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National Assoc. of Towns and Townships 9/6/91 [OA 6036]
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7
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS
SEPTEMBER 6, 1991
HYATT REGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C.
THANK YOU BUTCH [LOTHAR WOLTER -- PRESIDENT OF
N.A.T.A.T.] FOR THAT INTRODUCTION. IT A PLEASURE TO
HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
AND MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS AND
TOWNSHIPS.
YOU KNOW, THIS WEEK DOESN'T MARK THE END OF SUMMER
JUST FOR SCHOOLCHILDREN ACROSS THIS COUNTRY. I'M BACK
AT MY DESK TOO. BUT I WON'T BORE YOU WITH A SPEECH
TITLED "WHAT I DID ON MY SUMMER VACATION." 11 WELL,
OKAY: I WILL TELL YOU MY REACTION WHEN I RECEIVED A
PHONE CALL ON AUGUST 19TH SAYING: "IT'S A CRISIS!" I
RESPONDED: "I'VE ALREADY HEARD ENOUGH ABOUT BARBARA'S
GOLF GAME."
- 2 -
THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME THE CHANCE TO MEET WITH YOU
TODAY. YOU KNOW, PRESIDENT EISENHOWER TALKED OF "THE
GREAT AND PRICELESS PRIVILEGE OF BEING RAISED IN A
SMALL TOWN." I UNDERSTAND BECAUSE I, Too, HAD THAT
PRIVILEGE. THE TOWNS OF MY YOUTH AND OF MY CHILDREN'S
YOUTH WERE ALL VERY DIFFERENT FROM EACH OTHER -- FROM
THE TREE-LINED STREETS OF GREENWICH, CONNECTICUT TO THE
SALT AIR OF KENNEBUNKPORT TO THE DUSTY, OIL-PATCH
PLAINS OF ODESSA AND MIDLAND, TEXAS. BUT THEY ALSO HAD
MUCH IN COMMON.
OUR TOWNS NURTURE DREAMS AND NOURISH VALUES. THINK
OF THE IDEALS OF INTEGRITY, HARD WORK, AND CARING FOR
OTHERS INSTILLED IN A YOUNG BOY GROWING UP IN PINPOINT,
GEORGIA. TODAY, THAT MAN STANDS READY TO SERVE ON THE
HIGHEST COURT IN THIS LAND. CLARENCE THOMAS EMBODIES
THE VIRTUES AMERICA - AND ALL HER TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS
-- HOLD DEAR.
- 3 -
I'M GLAD TO BE HERE WITH PEOPLE FROM THE TOWNS THAT
FORM THIS NATION'S BACKBONE. YOU KNOW WHAT THOMAS
JEFFERSON MEANT WHEN HE SAID AMERICAN TOWNSHIPS "HAVE
PROVED THEMSELVES THE WISEST INVENTION EVER DEVISED BY
THE WIT OF MAN FOR THE PERFECT EXERCISE OF SELF-
GOVERNMENT, AND FOR ITS PRESERVATION."
YOU UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEMS THAT CHALLENGE OUR
COUNTRY. YOU UNDERSTAND THEM NOT FROM A BUREAUCRAT'S
SAFE DISTANCE, BUT FROM THE EMBATTLED POSITION OF
PUBLIC SERVANTS WHOSE NEIGHBORS CALL TO COMPLAIN ABOUT
SERVICES OR THE LACK THEREOF. YOU UNDERSTAND THE
REAL BASICS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT, AND THAT'S WHY YOU'RE
OUR COUNTRY'S FUTURE AND OUR COUNTRY'S HOPE.
OUR DOMESTIC POLICY BEGINS WITH YOU -- THE PEOPLE
OF THIS LAND. HERE IN WASHINGTON AND IN THE STATES,
POLITICIANS AND OFFICIALS HAVE LEARNED THAT WE CAN'T
JUST HURL MONEY AT PROBLEMS. WE TAKE ENOUGH OF PEOPLE'S
MONEY AS IT IS: IF WE WANT TO DO OUR JOBS, WE MUST MAKE
BETTER USE OF THE VAST SUMS ALREADY AT OUR DISPOSAL.
- 4 -
MORE FUNDAMENTALLY, WE MUST RECOGNIZE THE GENIUS OF
OUR OWN PEOPLE. WE MUST TRUST THEM -- TRUST YOU -- TO
FIND ANSWERS, TO DO GOOD THINGS, TO MAKE AMERICA WORK.
WE MUST MAKE OUR GOVERNMENT MORE RESPONSIVE, MORE
LOCAL. AND WE MUST LEARN FROM THE REAL PROFESSIONALS
-- YOU, THE N.A.T.A.T. REPRESENTATIVES. YOU'RE THE
VOICE OF SMALL-TOWN AMERICA.
THAT'S A CONSIDERABLE VOICE, OF COURSE. EIGHT OF
TEN GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN THIS NATION REPRESENT
COMMUNITIES WITH 5,000 OR FEWER RESIDENTS. AND YOU
WILL HAVE TO TEACH THE OTHER 20 PERCENT HOW TO LIVE
WITHIN THEIR MEANS.
YOUR STRENGTHS BEGIN WITH YOUR COMMITMENT TO THE
AMERICAN IDEA OF CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY. MANY OF YOU ARE
PART-TIME OFFICIALS, VOLUNTEERS. YOU GIVE YOUR TIME TO
YOUR COMMUNITIES.
- 5 -
YOU EMPHASIZE CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION -- WHAT
FOLKS IN MY BIRTHPLACE OF MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS WOULD
CALL "OLD-FASHIONED YANKEE INGENUITY." SOMETIMES, YOU
EXHAUST YOUR INGENUITY JUST TRYING TO ESCAPE REGULATORY
HANDCUFFS PLACED UPON YOU BY FEDERAL AND STATE
MANDATES. I'M CONCERNED ABOUT THOSE MANDATES, AND I
BELIEVE STRONGLY IN THE IMPORTANCE OF COOPERATION AMONG
ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT.
OUR ADMINISTRATION ALSO REMAINS COMMITTED TO THE
COMMON-SENSE APPROACH OF THE REGULATORY FLEXIBILITY ACT
-- ONE THAT LETS YOU USE YOUR COMMON SENSE TO SOLVE
YOUR OWN PROBLEMS -- AND I WILL DIRECT FEDERAL
DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES TO FOLLOW THE SPIRIT AND THE
LETTER OF THAT LAW. III
- 6 -
SPEAKING OF CREATIVITY, I WANT TO ADD MY
CONGRATULATIONS TO BILL HERMAN OF WEARE [WHERE], NEW
HAMPSHIRE. BILL WON YOUR GRASSROOTS GOVERNMENT
LEADERSHIP AWARD BY PRODUCING IDEAS FOR CUTTING COSTS
WITHOUT SLASHING SERVICES. 11 MAYBE I SHOULD CALL ON
BILL'S HELP IN SOLVING A BIG PROBLEM -- BECAUSE WHEN I
ASKED MY STAFF HOW WE COULD IMPROVE OUR CRISIS
MANAGEMENT, THEY SAID: "HOW ABOUT A CALENDAR THAT
DOESN'T HAVE AUGUST ON IT." 111
ALL OF YOU HERE HAVE HELPED DEVELOP PUBLIC/PRIVATE
PARTNERSHIPS -- A CRUCIAL CONCEPT AS WE GEAR UP FOR THE
UNIQUE PROBLEMS OF THE 21ST CENTURY. THE ALLIANCE
BETWEEN YOUR NATIONAL CENTER FOR SMALL COMMUNITIES AND
PRIVATE SECTOR SOURCES LIKE THE KELLOGG FOUNDATION SETS
AN EXAMPLE FOR OTHERS TO FOLLOW.
BECAUSE OF YOUR STRENGTHS, YOUR SUCCESSES AND YOUR
LEADERSHIP -- TODAY I ASK YOU TO LEAD ONE OF OUR
GREATEST BATTLES: MAKING OUR NATION'S SCHOOLS THE
WORLD'S BEST.
- 7 -
OUR ADMINISTRATION INTRODUCED AN EDUCATION STRATEGY
FIVE MONTHS AGO. WE CALL IT "AMERICA 2000," AND IT
INVOLVES FOUR DIFFERENT TRACKS: ACCOUNTABLE SCHOOLS FOR
TODAY; A NEW GENERATION OF SCHOOLS FOR TOMORROW; A
NATION OF STUDENTS COMMITTED TO A LIFETIME OF
EDUCATION; AND COMMUNITIES WHERE LEARNING CAN HAPPEN.
YOU PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN MAKING THE ENTIRE
STRATEGY WORK -- AND ESPECIALLY TRACK FOUR: BUILDING
COMMUNITIES THAT VALUE, SUPPORT, ENCOURAGE AND ADVANCE
EDUCATION. IT'S NO COINCIDENCE THAT WE HISTORICALLY
HAVE ENTRUSTED THIS FUNDAMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY --
EDUCATION -- TO COMMUNITIES. WE NOW CALL UPON YOU TO
ENLIST IN OUR NATIONAL CRUSADE TO IMPROVE EDUCATION
COMMUNITY-BY-COMMUNITY.
FIRST, YOU MUST ADOPT THE EDUCATION GOALS
ESTABLISHED 18 MONTHS AGO FOLLOWING THE EDUCATION
SUMMIT WITH THE NATION'S GOVERNORS. THEN YOU CAN BEGIN
TO DEVELOP A COMMUNITY PLAN TO REACH THE GOALS -- TO
DESIGN A REPORT CARD TO MEASURE YOUR PROGRESS -- AND TO
CREATE YOUR OWN "BREAK THE MOLD SCHOOL" -- ONE THAT
BUILDS UPON YOUR UNIQUE STRENGTHS AND TAKES INTO
ACCOUNT YOUR SPECIAL NEEDS AND CIRCUMSTANCES. 111
- 8 -
AS WE IMMERSE OURSELVES IN THE CHALLENGES OF THE
90'S, OUR ADMINISTRATION ALSO WILL LOOK TO YOU FOR
LEADERSHIP IN OTHER AREAS. FOR INSTANCE, CONGRESS IS
DEBATING THE FIVE-YEAR RE-AUTHORIZATION OF THE NATION'S
SURFACE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM. WE NEED YOUR HELP IN
GETTING A SYSTEM THAT SPENDS MONEY TO ADDRESS NEEDS --
AND NOT JUST SUPPORT POLITICIANS' CAREERS.
WE'VE CALLED IN OUR BILL FOR INCREASED INVESTMENT
IN INFRA-STRUCTURE. SOME THINK SPENDING A LOT OF MONEY
IS THE ONLY ANSWER. NOT SO -- WE NEED MORE SENSIBLE
PROGRAMS. MORE THAN HALF OF ALL CONGRESSIONALLY-
MANDATED TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS DON'T EVEN SHOW UP ON
STATE PRIORITY LISTS. YOU MIGHT LIKE SOME OF THE
PROGRAMS YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS SLIPS INTO
LEGISLATION, BUT IN THE END, CONGRESS USURPS LOCAL
POWER FOR ITS OWN PURPOSES -- MAKING DECISIONS IN
WASHINGTON THAT AFFECT THE LIVES AND POCKETBOOKS OF
PEOPLE IN BEREA, KENTUCKY, OR MOUNT WOLF, PENNSYLVANIA.
- 9 -
SO: IF CONGRESS SENDS ME A TRANSPORTATION BILL WITH
A GASOLINE TAX, I WILL VETO IT. WE MUST NOT LET
CONGRESS RAISE THE GAS TAX FOR PROJECTS TOWNS DON'T
EVEN NEED. WE WON'T LET IT RAISE A TAX THAT WILL DO
NOTHING EXCEPT SQUEEZE LOCAL ECONOMIES AND LIGHTEN
WORKERS' ALREADY-THIN POCKETBOOKS.\\ MY HIGHWAY BILL
WILL INVEST IN INFRASTRUCTURE WITHOUT RAISING TAXES OR
BUSTING BUDGET CAPS.
WE BELIEVE IN LETTING COMMUNITIES SHAPE THEIR OWN
FUTURES -- AND THIS BELIEF LIES AT THE HEART OF OUR
COMMUNITY OPPORTUNITY ACT. THIS PROPOSAL INVITES
COMMUNITIES TO THINK OF NEW WAYS TO SOLVE OLD PROBLEMS
-- AND IT LETS ALL OF US ADOPT A MORE FLEXIBLE APPROACH
TO DOMESTIC SOCIAL PROGRAMS. IT PUTS THE EMPHASIS ON
RESULTS, AND NOT ON PROCEDURES COOKED UP IN WASHINGTON.
AFTER ALL, WHEN SOMEONE WANTS FOOD OR SHELTER OR
SCHOOLING, WHAT'S MORE IMPORTANT, THE SERVICE -- OR THE
GOVERNMENT PAPERWORK?
- 10 -
THIS COMMON-SENSE APPROACH, GIVING LOCAL
GOVERNMENTS GREATER FLEXIBILITY, LED US TO PROPOSE
TURNING OVER $15 BILLION IN FEDERAL MONEY TO THE STATES
NO STRINGS ATTACHED. THIS INITIATIVE WILL GIVE
DECISION-MAKING POWER TO THE PEOPLE WHOSE LIVES THOSE
DECISIONS WILL AFFECT. QUITE SIMPLY -- THAT'S THE
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE ON WHICH THIS ADMINISTRATION
FUNCTIONS.
THIS "TURNOVER PROPOSAL," AND THE ACT ITSELF, GROW
OUT OF THE BASIC ASSUMPTION THAT GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE
PROGRAMS SHOULD LEAD PEOPLE TO SELF-SUFFICIENCY.
THERE'S NO BETTER WAY TO DO THIS THAN BY REBUILDING
THESE PROGRAMS FROM THE BOTTOM UP: BASED ON PLANS
DEVELOPED RIGHT AT THE COMMUNITY LEVEL.
- 11 -
I TALKED ABOUT JEFFERSON EARLIER: IF WE WANT TO
REMAIN TRUE TO THE SPIRIT OF HIS PHILOSOPHY, WE MUST
EMPOWER COMMUNITIES TO CONTROL THEIR OWN FUTURES. 11 OUR
DOMESTIC POLICY ISN'T A SPENDING POLICY -- IT'S
DESIGNED TO INCREASE PERSONAL FREEDOM AND TO PRODUCE
RESULTS -- NOT JUST EXPENSIVE RHETORIC. THIS IS THE
WAY TO APPROACH ALL THIS COUNTRY'S CHALLENGES -- IT'S
AN EXTRAORDINARY OPPORTUNITY AND IT'S ESSENTIAL THAT WE
GET IT ENACTED AND IN USE.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK AND YOUR EXAMPLE. EVEN
WITH WHATEVER PROBLEMS OUR TOWNS MAY FACE, I KNOW WE'D
ALL AGREE WITH WRITER CATHARINE SEDGWICK, WHO LOVED HER
TOWN OF STOCKBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS. SOMEONE ONCE TOLD
HER THAT SHE SPOKE ABOUT STOCKBRIDGE AS IF IT WERE
HEAVEN. "WELL," SHE REPLIED, "I EXPECT NO VERY VIOLENT
TRANSITION." III
GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF YOU -- AND MAY GOD BLESS THE
TOWNS TO WHICH YOU RETURN.
# # #
267169
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
09/05/91 91 SEP 5 A8: 46
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS
(09/04 5:00 p.m. draft five)
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
PETERSMEYER
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH
BRADY
SMITH
BROMLEY
UNTERMEYER
CARD
SNOW
DEMAREST
KAUFMAN
FITZWATER
ANDERSON
GRAY
HOLIDAY
REMARKS:
The attached has been forwarded to the President.
RESPONSE:
PHILLIP D. BRADY
Assistant to the President
and Staff Secretary
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
91 SEP 4 P6: 04
September 4, 1991
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
THROUGH:
DAVID DEMAREST
TONY SNOW B
FROM:
BETH HINCHLIFFE BH
SUBJECT:
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS
On Friday, September 6, at 10 a.m., in the Hyatt Regency in
Washington, you will address an audience of approximately 1,000
people from across the country who are attending the National
Association of Towns and Townships conference.
Your remarks (10 minutes, teleprompter) focus on major
Administration initiatives having a direct impact on American
towns -- particularly transportation and education.
(Hinchliffe/Blymire)
September 4, 1991 5 p.m.
NATAT.TS Draft Five
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS
September 6, 1991
Hyatt Regency, Washington, D.C.
You know, this week doesn't mark the end of summer just for
schoolchildren across this country. I'm back at my desk too. But
I won't bore you with a speech titled "What I did on my summer
vacation." 11 Well, okay: I will tell you my reaction when I
received a phone call on August 19th saying: "It's a crisis!" I
responded: "I've already heard enough about Barbara's golf game."
Thank you for giving me the chance to meet with you today.
You know, President Eisenhower talked of "the great and priceless
privilege of being raised in a small town." I understand because
I, too, had that privilege. The towns of my youth and of my
children's youth were all very different from each other -- from
the treelined streets of Greenwich, Connecticut to the salt air
of Kennebunkport to the dusty, oil-patch plains of Midland,
Texas. But they also had much in common.
Our towns nurture dreams and nourish values. Think of the
ideals of integrity, hard work, and caring for others instilled
in a young boy growing up in Pinpoint, Georgia. Today, that man
stands ready to serve on the highest court in this land.
Clarence Thomas embodies the virtues America -- and all her towns
and townships -- hold dear.
I'm glad to be here with people from the towns that form
this nation's backbone. You know what Thomas Jefferson meant
when he said American townships "have proved themselves the
2
wisest invention ever devised by the wit of man for the perfect
exercise of self-government, and for its preservation."
You understand the problems that challenge our country. You
understand them not from a bureaucrat's safe distance, but from
the embattled position of public servants whose neighbors call to
complain about services -- or the lack thereof. You understand
the real basics of local government, and that's why you're our
country's future and our country's hope.
Our domestic policy begins with you -- the people of this
land. In Washington and in the states, politicians and officials
have learned that we can't just hurl money at problems. We take
enough of people's money as it is: If we want to do our jobs, we
must make better use of the vast sums already at our disposal.
More fundamentally, we must recognize the genius of our own
people. We must trust them -- trust you -- to find answers, to
do good things, to make America work. We must make our government
more responsive, more local. And we must learn from the real
professionals -- you, the NATAT representatives. You're the
voice of small-town America.
That's a considerable voice, of course. Eight of ten
governmental bodies in this nation represent communities with
5,000 or fewer residents. And you will have to teach the other
20 percent how to live within their means.
Your strengths begin with your commitment to the American
idea of civic responsibility. Many of you are part-time
officials, volunteers. You give your time to your communities.
3
You emphasize creativity and innovation -- what folks in my
birthplace of Milton, Massachusetts would call "old-fashioned
Yankee ingenuity." Sometimes, you exhaust your ingenuity just
trying to escape regulatory handcuffs placed upon you by federal
and state mandates. I'm concerned about those mandates, and I
believe strongly in the importance of cooperation among all
levels of government.
Our Administration also remains committed to the common-
sense approach of the Regulatory Flexibility Act -- one that lets
you use your common sense to solve your own problems -- and I
will direct federal departments and agencies to follow the spirit
and the letter of that law. 111
Speaking of creativity, I want to add my congratulations to
Bill Herman of Weare, New Hampshire. Bill won your Grassroots
Government Leadership Award by producing ideas for cutting costs
without slashing services. 11 Maybe I should call on Bill's help
in solving a big problem -- because when I asked my staff how we
could improve our crisis management, they said: "How about a
calendar that doesn't have August on it. " 111
All of you here have helped develop public/private
partnerships -- a crucial concept as we gear up for the unique
problems of the 21st Century. The alliance between your National
Center for Small Communities and private sector sources like the
Kellogg Foundation sets an example for others to follow.
Because of your strengths, your successes and your
leadership -- today I ask you to lead one of our greatest
4
battles: Making our nation's schools the world's best.
Our Administration introduced an education strategy five
months ago. We call it "America 2000," and it involves four
different tracks: accountable schools for today; a new generation
of schools for tomorrow; a nation of students committed to a
lifetime of education; and communities where learning can happen.
You play a critical role in making the entire strategy work
-- and especially Track Four: building communities that value,
support, encourage and advance education. It's no coincidence
that we historically have entrusted this fundamental responsi-
bility -- education -- to communities. We now call upon you to
enlist in our national crusade to improve education community-
by-community. First, you must adopt the education goals estab-
lished 18 months ago following the education summit with the
nation's governors. Then you can begin to develop a community
plan to reach the goals -- to design a report card to measure
your progress -- and to create your own "break the mold school"
-- one that builds upon your unique strengths and takes into
account your special needs and circumstances. 111
As we immerse ourselves in the challenges of the 90s, our
Administration also will look to you for leadership in other
areas. For instance, Congress is debating the five-year re-
authorization of the nation's surface transportation system. We
need your help in getting a system that spends money to address
needs -- and not just support politicians' careers.
We've called in our bill for increased investment in infra-
5
structure. But, frankly, simply spending more money isn't the
answer -- we need more sensible programs. More than half of all
Congressionally-mandated transportation projects don't even show
up on state priority lists. You might like some of the programs
your member of Congress slips into legislation, but in the end,
Congress usurps local power for its own purposes -- making
decisions in Washington that affect the lives and pocketbooks of
people in Berea, Kentucky, or Mount Wolf, Pennsylvania.
So: If Congress sends me a transportation bill with a gaso-
line tax, I will veto it. We must not let Congress raise the gas
tax for projects towns don't even need. We won't let it raise tax
that will do nothing except squeeze local economies and lighten
workers' already-thin pocketbooks. My highway bill will invest
in infrastructure without raising taxes or busting budget caps. 11
We believe in letting communities shape their own futures -
- and this belief lies at the heart of our Community Opportunity
Act. This proposal invites communities to think of new ways to
solve old problems -- and it lets all of us adopt a more flexible
approach to domestic social programs. It puts the emphasis on
results, and not on procedures cooked up in Washington. After
all, when someone wants food or shelter or schooling, what's more
important, the service -- or the government paperwork?
This common-sense approach, giving local governments greater
flexibility, led us to propose turning over $15 billion in
federal money to the states. This initiative will give decision-
making power to the people whose lives those decisions will
6
affect. Quite simply -- that's the fundamental principle on
which this Administration functions.
This "turnover proposal," and the Act itself, grow out of
the basic assumption that government assistance programs should
lead people to self-sufficiency. There's no better way to do
this than rebuilding these programs from the bottom up: based on
plans developed right at the community level.
I talked about Jefferson earlier: If we want to remain true
to the spirit of his philosophy, we must empower communities to
control their own futures. Our domestic policy isn't a spending
policy -- it's designed to increase personal freedom and to pro-
duce results -- not just expensive rhetoric. This is the way to
approach all this country's challenges -- it's an extraordinary
opportunity and it's essential that we get it enacted and in use.
Thank you for your work and your example. Even with
whatever problems our towns may face, I know we'd all agree with
writer Catharine Sedgwick, who loved her town of Stockbridge,
Massachusetts. Someone once told her that she spoke about
Stockbridge as if it were heaven. "Well," she replied, "I expect
no very violent transition." III
Good luck to all of you -- and may God bless the towns to
which you return.
#####
NATAT
Acknowledgements
Lothar" Butch" Wolter-Pres. of NATAT will intro. PORS
and the board of directors
and members of NATAT.
thing over $156 in fed money
of much greater -
males real one commitment
state, back
have And an mid. to que thona
lotal money)
Margarettzel
Franki90
THE PRESIDENT HAS SEEN
THE WHITE HOUSE
9/5/91
WASHINGTON
91 SEP 4 P6: 04
September 4, 1991
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
THROUGH:
DAVID DEMAREST
TONY SNOW TS
FROM:
BETH HINCHLIFFE BH
SUBJECT:
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS
On Friday, September 6, at 10 a.m., in the Hyatt Regency in
Washington, you will address an audience of approximately 1,000
people from across the country who are attending the National
Association of Towns and Townships conference.
Your remarks (10 minutes, teleprompter) focus on major
Administration initiatives having a direct impact on American
towns -- particularly transportation and education.
(Hinchliffe/Blymire)
September 4, 1991 5 p.m.
NATAT.TS Draft Five
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS
September 6, 1991
Hyatt Regency, Washington, D.C.
You know, this week doesn't mark the end of summer just for
schoolchildren across this country. I'm back at my desk too. But
I won't bore you with a speech titled "What I did on my summer
vacation. 11 Well, okay: I will tell you my reaction when I
received a phone call on August 19th saying: "It's a crisis!" I
responded: "I've already heard enough about Barbara's golf game." "
Thank you for giving me the chance to meet with you today.
You know, President Eisenhower talked of "the great and priceless
privilege of being raised in a small town." I understand because
I, too, had that privilege. The towns of my youth and of my
children's youth were all very different from each other -- from
the treelined streets of Greenwich, Connecticut to the salt air
odess and
of Kennebunkport to the dusty, oil-patch plains of Midland,
Texas. But they also had much in common.
Our towns nurture dreams and nourish values. Think of the
ideals of integrity, hard work, and caring for others instilled
in a young boy growing up in Pinpoint, Georgia. Today, that man.
stands ready to serve on the highest court in this land.
Clarence Thomas embodies the virtues America -- and all her towns
and townships -- hold dear.
I'm glad to be here with people from the towns that form
this nation's backbone. You know what Thomas Jefferson meant
when he said American townships "have proved themselves the
2
wisest invention ever devised by the wit of man for the perfect
exercise of self-government, and for its preservation."
You understand the problems that challenge our country. You
understand them not from a bureaucrat's safe distance, but from
the embattled position of public servants whose neighbors call to
complain about services --- or the lack thereof. You understand
the real basics of local government, and that's why you're our
country's future and our country's hope.
Our domestic policy begins with you -- the people of this
land. In Washington and in the states, politicians and officials
have learned that we can't just hurl money at problems. We take
enough of people's money as it is: If we want to do our jobs, we
must make better use of the vast sums already at our disposal.
More fundamentally, we must recognize the genius of our own
people. We must trust them -- trust you -- to find answers, to
do good things, to make America work. We must make our government
more responsive, more local. And we must learn from the real
professionals -- you, the NATAT representatives. You're the
voice of small-town America.
That's a considerable voice, of course. Eight of ten
governmental bodies in this nation represent communities with
5,000 or fewer residents. And you will have to teach the other
20 percent how to live within their means.
Your strengths begin with your commitment to the American
idea of civic responsibility. Many of you are part-time
officials, volunteers. You give your time to your communities.
3
You emphasize creativity and innovation -- what folks in my
birthplace of Milton, Massachusetts would call "old-fashioned
Yankee ingenuity." Sometimes, you exhaust your ingenuity just
trying to escape regulatory handcuffs placed upon you by federal
and state mandates. I'm concerned about those mandates, and I
believe strongly in the importance of cooperation among all
levels of government.
Our Administration also remains committed to the common-
sense approach of the Regulatory Flexibility Act -- one that lets
you use your common sense to solve your own problems -- and I
will direct federal departments and agencies to follow the spirit
and the letter of that law. III
Speaking of creativity, I want to add my congratulations: to
Bill Herman of Weare, New Hampshire. Bill won your Grassroots
Government Leadership Award by producing ideas for cutting costs
without slashing services. 11 Maybe I should call on Bill's help.
in solving a big problem -- because when I asked my staff how we
could improve our crisis management, they said: "How about a:
calendar that doesn't have August on it." "
All of you here have helped develop public/private
partnerships --- a crucial concept as we gear up for the unique
problems of the 21st Century. The alliance between your National
Center for Small Communities and private sector sources like the
Kellogg Foundation sets an example for others to follow.
Because of your strengths, your successes and your
leadership -- today I ask you to lead one of our greatest
4
battles: Making our nation's schools the world's best.
Our Administration introduced an education strategy five
months ago. We call it "America 2000," and it involves four
different tracks: accountable schools for today; a new generation
of schools for tomorrow; a nation of students committed to a
lifetime of education; and communities where learning can happen.
You play a critical role in making the entire strategy work
-- and especially Track Four: building communities that value,
support, encourage and advance education. It's no coincidence
that we historically have entrusted this fundamental responsi-
bility -- education -- to communities. We now call upon you to
enlist in our national crusade to improve education community-
by-community. First, you must adopt the education goals estab-
lished 18 months ago following the education summit with the
nation's governors. Then you can begin to develop a community
plan to reach the goals -- to design a report card to measure
your progress -- and to create your own "break the mold school"
-- one that builds upon your unique strengths and takes into
account your special needs and circumstances. III
As we immerse ourselves in the challenges of the 90s, our
Administration also will look to you for leadership in other
areas. For instance, Congress is debating the five-year re-
authorization of the nation's surface transportation system. We
need your help in getting a system that spends money to address
needs -- and not just support politicians' careers.
We've called in our bill for increased investment in infra-
Sove think spending a lot more many
5 in the only answer. Not so - We
need etc
structure. But frankly simply spending more money isn't the
answer we need more sensible programs. More than half of all
Congressionally-mandated transportation projects don't even show
up on state priority lists. You might like some of the programs
your member of Congress slips into legislation, but in the end,
Congress usurps local power for its own purposes -- making
decisions in Washington that affect the lives and pocketbooks of
people in Berea, Kentucky, or Mount Wolf, Pennsylvania.
So: If Congress sends me a transportation bill with a gaso-
line tax, I will veto it. We must not let Congress raise the gas
a
tax for projects towns don't even need. We won't let it raise tax
that will do nothing except squeeze local economies and lighten
workers' already-thin pocketbooks. My highway bill will invest
in infrastructure without raising taxes or busting budget caps.
We believe in letting communities shape their own futures -
- and this belief lies at the heart of our Community Opportunity
Act. This proposal invites communities to think of new ways to
solve old problems -- and it lets all of us adopt a more flexible
approach to domestic social programs. It puts the emphasis on
results, and not on procedures cooked up in Washington. After
all, when someone wants food or shelter or schooling, what's more
important, the service -- or the government paperwork?
This common-sense approach, giving local governments greater
flexibility, led us to propose turning over $15 billion in
no strings attached
federal money to the states, This initiative will give decision-
making power to the people whose lives those decisions will
check
this
6
affect. Quite simply -- that's the fundamental principle on
which this Administration functions.
This "turnover proposal," and the Act itself, grow out of
the basic assumption that government assistance programs should
lead people to self-sufficiency. There's no better way to do.
this than rebuilding these programs from the bottom up: based on
plans developed right at the community level.
I talked about Jefferson earlier: If we want to remain true
to the spirit of his philosophy, we must empower communities to
control their own futures.) Our domestic policy isn't a spending
policy -- it's designed to increase personal freedom and to pro-
duce results -- not just expensive rhetoric. This is the way to
approach all this country's challenges -- it's an extraordinary
opportunity and it's essential that we get it enacted and in use.
Thank you for your work and your example. Even with
whatever problems our towns may face, I know we'd all agree with
writer Catharine Sedgwick, who loved her town of Stockbridge,
Massachusetts. Someone once told her that she spoke about
Stockbridge as if it were heaven. "Well," she replied, "I expect
no very violent transition." 111
Good luck to all of you -- and may God bless the towns to
which you return.
#
#
#
#
#
Document No. 26716955
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE:
9/3/91
ACTTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY: NOON, WED., SEPT. 4
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS
SEPTEMBER 6, 1991
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
PETERSMEYER NIC
SCOWCROFT
John
PORTER
Herman
2814
DARMAN
ROGICH
N/C
BRADY
SMITH
BROMLEY
UNTERMEYER
CARD
SNOW
DEMAREST
KAUFMAN 2135 N/C
FITZWATER
ANDERSON
GRAY
HOLIDAYN IC
REMARKS:
Please provide comments/edits on the attached directly
to Tony Snow, Rm. 122, x2930, with a copy to this office,
NO LATER THAN NOON, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
MASTER-
PHILLIP D. BRADY
Assistant to the President
and Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
(Hinchliffe/Blymire)
August 30, 1991 5 p.m.
91 SEP -2 PM 2:48
NATAT.TS Draft Five
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS
September 6, 1991
Hyatt Regency, Washington, D.C.
Call You stacey at x6597 for acknowledgements
know, (OMB) this week doesn't mark the end of summer just for
school children across this country. I'm back at my desk, too.
But I won't bore you with a speech titled "What I did on my sum-
mer vacation." 11 Well, okay: I will tell you my reaction when I
received a phone call on August 19th saying: "It's a crisis!' II
responded: "I've already heard enough about Barbara's golf game."
President Eisenhower talked of "the great and priceless
privilege of being raised in a small town." I understand because
I, too, had that privilege. The towns of my youth and of my
treelined (D²)
children's youth were very different from each other -- from the
bustling streets of Greenwich, Connecticut to the salt air of
Kennebunkport to the dusty, oil-patch plains of Midland, Texas.
But they also had much in common.
Our towns nurture dreams and nourish values. Think of the
ideals of integrity, hard work, and caring for others instilled
in a young boy growing up in Pinpoint, Georgia. Today, that man
stands ready to serve on the highest court in this land.
Clarence Thomas embodies the virtues America -- and all her towns
and townships -- hold dear.
I'm glad to be here with people from the towns that form.
this nation's backbone. You know what Thomas Jefferson meant
when he said American townships "have proved themselves the
wisest invention ever devised by the wit of man for the perfect
}
2
exercise of self-government, and for its preservation."
You understand the problems that challenge our country. You
understand them not from a bureaucrat's safe distance, but from
the embattled position of public servants whose neighbors call to_
complain about services -- or the lack thereof. You understand
the real basics of local government, and that's why you're our
country's future and our country's hope.
Our domestic policy begins with you -- the people of this
land. In Washington, and in the states, politicians and
officials have learned that we can't just hurl money at problems.
We're taking enough of people's money as it is: If we want to do
our jobs, we must make better use of the vast sums already at our
disposal.
More fundamentally, we ought to recognize the genius of our
own people. We must trust them -- trust you -- to find answers,
to do good things, to make America work. We must make our
government more responsive, more local. And we must learn from
the real professionals -- you, the NATaT representatives. You're
the voice of small-town America.
That's a considerable voice, of course. Eight of ten
governmental bodies in this nation represent communities with
5,000 or fewer residents. And you will have to teach the other
20 percent how to live within their means.
Your strengths begin with your commitment to the American
idea of civic responsibility. Many of you are part-time
officials, volunteers. You give your time to your communities.
3
You emphasize creativity and innovation -- what folks in my
birthplace of Milton, Massachusetts would call "old-fashioned
Yankee ingenuity." Sometimes, you exhaust your ingenuity just :
trying to escape regulatory handcuffs placed upon you by federal
and state mandates. I'm concerned about those mandates, and I
believe strongly in the importance of cooperation between all
levels of government.
Our Administration also remains committed to the common-
sense approach of the Regulatory Flexibility Act -- one that lets
you use your common sense to solve your own problems -- and I
will direct federal departments and agencies to follow the spirit
and the letter of that law. 111
[Speaking of creativity, I want to add my congratulations to
one of your members, Bill Herman of Weare, New Hampshire. Bill
won your Grass-roots Leadership award by producing ideas for
cutting costs without slashing services. 11 Maybe I should call
on Bill's help in solving a big problem. I asked an advisor how
mystaff (D²)
we could improve our crisis management. He said: "How about
They (02)
calendar that doesn't have August on it."]
All of you here have helped develop public/private partner-
ships -- a crucial (OMB) concept as we gear up for the unique problems
of the 21st century. The alliance between your National Center
for Small Communities and private sector sources like the Kellogg
Foundation set an example for others to follow.
Because of your strengths, your successes and your
leadership -- I ask you to lead one of our greatest battles:
4
Making our nation's schools the world's best.
As you know, our Administration introduced an education
strategy five months ago. We call it "America 2000," and it
involves four different tracks: accountable schools for today; a
new generation of schools for tomorrow; a nation of students
committed to a life-time N(OMB) of education; and communities where
learning can happen.
You play a critical role in making the entire strategy work
value (IGA)
-- and especially Step Four; building communities that support,
support (IGA)
encourage and advance education. It's no coincidence that we
historically have entrusted our most important social service,
such 0- fundamental icsponsibility
education, to communities. We now call upon communities to seize
you to enlist in our
national the opportunity crusade to make to their Improve schools education Community by-
(IGA) following better: (IGA) to adopt the community
educationa goals established two years ago at the educational (FGA)
18 Months 990 w/the nations gous (Ponter), (FCA)
summit in Charlottesville, (FGA) virginia; develop a community strategy plan
(IGA)
to reach the goals; to design a report card to measure your
(FGA)
progress; and create your own "break the mold school" --
unique (FCM)
something that builds upon your special strengths and takes into
account your special needs and circumstances.
Our Administration also will look to you for leadership in
other areas. For instance, Congress soon will begin debating the a
15-or, continue
five-year re-authorization of the nation's transportation system. Grant
Federal Highway mass Transit
surface (Porte)
We need your help in getting a system that spends money to
Programs
national (OMB)
(OMB)
address * local needs and not just support politicians' careers.
just (OMB) Simply put spending more money 1sn't the
We don need more money; we need more sensible programs enswer;
More than half of all Congressional I transportation projects don't
earmarked (amis) we need more sensible
mondated Porter)
>
We've called in our bill for
programi
in the
Increased investment in infra-
House
Structure. But, frankly..
legisation
(MR)
(machare)
?
55178
4015toohigh
*
() = McClure
(Porter.) porkbarrel earmarted
5
=
(OMB)
Almost
OMB
even show up on state and local priority lists. Over percent
a proposed 5d gas tax would be earmarked
of the current gas tax already goes for Congressional pork-
barrel projects. You might like some of the programs your member
of Congress slips into the liqislation budget, but in the end, Congress
usurps local power for its own purposes -- making decisions in
Washington that affect the lives and pocketbooks of people in
Berea, Kentucky, or Mount Wolf, Pennsylvania.
So: If Congress sends me a transportation bill with a
gasoline tax, I will veto it. We must not let Congress raise the
need (Porter)
gas tax for projects communities don't even want. We will not let
them raise a tax that will do nothing except squeeze local
economies and lighten workers' already-thin pocketbooks. 11
my highway bill will invest in
infrastructure Wo raising taxes
or busting budget caps.(omB)
We believe in letting communities shape their own futures,
and this belief lies at the heart of our Community Opportunity
Act. This proposal invites communities to think of new ways to
solve old problems -- and it lets all of us adopt a more flexible
approach to domestic social programs. It puts the emphasis on
results, and not on procedures cooked up in Washington. After
all, when someone wants food or shelter or schooling, what's (Inaddition, more
important, the service -- or the government paperwork?
The Act grows out of the basic assumption that government
assistance programs should lead people to self-sufficiency.
There's no better way to do this than to rebuild these programs
from the bottom up -- based on plans developed right at the
community level.
OMB
I talked about Jefferson earlier: If we want to remain true
IS this our turrover proposal?
If so - let's say so. If not we
need to mention it. (D2)
6
to the spirit of his philosophy, we must empower communities to
control their own futures. Our domestic policy isn't a spending
policy; it's designed to increase personal freedom, and to
produce results -- not just expensive rhetoric. This is the way
to approach all this county's challenges -- it's an extraordinary
5 (omB)
opportunity and it's essential that we get it enacted and in use.
Thank you for your work and your example. Even with
whatever problems our towns may face, I know we'd all agree with
writer Catharine Sedgwick, who loved her town of Stockbridge, MA.
Someone once told her that she spoke about Stockbridge as if it
were heaven. "Well," she replied, "I expect no very violent
transition V (omB) X
Good luck to all of you -- and may God bless the towns to.
which you return.
#
#
#
#
#
This will take a
little to Sink in. (D²)
OFFICE OFFICE UNITED THE
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20503
91 SEP 4 P1:38 pl:
SEP 4 1991
NOTICE:
Enclosed are comments from staff members of the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB). Such comments do not necessarily
represent the official position of the Director of OMB or of the
Office of Management and Budget. If you wish to have the
Director's personal comments, please let me know -- and contact
me if you have any questions.
If our proposed substantive changes are not made, please let
us know before the material is prepared in final.
James C. Marr
Associate Director for
Legislative Reference
and Administration
Document No. 26716955
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE:
9/3/91
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY: NOON, WED., SEPT. 4
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS
SEPTEMBER 6, 1991
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
PETERSMEYER
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH
BRADY
SMITH
BROMLEY
UNTERMEYER
CARD
SNOW
DEMAREST
KAUFMAN
FITZWATER
ANDERSON
GRAY
HOLIDAY
REMARKS:
Please provide comments/edits on the attached directly
to Tony Snow, Rm. 122, x2930, with a copy to this office,
NO LATER THAN NOON, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4. Thank you.
RESPONSE: See comments
PHILLIP D. BRADY
Assistant to the President
and Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
(Hinchliffe/Blymire)
91 SEP - 2 PM 2:48
August 30, 1991 5 p.m.
NATAT.TS Draft Five
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS
September 6, 1991
Hyatt Regency, Washington, D.C.
loneword
You know, this week doesn't mark the end of summer just for-
school children across this country. I'm back at my desk, too.
Scully
But I won't bore you with a speech titled "What I did on my sum-
45178
mer vacation." 11 Well, okay: I will tell you my reaction when I⁻¹
received a phone call on August 19th saying: "It's a crisis!" IL
responded: "I've already heard enough about Barbara's golf game."
President Eisenhower talked of "the great and priceless
privilege of being raised in a small town." I understand because
I, too, had that privilege. The towns of my youth and of my
children's youth were very different from each other -- from the
bustling streets of Greenwich, Connecticut to the salt air of
Kennebunkport to the dusty, oil-patch plains of Midland, Texas.
But they also had much in common.
Our towns nurture dreams and nourish values. Think of the
ideals of integrity, hard work, and caring for others instilled
in a young boy growing up in Pinpoint, Georgia. Today, that man
stands ready to serve on the highest court in this land.
Clarence Thomas embodies the virtues America -- and all her towns
and townships -- hold dear.
I'm glad to be here with people from the towns that form
this nation's backbone. You know what Thomas Jefferson meant
when he said American townships "have proved themselves the
wisest invention ever devised by the wit of man for the perfect
2
exercise of self-government, and for its preservation."
You understand the problems that challenge our country. You
understand them not from a bureaucrat's safe distance, but from
the embattled position of public servants. whose neighbors call to
complain about services -- or the lack thereof. You understand
the real basics of local government, and that's why you're our
country's future and our country's hope.
Our domestic policy begins with you -- the people of this
land. In Washington, and in the states, politicians and
officials have learned that we can't just hurl money at problems.
We're taking enough of people's money as it is: If we want to do
our jobs, we must make better use of the vast sums already at our
disposal.
More fundamentally, we ought to recognize the genius of our
own people. We must trust them -- trust you -- to find answers,
to do good things, to make America work. We must make our
government more responsive, more local. And we must learn from
the real professionals -- you, the NATaT representatives. You're
the voice of small-town America.
That's a considerable voice, of course. Eight of ten
governmental bodies in this nation represent communities with
5,000 or fewer residents. And you will have to teach the other
20 percent how to live within their means.
Your strengths begin with your commitment to the American
idea of civic responsibility. Many of you are part-time
officials, volunteers. You give your time to your communities.
3
You emphasize creativity and innovation -- what folks in my
birthplace of Milton, Massachusetts would call "old-fashioned
Yankee ingenuity." Sometimes, you exhaust your ingenuity just
trying to escape regulatory handcuffs placed upon you by federal
and state mandates. I'm concerned about those mandates, and I
believe strongly in the importance of cooperation between all
levels of government.
Our Administration also remains committed to the common-
sense approach of the Regulatory Flexibility Act -- one that lets
you use your common sense to solve your own problems -- and I
will direct federal departments and agencies to follow the spirit
and the letter of that law. 111
[Speaking of creativity, I want to add my congratulations to
one of your members, Bill Herman of Weare, New Hampshire. Bill
won your Grass-roots Leadership award by producing ideas for
cutting costs without slashing services. 11 Maybe I should call
on Bill's help in solving a big problem. I asked an advisor how
we could improve our crisis management. He said: "How about a
calendar that doesn't have August on it."]
All of you here have helped develop public/private partner-
ships -- a crucial concept as we gear up for the unique problems
of the 21st (century. The alliance between your National Center
for Small Communities and private sector sources like the Kellogg Scully X5178
Foundation set an example for others to follow.
Because of your strengths, your successes and your
leadership -- I ask you to lead one of our greatest battles:
4
Making our nation's schools the world's best.
As you know, our Administration introduced an education
strategy five months ago. We call it "America 2000," and it
involves four different tracks: accountable schools for today; a
new generation of schools for tomorrow; a nation of students
(oneword)
committed to a life-time of education; and communities where
Scully
learning can happen.
45178
You play a critical role in making the entire strategy work
-- and especially Step Four; building communities that support,
encourage and advance education. It's no coincidence that we
historically have entrusted our most important social service,
education, to communities. We now call upon communities to seize.
the opportunity to make their schools better: to adopt the
educational goals established two years ago at the educational
summit in Charlottesville, Virginia; to develop a community plan
to reach the goals; to design a report card to measure your
progress; and to create your own "break the mold school" --
something that builds upon your special strengths and takes into
account your special needs and circumstances.
Our Administration also will look to you for leadership in
other areas. For instance, Congress soon is will begin debating the Q Grant
five-year Federal Highway and Mass Transit H Progroms.
re-authorization of the nation's transportation system.
We need your National help in getting a system that spends money to
address local (ivst) needs -- and not just support politicians' careers.
Nall
We don't need more money; we need more sensible programs.
More than half of all Congressional earmarked transportation projects? don't version the bill
in the House of
in our 6:41 for in creased mustiment
in infrastructure. But, frank he
Grady
5
even show up on state and local priority lists. Over Almost 40 percent
fale
<3120
of the five current cent gas per tax already increase goes Proposedin for Congressionally that to pill would perk- go
earmarked earmar
barrel projects. You might like some of the programs your member
Scally
of Congress slips into the budget, but in the end, Congress
45178
usurps local power for its own purposes -- making decisions in
Washington that affect the lives and pocketbooks of people in
Berea, Kentucky, or Mount Wolf, Pennsylvania.
So: If Congress sends me a transportation bill with a
gasoline tax, I will veto it. We must not let Congress raise the
gas tax for projects communities don't even want. We will not let
them raise a tax that will do nothing except squeeze local
economies and lighten workers' already-thin pocketbooks.
My
We believe in letting communities shape their own futures,
lighting bill
and this belief lies at the heart of our Community Opportunity
Act. This proposal invites communities to think of new ways to
will
solve old problems -- and it lets all of us adopt a more flexible
Avest,
approach to domestic social programs. It puts the emphasis on
results, and not on procedures cooked up in Washington. After
in
all, when someone wants food or shelter or schooling, what's more
without
important, the service -- or the government paperwork?
The Act grows out of the basic assumption that government
Vollsing
assistance programs should lead people to self-sufficiency.
There's no better way to do this than to rebuild these programs
taxes
from the bottom up -- based on plans developed right at the
or
community level.
talked about Jefferson earlier: If we want to remain true
caps
Grady x4844
6
to the spirit of his philosophy, we must empower communities to
control their own futures. Our domestic policy isn't a spending
policy; it's designed to increase personal freedom, and to
produce results --- not just expensive rhetoric. This is the way
to approach all this county's challenges --- it's an extraordinary
opportunity and it's essential that we get it enacted and in use. scully 5178
Thank you for your work and your example. Even with
whatever problems our towns may face, I know we'd all agree with
writer Catharine Sedgwick, who loved her town of Stockbridge, MA.
Someone once told her that she spoke about Stockbridge as if it
were heaven. "Well," she replied, "I expect no very violent
scully
transition
45178
Good luck to all of you -- and may God bless the towns to.
which you return.
#####
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
TO:
Jony Snow
FROM:
LANNY GRIFFITH
Special Assistant to the President for
Intergovernmental Affairs
Room 160
Extension 7170
The attached is for:
Information
Review & Comment
Direct Response
Appropriate Action
Draft Reply
Per Request
File
Signature
Comments:
Document No. 26716955
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE:
9/3/91
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY: NOON, WED. , SEPT. 4
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS
SEPTEMBER 6, 1991
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
PETERSMEYER
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
Hern-r
2814
DARMAN
ROGICH
BRADY
SMITH
BROMLEY
UNTERMEYER
CARD
SNOW
DEMAREST
KAUFMAN 2135
FITZWATER
ANDERSON
GRAY
HOLIDAY
REMARKS:
Please provide comments/edits on the attached directly
to Tony Snow, Rm. 122, x2930, with a copy to this office,
NO LATER THAN NOON, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
PHILLIP D. BRADY
Assistant to the President
and Staff Secretary
(Hinchliffe/Blymire)
91 SEP -2 PM 2:48
August 30, 1991 5 p.m.
NATAT.TS Draft Five
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS
September 6, 1991
Hyatt Regency, Washington, D.C.
You know, this week doesn't mark the end of summer just for
school-children across this country. I'm back at my desk, too.
But I won't bore you with a speech titled "What I did on my sum-
mer vacation. 11 Well, okay: I will tell you my reaction when I
received a phone call on August 19th saying: "It's a crisis!" I.
responded: "I've already heard enough about Barbara's golf game."
President Eisenhower talked of "the great and priceless
privilege of being raised in a small town." II I understand because
I, too, had that privilege. The towns of my youth and of my
children's youth were very different from each other -- from the
bustling streets of Greenwich, Connecticut to the salt air of
Kennebunkport to the dusty, oil-patch plains of Midland, Texas.
But they also had much in common.
Our towns nurture dreams and nourish values. Think of the
ideals of integrity, hard work, and caring for others instilled
in a young boy growing up in Pinpoint, Georgia. Today, that man
stands ready to serve on the highest court in this land.
Clarence Thomas embodies the virtues America -- and all her towns
and townships -- hold dear.
I'm glad to be here with people from the towns that form
this nation's backbone. You know what Thomas Jefferson meant
when he said American townships "have proved themselves the
wisest invention ever devised by the wit of man for the perfect
2
exercise of self-government, and for its preservation."
You understand the problems that challenge our country. You
understand them not from a bureaucrat's safe distance, but from
the embattled position of public servants whose neighbors call to
complain about services -- or the lack thereof. You understand
the real basics of local government, and that's why you're our
country's future and our country's hope.
Our domestic policy begins with you -- the people of this
land. In Washington, and in the states, politicians and
officials have learned that we can't just hurl money at problems.
We're taking enough of people's money as it is: If we want to do
our jobs, we must make better use of the vast sums already at our
disposal.
More fundamentally, we ought to recognize the genius of our
own people. We must trust them -- trust you -- to find answers,
to do good things, to make America work. We must make our
government more responsive, more local. And we must learn from
the real professionals -- you, the NATaT representatives. You're
the voice of small-town America.
That's a considerable voice, of course. Eight of ten
governmental bodies in this nation represent communities with
5,000 or fewer residents. And you will have to teach the other
20 percent how to live within their means.
Your strengths begin with your commitment to the American
idea of civic responsibility. Many of you are part-time
officials, volunteers. You give your time to your communities.
3
You emphasize creativity and innovation -- what folks in my
birthplace of Milton, Massachusetts would call "old-fashioned
Yankee ingenuity." Sometimes, you exhaust your ingenuity just
trying to escape regulatory handcuffs placed upon you by federal
and state mandates. I'm concerned about those mandates, and I
believe strongly in the importance of cooperation between all
levels of government.
Our Administration also remains committed to the common-
sense approach of the Regulatory Flexibility Act -- one that lets
you use your common sense to solve your own problems and I
will direct federal departments and agencies to follow the spirit
and the letter of that law. 111
[Speaking of creativity, I want to add my congratulations to
one of your members, Bill Herman of Weare, New Hampshire. Bill
won your Grass-roots Leadership award by producing ideas for
cutting costs without slashing services. 11 Maybe I should call
on Bill's help in solving a big problem. I asked an advisor how
we could improve our crisis management. He said: "How about a
calendar that doesn't have August on it."]
All of you here have helped develop public/private partner-
ships -- a crucial concept as we gear up for the unique problems
of the 21st century. The alliance between your National Center
for Small Communities and private sector sources like the Kellogg
Foundation set an example for others to follow.
Because of your strengths, your successes and your
leadership -- I ask you to lead one of our greatest battles:
4
Making our nation's schools the world's best.
As you know, our Administration introduced an education
strategy five months ago. We call it "America 2000," and it
involves four different tracks: accountable schools for today; a
new generation of schools for tomorrow; a nation of students
committed to a life-time of education; and communities where
learning can happen.
You play a critical role in making the entire strategy work
-- and especially Step Four; building communities that support, VALUE
encourage Support and advance education. It's no coincidence that we
historically have entrusted our most important social service,
You to eNlisT IN our NATIONAL
education, to communities. We now call upon communities to seize
Crusade to improve educator community - by community
the opportunity to make their schools better: to adopt the
educational goals established two following years ago at the educational
summit in Charlottesville, Virginia; to develop a community plan Strategy
to reach the goals; to design a report card to measure your
progress; and too create your own "break the mold school" --
something that builds upon your special UNIQUE strengths and takes into
account your special needs and circumstances.
Our Administration also will look to you for leadership in
other areas. For instance, Congress soon will begin debating the
five-year re-authorization of the nation's transportation system.
We need your help in getting a system that spends money to
address local needs -- and not just support politicians' careers.
We don't need more money; we need more sensible programs.
More than half of all Congressional transportation projects don't
5
even show up on state and local priority lists. Over 40 percent
of the current gas tax already goes for Congressional pork-
barrel projects. You might like some of the programs your member
of Congress slips into the budget, but in the end, Congress
usurps local power for its own purposes -- making decisions in
Washington that affect the lives and pocketbooks of people in
Berea, Kentucky, or Mount Wolf, Pennsylvania.
So: If Congress sends me a transportation bill with a
gasoline tax, I will veto it. We must not let Congress raise the
gas tax for projects communities don't even want. We will not let
them raise a tax that will do nothing except squeeze local
economies and lighten workers' already-thin pocketbooks.
We believe in letting communities shape their own futures,
and this belief lies at the heart of our Community Opportunity
Act. This proposal invites communities to think of new ways to
solve old problems -- and it lets all of us adopt a more flexible
approach to domestic social programs. It puts the emphasis on
results, and not on procedures cooked up in Washington. After
all, when someone wants food or shelter or schooling, what's more
important, the service -- or the government paperwork?
The Act grows out of the basic assumption that government
assistance programs should lead people to self-sufficiency.
There's no better way to do this than to rebuild these programs
from the bottom up -- based on plans developed right at the
community level.
I talked about Jefferson earlier: If we want to remain true
6
to the spirit of his philosophy, we must empower communities to
control their own futures. Our domestic policy isn't a spending
policy; it's designed to increase personal freedom, and to
produce results -- not just expensive rhetoric. This is the way
to approach all this county's challenges -- it's an extraordinary
opportunity and it's essential that we get it enacted and in-use.
Thank you for your work and your example. Even with
whatever problems our towns may face, I know we'd all agree with
writer Catharine Sedgwick, who loved her town of Stockbridge, MA.
Someone once told her that she spoke about Stockbridge as if it
were heaven. "Well," she replied, "I expect no very violent
transition".
Good luck to all of you -- and may God bless the towns to_
which you return.
#
#
#
#
#
Document No. 26716955
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE:
9/3/91
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY: NOON, WED., SEPT. 4
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS
SEPTEMBER 6, 1991
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
PETERSMEYER
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH
BRADY
SMITH
BROMLEY
UNTERMEYER
CARD
SNOW
DEMAREST
KAUFMAN
FITZWATER
ANDERSON
GRAY
HOLIDAY
REMARKS:
Please provide comments/edits on the attached directly
to Tony Snow, Rm. 122, x2930, with a copy to this office,
NO LATER THAN NOON, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
for pg.4. acknowledgements note. call @ Thanks 6597 Stacey
PHILLIP D. BRADY
Assistant to the President
and Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
(Hinchliffe/Blymire)
August 30, 1991 5 p.m.
91 SEP -2 PH 2:48
NATAT.TS Draft Five
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS
September 6, 1991
Hyatt Regency, Washington, D.C.
You know, this week doesn't mark the end of summer just for
school-children across this country. I'm back at my desk, too.
But I won't bore you with a speech titled "What I did on my sum-
mer vacation. " 11 Well, okay: I will tell you my reaction when I
received a phone call on August 19th saying: "It's a crisis! II
responded: "I've already heard enough about Barbara's golf game. II -
President Eisenhower talked of "the great and priceless
privilege of being raised in a small town." I understand because.
I, too, had that privilege. The towns of my youth and of my
children's youth were very different from each other -- from the
bustling streets of Greenwich, Connecticut to the salt air of
Kennebunkport to the dusty, oil-patch plains of Midland, Texas.
But they also had much in common.
Our towns nurture dreams and nourish values. Think of the
ideals of integrity, hard work, and caring for others instilled
in a young boy growing up in Pinpoint, Georgia. Today, that man
stands ready to serve on the highest court in this land.
Clarence Thomas embodies the virtues America -- and all her towns
and townships -- hold dear.
I'm glad to be here with people from the towns that form
this nation's backbone. You know what Thomas Jefferson meant
when he said American townships "have proved themselves the
wisest invention ever devised by the wit of man for the perfect
2
exercise of self-government, and for its preservation."
You understand the problems that challenge our country. You.
understand them not from a bureaucrat's safe distance, but from
the embattled position of public servants whose neighbors call to
complain about services -- or the lack thereof. You understand
the real basics of local government, and that's why you're our
country's future and our country's hope.
Our domestic policy begins with you the people of this
land. In Washington, and in the states, politicians and
officials have learned that we can't just hurl money at problems.
We're taking enough of people's money as it is: If we want to do
our jobs, we must make better use of the vast sums already at our
disposal.
More fundamentally, we ought to recognize the genius of our
own people. We must trust them -- trust you -- to find answers,
to do good things, to make America work. We- must make our
government more responsive, more local. And we must learn from
the real professionals -- you, the NATaT representatives. You're
the voice of small-town America.
That's a considerable voice, of course. Eight of ten
governmental bodies in this nation represent communities with
5,000 or fewer residents. And you will have to teach the other
20 percent how to live within their means.
Your strengths begin with your commitment to the American
idea of civic responsibility. Many of you are part-time.
officials, volunteers. You give your time to your communities.
3
You emphasize creativity and innovation -- what folks in my
birthplace of Milton, Massachusetts would call "old-fashioned
Yankee ingenuity." Sometimes, you exhaust your ingenuity just
trying to escape regulatory handcuffs placed upon you by federal
and state mandates. I'm concerned about those mandates, and I
believe strongly in the importance of cooperation between all
levels of government.
Our Administration also remains committed to the common-
sense approach of the Regulatory Flexibility Act -- one that lets
you use your common sense to solve your own problems -- and I
will direct federal departments and agencies to follow the spirit
and the letter of that law.
[Speaking of creativity, I want to add my congratulations to
one of your members, Bill Herman of Weare, New Hampshire. Bill
won your Grass-roots Leadership award by producing ideas for
cutting costs without slashing services. Maybe I should call
on Bill's help in solving a big problem. I asked an advisor how
we could improve our crisis management. He said: "How aboutta
calendar that doesn't have August on it. "]
All of you here have helped develop public/private partner-
ships a crucial concept as we gear up for the unique problems
of the 21st century. The alliance between your National Center
for Small Communities and private sector sources like the Kellogg
Foundation set an example for others to follow.
Because of your strengths, your successes and your
leadership -- I ask you to lead one of our greatest battles:
4
Making our nation's schools the world's best.
As you know, our Administration introduced an education
strategy five months ago. We call it "America 2000," and it-
involves four different tracks: accountable schools for today; a
new generation of schools for tomorrow; a nation of students
committed to a life-time of education; and communities where
learning can happen.
You play a critical role in making the entire strategy work
and especially Step Four; building communities that support,
encourage and advance education. It's no coincidence that we.-
historically have entrusted our most important social service,
education, to communities. We now call upon communities to seize
the opportunity to make their schools better: to adopt the
educational goals established two years ago at the educational
summit in Charlottesville, Virginia; to develop a community plan
to reach the goals; to design a report card to measure your
progress; and to create your own "break the mold school"
something that builds upon your special strengths and takes into:
account your special needs and circumstances.
Our Administration also will look to you for leadership in
other areas. For instance, Congress soon will begin debating the
five-year re-authorization of the nation's transportation system.
We need your help in getting a system that spends money to
address local needs -- and not just support politicians' careers.
We don't need more money; we need more sensible programs.
More than half of all Congressional transportation projects don't
5
even show up on state and local priority lists. Over 40 percent
of the current gas tax already goes for Congressional pork-
barrel projects. You might like some of the programs your member
of Congress slips into the budget, but in the end, Congress
usurps local power for its own purposes -- making decisions in:
Washington that affect the lives and pocketbooks of people in
Berea, Kentucky, or Mount Wolf, Pennsylvania.
So: If Congress sends me a transportation bill with a
gasoline tax, I will veto it. We must not let Congress raise the
gas tax for projects communities don't even want. We will not let
them raise a tax that will do nothing except squeeze local
economies and lighten workers' already-thin pocketbooks.
We believe in letting communities shape their own futures,
and this belief lies at the heart of our Community Opportunity
Act. This proposal invites communities to think of new ways to
solve old problems -- and it lets all of us adopt a more flexible
approach to domestic social programs. It puts the emphasis on
results, and not on procedures cooked up in Washington. After
all, when someone wants food or shelter or schooling, what's more
important, the service -- or the government paperwork?
The Act grows out of the basic assumption that government
assistance programs should lead people to self-sufficiency.
There's no better way to do this than to rebuild these programs
from the bottom up -- based on plans developed right at the
community level.
I talked about Jefferson earlier: If we want to remain true
6
to the spirit of his philosophy, we must empower communities to
control their own futures. Our domestic policy isn't a spending
-
policy; it's designed to increase personal freedom, and to
produce results -- not just expensive rhetoric. This is the way
to approach all this county's challenges -- it's an extraordinary
opportunity and it's essential that we get it enacted and in use.
Thank you for your work and your example. Even with
whatever problems our towns may face, I know we'd all agree with
writer Catharine Sedgwick, who loved her town of Stockbridge, MA.
Someone once told her that she spoke about Stockbridge as if it
were heaven. "Well," she replied, "I expect no very violent
transition".
Good luck to all of you -- and may God bless the towns to
which you return.
# # # # #
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 ; 9- 4-91 ; 8:42AM ;
4562983-
6218;# 2
Document No. 26716955
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
91 SEP 4 A9: 14
DATE:
9/3/91
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY: NOON, WED., SEPT. 4
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS
SEPTEMBER 6, 1991
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
PETERSMEYER
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH
BRADY
SMITH
BROMLEY
UNTERMEYER
CARD
SNOW
DEMAREST
KAUFMAN
FITZWATER
ANDERSON
GRAY
HOLIDAY
REMARKS:
Please provide comments/edits on the attached directly
NO LATER THAN NOON, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4. Thank you.
to Tony Snow, Rm. 122, x2930, with a copy to this office,
RESPONSE:
see pomments ADS
PHILLIP D. BRADY
Assistant to the President
and
Staff
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 ; 9- 4-91 ; 8:42AM ;
4562983-
6218;# 3
(Hinchliffe/Blymire)
August 30, 1991 5 p.m.
91 SEP -? PM 2:48
NATAT.TS Draft Five
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS
September 6, 1991
Hyatt Regency, Washington, D.C.
You know, this week doesn't mark the end of summer just for
school-children across this country. I'm back at my desk, too.
But I won't bore you with a speech titled "What I did on my sum-
mer vacation." 11 Well, okay: I will tell you my reaction when I
received a phone call on August 19th saying: "It's a crisis!" I
responded: "I've already heard enough about Barbara's golf game."
President Eisenhower talked of "the great and priceless
privilege of being raised in a small town." I understand because
I, too, had that privilege. The towns of my youth and of my
treelined children's youth were very different from each other -- from the
bustling streets of Greenwich, Connecticut to the salt air of
Kennebunkport to the dusty, oil-patch plains of Midland, Texas.
But they also had much in common.
Our towns nurture dreams and nourish values. Think of the
ideals of integrity, hard work, and caring for others instilled
in a young boy growing up in Pinpoint, Georgia. Today, that man
stands ready to serve on the highest court in this land.
Clarence Thomas embodies the virtues America -- and all her towns
and townships -- hold dear.
I'm glad to be here with people from the towns that form
this nation's backbone. You know what Thomas Jefferson meant
when he said American townships "have proved themselves the
wisest invention ever devised by the wit of man for the perfect
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 ; 9- 4-91 ; 8:42AM ;
4562983->
6218;# 4
2
exercise of self-government, and for its preservation.
You understand the problems that challenge our country. You
understand them not from a bureaucrat's safe distance, but from
the embattled position of public servants whose neighbors call to
complain about services -- or the lack thereof. You understand
the real basics of local government, and that's why you're our.
country's future and our country's hope.
Our domestic policy begins with you -- the people of this
land. In Washington, and in the states, politicians and
officials have learned that we can't just hurl money at problems.
We're taking enough of people's money as it is: If we want to do
our jobs, we must make better use of the vast sums already at our
disposal.
More fundamentally, we ought to recognize the genius of our
own people. We must trust them -- trust you -- to find answers,
to do good things, to make America work. We must make our
government more responsive, more local. And we must learn from
the real professionals -- you, the NATaT representatives. You're
the voice of small-town America.
That's a considerable voice, of course. Eight of ten
governmental bodies in this nation represent communities with
5,000 or fewer residents. And you will have to teach the other
20 percent how to live within their means.
Your strengths begin with your commitment to the American
idea of civic responsibility. Many of you are part-time
officials, volunteers. You give your time to your communities.
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 ; 9- 4-91 ; 8:43AM ;
4562983-
6218;# 5
3
You emphasize creativity and innovation -- what folks in my
birthplace of Milton, Massachusetts would call "old-fashioned
Yankee ingenuity." Sometimes, you exhaust your ingenuity just
trying to escape regulatory handcuffs placed upon you by federal
and state mandates. I'm concerned about those mandates, and I
believe strongly in the importance of cooperation between all
levels of government.
Our Administration also remains committed to the common-
sense approach of the Regulatory Flexibility Act -- one that lets
you use your common sense to solve your own problems -- and I
will direct federal departments and agencies to follow the spirit
and the letter of that law. 111
[Speaking of creativity, I want to add my congratulations to
one of your members, Bill Herman of Weare, New Hampshire. Bill
won your Grass-roots Leadership award by producing ideas for
cutting costs without slashing services. 11 Maybe I should call
on Bill's help in solving a big problem. I asked an my idvisor state how
we could improve our crisis management. They He said: "How about a
calendar that doesn't have August on it."]
All of you here have helped develop public/private partner-
ships -- a crucial concept as we gear up for the unique problems
of the 21st century. The alliance between your National Center
for Small Communities and private sector sources like the Kellogg
Foundation set an example for others to follow.
Because of your strengths, your successes and your
leadership -- I ask you to lead one of our greatest battles:
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 ; 9- 4-91 ; 8:43AM ;
4562983-
6218;# 6
4
Making our nation's schools the world's best.
As you know, our Administration introduced an education
strategy five months ago. We call it "America 2000," and it
involves four different tracks: accountable schools for today; a
new generation of schools for tomorrow; a nation of students
committed to a life-time of education; and communities where
learning can happen.
You play a critical role in making the entire strategy work
-- and especially Step Four; building communities that support,
encourage and advance education. It's no coincidence that we
historically have entrusted our the most such important a fundmental social service, responsibility
education, to communities. We now call upon communities to seize
the opportunity to make their schools better: to adopt the
educational goals established two years ago at the educational
summit in Charlottesville, Virginia; to develop a community plan
to reach the goals; to design a report card to measure your
progress; and to create your own "break the mold school" --
something that builds upon your special strengths and takes into
account your special needs and circumstances.
Our Administration also will look to you for leadership in
other areas. For instance, Congress soon will begin debating the
five-year re-authorization of the nation's transportation system.
We need your help in getting a system that spends money to
address local needs -- and not just support politicians' careers.
We don't need more money; we need more sensible programs.
More than half of all Congressional transportation projects don't
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 ; 9- 4-91 ; 8:44AM ;
4562983-
6218;# 7
5
even show up on state and local priority lists. Over 40 percent
of the current gas tax already goes for Congressional pork-
barrel projects. You might like some of the programs your member
of Congress slips into the budget, but in the end, Congress
usurps local power for its own purposes -- making decisions in
Washington that affect the lives and pocketbooks of people in
Berea, Kentucky, or Mount Wolf, Pennsylvania.
would for gasoline of
So: If Congress sends me a transportation bill with a
believe
tax, I will veto it. We must not let Congress raise the
in
been
Ky
gas tax for projects communities don't even want. We will not let
Ruca
them raise a tax that will do nothing except squeese
(DD)
@conomies and Lighten workers' already-thin pocketbooks. 11
We believe in letting communities shape their own futures,
and this belief lies at the heart of our Community Opportunity
Act. This proposal invites communities to think of new ways to
solve old problems -- and it lets all of us adopt a more flexible
on Is propo thrnover this
approach to domestic social programs. It puts the emphasis on
lets.
results, and not on procedures cooked up in Washington. After:
all, when someone wants food or shelter or schooling, what's more
Ifso
40
important, the service -- or the government paperwork?
need tor say not to we
The Act grows out of the basic assumption that government
assistance programs should lead people to self-sufficiency.
There's no better way to do this than to rebuild these programs
mention
from the bottom up -- based on plans developed right at the
community level.
I talked about Jefferson earlier: If we want to remain true
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 ; 9- 4-91 ; 8:44AM ;
4562983-
6218;# 8
6
to the spirit of his philosophy, we must empower communities to
control their own futures. Our domestic policy isn't a spending
policy; it's designed to increase personal freedom, and to
produce results -- not just expensive rhetoric. This is the way
to approach all this county's challenges -- it's an extraordinary
opportunity and it's essential that we get it enacted and in use.
Thank you for your work and your example. Even with
whatever problems our towns may face, I know we'd all agree with
writer Catharine Sedgwick, who loved her town of Stockbridge, MA.
Someone once told her that she spoke about Stockbridge as if it
were heaven. "Well," she replied, "I expect no very violent
transition".
Good luck to all of you -- and may God bless the towns to_
which you return.
#
#
#
will take in
little This to sink
Document No. 26716955
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE:
9/3/91
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY: NOON, WED., SEPT. 4
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS
SEPTEMBER 6, 1991
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
PETERSMEYER
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH
BRADY
SMITH
BROMLEY
UNTERMEYER
CARD
SNOW
DEMAREST
KAUFMAN
FITZWATER
ANDERSON
GRAY
HOLIDAY
REMARKS:
Please provide comments/edits on the attached directly
to Tony Snow, Rm. 122, x2930, with a copy to this office,
NO LATER THAN NOON, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
No comment. Thanks.
Elizabeth LuttigL
09/04/91
PHILLIP D. BRADY
Assistant to the President
and Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
Document No. 26716955
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE:
9/3/91
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY: NOON, WED., SEPT. 4
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS
SEPTEMBER 6, 1991
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
PETERSMEYER
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH
BRADY
SMITH
BROMLEY
UNTERMEYER
CARD
SNOW
DEMAREST
KAUFMAN
FITZWATER
ANDERSON
GRAY
HOLIDAY
REMARKS:
Please provide comments/edits on the attached directly
to Tony Snow, Rm. 122, x2930, with a copy to this office,
NO LATER THAN NOON, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
oh
DS
PHILLIP D. BRADY
Assistant to the President
and Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
(Hinchliffe/Blymire)
91 SEP -2 PH :2:48
August 30, 1991 5 p.m.
NATAT.TS Draft Five
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS
September 6, 1991
Hyatt Regency, Washington, D.C.
You know, this week doesn't mark the end of summer just for
school-children across this country. I'm back at my desk, too.
But I won't bore you with a speech titled "What I did on my sum-
mer vacation." 11 Well, okay: I will tell you my reaction when I
received a phone call on August 19th saying: "It's a crisis!" I
responded: "I've already heard enough about Barbara's golf game."
President Eisenhower talked of "the great and priceless
privilege of being raised in a small town." I understand because
I, too, had that privilege. The towns of my youth and of my
children's youth were very different from each other --- from the
bustling streets of Greenwich, Connecticut to the salt air of
Kennebunkport to the dusty, oil-patch plains of Midland, Texas.
But they also had much in common.
Our towns nurture dreams and nourish values. Think of the
ideals of integrity, hard work, and caring for others instilled
in a young boy growing up in Pinpoint, Georgia. Today, that man
stands ready to serve on the highest court in this land.
Clarence Thomas embodies the virtues America -- and all her towns.
and townships -- hold dear.
I'm glad to be here with people from the towns that form
this nation's backbone. You know what Thomas Jefferson meant
when he said American townships "have proved themselves the
wisest invention ever devised by the wit of man for the perfect
2
exercise of self-government, and for its preservation."
You understand the problems that challenge our country. You.
understand them not from a bureaucrat's safe distance, but from
the embattled position of public servants whose neighbors call to
complain about services -- or the lack thereof. You understand
the real basics of local government, and that's why you're our
country's future and our country's hope.
Our domestic policy begins with you the people of this
land. In Washington, and in the states, politicians and
officials have learned that we can't just hurl money at problems.
We're taking enough of people's money as it is: If we want to do
our jobs, we must make better use of the vast sums already at our
disposal.
More fundamentally, we ought to recognize the genius of our
own people. We must trust them -- trust you -- to find answers,
to do good things, to make America work. We must make our
government more responsive, more local. And we must learn from
the real professionals -- you, the NATaT representatives. You're
the voice of small-town America.
That's a considerable voice, of course. Eight of ten
governmental bodies in this nation represent communities with
5,000 or fewer residents. And you will have to teach the other:
20 percent how to live within their means.
Your strengths begin with your commitment to the American
idea of civic responsibility. Many of you are part-time
officials, volunteers. You give your time to your communities.
3
You emphasize creativity and innovation -- what folks in my
birthplace of Milton, Massachusetts would call "old-fashioned
Yankee ingenuity. II Sometimes, you exhaust your ingenuity just:
trying to escape regulatory handcuffs placed upon you by federal
and state mandates. I'm concerned about those mandates, and I
believe strongly in the importance of cooperation between all
levels of government.
Our Administration also remains committed to the common-
sense approach of the Regulatory Flexibility Act -- one that lets
you use your common sense to solve your own problems -- and I
will direct federal departments and agencies to follow the spirit
and the letter of that law.
[Speaking of creativity, I want to add my congratulations to
one of your members, Bill Herman of Weare, New Hampshire. Bill
won your Grass-roots Leadership award by producing ideas for
cutting costs without slashing services. 11 Maybe I should call
on Bill's help in solving a big problem. I asked an advisor how
we could improve our crisis management. He said: "How about a
calendar that doesn't have August on it."]
All of you here have helped develop public/private partner-
ships -- a crucial concept as we gear up for the unique problems
of the 21st century. The alliance between your National Center
for Small Communities and private sector sources like the Kellogg
Foundation set an example for others to follow.
Because of your strengths, your successes and your
leadership -- I ask you to lead one of our greatest battles:
4
Making our nation's schools the world's best.
As you know, our Administration introduced an education
strategy five months ago. We call it "America 2000," and it:
involves four different tracks: accountable schools for today; a...
new generation of schools for tomorrow; a nation of students.
committed to a life-time of education; and communities where
learning can happen.
You play a critical role in making the entire strategy work:
-- and especially Step Four; building communities that support,
encourage and advance education. It's no coincidence that we-
historically have entrusted our most important social service,
education, to communities. We now call upon communities to seize
the opportunity to make their schools better: to adopt the
educational goals established two years ago at the educational
summit in Charlottesville, Virginia; to develop a community plan
to reach the goals; to design a report card to measure your
progress; and to create your own "break the mold school" --
something that builds upon your special strengths and takes into
account your special needs and circumstances.
Our Administration also will look to you for leadership in
other areas. For instance, Congress soon will begin debating the
five-year re-authorization of the nation's transportation system.
We need your help in getting a system that spends money to
address local needs -- and not just support politicians' careers.
We don't need more money; we need more sensible programs.
More than half of all Congressional transportation projects don't-
5
even show up on state and local priority lists. Over 40 percent
of the current gas tax already goes for Congressional pork-
barrel projects. You might like some of the programs your member
of Congress slips into the budget, but in the end, Congress
usurps local power for its own purposes -- making decisions in
Washington that affect the lives and pocketbooks of people in
Berea, Kentucky, or Mount Wolf, Pennsylvania.
So: If Congress sends me a transportation bill with a
gasoline tax, I will veto it. We must not let Congress raise the
gas tax for projects communities don't even want. We will not let
them raise a tax that will do nothing except squeeze local
economies and lighten workers' already-thin pocketbooks.
We believe in letting communities shape their own futures,
and this belief lies at the heart of our Community Opportunity
Act. This proposal invites communities to think of new ways to
solve old problems -- and it lets all of us adopt a more flexible
approach to domestic social programs. It puts the emphasis on
results, and not on procedures cooked up in Washington. After
all, when someone wants food or shelter or schooling, what's more
important, the service -- or the government paperwork?
The Act grows out of the basic assumption that government
assistance programs should lead people to self-sufficiency.
There's no better way to do this than to rebuild these programs
from the bottom up -- based on plans developed right at the
community level.
I talked about Jefferson earlier: If we want to remain true
6
to the spirit of his philosophy, we must empower communities to
control their own futures. Our domestic policy isn't a spending
policy; it's designed to increase personal freedom, and to
produce results -- not just expensive rhetoric. This is the way
to approach all this county's challenges -- it's an extraordinary
opportunity and it's essential that we get it enacted and in use.
Thank you for your work and your example. Even with
whatever problems our towns may face, I know we'd all agree with
writer Catharine Sedgwick, who loved her town of Stockbridge, MA.
Someone once told her that she spoke about Stockbridge as if it
were heaven. "Well," she replied, "I expect no very violent
transition".
Good luck to all of you -- and may God bless the towns to
which you return.
# #- # # #-
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
91 AUG 3 P4: 42
September 3, 1991
MEMORANDUM FOR TONY SNOW
Deputy Assistant to the President for
Communications and Director of Speechwriting
FROM:
JANET REHNQUIST gR
Associate Counsel to the President
SUBJECT:
Presidential Remarks -- National Association of
Towns and Townships
At your request, Counsel's Office has reviewed the above-
referenced matter. We have no legal objections.
Thank you for the opportunity to review this matter
CC: Phil Brady
(Hinchliffe/Blymire)
August 30, 1991 1 p.m.
NATAT Draft Two
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS
September 6, 1991
Hyatt Regency, Washington, D.C.
Think of
Thank you. You know, like it does for school-children all
to
over the country, this week marks my return from the beach -- but
wh lack this
choose As
I won't bore you with a speech titled "What I did on my summer
stands it
vacation. " I will tell you my reaction when I received a
doesn't tell
phone call on August 19th saying: "It's a crisis!" I responded:
"I've already heard enough about Barbara's golf game. "
clarss
I'm glad to have the chance to be here today with all of you
vashingon
who have come from the towns that are the heart of this country.
joke
Many people don't realize 8 out of 10 local governments represent
atich
populations less than 5,000: 8 out of 10. This shows we still ap-
preciate townships, which Jefferson said "have proved themselves
how?
the wisest invention ever devised by the wit of man for the
perfect exercise of self-government, and for its preservation."
You know, President Eisenhower talked of "the great and
priceless privilege of being raised in a small town." I under-
stand because I, too, had that privilege. The towns of my youth
and of my children's youth were very different from each other -
- from the snowbound streets of Greenwich, Connecticut to the
salt air of Kennebunkport to the dust-blown plains of Midland,
Texas. But they also had much in common. To me, our towns sum
up the deepest core of this nation -- they are places where you
HSP,
why
can dig in your roots, live your values, make a difference.
And they places that nurture dreams. Think of the ideals
Small towns transint
2
of integrity, hard work, and caring for others instilled in a
young boy growing up in Pinpoint, Georgia. Today, that man stands
ready to serve on the highest court in this land and I know
that Clarence Thomas will make us proud because he embodies the
virtues America -- and all her towns and townships -- hold dear.
?
You know, NATaT is the group we call on to hear the perspec-
tive of our communities. You're the voice of small-town America
-- the voice of the real America. And you meet the challenges
that come with being community leaders with special strength.
Your strengths begin with your commitment to the American
idea of civic responsibility. Many of you are part-time
officials, volunteers, giving your time as a gift back to the
places where you have chosen to spend your lives.
Your strengths also include creativity and innovation --
what folks in my birthplace of Milton, Massachusetts would call
"old-fashioned Yankee ingenuity." You devise means to finance
torsuveratic sponds too
local services -- ways to realize economic development -- and
workable solutions to comply with stringent state and federal
mandates. By the way, I'm keenly aware of the restrictions these
mandates place on you -- and of the importance of intergov.
bitween
cooperation among federal, state and local governments.
I want to tell you today in no uncertain terms that I'm committed
to regulatory relief that I support the Regulatory Flexibility
which
does
Act -- and that I will direct federal departments and agencies to
what
7
follow the spirit and the letter of that law.
Speaking of creativity, I want to add my congratulations to
3
shown
one of your members, who's set an example of how hometown leader-
ship can help communities come up with innovative ideas and
reduce costs on their own. I understand he was honored last
Tanlure
recognizing again the winner of
night, but it's worth giving more recognition to the recipient of
inquirity
the Grassroots Leadership Award: Bill Herman of Weare, N.H.
Maybe I should call on Bill to help me solve a problem. I
asked an advisor if he had an idea to improve crisis management.
He said: "How about a calendar that doesn't have August on it."
All of you here are also leaders in public/private partner-
ships -- a crucial concept as we confront the challenges of the
21st century. This approach brings fresh perspectives and resour-
cliche
ces to local problems. You've made a significant contribution by
the alliance between your National Center for Small Communities
and private sector sources like the Kellogg Foundation -- this is
terrific work, this is the future, we need more of it.
Because of your strengths, your successes and your leader-
ship, I call on you to respond to one of our greatest challenges.
Thanks to some gifted leaders here in Washington, and to the
immeasurable creativity of grass-roots leaders like yourselves
across this land, our nation has begun an exciting renaissance of
excellence in our schools. Five months ago we introduced "America
2000" -- a challenge to reinvent American education. This program
sketched out a national education strategy made up of 4 elements:
accountable schools for today -- a new generation of schools for
tomorrow -- a nation of students committed to a lifetime of
education -- and communities where all our children can learn.
learning can hapen,
You play R critical 10/4 in making the Entire 4 strategy work: and ESP. Step FOUFA
It"s the 4th step where you play a critical role. People who
want Washington to solve all problems are missing the point.
What happens here doesn't matter half as much as what happens in
each local community. Every person, every school, every town is
a player in a special national army an army undertaking the
most important crusade of all -- the crusade to prepare our
children and ourselves for our country's future. You can -- you
must -- make our communities places where learning can happen. III
Today I'm proud to share with you details of our proposed
new Community Opportunity Act. It an exciting and important
innovation, because it recognizes that we need more solutions --
not more money. It challenges our communities to think of new
ideas -- and it lets us all, together be more flexible in how we
weak
handle domestic social programs.
The Act grows out of the basic assumption that government
assistance programs should lead people to self-sufficiency -- not
just deliver money. There's no better way to do this than to
rebuild these programs from the bottom up -- based on plans
developed right at the community level, by the people in need
\
?
What does this mean to you? If it's enacted, you could go
home and get your neighbors brainstorming about how you'd really
this gread
like to see your towns work. Do you want to take over the
a bit bright-
administration of welfare? Create financial incentives to keep
quid naivi.
kids from dropping out of school? The possibilities are
Just how 10
we hard
limitless. You'd be empowered to control your own communities -
power to
- your own future. This is the way we should approach all this
people who don't have legal control prer dollars, rules reqs2
5
county's challenges -- it's an extraordinary opportunity and it's
essential that we get it enacted and in use. III
Thank you for your work and your example. Even with our
towns' problems, I know we'd all agree with writer Catharine
Sedgwick, who loved her town of Stockbridge, MA. Someone once
told her that she spoke about Stockbridge as if it were heaven.
"Well," she replied, "I expect no very violent transition".
Good luck to all of you -- and may God bless the towns to
which you return.
#####
Transportation
Am 2000 ingle
2
You understand the problems that challenge our country. You
understand them first-hand, not from a bureaucrat's safe distance
-- that's why you're our country's future and our country's hope.
Our domestic policy begins with you -- the people of this
land. It begins with trusting you to come up with answers, to do
good things, to make America work. We must make our government
And fideral arthorities must take the time to
smaller, more responsive, more local. That means learning from
you -- the NATaT representatives. You're the voice of small-
town America -- the voice of the real America. And you meet with
special strength the challenges of being community leaders.
Your strengths begin with your commitment to the American
idea of civic responsibility. Many of you are part-time offic-
ials, volunteers, giving your time as a gift back to the places
where you have chosen to spend your lives. I know the special
challenges of being a community leader -- and you do a great job.
Your strengths also include creativity and innovation --
what folks in my birthplace of Milton, Massachusetts would call
"old-fashioned Yankee ingenuity." By the way, I'm keenly aware
of the restrictions stringent federal and state mandates place on
you -- and of the importance of cooperation between all levels of
government. I'm committed to the common-sense approach of the
Regulatory Flexibility Act -- I will direct federal departments
and agencies to follow the spirit and the letter of that law. III
[Speaking of creativity, I want to add my congratulations to
one of your members, who's shown an example of how hometown lead-
ership can help communities come up with innovative ideas and
3
reduce costs on their own. I understand he was honored last
night, but it's worth recognizing again the winner of the Grass-
roots Leadership Award: Bill Herman of Weare, N.H. 11 Maybe I
should call on Bill's Yankee ingenuity to help with a problem. I
asked an advisor if he had an idea to improve crisis management.
He said: "How about a calendar that doesn't have August on it."]
All of you here are also leaders in public/private partner-
ships -- a crucial concept as we gear up for the unique problems
of the 21st century. You've made a significant contribution by
the alliance between your National Center for Small Communities
and private sector sources like the Kellogg Foundation -- this is
terrific work -- this is the future -- we need more of it.
Because of these qualities - your strengths, your successes
and your leadership -- today I call on you to respond to one of
our greatest challenges. Thanks to some gifted leaders here in
Washington, and to the immeasurable creativity of grass-roots
leaders like yourselves across this land, our nation has begun an
exciting renaissance of excellence in our schools. Five 5 months ago
we introduced "America 2000" -- a challenge to reinvent American
education. We sketched out a national education strategy of
four
elements: accountable schools for today; a new generation of
schools for tomorrow; a nation of students committed to a life-
time of education; and communities where learning can happen.
LA
You play a critical role in making the entire strategy work
lang
-- and especially Step Four. People who want Washington to solve
all their problems are missing the point. What happens here
(Hinchliffe/Blymire)
August 30, 1991 3 p.m.
NATAT Draft Four
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS
September 6, 1991
Hyatt Regency, Washington, D.C.
You know, this week doesn't mark the end of summer just for
school-children across this country. I'm back at my desk, too.
But I won't bore you with a speech titled "What I did on my sum-
mer vacation." 11 I will tell you my reaction when I received a
phone call on August 19th saying: "It's a crisis!" I responded:
"I've already heard enough about Barbara's golf game. " III
You know, President Eisenhower talked of "the great and
priceless privilege of being raised in a small town. " I under-
stand because I, too, had that privilege. The towns of my youth
and of my children's youth were very different from each other -
- from the snowbound streets of Greenwich, Connecticut to the
salt air of Kennebunkport to the dust-blown plains of Midland,
Texas. But they also had much in common. Our towns
are places
and nourish values.
that nurture dreams.
Think of the ideals of integrity, hard
work, and caring for others instilled in a young boy growing up
in Pinpoint, Georgia. Today, that man stands ready to serve on
the highest court in this land. Clarence Thomas embodies the
virtues America -- and all her towns and townships -- hold dear.
form this
I'm glad to be here with people from the towns that are this
nation's backbone
country's heart. You know what Thomas Jefferson meant when he
said American townships "have proved themselves the wisest
invention ever devised by the wit of man for the perfect exercise
of self-government, and for its preservation."
4
doesn't matter half as much as what happens in each local
community. Every person, every school, every town is a player in
a special national army -- an army undertaking the most important
crusade of all -- the crusade to prepare our children and
ourselves for our country's future. You can -- you must -- make
our communities places where learning can happen. III
And we're going to turn to you on more fronts than just
taking control of your local education. For instance, the 5-year
re-authorization of the nation's transportation system is up for
debate this month. It's absolutely essential that as an integral
part of this we give state and local governments more flexibility
-- ore choice --- in how federal dollars are spent.
But this doesn't mean we should give into Congress' threat
to impose a 5-cent increase in the gas tax. If they send such a
tax bill to me, I will veto it. Look, over half of all Congress-
ional transportation projects don't even show up on state and
percent
local priority lists. Over 40% of the current gas tax already
goes for Congressional pork barrel projects. Congress usurps
local power for their own purposes -- making decisions in
Washington that affect the lives and pocketbooks of people in
Berea, Kentucky, or Mount Wolf, Pennsylvania.
We will not let them raise the gas tax for projects commun-
ities don't even want. We will not let them raise a tax that will
do nothing except put an even tighter pinch on local economies.
This basic assumption that local decisions should be made by
local groups is also at the core of our Community Opportunity
5
Act. This exciting new proposal recognizes that we need more
solutions -- not more money. It challenges our communities to
think of new ideas -- and it lets all of us, together, be more
flexible in how we handle domestic social programs.
The Act grows out of the basic assumption that government
assistance programs should lead people to self-sufficiency -- not
just deliver money. There's no better way to do this than to
rebuild these programs from the bottom up -- based on plans
developed right at the community level.
If it's enacted, you'd be empowered to control your own
communities -- your own future. This is the way to approach all
this county's challenges -- it's an extraordinary opportunity and
it's essential that we get it enacted and in use. III
Thank you for your work and your example. Even with whatever
problems our towns may face, I know we'd all agree with writer
Catharine Sedgwick, who loved her town of Stockbridge, MA. Some-
one once told her that she spoke about Stockbridge as if it were
heaven. "Well" she replied "I expect no very violent transition".
Good luck to all of you -- and may God bless the towns to
which you return.
#
#
#
#
#
AUG-30-1991 11:19 FROM DOEd OFFICE of SECRETARY TO
94562223
P.10
AMERICA 2000 Community 4-part challenge
Adopt the goals, develop a community plan to reach them as
well as a report card to measure progress, and create your own
"break the mold" New American School.
Document No. 26716985
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
9/3/91 SEP 4 P1:41
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUI
COMMENTS FROM
4
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NATIONAL ASSOCIATIO
ROGER PORTER'S
SEPTEMBER 6, 1991
HIPS
SUBJECT:
OFFICE
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
PETERSMEYER
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH
BRADY
SMITH
BROMLEY
UNTERMEYER
CARD
SNOW
DEMAREST
KAUFMAN
FITZWATER
ANDERSON
GRAY
HOLIDAY
REMARKS:
NO LATER Tony Snow, Rm. 122, x2930, with a copy to this office,
to Please provide comments/edits on the attached directly
THAN NOON, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
PHILLIP D. BRADY
Assistant to the President
and Staff Secretary
(Hinchliffe/Blymire)
91 SEP -2 PM 2:48
August 30, 1991 5 p.m.
NATAT.TS Draft Five
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS
September 6, 1991
Hyatt Regency, Washington, D.C.
You know, this week doesn't mark the end of summer just for
school-children across this country. I'm back at my desk, too.
But I won't bore you with a speech titled "What I did on my sum-
mer vacation." 11 Well, okay: I will tell you my reaction when I
received a phone call on August 19th saying: "It's a crisis!" I
responded: "I've already heard enough about Barbara's golf game."
President Eisenhower talked of "the great and priceless
privilege of being raised in a small town." I understand because
I, too, had that privilege. The towns of my youth and of my
children's youth were very different from each other -- from the
bustling streets of Greenwich, Connecticut to the salt air of
Kennebunkport to the dusty, oil-patch plains of Midland, Texas.
But they also had much in common.
Our towns nurture dreams and nourish values. Think of the
ideals of integrity, hard work, and caring for others instilled
in a young boy growing up in Pinpoint, Georgia. Today, that man
stands ready to serve on the highest court in this land.
Clarence Thomas embodies the virtues America -- and all her towns
and townships -- hold dear.
I'm glad to be here with people from the towns that form
this nation's backbone. You know what Thomas Jefferson meant
when he said American townships "have proved themselves the
wisest invention ever devised by the wit of man for the perfect
2
exercise of self-government, and for its preservation.'
You understand the problems that challenge our country. You
understand them not from a bureaucrat's safe distance, but from
the embattled position of public servants whose neighbors call to
complain about services -- or the lack thereof. You understand
the real basics of local government, and that's why you're our
country's future and our country's hope.
Our domestic policy begins with you -- the people of this
land. In Washington, and in the states, politicians and
officials have learned that we can't just hurl money at problems.
We're taking enough of people's money as it is: If we want to do
our jobs, we must make better use of the vast sums already at our
disposal.
More fundamentally, we ought to recognize the genius of our
own people. We must trust them -- trust you -- to find answers,
to do good things, to make America work. We must make our
government more responsive, more local. And we must learn from
the real professionals -- you, the NATaT representatives. You're
the voice of small-town America.
That's a considerable voice, of course. Eight of ten
governmental bodies in this nation represent communities with
5,000 or fewer residents. And you will have to teach the other
20 percent how to live within their means.
Your strengths begin with your commitment to the American
idea of civic responsibility. Many of you are part-time
officials, volunteers. You give your time to your communities.
3
You emphasize creativity and innovation -- what folks in my
birthplace of Milton, Massachusetts would call "old-fashioned
Yankee ingenuity." Sometimes, you exhaust your ingenuity just
trying to escape regulatory handcuffs placed upon you by federal
and state mandates. I'm concerned about those mandates, and I
believe strongly in the importance of cooperation between all
levels of government.
Our Administration also remains committed to the common-
sense approach of the Regulatory Flexibility Act -- one that lets
you use your common sense to solve your own problems -- and I
will direct federal departments and agencies to follow the spirit
and the letter of that law. 111
[Speaking of creativity, I want to add my congratulations to
one of your members, Bill Herman of Weare, New Hampshire. Bill
won your Grass-roots Leadership award by producing ideas for
cutting costs without slashing services. 11 Maybe I should call
on Bill's help in solving a big problem. I asked an advisor how
we could improve our crisis management. He said: "How about a
calendar that doesn't have August on it."]
All of you here have helped develop public/private partner-
ships -- a crucial concept as we gear up for the unique problems
of the 21st century. The alliance between your National Center
for Small Communities and private sector sources like the Kellogg
Foundation set an example for others to follow.
Because of your strengths, your successes and your
leadership -- I ask you to lead one of our greatest battles:
4
Making our nation's schools the world's best.
As you know, our Administration introduced an education
strategy five months ago. We call it "America 2000," and it
involves four different tracks: accountable schools for today; a
new generation of schools for tomorrow; a nation of students
committed to a life-time of education; and communities where
learning can happen.
You play a critical role in making the entire strategy work
-- and especially Step Four; building communities that support,
encourage and advance education. It's no coincidence that we
historically have entrusted our most important social service,
education, to communities. We now call upon communities to seize
the opportunity to make their schools better: to adopt the
educational goals established two years ago at the educational
eighteen months ago with the nation's
Governors
summit in Charlottesville, Virginia; to develop a community plan
to reach the goals; to design a report card to measure your
progress; and to create your own "break the mold school" --
something that builds upon your special strengths and takes into
account your special needs and circumstances.
Our Administration also will look to you for leadership in
other areas. For instance, Congress soon will begin debating the
five-year re-authorization of the nation's transportation system.
We need your help in getting a system that spends money to
address local needs -- and not just support politicians' careers.
We don't need more money; we need more sensible programs.
More than half of all Congressional transportation projects don't
5
even show up on state and local priority lists. Over 40 percent
of the current gas tax already goes for Congressional pork-
barrel projects. You might like some of the programs your member
of Congress slips into the budget, but in the end, Congress
usurps local power for its own purposes -- making decisions in
Washington that affect the lives and pocketbooks of people in
Berea, Kentucky, or Mount Wolf, Pennsylvania.
So: If Congress sends me a transportation bill with a
gasoline tax, I will veto it. We must not let Congress raise the
gas tax for projects communities don't even want. We will not let
them raise a tax that will do nothing except squeeze local
economies and lighten workers' already-thin pocketbooks.
We believe in letting communities shape their own futures,
and this belief lies at the heart of our Community Opportunity
Act. This proposal invites communities to think of new ways to
solve old problems -- and it lets all of us adopt a more flexible
approach to domestic social programs. It puts the emphasis on
results, and not on procedures cooked up in Washington. After
all, when someone wants food or shelter or schooling, what's more
important, the service -- or the government paperwork?
The Act grows out of the basic assumption that government
assistance programs should lead people to self-sufficiency.
There's no better way to do this than to rebuild these programs
from the bottom up -- based on plans developed right at the
community level.
I talked about Jefferson earlier: If we want to remain true
6
to the spirit of his philosophy, we must empower communities to
control their own futures. Our domestic policy isn't a spending
policy; it's designed to increase personal freedom, and to
produce results -- not just expensive rhetoric. This is the way
to approach all this county's challenges --- it's an extraordinary
opportunity and it's essential that we get it enacted and in use.
Thank you for your work and your example. Even with
whatever problems our towns may face, I know we'd all agree with
writer Catharine Sedgwick, who loved her town of Stockbridge, MA.
Someone once told her that she spoke about Stockbridge as if it
were heaven. "Well," she replied, "I expect no very violent
transition".
Good luck to all of you -- and may God bless the towns to_
which you return.
#
#
#
#
#
Document No. 26716955
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
9/3/91
DATE:
ACTTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY: NOON, WED., SEPT. 4
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS
SEPTEMBER 6, 1991
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
PETERSMEYER
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH
BRADY
SMITH
BROMLEY
UNTERMEYER
CARD
SNOW
DEMAREST
KAUFMAN
ANDERSON
FITZWATER
GRAY
HOLIDAY
REMARKS:
Please provide comments/edits on the attached directly
to Tony Snow, Rm. 122, x2930, with a copy to this office,
NO LATER THAN NOON, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
PHILLIP D. BRADY
Assistant to the President
and Staff Secretary
(Hinchliffe/Blymire)
91 SEP -2 FM 2:48
August 30, 1991 5 p.m.
NATAT.TS Draft Five
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS
September 6, 1991
Hyatt Regency, Washington, D.C.
You know, this week doesn't mark the end of summer just for
school-children across this country. I'm back at my desk, too.
But I won't bore you with a speech titled "What I did on my sum-
mer vacation. " Well, okay: I will tell you my reaction when I
received a phone call on August 19th saying: "It's a crisis!" I
responded: "I've already heard enough about Barbara's golf game. "
President Eisenhower talked of "the great and priceless
privilege of being raised in a small town." I understand because
I, too, had that privilege. The towns of my youth and of my
children's youth were very different from each other -- from the
bustling streets of Greenwich, Connecticut to the salt air of
Kennebunkport to the dusty, oil-patch plains of Midland, Texas.
But they also had much in common.
Our towns nurture dreams and nourish values. Think of the
ideals of integrity, hard work, and caring for others instilled
in a young boy growing up in Pinpoint, Georgia. Today, that man
stands ready to serve on the highest court in this land.
Clarence Thomas embodies the virtues America -- and all her towns
and townships -- hold dear.
I'm glad to be here with people from the towns that form
this nation's backbone. You know what Thomas Jefferson meant
when he said American townships "have proved themselves the
wisest invention ever devised by the wit of man for the perfect
2
exercise of self-government, and for its preservation."
You understand the problems that challenge our country. You
understand them not from a bureaucrat's safe distance, but from
the embattled position of public servants whose neighbors call to
complain about services -- or the lack thereof. You understand
the real basics of local government, and that's why you're our
country's future and our country's hope.
Our domestic policy begins with you -- the people of this
land. In Washington, and in the states, politicians and
officials have learned that we can't just hurl money at problems.
We're taking enough of people's money as it is: If we want to do
our jobs, we must make better use of the vast sums already at our
disposal.
More fundamentally, we ought to recognize the genius of our
own people. We must trust them -- trust you -- to find answers,
to do good things, to make America work. We must make our
government more responsive, more local. And we must learn from
the real professionals -- you, the NATaT representatives. You're
the voice of small-town America.
That's a considerable voice, of course. Eight of ten
governmental bodies in this nation represent communities with
5,000 or fewer residents. And you will have to teach the other
20 percent how to live within their means.
Your strengths begin with your commitment to the American
idea of civic responsibility. Many of you are part-time
officials, volunteers. You give your time to your communities.
3
You emphasize creativity and innovation -- what folks in my
birthplace of Milton, Massachusetts would call "old-fashioned
Yankee ingenuity." Sometimes, you exhaust your ingenuity just
trying to escape regulatory handcuffs placed upon you by federal
and state mandates. I'm concerned about those mandates, and I
believe strongly in the importance of cooperation between all
levels of government.
Our Administration also remains committed to the common-
sense approach of the Regulatory Flexibility Act -- one that lets
you use your common sense to solve your own problems -- and I
will direct federal departments and agencies to follow the spirit
and the letter of that law. III
[Speaking of creativity, I want to add my congratulations to
one of your members, Bill Herman of Weare, New Hampshire. Bill
won your Grass-roots Leadership award by producing ideas for
cutting costs without slashing services. 11 Maybe I should call
on Bill's help in solving a big problem. I asked an advisor how
we could improve our crisis management. He said: "How about a
calendar that doesn't have August on it."]
All of you here have helped develop public/private partner-
ships -- a crucial concept as we gear up for the unique problems
of the 21st century. The alliance between your National Center
for Small Communities and private sector sources like the Kellogg
Foundation set an example for others to follow.
Because of your strengths, your successes and your
leadership -- I ask you to lead one of our greatest battles:
4
Making our nation's schools the world's best.
As you know, our Administration introduced an education
strategy five months ago. We call it "America 2000,' and it
involves four different tracks: accountable schools for today; a
new generation of schools for tomorrow; a nation of students
committed to a life-time of education; and communities where
learning can happen.
You play a critical role in making the entire strategy work
-- and especially Step Four; building communities that support,
encourage and advance education. It's no coincidence that we
historically have entrusted our most important social service,
education, to communities. We now call upon communities to seize
the opportunity to make their schools better: to adopt the
educational goals established two years ago at the educational
summit in Charlottesville, Virginia; to develop a community plan
to reach the goals; to design a report card to measure your
progress; and to create your own "break the mold school" --
something that builds upon your special strengths and takes into
account your special needs and circumstances.
Our Administration also will look to you for leadership in
is Now
other areas. For instance, Congress soon will begin debating the
surface
five-year re-authorization of the nation's, transportation system.
We need your help in getting a system that spends money to
address local needs -- and not just support politicians' careers.
Simply spending More money isn't the answer; we need MUVP sensible pregrams.
We don't need more money; we need more sensible programs.
17 -mandated
More than half of all Congressional transportation projects don't
5
That number is
way too high
even show up on state and local priority lists. Over 40 percent
of the current gas tax already goes for Congressional pork-
barrel projects. You might like some of the programs your member
of Congress slips into the budget, but in the end, Congress
usurps local power for its own purposes -- making decisions in
Washington that affect the lives and pocketbooks of people in
Berea, Kentucky, or Mount Wolf, Pennsylvania.
So: If Congress sends me a transportation bill with a
gasoline tax, I will veto it. We must not let Congress raise the
need
gas tax for projects communities don't even want. We will not let
them raise a tax that will do nothing except squeeze local
economies and lighten workers' already-thin pocketbooks.
We believe in letting communities shape their own futures,
and this belief lies at the heart of our Community Opportunity
Act. This proposal invites communities to think of new ways to
solve old problems -- and it lets all of us adopt a more flexible
approach to domestic social programs. It puts the emphasis on
results, and not on procedures cooked up in Washington. After
all, when someone wants food or shelter or schooling, what's more
important, the service -- or the government paperwork?
The Act grows out of the basic assumption that government
assistance programs should lead people to self-sufficiency.
There's no better way to do this than to rebuild these programs
from the bottom up -- based on plans developed right at the
community level.
I talked about Jefferson earlier: If we want to remain true
6
to the spirit of his philosophy, we must empower communities to
control their own futures. Our domestic policy isn't a spending
policy; it's designed to increase personal freedom, and to
produce results -- not just expensive rhetoric. This is the way
to approach all this county's challenges -- it's an extraordinary
opportunity and it's essential that we get it enacted and in use.
Thank you for your work and your example. Even with
whatever problems our towns may face, I know we'd all agree with
writer Catharine Sedgwick, who loved her town of Stockbridge, MA.
Someone once told her that she spoke about Stockbridge as if it
were heaven. "Well," she replied, "I expect no very violent
transition".
Good luck to all of you -- and may God bless the towns to
which you return.
#
#
#
#
#
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
91 040
1991
MEMORANDUM FOR TONY SNOW
FROM:
ROGER B. PORTER
RBP
SUBJECT:
Presidential Remarks: National Association of
Towns and Townships
We have reviewed the attached remarks and have noted
several suggested changes on the draft.
Please let us know if you have any questions or if we may
help in any other way.
CC: Phillip D. Brady
Document No. 26716955
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE:
9/3/91
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENTI DUE BY: NOON, WED., SEPT. 4
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS
SEPTEMBER 6, 1991
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
PETERSMEYER
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH
BRADY
SMITH
BROMLEY
UNTERMEYER
CARD
SNOW
DEMAREST
KAUFMAN
FITZWATER
ANDERSON
GRAY
HOLIDAY
REMARKS:
Please provide comments/edits on the attached directly
to Tony Snow, Rm. 122, x2930, with a copy to this office,
NO LATER THAN NOON, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
PHILLIP D. BRADY
Assistant to the President
and Staff Secretary
(Hinchliffe/Blymire)
August 30, 1991 5 p.m.
91 SEP - 2 PM 2:48
NATAT.TS Draft Five
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS
September 6, 1991
Hyatt Regency, Washington, D.C.
You know, this week doesn't mark the end of summer just for
school-children across this country. I'm back at my desk, too.
But I won't bore you with a speech titled "What I did on my sum-
mer vacation." 11 Well, okay: I will tell you my reaction when I
received a phone call on August 19th saying: "It's a crisis!" I
responded: "I've already heard enough about Barbara's golf game."
President Eisenhower talked of "the great and priceless
privilege of being raised in a small town." I understand because
I, too, had that privilege. The towns of my youth and of my
children's youth were very different from each other -- from the
bustling streets of Greenwich, Connecticut to the salt air of
Kennebunkport to the dusty, oil-patch plains of Midland, Texas.
But they also had much in common.
Our towns nurture dreams and nourish values. Think of the
ideals of integrity, hard work, and caring for others instilled
in a young boy growing up in Pinpoint, Georgia. Today, that man
stands ready to serve on the highest court in this land.
Clarence Thomas embodies the virtues America -- and all her towns
and townships -- hold dear.
I'm glad to be here with people from the towns that form
this nation's backbone. You know what Thomas Jefferson meant
when he said American townships "have proved themselves the
wisest invention ever devised by the wit of man for the perfect
2
exercise of self-government, and for its preservation."
You understand the problems that challenge our country. You
understand them not from a bureaucrat's safe distance, but from
the embattled position of public servants whose neighbors call to
complain about services -- or the lack thereof. You understand
the real basics of local government, and that's why you're our.
country's future and our country's hope.
Our domestic policy begins with you -- the people of this
land. In Washington, and in the states, politicians and
officials have learned that we can't just hurl money at problems.
We're taking enough of people's money as it is: If we want to do
our jobs, we must make better use of the vast sums already at our
disposal.
More fundamentally, we ought to recognize the genius of our
own people. We must trust them -- trust you -- to find answers,
to do good things, to make America work. We must make our
government more responsive, more local. And we must learn from
the real professionals -- you, the NATaT representatives. You're
the voice of small-town America.
That's a considerable voice, of course. Eight of ten
governmental bodies in this nation represent communities with
5,000 or fewer residents. And you will have to teach the other
20 percent how to live within their means.
Your strengths begin with your commitment to the American
idea of civic responsibility. Many of you are part-time
officials, volunteers. You give your time to your communities.
3
You emphasize creativity and innovation -- what folks in my
birthplace of Milton, Massachusetts would call "old-fashioned
Yankee ingenuity." Sometimes, you exhaust your ingenuity just
trying to escape regulatory handcuffs placed upon you by federal
and state mandates. I'm concerned about those mandates, and I
believe strongly in the importance of cooperation between all
levels of government.
Our Administration also remains committed to the common-
sense approach of the Regulatory Flexibility Act -- one that lets
you use your common sense to solve your own problems -- and I
will direct federal departments and agencies to follow the spirit
and the letter of that law. 111
[Speaking of creativity, I want to add my congratulations to
one of your members, Bill Herman of Weare, New Hampshire. Bill
won your Grass-roots Leadership award by producing ideas for
cutting costs without slashing services. 11 Maybe I should call
on Bill's help in solving a big problem. I asked an advisor how
we could improve our crisis management. He said: "How about a
calendar that doesn't have August on it."]
All of you here have helped develop public/private partner-
ships -- a crucial concept as we gear up for the unique problems
of the 21st century. The alliance between your National Center
for Small Communities and private sector sources like the Kellogg
Foundation set an example for others to follow.
Because of your strengths, your successes and your
leadership -- I ask you to lead one of our greatest battles:
4
Making our nation's schools the world's best.
As you know, our Administration introduced an education
strategy five months ago. We call it "America 2000," and it
involves four different tracks: accountable schools for today; a
new generation of schools for tomorrow; a nation of students
committed to a life-time of education; and communities where
learning can happen.
You play a critical role in making the entire strategy work
-- and especially Step Four; building communities that support,
encourage and advance education. It's no coincidence that we
historically have entrusted our most important social service,
education, to communities. We now call upon communities to seize
the opportunity to make their schools better: to adopt the
EIGHTEEN MONTHS AGO WITH THE NATION'S
educational goals established two years ago at the educational
GOVERNORS
summit in Charlottesville, Virginia; to develop a community plan
to reach the goals; to design a report card to measure your
progress; and to create your own "break the mold school" --
something that builds upon your special strengths and takes into
account your special needs and circumstances.
Our Administration also will look to you for leadership in
IS Now
other areas. For instance, Congress soon will begin debating the
SURFACE
five-year re-authorization of the nation's transportation system.
We need your help in getting a system that spends money to
address local needs -- and not just support politicians' careers.
SIMPLY SPENDING MORE MONEY ISN'T THE ANSWER, WE NEED MORE SENSIBLE PROGRAMS.
We don't need more money; we need more sensible programs.
More than half of all CongressionalA transportation projects don't
LY- MANDATED
THIS NUMBER IS MUCH
5
Too HIGH
even show up on state and local priority lists. Over 40 percent
of the current gas tax already goes for Congressional pork
barrel projects. You might like some of the programs your member
of Congress slips into the budget, but in the end, Congress
usurps local power for its own purposes -- making decisions in
Washington that affect the lives and pocketbooks of people in
Berea, Kentucky, or Mount Wolf, Pennsylvania.
So: If Congress sends me a transportation bill with a
gasoline tax, I will veto it. We must not let Congress raise the
NEED
gas tax for projects communities don't even want. We will not let
them raise a tax that will do nothing except squeeze local
economies and lighten workers' already-thin pocketbooks.
We believe in letting communities shape their own futures,
and this belief lies at the heart of our Community Opportunity
Act. This proposal invites communities to think of new ways to
solve old problems -- and it lets all of us adopt a more flexible
approach to domestic social programs. It puts the emphasis on
results, and not on procedures cooked up in Washington. After
all, when someone wants food or shelter or schooling, what's more
important, the service -- or the government paperwork?
The Act grows out of the basic assumption that government
assistance programs should lead people to self-sufficiency.
There's no better way to do this than to rebuild these programs
from the bottom up -- based on plans developed right at the
community level.
I talked about Jefferson earlier: If we want to remain true
6
to the spirit of his philosophy, we must empower communities to
control their own futures. Our domestic policy isn't a spending
policy; it's designed to increase personal freedom, and to
produce results -- not just expensive rhetoric. This is the way
to approach all this county's challenges -- it's an extraordinary
opportunity and it's essential that we get it enacted and in use.
Thank you for your work and your example. Even with
whatever problems our towns may face, I know we'd all agree with
writer Catharine Sedgwick, who loved her town of Stockbridge, MA.
Someone once told her that she spoke about Stockbridge as if it
were heaven. "Well," she replied, "I expect no very violent
transition".
Good luck to all of you -- and may God bless the towns to_
which you return.
#
#
#
#
#