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Future Farmers of America (FFA) Convention 11/13/91 [OA 6039][1]
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4
4
FFA CONVENTION
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1991
2:00 PM
THANK YOU, MARK [TIMM, FFA PRESIDENT]. WHEN MARK
AND THE OTHER NATIONAL OFFICERS CAME TO THE WHITE HOUSE
A YEAR AGO AND AGAIN THIS SUMMER, THEY ASKED ME TO COME
TO KANSAS CITY. AND AFTER A WELCOME LIKE THIS, THERE'S
NO PLACE I'D RATHER BE. IIII ( (THERE'S ALSO NO PLACE
BETTER THAN SITTING UP HERE WITH MISS AMERICA, CAROLYN
joke
SAPP.) ALSO HERE ARE MISSOURI'S TWO GREAT SENATORS:
AND I AM
JACK DANFORTH AND KIT BOND. I'M ALSO PROUD TO HAVE
WITH ME MY ASSISTANT FOR LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS, FRED
MCCLURE. FRED LEARNED HIS LEADERSHIP SKILLS IN THE
FFA, AS TEXAS STATE PRESIDENT AND THEN NATIONAL FFA
SECRETARY.
IT GIVES ME A SURGE OF HOPE TO BE WITH SO MANY
THOUSANDS OF BRIGHT AND MOTIVATED YOUNG PEOPLE. IT'S
ANOTHER REMINDER THAT AMERICA HAS THE BEST YOUNG PEOPLE
IN THE WHOLE WORLD. 11 I WANT TO SALUTE THE FFA FOR
BRINGING so MANY OF YOU TOGETHER TO EXCHANGE IDEAS AND
FORGE FRIENDSHIPS THAT WILL BRIGHTEN OUR COUNTRY FOR
MANY YEARS TO COME. 11
- 2 -
I ALSO WANT TO SEND MY WARMEST GREETINGS TO MEMBERS
OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FARM BROADCASTERS, WHO
ALSO ARE MEETING IN KANSAS CITY THIS WEEK. AMERICAN
AGRICULTURE DEPENDS UPON THE FREE AND ROBUST FLOW OF
NEWS AND VIEWS THAT OUR BROADCASTERS PROVIDE.
((YOU SIGNED UP TO COME HERE BELIEVING THE KEYNOTE
SPEAKER WOULD BE ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER. BUT IF HE
DIDN'T CANCEL AN ENGAGEMENT NOW AND THEN, I GUESS WE
WOULDN'T CALL HIM "THE TERMINATOR." 11 ))
((ARNOLD HAS AGREED TO FILL IN FOR ME AT THE NEXT
WHITE HOUSE NEWS CONFERENCE. I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THE
KIND AND GENTLE WAY HE HANDLES SOME OF THOSE HOSTILE
QUESTIONS. \\))
((ARNOLD COULDN'T BE HERE BECAUSE HE'S AT WORK
FILMING ANOTHER MOVIE. NEXT YEAR, I MYSELF MIGHT MAKE
AN ABBREVIATED SEQUEL TO TERMINATOR 2. 11 WE'RE GOING
TO CALL IT "TERM 2."))
- 3 -
YOU KNOW ARNOLD AS AN ATHLETE AND ACTOR. HE'S ALSO
A VERY CREATIVE BUSINESSMAN -- AND A CITIZEN WHO TAKES
PUBLIC SERVICE SERIOUSLY. HE IS DOING AN OUTSTANDING
JOB AS CHAIRMAN OF THE PRESIDENT'S COUNCIL ON PHYSICAL
FITNESS.
I WON'T LEAD YOU THROUGH THE WORKOUT ARNOLD HAD
PLANNED, BUT I DO WANT TO IMPRESS UPON YOU THE ESSENCE
OF HIS MESSAGE: GET GOING WITH GOOD EXERCISE AND
FITNESS HABITS NOW, WHILE YOU'RE YOUNG -- AND DON'T
EVER GIVE THEM UP. 11
- 4 -
EACH ONE OF YOU IS ALREADY A LEADER IN YOUR SCHOOL,
AND AMONG YOUR PEERS. I DON'T WANT ANY OF YOU TO FALL
SHORT OF A SINGLE THING YOU DREAM OF. THAT IS WHY I
HOPE YOU WILL EQUIP YOURSELF WITH THE PHYSICAL STAMINA
THAT COMES FROM EXERCISE. CULTIVATING "A SOUND MIND IN
A SOUND BODY" IS KEY TO GOOD HEALTH, LONG LIFE, AND
PERFORMANCE AT YOUR BEST FOR THE MANY RESPONSIBILITIES
YOU WILL FACE IN YOUR FAMILIES AND YOUR CAREERS.
YOUR FFA EXPERIENCE IS GIVING YOU POWERFUL SKILLS
AND DRIVE TO HELP THIS COUNTRY COMPETE IN THE DECADES
AHEAD. AS YOU FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS AND LEAD OTHERS AS I
KNOW YOU'RE DESTINED TO DO, I WOULD LIKE YOUR SPECIAL
HELP IN PURSUING TWO NATIONAL GOALS TO HELP AMERICA BE
ALL THAT IT SHOULD BE. 11
- 5 -
FIRST, I'D LIKE YOU TO WORK FOR EXCELLENCE IN
AMERICAN EDUCATION. IF YOU ATTEND SCHOOL IN A RURAL
COMMUNITY, THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE YOUR SCHOOL ENJOYS
THE STRONG INVOLVEMENT OF PARENTS AND YOUR COMMUNITY
-- AND PLACES A HIGH VALUE ON RESPONSIBILITY AND
ACHIEVEMENT.
THERE ARE SUCCESS STORIES, OF COURSE, ACROSS THE
RANGE OF OUR COMMUNITIES - -- EVEN IN POOR INNER-CITY
NEIGHBORHOODS. SOME ARE PUBLIC SCHOOLS, OTHERS ARE
PRIVATE OR PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS. BUT EACH HAS IN COMMON
THE INTENSE INVOLVEMENT OF PARENTS, A COMMITMENT TO
DISCIPLINE AND VALUES, A RIGOROUS CURRICULUM, AND A
LARGE DEGREE OF FREEDOM FROM BUREAUCRATIC CONTROL.
- 6 -
OUR "AMERICA 2000" STRATEGY SHOWS COMMUNITIES HOW
TO DEVELOP SCHOOLS THAT WORK. WE WANT OUR SCHOOLS HELD
TO HIGH STANDARDS - WORLD-CLASS STANDARDS. WE WANT
PARENTS TO HAVE REAL FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITY TO CHOOSE
SCHOOLS, INCLUDING PAROCHIAL OR PRIVATE SCHOOLS. WE'RE
INVITING PARENTS, EDUCATORS, BUSINESSMEN, AND CIVIC
LEADERS TO REINVENT AMERICAN SCHOOLS - TO REPLACE
INSTITUTIONS THAT FAIL TO WORK WITH NEW SCHOOLS
EMPOWERED WITH FREEDOM AND FLEXIBILITY AND INNOVATIVE
STRATEGIES.
HERE'S WHERE YOU COME IN: IT'S UP TO YOU AND YOUR
GENERATION TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN. YOU WILL INHERIT THIS
LONG-TERM MISSION AS LEADERS IN AGRICULTURE, BUSINESS
AND GOVERNMENT IN YOUR COUNTIES, CITIES AND STATES.
I'VE PUT FORWARD A STRATEGY FOR REFORMING OUR SCHOOLS,
AND I HOPE TO SEE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE ACCOMPLISHED
DURING MY PRESIDENCY. BUT BEFORE THIS VISION CAN
BECOME A FULL REALITY, I FORESEE YEARS OF POLITICAL
TRENCH WARFARE - PITTING REFORMERS AGAINST DUG-IN
INTEREST GROUPS.
- 7 -
THE CHALLENGE OF REFORMING AMERICAN EDUCATION WILL
TAKE PLENTY OF PATIENCE, GRIT AND DETERMINATION --
EXACTLY THE TYPES OF VIRTUES THAT FFA REPRESENTS. I AM
VERY PLEASED THAT THE NATIONAL FFA ORGANIZATION'S PLANS
FOR ITS FUTURE LEADERSHIP IN AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION
MESH SO WELL WITH OUR AMERICA 2000 PHILOSOPHY.
THE SECOND GOAL I'D LIKE YOU TO PURSUE IS KEEPING
AMERICA COMPETITIVE. YOUR COUNTRY IS COUNTING ON YOU
-- I'M COUNTING ON YOU -- TO FIND NEW USES FOR
TRADITIONAL AND NON-TRADITIONAL CROPS. WE WANT YOU TO
OUTFOX OUR COMPETITORS WITH YOUR MARKETING SKILLS. WE
EXPECT YOU TO DRAW ON RURAL AMERICA'S TRADITION OF
CONSERVATION AND LEAD ALL AMERICANS TO USE OUR NATURAL
RESOURCES WISELY. WE'RE LOOKING TO YOU TO CREATE
ATTRACTIVE NEW PRODUCTS, INCLUDING CLEAN FUELS.
could all take a lesson from the a Kansas great season; City
[we about be having in St. Louis, untilI'm sayns back
Chiefs of the course, game later thing this the afternoon home about of the Cardivals Redshing
in
- 8 -
WE MUST KEEP OPPORTUNITY ALIVE IN THIS COUNTRY.
FEDERAL INCOME TAX RATES ARE LOWER, FLATTER AND FAIRER
THAN THEY WERE A DECADE AGO, BUT THEY STILL TEND TO
REWARD DEBT AND PUNISH SAVING AND INVESTMENT. THAT'S
WHY WE ARE LONG OVERDUE FOR A CAPITAL GAINS TAX CUT --
SOMETHING I'VE ASKED CONGRESS FOR EVERY YEAR SINCE I
BECAME PRESIDENT. BUT CONGRESS ISN'T GETTING THE
MESSAGE. IN THE FARMING, RANCHING AND AGRIBUSINESS
COMMUNITIES, I'M SURE YOU CAN APPRECIATE HOW A CAPITAL
GAINS TAX CUT WOULD IMPROVE PROPERTY VALUES. BUT MORE
THAN THAT, IT WOULD BOOST INVESTMENT AND JOBS IN EVERY
SECTOR AND EVERY INDUSTRY IN THE NATION. I WISH YOU
WOULD HELP ME GET THAT MESSAGE TO CONGRESS. AND I KNOW
YOU HAVE THE CLOUT. SEVENTY-SEVEN CONGRESSMEN WROTE
LETTERS ASKING ME TO COME SPEAK TO THE FFA CONVENTION.
SEEMS ONLY FAIR YOU LET 'EM KNOW WHAT I SAID!
- 9 -
WE NEED TO TAKE THE SHACKLES OFF OUR BANKS AND
FINANCIAL SERVICES COMPANIES. I HAVE SENT CONGRESS A
COMPREHENSIVE BANKING REFORM PACKAGE, BUT AGAIN,
CONGRESS ISN'T GETTING THE MESSAGE. WOULD YOU WANT TO
START OUT IN BUSINESS WITH OUTMODED BANKING LAWS THAT
WON'T ALLOW AMERICAN FIRMS TO COMPETE ON EQUAL TERMS
WITH THE JAPANESE AND EUROPEANS? 11
WE NEED TO SEIZE NEW OPPORTUNITIES AND TACKLE NEW
CHALLENGES IN WORLD TRADE. THIS IS AN IMPORTANT ASPECT
OF THE FFA CONVENTION THEME: "LEADERSHIP FOR A GROWING
PLANET." IN THE GATT TALKS WE'RE NOW ENGAGED IN WHAT I
HOPE WILL BE THE FINAL BATTLE AGAINST AGRICULTURAL
PROTECTIONISM AROUND THE WORLD. AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, I
MET FACE TO FACE WITH THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY LEADERS
LAST WEEK IN THE NETHERLANDS -- AND I MADE IT PLAIN
THAT AMERICAN AGRICULTURE AND AGRIBUSINESS STAND FOR
FREE AND FAIR TRADE. WE WANT TO COMPLETE A GOOD GATT
DEAL THAT OPENS MORE MARKETS FOR AMERICAN EXPORTS AND
LAUNCHES A BOOMING NEW GENERATION OF TRADE.
- 10 -
WE'RE ON OUR WAY TOWARD ACHIEVING AN EXCELLENT
BARGAIN FOR MORE TRADE AND MORE JOBS THROUGH OUR
EFFORTS WITH MEXICO AND CANADA. THE NORTH AMERICAN
FREE TRADE AREA WILL PRESENT YOUR GENERATION SOME
EXCITING OPPORTUNITIES. SO WILL THE FREE-MARKET
TRANSFORMATION OF THE FORMER SOVIET EMPIRE. ECONOMIC
GROWTH AND STABILITY IN THE FORMER SOVIET UNION AND IN
EASTERN EUROPE ULTIMATELY WILL MAKE THEM BETTER TRADING
PARTNERS WITH THE UNITED STATES. AND NOW THAT THE GOOD
PEOPLE OF THOSE LANDS HAVE THROWN OFF THE CHAINS OF
COMMUNISM, WE INTEND TO HELP THEM IN THEIR ECONOMIC
TRANSITION.
LET ME SAY SOMETHING ELSE ABOUT MY EFFORTS TO
PROMOTE OUR EXPORTS: I WILL NEVER APOLOGIZE FOR A
SINGLE MINUTE I DEVOTE TO PROMOTING AMERICA'S INTERESTS
ABROAD. SOME OF MY CRITICS ACT AS IF THE "GLOBAL
MARKETPLACE" IS OFF SOMEWHERE IN ASIA OR EUROPE. BUT
YOU AND I KNOW IT'S RIGHT HERE IN KANSAS CITY -- AND IN
BIRMINGHAM AND BAKERSFIELD AND SILICON VALLEY.
- 11 -
FOR EXAMPLE
MANUFACTURED
EVERY ADDITIONAL BILLION DOLLARS IN NEW EXPORTS
MEANS 20,000 NEW AMERICAN JOBS. WHEN I FIGHT FOR FREE
AND FAIR TRADE IN LATIN AMERICA OR EAST ASIA OR EUROPE,
SOME WILL CARP AND CLAIM I'M PURSUING "FOREIGN" INSTEAD
OF "DOMESTIC" POLICY. WELL, TO BORROW A WORD YOU ALL
UNDERSTAND: THAT'S HOGWASH. THAT WHOLE LINE OF
ARGUMENT IS MISLEADING. BUT I DON'T THINK YOU'RE
MISLED. I'M SURE YOU UNDERSTAND THAT WHAT I'M WORKING
AT IS A REAL-WORLD APPROACH TO CREATING MORE JOBS AND
OPPORTUNITY
MORE WEALTH FOR AMERICANS IN AMERICA.
IT'S A LIFE OF CHALLENGE AHEAD FOR YOU AND YOUR
GENERATION. WE'RE LOOKING TO YOU FOR FRESH IDEALS AND
ENERGY TO RENEW OUR SCHOOLS, OUR BUSINESSES AND OUR
GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS. WE'RE COUNTING ON YOU TO
BECOME THE SCHWARZENEGGERS OF A TOUGH GLOBAL
MARKETPLACE. YOU'LL NEED TRAINING, DISCIPLINE,
CREATIVITY, AND ALERT MINDS TO SEIZE NEW IDEAS AND
OPPORTUNITIES.
- 12 -
IS THIS A TALL ORDER? SURE IT IS. BUT LOOKING AT
YOU, I KNOW YOU'LL ACHIEVE EVERYTHING WE EXPECT OF YOU,
AND MORE.
THANK YOU, AND MAY GOD BLESS EACH OF YOU.
# # #
55
some = Nati we who arith bach PRESIDENTIAL muthous the They "hoped REMARKS: me etc hell"
(Duggan/Simon)
November 8, 1991
Draft Four
FFA
FFA CONVENTION
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1991
FFP
w
2:00 PM
[Acknowledgments include FFA president Mark Timm, former
FFA leader Fred McClure and Miss America Carolyn Sapp]
It gives me a surge of hope to be with so many thousands of
bright and motivated young people. It's another reminder that
America has the best kids in the whole world. 11 I want to
salute the FFA for bringing so many of you together to exchange
ideas and forge friendships that will brighten our country for
many years to come.
I also want to send my warmest greetings to members of the
National Association of Farm Broadcasters, who also are meeting
in Kansas City this week. American agriculture depends upon the
free and robust flow of information and opinions. Now and then I
get to catch up with farm market news when I'm listening on the
radio to my favorite music -- country music. I call country
music my "window on the real world" -- and sometimes when I'm on
the road and tuned to a real country station, I get the latest
prices of barrows and gilts in between songs. 11
((That's an awfully gracious welcome for a last-minute
stand-in. You signed up to come here believing the keynote
speaker would be Arnold Schwarzenegger. But if he didn't cancel
an engagement now and then, I guess we wouldn't call him "the
terminator." ) )
56
2
((Arnold has agreed to fill in for me at the next White
House news conference. I can't wait to see the kind and gentle
way he handles some of those hostile questions.
)
(Arnold couldn't be here because he's at work filming
myself might abbreviated to Terminator 2
another movie. Next year, I intend to make as sequel of my own.
11 We're going to call it "Term 2.
)
I know that Arnold does not take lightly his being unable to
be with you today. You know him as an athlete and actor. He's
also a very creative businessman -- and a citizen who takes
public service seriously. He is doing an outstanding job as
Chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness.
I won't lead you through the workout Arnold had planned, but
I do want to impress upon you the essence of his message: Get
going with good exercise and fitness habits now, while you're
young -- and don't ever give them up.
11
Each one of you is already a leader in your school, and
among your peers. I don't want any of you to fall short of a
single thing you dream of. That is why I hope you will equip
yourself with the physical stamina that comes from exercise.
Cultivating "a sound mind in a sound body" is key to good health,
long life, and performance at your best for the many
responsibilities you will face in your families and your careers.
11 ( (If any of you ever have baled and loaded hay, you know what
I'm talking about. II))
Your FFA experience is giving you powerful skills and drive
to help this country compete in the decades ahead. As you follow
3
your dreams and lead others as I know you're destined to do, I
would like your special help in pursuing two national goals to
help America be all that it should be. 11
First, I'd like you to work for excellence in American
education. If you attend school in a rural community, there is a
good chance your school enjoys the strong involvement of parents
and your community -- and places a high value on responsibility
and achievement. That would place you among the lucky ones.
hard
In too many of our schools education isn't happening
anymore. The system has broken down. Ties to parents and
highy oal,
communities are gone. High schools present diplomas to kids who
can't read or write. Drug use and violence rage out of control.
And all the while taxpayers pay more and more for schools that
produce less and less. C May be less so Encrozo Ag.
Amican but it's true)
There are success stories, of course, even in poor inner-
city neighborhoods. These are schools that excel in teaching
reading and writing, and science and math, and history and
geography. Some are public schools, others are private or
parochial schools. But each has in common the intense
involvement of parents, a commitment to discipline and values, a
rigorous curriculum, and a large degree of freedom from
bureaucratic control.
Our "America 2000" strategy shows communities how to develop
schools that work. We want our schools held to high standards -
- world-class standards. We want parents to have real financial
opportunity to choose schools, including, parochial or private
58
4
schools. We're inviting parents, educators, businessmen, and
civic leaders to reinvent American schools -- to replace
institutions that fail to work with new schools empowered with
freedom and flexibility and innovative strategies.
Here's where you come in: It's up to you and your
generation to make this happen. You will inherit this long-term
mission as leaders in agriculture, business and government in
your counties, cities and states. I've put forward a strategy
for reforming our schools, and I hope to see as much as possible
accomplished during my presidency. But before this vision can
become a full reality, I foresee years of political trench
warfare -- pitting reformers against dug-in interest groups.
The challenge of reforming American education will take
plenty of patience, grit and determination -- exactly the types
of virtues that FFA represents. I am very pleased that the
National FFA Organization's plans for its future leadership in
agricultural education mesh so well with our America 2000
Need twon sow
philosophy.
The second goal I'd like you to pursue is keeping America
M munon
competitive. Your country is counting on you -- I'm counting on
him
you -- to find new uses for traditional and non-traditional
somm
In
crops. We're looking to you to create attractive new products,
including clean fuels. We want you to outfox our competitors
with your marketing skills. We expect you to draw on rural
America's tradition of conservation and lead all Americans to use
our natural resources wisely.
ehech
wicon
5
We must keep opportunity alive in this country. Federal
1/1sthe. 11sthr true
taxes are lower, flatter and fairer than they were a decade ago,
but they still tend to reward debt and punish saving and
county
investment. That's why we are long overdue for a capital gains
you.
sec.
tax cut -- something I've asked Congress for every year since
I
became President. But Congress isn't getting the message. In
the farming, ranching and agribusiness communities, I'm sure you
can appreciate how a capital gains tax cut would improve property
values. But more than that, it would boost investment and jobs
in every sector and every industry in the nation. I wish you
would help me get that message to Congress.
We need to take the shackles off our banks and financial
services companies. I have sent Congress a comprehensive banking
reform package, but Congress isn't getting the message. Would
you want to start out in business with outmoded banking laws that
won't allow American firms to compete on equal terms with the
Japanese and Europeans? Some congressional committee
chairmen think you shouldn't have am up to date banking system.
11 And come to think of it, some of these individuals have been
in Congress almost as long as their Depression-era laws have been
on the books
We need to seize new opportunities and tackle new challenges
in world trade. This is an important aspect of the FFA
convention theme: "Leadership for a Growing Planet. 11 In the
GATT talks we're now engaged in what I hope will be the final
battle against agricultural protectionism around the world. As
6C
6
many of you know, I met face to face with the EC leaders last
week in the Netherlands -- and I made it plain that American
agriculture and agribusiness stand for free and fair trade. We
want to complete a good GATT deal that opens more markets for
American exports and launches a booming new generation of trade.
We're on our way toward achieving an excellent bargain for
more trade and more jobs through our efforts with Mexico and
Canada. The North American Free Trade Area will present your
generation some exciting opportunities. So will the free-market
transformation of the former Soviet empire. Economic growth and
stability in the former Soviet Union and in Eastern Europe
ultimately will make them better trading partners with the United
States. And now that the good people of those lands have thrown
off the chains of communism, we intend to help them in their
economic transition.
alm puples
I am pleased to announce today the extension of roughly $1.5
n st am
billion in agricultural credit guarantees and humanitarian
lives
assistance to the Soviet Union. This is in addition to the $2.5
billion in agricultural credits already allocated in 1991, This
cold with due wenne
which will be parties to His deal
assistance will enable the Union and the Republics to purchase
hundreds of thousands of tons of U.S. grain, providing a needed
boost to Amerian farmers, and essential food and feed grains for
the Soviet people this winter. I share the pride of all
Americans that our farmers' abundance can strengthen the tide of
??
democracy around the world.
13tml propuly to protect wordedgaint you cheste abroad "gine but wou"
w
61
7
Let me say something else about my efforts to promote our
exports: I will never apologize for a single minute I devote to
promoting America's interests abroad. Some of my critics act as
if the "global marketplace" is off somewhere in Asia or Europe.
But you and I know it's right here in Kansas City -- and in
Birmingham and Bakersfield and Silicon Valley.
Every additional billion dollars in new trade means 20,000
new American jobs. So when I fight for free and fair trade in
Latin America or East Asia or Europe, some will carp and claim
I'm pursuing "foreign" instead of "domestic" policy. That whole
line of argument is misleading. But 1 don't think you're misled.
I'm sure you understand that what I'm working at is a real-world
approach to creating more jobs and more wealth for Americans in
America.
Subbing for Arnold Schwar zenegger at one speaking appearance
is easy compared with the life ahead for you young leaders of the
FFA. You will have to become the Schwarzeneggers of a tough
charge
global marketplace. You'll need training, discipline,
creativity, and alert minds to seize new ideas and opportunities.
Is this a tall order? Sure it is. But looking at you, 1
know you'll achieve everything we expect of you, and more.
Thank you, and may God bless each of you.
#
#
#
(Duggan/Simon)
NDDember 11, 1991
Draft Five
FFA
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS:
FFA CONVENTION
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1991
2:00 PM
Thank you, Mark [Timm, FFA president]. When Mark and the
other national officers came to the White House a year ago and
again this summer, they asked me to come to Kansas City. And
after a welcome like this, there's no place I'd rather be.
((There's also no place better than sitting up here with Miss
America, Carolyn Sapp.)) I'm proud to have with me my Assistant
for Legislative Affairs, Fred McClure. Fred learned his
leadership skills in the FFA, as Texas state president and then
National FFA secretary.
It gives me a surge of hope to be with so many thousands of
bright and motivated young people. It's another reminder that
America has the best young people in the whole world. 11 I want
to salute the FFA for bringing so many of you together to
exchange ideas and forge friendships that will brighten our
country for many years to come. 11
I also want to send my warmest greetings to members of the
National Association of Farm Broadcasters, who also are meeting
in Kansas City this week. American agriculture depends upon the
free and robust flow of news and views that our broadcasters
provide.
((You signed up to come here believing the keynote speaker
would be Arnold Schwarzenegger. But if he didn't cancel an
2
engagement now and then, I guess we wouldn't call him "the
terminator." \\))
( (Arnold has agreed to fill in for me at the next White
House news conference. I can't wait to see the kind and gentle
way he handles some of those hostile questions. 11 ))
( (Arnold couldn't be here because he's at work filming
another movie. Next year, I myself might make an abbreviated
sequel to Terminator 2. \\ We're going to call it "Term 2."))
You know Arnold as an athlete and actor. He's also a very
creative businessman -- and a citizen who takes public service
seriously. He is doing an outstanding job as Chairman of the
President's Council on Physical Fitness.
I won't lead you through the workout Arnold had planned, but
I do want to impress upon you the essence of his message: Get
going with good exercise and fitness habits now, while you're
young -- and don't ever give them up. 11
Each one of you is already a leader in your school, and
among your peers. I don't want any of you to fall short of a
single thing you dream of. That is why I hope you will equip
yourself with the physical stamina that comes from exercise.
Cultivating "a sound mind in a sound body" is key to good health,
long life, and performance at your best for the many
responsibilities you will face in your families and your careers.
Your FFA experience is giving you powerful skills and drive
to help this country compete in the decades ahead. As you follow
your dreams and lead others as I know you're destined to do, I
3
would like your special help in pursuing two national goals to
help America be all that it should be. 11
First, I'd like you to work for excellence in American
education. If you attend school in a rural community, there is a
good chance your school enjoys the strong involvement of parents
and your community -- and places a high value on responsibility
and achievement.
There are success stories, of course, across the range of
our communities -- even in poor inner-city neighborhoods. Some
are public schools, others are private or parochial schools. But
each has in common the intense involvement of parents, a
commitment to discipline and values, a rigorous curriculum, and a
large degree of freedom from bureaucratic control.
Our "America 2000" strategy shows communities how to develop
schools that work. We want our schools held to high standards -
- world-class standards. We want parents to have real financial
opportunity to choose schools, including parochial or private
schools. We're inviting parents, educators, businessmen, and
civic leaders to reinvent American schools -- to replace
institutions that fail to work with new schools empowered with
freedom and flexibility and innovative strategies.
Here's where you come in: It's up to you and your
generation to make this happen. You will inherit this long-term
mission as leaders in agriculture, business and government in
your counties, cities and states. I've put forward a strategy
for reforming our schools, and I hope to see as much as possible
4
accomplished during my presidency. But before this vision can
become a full reality, I foresee years of political trench
warfare -- pitting reformers against dug-in interest groups.
((America's master inventor Thomas Edison once said
invention was 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.
I hope nobody thinks we're going to fix our schools by sitting in
the sauna all day. 11 ))
The challenge of reforming American education will take
plenty of patience, grit and determination -- exactly the types
of virtues that FFA represents. I am very pleased that the
National FFA Organization's plans for its future leadership in
agricultural education mesh so well with our America 2000
philosophy.
The second goal I'd like you to pursue is keeping America
competitive. Your country is counting on you -- I'm counting on
you -- to find new uses for traditional and non-traditional
crops. We want you to outfox our competitors with your marketing
skills. We expect you to draw on rural America's tradition of
conservation and lead all Americans to use our natural resources
wisely. We're looking to you to create attractive new products,
including clean fuels. ((In Washington, we're doing our part by
trying to invent a car that runs on hot air. 11 There's no
shortage of that in Washington. 11 ) )
We must keep opportunity alive in this country. Federal
income tax rates are lower, flatter and fairer than they were a
decade ago, but they still tend to reward debt and punish saving
5
and investment. That's why we are long overdue for a capital
gains tax cut -- something I've asked Congress for every year
since I became President. But Congress isn't getting the
message. In the farming, ranching and agribusiness communities,
I'm sure you can appreciate how a capital gains tax cut would
improve property values. But more than that, it would boost
investment and jobs in every sector and every industry in the
nation. I wish you would help me get that message to Congress.
And I know you have the clout. Over 100 congressmen wrote
letters asking me to come speak to the FFA convention. Seems
only fair you let 'em know what I said!
We need to take the shackles off our banks and financial
services companies. I have sent Congress a comprehensive banking
reform package, but again, Congress isn't getting the message.
Would you want to start out in business with outmoded banking
laws that won't allow American firms to compete on equal terms
with the Japanese and Europeans?
We need to seize new opportunities and tackle new challenges
in world trade. This is an important aspect of the FFA
convention theme: "Leadership for a Growing Planet. " In the
GATT talks we're now engaged in what I hope will be the final
battle against agricultural protectionism around the world. As
many of you know, I met face to face with the European Community
leaders last week in the Netherlands -- and I made it plain that
American agriculture and agribusiness stand for free and fair
trade. We want to complete a good GATT deal that opens more
6
markets for American exports and launches a booming new
generation of trade.
We're on our way toward achieving an excellent bargain for
more trade and more jobs through our efforts with Mexico and
Canada. The North American Free Trade Area will present your
generation some exciting opportunities. So will the free-market
transformation of the former Soviet empire. Economic growth and
stability in the former Soviet Union and in Eastern Europe
ultimately will make them better trading partners with the United
States. And now that the good people of those lands have thrown
off the chains of communism, we intend to help them in their
economic transition.
[I am pleased to announce today the extension of
approximately $1.5 billion in agricultural credit guarantees and
humanitarian assistance to the Soviet Union. This is in addition
to the $2.5 billion in agricultural credits already allocated in
1991. This assistance will enable the [participating
governments of the]] Union and the Republics to purchase hundreds
of thousands of tons of U.S. grain, providing a needed boost to
Amerian farmers, and essential food and feed grains for the
Soviet people this winter. [[When people's lives are threatened
by cold and hunger, Americans always respond by sharing their
abundance. ]]]
Let me say something else about my efforts to promote our
exports: I will never apologize for a single minute I devote to
promoting America's interests abroad. Some of my critics act as
7
if the "global marketplace" is off somewhere in Asia or Europe.
But you and I know it's right here in Kansas City -- and in
Birmingham and Bakersfield and Silicon Valley.
Every additional billion dollars in new exports means 20,000
new American jobs. When I fight for free and fair trade in Latin
America or East Asia or Europe, some will carp and claim I'm
pursuing "foreign" instead of "domestic" policy. Well, to borrow
a word you all understand: that's hogwash. That whole line of
argument is misleading. But I don't think you're misled. I'm
sure you understand that what I'm working at is a real-world
approach to creating more jobs and more wealth for Americans in
America.
It's a life of challenge ahead for you and your generation.
We're looking to you for fresh ideals and energy to renew our
schools, our businesses and our government institutions. We're
counting on you to become the Schwarzeneggers of a tough global
marketplace. You'll need training, discipline, creativity, and
alert minds to seize new ideas and opportunities.
Is this a tall order? Sure it is. But looking at you, I
know you'll achieve everything we expect of you, and more.
Thank you, and may God bless each of you.
#
#
#
Fred McCline's
(Duggan/Simon)
NDDember 11, 1991
Comments
Draft Five
FFA
seeps
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS:
FFA CONVENTION
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1991
2:00 PM
Thank you, Mark [Timm, FFA president]. When Mark and the
N.8- theyfirst L other national officers came to the White House this summer, they
came on
Dec.10,1990 asked me to come to Kansas City. And after a welcome like this,
there's no place I'd rather be. IIII ((There's also no place
better than sitting up here with Miss America, Carolyn Sapp.))
I'm proud to have with me my Assistant for Legislative Affairs,
Fred McClure. Fred learned his leadership skills in the FFA, as
Texas state president and then National FFA secretary.
It gives me a surge of hope to be with so many thousands of
bright and motivated young people. It's another reminder that
yesperple
America has the best kids in the whole world. 11 I want to
salute the FFA for bringing so many of you together to exchange
ideas and forge friendships that will brighten our country for
many years to come. 11
I also want to send my warmest greetings to members of the
National Association of Farm Broadcasters, who also are meeting
in Kansas City this week. American agriculture depends upon the
free and robust flow of news and views that our broadcasters
provide.
((You signed up to come here believing the keynote speaker
would be Arnold Schwarzenegger. But if he didn't cancel an
2
engagement now and then, I guess we wouldn't call him "the
terminator. \\))
((Arnold has agreed to fill in for me at the next White
House news conference. I can't wait to see the kind and gentle
way he handles some of those hostile questions. 11 ))
((Arnold couldn't be here because he's at work filming
another movie. Next year, I myself might make an abbreviated
sequel to Terminator 2. We're going to call it "Term 2."))
You know Arnold as an athlete and actor. He's also a very
creative businessman -- and a citizen who takes public service
seriously. He is doing an outstanding job as Chairman of the
President's Council on Physical Fitness.
I won't lead you through the workout Arnold had planned, but
I do want to impress upon you the essence of his message: Get
going with good exercise and fitness habits now, while you're
young -- and don't ever give them up. \\
Each one of you is already a leader in your school, and
among your peers. I don't want any of you to fall short of a
single thing you dream of. That is why I hope you will equip
yourself with the physical stamina that comes from exercise.
Cultivating "a sound mind in a sound body" is key to good health,
long life, and performance at your best for the many
responsibilities you will face in your families and your careers.
Your FFA experience is giving you powerful skills and drive
to help this country compete in the decades ahead. As you follow
your dreams and lead others as I know you're destined to do, I
3
would like your special help in pursuing two national goals to
help America be all that it should be. 11
First, I'd like you to work for excellence in American
education. If you attend school in a rural community, there is a
good chance your school enjoys the strong involvement of parents
and your community -- and places a high value on responsibility
and achievement.
There are success stories, of course, across the range of
our communities -- even in poor inner-city neighborhoods. Some
are public schools, others are private or parochial schools. But
each has in common the intense involvement of parents, a
commitment to discipline and values, a rigorous curriculum, and a
large degree of freedom from bureaucratic control.
Our "America 2000" strategy shows communities how to develop
schools that work. We want our schools held to high standards -
- world-class standards. We want parents to have real financial
opportunity to choose schools, including parochial or private
schools. We're inviting parents, educators, businessmen, and
civic leaders to reinvent American schools -- to replace
institutions that fail to work with new schools empowered with
freedom and flexibility and innovative strategies.
Here's where you come in: It's up to you and your
generation to make this happen. You will inherit this long-term
mission as leaders in agriculture, business and government in
your counties, cities and states. I've put forward a strategy
for reforming our schools, and I hope to see as much as possible
4
accomplished during my presidency. But before this vision can
become a full reality, I foresee years of political trench
warfare -- pitting reformers against dug-in interest groups.
( (America's master inventor Thomas Edison once said
invention was 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.
I hope nobody thinks we're going to fix our schools by sitting in
the sauna all day. \\ ))
The challenge of reforming American education will take
plenty of patience, grit and determination -- exactly the types
of virtues that FFA represents. I am very pleased that the
National FFA Organization's plans for its future leadership in
agricultural education mesh so well with our America 2000
philosophy.
The second goal I'd like you to pursue is keeping America
competitive. Your country is counting on you -- I'm counting on
you -- to find new uses for traditional and non-traditional
crops. We want you to outfox our competitors with your marketing
skills. We expect you to draw on rural America's tradition of
conservation and lead all Americans to use our natural resources
wisely. We're looking to you to create attractive new products,
including clean fuels. ((In Washington, we're doing our part by
trying to invent a car that runs on hot air. 11 There's no
shortage of that in Washington. \\ ))
We must keep opportunity alive in this country. Federal
income tax rates are lower, flatter and fairer than they were a
decade ago, but they still tend to reward debt and punish saving
5
and investment. That's why we are long overdue for a capital
gains tax cut -- something I've asked Congress for every year
since I became President. But Congress isn't getting the
message. In the farming, ranching and agribusiness communities,
I'm sure you can appreciate how a capital gains tax cut would
improve property values. But more than that, it would boost
investment and jobs in every sector and every industry in the
Steve 2230 Hart
nation. I wish you would help me get that message to Congress.
55 House
We need to take the shackles off our banks and financial
22 Senata
services companies. I have sent Congress a comprehensive banking wrote in
again,
reform package, but Congress isn't getting the message. Would
his year
you want to start out in business with outmoded banking laws that
won't allow American firms to compete on equal terms with the
Japanese and Europeans? \\
We need to seize new opportunities and tackle new challenges
in world trade. This is an important aspect of the FFA
convention theme: "Leadership for a Growing Planet.' " In the
GATT talks we're now engaged in what I hope will be the final
battle against agricultural protectionism around the world. As
many of you know, I met face to face with the European Community
leaders last week in the Netherlands -- and I made it plain that
American agriculture and agribusiness stand for free and fair
trade. We want to complete a good GATT deal that opens more
markets for American exports and launches a booming new
generation of trade.
And I knew you have clout, members wrote, asking mato
talk you. [joke]
6
We're on our way toward achieving an excellent bargain for
more trade and more jobs through our efforts with Mexico and
Canada. The North American Free Trade Area will present your
generation some exciting opportunities. So will the free-market
transformation of the former Soviet empire. Economic growth and
stability in the former Soviet Union and in Eastern Europe
ultimately will make them better trading partners with the United
States. And now that the good people of those lands have thrown
off the chains of communism, we intend to help them in their
economic transition.
[I am pleased to announce today the extension of
approximately $1.5 billion in agricultural credit guarantees and
humanitarian assistance to the Soviet Union. This is in addition
to the $2.5 billion in agricultural credits already allocated in
1991. This assistance will enable the [[participating
governments of the]] Union and the Republics to purchase hundreds
of thousands of tons of U.S. grain, providing a needed boost to
Amerian farmers, and essential food and feed grains for the
Soviet people this winter. [[When people's lives are threatened
by cold and hunger, Americans always respond by sharing their
abundance. ]]]
Let me say something else about my efforts to promote our
exports: I will never apologize for a single minute I devote to
promoting America's interests abroad. Some of my critics act as
if the "global marketplace" is off somewhere in Asia or Europe.
7
But you and I know it's right here in Kansas City -- and in
Birmingham and Bakersfield and Silicon Valley.
Every additional billion dollars in new exports means 20,000
new American jobs. When I fight for free and fair trade in Latin
America or East Asia or Europe, some will carp and claim I'm
pursuing "foreign" instead of "domestic" policy. That whole line
The
of argument is misleading. But I don't think you're misled. I'm
Well,
sure you understand that what I'm working at is a real-world
DISE a
the
approach to creating more jobs and more wealth for Americans in
America.
wash
It's a life of challenge ahead for you and your generation.
We're looking to you for fresh ideals and energy to renew our
schools, our businesses and our government institutions. We're
counting on you to become the Schwarzeneggers of a tough global
marketplace. You'll need training, discipline, creativity, and
alert minds to seize new ideas and opportunities.
Is this a tall order? Sure it is. But looking at you, I
know you'll achieve everything we expect of you, and more.
Thank you, and may God bless each of you.
#
#
#
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
November 8, 1991
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
THROUGH:
DAVID DEMAREST
TONY SNOW TS
FROM:
JOSEPH P. DUGGAN gPD
SUBJECT:
FUTURE FARMERS OF AMERICA
I. SUMMARY
On Wednesday, November 13, at 2:00 p.m., you will give
the keynote address to 10,000 teenagers attending the
National FFA annual convention in Kansas City. An
additional 8,000 will be watching by closed-circuit TV.
II. DISCUSSION
Future Farmers of America recently changed their name
to the "National FFA Organization" because many of their
members will not become farmers but will enter related
agribusiness professions.
The opening jokes refer to the fact that Arnold
Schwarzenegger was advertised as the keynote speaker but
recently canceled due to a movie schedule.
The remarks (14 minutes, on teleprompter) discuss
fitness, education and trade.
(Duggan/Simon)
November 8, 1991
Draft Four
FFA
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS:
FFA CONVENTION
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1991
2:00 PM
visit: December 10, 1990 [Acknowledgments include FFA president Mark Timm, former
FFA leader Fred McClure and Miss America Carolyn Sapp]
It gives me a surge of hope to be with so many thousands of
bright and motivated young people.
It's another reminder that
young people America has the best kids in the whole world. 11 I want to
salute the FFA for bringing so many of you together to exchange
ideas and forge friendships that will brighten our country for
many years to come. 11
I also want to send my warmest greetings to members of the
National Association of Farm Broadcasters, who also are meeting
in Kansas City this week. American agriculture depends upon the
free and robust flow of information and opinions. Now and then I
get to catch up with farm market news when I'm listening on the
radio to my favorite music -- country music. I call country
music my "window on the real world"
and sometimes when I'm on
the road and tuned to a real country station, I get the latest
prices of barrows and gilts in between songs. 11
((That's an awfully gracious welcome for a last-minute
stand-in. You signed up to come here believing the keynote
speaker would be Arnold Schwarzenegger. But if he didn't cancel
an engagement now and then, I guess we wouldn't call him "the
terminator." \\))
2
((Arnold has agreed to fill in for me at the next White
House news conference. I can't wait to see the kind and gentle
way he handles some of those hostile questions. 11 ))
((Arnold couldn't be here because he's at work filming
another movie. Next year, I intend to make a sequel of my own.
11 We're going to call it "Term 2." \\\ ))
I know that Arnold does not take lightly his being unable to
be with you today. You know him as an athlete and actor. He's
also a very creative businessman -- and a citizen who takes
public service seriously. He is doing an outstanding job as
Chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness.
I won't lead you through the workout Arnold had planned, but
I do want to impress upon you the essence of his message: Get
going with good exercise and fitness habits now, while you're
young -- and don't ever give them up.
11
Each one of you is already a leader in your school, and
among your peers. I don't want any of you to fall short of a
single thing you dream of. That is why I hope you will equip
yourself with the physical stamina that comes from exercise.
Cultivating "a sound mind in a sound body" is key to good health,
long life, and performance at your best for the many
responsibilities you will face in your families and your careers.
11 ( (If any of you ever have baled and loaded hay, you know what
I'm talking about. ) )
Your FFA experience is giving you powerful skills and drive
to help this country compete in the decades ahead. As you follow
3
your dreams and lead others as I know you're destined to do, I
would like your special help in pursuing two national goals to
help America be all that it should be. 11
First, I'd like you to work for excellence in American
education. If you attend school in a rural community, there is a
good chance your school enjoys the strong involvement of parents
and your community -- and places a high value on responsibility
and achievement. That would place you among the lucky ones.
In too many of our schools education isn't happening
anymore. The system has broken down. Ties to parents and
communities are gone. High schools present diplomas to kids who
can't read or write. Drug use and violence rage out of control.
And all the while taxpayers pay more and more for schools that
produce less and less.
There are success stories, of course, even in poor inner-
city neighborhoods. These are schools that excel in teaching
reading and writing, and science and math, and history and
geography. Some are public schools, others are private or
parochial schools. But each has in common the intense
involvement of parents, a commitment to discipline and values, a
rigorous curriculum, and a large degree of freedom from
bureaucratic control.
Our "America 2000" strategy shows communities how to develop
schools that work. We want our schools held to high standards -
- world-class standards. We want parents to have real financial
opportunity to choose schools, including, parochial or private
4
schools. We're inviting parents, educators, businessmen, and
civic leaders to reinvent American schools -- to replace
institutions that fail to work with new schools empowered with
freedom and flexibility and innovative strategies.
Here's where you come in: It's up to you and your
generation to make this happen. You will inherit this long-term
mission as leaders in agriculture, business and government in
your counties, cities and states. I've put forward a strategy
for reforming our schools, and I hope to see as much as possible
accomplished during my presidency. But before this vision can
become a full reality, I foresee years of political trench
warfare -- pitting reformers against dug-in interest groups.
The challenge of reforming American education will take
plenty of patience, grit and determination -- exactly the types
of virtues that FFA represents. I am very pleased that the
National FFA Organization's plans for its future leadership in
agricultural education mesh so well with our America 2000
philosophy.
The second goal I'd like you to pursue is keeping America
competitive. Your country is counting on you -- I'm counting on
you -- to find new uses for traditional and non-traditional
crops. We're looking to you to create attractive new products,
including clean fuels. We want you to outfox our competitors
with your marketing skills. We expect you to draw on rural
America's tradition of conservation and lead all Americans to use
our natural resources wisely.
5
We must keep opportunity alive in this country. Federal
taxes are lower, flatter and fairer than they were a decade ago,
but they still tend to reward debt and punish saving and
investment. That's why we are long overdue for a capital gains
tax cut -- something I've asked Congress for every year since I
became President. But Congress isn't getting the message. In
the farming, ranching and agribusiness communities, I'm sure you
can appreciate how a capital gains tax cut would improve property
values. But more than that, it would boost investment and jobs
in every sector and every industry in the nation. I wish you
# of
members
would help me get that message to Congress.
of Longress
We need to take the shackles off our banks and financial
services companies. I have sent Congress a comprehensive banking
reform package, but again Congress isn't getting the message. Would
you want to start out in business with outmoded banking laws that
won't allow American firms to compete on equal terms with the
Japanese and Europeans? \\ Some congressional committee
chairmen think you shouldn't have an up-to-date banking system.
And come to think of it, some of these individuals have been
in Congress almost as long as their Depression-era laws have been
on the books. 11
We need to seize new opportunities and tackle new challenges
in world trade. This is an important aspect of the FFA
convention theme: "Leadership for a Growing Planet. " In the
GATT talks we're now engaged in what I hope will be the final
battle against agricultural protectionism around the world. As
6
many of you know, I met face to face with the EC leaders last
week in the Netherlands -- and I made it plain that American
agriculture and agribusiness stand for free and fair trade. We
want to complete a good GATT deal that opens more markets for
American exports and launches a booming new generation of trade.
We're on our way toward achieving an excellent bargain for
more trade and more jobs through our efforts with Mexico and
Canada. The North American Free Trade Area will present your
generation some exciting opportunities. So will the free-market
transformation of the former Soviet empire. Economic growth and
stability in the former Soviet Union and in Eastern Europe
ultimately will make them better trading partners with the United
States. And now that the good people of those lands have thrown
off the chains of communism, we intend to help them in their
economic transition.
I am pleased to announce today the extension of roughly $1.5
billion in agricultural credit guarantees and humanitarian
assistance to the Soviet Union. This is in addition to the $2.5
billion in agricultural credits already allocated in 1991. This
assistance will enable the Union and the Republics to purchase
hundreds of thousands of tons of U.S. grain, providing a needed
boost to Amerian farmers, and essential food and feed grains for
the Soviet people this winter. I share the pride of all
Americans that our farmers' abundance can strengthen the tide of
democracy around the world.
7
Let me say something else about my efforts to promote our
exports: I will never apologize for a single minute I devote to
promoting America's interests abroad. Some of my critics act as
if the "global marketplace" is off somewhere in Asia or Europe.
But you and I know it's right here in Kansas City -- and in
Birmingham and Bakersfield and Silicon Valley.
Every additional billion dollars in new trade means 20,000
new American jobs. So when I fight for free and fair trade in
Latin America or East Asia or Europe, some will carp and claim
Haqwash- I'm pursuing "foreign" instead of "domestic" policy. That whole
cew manure line of argument is misleading. But I don't think you're misled.
I'm sure you understand that what I'm working at is a real-world
approach to creating more jobs and more wealth for Americans in
America.
Subbing for Arnold Schwarzenegger at one speaking appearance
is easy compared with the life ahead for you young leaders of the
FFA. You will have to become the Schwarzeneggers of a tough
global marketplace. You'll need training, discipline,
creativity, and alert minds to seize new ideas and opportunities.
Is this a tall order? Sure it is. But looking at you, I
know you'll achieve everything we expect of you, and more.
Thank you, and may God bless each of you.
#
#
#
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
November 8, 1991
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
THROUGH:
DAVID DEMAREST
TONY SNOW T3
FROM:
JOSEPH P. DUGGAN gPD
SUBJECT:
FUTURE FARMERS OF AMERICA
I. SUMMARY
On Wednesday, November 13, at 2:00 p.m., you will give
the keynote address to 10,000 teenagers attending the
National FFA annual convention in Kansas City. An
additional 8,000 will be watching by closed-circuit TV.
II. DISCUSSION
Future Farmers of America recently changed their name
to the "National FFA Organization" because many of their
members will not become farmers but will enter related
agribusiness professions.
The opening jokes refer to the fact that Arnold
Schwarzenegger was advertised as the keynote speaker but
recently canceled due to a movie schedule.
The remarks (14 minutes, on teleprompter) discuss
fitness, education and trade.
(Duggan/Simon)
November 8, 1991
Draft Four
FFA
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS:
FFA CONVENTION
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1991
2:00 PM
[Acknowledgments include FFA president Mark Timm, former
FFA leader Fred McClure and Miss America Carolyn sapp]
It gives me a surge of hope to be with so many thousands of
bright and motivated young people. It's another reminder that
America has the best kids in the whole world. 11 I want to
salute the FFA for bringing so many of you together to exchange
ideas and forge friendships that will brighten our country for
many years to come. 11
I also want to send my warmest greetings to members of the
National Association of Farm Broadcasters, who also are meeting
in Kansas City this week. American agriculture depends upon the
free and robust flow of information and opinions. NOW and then I
get to catch up with farm market news when I'm listening on the
radio to my favorite music -- country music. I call country
music my "window on the real world" -- and sometimes when I'm on
the road and tuned to a real country station, I get the latest
prices of barrows and gilts in between songs. 11
((That's an awfully gracious welcome for a last-minute
not
stand-in. You signed up to come here believing the keynote
speaker would be Arnold Schwarzenegger. But if he didn't cancel
an engagement now and then, I guess we wouldn't call him "the
terminator." \\))
2
((Arnold has agreed to fill in for me at the next White
House news conference. I can't wait to see the kind and gentle
way he handles some of those hostile questions. \\\\
((Arnold couldn't be here because he's at work filming
another movie. Next year, I intend to make a sequel of my own.
11 We're going to call it "Term 2." \\\\)
I know that Arnold does not take lightly his being unable to
Arnold
be with you today You know him as an athlete and actor. He's
also a very creative businessman -- and a citizen who takes
public service seriously. He is doing an outstanding job as
Chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness.
I won't lead you through the workout Arnold had planned, but
I do want to impress upon you the essence of his message: Get
going with good exercise and fitness habits now, while you're
young -- and don't ever give them up. 11
Each one of you is already a leader in your school, and
among your peers. I don't want any of you to fall short of a
single thing you dream of. That is why I hope you will equip
yourself with the physical stamina that comes from exercise.
cultivating "a sound mind in a sound body" is key to good health,
long life, and performance at your best for the many
responsibilities you will face in your families and your careers.
11 ((If any of you ever have baled and loaded hay, you know what
I'm talking about. ) )
Your FFA experience is giving you powerful skills and drive
to help this country compete in the decades ahead. As you follow
3
your dreams and lead others as I know you're destined to do, I
would like your special help in pursuing two national goals to
help America be all that it should be. 11
First, I'd like you to work for excellence in American
education. If you attend school in a rural community, there is a
good chance your school enjoys the strong involvement of parents
and your community -- and places a high value on responsibility
and achievement. That would place you among the lucky ones.
In too many of our schools education isn't happening
anymore. The system has broken down. Ties to parents and
too
communities are gone. High schools present diplomas to kids who
severe
can't read or write. Drug use and violence rage out of control.
And all the while taxpayers pay more and more for schools that
produce less and less.
There are success stories, of course, even in poor inner-
city neighborhoods. These are schools that excel in teaching
reading and writing, and science and math, and history and
geography. Some are public schools, others are private or
parochial schools. But each has in common the intense
involvement of parents, a commitment to discipline and values, a
rigorous curriculum, and a large degree of freedom from
bureaucratic control.
Our "America 2000" strategy shows communities how to develop
schools that work. We want our schools held to high standards -
- world-class standards. We want parents to have real financial
opportunity to choose schools, including, parochial or private
4
schools. We're inviting parents, educators, businessmen, and
civic leaders to reinvent American schools -- to replace
institutions that fail to work with new schools empowered with
freedom and flexibility and innovative strategies.
Here's where you come in: It's up to you and your
generation to make this happen. You will inherit this long-term
mission as leaders in agriculture, business and government in
your counties, cities and states. I've put forward a strategy
for reforming our schools, and I hope to see as much as possible
accomplished during my presidency. But before this vision can
become a full reality, I foresee years of political trench
warfare -- pitting reformers against dug-in interest groups.
The challenge of reforming American education will take
plenty of patience, grit and determination -- exactly the types
lumor
of virtues that FFA represents. I am very pleased that the
National FFA Organization's plans for its future leadership in
agricultural education mesh so well with our America 2000
philosophy.
The second goal I'd like you to pursue is keeping America
competitive. Your country is counting on you -- I'm counting on
you -- to find new uses for traditional and non-traditional
crops. We're looking to you to create attractive new products,
including clean fuels. We want you to outfox our competitors
with your marketing skills. We expect you to draw on rural
America's tradition of conservation and lead all Americans to use
our natural resources wisely.
5
We must keep opportunity alive in this country. Federal
taxes are lower, flatter and fairer than they were a decade ago,
k
but they still tend to reward debt and punish saving and
investment. That's why we are long overdue for a capital gains
tax cut -- something I've asked Congress for every year since I
became President. But Congress isn't getting the message. In
the farming, ranching and agribusiness communities, I'm sure you
can appreciate how a capital gains tax cut would improve property
values. But. more than that, it would boost investment and jobs
in every sector and every industry in the nation. I wish you
would help me get that message to Congress.
We need to take the shackles off our banks and financial
services companies. I have sent Congress a comprehensive banking
reform package, but Congress isn't getting the message. Would
you want to start out in business with outmoded banking laws that
lumor
won't allow American firms to compete on equal terms with the
Japanese and Europeans? Some congressional committee
chairmen think you shouldn't have an up-to-date banking system.
11 And come to think of it, some of these individuals have been
in Congress almost as long as their Depression-era laws have been
on the books. 11
We need to seize new opportunities and tackle new challenges
in world trade. This is an important aspect of the FFA
convention theme: "Leadership for a Growing Planet.' II In the
GATT talks we're now engaged in what I hope will be the final
battle against agricultural protectionism around the world. As
6
many of you know, I met face to face with the EC leaders last
week in the Netherlands -- and I made it plain that American
agriculture and agribusiness stand for free and fair trade. We
want to complete a good GATT deal that opens more markets for
American exports and launches a booming new generation of trade.
We're on our way toward achieving an excellent bargain for
more trade and more jobs through our efforts with Mexico and
Canada. The North American Free Trade Area will present your
generation some exciting opportunities. So will the free-market
transformation of the former Soviet empire. Economic growth and
stability in the former Soviet Union and in Eastern Europe
ultimately will make them better trading partners with the United
States. And now that the good people of those lands have thrown
off the chains of communism, we intend to help them in their
economic transition.
I am pleased to announce today the extension of roughly $1.5
billion in agricultural credit guarantees and humanitarian
assistance to the Soviet Union. This is in addition to the $2.5
with
billion in agricultural credits already allocated in 1991. This
NSC
assistance will enable the Union and the Republics to purchase
which will paitrics have agreed
hundreds of thousands of tons of U.S. grain 1 providing a needed
boost to Amerian farmers, and essential food and feed grains for
the Soviet people this winter. I share the pride of all
Americans that our farmers' abundance can strengthen the tide of
democracy around the
proper
we world. don people if want gains to to death.
7
Let me say something else about my efforts to promote our
exports: I will never apologize for a single minute I devote to
promoting America's interests abroad. Some of my critics act as
if the "global marketplace" is off somewhere in Asia or Europe.
But you and I know it's right here in Kansas City -- and in
Birmingham and Bakersfield and Silicon Valley.
Every additional billion dollars in new trade means 20,000
new American jobs. So when I fight for free and fair trade in
Latin America or East Asia or Europe, some will carp and claim
I'm pursuing "foreign" instead of "domestic" policy. That whole
line of argument is misleading. But I don't think you're misled.
I'm sure you understand that what I'm working at is a real-world
approach to creating more jobs and more wealth for Americans in
America.
Subbing for Arnold Schwarzenegger at one speaking appearance
is easy compared with the life ahead for you young leaders of the
FFA. You will have to become the schwarzeneggers of a tough
global marketplace. You'll need training, discipline,
creativity, and alert minds to seize new ideas and opportunities.
Is this a tall order? Sure it is. But looking at you, I
know you'll achieve everything we expect of you, and more.
Thank you, and may God bless each of you.
#
#
#
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE
OF COURSE, I'D LIKE
TO BE THE ONE
SITTING THERE, BUT
OIT SEEMS my
ASSISTANT FRED
McCLURE SWITCHED
THE PLACECARDS.
FRED,
How DID you LIKE
WORKING AT THE
WHITE HOUSE?
Market Sensitive Information
I am pleased that we were able to announce today the
extension of roughly $1.5 billion in agricultural credit
guarantees and humanitarian assistance to the Soviet
Union. This is in addition to the $2.5 billion in
agricultural credits already allocated in 1991. This
assistance will enable the Union and Republics to purchase
hundreds of thousands of tons of U.S. grain, providing a
needed boost to American farmers, and essential food and
feed grains for the Soviet people this winter. I share
the pride of all Americans that our farmers' abundance can
strengthen the tide of democracy around the world.
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
6630, 2800
November 8, 1991
MEMORANDUM FOR TONY SNOW
FROM:
GARY BLUMENTHAL
esfor
SUBJECT:
President's Speech to FFA on November 13
This memo constitutes my comments due at 10:00am today on the
draft FFA speech. First, I am attaching previously submitted
material for use in the speech. I believe the thrust of the
speech should focus on agriculture and should be cognizant of the
fact that the immediate audience is young people -- but 40
million rural Americans will receive it through the media.
Additional and specific comments include:
1) Note comments written on the attached draft circulated on
November 7.
2) I appreciate a reference to Schwarzenegger and a paragraph on
physical exercise, but the President has a broader agenda than
Arnold and I wouldn't want the Democrats to claim his answer for
a domestic policy agenda is more pushups!
3) America 2000 is good but should not be the dominant theme of
this speech. I can understand a strong segment on it, perhaps,
but not two pages. I would drop the city versus rural fight.
Just to bore you I am also attaching material I submitted earlier
to a National FFA Task Force on education. You will see that I
stressed that the future of American agriculture depends upon a
stronger inclusion of math, science and business into
agricultural education. I challenged them to establish a New
American School of Agriculture, or to develop an agricultural
curriculum for New American Schools across the country. We of
course should check this with DoEd before the President makes
such a challenge. Regardless, my outline should help you present
America 2000 in a manner more specific to the needs of the
agricultural community.
4) I speak to the ABA Agriculture Conference in Kansas City on
November 17 and think the Administration's banking reform
proposal is great. But I don't think this is the audience unless
it is set up better than it is in the circulated draft. Rural
banks oppose reform because they fear big interstate banks will
take them over. Rural Americans will oppose deregulation because
they fear interstate banks will eliminate the customer service
they receive from a locally owned bank. I would set the subject
-2-
up by pointing out that on average, small rural banks are in a
better capital position than are larger city banks and that the
small rural banks should look to mergers with each other to
compete against city banks. This will ultimately enable them
to be personal, but also provide expanded services to their rural
customers.
5) We need to have a passage on the Soviet Union which says they
have been a large traditional customer for U.S. agriculture and
we must now help them in this transition which will ultimately
make them a better trading partner for the U.S. Internal
economic growth and stability will make them larger and more
regular importers. But do not tell farmers that the Soviets will
no longer purchase unprocessed grains. The Soviet Union was the
largest importer of U.S. feedgrains in FY 1990, and this years'
reduction accounts for the bulk of the decrease in exports for
U.S. producers. I need a place marker in this section -- let's
discuss.
6) The issues bunched into one paragraph on page six should be
expanded to produce a positive, forward-looking speech. The
credit
attached talking points provide numerous examples of new food and
announcement
non-food uses; almost one full page on the biofuels initiative;
X
and more than one page on bioproducts and biomaterials. These
young people need to hear about new technologies, and to get
excited about the future of agriculture, as do their elders.
This fits perfectly with the President's State of the Union
message that "we are the nation that can shape the future."
7) Finally, the circulated draft has the underlying tone of a
lecture. I would like it to be more inspirational. More than
24,000 people will attend this conference, and the speech will be
transmitted via satellite to classrooms and homes across the
nation. This will be the President's largest audience in some
time, creating a golden opportunity for an uplifting speech; one
that people will talk about well after he departs. A lecture is
not that memorable.
As you can tell, I feel very strongly about this speech. This is
a critical time for the agriculture community. Further, each
constituency wants to feel that the President is talking to them.
This may be particularly true for rural Americans, who feel
distant from people who work in the city, sit behind a desk and
wear a tie. They wonder what we do all day. We need to show
them that the President knows what they do, and that he knows
what is important to them.
Thank you for incorporating my comments. Please call me if you
require additional information. As this speech will undergo
significant revisions, I would like to review your next draft.
Good!
(Duggan/Simon)
November 6, 1991
Draft Three
01 NOV 6 P6: 50
FFA
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS:
FFA CONVENTION
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1991
Mark Timm
[Acknowledgments, including FFA officers, and of course
former FFA national secretary Fred McClure]
It gives me a surge of hope to be with so many thousands of
bright and motivated young people. It's another reminder that
America has the best kids in the whole world. \\ I want to
salute the FFA for bringing so many of you together to exchange
ideas and forge friendships that will brighten our country for
many years to come. \\
I also want to send my warmest greetings to members of the
National Association of Farm Broadcasters, who also are meeting
in Kansas City this week. The free and robust flow of
information and opinions is absolutely vital to the great success
of American agriculture. Now and then I get to catch up with
farm market news when I'm listening on the radio to my favorite
music -- country music. I call country music my "window on the
real world" -- and sometimes when I'm on the road and tuned to a
real country station, I get the latest prices of barrows and
gilts in between songs. \\
((That's an awfully gracious welcome for a last-minute
stand-in. Most of you signed up to come here believing the
keynote speaker would be Arnold Schwarzenegger. Well, I suppose
2
if he didn't cancel an engagement now and then, we wouldn't call
him "the terminator." \\))
( (Arnold has agreed to fill in for me at the next White
House news conference. I can't wait to see the kind and gentle
way he handles some of those hostile questions. \\))
( (Arnold couldn't be here because he's at work filming
another movie. Next year, I intend to make a sequel of my own.
ii We're going to call it "Term 2." ) brillicat
I know that Arnold does not take lightly his being unable to
be with you today. You know him as an athlete and actor. He's
also a very creative businessman -- and a citizen who takes
public service seriously. He is doing an outstanding job as
Chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness.
I won't lead you through the workout Arnold had planned for
you, but I do want to impress upon you the essence of his
message: Get going with good exercise and fitness habits now,
while you're young -- and don't ever give them up. 11
Each one of you is already a leader in your school, and
among your peers. I don't want any of you to fall short of a
single thing you dream of. That is why I hope you will equip
yourself with the physical stamina that comes from exercise.
Cultivating "a sound mind in a sound body" is key to good health,
long life, and performance at your best for the many
responsibilities you will face in your families and your careers.
\\ ( (If any of you ever have baled hay, you know what I'm
talking about. \\))
3
In the decades to come, as you follow your dreams and lead
others as I know you're destined to do, I would like your special
help in pursuing two national goals.
First, I'd like you to work for excellence in American
education. If you attend school in a rural community, there is a
good chance your school enjoys the strong involvement of parents
and places a high value on responsibility and achievement. That
would place you among the lucky ones
In too many of our schools -- especially in big cities --
education isn't happening anymore.
The system has broken down.
High schools are giving diplomas to kids who can't read or write.
Drug use and violence are raging out of control. And all the
while the taxpayers' burden for public schools has skyrocketed.
Please don't misunderstand. My point isn't to flatter
"country" wholesomeness in contrast with "big city" vice. Big
cities -- including poor inner-city
neighborhoods
--
do
have
some
schools that excel in teaching reading and writing, and science
and math, and manners and civics. Each of these success stories
somehow breaks the mold. Some are public schools, others are
private or parochial schools. But each has in common the intense
involvement of parents, a commitment to discipline and
traditional educational values, and a large degree of freedom
from bureaucratic control.
Our "America 2000" reforms aim to show communities how to
develop schools that work. A key to this is giving parents real
financial choice whether to send their children to private,
4
parochial or public schools. Another key is our invitation to
parents, educators, businessmen, and civic leaders to reinvent
American schools -- to replace institutions that fail to work
with new schools empowered with freedom and flexibility and
innovative strategies.
Here's where you come in: It's up to you and your
generation to make this happen. This is a long-term mission you
will inherit as business and government leaders in your counties,
cities and states. I've put forward a strategy for reforming our
schools, and I hope to see as much as possible accomplished
during my presidency. But before this vision can become a full
reality, I foresee years of political trench warfare -- pitting
reformers against dug-in interest groups.
The road to reforming American education is going to take
plenty of patience and grit -- and those are exactly the virtues
that FFA represents. I am very pleased that the National FFA
Organization's plans for its future leadership in agricultural
education mesh so well with our America 2000 philosophy.
The second goal I'd like you to pursue is keeping America
competitive. We need to keep opportunity alive in this country.
Federal taxes are lower, flatter and fairer than they were a
decade ago, but they still tend too much to reward debt and
punish saving and investment. That's why we are long overdue for
a capital gains tax cut. In the farming and agribusiness
communities, I'm sure you can appreciate how a capital gains tax
cut would improve property values. But more than that, it would
5
be a boost for investment and jobs in every sector and every
industry in the nation.
We need to take the shackles off our banks and financial
services companies. Do you want to start out in business or
farming with outmoded banking laws that won't allow American
firms to compete on equal terms with the Japanese and Europeans?
We must seize new opportunities and tackle new challenges in
world trade. In the GATT talks we're now engaged in what I hope
will be final battle against the "Fortress Europe" agricultural
3
protectionism of the European Community. As many of you know, I
met face to face with the EC leaders last week in the Netherlands
check this wd
and I made it plain that American farmers and agribusiness
next
stand for free and fair trade. We want to complete a good GATT
critical
deal that opens more markets for American exports and launches a
at
now
to
booming new generation of trade --- but I'd rather have no
agreement than a bad agreement. achieving
on
We're well on our way toward completing an excellent bargain
Ann. Jobs by ow
for free trade efforts. with Mexico and Canada. The North American Free
Trade Area will present your generation some exciting challenges.
So will the free-market transformation of the former Soviet
logical market based
empire: Freedom and normal incentives are going to make the
"breadbaskets" of Russia and Ukraine productive again. Instead
of being customers for unprocessed grains, the Russians and East
Europeans of the future are going to seek quality and variety in
American food and fiber products.
6
FFA. You will have to become the Schwarzeneggers of a tough
global marketplace. You'll need training, discipline,
creativity, and alert minds to seize new ideas and opportunities.
Your country is counting on you -- I'm counting on you -- to
find new uses for non-traditional crops. We're looking to you to
create attractive new products, including clean fuels. We want
you to outfox our competitors with your marketing skills and to
work tirelessly for better quality. We expect you to draw on
rural America's tradition of conservation and lead all Americans
to be more careful stewards of our natural resources.
Is this a tall order? Sure it is. But looking at you, I
know you'll achieve everything we expect of you, and more.
Thank you, and may God bless each of you.
#
#
#
284703
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
91 NOV 7 P3:- 35
DATE: 11/06/91
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY: 11:00 a.m. Friday 11/08
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: FFA CONVENTION/KANSAS CITY, MO/ WED. NOV. 13th
SUBJECT:
(11/06 draft three)
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
HORNER
SUNUNU
MCCLURE
j
SCOWCROFT
PETERSMEYER
DARMAN
P
PORTER
>
BRADY
f
ROGICH
BROMLEY
SMITH
McBRIDE
CARD
1
\
SNOW
DEMAREST
BOSKIN
FITZWATER
GRAY
HOLIDAY
REMARKS:
Please provide any comments to Tony Snow no later than 11:00 a.m.
on Friday, 11/08, with a copy to this office. Thanks.
RESPONSE:
Ok- - a few thoughts
PHILLIP D. BRADY
BT/SR
Assistant to the President
and Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
(Duggan/Simon)
November 6, 1991
Draft Three
01 NOV 6 P6: 50
FFA
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS:
FFA CONVENTION
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1991
[Acknowledgments, including FFA officers, and of course
former FFA national secretary Fred McClure]
It gives me a surge of hope to be with so many thousands of
bright and motivated young people. It's another reminder that
America has the best kids in the whole world. 11 I want to
salute the FFA for bringing so many of you together to exchange
ideas and forge friendships that will brighten our country for
many years to come. \\
I also want to send my warmest greetings to members of the
National Association of Farm Broadcasters, who also are meeting
in Kansas City this week. The free and robust flow of
information and opinions is absolutely vital to the great success
of American agriculture. Now and then I get to catch up with
farm market news when I'm listening on the radio to my favorite
music -- country music. I call country music my "window on the
real world" -- and sometimes when I'm on the road and tuned to a
real country station, I get the latest prices of barrows and
gilts in between songs. 11
((That's an awfully gracious welcome for a last-minute
stand-in. Most of you signed up to come here believing the
keynote speaker would be Arnold Schwarzenegger. Well, I suppose
Too much Arnold,
2
if he didn't cancel an engagement now and then, we wouldn't call
him "the terminator.'
MI
( (Arnold has agreed to fill in for me at the next White
House news conference. I can't wait to see the kind and gentle
way he handles some of those hostile questions. \\))
( (Arnold couldn't be here because he's at work filming
another movie. Next year, I intend to make a sequel of my own.
ii We're going to call it "Term 2." \\\ ))
I know that Arnold does not take lightly his being unable to
be with you today. You know him as an athlete and actor. He's
also a very creative businessman -- and a citizen who takes
public service seriously. He is doing an outstanding job as
Chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness.
I won't lead you through the workout Arnold had planned,
you,
but I do want to impress upon you the essence of his
message: Get going with good exercise and fitness habits now,
while you're young -- and don't ever give them up. 11
Each one of you is already a leader in your school, and
among your peers. I don't want any of you to fall short of a
single thing you dream of. That is why I hope you will equip
yourself with the physical stamina that comes from exercise.
Cultivating "a sound mind in a sound body" is key to good health,
long life, and performance at your best for the many
responsibilities you will face in your families and your careers.
Those of you who
11 ( (If any of you ever have baled hay, know what I'm
talking about. ) )
3
In the decades to come, as you follow your dreams and lead
others as I know you're destined to do, I would like your special
help in pursuing two national goals.
First, I'd like you to work for excellence in American
education. If you attend school in a rural community, there is a
good chance your school enjoys the strong involvement of parents
and places a high value on responsibility and achievement. That
would place you among the lucky ones.
In too many of our schools -- especially in big cities --
education isn't happening working. anymore. The system has broken down.
High schools are giving diplomas to kids who can't read or write.
Drug use and violence are raging out of control. And all the
while the taxpayers' burden for public schools has skyrocketed.
Please don't misunderstand. My point isn't to flatter
"country" wholesomeness in contrast with "big city" vice. Big
cities -- including poor inner-dity neighborhoods -- do have some
schools that- excel in teaching reading and writing, and science
and math, and seography manners and civics. Each of these success stories
somehow breaks the mold. Some are public schools, others are
private or parochial schools. But each has in common the intense
involvement of parents, a commitment to discipline and
traditional educational values, and a large degree of freedom
from bureaucratic control.
Our "America 2000" reforms aim to show communities how to
develop schools that work. A key to this is giving parents real
financial choice whether to send their children to private,
4
parochial or public schools. Another key is our invitation to
parents, educators, businessmen, and civic leaders to reinvent
American schools -- to replace institutions that fail to work
with new schools empowered with freedom and flexibility and
innovative strategies.
Here's where you come in: It's up to you and your
generation to make this happen. This is a long-term mission you
will inherit as business ànd government leaders in your counties,
cities and states. I've put forward a strategy for reforming our
schools, and I hope to see as much as possible accomplished
during my presidency. But before this vision can become a full
reality, I foresee years of political trench warfare -- pitting
reformers against dug-in interest groups.
The road to reforming American education is going to take
plenty of patience and grit -- and those are exactly the virtues
that FFA represents. I am very pleased that the National FFA
Organization's plans for its future leadership in agricultural
education mesh so well with our America 2000 philosophy.
The second goal I'd like you to pursue is keeping America
competitive. We need to keep opportunity alive in this country.
Federal taxes are lower, flatter and fairer than they were a
decade ago, but they still tend too-much to reward debt and
punish saving and investment. That's why we are long overdue for
a capital gains tax cut. In the farming and agribusiness
communities, I'm sure you can appreciate how a capital gains tax
cut would improve. property values.
But more than that, it would
5
be a boost for investment and jobs in every sector and every
industry in the nation.
We need to take the shackles off our banks and financial
services companies. Do you want to start out in business or
farming with outmoded banking laws that won't allow American
firms to compete on equal terms with the Japanese and Europeans? of course
We must seize new opportunities and tackle new challenges in you don't
world trade. In the GATT talks we're now engaged in what I hope
will be final battle against the "Fortress Europe" agricultural
protectionism of the European Community. As many of you know, I
met face to face with the EC leaders last week in the Netherlands
-- and I made it plain that American farmers and agribusiness
stand for free and fair trade. We want to complete a good GATT
deal that opens more markets for American exports and launches a
booming new generation of trade -- but I'd rather have no
agreement than a bad agreement.
Wę're well on our way toward completing an excellent bargain
for free trade with Mexico and Canada. The North American Free
Trade Area will present your generation some exciting challenges.
So will the free-market transformation of the former Soviet
empire: Freedom and normal incentives are going to make the
"breadbaskets" of Russia and Ukraine productive again. Instead
of being customers for unprocessed grains, the Russians and East
Europeans. of the future -are, going to seek quality and variety in
American food and fiber products.
6
FFA. You will have to become the Schwarzeneggers of a tough
global marketplace. You'll need training, discipline,
creativity, and alert minds to seize new ideas and opportunities.
Your country is counting on you -- I'm counting on you -- to
find new uses for non-traditional crops. We're looking to you to
create attractive new products, including clean fuels. We want
you to outfox our competitors with your marketing skills and to
work tirelessly for better quality. We expect you to draw on
rural America's tradition of conservation and lead all Americans
to be more careful stewards of our natural resources.
Is this a tall order? Sure it is. But looking at you, I
know you'll achieve everything we expect of you, and more.
Thank you, and may God bless each of you.
#
#
#
Boskin's
changes
pg 6
(Duggan/Simon)
November 6, 1991
of tool too XX
Draft Three
FFA
01 NOV 6 P6: 50
or PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS:
FFA CONVENTION
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1991
[Acknowledgments, including FFA officers, and of course
former FFA national secretary Fred McClure]
It gives me a surge of hope to be with so many thousands of
bright and motivated young people.
It's another reminder that
America has the best kids in the whole world. 11 I want to
salute the FFA for bringing so many of you together to exchange
ideas and forge friendships that will brighten our country for
many years to come. 11
I also want to send my warmest greetings to members of the
National Association of Farm Broadcasters, who also are meeting
in Kansas City this week. The free and robust flow of
information and opinions is absolutely vital to the great success
of American agriculture. Now and then I get to catch up with
farm market news when I'm listening on the radio to my favorite
music -- country music. I call country music my "window on the
real world" -- and sometimes when I'm on the road and tuned to a
real country station, I get the latest prices of barrows and
gilts in between songs. 11
((That's an awfully gracious welcome for a last-minute
stand-in. Most of you signed up to come here believing the
keynote speaker would be Arnold Schwarzenegger. Well, I suppose
2
if he didn't cancel an engagement now and then, we wouldn't call
him "the terminator." ))
( (Arnold has agreed to fill in for me at the next White
House news conference. I can't wait to see the kind and gentle
way he handles some of those hostile questions. 11 ))
( (Arnold couldn't be here because he's at work filming
another movie. Next year, I intend to make a sequel of my own.
We're going to call it "Term 2."
111 ))
I know that Arnold does not take lightly his being unable to
be with you today. You know him as an athlete and actor. He's
also a very creative businessman -- and a citizen who takes
public service seriously. He is doing an outstanding job as
Chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness.
I won't lead you through the workout Arnold had planned for
you, but I do want to impress upon you the essence of his
message: Get going with good exercise and fitness habits now,
while you're young -- and don't ever give them up. 11
Each one of you is already a leader in your school, and
among your peers. I don't want any of you to fall short of a
single thing you dream of. That is why I hope you will equip
yourself with the physical stamina that comes from exercise.
Cultivating "a sound mind in a sound body" is key to good health,
long life, and performance at your best for the many
responsibilities you will face in your families and your careers.
11 ( (If any of you ever have baled hay, you know what I'm
talking about. 11 ))
3
In the decades to come, as you follow your dreams and lead
others as I know you're destined to do, I would like your special
help in pursuing two national goals.
First, I'd like you to work for excellence in American
education. If you attend school in a rural community, there is a
good chance your school enjoys the strong involvement of parents
and places a high value on responsibility and achievement. That
would place you among the lucky ones.
In too many of our schools -- especially in big cities --
education isn't happening anymore. The system has broken down.
High schools are giving diplomas to kids who can't read or write.
Drug use and violence are raging out of control. And all the
while the taxpayers' burden for public schools has skyrocketed.
Please don't misunderstand. My point isn't to: flatter
"country" wholesomeness in contrast with "big city" vice. Big
cities -- including poor inner-city neighborhoods -- do have some
schools that excel in teaching reading and writing, and science
and math, and manners and civics.
Each of these success stories
somehow breaks the mold. Some are public schools, others are
private or parochial schools. But each has in common the intense
involvement of parents, a commitment to discipline and
traditional educational values, and a large degree of freedom
from bureaucratic control.
Our "America 2000" reforms aim to show communities how to
develop schools that work. A key to this is giving parents real
financial choice whether to send their children to private,
4
parochial or public schools. Another key is our invitation to
parents, educators, businessmen, and civic leaders to reinvent
American schools -- to replace institutions that fail to work
with new schools empowered with freedom and flexibility and
innovative strategies.
Here's where you come in: It's up to you and your
generation to make this happen. This is a long-term mission you
will inherit as business and government leaders in your counties,
cities and states. I've put forward a strategy for reforming our
schools, and I hope to see as much as possible accomplished
during my presidency. But before this vision can become a full
reality, I foresee years of political trench warfare -- pitting
reformers against dug-in interest groups.
The road to reforming American education is going to take
plenty of patience and grit -- and those are exactly the virtues
that FFA represents. I am very pleased that the National FFA
Organization's plans for its future leadership in agricultural
education mesh so well with our America 2000 philosophy.
The second goal I'd like you to pursue is keeping America
competitive. We need to keep opportunity alive in this country.
Federal taxes are lower, flatter and fairer than they were a
decade ago, but they still tend too much to reward debt and
punish saving and investment. That's why we are long overdue for
a capital gains tax cut. In the farming and agribusiness
communities, I'm sure you can appreciate how a capital gains tax
cut would improve property values. But more than that, it would
5
be a boost for investment and jobs in every sector and every
industry in the nation.
We need to take the shackles off our banks and financial
services companies. Do you want to start out in business or
farming with outmoded banking laws that won't allow American
firms to compete on equal terms with the Japanese and Europeans?
We must seize new opportunities and tackle new challenges in
world trade. In the GATT talks we're now engaged in what I hope
will be final battle against the "Fortress Europe" agricultural
protectionism of the European Community. As many of you know, I
met face to face with the EC leaders last week in the Netherlands
and I made it plain that American farmers and agribusiness
stand for free and fair trade. We want to complete a good GATT
deal that opens more markets for American exports and launches a
booming new generation of trade -- but I'd rather have no
agreement than a bad agreement.
We're well on our way toward completing an excellent bargain
for free trade with Mexico and Canada. The North American Free
Trade Area will present your generation some exciting challenges.
So will the free-market transformation of the former Soviet
empire: Freedom and normal incentives are going to make the
"breadbaskets" of Russia and Ukraine productive again. Instead
of being customers for unprocessed grains, the Russians and East
Europeans of the future are going to seek quality and variety in
American food and fiber products.
6
FFA. I You will have to become the Schwarzeneggers of a tough
global marketplace. You'll need training, discipline,
creativity, and alert minds to seize new ideas and opportunities.
Your country is counting on you
-- I'm counting on you -- to
X
traditional and
find new uses for/inon-traditional crops. We're looking to you to
create attractive new products, including clean fuels. We want
you to outfox our competitors with your marketing skills and to
work tirelessly for better quality.
We expect you to draw on
rural America's tradition of conservation and lead all Americans
to be more careful stewards of our natural resources.
Is this a tall order? Sure it is. But looking at you, I
know you'll achieve everything we expect of you, and more.
Thank you, and may God bless each of you.
#
#
took comments Document 55 No. 284 703 8183
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
91 NOV 8 A8:06
DATE: 11/06/91
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY: 11:00 a.m. Friday 11/08
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: FFA CONVENTION/KANSAS CITY, MO/ WED. NOV. 13th
SUBJECT:
(11/06 draft three)
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
HORNER
SUNUNU
MCCLURE
SCOWCROFT
PETERSMEYER
DARMAN
P
PORTER
<
BRADY
S
ROGICH
BROMLEY
SMITH
McBRIDE
CARD
1
\
SNOW
DEMAREST
BOSKIN
FITZWATER
GRAY
HOLIDAY
REMARKS:
Please provide any comments to Tony Snow no later than 11:00 a.m.
on Friday, 11/08, with a copy to this office. Thanks.
RESPONSE:
November 7, 1991
MEMORANDUM FOR TONY SNOW
The NSC staff concurs with the presidential remarks as amended.
PHILLIP D. BRADY
Brent Scowcroft
Assistant to the President
and Staff Secretary
CC: Phillip D. Brady
Ext. 2702
(Duggan/Simon)
November 6, 1991
Draft Three
01 NOV 6 P6: 50
FFA
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS:
FFA CONVENTION
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1991
[Acknowledgments, including FFA officers, and of course
former FFA national secretary Fred McClure]
It gives me a surge of hope to be with so many thousands of
bright and motivated young people. It's another reminder that
America has the best kids in the whole world. \\ I want to
salute the FFA for bringing so many of you together to exchange
ideas and forge friendships that will brighten our country for
many years to come. 11
I also want to send my warmest greetings to members of the
National Association of Farm Broadcasters, who also are meeting
in Kansas City this week. The free and robust flow of
information and opinions is absolutely vital to the great success
of American agriculture. Now and then I get to catch up with
farm market news when I'm listening on the radio to my favorite
music -- country music. I call country music my "window on the
real world" -- and sometimes when I'm on the road and tuned to a
real country station, I get the latest prices of barrows and
gilts in between songs. \\
((That's an awfully gracious welcome for a last-minute
stand-in. Most of you signed up to come here believing the
keynote speaker would be Arnold Schwarzenegger. Well, I suppose
2
if he didn't cancel an engagement now and then, we wouldn't call
him "the terminator." \\))
( (Arnold has agreed to fill in for me at the next White
House news conference. I can't wait to see the kind and gentle
way he handles some of those hostile questions. 11 ))
( (Arnold couldn't be here because he's at work filming
another movie. Next year, I intend to make a sequel of my own.
ii We're going to call it "Term 2." \\\ ))
I know that Arnold does not take lightly his being unable to
be with you today. You know him as an athlete and actor. He's
also a very creative businessman -- and a citizen who takes
public service seriously. He is doing an outstanding job as
Chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness.
I won't lead you through the workout Arnold had planned for
you, but I do want to impress upon you the essence of his
message: Get going with good exercise and fitness habits now,
while you're young -- and don't ever give them up. 11
Each one of you is already a leader in your school, and
among your peers. I don't want any of you to fall short of a
single thing you dream of. That is why I hope you will equip
yourself with the physical stamina that comes from exercise.
Cultivating "a sound mind in a sound body" is key to good health,
long life, and performance at your best for the many
responsibilities you will face in your families and your careers.
11 ( (If any of you ever have baled hay, you know what I'm
talking about. \\))
3
In the decades to come, as you follow your dreams and lead
others as I know you're destined to do, I would like your special
help in pursuing two national goals.
First, I'd like you to work for excellence in American
education. If you attend school in a rural community, there is a
good chance your school enjoys the strong involvement of parents
and places a high value on responsibility and achievement. That
would place you among the lucky ones.
In too many of our schools -- especially in big cities --
education isn't happening anymore. The system has broken down.
High schools are giving diplomas to kids who can't read or write.
Drug use and violence are raging out of control. And all the
while the taxpayers' burden for public schools has skyrocketed.
Please don't misunderstand. My point isn't to: flatter
"country" wholesomeness in contrast with "big city" vice. Big
cities -- including poor inner-city neighborhoods -- do have some
schools that excel in teaching reading and writing, and science
and math, and manners and civics. Each of these success stories
somehow breaks the mold. Some are public schools, others are
private or parochial schools. But each has in common the intense
involvement of parents, a commitment to discipline and
traditional educational values, and a large degree of freedom
from bureaucratic control.
Our "America 2000" reforms aim to show communities how to
develop schools that work. A key to this is giving parents real
financial choice whether to send their children to private,
4
parochial or public schools. Another key is our invitation to
parents, educators, businessmen, and civic leaders to reinvent
American schools -- to replace institutions that fail to work
with new schools empowered with freedom and flexibility and
innovative strategies.
Here's where you come in: It's up to you and your
generation to make this happen. This is a long-term mission you
will inherit as business and government leaders in your counties,
cities and states. I've put forward a strategy for reforming our
schools, and I hope to see as much as possible accomplished
during my presidency. But before this vision can become a full
reality, I foresee years of political trench warfare -- pitting
reformers against dug-in interest groups.
The road to reforming American education is going to take
plenty of patience and grit -- and those are exactly the virtues
that FFA represents. I am very pleased that the National FFA
Organization's plans for its future leadership in agricultural
education mesh so well with our America 2000 philosophy.
The second goal I'd like you to pursue is keeping America
competitive. We need to keep opportunity alive in this country.
Federal taxes are lower, flatter and fairer than they were a
decade ago, but they still tend too much to reward debt and
punish saving and investment. That's why we are long overdue for
a capital gains tax cut. In the farming and agribusiness
communities, I'm sure you can appreciate how a capital gains tax
cut would improve property values. But more than that, it would
5
be a boost for investment and jobs in every sector and every
industry in the nation.
We need to take the shackles off our banks and financial
services companies. Do you want to start out in business or
farming with outmoded banking laws that won't allow American
firms to compete on equal terms with the Japanese and Europeans?
We must seize new opportunities and tackle new challenges in
world trade. In the GATT talks we're now engaged in what I hope
will be final battle against the "Fortress Europe' agricultural
around the world
protectionism of the European Community. As many of you know, I
met face to face with the EC leaders last week in the Netherlands
-- and I made it plain that American farmers and agribusiness
stand for free and fair trade. We want to complete a good GATT
deal that opens more markets for American exports and launches a
booming new generation of trade.
but
I'd
rather
have
no
agreement than a bad agreement
We're well on our way toward completing an excellent bargain
for free trade with Mexico and Canada. The North American Free
Trade Area will present your generation some exciting challenges.
So will the free-market transformation of the former Soviet
empire: Freedom and normal incentives are going to make the
"breadbaskets" of Russia and Ukraine productive again. Instead
of being customers for unprocessed grains, the Russians and East
Europeans of the future are going to seek quality and variety in
American food and fiber products.
6
FFA. You will have to become the Schwarzeneggers of a tough
global marketplace. You'll need training, discipline,
creativity, and alert minds to seize new ideas and opportunities.
Your country is counting on you -- I'm counting on you -- to
find new uses for non-traditional crops. We're looking to you to
create attractive new products, including clean fuels. We want
you to outfox our competitors with your marketing skills and to
work tirelessly for better quality. We expect you to draw on
rural America's tradition of conservation and lead all Americans
to be more careful stewards of our natural resources.
Is this a tall order? Sure it is. But looking at you, I
know you'll achieve everything we expect of you, and more.
Thank you, and may God bless each of you.
#
#
#