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CC: JI
Document No. 106062
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
01/23
DATE: 01/19/90
10:00 a.m. Tuesday
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: U.S. CONFERENCE OF MAYORS
SUBJECT:
(10/19 draft five)
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH
BATES
UNTERMEYER
CARD
ROGERS
CICCONI
PINKERTON
DEMAREST
WINSTON
f
FITZWATER
BOSKIN
GRAY
DELAND
BENNETT
HAGIN
ANDERSON
1
REMARKS:
Please provide any comments/recommendations directly to Chriss
Winston by 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, 01/23, with a copy to my office.
Thanks.
RESPONSE:
OK with suggested changes on Pg. 2.
Peter
01 : 11A 03023 23 68
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
(Smith/Blessey)
Draft Five
1990 JAN 19 PM 8: 25
January 19, 1990
MAYOR
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: U.S. CONFERENCE OF MAYORS
CAPITOL HILTON HOTEL
FRIDAY, JANUARY 26, 1990
10 A.M.
Mayor Whitmire,
,
Distinguished Mayors, Ladies and
gentlemen. Thank you for that reception, and for the pleasure of
being here. In particular, let me thank my fellow Houstonian
Kathy Whitmire, for that warm introduction. //
( (Kathy and I go way back. Maybe that's why even though I'm
a Republican and she's a Democrat, the last time I was in Houston
she presented me with the key to the city. // Only one problem.
I found out later that the city was Anchorage, Alaska.) ) //
((But you know me -- I don't hold grudges. So I picked up
the phone when she called a couple weeks later. She asked me to
declare a disaster area. // I told her I didn't think the
Houston Oilers were that bad.) ) //
((I'm also glad, of course, to see the "Mayor's Mayor." //
When I first heard you were honoring a famous Jewish Mayor for
his years of service in turbulent times, I thought you meant Ed
Koch. // Instead, all my best to Jerusalem's best -- Teddy
Kolleck.) //
Teddy, Kathy, and all of your colleagues -- it is an honor
to address this 58th annual U.S. Conference of Mayor's winter
meeting. And to talk to you about the ways that you and I -- the
White House and the Mayors -- can build a better America.
2
Nineteen months ago, I sent you a letter expressing my thoughts
on urban policy. And wrote, "As we prepare to enter the 1990s,
it is clear that America needs a new working relationship between
the Federal government and the cities."
Well, I meant it then. And mean it now. We need to forge a
new relationship. // A relationship which is a partnership. //
A partnership which realizes that as Mayors, you man the front
lines in the war against urban problems. A partnership which can
achieve the promise of America.
And that promise of America depends on maintaining our
economic resources as we have since 1982 -- the longest peacetime
boom in American history. The '90s begin with inflation down.
16
Interest rates declining. And the lowest jobless rate in 15
years. And next week, we'll release a budget for Fiscal Year
1991 that builds on this prosperity. Together, let's support
policies which create more opportunity for all.
of
The promise of America also depends on the safeguarding our
natural resources as Mayors are doing through initiatives like
Chicago's "Plastics on Parks." or in Virginia Beach, generating
electricity from that city's landfill.
You're doing your part -- we intend to do ours. By
strengthening the Clean Air Act, preserving our wetlands,
improving America's parks, encouraging reforestation, and by
other domestic and international initiatives to make this a
cleaner, safer world. Together, let's protect our environment
for decades to come. 11
3
Then, there are human resources. And here, too,
togetherness counts. Today, an estimated - million urban
families are led by working parents. But when it comes to child
care, Washington doesn't automatically know best. So I urge the
Congress to pass my child-care legislation to put choice in the
hands of low-income parents. //
Each of these initiatives will nurture the promise of
America. Yet urban problems won't fade until we meet the
challenges I discussed in 1988 -- the challenges you face each
day: Drugs and crime, education, housing, and the plight of our
homeless. Can we meet them? I beleive we can. Because I
beleive in America, nothing is impossible. // (( Perhaps an ex-
baseball player put it best. "When I was a little boy, Craig
Nettles said, "I wanted to be a [big-league] player and join the
circus. With the Yankees, I've accomplished both. "))
Well, I believe that as partners we, too, can accomplish
what some might think is impossible. The first of our challenges
is the drugs and crime that take such a sad toll on your streets
and the streets of communities across America. Rescuing our kids
from the terrorism of hoods, hooliganism, crack, and cocaine
won't be easy, but it can be done. //
Eight months ago, I sent proposals to the Congress to help
win the war on crime. Well, while the clock is running,
America's patience is running out. I ask you to support our
legislation to take thugs off the street -- and take back the
streets. // We need mandatory time for firearms offenses. No
4
deals when criminals use a gun. And for anyone who kills a law
enforcement officer -- we need the death penalty. Not someplace.
Not some time. But here -- and now. //
Last year, 23 million Americans used illegal drugs on a
"current" basis -- at least once in 30 days. And eight million
people used cocaine. A Nation with those numbers cannot long
preserve its soul. //
To help save it, last September you held a Mayors'
Conference on Drugs and I congratulate you. You're acting
locally to stem the use, sale, and flow of drugs. In Macon,
Mayor Lee Robinson has formed a partnership -- the Macon-Bibb War
on Drugs. And here, in Houston, Kathy Whitmire, parks and
recreation officials, local police, and residents of Acres Home
project have joined hands to pursue "Drug Free Tomorrows." I
visited Acres Home in November and the courage of that community
is truly inspiring.
I commend these efforts. But these soldiers on the front
lines need help. So our Administration has unveiled America's
first national comprehensive strategy to win the war on drugs.
And asked the Congress for $ billion in FY '91 for education,
treatment, interdiction, and enforcement. We, too, want to help
the teenager tormented by crack. or the pregnant mother -- alone
and desperate -- whose drug use threatens her child. Please:
Support our plan to help America get clean - and stay clean.
Together, let's defeat Public Enemy Number One. //
5
Erasing drugs will save lives. But, it will also help meet
that second challenge I talked about: the education of our
kids. //
You know how central education is to urban America: Bright
minds can find solutions to the many problems of our cities.
Remember, I said nothing was impossible. Yet, look at today's
box score of so-called "higher learning." A drop-out rate that
is totally unacceptable. Erratic standards. Unsafe schools
wracked by drug use and trafficking. Kids ill-equipped to read
or write. Let's be honest: Our educational system isn't making
the grade.
To go from "fail" to "pass" will require school
boards, teachers, and parents to work together with all levels of
government. // So last September, I met with a group of Mayors.
I heard about Kenner, Louisiana, which created "step Up" -- a
program providing learning incentives for students. And Colorado
Springs -- there, officials founded a program to help dropouts
and at-risk kids finish high school. // And about the more than
350 cities which uplifted America on your "National Education
Day. "
So far, so good -- and thanks to you, getting better. But
while education is mainly a local and State responsibility, the
Federal government must help. That's why last year we sent up
the "Educational Excellence Act of 1989" now before the Congress.
Legislation which seeks: First, to reward excellence. Second,
to see that Federal dollars serve those most in need. Third, to
6
demand educational accountability. And fourth, it supports
greater flexibility and choice.
For instance, we want to create a $500 million program to
reward schools that improve the most. And to reward schools
which create a drug-free environment and reduce the drop-out
rate. // Then, there's our new Magnet Schools of Excellence
program -- letting parents choose which public schools their kids
will attend. Urban Emergency Grants to help urban schools hit
hardest by drug use and trafficking. // And a National Science
Scholars initiative in science, mathematics, and engineering.
To fufill the promise of America, we must be competitive in
the international marketplace of ideas. Our proposals will help
do that. But the promise of America also depends on meeting the
third and fourth challenges I mentioned earlier: Making housing
affordable and accessible -- especially for the homeless. //
Every American deserves a home. Well, here again, you're
acting creatively. In Kansas city, providing day care to free
parents to find permanent housing. Or in Charlotte, using
public-private monies to renovate buildings for the homeless. //
Believe me, in Washington we've taken note. So two months ago, I
announced America's project HOPE, Home Ownership and Opportunity
for People Everywhere. To help make the Federal government a
more effective urban partner in bringing basic shelter and
affordable housing within reach of millions of Americans.
HOPE aims to help first-time homebuyers by allowing them to
draw, without penalty, on IRA savings as a down payment for that
7
first home. HOPE can also help tenants become home-owners.
Think of public housing sites like East Los Angeles or Cochran
Gardens in St. Louis. Each has tenants in control. HOPE will
mean even more low-income Americans can know the pride and
dignity of owning a home. For other low-income families, we want
housing vouchers that increase housing options.
But for many, the problem of housing isn't just
affordability. It's availability. So we want Congress to renew
the low-income housing tax credit to create incentives for the
construction and rehabilitation of the housing so desperately
needed by low-income families.
But we must also create incentives for growth in those areas
where need is the greatest. Because growth means jobs and jobs
mean homes. So we have urged Congress to help the dream along by
passing our Enterprise-Zone legislation. We have proposed the
creation of at least 50 Enterprise Zones over the next four years
to fuel the engine of job creation in our cities. But, in these
areas of severe poverty, we've got to do even more. We've got to
get rid of the capital gains tax altogether to spur the
investment that can turn dark corners of despair into thriving
neighborhoods once again.
Finally, I have asked Secretary Kemp to convene a blue-
ribbon commission to identify barriers to affordable housing.
Each of you deals with these problems everyday. Give us your
advice.
8
For some Americans, however, other things come first: They
need the self-respect to regain their lives. Their roof is the
sky above. Their floor is the street below. The homeless.
We see them everywhere -- next door on 15th Street, in our
suburbs and small towns. They need emergency shelter, food, and
medical care. So two months ago, I signed a bill that increases
funding under the McKinney Act to reduce homelessness. And we
want to find new ways to put part of our FHA foreclosures into
the hands of non-profit groups. And to coordinate basic needs
like shelter with other social services.
It won't be easy: We know that. But we also know the real
answer to the homeless is shelter plus care. And we know that to
help the homeless -- like improving education, or stopping crime
-- will require a combined Federal, State, and local effort.
Only then can we unleash the resources of the private and public
sectors -- showing, as a writer said, how "America is a
willingness of the heart." //
I believe there is a willingness of the heart in this room.
A willingness to put aside partisan concerns because the promise
of America also depends on us. So let us sit down -- the White
House and Mayors; Democrats and Republicans -- and do what needs
to be done to make the impossible 11 possible. Thank you for
this occasion. God bless you. And God bless the United States
of America.
# # #
Document No. 106062
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
01/23
DATE: 01/19/90
10:00 a.m. Tuesday
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: U.S. CONFERENCE OF MAYORS
(10/19 draft five)
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
1
DARMAN
ROGICH
BATES
UNTERMEYER
CARD
ROGERS
CICCONI
PINKERTON
R
DEMAREST
WINSTON
FITZWATER
BOSKIN
GRAY
DELAND
BENNETT
HAGIN
ANDERSON
REMARKS:
Please provide any comments/recommendations directly to Chriss
Winston by 10:00 a.m., . Tuesday, 01/23, with a copy to my office.
Thanks.
RESPONSE:
of N/C $ 1/23/90
(see suggestion p.2)
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
(Smith/Blessey)
Draft Five
1990 JAN 19 PM 8: 25
January 19, 1990
MAYOR
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: U.S. CONFERENCE OF MAYORS
CAPITOL HILTON HOTEL
FRIDAY, JANUARY 26, 1990
10 A.M.
Mayor Whitmire,
,
Distinguished Mayors, Ladies and
gentlemen. Thank you for that reception, and for the pleasure of
being here. In particular, let me thank my fellow Houstonian
Kathy Whitmire, for that warm introduction. //
( (Kathy and I go way back. Maybe that's why even though I'm
a Republican and she's a Democrat, the last time I was in Houston
she presented me with the key to the city. // Only one problem.
I found out later that the city was Anchorage, Alaska.) ) //
( (But you know me -- I don't hold grudges. So I picked up
the phone when she called a couple weeks later. She asked me to
declare a disaster area. // I told her I didn't think the
Houston Oilers were that bad.) ) //
((I'm also glad, of course, to see the "Mayor's Mayor.' //
When I first heard you were honoring a famous Jewish Mayor for
his years of service in turbulent times, I thought you meant Ed
Koch. // Instead, all my best to Jerusalem's best -- Teddy
Kolleck.) ) //
Teddy, Kathy, and all of your colleagues -- it is an honor
to address this 58th annual U.S. Conference of Mayor's winter
meeting. And to talk to you about the ways that you and I -- the
White House and the Mayors -- can build a better America.
2
Nineteen months ago, I sent you a letter expressing my thoughts
on urban policy. And wrote, "As we prepare to enter the 1990s,
it is clear that America needs a new working relationship between
the Federal government and the cities."
Well, I meant it then. And mean it now. We need to forge a
new relationship. // A relationship which is a partnership. //
are
A partnership which realizes that as Mayors, you man the front
lines in the war against urban problems. A partnership which can
achieve the promise of America.
And that promise of America depends on maintaining our
economic resources as we have since 1982 -- the longest peacetime
boom in American history. The '90s begin with inflation down.
Interest rates declining. And the lowest jobless rate in 15
years. And next week, we'll release a budget for Fiscal Year
1991 that builds on this prosperity. Together, let's support
policies which create more opportunity for all. //
The promise of America also depends on the safeguarding our
natural resources as Mayors are doing through initiatives like
Chicago's "Plastics on Parks." or in Virginia Beach, generating
electricity from that city's landfill.
You're doing your part -- we intend to do ours. By
strengthening the Clean Air Act, preserving our wetlands,
improving America's parks, encouraging reforestation, and by
other domestic and international initiatives to make this a
cleaner, safer world. Together, let's protect our environment
for decades to come. //
3
Then, there are human resources. And here, too,
togetherness counts. Today, an estimated million urban
-
families are led by working parents. But when it comes to child
care, Washington doesn't automatically know best. So I urge the
Congress to pass my child-care legislation to put choice in the
hands of low-income parents. //
Each of these initiatives will nurture the promise of
America. Yet urban problems won't fade until we meet the
challenges I discussed in 1988 -- the challenges you face each
day: Drugs and crime, education, housing, and the plight of our
homeless. Can we meet them? I beleive we can. Because I
beleive in America, nothing is impossible. // (( Perhaps an ex-
baseball player put it best. "When I was a little boy, " Craig
Nettles said, "I wanted to be a [big-league] player and join the
circus. With the Yankees, I've accomplished both. "))
Well, I believe that as partners we, too, can accomplish
what some might think is impossible. The first of our challenges
is the drugs and crime that take such a sad toll on your streets
and the streets of communities across America. Rescuing our kids
from the terrorism of hoods, hooliganism, crack, and cocaine
won't be easy, but it can be done. //
Eight months ago, I sent proposals to the Congress to help
win the war on crime. Well, while the clock is running,
America's patience is running out. I ask you to support our
legislation to take thugs off the street -- and take back the
streets. // We need mandatory time for firearms offenses. No
4
deals when criminals use a gun. And for anyone who kills a law
enforcement officer -- we need the death penalty. Not someplace.
Not some time. But here -- and now. //
Last year, 23 million Americans used illegal drugs on a
"current" basis -- at least once in 30 days. And eight million
people used cocaine. A Nation with those numbers cannot long
preserve its soul. //
To help save it, last September you held a Mayors'
Conference on Drugs and I congratulate you. You're acting
locally to stem the use, sale, and flow of drugs. In Macon,
Mayor Lee Robinson has formed a partnership -- the Macon-Bibb War
on Drugs. And here, in Houston, Kathy Whitmire, parks and
recreation officials, local police, and residents of Acres Home
project have joined hands to pursue "Drug Free Tomorrows." I
visited Acres Home in November and the courage of that community
is truly inspiring.
I commend these efforts. But these soldiers on the front
lines need help. So our Administration has unveiled America's
first national comprehensive strategy to win the war on drugs.
And asked the Congress for $ billion in FY '91 for education,
treatment, interdiction, and enforcement. We, too, want to help
the teenager tormented by crack. Or the pregnant mother -- alone
and desperate -- whose drug use threatens her child. Please:
Support our plan to help America get clean and stay clean.
Together, let's defeat Public Enemy Number One. //
5
Erasing drugs will save lives. But, it will also help meet
that second challenge I talked about: the education of our
kids. //
You know how central education is to urban America: Bright
minds can find solutions to the many problems of our cities.
Remember, I said nothing was impossible. Yet, look at today's
box score of so-called "higher learning." A drop-out rate that
is totally unacceptable. Erratic standards. Unsafe schools
wracked by drug use and trafficking. Kids ill-equipped to read
or write. Let's be honest: Our educational system isn't making
the grade.
To go from "fail" to "pass" will require school
boards, teachers, and parents to work together with all levels of
government. // So last September, I met with a group of Mayors.
I heard about Kenner, Louisiana, which created "step Up" -- a
program providing learning incentives for students. And Colorado
Springs -- there, officials founded a program to help dropouts
and at-risk - kids finish high school. // And about the more than
350 cities which uplifted America on your "National Education
Day."
So far, so good -- and thanks to you, getting better. But
while education is mainly a local and State responsibility, the
Federal government must help. That's why last year we sent up
the "Educational Excellence Act of 1989" now before the Congress.
Legislation which seeks: First, to reward excellence. Second,
to see that Federal dollars serve those most in need. Third, to
6
demand educational accountability. And fourth, it supports
greater flexibility and choice.
For instance, we want to create a $500 million program to
reward schools that improve the most. And to reward schools
which create a drug-free environment and reduce the drop-out
rate. // Then, there's our new Magnet Schools of Excellence
program -- letting parents choose which public schools their kids
will attend. Urban Emergency Grants to help urban schools hit
hardest by drug use and trafficking. // And a National Science
Scholars initiative in science, mathematics, and engineering.
To fufill the promise of America, we must be competitive in
the international marketplace of ideas. Our proposals will help
do that. But the promise of America also depends on meeting the
third and fourth challenges I mentioned earlier: Making housing
affordable and accessible -- especially for the homeless. //
Every American deserves a home. Well, here again, you're
acting creatively. In Kansas city, providing day care to free
parents to find permanent housing. or in Charlotte, using
public-private monies to renovate buildings for the homeless. //
Believe me, in Washington we've taken note. So two months ago, I
announced America's project HOPE, Home Ownership and Opportunity
for People Everywhere. To help make the Federal government a
more effective urban partner in bringing basic shelter and
affordable housing within reach of millions of Americans.
HOPE aims to help first-time homebuyers by allowing them to
draw, without penalty, on IRA savings as a down payment for that
7
first home. HOPE can also help tenants become home-owners.
Think of public housing sites like East Los Angeles or Cochran
Gardens in St. Louis. Each has tenants in control. HOPE will
mean even more low-income Americans can know the pride and
dignity of owning a home. For other low-income families, we want
housing vouchers that increase housing options.
But for many, the problem of housing isn't just
affordability. It's availability. So we want Congress to renew
the low-income housing tax credit to create incentives for the
construction and rehabilitation of the housing so desperately
needed by low-income families.
But we must also create incentives for growth in those areas
where need is the greatest. Because growth means jobs and jobs
mean homes. So we have urged Congress to help the dream along by
passing our Enterprise-Zone legislation. We have proposed the
creation of at least 50 Enterprise Zones over the next four years
to fuel the engine of job creation in our cities. But, in these
areas of severe poverty, we've got to do even more. We've got to
get rid of the capital gains tax altogether to spur the
investment that can turn dark corners of despair into thriving
neighborhoods once again.
Finally, I have asked Secretary Kemp to convene a blue-
ribbon commission to identify barriers to affordable housing.
Each of you deals with these problems everyday. Give us your
advice.
8
For some Americans, however, other things come first: They
need the self-respect to regain their lives. Their roof is the
sky above. Their floor is the street below. The homeless.
We see them everywhere -- next door on 15th Street, in our
suburbs and small towns. They need emergency shelter, food, and
medical care. So two months ago, I signed a bill that increases
funding under the McKinney Act to reduce homelessness. And we
want to find new ways to put part of our FHA foreclosures into
the hands of non-profit groups. And to coordinate basic needs
like shelter with other social services.
It won't be easy: We know that. But we also know the real
answer to the homeless is shelter plus care. And we know that to
help the homeless -- like improving education, or stopping crime
-- will require a combined Federal, State, and local effort.
Only then can we unleash the resources of the private and public
sectors -- showing, as a writer said, how "America is a
willingness of the heart." //
I believe there is a willingness of the heart in this room.
A willingness to put aside partisan concerns because the promise
of America also depends on us. So let us sit down -- the White
House and Mayors; Democrats and Republicans -- and do what needs
to be done to make the impossible 11 possible. Thank you for
this occasion. God bless you. And God bless the United States
of America.
###
Bhessey's Des
(Smith/Blessey)
Draft Five
1990 JAN 19 PM 8: 25
January 19, 1990
MAYOR
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: U.S. CONFERENCE OF MAYORS
V
CAPITOL HILTON HOTEL
FRIDAY, JANUARY 26, 1990
10 A.M.
Secretary Skinner, Mayor Bob ISAAC, Mayor RAY Flynn
Mayor Whitmire, Distinguished Mayors, Ladies and
gentlemen. Thank you for that reception, and for the pleasure of
being here. In particular, let me thank my fellow Houstonian
Kathy Whitmire, for that warm introduction. //
(Kathy and I go way back. Maybe that's why even though I'm
a Republican and she's a Democrat, the last time I was in Houston
she presented me with the key to the city. // Only one problem.
I found out later that the city was Anchorage, Alaska.) ) //
((But you know me -- I don't hold grudges. So I picked up
the phone when she called a couple weeks later. She asked me to
declare a disaster area. // I told her I didn't think the
Houston Oilers were that bad. )) //
((I' m also glad, of course, to see the "Mayor's Mayor." //
wont
When I first heard you were honoring a famous Jewish Mayor for
his years of service in turbulent times, I thought you meant Ed
smith
Koch. // Instead, all my best to Jerusalem's best -- Teddy
Kolleck. )) //
Teddy, Kathy, and all of your colleagues -- it is an honor
to address this 58th annual U.S. Conference of Mayor's winter
meeting. And to talk to you about the ways that you and I -- the
White House and the Mayors -- can build a better America.
2
Nineteen months ago, I sent you a letter expressing my thoughts
on urban policy. And wrote, "As we prepare to enter the 1990s,
it is clear that America needs a new working relationship between
the Federal government and the cities."
Well, I meant it then. And mean it now. We need to forge a
new relationship. // A relationship which is a partnership. //
A partnership which realizes that as Mayors, you man the front
lines in the war against urban problems. A partnership which can
achieve the promise of America.
And that promise of America depends on maintaining our
economic resources as we have since 1982 -- the longest peacetime
boom in American history. The 90s begin with inflation down
prices
Interest rates declining. And the lowest jobless rate in 15
Dec.
years. And next week, we'll release a budget for Fiscal Year
1991 that builds on this prosperity. Together, let's support
policies which create more opportunity for all. //
The promise of America also depends on the safeguarding our
natural resources as Mayors are doing through initiatives like
Chicago's "Plastics on Parks." or in Virginia Beach, generating
electricity from that city's landfill.
You're doing your part -- we intend to do ours. By
strengthening the Clean Air Act, preserving our wetlands,
improving America's parks, encouraging reforestation, and by
other domestic and international initiatives to make this a
cleaner, safer world. Together, let's protect our environment
for decades to come. //
3
Then, there are human resources. And here, too,
togetherness counts. Today, an estimated 15 million urban
families are led by working parents But when it comes to child
or single mothers
care, Washington doesn't automatically know best. So I urge the
Congress to pass my child-care legislation to put choice in the
hands of low-income parents. 11
Each of these initiatives will nurture the promise of
America. Yet urban problems won't fade until we meet the
challenges I discussed in 1988 -- the challenges you face each
day: Drugs and crime, education, housing, and the plight of our
homeless. Can we meet them? I beleive we can. Because I
beleive in America, nothing is impossible. // (( Perhaps an ex-
baseball player put it best. "When I was a little boy," Craig
Nettles said, "I wanted to be a [big-league] player and join the
circus. With the Yankees, I've accomplished both. )
Well, I believe that as partners we, too, can accomplish
what some might think is impossible. The first of our challenges
is the drugs and crime that take such a sad toll on your streets
and the streets of communities across America. Rescuing our kids
from the terrorism of hoods, hooliganism, crack, and cocaine
won't be easy, but it can be done. //
Eight months ago, I sent proposals to the Congress to help
win the war on crime. Well, while the clock is running,
America's patience is running out. I ask you to support our
legislation to take thugs off the street -- and take back the
streets. // We need mandatory time for firearms offenses. No
4
deals when criminals use a gun. And for anyone who kills a law
enforcement officer -- we need the death penalty. Not someplace.
Not some time. But here -- and now. //
Last year, 23 million Americans used illegal drugs on a
"current" basis -- at least once in 30 days. And eight million
people used cocaine. A Nation with those numbers cannot long
preserve its soul. //
To help save it, last September you held a Mayors'
Conference on Drugs and I congratulate you. You're acting
locally to stem the use, sale, and flow of drugs. In Macon,
developed plan
Mayor Lee Robinson has formed a partnership -- the Macon-Bibb War
on Drugs. And here, in Houston, Kathy Whitmire, parks and
recreation officials, local police, and residents of Acres Home
project have joined hands to pursue "Drug Free Tomorrows." I
visited Acres Home in November and the courage of that community
December
is truly inspiring.
I commend these efforts. But these soldiers on the front
lines need help. So our Administration has unveiled America's
first national comprehensive strategy to win the war on drugs.
10,6
And asked the Congress for $ billion in FY '91 for education,
treatment, interdiction, and enforcement. We, too, want to help
the teenager tormented by crack. or the pregnant mother -- alone
and desperate -- whose drug use threatens her child. Please:
Support our plan to help America get clean --and stay clean.
Together, let's defeat Public Enemy Number One. //
5
Erasing drugs will save lives. But, it will also help meet
that second challenge I talked about: the education of our
kids. 11
You know how central education is to urban America: Bright
minds can find solutions to the many problems of our cities.
Remember, I said nothing was impossible. Yet, look at today's
box score of so-called "higher learning." A drop-out rate that
is totally unacceptable. Erratic standards. Unsafe schools
wracked by drug use and trafficking. Kids ill-equipped to read
or write. Let's be honest: Our educational system isn't making
the grade. & To go from "fail" to "pass" will require school
boards, teachers, and parents to work together with all levels of
government. // So last September I met with a group of Mayors.
've
and Mapr AAron Brows sord
I heard about Kenner, Louisiana % which created "Step Up" -- a
program providing learning incentives for students. And Colorado
with Mayor Bob ISDAC
Springs there, officials founded a program to help dropouts
and at-risk kids finish high school. // And about the more than
350 cities which uplifted America on your "National Education
enriched
Day."
80 far, so good -- and thanks to you, getting better. But
while education is mainly a local and State responsibility, the
Federal government must help. That's why last year we sent up
the "Educational Excellence Act of 1989" now before the Congress.
Legislation which seeks: First, to encourage reward. excellence. Second,
to see that Federal dollars serve those most in need. Third, to
6
demand educational accountability. And fourth, it supports
greater flexibility and choice.
when funded fully
For instance, we want to create a $500 million program to
Y
reward schools that improve the most. And to reward schools
which create a drug-free environment and reduce the drop-out
rate. // Then, there's our new Magnet Schools of Excellence
program -- letting parents choose which public schools their kids
will attend. Urban Emergency Grants to help urban schools hit
hardest by drug use and trafficking. // And a National Science
Scholars initiative in science, mathematics, and engineering.
To fufill the promise of America, we must be competitive in
the international marketplace of ideas. Our proposals will help
do that. But the promise of America also depends on meeting the
third and fourth challenges I mentioned earlier: Making housing
?
affordable and accessible -- especially for the homeless. //
Every American deserves a home. Well, here again, you're
acting creatively. In Kansas City, providing day care to free
andemplayment
parents to find permanent housing. or in Charlotte, using
X
public-private monies to renovate buildings for the homeless. //
Believe me, in Washington we've taken note. So two months ago, I
announced America's project HOPE, Home Ownership and Opportunity
for People Everywhere. To help make the Federal government a
more effective urban partner in bringing basic shelter and
affordable housing within reach of millions of Americans.
HOPE aims to help first-time homebuyers by allowing them to
draw, without penalty, on IRA savings as a down payment for that
7
first home. HOPE can also help tenants become home-owners.
Think of public housing sites like or East Los Angeles or Cochran
Gardens in St. Louis. Each has tenants in control. HOPE will
mean even more low-income Americans can know the pride and
dignity of owning a home. For other low-income families, we want
housing vouchers that increase housing options.
But for many, the problem of housing isn't just
affordability. It's availability. So we want Congress to renew
the low-income housing tax credit to create incentives for the
construction and rehabilitation of the housing so desperately
needed by low-income families.
But we must also create incentives for growth in those areas
where need is the greatest. Because growth means jobs and jobs
mean homes. So we have urged Congress to help the dream along by
passing our Enterprise-Zone legislation. We have proposed the
creation of at least 50 Enterprise Zones over the next four years
to fuel the engine of job creation in our cities. But, in these
areas of severe poverty, we've got to do even more. We've got to
get rid of the capital gains tax altogether to spur the
investment that can turn dark corners of despair into thriving
neighborhoods once again.
Finally, I have asked Secretary Kemp to convene a blue-
ribbon commission to identify barriers to affordable housing.
Each of you deals with these problems everyday. Give us your
advice.
8
For some Americans, however, other things come first: They
need the self-respect to regain their lives. Their roof is the
sky above. Their floor is the street below. The homeless.
We see them everywhere -- next door on 15th Street, in our
suburbs and small towns. They need emergency shelter, food, and
medical care. So two months ago, I signed a bill that increases
funding under the McKinney Act to reduce homelessness. And we
want to find new ways to put part of our FHA foreclosures into
the hands of non-profit groups. And to coordinate basic needs
like shelter with other social services.
It won't be easy: We know that. But we also know the real
answer to the homeless is shelter plus care. And we know that to
help the homeless -- like improving education, or stopping crime
-- will require a combined Federal, State, and local effort.
Only then can we unleash the resources of the private and public
sectors -- showing, as a writer said, how "America is a
willingness of the heart. //
I believe there is a willingness of the heart in this room.
A willingness to put aside partisan concerns because the promise
of America also depends on us. So let us sit down -- the White
House and Mayors; Democrats and Republicans -- and do what needs
to be done to make the impossible 11 possible. Thank you for
this occasion. God bless you. And God bless the United States
of America.
###
(Smith/Blessey)
Draft Three
January 18, 1990
MAYOR
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: U.S. CONFERENCE OF MAYORS
CAPITOL HILTON HOTEL
FRIDAY, JANUARY 26, 1990
10 A.M.
Mayor Whitmire, , Distinguished Mayors, Ladies and
gentlemen. Thank you for that reception, and for the pleasure of
being here. In particular, let me thank my fellow Houstonian and
President Kathy Whitmire, for that warm introduction. //
( (Kathy and I go way back. Maybe that's why even though I'm
a Republican and she's a Democrat, the last time I was in Houston
she presented me with the key to the city. // Only one problem.
I found out later that the city was Anchorage, Alaska. )) //
M/W
( (But you know me -- I don't hold grudges. So I picked up
the phone when she called a couple weeks later. She asked me to
1
dough
declare a disaster area. // I told her I didn't think the
Alwys
Houston Oilers were that bad. )) //
spele.
mynitain
seice.
me
in
( (I'm also glad, of course, to see the "Mayor's Mayor. " //
slays Spler.
When I first heard you were honoring a famous Jewish Mayor for
his years of service in turbulent times, I thought you meant Ed
Koch. // Instead, all my best to Jerusalem's best -- Teddy
Kolleck. )) //
Teddy, Kathy, and all of your colleagues -- it is an honor
to address this 58th annual U.S. Conference of Mayor's winter
tachero about the ways that you and I
meeting. And to give you my ideas on how between us -- the White
2
House and the Mayors we can build a better America for all.
Nineteen months ago, I sent you a letter expressing my
thoughts on urban policy. And wrote, "As we prepare to enter the
1990s, it is clear that America needs a new working relationship
between the Federal government and the cities."
Well, I meant it then. And mean it now. We need to forge a
Sarpa
new relationship. // A relationship which is a partnership. //
A partnership which realizes that as Mayors, you man the front
problems.
lines in the war against urban ills.
A partnership which can
achieve that Thomas Wolfe called The Promise of America.
deges maintaining
To begin, The Promise of America means utilizing our
you
economic resources, As we have since 1982 -- the longest
peacetime boom in American history. The '90s begin with
inflation down. Interest rates declining. And the lowest
jobless rate in 15 years
And next week, we'll release a budget
for Fiscal Year 1991 that builds on this prosperity. Together,
let's support policies which create more opportunity for all. //
depes
Satyulary
The Promise of America also means safeguarding our natural
resources As Mayors are doing through initiatives like
Chicago's "Plastics on Parks." Or in Virginia Beach, generating
electricity from that city's landfill. And as God 11 do in March
through a conference on recyclable materials,
Cushon,
You're doing your part we intend to do ours. So we have
By strengthenes the crom an bet, preserving our
sent Congress legislation to slash acid rain, air toxics, and
withonds, and improving Emerica's poures,
urban smog the first rewrite of the Clean Air Act in over 10
and encauraging reforestation and by other domestic
years. And I ask you to urge Congress to preserve the careful
and international intestries to make thisa cleoner
Safer world.
3
balance in that bill Together, let's protect our environment
for decades to come. //
Then, there are human resources. And here, too,
togetherness counts. Today, an estimated million urban
families are led by working parents. But when it comes to child
care, Washington unlike Robert Young doesn't automatically
Know Best. So I urge the Congress to pass my child-care
0 Leis pu
legislation to put choice in the hands of low-income parents. //
Each of these initiatives will nurture The Promise of
America. Yet urban problems won't fade until we meet the
challenges I discussed in 1988 --- the challenges you face each
day: Drugs and crime, education, housing, and the plight of our
Became Schee
homeless. (( Can we meet them? You bet. In America, nothing is
impossible. // Perhaps an ex-baseball player put it best. "When
I was a little boy," Craig Nettles said, "I wanted to be a [big-
league] player and join the circus. With the Yankees, I've
panes,
any
acceptid
accomplished both.
well, I believe ")) that as partners we too cm accomphish uping what
some
The first of these four challenges is drugs and crime. To might
think
meet it will require an urban Delta Force rescuing our kids impossible
from the terrorism of hoods, hooliganism, crack, and cocaine.
wont be easy, but it
help
will
Eight months ago, I sent proposals to the Congress to win
ve
done
the war on crime. Well, while the clock is running, America's
patience is running out. I ask you to support our Megislation to
take thugs off the street -- and thereby take back the streets.
// We need mandatory time for firearms offenses. No deals when
criminals use a gun. And for anyone who kills a law enforcement
that take such a
sed tall on your
the
shiets and communities
resheets of
america
4
officer -- we need the death penalty. Not someplace. Not some
time. But here -- and now. //
Casidella an
Think of crime as a snake Drugs form its head spewing
venom at your cities. Last year, 23 million Americans used
illegal drugs on a "current" basis -- at least once in 30 days.
And eight million people used cocaine. A Nation with those
numbers cannot long preserve its soul. //
help
To save it, last September you held a Mayors' Conference on
and I congratulate you
the
Drugs And you're acting locally to stem their use, sale, and
flow. of drings In Macon, Mayor Lee Robinson has formed a partnership --
the Macon-Bibb War on Drugs. And never in Houston, Kathy Whitmire
parks and recreation officials, local police, and residents of
Acres Home project I visited there in November have joined
I visited ares Home
hands to pursue "Drug Free Tomorrows. " november and the camage
of that community is truly morning.
I commend these efforts. But they' re not --- can never be --
enough. So our Administration has unveiled America's first
un
yours, purposes to
national comprehensive strategy to win the war on drugs. A war Sr
which utilizes your campaign, And asked the Congress for $
billion in FY '91 for education, treatment, interdiction, and
the teenager
enforcement. We, too, want to help that little boy tormented by
crack. Or the pregnant mother -- alone and desperate -- whose
drug use threatens maims her child. Please: Support our plan to help
America get clean --and stay clean. Together, let's smash defeat Public
Enemy Number One. //
Erasing drugs will panus save lives. But, It will also meet that
help
second challenge I talked about: the education of our kids. //
Limenber I said was
5
You know how central education is to Urban America: Bright
the
the many needs afour Cities.
minds can find solutions to your Mt. Everest of needs Yet look
at today's box score of so-called "higher learning." A too high
that is totally unocceptable
drop-out rate. Erratic standards. Unsafe schools wracked by
drug use and trafficking. Kids ill-equipped to read or write.
Let's be honest: Our educational system isn't making the grade.
To go from "fail" to "pass" will require school boards,
teachers, and parents to work together with all levels of
00 her inc,
government. // So last September I met with a group of Mayors.
Sup- paids was
I heard about Kenner, Louisiana, which created "Step Up" -- a
program providing learning incentives for students. And Colorado
there
Springs -- here, officials founded a program to help dropouts and
masus wholead 4)
at-risk kids finish high school. // And about the more than 350
cities which uplifted America on your "National Education Day." "
So far, so good -- and thanks to you, getting better. But
while education is mostly mainly a local and State responsibility, the
Federal government must help. That's why last year we sent up
the "Educational Excellence Act of 1989" now before the Congress.
Legislation which seeks: First, to reward excellence. Second,
to see that Federal dollars serve those most in need. Third, to
demand educational accountability. And fourth, it supports
greater flexibility and choice.
For instance, we want to create a $500 million program to
reward schools that improve the most. And to reward schools
which create a drug-free environment and reduce the drop-out
rate. // Then, there's our new Magnet Schools of Excellence
6
program -- letting parents choose which public schools their kids
will attend. Urban Emergency Grants to help urban schools hit
hardest by drug use and trafficking. // And a National Science
Scholars initiative in science, mathematics, and engineering.
The Promise of America means winning the battle not on the
fields of war -- but in the international marketplace of ideas.
Our proposals will help do that. It also means meeting the third
and fourth challenges I mentioned earlier: Making housing
affordable and accessible -- especially for the homeless. //
( (You know, a few months back I spoke to a realtors group.
Where its president said to me, "It's not often we're addressed
by someone who lives in public housing." // In response, I said
we understand the private side as well. // Barbara and I have
moved 28 times in 45 years of marriage. // What a dream client
we'd make for any realtor. )) //
You might say "The Bush Family Knows Housing. 11/ Sorry,
Bo
Andrew BD basic shelter is a right of each every American bacce shelter,
must have
Well, here again, you're acting creatively to ensure that right.
In Kansas City, providing day care to free parents to find
permanent housing. Or Charlotte, using public-private monies to
renovate buildings for the homeless. // Believe me, in
Washington we've taken note. So two months ,ago I announced
America's project HOPE, Home Ownership and Opportunity for People
Everywhere, to make the Federal government a more effective urban
partner, Addressing issues from jobs for the poor to achieving
the dream of home ownership for increasing numbers of Americans
Delp
to bring hosic shater and affordable ameuconsand haveng
droft II
7
So two months ago, I announced America's project HOPE, Home
in
Ownership and Opportunity for People Everywhere bringing
basic shelter and affordable housing within reach of millions of
help
Americans, and to make the Federal government a more effective
urban partner.
*
First,
HOPE aims to help first-time homebuyers by allowing
them to draw, without penalty, on IRA savings as a down payment
for that first home. But for many, the problem of housing isn't
just affordability. It's availability. So we want Congress to
renew the low-income housing tax credit to create incentives for
the construction and rehabilitation of the housing so desperately
needed by low-income families.
But we must also create incentives for growth in those areas
where need is the greatest. Because growth means jobs and jobs
mean homes. So we have urged Congress to help the dream along by
passing our Enterprise-Zone legislation. We have proposed the
creation of at least 50 Enterprise Zones over the next four years
en n
to fuel the negive of job creation in our cities. But, in these
even
areas of severe poverty, we've got to do, more. We've got to get
rid of the capital gains tax all together to spur the investment
that can turn dark corners of despair into thriving neighborhoods
once again.
and fer
That S why we want Congress to approve housing vouchers that
can
increase rental options for low income families And why HOPE
also help
helping tenants become home-owners. Think of public housing
sites like East Los Angeles or Cochran Gardens in St. Louis.
for other low meme fomilies, we want housing
vouchers that increase housing options.
Hope willmean
Each has tenants in control. Let's help even more low-income
con
Americans, know the pride and dignity of owning a home.
Finally, I have asked Secretary Kemp to convene a blue-
ribbon commission to identify barriers to affordable housing.
Each of you deals with these problems everyday. Give us your
advice. *
For others, of course) a first things come first: They need
the self-respect of merely regaining their life. Their roof is
the sky above. Their floor is the street below. The homeless.
We see them everywhere -- next door on 15th Street, in our
suburbs and small towns. They need emergency shelter, food, and
medical care. So two months ago I signed a bill that increases
funding under the McKinney Act to reduce homelessness. And we
want to find new ways to put part of our FHA foreclosures into
the hands of non-profit groups. And to coordinate basic needs
like shelter with other social services.
It won't be easy: We know that. But we also know the real
answer to the homeless is shelter plus care. And we know that to
help the homeless -- like improving education, or stopping crime
-- will require a combined Federal, State, and local effort.
Only then can we unleash the resources of the profit and
nonprofit sectors -- showing, as a writer said, how "America is a
willingness of the heart. " //
Last week marked the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. He
would have been 61 years old. Dr. King knew that only
opportunity could realize the Promise of America. He expressed
dropti Remember, noting I said was mposs ble
7
Look, first, at the income that can realize that dream.
Congress to delp the dream along by Passing our
Epecially through the Enterprise-Zone legislation, before the
4
Rove proposed the creation of
Congress, We need at least 50 Enterprise Zones over, the next
to fuel the engine of job in our cutis
four years And the jobs they 11 create for the long-term and
But, in these areas of severe poverty,
structurally unemploy // And weaneed the inves tment that
we 've 8021.10 ao more. we ve Sat to get und of the
produces income. So I ask Congress to give America a capital
Capital Sains tax all together to spur the invistment
gains tax cut. And an end to that tax altogether
in
that can turn dark corners of dispour in to
America's first pockets of poverty. TI thriving neigaborhoody agains. once
Next, look at home ownershipz Where HOPE aims to help
first-time homebuyers by allowing them to draw, without penalty,
an 0 IRA savings as a down payment for that first home. // But And for
1
mony, the problem of housing isnt just affordalulity, It's availabily
where we want low- and moderate incomes to have access to
and
housing wsest
housing. So*we want Congress to renew the low-income, tax credit
Imally
6
I have asked Secretary Kemp to convene a blue-ribbon
identify birriess to affor dable housing
commission to help lower housing costs by slashing regulations.
Each of you deals with these provers every darl Give
These initiatives will spur housing private and public.
For many HOPE reforms will benefit tenants. That's why we want
Congress to approve housing vouchers that increase rental options
5
for low-income families. And why HOPE is helping tenants become
home-owners. Think of public housing sites like East Los
Angeles or Cochran Gardens in St. Louis. Each has tenants in
control. Let's help even more low-income Americans know the
pride and dignity of owning a home. //
For others, of course, first things come first: They need
the self-respect of merely regaining their life. Their roof is
the sky above. Their floor is the street below. The homeless.
us your advice.
meert
to Creater meantives for the the construction
r
and rehabilitation of houseng so
dispositily needed by low-nceme
fomiless
But we must also create meintines
3 for growth in those areas Because where
need is the greatest
growth means homes. So we have urged
means jobs and jobs
8
We see them everywhere -- next door on 15th Street, in our
suburbs and small towns. They need emergency shelter, food, and
medical care. So two months ago I signed a bill that increases
funding under the McKinney Act to reduce homelessness. And we
want to find new ways to put part of our FHA foreclosures into
the hands of non-profit groups. And to coordinate basic needs
like shelter with other social services.
It won't be easy: We know that. But we also know the real
answer to the homeless is shelter plus care. And we know that to
help the homeless -- like improving education, or stopping crime
-- will require a combined Federal, State, and local effort.
private
Only then can we unleash the resources of the profi t and
public
nonprofit sectors -- showing, as a writer said, how "America is a
willingness of the heart." //
Last week marked the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. He
would have been 61 years old. Dr. King knew that only
opportunity could realize the Promise of America. He expressed
dear
that often and moved a Nation. Listen, even now: His words
-- they move us still. "I have a dream that one day sons of
former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to
sit down together at the table of brotherhood. /-/
The table of brotherhood knows neither bank account nor
bigotry. So let us sit down -- the White House and Mayors;
Democrats and Republicans -- and do what needs to be done to make
the impossible Possible,
ours a more civil, glenerous land. Thank you for this occasion-
God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.
#
#
#
#
I believe there is a willingness the heart
in this noom.
Document No. 106062/
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
01/23
DATE: 01/19/90
10:00 a.m. Tuesday
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: U.S. CONFERENCE OF MAYORS
SUBJECT:
(10/19 draft five)
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
X
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
>
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
d
DARMAN
ROGICH
BATES
UNTERMEYER
CARD
ROGERS
CICCONI
PINKERTON
DEMAREST
WINSTON
FITZWATER
BOSKIN
GRAY
DELAND
BENNETT
HAGIN
ANDERSON
REMARKS:
Please provide any comments/recommendations directly to Chriss
Winston Thanks. by 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, 01/23, with a copy to my office.
RESPONSE:
LS Olv 22030.68
could coulduced N needs be pase by tightenes PP and Assistant Deputy
James W. Cicconi
to the President
to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
(Smith/Blessey)
Draft Five
1990 JAN i9 PM 8: 25
January 19, 1990
MAYOR
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: U.S. CONFERENCE OF MAYORS
CAPITOL HILTON HOTEL
FRIDAY, JANUARY 26, 1990
10 A.M.
Mayor Whitmire, , Distinguished Mayors, Ladies and
gentlemen. Thank you for that reception, and for the pleasure of
being here. In particular, let me thank my fellow Houstonian
Kathy Whitmire, for that warm introduction. //
( (Kathy and I go way back. Maybe that's why even though I'm
a Republican and she's a Democrat, the last time I was in Houston
she presented me with the key to the city. // Only one problem.
I found out later that the city was Anchorage, Alaska.) )) //
( (But you know me -- I don't hold grudges. So I picked up
the phone when she called a couple weeks later. She asked me to
declare a disaster area. // I told her I didn't think the
Houston Oilers were that bad.) ) //
((I'm also glad, of course, to see the "Mayor's Mayor." 11
When I first heard you were honoring a famous Jewish Mayor for
his years of service in turbulent times, I thought you meant Ed
ckallie
Koch. // Instead, all my best to Jerusalem's best -- Teddy
Kolleck.) )) //
Teddy, Kathy, and all of your colleagues -- it is an honor
to address this 58th annual U.S. Conference of Mayor's winter
meeting. And to talk to you about the ways that you and I -- the
White House and the Mayors -- can build a better America.
2
Nineteen months ago, I sent you a letter expressing my thoughts
on urban policy. And wrote, "As we prepare to enter the 1990s,
it is clear that America needs a new working relationship between
the Federal government and the cities."
Well, I meant it then. And mean it now. We need to forge a
trite
new relationship. // A relationship which is a partnership. //
A partnership which realizes that as Mayors, you man the front
lines in the war against urban problems. A partnership which can
achieve the promise of America.
And that promise of America depends on maintaining our
economic resources as we have since 1982 -- the longest peacetime
boom in American history. The '90s begin with inflation down.
Interest rates declining. And the lowest jobless rate in 15
years. And next week, we'll release a budget for Fiscal Year
we can
1991 that builds on this prosperity. Together, let's support
policies which create more opportunity. for all. //
The promise of America also depends on the safeguarding our
natural resources as Mayors are doing through initiatives like
Chicago's "Plastics on Parks." Or in Virginia Beach, generating
electricity from that city's landfill.
inshan $15
You're doing your part -- we intend to do ours. By
strengthening the Clean Air Act, preserving our wetlands,
improving America's parks, encouraging reforestation, and by
other domestic and international initiatives to make this a
wecan
cleaner, safer world. Together, let's protect our environment
for decades to come. //
3
Then, there are human resources. And here, too,
togetherness counts. Today, an estimated million urban
-
families are headed led by working parents. But when it comes to child
care, Washington doesn't automatically know best. So I urge the
Congress to pass my child-care legislation to put choice in the
hands of low-income parents. //
Each of these initiatives will nurture the promise of
America. Yet urban problems won't fade until we meet the
challenges I discussed in 1988 -- the challenges you face each
day: Drugs and crime, education, housing, and the plight of our
homeless. Can we meet them? I beleive we can. Because I
beleive in America, nothing is impossible. // (( Perhaps an ex-
this
in
baseball player put it best. "When I was a little boy, " Craig
makense
Nettles said, "I wanted to be a [big-league] player and join the
circus. With the Yankees, I've accomplished both. )
Well, I believe that as partners we, too, can accomplish
assate
what some might think is have impossible. clarlyes The first of our challenges
is the drugs and crime Lines that take such a sad toll on your streets
3
and the streets of communities across America. Rescuing our kids
from the terrorism of hoods, hooliganism, crack X / and cocaine
won't be easy, but it can be done. //
Eight months ago, I sent proposals to the Congress to help
win the war on crime. Well, while the clock is running,
America's patience is running out. I ask you to support our
legislation to take thugs off the street -- and take back the
streets. // We need mandatory time for firearms offenses. No
4
deals when criminals use a gun. And for anyone who kills a law
enforcement officer -- we need the death penalty. Not someplace.
Not Constitus some time. But here -- and now. //
Last year, 23 million Americans used illegal drugs on a
"current" basis -- at least once in 30 days. And eight million
people used cocaine. A Nation with those numbers cannot long
preserve its soul. //
To help save it, last September you held a Mayors'
Conference on Drugs and I congratulate you. You're acting
locally to stem the use, sale, and flow of drugs. In Macon,
Mayor Lee Robinson has formed a partnership -- the Macon-Bibb War
on Drugs. And here, in Houston, Kathy Whitmire, parks and
recreation officials, local police, and residents of Acres Home
project have joined hands to pursue "Drug Free Tomorrows." I
one such community called then
visited Aeres Home in November and the courage of that community
is truly inspiring.
I commend these efforts. But these soldiers on the front
lines need help. So our Administration has unveiled America's
first national comprehensive strategy to win the war on drugs.
yesterday And asked I amounced om proposal to spend
the Congress for $ billion in FY '91 for education,
treatment, interdiction, and enforcement. We, too, want to help
the teenager tormented by crack. Or the pregnant mother -- alone
and desperate -- whose drug use threatens her child. Please:
Support our plan to help America get clean --and stay clean.
Together, let's defeat Public Enemy Number One. //
Endus the scourge of
5
Erasing drugs will save lives. But, it will also help meet
that second challenge I talked about: the education of our
kids. //
You know how central education is to urban America: Bright
minds can find solutions to the many problems of our cities.
Remember, I said nothing was impossible. Yet, look at today's
box score of so-called "higher learning." A drop-out rate that
is totally unacceptable. Erratic standards. Unsafe schools
wracked by drug use and trafficking. Kids ill-equipped to read
or write. Let's be honest: Our educational system isn't making
the grade.
To go from "fail" to "pass" will require school
boards, teachers, and parents to work together with all levels of
government. // So last September, I met with a group of Mayors.
I heard about Kenner, Louisiana, which created "Step Up" -- a
program providing learning incentives for students. And Colorado
Springs -- there, officials founded a program to help dropouts
and at-risk kids finish high school. // And about the more than
350 cities which uplifted America on your "National Education
Day."
So far, so good -- and thanks to you, getting better. But
while education is mainly a local and State responsibility, the
Federal government must help. That's why last year we sent up
the "Educational Excellence Act of 1989" now before the Congress.
Legislation which seeks: First, to reward excellence. Second,
to see that Federal dollars serve those most in need. Third, to
6
demand educational accountability. And fourth, it supports
greater flexibility and choice.
For instance, we want to create a $500 million program to
reward schools that improve the most. And to reward schools
which create a drug-free environment and reduce the drop-out
rate. // Then, there's our new Magnet Schools of Excellence
program -- letting parents choose which public schools their kids
will attend. Urban Emergency Grants to help urban schools hit
hardest by drug use and trafficking. // And a National Science
Scholars initiative in science, mathematics, and engineering.
To fufill the promise of America, we must be competitive in
the international marketplace of ideas. Our proposals will help
do that. But the promise of America also depends on meeting the
third and fourth challenges I mentioned earlier: Making housing
affordable and accessible -- especially for the homeless. //
dream
The Every American deserves a home. Well, here again, you're
IS
Genership
acting creatively. In Kansas city, providing day care to free
parents to find permanent housing. or in Charlotte, using
move womeless to
public-private monies to renovate buildings for the homeless
//
section
Believe me, in Washington we've taken note. So two months ago, I
announced America's project HOPE, Home Ownership and Opportunity
for People Everywhere. To help make the Federal government a
more effective urban partner in bringing basic shelter and
affordable housing within reach of millions of Americans.
HOPE aims to help first-time homebuyers by allowing them to
draw, without penalty, on IRA savings as a down payment for that
7
first home. HOPE can also help tenants become home-owners.
Think of public housing sites like East Los Angeles or Cochran
Gardens in St. Louis. Each has tenants in control. HOPE will
mean even more low-income Americans can know the pride and
dignity of owning a home. For other low-income families, we want
housing vouchers that increase housing options.
But for many, the problem of housing isn't just
affordability. It's availability. So we want Congress to renew
the low-income housing tax credit to create incentives for the
construction and rehabilitation of the housing so desperately
needed by low-income families.
But we must also create incentives for growth in those areas
where need is the greatest. Because growth means jobs and jobs
mean homes. So we have urged Congress to help the dream along by
passing our Enterprise-Zone legislation. We have proposed the
creation of at least 50 Enterprise Zones over the next four years
to fuel the engine of job creation in our cities. But, in these
areas of severe poverty, we've got to do even more. We've got to
get rid of the capital gains tax altogether to spur the
investment that can turn dark corners of despair into thriving
neighborhoods once again.
Finally, I have asked Secretary Kemp to convene a blue-
ribbon commission to identify barriers to affordable housing.
Each of you deals with these problems everyday. Give us your
advice.
8
For some Americans, however, other things come first: They
need the self-respect to regain their lives. Their roof is the
sky above. Their floor is the street below. The homeless.
We see them everywhere -- next door on 15th Street, in our
isent
suburbs and small towns. They need emergency shelter, food, and
medical care. So two months ago, I signed a bill that increases
funding under the McKinney Act to reduce homelessness. And we
want to find new ways to put part of our FHA foreclosures into
the hands of non-profit groups. And to coordinate basic needs
like shelter with other social services.
It won't be easy: We know that. But we also know the real
answer to the homeless is shelter plus care. And we know that to
help the homeless -- like improving education, or stopping crime
-- will require a combined Federal, State, and local effort.
Only then can we unleash the resources of the private and public
sectors -- showing, as a writer said, how "America is a
willingness of the heart." //
I believe there is a willingness of the heart in this room.
A willingness to put aside partisan concerns because the promise
of America also depends on us. So let us sit down -- the White
House and Mayors; Democrats and Republicans -- and do what needs
to be done to make the impossible 11 possible. Thank you for
this occasion. God bless you. And God bless the United States
of America.
# # #
THE WHITE house
WASHINGTON
January 22, 1990
MEMORANDUM FOR CHRISS WINSTON
FROM:
JIM PINKERTON
SUBJECT:
U.S. Conference of Mayors
Two comments follow. (Also: the draft needs checking for
mispellings, e.g., "beleive" and "fufill.")
pg. 1, para. 4, line 2 "When I first heard you were honoring a
famous Jewish Mayor for his years of service
"
This joke may appear to some as crossing the fine line
separating tasteful and distasteful references to an individual's
religion. Certainly the rule in politics is to avoid at all
costs any jokes involving a person's race or religion (the Al
Smith dinner being the exception that proves the rule). Well
intentioned though it may be, the very fact that some might find
it distasteful argues against using it.
pg. 2, para. 2, line 2 "We need to forge a new relationship. A
relationship which is a partnership."
As we have pointed out in previous speech comments, the
phrase "partnership" to describe any joint effort by the Federal
government and another body is usually problematic. The phrase
connotes a more or less equal relationship when, to the contrary,
what we wish to convey on matters such as urban policy is that
the Federal governments acts as a catalyst to facilitate action
by the local authorities (or private sector).
Education policy, where it is important to emphasize the
lesser role of the Federal government, is reason alone for
avoiding the phrase altogether in describing the Federal - Local
relationship. We suggest omitting the phrase here and the two
other places where "partnership" or "partner" is used to refer to
the Federal government: 3,3,1 and 6,4,8.
###
89 DEC 22 A/O 33
Document No. 106062
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
01/23
DATE: 01/19/90
10:00 a.m. Tuesday
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: U.S. CONFERENCE OF MAYORS
SUBJECT:
(10/19 draft five)
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH
BATES
UNTERMEYER
CARD
ROGERS
CICCONI
PINKERTON
DEMAREST
WINSTON
FITZWATER
BOSKIN
GRAY
DELAND
BENNETT
HAGIN
ANDERSON
REMARKS:
Please provide any comments/recommendations directly to Chriss
S.R.
Winston Thanks. by 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, 01/23, with a copy to my office.
RESPONSE: I think WE should utilize this forum
AS a means to get Congress' Attention
Not nEarly hard enough in that
regard Also Needs, small P that l explains cap
gains 1 something that can be Assistant James to W. the
Cicconi
President
used again of again-
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
would thought be to our SOME 4 Ext. or 2702 5
big points to Congress
(Smith/Blessey)
Draft Five
1990 JAN 19 PM 8: 25
January 19, 1990
MAYOR
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: U.S. CONFERENCE OF MAYORS
CAPITOL HILTON HOTEL
FRIDAY, JANUARY 26, 1990
10 A.M.
Mayor Whitmire,
,
Distinguished Mayors, Ladies and
gentlemen. Thank you for that reception, and for the pleasure of
being here. In particular, let me thank my fellow Houstonian
Kathy Whitmire, for that warm introduction. //
( (Kathy and I go way back. Maybe that's why even though I'm
a Republican and she's a Democrat, the last time I was in Houston
she presented me with the key to the city. // Only one problem.
I found out later that the city was Anchorage, Alaska.) ) //
( (But you know me -- I don't hold grudges. So I picked up
the phone when she called a couple weeks later. She asked me to
declare a disaster area. // I told her I didn't think the
Houston Oilers were that bad.) ) //
((I'm also glad, of course, to see the "Mayor's Mayor.' //
When I first heard you were honoring a famous Jewish Mayor for
his years of service in turbulent times, I thought you meant Ed
Koch. // Instead, all my best to Jerusalem's best -- Teddy
Kolleck.) //
Teddy, Kathy, and all of your colleagues -- it is an honor
to address this 58th annual U.S. Conference of Mayor's winter
meeting. And to talk to you about the ways that you and I -- the
White House and the Mayors -- can build a better America.
2
Nineteen months ago, I sent you a letter expressing my thoughts
on urban policy. And wrote, "As we prepare to enter the 1990s,
it is clear that America needs a new working relationship between
the Federal government and the cities."
Well, I meant it then. And mean it now. We need to forge a
new relationship. // A relationship which is a partnership. //
A partnership which realizes that as Mayors, you man the front
lines in the war against urban problems. A partnership which can
achieve the promise of America.
And that promise of America depends on maintaining our
economic resources as we have since 1982 -- the longest peacetime
boom in American history. The '90s begin with inflation down.
Interest rates declining. And the lowest jobless rate in 15
years. And next week, we'll release a budget for Fiscal Year
1991 that builds on this prosperity. Together, let's support
policies which create more opportunity for all. //
The promise of America also depends on the safeguarding our
natural resources as Mayors are doing through initiatives like
Chicago's "Plastics on Parks." Or in Virginia Beach, generating
electricity from that city's landfill.
You're doing your part -- we intend to do ours. By
strengthening the Clean Air Act, preserving our wetlands,
Paul frigned in
improving America's parks, encouraging reforestation, and by
New.
other domestic and international initiatives to make this a
cleaner, safer world. Together, let's protect our environment
Fordernay
for decades to come.
some we've thingsne?
that
hend.
Don't WE
hauist
play
3
Then, there are human resources. And here, too,
togetherness counts. Today, an estimated million urban
-
families are led by working parents. But when it comes to child
care, Washington doesn't automatically know best. So I urge the
Congress to pass my child-care legislation to put choice in the
hands of low-income parents. //
Each of these initiatives will nurture the promise of
America. Yet urban problems won't fade until we meet the
challenges I discussed in 1988 -- the challenges you face each
day: Drugs and crime, education, housing, and the plight of our
homeless. Can we meet them? I beleive we can. Because I.
beleive in America, nothing is impossible. // (( Perhaps an ex-
baseball player put it best. "When I was a little boy, " Craig
Nettles said, "I wanted to be a [big-league] player and join the
circus. With the Yankees, I've accomplished both. "))
Well, I believe that as partners we, too, can accomplish
what some might think is impossible. The first of our challenges
is the drugs and crime that take such a sad toll on your streets
and the streets of communities across America. Rescuing our kids
from the terrorism of hoods, hooliganism, crack, and cocaine
won't be easy, but it can be done. //
Eight months ago, I sent proposals to the Congress to help
win the war on crime. Well, while the clock is running,
America's patience is running out. I ask you to support our
legislation to take thugs off the street -- and take back the
streets. // We need mandatory time for firearms offenses. No
Impressive stats.,A.,A.
They doses billion in
thaplesents
heart
deals when criminals use a gun. And for anyone who kills a law
Juse?
enforcement officer -- we need the death penalty. Not someplace.
Not some time. But here -- and now. //
CO dAiNE
Last year, 23 million Americans used illegal drugs on a
Brad
current" basis -- at least once in 30 days. And eight million
County
people used cocaine. A Nation with those numbers cannot long
preserve its soul. //
To help save it, last September you held a Mayors'
Conference on Drugs and I congratulate you. You're acting
locally to stem the use, sale, and flow of drugs. In Macon,
Mayor Lee Robinson has formed a partnership -- the Macon-Bibb War
on Drugs. And here, in Houston, Kathy Whitmire, parks and
recreation officials, local police, and residents of Acres Home
for
K.C.
project have joined hands to pursue "Drug Free Tomorrows." I
visited Acres Home in November and the courage of that community
is truly inspiring.
I commend these efforts. But these soldiers on the front
lines need help. So our Administration has unveiled America's
first national comprehensive strategy to win the war on drugs.
tougher
And asked the Congress for $ billion in FY '91 for education,
treatment, interdiction, and enforcement. We, too, want to help
here
the teenager tormented by crack. Or the pregnant mother -- alone
Congress
on
and desperate -- whose drug use threatens her child. Please:
Support our plan to help America get clean --and stay clean.
Together, let's defeat Public Enemy Number One. //
5
Erasing drugs will save lives. But, it will also help meet
that second challenge I talked about: the education of our
kids. //
You know how central education is to urban America: Bright
minds can find solutions to the many problems of our cities.
Remember, I said nothing was impossible. Yet, look at today's
box score of so-called "higher learning." A drop-out rate that
is totally unacceptable. Erratic standards. Unsafe schools
wracked by drug use and trafficking. Kids ill-equipped to read
or write. Let's be honest: Our educational system isn't making
the grade.
To go from "fail" to "pass" will require school
boards, teachers, and parents to work together with all levels of
government. // So last September, I met with a group of Mayors.
I heard about Kenner, Louisiana, which created "step Up" -- a
program providing learning incentives for students. And Colorado
Springs -- there, officials founded a program to help dropouts
and at-risk kids finish high school. // And about the more than
350 cities which uplifted America on your "National Education
Day."
So far, so good -- and thanks to you, getting better. But
while education is mainly a local and State responsibility, the
again,
Federal government must help. That's why last year we sent up
the "Educational Excellence Act of 1989" now before the Congress.
Changrass: On
Legislation which seeks: First, to reward excellence. Second,
see that Federal dollars serve those most in need. Third, to
6
demand educational accountability. And fourth, it supports
greater flexibility and choice.
For instance, we want to create a $500 million program to
reward schools that improve the most. And to reward schools
which create a drug-free environment and reduce the drop-out
rate. // Then, there's our new Magnet Schools of Excellence
program -- letting parents choose which public schools their kids
will attend. Urban Emergency Grants to help urban schools hit
hardest by drug use and trafficking. // And a National Science
Scholars initiative in science, mathematics, and engineering.
To fufill the promise of America, we must be competitive in
the international marketplace of ideas. Our proposals will help
do that. But the promise of America also depends on meeting the
third and fourth challenges I mentioned earlier: Making housing
affordable and accessible -- especially for the homeless. //
Every American deserves a home. Well, here again, you're
acting creatively. In Kansas city, providing day care to free
parents to find permanent housing. or in Charlotte, using
public-private monies to renovate buildings for the homeless. //
Believe me, in Washington we've taken note. So two months ago, I
announced America's project HOPE, Home Ownership and Opportunity
for People Everywhere. To help make the Federal government a
more effective urban partner in bringing basic shelter and
affordable housing within reach of millions of Amèricans.
HOPE aims to help first-time homebuyers by allowing them to
draw, without penalty, on IRA savings as a down payment for that
7
first home. HOPE can also help tenants become home-owners.
Think of public housing sites like East Los Angeles or Cochran
Gardens in St. Louis. Each has tenants in control. HOPE will
mean even more low-income Americans can know the pride and
dignity of owning a home. For other low-income families, we want
housing vouchers that increase housing options.
But for many, the problem of housing isn't just
affordability. It's availability. So we want Congress to renew
the low-income housing tax credit to create incentives for the
construction and rehabilitation of the housing so desperately
needed by low-income families.
But we must also create incentives for growth in those areas
where need is the greatest. Because growth means jobs and jobs
mean homes. So we have urged Congress to help the dream along by
passing our Enterprise-Zone legislation. We have proposed the
creation of at least 50 Enterprise Zones over the next four years
to fuel the engine of job creation in our cities. But, in these
areas of severe poverty, we've got to do even more. We've got to
get rid of the capital gains tax altogether to spur the
investment that can turn dark corners of despair into thriving
neighborhoods once again.
Finally, I have asked Secretary Kemp to convene a blue-
ribbon commission to identify barriers to affordable housing.
Each of you deals with these problems everyday. Give us your
advice.
8
For some Americans, however, other things come first: They
need the self-respect to regain their lives. Their roof is the
sky above. Their floor is the street below. The homeless.
We see them everywhere -- next door on 15th Street, in our
suburbs and small towns. They need emergency shelter, food, and
medical care. So two months ago, I signed a bill that increases
funding under the McKinney Act to reduce homelessness. And we
want to find new ways to put part of our FHA foreclosures into
the hands of non-profit groups. And to coordinate basic needs
like shelter with other social services.
It won't be easy: We know that. But we also know the real
answer to the homeless is shelter plus care. And we know that to
help the homeless -- like improving education, or stopping crime
-- will require a combined Federal, State, and local effort.
Only then can we unleash the resources of the private and public
sectors -- showing, as a writer said, how "America is a
willingness of the heart.' //
I believe there is a willingness of the heart in this room.
A willingness to put aside partisan concerns because the promise
of America also depends on us. So let us sit down -- the White
House and Mayors; Democrats and Republicans -- and do what needs
to be done to make the impossible 11 possible. Thank you for
this occasion. God bless you. And God bless the United States
of America.
# # #
Document No. 106062
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
01/23
DATE: 01/19/90
10:00 a.m. Tuesday
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: U.S. CONFERENCE OF MAYORS
SUBJECT:
(10/19 draft five)
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
A
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
d
DARMAN
ROGICH
BATES
UNTERMEYER
CARD
ROGERS
CICCONI
PINKERTON
i
DEMAREST
WINSTON
FITZWATER
BOSKIN
GRAY
DELAND
BENNETT
HAGIN
ANDERSON
\
REMARKS:
Please provide any comments/recommendations directly to Chriss
Winston Thanks. by 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, 01/23, with a copy to my office.
RESPONSE: See comments
10 : 11A
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
(Smith/Blessey)
Draft Five
1990 JAN 19 PM 8: 25
January 19, 1990
MAYOR
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: U.S. CONFERENCE OF MAYORS
CAPITOL HILTON HOTEL
FRIDAY, JANUARY 26, 1990
10 A.M.
Mayor Whitmire, , Distinguished Mayors, Ladies and
gentlemen. Thank you for that reception, and for the pleasure of
being here. In particular, let me thank my fellow Houstonian
Kathy Whitmire, for that warm introduction. //
( (Kathy and I go way back. Maybe that's why even though I'm
a Republican and she's a Democrat, the last time I was in Houston
she presented me with the key to the city. // Only one problem.
I found out later that the city was Anchorage, Alaska.) ) //
( (But you know me -- I don't hold grudges. So I picked up
the phone when she called a couple weeks later. She asked me to
declare a disaster area. // I told her I didn't think the
Houston Oilers were that bad.) ) //
((I'm also glad, of course, to see the "Mayor's Mayor." " //
When I first heard you were honoring a famous Jewish Mayor for
his years of service in turbulent times, I thought you meant Ed
Koch. // Instead, all my best to Jerusalem's best -- Teddy
Kolleck. )) //
Teddy, Kathy, and all of your colleagues -- it is an honor
to address this 58th annual U.S. Conference of Mayor's winter
meeting. And to talk to you about the ways that you and I -- the
White House and the Mayors -- can build a better America.
2
Nineteen months ago, I sent you a letter expressing my thoughts
on urban policy. And wrote, "As we prepare to enter the 1990s,
major
it is clear that America needs a new working relationship between
the Federal government and the cities."
with
that is the most fact of $ s
Well, I meant it then. And mean it now. We need to forge a
new relationship. // A relationship which is a partnership
//
pass state Is our this drug through
A partnership which realizes that as Mayors, you man the front
the
Citizenty
lines in the war against urban problems. A partnership which can
achieve the promise of America.
sentence semering
And that promise of America depends on maintaining our
economic resources as we have since 1982 -- the longest peacetime
we
boom in American history. The '90s begin with inflation down.
direct
one of
Interest rates declining. And the lowest jobless rate in 15
Hall 43120
Al-Samere
Al
years. And next week, we'll release a budget for Fiscal Year
1991 that builds on this prosperity. Together, let's support
policies which create more opportunity for all. /
The promise of America also depends on the safeguarding our
natural resources as Mayors are doing through initiatives like
Chicago's "Plastics on Parks." Or in Virginia Beach, generating
electricity from that city's landfill.
You're doing your part -- we intend to do ours. By
strengthening the Clean Air Act, preserving our wetlands,
improving America's parks, encouraging reforestation, and by
other domestic and international initiatives to make this a
cleaner, safer world. Together, let's protect our environment
for decades to come. //
The definition is family in which one parent works. not Urban available Holen split
3
5178
Then, there are human resources. And here, too,
togetherness counts. Today, an estimated 28 million urban
families are led by working parents. But when it comes to child
care, Washington doesn't automatically know best. So I urge the
Congress to pass my child-care legislation to put choice in the
hands of low-income parents. //
Each of these initiatives will nurture the promise of
America. Yet urban problems won't fade until we meet the
challenges I discussed in 1988 -- the challenges you face each
day: Drugs and crime, education, housing, and the plight of our
homeless. Can we meet them? I beleive we can. Because I
beleive in America, nothing is impossible. // (( Perhaps an ex-
baseball player put it best. "When I was a little boy," Craig Graig
Nettles said, "I wanted to be a [big-league] player and join the
circus. With the Yankees, I've accomplished both. )
Well, I believe that as partners we, too, can accomplish
what some might think is impossible. The first of our challenges
is the drugs and crime that take such a sad toll on your streets
and the streets of communities across America. Rescuing our kids
from the terrorism of hoods, hooliganism, crack, and cocaine
won't be easy, but it can be done. //
Eight months ago, I sent proposals to the Congress to help
win the war on crime. Well, while the clock is running,
America's patience is running out. I ask you to support our
legislation to take thugs off the street -- and take back the
streets. // We need mandatory time for firearms offenses. No
4
deals when criminals use a gun. And for anyone who kills a law
enforcement officer -- we need the death penalty. Not someplace.
Not some time. But here -- and now. //
Last year, 23 million Americans used illegal drugs on a
"current" basis -- at least once in 30 days. And eight million
people used cocaine. A Nation with those numbers cannot long
preserve its soul. //
To help save it, last September you held a Mayors'
Conference on Drugs and I congratulate you. You're acting
locally to stem the use, sale, and flow of drugs. In Macon,
Mayor Lee Robinson has formed a partnership -- the Macon-Bibb War
L
The
first
on Drugs. And here, in Houston, Kathy Whitmire, parks and
says
recreation officials, local police, and residents of Acres Home
says
Supild
is
this
project have joined hands to pursue "Drug Free Tomorrows." I
eing
visited Acres Home in November and the courage of that community
it
the
Hilton Halen
is truly inspiring.
I commend these efforts. But these soldiers on the front
5178
lines need help. So our Administration has unveiled America's
first national comprehensive strategy to win the war on drugs.
clas
And asked the Congress for $10.4billion in FY '91 for education,
Hold seas,
number
treatment, interdiction, and enforcement. We, too, want to help
Hale
Y 3/20
the teenager tormented by crack. Or the pregnant mother -- alone
and desperate -- whose drug use threatens her child. Please:
Support our plan to help America get clean --and stay clean.
Together, let's defeat Public Enemy Number One. //
5
Erasing drugs will save lives. But, it will also help meet
that second challenge I talked about: the education of our
kids. //
You know how central education is to urban America: Bright
minds can find solutions to the many problems of our cities.
Remember, I said nothing was impossible. Yet, look at today's
box score of so-called "higher learning." A drop-out rate that
is totally unacceptable. Erratic standards. Unsafe schools
wracked by drug use and trafficking. Kids ill-equipped to read
or write. Let's be honest: Our educational system isn't making
the grade.
To go from "fail" to "pass" will require school
boards, teachers, and parents to work together with all levels of
government. // So last September, I met with a group of Mayors.
I heard about Kenner, Louisiana, which created "Step Up" -- a
program providing learning incentives for students. And Colorado
Springs -- there, officials founded a program to help dropouts
and at-risk kids finish high school. // And about the more than
350 cities which uplifted America on your "National Education
Day."
So far, so good -- and thanks to you, getting better. But
while education is mainly a local and State responsibility, the
Federal government must help. That's why last year we sent up
the "Educational Excellence Act of 1989" now before the Congress.
Legislation which seeks: First, to reward excellence. Second,
to see that Federal dollars serve those most in need. Third, to
6
demand educational accountability. And fourth, it supports
greater flexibility and choice.
For instance, we want to create a $500 million program to
reward schools that improve the most. And to reward schools
which create a drug-free environment and reduce the drop-out
rate. // Then, there's our new Magnet Schools of Excellence
program -- letting parents choose which public schools their kids
will attend. Urban Emergency Grants to help urban schools hit
hardest by drug use and trafficking. // And a National Science
No Longer
Scholars initiative in science, mathematics, and engineering.
just
urban
To fufill the promise of America, we must be competitive in
the international marketplace of ideas. Our proposals will help
Ryder
04516
do that. But the promise of America also depends on meeting the
third and fourth challenges I mentioned earlier: Making housing
affordable and accessible -- especially for the homeless. //
Every American deserves a home. Well, here again, you're
acting creatively. In Kansas City, providing day care to free
parents to find permanent housing. or in Charlotte, using
public-private monies to renovate buildings for the homeless. / /
Believe me, in Washington we've taken note. So two months ago, I
announced America's project HOPE, Home Ownership and Opportunity
for People Everywhere. To help make the Federal government a
more effective urban partner in bringing basic shelter and
affordable housing within reach of millions of Americans.
HOPE aims to help first-time homebuyers by allowing them to
draw, without penalty, on IRA savings as a down payment for that
7
first home. HOPE can also help tenants become home-owners.
Think of public housing sites like East Los Angeles or Cochran
Gardens in St. Louis. Each has tenants in control. HOPE will
mean even more low-income Americans can know the pride and
dignity of owning a home. For other low-income families, we want
housing vouchers that increase housing options.
But for many, the problem of housing isn't just
affordability. It's availability. So we want Congress to renew
the low-income housing tax credit to create incentives for the
construction and rehabilitation of the housing so desperately
needed by low-income families.
But we must also create incentives for growth in those areas
where need is the greatest. Because growth means jobs and jobs
mean homes. So we have urged Congress to help the dream along by
passing our Enterprise-Zone legislation. We have proposed the
creation of at least 50 Enterprise Zones over the next four years
to fuel the engine of job creation in our cities. But, In these
Ryder
4516
areas of severe poverty, we've got to do even more We've got to
Note gains
is spital art F2
get rid of the capital gains tax altogether to spur the
investment that can turn dark corners of despair into thriving
of proposul.
neighborhoods once again.
Finally, I have asked Secretary Kemp to convene a blue-
and
ribbon commission to identify barriers to affordable housing.
Each of you deals with these problems everyday. Give us your
advice.
8
For some Americans, however, other things come first: They
need the self-respect to regain their lives. Their roof is the
sky above. Their floor is the street below. The homeless.
We see them everywhere -- next door on 15th Street, in our
suburbs and small towns. They need emergency shelter, food, and
medical care. So two months ago, I signed a bill that increases
funding under the McKinney Act to reduce homelessness. And we want
want to find new ways to put part of our FHA foreclosures into
the hands of non-profit groups. And to coordinate basic needs
like shelter with other social services j foreclosures and put part into the of our hands 7HA of
non profit
It won't be easy: We know that. But we also know the real
groups.
answer to the homeless is shelter plus care. And we know that to
Ryder
help the homeless -- like improving education, or stopping crime
x4516
-- will require a combined Federal, State, and local effort.
Only then can we unleash the resources of the private and public
sectors -- showing, as a writer said, how "America is a
willingness of the heart." //
I believe there is a willingness of the heart in this room.
A willingness to put aside partisan concerns because the promise
of America also depends on us. So let us sit down -- the White
House and Mayors; Democrats and Republicans -- and do what needs
to be done to make the impossible 11 possible. Thank you for
this occasion. God bless you. And God bless the United States
of America.
# # #
THE PRESIDENT HAS SEEN
1/25/90
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
1990
JAN 23.
January 23, 1990
55
Amidic
INFORMATION
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
s
THROUGH:
an
51
CHRISS WINSTON
FROM:
CURT SMITH
Bennittise
Ex
SUBJECT:
U.S. CONFERENCE OF MAYORS' SPEECH
I. SUMMARY
Drug
your
mcs
3
On Friday, January 26, at 10:00 a.m., you will address about
3
800 Mayors at the Capitol Hilton Hotel in Washington. Houston
Mayor Kathy Whitmire will introduce you. The following people
will accompany you on the dais: Tom Cochran, the Executive
hope
Director of the U.S. Conference of Mayors; Secretary Skinner;
Colorado Springs Mayor Bob Isaac, 1st Vice President of the
Conference; and Boston Mayor Ray Flynn, 2nd Vice President of the
Conference.
the
II. DISCUSSION
gimis
The attached remarks (15 minutes, teleprompter) discuss the
four main problems mayors face in their cities -- drugs and
crime, education, housing, and the plight of the homeless. The
text calls upon Congress to pass legislation you have proposed to
good
help solve these problems.
wws littlang the
was
west
(Smith/Blessey)
7:30 P.M.
January 23, 1990
MAYORS
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: U.S. CONFERENCE OF MAYORS
CAPITOL HILTON HOTEL
FRIDAY, JANUARY 26, 1990
10 A.M.
Mayor Whitmire, Secretary Skinner, Director Cochran, Mayor
Isaac, Mayor Flynn. Other distinguished Mayors, Ladies and
gentlemen. Thank you for that reception, and for the pleasure of
being here. In particular, let me thank Kathy Whitmire for that
warm introduction. //
our
( (Kathy, of course, is a fellow Houstonian. Maybe that's
why even though I'm a Republican and she's a Democrat, the last
anothing
time I was there she presented me with the key to the city.
//
need
Only one problem. Kathy went out and changed the lock. ))
//
( (But you know me -- I don't hold grudges. So I picked up
the phone when she called a couple weeks later. She asked me to
whitever two but on
declare a disaster area. // I told her I didn't think the
YOU
Houston Oilers were that bad.) ) //
Kathy and all of your colleagues -- it is an honor to
address this 58th annual U.S. Conference of Mayor's Winter
Meeting. And to talk to you about the ways that you and I -- the
White House and the Mayors -- can build a better America.
Nineteen months ago, I sent you a letter expressing my
thoughts on urban policy. And wrote, "As we prepare to enter the
2
1990s, it is clear that America needs a new working relationship
between the Federal government and the cities."
Well, I meant it then. And mean it now. We need to forge a
new relationship. // A relationship -- a partnership -- which
realizes that as Mayors, you are on the front lines in the war
against urban problems. A partnership which can achieve the
promise of America. //
That promise depends, first, on maintaining our economic
resources. Just as we have during the longest peacetime boom in
American history. And next week, we'll release a budget for
Fiscal Year 1991 that builds on this prosperity. Together, we
can create opportunity for all. //
The promise of America also depends on safeguarding our
natural resources. Just as Mayors are doing through programs
like Chicago's "Plastics on Parks." Or in Virginia Beach,
OR
generating electricity from that city's landfill. // You're
doing your part -- and we intend to do ours. By strengthening
the Clean Air Act, preserving our wetlands, improving America's
parks, and other domestic and international initiatives.
Together, we can protect our environment for decades to come.
//
Then, there are human resources. Today, an estimated 15
million families are headed by working parents or single mothers.
But when it comes to child care, Washington doesn't automatically
know best. So I urge the Congress to pass my child-care
legislation. Let's put choice in the hands of low-income
parents. //
3
Each of these initiatives will nurture the promise of
America. Yet urban problems won't fade until we meet the
challenges I discussed in 1988 -- the challenges you face each
day: Drugs and crime, education, housing, and the plight of our
homeless. Can we meet them? I believe we can. Because I
believe in America, nothing is impossible. // (( Perhaps an ex-
baseball player put it best. "When I was a little boy," Graig
Nettles said, "I wanted to be a [big-league] player and join the
circus. With the Yankees, I've accomplished both."))
I believe that as partners we, too, can accomplish what some
might deem impossible. So let us assault the drugs and crime
that form the first of our challenges. Rescuing our kids from
crack and cocaine won't be easy -- but but it can be done. //
clear 1985
Consider that last year, eight million people used cocaine.
And 123 million Americans used illegal drugs on a "current" basis
Lost year the number full by more than A third
-- at least once in 30 days. ^ And according to one study,
America's gross drug sales topped $110 billion -- double the
profits of all Fortune 500 companies. H A Nation with those
that means almoob 9 mill
numbers cannot long preserve its soul. // fever Amer Are CASLAL drug
asers. Good news But we
To help save it, yesterday I released the 1990 National Drug to much do
more.
Control Strategy -- Phase II of the comprehensive drug policy we
Daisy
unveiled last September. We're asking Congress to spend over $10
and a half billion in FY '91 for education, treatment,
interdiction, and enforcement. That's a 41 per cent increase in
outlays over the current year. And it means a 70 per cent
4
increase in drug-related spending overall since our
Administration took office. //
I ask you to support our strategy to take back the streets
from crime and drugs. // We need mandatory time for firearms
offenses. No deals when criminals use a gun. And as Phase II
proposes, an expansion of the death penalty for drug-related
crimes. In that context, I ask you to urge your State
legislatures to approve the same penalty for the killing of local
law enforcement officers. Let's work together to stop the
hooligans and the thugs. //
Phase II aims to help the teenager tormented by crack. Or
the pregnant mother whose drug use imperils her child. Yet drugs
are a national, not only Federal, problem. So you, too, have
responded. Macon, Georgia, for example, has started the Macon-
Bibb War on Drugs. And in Houston, local officials and residents
of Acres Homes project have teamed to pursue "Drug Free
Tomorrows." I visited Acres Home last month -- and the courage
of that community is truly inspiring.
Now, let's join hands to inspire the millions of Americans
who want to help America get clean -- and stay clean. How? Look
at this morning's USA Today. According to the Gordon Black Poll,
10 per cent of all families are already involved in volunteer
anti-drug programs. But what's really startling is that an
unbelievable 60 per cent of Americans would volunteer 5 hours
each week to stop the sale and use of drugs. And the same
us
5
I" what tell and American vary 16:11 Burlen yrs one
percentage would donate from $20 to $100 to their community
to
3
bows
stem drug use. Why haven't they? They haven't been asked.
Get out your pocket calculators. These figures mean that
Americans are willing to donate more than 500 million hours per
week. And $5 billion, nationally. They want to serve. They
want to give. But they have to be asked before they can do
either. A promise: I will use the Bully Pulpit to ask them to
do both. And I urge you to do the same. Together, let's defeat
Public Enemy Number One. //
Ending the scourge of drugs will not only save lives. It
will also help meet that second challenge I talked about: the
education of our kids. //
You know how central education is to urban America: Bright
minds can find solutions to your Rubik's Cube of problems.
Remember: Nothing is impossible. // Yet, look at today's box
score of so-called "higher learning." A drop-out rate that is
totally unacceptable. Erratic standards. Unsafe schools wracked
by drug use and trafficking. Kids ill-equipped to read or write.
Let's be honest: Our educational system isn't making the grade.
To go from "fail" to "pass" will require school boards,
teachers, and parents to work together with all levels of
government. // So I applaud Mayors who have started programs
like "Step Up" in Kenner, Louisiana -- providing learning
incentives for students. Or the program in Colorado Springs
which helps dropouts and at-risk kids finish high school. //
6
Mayors who head the more than 350 cities which enriched America
on your "National Education Day."
So far, so good -- and yet still so much to do. For while
education is mostly a local and State responsibility, the Federal
government must help. That's why I call on the Congress to pass
our "Educational Excellence Act." Legislation which seeks:
First, to encourage excellence. Second, to see that Federal
dollars serve those most in need. Third, to demand educational
accountability. And fourth, to support flexibility and choice.
For instance, we want to create a $500 million program when
fully funded to reward schools that improve the most. Then,
there's our new Magnet Schools of Excellence program. Our plan
to reward schools which create a drug-free environment and reduce
the drop-out rate. And a National Science Scholars initiative in
science, mathematics, and engineering. And recently, I was
pleased to sign into law, legislation to help urban schools hit
hardest by drug use. //
These initiatives can, and will, make America competitive in
the international marketplace of ideas. But the promise of
America also depends on meeting the third and fourth challenges I
mentioned earlier: Making housing affordable and accessible --
and providing help for the homeless. //
Basic shelter -- affordable housing -- should be every
American's reality -- not merely a dream. So two months ago, I
announced an initiative to make the Federal government a more
effective urban partner. Its name: HOPE, Home Ownership and
7
Opportunity for People Everywhere, a new comprehensive housing
and urban development agenda.
HOPE will help first-time homebuyers by allowing them to
draw, without penalty, on IRA savings as a down payment for that
first home. And it will also help tenants become home-owners.
As public housing sites have done in St. Louis, Washington, and
East Los Angeles. Each with tenants in control. // For other
low-income families, we want housing vouchers that increase
housing options. And toward that end, I have asked Secretary
Kemp to convene a commission to identify barriers to affordable
housing.
Yet for many, the problem of housing is availability -- not
just affordability. So we want Congress to renew the tax credit
to aid the construction and rehabilitation of low-income housing.
// But we must also create incentives for growth in those areas
of need. For growth means jobs -- and jobs mean homes. // So
we have urged Congress to help the dream along by passing our
Enterprise-Zone legislation. Proposing at least 50 urban
Enterprise Zones over the next four years to fuel the engine of
job creation. 11 There's more. We want to cut the capital
gains tax for the Nation. And for Enterprise Zones, we've got to
abolish that tax altogether to spur the investment, jobs, and
enterprise that can turn dark corners of despair into
neighborhoods lit by opportunity and hope. //
Finally, let us provide hope for those whose roof is the sky
above. Whose floor is the street below. We see them everywhere
8
-- next door on 15th Street, in our suburbs and small towns.
Yes, the homeless.
The homeless need emergency shelter, food, and medical care.
To reduce homelessness, two months ago I signed a bill that
increases funding under the McKinney Act. And we want to find
new ways to put part of our FHA foreclosures into the hands of
non-profit groups. And to coordinate basic needs like shelter
with other social services.
It won't be easy: We know that. But we also know the real
answer to the homeless is shelter plus care. And we know that to
help the homeless -- like improving education, or stopping drugs
-- will require a combined Federal, State, and local effort.
Only then can we unleash the resources of the private and public
sectors -- showing, as a writer said, how "[America] is a
willingness of the heart. 11
I believe there is a willingness of the heart in this room.
Among Democrats and Republicans. // The White House and Mayors.
// A willingness to put aside partisan concerns.
So let us sit down, together, and do what needs to be done.
To achieve the promise of America. And thereby make the
impossible // possible. Thank you for this occasion. God
bless you. And God bless the United States of America.
###