPARENTS, AND SOME OF YOU TO AMERICA. FOR TODAY
YOU ARE BUILDING A BETTER LIFE.
- 4 -
BUILDING IT IN OUR SCHOOLS, OUR POLICE FORCES, AND IN
SMALL AND LARGE BUSINESS. BUILDING IT FOR YOUR KIDS --
AND MY GRANDKIDS [PAUSE]
ALL ELEVEN OF THEM.
BUT IN ANOTHER SENSE, THE PAST DECADE IS BUT A
PREVIEW OF COMING ATTRACTIONS. FOR IT CAN BE A GATEWAY
TO TOMORROW -- MUCH AS AMERICA HAS BEEN A GATEWAY FOR
YOU. THE THEME OF THIS CONVENTION IS "GATEWAY TO THE
AMERICAS."
- 5 -
WELL, TODAY IT IS GATEWAYS I'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT:
GATEWAYS TO THE PROSPERITY AND STABILITY THAT MAKE
PROGRESS POSSIBLE.
FIRST, THE GATEWAY TO PROSPERITY IS THE FREE
ENTERPRISE SYSTEM WHICH FOSTERS EQUAL OPPORTUNITY.
WINSTON CHURCHILL NOTED THAT SOME PEOPLE VIEW "PRIVATE
ENTERPRISE AS A PREDATORY TIGER TO BE SHOT. OTHERS
LOOK ON IT AS A COW THEY CAN MILK.
- 6 -
ONLY A HANDFUL SEE [PRIVATE ENTERPRISE] FOR WHAT IT
REALLY IS -- THE STRONG AND WILLING HORSE THAT PULLS
THE WHOLE CART ALONG."
CHURCHILL SPOKE THOSE WORDS IN 1959. AND IN 1989
THEY' RE TRUER THAN EVER.
No GOVERNMENT PLANNER, FOR INSTANCE, DECIDED THAT
MARCONI SHOULD INVENT THE WIRELESS.
- 7 -
AND WHAT MIGHT HAVE HAPPENED -- OR WORSE, WHAT MIGHT
NOT HAVE HAPPENED -- HAD THE WRIGHT BROTHERS BEEN
FORCED TO WAIT FOR WASHINGTON'S APPROVAL BEFORE TESTING
THEIR FLYING MACHINE? [PAUSE]
IF THEY HAD, I
MIGHT HAVE COME HERE TODAY BY STEAMBOAT, NOT BY AIR.
THEY KNEW, AS YOU DO, THAT THE GATEWAY TO
PROSPERITY ISN'T BIGGER GOVERNMENT. IT'S BIGGER
DREAMS.
- 8 -
LOOK AT PEDRO GARZA, A FORMER MIGRANT WORKER WHO
OVERCAME DISABILITY TO OWN A CONSTRUCTION COMPANY WITH
$4.5 MILLION IN SALES. OR REMEDIO DIAZ OLIVER [REH-
МЕН-ДЕЕ-о DE-AHS OH-LEE-VER], THE HISPANIC
BUSINESSWOMAN OF THE YEAR. OR THE FATHER-AND-SON TEAM
OF LOUIS AND FRED Ruiz [REES], WHO IN 1964 STARTED A
FOOD BUSINESS IN AN OLD WAREHOUSE WITH A BATTERED
STOVE, SMALL FREEZER, AND SINGLE MIXER. AND WHO NOW
EMPLOY 534 WORKERS.
- 9 -
THEY PROVE -- AS YOU DO -- THAT WHILE GOVERNMENT CAN
ENCOURAGE OPPORTUNITY, IT IS AMERICANS WHO SEIZE
OPPORTUNITY.
OVER THE PAST DECADE, HEROES LIKE THESE -- AND
MILLIONS OF UNSUNG HISPANIC-AMERICAN HEROES -- HAVE
MADE BIG DREAMS COME TRUE FOR THEMSELVES AND so MANY
OTHERS. HERE'S A PARTIAL SCORE CARD OF YOUR SUCCESS:
SINCE 1980, ACCORDING TO YOUR ESTIMATES, HISPANIC-
AMERICAN-OWNED BUSINESSES HAVE NEARLY DOUBLED.
- 10 -
AND TODAY, THEY TOTAL MORE THAN 400,000. AND EARNED
REVENUES OF $20 BILLION IN 1987 ALONE. IMPRESSIVE?
You BET. GOOD ENOUGH? NEVER. FOR AS LONG AS ONE
HISPANIC-AMERICAN IS BEREFT OF HOPE, THAT IS ONE
AMERICAN TOO MANY.
So AS WE WORK TO EXTEND THE PROSPERITY THAT BLESSES
OUR COUNTRY TODAY TO ALL CITIZENS, GOVERNMENT CAN PLAY
A UNIQUE ROLE AS A CATALYST FOR OPPORTUNITY.
- 11 -
As VICE-PRESIDENT, I SUPPORTED THE PRESIDENT'S TASK
FORCE ON PRIVATE SECTOR INITIATIVES. AND KNOWING HOW
COOPERATION CAN SPUR DEVELOPMENT, WE HAVE TRIED To
BUILD ON WHAT THE REAGAN ADMINISTRATION FOSTERED.
I DIRECTED COMMERCE SECRETARY ROBERT MOSBACHER AND
DIRECTOR KENNETH E. BOLTON, TO DEVELOP A BOLD AND
INNOVATIVE STRATEGY FOR THE REINVIGORATION OF THE
MINORITY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AGENCY.
- 12 -
EVERY LINKAGE BETWEEN CORPORATE AMERICA AND A MINORITY
VENDOR, AN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION AND THE MINORITY
POPULATION, BRINGS US ONE STEP CLOSER TO ASSURING THE
EQUAL PARTICIPATION OF ALL AMERICANS IN OUR FREE
ENTERPRISE SYSTEM.
THESE PARTNERSHIPS WILL AID THE SHOP OWNER IN Los
ANGELES, THE SMALL DEVELOPER IN DES MOINES. AND so
WILL ONE FINAL PROJECT I'D LIKE TO MENTION: THE 1990
CENSUS.
- 13 -
TODAY, THERE ARE 19.5 MILLION HISPANIC-AMERICANS. I
URGE YOU TO MAKE THEM COUNT. TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND
NEIGHBORS TO COOPERATE WITH CENSUS OFFICIALS. DON'T
LET THE DECADE OF THE HISPANIC GO UNREFLECTED IN THIS
SURVEY. So REMEMBER THAT THE MORE ACCURATE THE CENSUS
IS, THE GREATER HISPANICS' INFLUENCE AND ABILITY To
HELP PEOPLE HELP THEMSELVES.
- 14 -
So FAR, I HAVE TALKED OF THE PROSPERITY WHICH CAN
BETTER THE LIVES OF EVERY AMERICAN. AND IN THAT
CONTEXT, LET ME SPEAK OF OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH MEXICO.
THE FIRST HEAD OF STATE THAT I MET WITH AFTER THE
ELECTION WAS PRESIDENT SALINAS AND TWO MONTHS AGO, I
WAS PLEASED TO RENEW OUR FRIENDSHIP AT THE ECONOMIC
SUMMIT.
- 15 -
MEXICO, BY RESTRUCTURING HER ECONOMY, REDUCING TRADE
BARRIERS AND REACHING AGREEMENT WITH HER COMMERCIAL
BANK CREDITORS HAS OPENED THE GATEWAY OF INCREASED
TRADE WITH AMERICA. WE WELCOME THIS COMMERCE. FOR
MEXICO IS OUR THIRD-LARGEST TRADING PARTNER. AND WE
LOOK FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH'S STATE VISIT BY PRESIDENT
SALINAS. TOGETHER, WE CAN BUILD A GATEWAY TO THE 1990s
THAT WILL PROVIDE BOTH MEXICO AND AMERICA WITH ECONOMIC
OPPORTUNITY AND STABILITY.
- 16 -
Now, LET ME SPEAK OF ANOTHER KIND THAT OF TRADE. A
MORE DESTRUCTIVE KIND OF TRADE THAT SLAMS SHUT THE
GATEWAYS OF OPPORTUNITY. THE DRUG TRADE.
CONSIDER THESE STATISTICS. LAST YEAR, THE
GOVERNMENT ESTIMATED THAT 23 MILLION AMERICANS USED
ILLEGAL DRUGS ON A "CURRENT" BASIS -- THAT IS, AT LEAST
ONCE IN THE PRECEDING 30 DAYS. LAST YEAR, MORE THAN 8
MILLION PEOPLE USED COCAINE. AND ALMOST 1 MILLION USED
IT ONCE A WEEK OR MORE.
- 17 -
LAST YEAR, HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF BABIES WERE BORN TO
MOTHERS WHO USE DRUGS -- BABIES BORN DESPERATELY SICK,
WEEKS OR MONTHS PREMATURE. A NATION WITH THOSE NUMBERS
CANNOT LONG PRESERVE ITS SOUL.
THAT IS WHY THREE NIGHTS AGO, I ANNOUNCED AMERICA'S
FIRST NATIONAL, COMPREHENSIVE, AND COORDINATED STRATEGY
TO WAGE UNCONDITIONAL WAR AGAINST THE SCOURGE OF DRUGS.
OUR DRUG PLAN HAS FOUR MAJOR ELEMENTS.
- 18 -
FIRST, ENFORCEMENT, USING OUR LAWS AND CRIMINAL
JUSTICE SYSTEM. FOR AMERICA MUST TAKE BACK THE
STREETS. WE NEED MORE JAILS, MORE PRISONS, MORE
COURTS, MORE PROSECUTORS. AND TOUGHER SENTENCES. DRUG
DEALERS DESERVE A GATEWAY, ALL RIGHT -- A GATEWAY TO
THE SLAMMER. AND FOR THE ULTIMATE DRUG VIOLATORS --
THE KINGPINS THEMSELVES -- THEY SHOULD RECEIVE THE
ULTIMATE SENTENCE: THE DEATH PENALTY.
- 19 -
AND IN THAT CONTEXT, I SENT MY CRIME PACKAGE TO THE
CONGRESS THREE MONTHS AGO. IT HAS LANGUISHED IN THE
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE. WE CAN'T WIN THE WAR IF
THE WEAPONS DON'T REACH THE FRONT. It's TIME FOR
ACTION NOW.
THE SECOND PART OF OUR DRUG PLAN IS INTERDICTION,
AS A TOOL OF FOREIGN POLICY. WORKING WITH OTHER
GOVERNMENTS, WE'RE GOING TO BREAK THE INTERNATIONAL
DRUGS RINGS WHO GROW AND PROCESS COCAINE AND CRACK.
- 20 -
THEN, THERE IS THE THIRD PART OF OUR STRATEGY:
TREATMENT TO HELP ADDICTS WHO WANT TO GET CLEAN. WITH
SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON EXPECTANT MOTHERS. AND FINALLY,
OUR DRUG PROGRAM AIMS TO STOP USE BEFORE IT STARTS.
THROUGH EDUCATION AND PREVENTION. FROM GRADE SCHOOL TO
GRADUATE SCHOOL.
THIS PLAN CAN HELP STOP THE TRADE I SPOKE OF
EARLIER. SOME TRADE BUILDS LIVES. DRUG TRADE TAKES
LIVES. AND IT IS THE DRUG TRADE WE MUST STOP.
- 21 -
BUT IT WON'T BE EASY.
MAYBE YOU TUNED IN TUESDAY NIGHT. IF so, YOU HEARD
ME PROPOSE AMERICA'S FIRST NATIONAL COMPREHENSIVE
STRATEGY TO END DRUG USE AND DRUG TRAFFICKING. WE ARE
PROPOSING A DRUG BUDGET TOTALING ALMOST $8 BILLION --
THE LARGEST INCREASE IN HISTORY.
Now, I KNOW ALREADY THERE ARE SOME WHO CRITICIZE
THIS PROGRAM. NOT TOUGH ENOUGH, THEY CLAIM -- YET MANY
OF THESE SAME CRITICS OPPOSE THE DEATH PENALTY.
- 22 -
THEY SAY WE AREN'T SPENDING ENOUGH. WELL, AS I
SAID TUESDAY, THOSE WHO JUDGE THIS STRATEGY BY ITS
PRICE TAG DON'T UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEM. LET ME REPEAT:
THIS IS AN ALMOST $8 BILLION PROGRAM WITH RECORD
FUNDING INCREASES. A PROGRAM THAT IS COMPREHENSIVE AND
TOUCHES EVERY ASPECT OF THE DRUG PROBLEM.
- 25 -
AND WE'LL HAVE TO FIGHT TOGETHER TO CRUSH THE DRUG
MENACE AT EVERY TURN. FIGHTING IN THE BARRIOS, AND THE
BOARDROOMS. IN THE CITIES, AND THE TOWNS. WINNING
KID-BY-KID, HOUSE-BY-HOUSE, AND NEIGHBORHOOD-BY-
NEIGHBORHOOD. PUTTING THE EMPHASIS WHERE THE PROBLEM
IS -- LOCALLY, IN THE COMMUNITY.
FELLOW PARENTS AND BUSINESSMEN -- FELLOW
AMERICANS -- THAT'S WHERE YOU COME IN. FOR DRUG USE
ISN'T MERELY STATISTICS.
- 26 -
IT'S THE YOUNG BOY TORMENTED BY COCAINE ADDICTION. OR
THE PREGNANT MOTHER WHOSE CRACK USE IMPAIRS HER CHILD.
AT STAKE IS THE VERY FUTURE OF THE HISPANIC COMMUNITY.
I'M REFERRING TO OUR KIDS.
So I CHALLENGE YOU: GET INVOLVED. THERE ARE so
MANY WHO NEED YOUR HELP. JOIN GRASS-ROOTS GROUPS LIKE
THE MIAMI COALITION OF LEADERS FROM BUSINESS,
EDUCATION, GOVERNMENT, AND LAW ENFORCEMENT TO STOP DRUG
USE.
- 27 -
TAKE THE TIME TO REALLY KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD AT HOME
AND WORK. HELP YOUR CHURCH, AND ANTI-DRUG
PARENTS'GROUPS. SUPPORT DRUG PROGRAMS IN YOUR
CHILDREN'S SCHOOL.
FINALLY, LET ME ASK YOU -- AS BUSINESSMEN AND WOMEN
-- TO DO SOMETHING NO ONE ELSE CAN DO: USE YOUR PLACE
OF BUSINESS AS A STOREFRONT AGAINST DRUGS. DISPLAY
BROCHURES AND BANNERS. EMPLOY VOLUNTEER COUNSELORS.
- 28 -
BE A SYMBOL FOR YOUR COMMUNITY, AND ESPECIALLY ITS
YOUTH. JOIN THE RANKS OF THE CARING AND COMMITTED.
HELP WIN THIS GREAT CRUSADE.
WILL YOU ENLIST? I BELIEVE YOU WILL. FOR BARBARA
AND I HAVE SPENT MUCH OF OUR LIVES AMONG HISPANIC
AMERICANS. BUILDING A BUSINESS. RAISING CHILDREN.
TRYING TO LIVE, LIKE YOU, THE VALUES OF FAMILY,
RELIGION, AND ABOVE ALL, FREEDOM. OUR SON JEB'S WIFE,
COLUMBA, IS HISPANIC. AND THEY'VE GOT THREE KIDS.
- 29 -
So, YOU SEE, THE BUSH FAMILY FEELS DOUBLY BLESSED. THE
HISPANIC CULTURE IS OUR CULTURE, TOO.
IN HISPANIC AMERICA, ROOTS RUN DEEP -- AND
ASPIRATIONS HIGH. ITS PEOPLE ASK NOT THE PROMISE OF
SUCCESS -- ONLY THE OPPORTUNITY TO SUCCEED.
HISPANIC AMERICA IS AT HER BEST WHEN THE CHALLENGE
IS GREATEST. So TOGETHER, LET US OPEN THE GATEWAYS OF
PROSPERITY AND STABILITY.
- 30 -
AND BUILD FOR OUR CHILDREN A BETTER TOMORROW. THEY ARE
THE TRUSTEES OF AMERICA'S FUTURE. LET THEIR HORIZONS
TOUCH THE SKY.
I APPRECIATE YOUR KINDNESS, AND THE CHANCE TO SHARE
THIS OCCASION. GOD BLESS YOU, THANK YOU ALL, AND GOD
BLESS AMERICA.
###
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
09/07/89
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: U.S. HISPANIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
(09/07 draft six)
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
STUDDERT
BATES
UNTERMEYER
BREEDEN
ROGERS
CARD
BENNETT
CICCONI
PINKERTON
DEMAREST
WINSTON
FITZWATER
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
The attached has been forwarded to the President.
RESPONSE:
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
SEP1
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
08:28
September 7, 1989
INFORMATION
MEMORANDUM TO THE PRESIDENT
THROUGH:
CHRISS WINSTON
FROM:
CURT SMITH
SUBJECT:
REMARKS TO U.S. HISPANIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
I. SUMMARY
On Friday, September 8, at noon, you will address the U.S.
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Convention in the Fairmont Hotel in
New Orleans. Secretary Lujan will attend. About 1,000 people
are expected to be in the audience.
II. DISCUSSION
The enclosed remarks (15 minutes) discuss trade with Mexico,
Hispanic-American achievements, and the four main elements of
our drug strategy. In particular, the remarks emphasize what the
Administration is doing for Hispanic-Americans. The remarks
request their involvement as businessmen and community members to
fight the war on drugs.
Note: On page three in the fourth paragraph, the first
sentence is bracketed because there is some concern about
mentioning the "8-A" program due to possible Justice Department
litigation.
(Smith/Blessey)
September 7, 1989
Draft Six
HISPANIC
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: HISPANIC CHAMBER
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1989
President Quintela -- how about that, two Odessa boys on the
same platform. Secretary Lujan -- and I'm proud to say that,
with Secretary Cavazos, ours is the first Administration to have
two Hispanic Cabinet officials. Ladies and gentlemen. Friends.
Today we meet not as strangers, but "vecinos" [Ve-CEE-noze:
Spanish for "neighbors"]. And as businessmen and women. But
mostly, perhaps, as citizens who understand how Hispanics have
helped America create a greater land for us all.
Nine years ago, America began what has been called The
Decade of The Hispanic. And now, at decade's end, Hispanics are
one of America's fastest-growing minorities. Enriching America
socially and academically, economically and spiritually. Living,
more than ever, the American Dream.
In one sense, the past decade has reaffirmed that dream --
the dream which brought your parents, your grandparents, and some
of you to America. For today you are building a letter life.
Building it in our schools, our police forces, and in small and
large business. Building it for your kids -- and my grandkids
[PAUSE]
all eleven of them.
But in another sense, the past decade is but a preview of
coming attractions. For it can be a gateway to tomorrow -- much
2
as America has been a gateway for you. The theme of this
convention is "gateway to the Americas." Well, today it is
gateways I'd like to talk about: Gateways to the prosperity and
stability that make progress possible.
First, the gateway to prosperity, is the free enterprise
system which fosters equal opportunity. Winston Churchill noted
that some people view free enterprise as a predatory tiger to be
shot and others look on it as a COW they can milk. But not
enough people see free enterprise for what it really is: a
healthy horse, pulling a sturdy wagon.
Churchill spoke those words in 1953. And in 1989 they're
truer than ever.
No government planner, for instance, decided that Marconi
should invent the wireless. And what might have happened -- or
worse, what might not have happened -- had the Wright brothers
been forced to wait for Washington's approval before testing
their flying machine? [PAUSE]
If they had, I might have
come here today by steamboat, not by air.
They knew, as you do, that the gateway to prosperity isn't
bigger government. It's bigger dreams.
Look at Pedro Garza, a former migrant worker who overcame
disability to own a construction company with $4.5 million in
sales. or Remedio Diaz Oliver [Reh-MEH-dee-o DE-ahs 0-lee-VER],
the Hispanic Businesswoman of the Year. Or the father-and-son
team of Louis and Fred Ruiz, who in 1964 started a food business
in an old warehouse with a battered stove, small freezer, and
3
single mixer. And who now employ 534 workers. They prove -- as
you do -- that while government can encourage opportunity, it is
Americans who seize opportunity.
Over the past decade, heroes like these -- and millions of
unsung Hispanic-American heroes -- have made big dreams come true
for themselves and so many others. Here's a partial score card
of your success: Since 1980, Hispanic-American-owned businesses
have nearly doubled. And today, they total more than 400,000.
And earned revenues of $20 billion in 1987 alone. Impressive?
You bet. Good enough? Never. For as long as one Hispanic-
American is bereft of hope, that is one American too many.
So as we work to extend the prosperity that blesses our
country today to all citizens, government can play a unique role
as a catalyst for opportunity.
As Vice-President, I supported the President's Task Force on
Private Sector Initiatives. And knowing how cooperation can spur
development, we have tried to build on what the Reagan
Administration fostered.
[[ I think, for example, of the "8 A" program and Commerce
Department programs which have helped thousands of Hispanic and
other minority owned companies. N or our nationwide education
insutA
and counseling services for small business owners; today -- count
'em -- 13,000 retired executives voluntarily serve. And we've
tried to spur projects like loan program 7-A, which this year
will extend about $2.6 billion in loans to help nearly 250,000
I
the have DOC instructed Fond make it work
4
firms. Projects which are helping Hispanics travel America's
gateway to the future.
These partnerships will aid the shop owner in Los Angeles,
the small developer in Des Moines. And so will one final project
I'd like to mention: the 1990 census. Today, there are 19.5
million Hispanic-Americans. I urge you to make them count. Tell
your friends and neighbors to cooperate with Census officials.
Don't let the Decade of The Hispanic go unreflected in this
survey. So remember that the more accurate the Census is, the
greater Hispanics' influence and ability to help people help
themselves.
So far, I have talked of the prosperity which can better the
lives of every American. And in that context, let me speak of
our relationship with Mexico.
The first head of state that I met with after the election
was President Salinas and two months ago, I was pleased to renew
our friendship at the Economic Summit. Mexico, by restructuring
her economy, reducing trade barriers and reaching agreement with
her commercial bank creditors has opened the gateway of increased
trade with America. We welcome this commerce. For Mexico is our
third-largest trading partner. And we look forward to next
month's State visit by President Salinas. Together, we can build
a gateway to the 1990s that will provide both Mexico and America
with economic opportunity and stability.
5
Now, let me speak of another kind that of trade. A more
destructive kind of trade that slams shut the gateways of
opportunity. The drug trade.
Consider these statistics. Last year, the government
estimated that 23 million Americans used illegal drugs on a
"current" basis -- that is, at least once in the preceding 30
days. Last year, more than 8 million people used cocaine. And
almost 1 million used it once a week or more. Last year,
hundreds of thousands of babies were born to mothers who use
drugs -- babies born desperately sick, weeks or months premature.
A Nation with those numbers cannot long preserve its soul.
That is why three nights ago, I announced America's first
national, comprehensive, and coordinated strategy to wage
unconditional war against the scourge of drugs.
Our drug plan has four major elements.
First, enforcement, using our laws and criminal justice
system. For America must take back the streets. We need more
jails, more prisons, more courts, more prosecutors. And tougher
sentences. Drug dealers deserve a gateway, all right -- a
gateway to the slammer. And for the ultimate drug violators --
the kingpins themselves -- they should receive the ultimate
sentence: the death penalty. And in that context, I sent my
crime package to the Congress three months ago. It has
languished in the Senate Judiciary Committee. We can't win the
war if the weapons don't reach the front. It's time for action
now.
6
The second part of our drug plan is interdiction, as a tool
of foreign policy. Working with other governments, we're going
to break the international drugs rings who grow and process
cocaine and crack.
Then, there is the third part of our strategy: treatment to
help addicts who want to get clean. With special emphasis on
expectant mothers. And finally, our drug program aims to stop
use before it starts. Through education and prevention. From
grade school to graduate school.
This plan can help stop the trade I spoke of earlier. Some
trade builds lives. Drug trade takes lives. And it is the drug
trade we must stop. But it won't be easy.
Maybe you tuned in Tuesday night. If so, you heard me
propose America's first national comprehensive strategy to end
drug use and drug trafficking. We are proposing a drug budget
totaling almost $8 billion -- the largest increase in history.
Now, I know already there are some who criticize this
program. Not tough enough, they claim -- yet many of these same
critics oppose the death penalty.
They say we aren't spending enough. Well, as I said
Tuesday, those who judge this strategy by its price tag don't
understand the problem. Let me repeat: This is an almost $8
billion program with record funding increases. A program that is
comprehensive and touches every aspect of the drug problem.
And those same critics who complain we aren't spending
enough are the same ones who complain that they don't know how we
7
can fund the proposal
unless, of course, we raise taxes.
Well, I know and the American people know, that to some the first
and only answer is to raid the taxpayers' pockets. That's not
the right answer, and we have sent to Congress a way to fund the
strategy without raising taxes or increasing the deficit. All
the critics have to do is implement it.
Government will do its part but government won't win the
battle alone. This isn't just a federal problem, it's a national
problem. We're all in this together -- from cops to teachers,
from parents to clergymen. And we'll have to fight together to
crush the drug menace at every turn. Fighting in the barrios,
and the boardrooms. In the cities, and the towns. Winning kid-
by-kid, house-by-house, and neighborhood-by-neighborhood.
Putting the emphasis where the problem is -- locally, in the
community.
Fellow parents and businessmen -- fellow Americans -- that's
where you come in. For drug use isn't merely statistics. It's
the young boy tormented by cocaine addiction. or the pregnant
mother whose crack use impairs her child. At stake is the very
future of the Hispanic community. I'm referring to our kids.
So I challenge you: Get involved. There are so many who
need your help. Join grass-roots groups like the Miami Coalition
of leaders from business, education, government, and law
enforcement to stop drug use. Take the time to really know your
neighborhood at home and work. Help your church, and anti-drug
parents'groups. Support drug programs in your children's school.
8
Finally, let me ask you -- as businessmen and women -- to do
something no one else can do: Use your place of business as a
storefront against drugs. Display brochures and banners. Employ
volunteer counselors. Be a symbol for your community, and
especially its youth. Join the ranks of the caring and
committed. Help win this great crusade.
Will you enlist? I believe you will. For Barbara and I
have spent much of our lives among Hispanic Americans. Building
a business. Raising children. Trying to live, like you, the
values of family, religion, and above all, freedom. Our son
Jeb's wife, Columba, is Hispanic. And they've got three kids.
So, you see, the Bush family feels doubly blessed. The Hispanic
culture is our culture, too.
In Hispanic America, roots run deep -- and aspirations high.
Its people ask not the promise of success -- only the opportunity
to succeed.
Hispanic America is at her best when the challenge is
greatest. So together, let us open the gateways of prosperity
and stability. And build for our children a better tomorrow.
They are the trustees of America's future. Let their horizons
touch the sky.
I appreciate your kindness, and the chance to share this
occasion. God bless you, thank you all, and God bless America.
###
(Smith/Blessey)
September 7, 1989
Draft Six
HISPANIC
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: HISPANIC CHAMBER
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1989
President Quintela -- how about that, two Odessa boys on the
same platform. Secretary Lujan -- and I'm proud to say that,
with Secretary Cavazos, ours is the first Administration to have
two Hispanic Cabinet officials. Ladies and gentlemen. Friends.
Today we meet not as strangers, but "vecinos" [Ve-CEE-noze:
Spanish for "neighbors"]. And as businessmen and women. But
mostly, perhaps, as citizens who understand how Hispanics have
helped America create a greater land for us all.
Nine years ago, America began what has been called The
Decade of The Hispanic. And now, at decade's end, Hispanics are
one of America's fastest-growing minorities. Enriching America
socially and academically, economically and spiritually. Living,
more than ever, the American Dream.
In one sense, the past decade has reaffirmed that dream --
the dream which brought your parents, your grandparents, and some
of you to America. For today you are building a letter life.
Building it in our schools, our police forces, and in small and
large business. Building it for your kids -- and my grandkids
[PAUSE]
all eleven of them.
But in another sense, the past decade is but a preview of
coming attractions. For it can be a gateway to tomorrow -- much
2
as America has been a gateway for you. The theme of this
convention is "gateway to the Americas." Well, today it is
gateways I'd like to talk about: Gateways to the prosperity and
stability that make progress possible.
First, the gateway to prosperity, is the free enterprise
system which fosters equal opportunity. Winston Churchill noted
that some people view free enterprise as a predatory tiger to be
shot and others look on it as a COW they can milk. But not
enough people see free enterprise for what it really is: a
healthy horse, pulling a sturdy wagon.
Churchill spoke those words in 1953. And in 1989 they're
truer than ever.
No government planner, for instance, decided that Marconi
should invent the wireless. And what might have happened -- or
worse, what might not have happened -- had the Wright brothers
been forced to wait for Washington's approval before testing
their flying machine? [PAUSE]
If they had, I might have
come here today by steamboat, not by air.
They knew, as you do, that the gateway to prosperity isn't
bigger government. It's bigger dreams.
Look at Pedro Garza, a former migrant worker who overcame
disability to own a construction company with $4.5 million in
sales. or Remedio Diaz Oliver [Reh-MEH-dee-o DE-ahs 0-lee-VER],
the Hispanic Businesswoman of the Year. Or the father-and-son
team of Louis and Fred Ruiz, who in 1964 started a food business
in an old warehouse with a battered stove, small freezer, and
3
single mixer. And who now employ 534 workers. They prove -- as
you do -- that while government can encourage opportunity, it is
Americans who seize
completed completed
Over the past decade heroes like these -- and millions of other
unsung Hispanic-American Sheroes - have made big dreams come true
for themselves and so many others. Here's a partial score card
of your success: Since 1980, Hispanic-American-owned businesses
have nearly doubled. And today, they total more than 400,000.
And earned revenues of $20 billion in 1987 alone. Impressive?
You bet. Good enough? Never. For as long as one Hispanic-
American is bereft of hope, that is one American too many.
So as we work to extend the prosperity that blesses our
country today to all citizens, government can play a unique role
as a catalyst for opportunity.
As Vice-President, I supported the President's Task Force on
Private Sector Initiatives. And knowing how cooperation can spur
development, we have tried to build on what the Reagan
Administration fostered.
[[ I think, for example, of the "8-A" program and Commerce
Department programs which have helped thousands of Hispanic and
other minority-owned companies. Or our nationwide education
and counseling services for small business owners; today -- count
'em -- 13,000 retired executives voluntarily serve. And we've
tried to spur projects like loan program 7-A, which this year
will extend about $2.6 billion in loans to help nearly 250,000
4
firms. Projects which are helping Hispanics travel America's
gateway to the future.
These partnerships will aid the shop owner in Los Angeles,
the small developer in Des Moines. And so will one final project
I'd like to mention: the 1990 census. Today, there are 19.5
million Hispanic-Americans. I urge you to make them count. Tell
your friends and neighbors to cooperate with Census officials.
Don't let the Decade of The Hispanic go unreflected in this
survey. So remember that the more accurate the Census is, the
greater Hispanics' influence and ability to help people help
themselves.
So far, I have talked of the prosperity which can better the
lives of every American. And in that context, let me speak of
our relationship with Mexico.
The first head of state that I met with after the election
was President Salinas and two months ago, I was pleased to renew
our friendship at the Economic Summit Mexico, by restructuring
her economy, reducing trade barriers and reaching agreement with
her commercial bank creditors has opened the gateway of increased
trade with America. We welcome this commerce. For Mexico is our
third-largest trading partner. And we look forward to next
month's State visit by President Salinas. Together, we can build
a gateway to the 1990s that will provide both Mexico and America
with economic opportunity and stability.
5
Now, let me speak of another kind that of trade. A more
destructive kind of trade that slams shut the gateways of
opportunity. The drug trade.
Consider these statistics. Last year, the government
estimated that 23 million Americans used illegal drugs on a
"current" basis -- that is, at least once in the preceding 30
days. Last year, more than 8 million people used cocaine. And
almost 1 million used it once a week or more. Last year,
hundreds of thousands of babies were born to mothers who use
drugs -- babies born desperately sick, weeks or months premature.
A Nation with those numbers cannot long preserve its soul.
That is why three nights ago, I announced America's first
national, comprehensive, and coordinated strategy to wage
unconditional war against the scourge of drugs.
Our drug plan has four major elements.
First, enforcement, using our laws and criminal justice
system. For America must take back the streets. We need more
jails, more prisons, more courts, more prosecutors. And tougher
sentences. Drug dealers deserve a gateway, all right -- a
gateway to the prision slammer. And for the ultimate drug violators --
the kingpins themselves -- they should receive the ultimate
sentence: the death penalty. And in that context, I sent my
crime package to the Congress three months ago. It has
languished in the Senate Judiciary Committee. We can't win the
war if the weapons don't reach the front. It's time for action
now.
6
The second part of our drug plan is interdiction, as a tool
of foreign policy. Working with other governments, we're going
to break the international drugs rings who grow and process
cocaine and crack.
Then, there is the third part of our strategy: treatment to
help addicts who want to get clean. With special emphasis on
expectant mothers. And finally, our drug program aims to stop
use before it starts. Through education and prevention. From
grade school to graduate school.
This plan can help stop the trade I spoke of earlier. Some
trade builds lives. Drug trade takes lives. And it is the drug
trade we must stop. But it won't be easy.
Tunday right
Maybe you tuned I in Tuesday night. If so, you heard me
propose America's first national comprehensive strategy to end
drug use and drug trafficking. We are proposing a drug budget
totaling almost $8 billion -- the largest increase in history.
Now, I know already there are some who criticize this
program. Not tough enough, they claim -- yet many of these same
critics oppose the death penalty.
They say we aren't spending enough. Well, as I said
Tuesday, those who judge this strategy by its price tag don't
understand the problem. Let me repeat: This is an almost $8
billion program with record funding increases. A program that is
comprehensive and touches every aspect of the drug problem.
And those same critics who complain we aren't spending
enough are the same ones who complain that they don't know how we
7
can fund the proposal
unless, of course, we raise taxes.
Well, I know and the American people know, that to some the first
hat then working man on women with move taxes
and only answer is to rate the taxpayers' pockets. That's not
the right answer, and we have sent to Congress a way to fund the
strategy without raising taxes or increasing the deficit. All
the critics have to do is implement it.
Government will do its part but government won't win the
battle alone. This isn't just a federal problem, it's a national
problem. We're all in this together -- from cops to teachers,
from parents to clergymen. And we'll have to fight together to
crush the drug menace at every turn. Fighting in the barrios,
and the boardrooms. In the cities, and the towns. Winning kid-
by-kid, house-by-house, and neighborhood-by-neighborhood.
Putting the emphasis where the problem is -- locally, in the
community.
Fellow parents and businessmen -- fellow Americans -- that's
where you come in. For drug use isn't merely statistics. It's
the young boy tormented by cocaine addiction. or the pregnant
mother whose crack use impairs her child. At stake is the very
future of the Hispanic community. I'm referring to our kids.
So I challenge you: Get involved. There are so many who
need your help. Join grass-roots groups like the Miami Coalition
of leaders from business, education, government, and law
enforcement to stop drug use. Take the time to really know your
neighborhood at home and work. Help your church, and anti-drug
parents'groups. Support drug programs in your children's school.
8
Finally, let me ask you -- as businessmen and women -- to do
something no one else can do: Use your place of business as a
storefront against drugs. Display brochures and banners. Employ
volunteer counselors. Be a symbol for your community, and
especially its youth. Join the ranks of the caring and
committed. Help win this great crusade.
Will you enlist? I believe you will. For Barbara and I
have spent much of our lives among Hispanic Americans. Building
a business Raising children. Trying to live, like you, the
I believe your
values of family, religion, and above all, freedom, Our son
will compel you to get involved
Jebls wife, Columba, is Hispanic. And they Lve got three kids.
So, you see, the Bush family feels doubly blessed. The Hispanic
culture is our culture too.
In Hispanic America, roots run deep -- and aspirations high.
Its people ask not the promise of success -- only the opportunity
to succeed.
Hispanic America is at her best when the challenge is
greatest. So together, let us open the gateways of prosperity
and stability. And build for our children a better tomorrow.
They are the trustees of America's future. Let their horizons
touch the sky.
I appreciate your kindness, and the chance to share this
occasion. God bless you, thank you all, and God bless America.
###
insutA
I directed
Commerce Secretary Robert Mosbacher and Director Kenneth E.
Bolton, under my direction are developing a bold and innovative
stragey for the reinvigoration of the Minority Business
Development Agency. Every ,linkage between corporate America and
a minority vendor, an educational institution and the minority
population, brings us one step closer. to assuring the equal
participation of all Americans in our free enterprise system.
America can ill afford to ignore the contributions minority
business entrepreneurs have to offer in an increasingly
competitive global marketplace.
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
September 7, 1989
INFORMATION
MEMORANDUM TO THE PRESIDENT
THROUGH:
CHRISS WINSTON w
FROM:
CURT SMITH as
SUBJECT:
REMARKS TO U.S. HISPANIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
I. SUMMARY
On Friday, September 8, at noon, you will address the U.S.
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Convention in the Fairmont Hotel in
New Orleans. Secretary Lujan will attend. About 1,000 people
are expected to be in the audience.
II. DISCUSSION
The enclosed remarks (15 minutes) discuss trade with Mexico,
Hispanic-American achievements, and the four main elements of
our drug strategy. In particular, the remarks emphasize what the
Administration is doing for Hispanic-Americans. The remarks
request their involvement as businessmen and community members to
fight the war on drugs.
Note: On page three in the fourth paragraph, the first
sentence is bracketed because there is some concern about
mentioning the "8-A" program due to possible Justice Department
litigation.
(Smith/Blessey)
September 7, 1989
Draft Six
HISPANIC
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: HISPANIC CHAMBER
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1989
President Quintela -- how about that, two Odessa boys on the
same platform. Secretary Lujan -- and I'm proud to say that,
with Secretary Cavazos, ours is the first Administration to have
two Hispanic Cabinet officials. Ladies and gentlemen. Friends.
Today we meet not as strangers, but "vecinos" [Ve-CEE-noze:
Spanish for "neighbors"]. And as businessmen and women. But
mostly, perhaps, as citizens who understand how Hispanics have
helped America create a greater land for us all.
Nine years ago, America began what has been called The
Decade of The Hispanic. And now, at decade's end, Hispanics are
one of America's fastest-growing minorities. Enriching America
socially and academically, economically and spiritually. Living,
more than ever, the American Dream.
In one sense, the past decade has reaffirmed that dream --
the dream which brought your parents, your grandparents, and some
of you to America. For today you are building a letter life.
Building it in our schools, our police forces, and in small and
large business. Building it for your kids -- and my grandkids
[PAUSE]
all eleven of them.
But in another sense, the past decade is but a preview of
coming attractions. For it can be a gateway to tomorrow -- much
2
as America has been a gateway for you. The theme of this
convention is "gateway to the Americas." Well, today it is
gateways I'd like to talk about: Gateways to the prosperity and
stability that make progress possible.
First, the gateway to prosperity, is the free enterprise
system which fosters equal opportunity. Winston Churchill noted
that some people view free enterprise as a predatory tiger to be
shot and others look on it as a COW they can milk. But not
enough people see free enterprise for what it really is: a
healthy horse, pulling a sturdy wagon.
Churchill spoke those words in 1953. And in 1989 they're
truer than ever.
No government planner, for instance, decided that Marconi
should invent the wireless. And what might have happened -- or
worse, what might not have happened -- had the Wright brothers
been forced to wait for Washington's approval before testing
their flying machine? [PAUSE]
If they had, I might have
come here today by steamboat, not by air.
They knew, as you do, that the gateway to prosperity isn't
bigger government. It's bigger dreams.
Look at Pedro Garza, a former migrant worker who overcame
disability to own a construction company with $4.5 million in
sales. or Remedio Diaz Oliver [Reh-MEH-dee-o DE-ahs 0-lee-VER],
the Hispanic Businesswoman of the Year. Or the father-and-son
team of Louis and Fred Ruiz, who in 1964 started a food business
in an old warehouse with a battered stove, small freezer, and
3
single mixer. And who now employ 534 workers. They prove -- as
you do -- that while government can encourage opportunity, it is
Americans who seize opportunity.
Over the past decade, heroes like these -- and millions of
unsung Hispanic-American heroes -- have made big dreams come true
for themselves and so many others. Here's a partial score card
of your success: Since 1980, Hispanic-American-owned businesses
have nearly doubled. And today, they total more than 400,000.
And earned revenues of $20 billion in 1987 alone. Impressive?
You bet. Good enough? Never. For as long as one Hispanic-
American is bereft of hope, that is one American too many.
So as we work to extend the prosperity that blesses our
country today to all citizens, government can play a unique role
as a catalyst for opportunity.
As Vice-President, I supported the President's Task Force on
Private Sector Initiatives. And knowing how cooperation can spur
development, we have tried to build on what the Reagan
Administration fostered.
[[ I think, for example, of the "8-A" program and Commerce
Department programs which have helped thousands of Hispanic and
other minority-owned companies.] or our nationwide education
and counseling services for small business owners; today -- count
'em -- 13,000 retired executives voluntarily serve. And we've
tried to spur projects like loan program 7-A, which this year
will extend about $2.6 billion in loans to help nearly 250,000
4
firms. Projects which are helping Hispanics travel America's
gateway to the future.
These partnerships will aid the shop owner in Los Angeles,
the small developer in Des Moines. And so will one final project
I'd like to mention: the 1990 census. Today, there are 19.5
million Hispanic-Americans. I urge you to make them count. Tell
your friends and neighbors to cooperate with Census officials.
Don't let the Decade of The Hispanic go unreflected in this
survey. So remember that the more accurate the Census is, the
greater Hispanics' influence and ability to help people help
themselves.
So far, I have talked of the prosperity which can better the
lives of every American. And in that context, let me speak of
our relationship with Mexico.
The first head of state that I met with after the election
was President Salinas and two months ago, I was pleased to renew
our friendship at the Economic Summit. Mexico, by restructuring
her economy, reducing trade barriers and reaching agreement with
her commercial bank creditors has opened the gateway of increased
trade with America. We welcome this commerce. For Mexico is our
third-largest trading partner. And we look forward to next
month's State visit by President Salinas. Together, we can build
a gateway to the 1990s that will provide both Mexico and America
with economic opportunity and stability.
5
Now, let me speak of another kind that of trade. A more
destructive kind of trade that slams shut the gateways of
opportunity. The drug trade.
Consider these statistics. Last year, the government
estimated that 23 million Americans used illegal drugs on a
"current" basis -- that is, at least once in the preceding 30
days. Last year, more than 8 million people used cocaine. And
almost 1 million used it once a week or more. Last year,
hundreds of thousands of babies were born to mothers who use
drugs -- babies born desperately sick, weeks or months premature.
A Nation with those numbers cannot long preserve its soul.
That is why three nights ago, I announced America's first
national, comprehensive, and coordinated strategy to wage
unconditional war against the scourge of drugs.
Our drug plan has four major elements.
First, enforcement, using our laws and criminal justice
system. For America must take back the streets. We need more
jails, more prisons, more courts, more prosecutors. And tougher
sentences. Drug dealers deserve a gateway, all right -- a
gateway to the slammer. And for the ultimate drug violators --
the kingpins themselves -- they should receive the ultimate
sentence: the death penalty. And in that context, I sent my
crime package to the Congress three months ago. It has
languished in the Senate Judiciary Committee. We can't win the
war if the weapons don't reach the front. It's time for action
now.
6
The second part of our drug plan is interdiction, as a tool
of foreign policy. Working with other governments, we're going
to break the international drugs rings who grow and process
cocaine and crack.
Then, there is the third part of our strategy: treatment to
help addicts who want to get clean. With special emphasis on
expectant mothers. And finally, our drug program aims to stop
use before it starts. Through education and prevention. From
grade school to graduate school.
This plan can help stop the trade I spoke of earlier. Some
trade builds lives. Drug trade takes lives. And it is the drug
trade we must stop. But it won't be easy.
Maybe you tuned in Tuesday night. If so, you heard me
propose America's first national comprehensive strategy to end
drug use and drug trafficking. We are proposing a drug budget
totaling almost $8 billion -- the largest increase in history.
Now, I know already there are some who criticize this
program. Not tough enough, they claim -- yet many of these same
critics oppose the death penalty.
They say we aren't spending enough. Well, as I said
Tuesday, those who judge this strategy by its price tag don't
understand the problem. Let me repeat: This is an almost $8
billion program with record funding increases. A program that is
comprehensive and touches every aspect of the drug problem.
And those same critics who complain we aren't spending
enough are the same ones who complain that they don't know how we
7
can fund the proposal
unless, of course, we raise taxes.
Well, I know and the American people know, that to some the first
and only answer is to raid the taxpayers' pockets. That's not
the right answer, and we have sent to Congress a way to fund the
strategy without raising taxes or increasing the deficit. All
the critics have to do is implement it.
Government will do its part but government won't win the
battle alone. This isn't just a federal problem, it's a national
problem. We're all in this together -- from cops to teachers,
from parents to clergymen. And we'll have to fight together to
crush the drug menace at every turn. Fighting in the barrios,
and the boardrooms. In the cities, and the towns. Winning kid-
by-kid, house-by-house, and neighborhood-by-neighborhood.
Putting the emphasis where the problem is -- locally, in the
community.
Fellow parents and businessmen -- fellow Americans -- that's
where you come in. For drug use isn't merely statistics. It's
the young boy tormented by cocaine addiction. or the pregnant
mother whose crack use impairs her child. At stake is the very
future of the Hispanic community. I'm referring to our kids.
So I challenge you: Get involved. There are so mány who
need your help. Join grass-roots groups like the Miami Coalition
of leaders from business, education, government, and law
enforcement to stop drug use. Take the time to really know your
neighborhood at home and work. Help your church, and anti-drug
parents'groups. Support drug programs in your children's school.
8
Finally, let me ask you -- as businessmen and women -- to do
something no one else can do: Use your place of business as a
storefront against drugs. Display brochures and banners. Employ
volunteer counselors. Be a symbol for your community, and
especially its youth. Join the ranks of the caring and
committed. Help win this great crusade.
Will you enlist? I believe you will. For Barbara and I
have spent much of our lives among Hispanic Americans. Building
a business. Raising children. Trying to live, like you, the
values of family, religion, and above all, freedom. Our son
Jeb's wife, Columba, is Hispanic. And they've got three kids.
So, you see, the Bush family feels doubly blessed. The Hispanic
culture is our culture, too.
In Hispanic America, roots run deep -- and aspirations high.
Its people ask not the promise of success -- only the opportunity
to succeed.
Hispanic America is at her best when the challenge is
greatest. So together, let us open the gateways of prosperity
and stability. And build for our children a better tomorrow.
They are the trustees of America's future. Let their horizons
touch the sky.
I appreciate your kindness, and the chance to share this
occasion. God bless you, thank you all, and God bless America.
###
Document No.
06977855
6951
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE:
9/5/89
9/6/89
2:00 PM
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: U.S. HISPANIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
STUDDERT
BATES
UNTERMEYER
BREEDEN
ROGERS
CARD
WINSTON
CICCONI
PINKERTON
DEMAREST
BENNETT
FITZWATER
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please forward any comments directly to Chriss Winston, Rm.
122, x2930, no later than 2:00 PM, Wednesday, September 6,
with a copy to my office. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
TO: CHRISS WINSTON
September 7, 1989
NSC concurs with the Presidential remarks for the U.S. Hispanic Chamber
of Commerce with the change and suggestion noted on pages 2 and 3
respectively.
AD
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
Brent Scowcroft
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
CC: James W. Cicconi
(Smith/Blessey)
September 5, 1989
Draft Three
89 SEP 5 P2:43
HISPANIC
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: HISPANIC CHAMBER
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1989
President Quintela -- how about that, two Odessa boys on the
same platform. Secretaries Lujan and Cavazos -- and I'm proud to
say that ours is the first Administration to have two Hispanic
Cabinet officials. Ladies and gentlemen. Friends.
I want to thank you for that gracious introduction. And for
the warmth of your reception. And let me salute you for choosing
as your convention site this beautiful City by the River.
Pearl Buck once described falling "in love with Louisiana
generally and New Orleans in particular." Well, that feeling
helps make New Orleans special. And I take special pleasure in
being with you today.
For we meet not as strangers, but "vecinos" [Ve-CEE-noze:
Spanish for "neighbors"]. And as businessmen and women. But
mostly, perhaps, as citizens who understand how Hispanics have
helped America create a greater land for us all.
Nine years ago, America officially began The Decade of The
Hispanic. And now, at decade's end, Hispanics are America's
fastest-growing -- and, often -- fastest-rising minority.
Enriching America socially and academically, economically and
spiritually. Living, more than ever, the American Dream.
(America denotes the Western
Hemisphere to Hispanics)
2
In one sense, the past decade has reaffirmed that dream --
the dream which/brought your parents, your grandparents, and some
this COUNTRY
of you to America. For you came to build a better life -- and
you are building it. Building it in our schools, our police
forces, and in small and large business. Building it for your
kids -- and my grandkids [PAUSE]
all eleven of them.
But in another sense, the past decade is but a preview of
coming attractions. For it can be a gateway to tomorrow -- much
as America has been a gateway for you. The theme of this
convention is "gateway to the Americas." Well, today it is
gateways I'd like to talk about: Gateways to the prosperity and
stability that make progress possible.
First, the gateway to the prosperity which fosters equal
opportunity. Or as Winston Churchill said: "Some people regard
private enterprise as a predatory tiger to be shot. Others look
on it as a COW they can milk. Not enough people see it as a
healthy horse, pulling a sturdy wagon."
Churchill spoke those words in 19 And in 1989 they're
more true than ever. For Hispanic business is a healthy horse.
America is that healthy wagon. And on the buckboard, with the
reins up-high, are entrepreneurs like you.
No government planner, for instance, decided that Marconi
would invent the wireless. Or that something called an auto
would rise from the dust of Dearborn. And what might have
happened -- or worse, what might not have happened -- had the
Wright brothers been forced to wait for Washington's approval
Hard to
3
the work theift drive
before testing their flying machine? [PAUSE]
If they had,
I might have come here today by steamboat, not by air.
They knew, as you do, that the gateway to prosperity isn't why dreams.
bigger government. It's bigger dreams.
Look at Pedro Garza, a former migrant worker who overcame
disability to own a construction company with $4.5 million in
sales. Or Patricia Rivera, the Hispanic Businesswoman of the
Year. Or the father-and-son team of Louis and Fred Ruiz, who in
1964 started a food business in an old warehouse with a battered
stove, small freezer, and single mixer. And who now employ 534
workers. They prove -- as you do -- that while government can
create opportunity, it is Americans who seize opportunity.
Over the past decade, heroes like these -- and millions of
unsung Hispanic-American heroes -- have sought a ladder, not a
crutch. Here's a partial score card of your success: Since
1980, Hispanic-American-owned businesses have doubled. And
today, they total nearly 250,000. They boast more than
full-time employees. And earn $15 billion in receipts each year.
Impressive? You bet. Good enough? Never. For as long as one
Hispanic-American is bereft of hope, that is one American too
many.
You know, my home state's to the west of here. Place called
Texas. And equidistant from Houston and New Orleans is the home
state of America's favorite humorist. Will Rogers. Once, Will
said of the bureaucracy, "We are always reading statistics and
figures. Half of America does nothing but prepare propaganda for
4
the other half to read. Propaganda won't build a gateway to
prosperity. But partnerships can, and are.
Partnerships are cooperative efforts involving government,
private enterprise, and voluntary organizations. As Vice-
President, I supported the President's Task Force on Private
Sector Initiatives. And knowing how partnerships can spur
development, we have tried to build on what the Reagan
Administration fostered.
I think, for example, of the Minority Small Business and
Capital Ownership Development Program -- the "8-A" program --
which helps Hispanics and other minority-owned companies obtain
Federal contracts. Or our nationwide education and counseling
services for small business owners; today -- count 'em -- 13,000
retired executives voluntarily serve. And we've tried to spur
projects like loan program 7-A, which this year will grant $2.6
billion to help more than 265,000 firms. Projects which are
helping Hispanics travel America's gateway to the future.
These partnerships will aid the shop owner in Los Angeles,
the small developer in Des Moines. And so will one final project
I'd like to mention: A partnership with the 1990 census. Today,
there are 19.5 million Hispanic-Americans. I urge you to make
them count. Tell your friends and neighbors to cooperate with
Census officials. Don't let the Decade of The Hispanic go
unreflected in this survey. So remember that the more accurate
the Census is, the greater Hispanics' influence. And how this
5
partnership -- like our other partnerships -- can help people
help themselves.
So far, I have talked of the prosperity which can better the
lives of every American. And in that context, let me speak of
our relationship with Mexico.
Two months ago, I met with President Salinas at the Economic
Summit. Since then, by restructuring her economy -- reducing
trade barriers -- and honoring her creditors through the pact
with the Bankers Advisory Committee -- Mexico has opened the
gateway of increased trade with America. We welcome this
commerce. For Mexico is our third-most important trading
partner. And we look forward to next month's State visit by
President Salinas. Together, we can build a gateway to the 1990s
that will provide both Mexico and America with economic
opportunity and stability.
Now, let me speak of another kind of trade. A more
destructive kind of trade. The drug trade.
Consider these statistics. Last year, the government
estimated that 23 million Americans used illegal drugs on a
"current" basis -- that is, at least once in the preceding 30
days. Last year, more than 8 million people used cocaine. And
almost 1 million used it once a week or more. Last year,
hundreds of thousands of babies were born to mothers who use
drugs -- babies born desperately sick, weeks or months premature.
A Nation with those numbers cannot long preserve its soul.
6
That is why three nights ago, I announced America's first
national, comprehensive, and coordinated strategy to wage
unconditional war against the scourge of drugs.
Our drug plan has four major elements.
First, enforcement, using our laws and criminal justice
system. For America must take back the streets. We need more
jails, more prisons, more courts, more prosecutors. And tougher
sentences. Drug dealers deserve a gateway, all right -- a
gateway to the slammer. And for the ultimate drug violators --
the kingpins themselves -- they should receive the ultimate
penalty.
Second, interdiction, as a tool of foreign policy. Working
with other governments, we're going to break the international
drugs rings who grow and process cocaine and crack. I agree with
President Barco of Columbia: If you use cocaine, you are paying
for murder.
The third part of our strategy is treatment, to help addicts
who want to get clean. With special emphasis on expectant
mothers. And finally, our drug program aims to stop use before
it starts. Through education and prevention. From grade school
to graduate school.
This plan can help stop the trade I spoke of earlier. Some
trade builds lives. Drug trade takes lives. Lives like the New
York woman, Maria Hernandez, I talked about Tuesday night -- shot
to death in her bedroom one morning because she and her husband
7
had confronted local dealers. We must save lives. And end this
trade. But it won't come cheaply.
Maybe you tuned in Tuesday night. If so, you heard me
propose a 1990 drug budget totaling almost $8 billion -- the
largest single increase in history. An increase of $1.4 billion
for drug-related spending on law enforcement. Over $233 million
more for prevention programs. An additional $260 million in aid
next year for Columbia, Bolivia, and Peru, a five-year, $2-
billion program to counter the producers, the traffickers, and
the smugglers.
Yes, government will do its part. But as with any
partnership, government can't do it alone. We're all in this
together -- from cops to teachers, from parents to clergymen.
And we'll have to fight together to crush the drug menace at
every turn. Fighting in the barrios, and the boardrooms. In the
cities, and the towns. Winning kid-by-kid, house-by-house, and
neighborhood-by-neighborhood. Putting the emphasis where the
problem is -- locally, in the community.
Fellow parents and businessmen -- fellow Americans -- that's
where you come in. For drug use isn't merely numbers. It's the
young boy tormented by cocaine addiction. Or the pregnant mother
whose crack use impairs her child. At stake is the very future
of the Hispanic community. I'm referring to our kids.
So I challenge you: Get involved. There are so many who
need your help. Join grass-roots groups like the Miami Coalition
of leaders from business, education, government, and law
8
enforcement to stop drug use. Take the time to really know your
neighborhood at home and work. Help your church, and anti-drug
parents groups. Support drug programs in your children's school.
Finally, let me ask you -- as fellow businessmen and women
-- to start something no one else can do: Use your place of
business as a storefront against drugs. Display brochures and
banners. Employ volunteer counselors. Be a symbol for your
community, and especially its youth. Join the ranks of the
caring and committed. Help win this great crusade.
Will you enlist? I believe you will. For Barbara and I
have spent much of our lives among Hispanic Americans. Building
a business. Raising children. Trying to live, like you, the
values of faith, family, work, community, and above all, freedom.
Our son Jeb's wife, Columba, is Hispanic. And they've got three
kids. So, you see, the Bush family feels doubly blessed. The
Hispanic culture is our culture, too.
In Hispanic America, roots run deep -- and aspirations high.
Its people ask not the promise of success -- only the opportunity
to succeed.
In Hispanic America, citizens reject tyranny and oppression.
And the dependency which starves the spirit and cheats the soul.
Hispanic America is at her best when the challenge is
greatest. So together, let us open the gateways of prosperity
and stability. And build for our children a better tomorrow.
They are the trustees of America's future. Let their horizons
touch the sky.
9
I appreciate your kindness, and the chance to share this
occasion. God bless you, thank you all, and God bless America.
# # #
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
September 6, 1989
MEMORANDUM FOR CHRISS WINSTON
DEPUTY ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR
FROM:
ASSOCIATE NELSON COMMUNICATIONS LUND my
COUNSEL TO THE PRESIDENT
SUBJECT:
Presidential Remarks: U.S. Hispanic Chamber of
Commerce
At the request of James W. Cicconi, Counsel's office has reviewed
the captioned draft remarks.
We recommend that the reference on p. 4 to the "8-A" program be
deleted. The Department of Justice currently has several cases
in litigation that make it somewhat problematic for the President
to appear to endorse this program as it has been implemented in
the past. Otherwise, we have no legal objections to the draft
remarks.
Counsel's office appreciates having had the opportunity to review
these draft remarks.
CC: James W. Cicconi
00 : 9d 9 SEP 68
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
9/5/89
9/6/89
2:00 PM
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: U.S. HISPANIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
STUDDERT
BATES
UNTERMEYER
BREEDEN
ROGERS
CARD
WINSTON
CICCONI
PINKERTON
DEMAREST
BENNETT
FITZWATER
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please forward any comments directly to Chriss Winston, Rm.
122, x2930, no later than 2:00 PM, Wednesday, September 6,
with a copy to my office. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
(Smith/Blessey)
September 5, 1989
Draft Three
89 SEP 5 P2:43
HISPANIC
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: HISPANIC CHAMBER
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1989
President Quintela -- how about that, two Odessa boys on the
same platform. Secretaries Lujan and Cavazos -- and I'm proud to
say that ours is the first Administration to have two Hispanic
Cabinet officials. Ladies and gentlemen. Friends.
I want to thank you for that gracious introduction. And for
the warmth of your reception. And let me salute you for choosing
as your convention site this beautiful City by the River.
Pearl Buck once described falling "in love with Louisiana
generally and New Orleans in particular." Well, that feeling
helps make New Orleans special. And I take special pleasure in
being with you today.
For we meet not as strangers, but "vecinos" [Ve-CEE-noze:
Spanish for "neighbors"]. And as businessmen and women. But
mostly, perhaps, as citizens who understand how Hispanics have
helped America create a greater land for us all.
Nine years ago, America officially began The Decade of The
Hispanic. And now, at decade's end, Hispanics are America's
fastest-growing -- and, often -- fastest-rising minority.
Enriching America socially and academically, economically and
spiritually. Living, more than ever, the American Dream.
2
In one sense, the past decade has reaffirmed that dream --
the dream which brought your parents, your grandparents, and some
of you to America. For you came to build a better life -- and
you are building it. Building it in our schools, our police
forces, and in small and large business. Building it for your
kids -- and my grandkids [PAUSE]
all eleven of them.
But in another sense, the past decade is but a preview of
coming attractions. For it can be a gateway to tomorrow -- much
as America has been a gateway for you. The theme of this
convention is "gateway to the Americas." Well, today it is
gateways I'd like to talk about: Gateways to the prosperity and
stability that make progress possible.
First, the gateway to the prosperity which fosters equal
opportunity. Or as Winston Churchill said: "Some people regard
private enterprise as a predatory tiger to be shot. Others look
on it as a COW they can milk. Not enough people see it as a
healthy horse, pulling a sturdy wagon. "
Churchill spoke those words in 19 . And in 1989 they're
more true than ever. For Hispanic business is a healthy horse.
America is that healthy wagon. And on the buckboard, with the
reins up-high, are entrepreneurs like you.
No government planner, for instance, decided that Marconi
would invent the wireless. Or that something called an auto
would rise from the dust of Dearborn. And what might have
happened -- or worse, what might not have happened -- had the
Wright brothers been forced to wait for Washington's approval
3
before testing their flying machine? [PAUSE]
If they had,
I might have come here today by steamboat, not by air.
They knew, as you do, that the gateway to prosperity isn't
bigger government. It's bigger dreams.
Look at Pedro Garza, a former migrant worker who overcame
disability to own a construction company with $4.5 million in
sales. Or Patricia Rivera, the Hispanic Businesswoman of the
Year. Or the father-and-son team of Louis and Fred Ruiz, who in
1964 started a food business in an old warehouse with a battered
stove, small freezer, and single mixer. And who now employ 534
workers. They prove -- as you do -- that while government can
create opportunity, it is Americans who seize opportunity.
Over the past decade, heroes like these -- and millions of
unsung Hispanic-American heroes -- have sought a ladder, not a
crutch. Here's a partial score card of your success: Since
1980, Hispanic-American-owned businesses have doubled. And
today, they total nearly 250,000. They boast more than
full-time employees. And earn $15 billion in receipts each year.
Impressive? You bet. Good enough? Never. For as long as one
Hispanic-American is bereft of hope, that is one American too
many.
You know, my home state's to the west of here. Place called
Texas. And equidistant from Houston and New Orleans is the home
state of America's favorite humorist. Will Rogers. Once, Will
said of the bureaucracy, "We are always reading statistics and
figures. Half of America does nothing but prepare propaganda for
4
the other half to read. " Propaganda won't build a gateway to
prosperity. But partnerships can, and are.
Partnerships are cooperative efforts involving government,
private enterprise, and voluntary organizations. As Vice-
President, I supported the President's Task Force on Private
Sector Initiatives. And knowing how partnerships can spur
development, we have tried to build on what the Reagan
Administration fostered.
I think, for example, of the Minority Small Business and
Capital Ownership Development Program -- the "8-A" program --
which helps Hispanics and other minority-owned companies obtain
Federal contracts. Or our nationwide education and counseling
services for small business owners; today -- count 'em -- 13,000
retired executives voluntarily serve. And we've tried to spur
projects like loan program 7-A, which this year will grant $2.6
billion to help more than 265,000 firms. Projects which are
helping Hispanics travel America's gateway to the future.
These partnerships will aid the shop owner in Los Angeles,
the small developer in Des Moines. And SO will one final project
I'd like to mention: A partnership with the 1990 census. Today,
there are 19.5 million Hispanic-Americans. I urge you to make
them count. Tell your friends and neighbors to cooperate with
Census officials. Don't let the Decade of The Hispanic go
unreflected in this survey. So remember that the more accurate
the Census is, the greater Hispanics' influence. And how this
5
partnership -- like our other partnerships -- can help people
help themselves.
So far, I have talked of the prosperity which can better the
lives of every American. And in that context, let me speak of
our relationship with Mexico.
Two months ago, I met with President Salinas at the Economic
Summit. Since then, by restructuring her economy -- reducing
trade barriers -- and honoring her creditors through the pact
with the Bankers Advisory Committee -- Mexico has opened the
gateway of increased trade with America. We welcome this
commerce. For Mexico is our third-most important trading
partner. And we look forward to next month's State visit by
President Salinas. Together, we can build a gateway to the 1990s
that will provide both Mexico and America with economic
opportunity and stability.
Now, let me speak of another kind of trade. A more
destructive kind of trade. The drug trade.
Consider these statistics. Last year, the government
estimated that 23 million Americans used illegal drugs on a
"current" basis -- that is, at least once in the preceding 30
days. Last year, more than 8 million people used cocaine. And
almost 1 million used it once a week or more. Last year,
hundreds of thousands of babies were born to mothers who use
drugs -- babies born desperately sick, weeks or months premature.
A Nation with those numbers cannot long preserve its soul.
6
That is why three nights ago, I announced America's first
national, comprehensive, and coordinated strategy to wage
unconditional war against the scourge of drugs.
Our drug plan has four major elements.
First, enforcement, using our laws and criminal justice
system. For America must take back the streets. We need more
jails, more prisons, more courts, more prosecutors. And tougher
sentences. Drug dealers deserve a gateway, all right -- a
gateway to the slammer. And for the ultimate drug violators --
the kingpins themselves -- they should receive the ultimate
penalty.
Second, interdiction, as a tool of foreign policy. Working
with other governments, we're going to break the international
drugs rings who grow and process cocaine and crack. I agree with
President Barco of Columbia: If you use cocaine, you are paying
for murder.
The third part of our strategy is treatment, to help addicts
who want to get clean. With special emphasis on expectant
mothers. And finally, our drug program aims to stop use before
it starts. Through education and prevention. From grade school
to graduate school.
This plan can help stop the trade I spoke of earlier. Some
trade builds lives. Drug trade takes lives. Lives like the New
York woman, Maria Hernandez, I talked about Tuesday night -- shot
to death in her bedroom one morning because she and her husband
7
had confronted local dealers. We must save lives. And end this
trade. But it won't come cheaply.
Maybe you tuned in Tuesday night. If so, you heard me
propose a 1990 drug budget totaling almost $8 billion -- the
largest single increase in history. An increase of $1.4 billion
for drug-related spending on law enforcement. Over $233 million
more for prevention programs. An additional $260 million in aid
next year for Columbia, Bolivia, and Peru, a five-year, $2-
billion program to counter the producers, the traffickers, and
the smugglers.
Yes, government will do its part. But as with any
partnership, government can't do it alone. We're all in this
together -- from cops to teachers, from parents to clergymen.
And we'll have to fight together to crush the drug menace at
every turn. Fighting in the barrios, and the boardrooms. In the
cities, and the towns. Winning kid-by-kid, house-by-house, and
neighborhood-by-neighborhood. Putting the emphasis where the
problem is -- locally, in the community.
Fellow parents and businessmen -- fellow Americans -- that's
where you come in. For drug use isn't merely numbers. It's the
young boy tormented by cocaine addiction. Or the pregnant mother
whose crack use impairs her child. At stake is the very future
of the Hispanic community. I'm referring to our kids.
So I challenge you: Get involved. There are so many who
need your help. Join grass-roots groups like the Miami Coalition
of leaders from business, education, government, and law
8
enforcement to stop drug use. Take the time to really know your
neighborhood at home and work. Help your church, and anti-drug
parents groups. Support drug programs in your children's school.
Finally, let me ask you -- as fellow businessmen and women
-- to start something no one else can do: Use your place of
business as a storefront against drugs. Display brochures and
banners. Employ volunteer counselors. Be a symbol for your
community, and especially its youth. Join the ranks of the
caring and committed. Help win this great crusade.
Will you enlist? I believe you will. For Barbara and I
have spent much of our lives among Hispanic Americans. Building
a business. Raising children. Trying to live, like you, the
values of faith, family, work, community, and above all, freedom.
Our son Jeb's wife, Columba, is Hispanic. And they've got three
kids. So, you see, the Bush family feels doubly blessed. The
Hispanic culture is our culture, too.
In Hispanic America, roots run deep -- and aspirations high.
Its people ask not the promise of success -- only the opportunity
to succeed.
In Hispanic America, citizens reject tyranny and oppression.
And the dependency which starves the spirit and cheats the soul.
Hispanic America is at her best when the challenge is
greatest. So together, let us open the gateways of prosperity
and stability. And build for our children a better tomorrow.
They are the trustees of America's future. Let their horizons
touch the sky.
9
I appreciate your kindness, and the chance to share this
occasion. God bless you, thank you all, and God bless America.
# # #
(Smith/Blessey)
September 7, 1989
Draft Five
HISPANIC
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: HISPANIC CHAMBER
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1989
President Quintela -- how about that, two Odessa boys on the
same platform. Secretary Lujan -- and I'm proud to say that,
with Secretary Cavazos, ours is the first Administration to have
two Hispanic Cabinet officials. Ladies and gentlemen. Friends.
Today,
For
we meet not as strangers, but "vecinos" [Ve-CEE-noze:
Spanish for "neighbors"]. And as businessmen and women. But
mostly, perhaps, as citizens who understand how Hispanics have
helped America create a greater land for us all.
Nine years ago, America began what has been called The
Decade of The Hispanic. And now, at decade's end, Hispanics are one
America's fastest-growing n and, often fastest rising
of
minorities.
minority Enriching America socially and academically,
economically and spiritually. Living, more than ever, the
American Dream.
In one sense, the past decade has reaffirmed that dream --
the dream which brought your parents, your grandparents, and some
of you to America. For today you are building a letter life.
Building it in our schools, our police forces, and in small and
large business. Building it for your kids -- and my grandkids
[PAUSE]
all eleven of them.
2
But in another sense, the past decade is but a preview of
coming attractions. For it can be a gateway to tomorrow -- much
as America has been a gateway for you. The theme of this
convention is "gateway to the Americas." Well, today it is
gateways I'd like to talk about: Gateways to the prosperity and
stability that make progress possible.
?
First, the gateway to prosperity which fosters equal
opportunity is the free enterprise system. Winston Churchill
noted that some people view free enterprise as a predatory tiger
to be shot and others look on it as a COW they can milk. But not
enough people see free enterprise for what it really is: a
healthy horse, pulling a sturdy wagon.
Churchill spoke those words in 19 And in 1989 they're
truer than ever.
No government planner, for instance, decided that Marconi
should invent the wireless. And what might have happened -- or
worse, what might not have happened -- had the Wright brothers
been forced to wait for Washington's approval before testing
their flying machine? [PAUSE]
If they had, I might have
come here today by steamboat, not by air.
They knew, as you do, that the gateway to prosperity isn't
bigger government. It's bigger dreams.
Look at Pedro Garza, a former migrant worker who overcame
disability to own a construction company with $4.5 million in
sales. Or Remedio Diaz Oliver [Reh-MEH-dee-o DE-ahs 0-lee-VER],
the Hispanic Businesswoman of the Year. Or the father-and-son
3
team of Louis and Fred Ruiz, who in 1964 started a food business
in an old warehouse with a battered stove, small freezer, and
single mixer. And who now employ 534 workers. They prove -- as
you do -- that while government can encourage opportunity, it is
Americans who seize opportunity.
Over the past decade, heroes like these -- and millions of
unsung Hispanic-American heroes -- have made big dreams come true
for themselves and so many others. Here's a partial score card
of your success: Since 1980, Hispanic-American-owned businesses
have nearly doubled. And today, they total more than 400,000.
And earned revenues of $20 billion in 1987 alone. Impressive?
You bet. Good enough? Never. For as long as one Hispanic-
American is bereft of hope, that is one American too many.
So as we work to extend the prosperity that blesses our
country today to all citizens, government can play a unique role
as a catalyst for opportunity.
As Vice-President, I supported the President's Task Force on
Private Sector Initiatives. And knowing how cooperation can spur
development, we have tried to build on what the Reagan
Administration fostered.
I think, for example, of the Minority Small Business and
Capital Ownership Development Program -- the "8-A" program --
has leeped thousands)ot
which helps Hispanic and other minority-owned companies obtain
Federal contracts. Or our nationwide education and counseling
services for small business owners; today -- count 'em -- 13,000
retired executives voluntarily serve. And we've tried to spur
4
projects like loan program 7-A, which this year will extend about
$2.6 billion in loans to help close Thearly to 250,000 firms. Projects
which are helping Hispanics travel America's gateway to the
future.
These partnerships will aid the shop owner in Los Angeles,
the small developer in Des Moines. And so will one final project
I'd like to mention: the 1990 census. Today, there are 19.5
million Hispanic-Americans. I urge you to make them count. Tell
your friends and neighbors to cooperate with Census officials.
Don't let the Decade of The Hispanic go unreflected in this
survey. So remember that the more accurate the Census is, the
greater Hispanics' influence and ability to help people help
themselves.
So far, I have talked of the prosperity which can better the
lives of every American. And in that context, let me speak of
our relationship with Mexico.
The first head of state that I met with after the election
was President Salinas and two months ago, I was pleased to renew
our friendship at the Economic Summit. Mexico, by restructuring
her economy, reducing trade barriers and reaching agreement with
her commercial bank creditors has opened the gateway of increased
trade with America. We welcome this commerce. For Mexico is our
?
X
(-)
third largest trading partner. And we look forward to next
month's State visit by President Salinas. Together, we can build
a gateway to the 1990s that will provide both Mexico and America
with economic opportunity and stability.
5
Now, let me speak of another kind that of trade. A more
destructive kind of trade that slams shut the gateways of
opportunity. The drug trade.
Consider these statistics. Last year, the government
estimated that 23 million Americans used illegal drugs on a
"current" basis -- that is, at least once in the preceding 30
days. Last year, more than 8 million people used cocaine. And
almost 1 million used it once a week or more. Last year,
hundreds of thousands of babies were born to mothers who use
drugs -- babies born desperately sick, weeks or months premature.
A Nation with those numbers cannot long preserve its soul.
That is why three nights ago, I announced America's first
national, comprehensive, and coordinated strategy to wage
unconditional war against the scourge of drugs.
Our drug plan has four major elements.
First, enforcement, using our laws and criminal justice
system. For America must take back the streets. We need more
jails, more prisons, more courts, more prosecutors. And tougher
sentences. Drug dealers deserve a gateway, all right -- a
gateway to the slammer. And for the ultimate drug violators --
the kingpins themselves -- they should receive the ultimate
sentence: the death penalty. And in that context, I sent my
to the
three months ago. It has
)
crime package up three months ago to Congress. It's languished
we can't the war if the weapons don't reach the front.
in the Senate Judiciary Committee. It's time to move now.
for action
The second part of our drug plan is interdiction, as a tool
of foreign policy. Working with other governments, we're going
6
to break the international drugs rings who grow and process
cocaine and crack.
Then, there is the third part of our strategy: treatment to
help addicts who want to get clean. With special emphasis on
expectant mothers. And finally, our drug program aims to stop
use before it starts. Through education and prevention. From
grade school to graduate school.
This plan can help stop the trade I spoke of earlier. Some
trade builds lives. Drug trade takes lives. And it is the drug
trade we must stop. But it won't be easy.
Maybe you tuned in Tuesday night. If so, you heard me
propose America's first national comprehensive strategy to end
drug use and drug trafficking. We are proposing a drug budget
totaling almost $8 billion, ------------------------- the largest increase in history.
Now, I know already there are some who criticize this
program. Not tough enough, they claim -- yet many of these same
critics oppose the death penalty.
They say we aren't spending enough. Well, as I said
X
Tuesday, those that who judge this strategy by its price tag don't
understand the problem. Let me repeat: This is an almost $8
billion program with record funding increases. A program that is
comprehensive and touches every aspect of the drug problem.
X
And those same critics who that complain we aren't spending
enough are the same ones who complain that they don't know how we
can fund the proposal
unless, of course, we raise taxes.
Well, I know and the American people know, that to some the first
7
and only answer is to raid the taxpayers' pockets. That's not
the right answer, and we have sent to Congress a way to fund the
strategy without raising taxes or increasing the deficit. All
the critics have to do is implement it.
Government will do its part but government won't win the
battle alone. This isn't just a federal problem, it's a national
problem. We're all in this together -- from cops to teachers,
from parents to clergymen. And we'll have to fight together to
crush the drug menace at every turn. Fighting in the barrios,
and the boardrooms. In the cities, and the towns. Winning kid-
by-kid, house-by-house, and neighborhood-by-neighborhood.
Putting the emphasis where the problem is -- locally, in the
community.
Fellow parents and businessmen -- fellow Americans -- that's
where you come in. For drug use isn't merely statistics. It's
the young boy tormented by cocaine addiction. Or the pregnant
mother whose crack use impairs her child. At stake is the very
future of the Hispanic community. I'm referring to our kids.
So I challenge you: Get involved. There are so many who
need your help. Join grass-roots groups like the Miami Coalition
of leaders from business, education, government, and law
enforcement to stop drug use. Take the time to really know your
neighborhood at home and work. Help your church, and anti-drug
parents'groups. Support drug programs in your children's school.
Finally, let me ask you -- as businessmen and women /- to
do something no one else can do: Use your place of business as a
8
storefront against drugs. Display brochures and banners. Employ
volunteer counselors. Be a symbol for your community, and
especially its youth. Join the ranks of the caring and
committed. Help win this great crusade.
Will you enlist? I believe you will. For Barbara and I
have spent much of our lives among Hispanic Americans. Building
a business. Raising children. Trying to live, like you, the
religion,
X
values of faith, family, work, community, and above all, freedom.
Our son Jeb's wife, Columba, is Hispanic. And they've got three
kids. So, you see, the Bush family feels doubly blessed. The
Hispanic culture is our culture, too.
In Hispanic America, roots run deep -- and aspirations high.
Its people ask not the promise of success -- only the opportunity
to succeed.
Hispanic America is at her best when the challenge is
greatest. So together, let us open the gateways of prosperity
and stability. And build for our children a better tomorrow.
They are the trustees of America's future. Let their horizons
touch the sky.
I appreciate your kindness, and the chance to share this
occasion. God bless you, thank you all, and God bless America.
# # #