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Radio Address 4/16/92 [OA 7571]
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323154016
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Radio Address 4/16/92 [OA 7571]
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Records of the White House Office of Speechwriting (George H. W. Bush Administration)
Speech Backup Chronological Files
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George H.W. Bush Presidential Records
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Speechwriting, White House Office of
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Speech File Backup Files
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Chron File, 1989-1993
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13808-007
Folder Title:
Radio Address 4/16/92 [OA 7571]
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26
22
4
5
McGroarty/Bunton
April 15, 1992
12:45 P.M.
[RADIO]
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: RADIO ADDRESS
TO BE TAPED APRIL 16, 1992
8:15 A.M.
This past week, I spent some time in the town of Fraser,
Michigan. I met with workers at a major machine tool factory,
4-14-19 92
and talked with them and local business leaders about a program I
call Job Training 2000. Thursday, I was in Allentown,
Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley one of the first
communities to take up our America 2000 crusade to revolutionize
this nation's schools.
4-16-92
In Michigan and in Pennsylvania, I announced specific
proposals -- initiatives aimed at helping people with two of the
real building blocks of opportunity: advancing their education
and sharpening their job skills. If acted on by Congress, these
initiatives will make a real impact on the way people live -- not
just in Fraser and in Allentown -- but all across America.
Let me start with a concept I call the Lifetime Education
fact sheet
Rue Rovelson 150m
and Training Account -- a line of credit, a package of grants and
for cehigh valley.
loans worth $25,000 dollars to every eligible American,
to use to
further their education or acquire new job skills to make the
most of their abilities. It's a new way of thinking about an old
idea known as "student aid" -- and it's based on this simple
fact: Education doesn't end with graduation.
How will this Lifetime Education Account help real families?
Think of a single mother: struggling to balance her
2
responsibility for her family and for her job -- against her own
hopes for the future. Her dream is to set aside one night a week
-- and take one college course at a time. But money's tight, and
Roe sheet. Melson
under present federal rules as a part-time student -- she doesn't
fuet
qualify for the grant or loan that would help pay tuition.
That just doesn't make sense. Here's a woman willing to
work hard to better herself -- stopped short by a program that
works against her.
With our lifetime line of credit, all that would change.
The woman would be able to go to school -- bring that distant
dream another day closer. When government can help people help
themselves -- that's the kind of government we need.
youth Apprenticeship
Act of 1992
The other proposal I announced was a new
Apprenticeship
Initiative -- a companion program to our Job Training 2000.
from
4-14-92
To see what kind of difference this initiative can make,
(Deanborn
take that same family -- the working Mother I mentioned earlier,
Machiga
this time with a 17-year-old son, a senior in high school. He's
made the decision that it's time for him to enter the working
world, to help out by bringing home a paycheck. Right now, he
faces a tough choice -- juggling school and a job. He's trying
to do both -- and both are suffering. He doesn't want to close
4-14-92
the door on college -- but he's feeling pressure to drop out.
Dear
Michip
Our Apprenticeship initiative can help that young man stay
in school, keep his job -- and keep his options open.
It will
let him sit down with his school and his employer -- put together
a course of study and a job schedule that will keep him on track
3
4-14-
Dearborn, 92 Michigan
for graduation.
Later on, if that young man wants to change
careers or go to college, he's got a skill certificate to show
future employers -- and a diploma that really means something.
Each one of these initiatives begins with the same question:
What can government do to open the doors of opportunity to every
American? As President, I've made it my mission to preserve and
advance three legacies close to all our hearts: a world at
peace. An economy with good jobs. A nation of strong families.
/ The initiatives I've talked about today can help Americans
make those legacies their own. //
Thank you for listening today -- and as so many of you
celebrate Passover or prepare for Easter Sunday, may God bless
the United States of America.
# # #
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 : 4-15-92 : 1:34PM ;
The White House-
202 456 77391#
from Rae Nelson/ byGina 3221135S
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
4/15/92
4:00PM, TODAY, APR. 15
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: RADIO ADDRESS
SUBJECT:
APRIL 16. 1992
8:15AM
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
HORNER
SKINNER
MCBRIDE
SCOWCROFT
MOORE
DARMAN
PETERSMEYER
BRADY
PORTER
BROMLEY
ROGICH
CALIO
ROLLINS
DEMAREST
SMITH
YEUTTER
FITZWATER
GRAY
KAUFMAN
FINDLAY
HOLIDAY
MCGROARTY
REMARKS:
Please provide comments on the attached directly to
Dan McGroarty, Rm. 122, x2930, with a copy to this office
NO LATER THAN 4:00PM, TODAY!!, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15.
Thank you.
RESPONSE:
PHILLIP D. BRADY
Assistant to the President
and Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 : 4-15-92 ; 1:35PM ;
The White House-
202 456 7739:# 2
McGroarty/Bunton
April 15, 1992
2 APR 15 P12: 53
12:45 P.M.
[RADIO]
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: RADIO ADDRESS
TO BE TAPED APRIL 16, 1992
8:15 A.M.
This past week, I spent some time in the town of Fraser,
Michigan. I met with workers at a major machine tool factory,
and talked with them and local business leaders about a program I
call Job Training 2000. Thursday, I was in Allentown,
Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley -- one of the first
communities to take up our America 2000 crusade to revolutionize
this nation's schools.
LEGISLATIVE
In Michigan and in Pennsylvania, I announced specific 1
WHICH ARE
proposals initiatives aimed at helping people with two of the
real building blocks of opportunity: advancing their education
and sharpening their job skills. If acted on by Congress, these
initiatives will make a real impact on the way people live -- not
just in Fraser and in Allentown -- but all across America.
Let me start with a concept I call the Lifetime Education
and Training Account -- a line of credit. a package of grants and
AA
AT
loans worth $25,000 dollars to every eligible American, to use to
LEAST
further their education or acquire new job skills to make the
^
most of their abilities. It's a new way of thinking about an old
idea known as "student aid" -- and it's based on this simple
fact: Education doesn't end with graduation.
How will this Lifetime Education Account help real families?
Think of a single mother: struggling to balance her
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 ; 4-15-92 : 1:35PM :
The White House-
202 456 7739:# 3
2
responsibility for her family and for her job -- against her own
hopes for the future. Her dream is to set aside one night a week
-- and take one college course at a time. But money's tight, and
under present federal rules as a part-time student -- she doesn't
qualify for the grant or loan that would help pay tuition.
That just doesn't make sense. Here's a woman willing to
work hard to better herself -- stopped short by a program that
works against her.
With our lifetime line of credit, all that would change.
The woman would be able to go to school -- bring that distant
dream another day closer. When government can help people help
themselves -- that's the kind of government we need.
LEGISLATIVE
V
The other proposal I announced was a new Apprenticeship
COMPONENT OF
Initiative a program to our Job Training 2000
Act
To see what kind of difference this initiative can make,
take that same family -- the working Mother I mentioned earlier,
this time with a 17-year-old son, a senior in high school. He's
componet initrance OF J2000
made the decision that it's time for him to enter the working
world, to help out by bringing home a paycheck. Right now, he
faces a tough choice -- juggling school and a job. He's trying
SEE
to do both -- and both are suffering. He doesn't want to close
ATTACHED
the door on college -- but he's feeling pressure to drop out.
SUBSTITUTE
our Apprenticeship initiative can help that young man stay
LANGUAGE
in school, keep his job -- and keep his options open. It will
(PREPARED
let him sit down with his school and his employer -- put together
BY OMB;
a course of study and a job schedule that will keep him on track
OPD
SUPPORTS)
Radio speech; insert for page 2
this time with a 16 year old daughter, a junior in high school.
The young woman is not sure if she wants to go to college, but
she is sure she needs to make some money to help out at home.
She wants the work she does and the rest of the time she spends
in high school to make her ready for a good paying skilled job
and or able to do her best in college. No low-wage dead end job for
this ambitious young woman.
Right now, she is facing tough choices and juggling school
and work. She can't do both well and both are suffering. She
wants to keep the possibility of college open but is under
pressure to drop out of high school.
Our Youth Apprentice Act initiative can help her stay in
school, work and keep her options open. She can sit down with an
employer committed to helping young people prepare for high
skilled jobs, with her school, which is committed to tailoring
her last two years of high school so she can get both a high
school degree and a certificate of workplace and job skill
competency, and with her mom, who will help her work it all out.
she gets a high quality high school education, valuable work
experience, needed pay, training in a good paying occupation, and
the opportunity to continue on the payroll of this employer, show
other employers her documented skills, or go to college.
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 ; 4-15-92 ; 1:36PM ;
The White House-
202 456 7739:# 4
3
for graduation. Later on, if that young man wants to change
careers or go to college, he's got a skill certificate to show
future employers -- and a diploma that really means something.
Each one of these initiatives begins with the same question:
What can government do to open the doors of opportunity to every
American? As President, I've made it my mission to preserve and
advance three legacies close to all our hearts: a world at
peace. An economy with good jobs. A nation of strong families.
/ The initiatives I've talked about today can help Americans
make those legacies their own. 11
Thank you for listening today -- and as so many of you
celebrate Passover or prepare for Easter Sunday, may God bless
the United States of America.
# # #
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press secretary
(bearborn, Michigan)
For Immediate Release
April 14, 1992
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
IN ADDRESS TO GIDDINGS & LEWIS FRASER PLANT EMPLOYEES
AND HACOMB COUNTY CHAMBERS or COMMERCE
Giddings & Lawis Manufacturing Pacility
Fraser, Michigan
2:50 P.M. M EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very, very much. And,
Governor Engler, thank you I'm proud to be introduced by our
great Governor here. I want to salute our Secretary of Labor,
Lynn Martin. you met her when she came in. She 1s doing a lot,
an swful lot in terms of Job retraining, in terms of hope and
opportunity for America's workers
I want to thank the CEO of Giddings & Lewis and Bill
Fife here, who greeted us and has given us a short tour. Thanks
to some of the workers here in this wonderful plant; and then to
Barbara Hollett and Linda walling and Geary Maiori and James
Williams Warren, and to all the others from the Bix chambers of
commerce May I thank you for Being here. I just want you to
know I'm deTigHted to be with you today.
I'm sorry that Barbara Bush is not here. She's out
in the state of Oregon today. But I take great pride in the fact
that she' 8 doing her part I see these kids here trying to hit a
blow for literacy in this country, and she asked the to extend her
very best wishes
I want to talk to you today about the things that we
really must do together government and business, public
servants, private citizens to leave our children a legacy
worthy of this great country of ours. You see, I am not. one who
is so,pessimistic about America. we are the leaders of the
world, the undisputed leaders of the world, and now we've got
great things to do hore at home. I think that we've got to agree
on what tHat legacy 18 oping to be. Clearly we want a world at
peace People say to the American people: Well, how are things
going? Add take great pride in the fact that -- see these
little kids here they won't go to sleep at night worrying
about nuclear warfare the way the generations preceding had done.
We want a world at peace. We want strong, wholesome families)
and we want on sconomy that provides rewarding Jobs for all
More than any country but Earth, America has afforded
each generation the opportunity to leave such a legacy. Today,
we have thatropportunity once again. The world 1s changing at a
pace undreased of a generation ago. And how America, which has
led the world's rensformation, must change as well This
afternoon I want to discuss five areas which I believe are
overdue for reform five key ways in which America must change,
deserve. if we are to bonor coming generations with the legacy that they
As businessmen and women and as Giddings & Lewis
employees you understand the urgency. For each of these five
problems presents itself to you not as some abstraction, but in
the most immediate way: as a cost cost of dothg business
Too often these costs are beyond YOUR control drawing resources
away from your primary goals iok expending your companies and
creating good jobs for your communities
- 2 -
when our legal system -- and the Governor touched on
this -- becomes incapable of resolving disputes in a civil and
timely manner, business loses the incentive to innovate, loses
the incentive to take risks. Andewhen health care costs
escalate, business picks up much of the tab. And when government
imposes barriers to trade, business pays the cost in lost
markets. And then when our kids, our children leave school
without rudimentary skills, business bears in the Lost
productivity. And when government freezes in gridlock, business
can no longer plan rationally for the future.
somlet me start with Washington -- and again, the
Governor referred to that -- 1£ America 18 going to change, the
government muet change. Ten days aco, I presented seven specific
proposals to cure the paralysis that grips the United States
Congress. My proposals range from an elimination of these
special-interest Political Action Committees, these PACs,
elimination, not reduction, but elimination, extendsato as
line-item veto, which will allow us at last to get a handle on
this deficit that is mortgaging the future of these children here
today. And I think it's high time that we limited the number of
terms that Members of Congress may serve (Applause.)
My aim is simple: We must greate a flexible
government, responsive to the common good, And I have tried -- I
have tried over the past three years to invest my administration
with this sort of flexibility. Now, let me give you a few
examples of special concern right here to Macomb County
A reformed government knows its limits, refusing to
impose undue burdens OD business and consumers alike, FQC that
reason; I've made it clear to Congress: This is no time to
legislate an increase in the CAFE standards that would cost
American jobs in the automotive industry. And I will not accept
such legislation
A reformed government encourages innovation. Last
October, by way of example, myp-administration joined with the Big
Three, the automobile companies, to develop new generation of
batteries. And our goal: To make American car companies first
in the world in producing competitive electric cars by the year
2000.
A reformed government finds flexible means to reach
its goals. Our approach to the 1990 Clean Air Act, which.
requires deep reductions in air pollution, is a good example. To
help communities and industries meet the objectives of that act,
we've initiated a "Cash for clunkers" program, allowing states
and companies to buy high-polluting old cars, get them off the
road, and use the reduction in pollution to satisty our clean air
standards
Flexibility accountability, a willingness Lo
innovate -- Americans have a right to expect each of these from
their government, and particularly from the United States
Congress. Yet instead we get business as usual. I'll give you
another example, dealing with a second area urgently in need of
reform -- the nation's legal system.
Our country and this isn't true just of business,
this is true of neighborhoods, true of towne and city governments
our country is swamped in frivlous lawsuits. We tried to make
a good start at reform in 1990, when I introduced a bill to
reform product liability laws Congress wouldn't budge so we
reintroduced the reform again in 1991. And the Senate Democrate
refuse even to bring that bill to a vote; in the House, it's
stuck in two -- that B right two separate committees.
This inaction is inexcusable. America, regrettably,
has become the most litigious society on Earth, and American
companies pay. the price -- not only in dollars wasted but-in
lower productivity and a business environment hostile even to
MORE
ordinary competitive practices. According to a recent survey, 40
percent of companies that had been the target of product
liability suits have discontinued certain types of product
research
None of our competitors is afflicted with lawsuit
madness; we must remove this ball-and-chain from our ability to
compete worldwide. And our Competitiveness Council, led by the
Vice President, has offered 50 recommendations for legal reform,
including reasonable limits to the discovery process, alternative
means of resolving disputes, and a "loser-pays" rule that would
discourage the frivolous lawsnits. I urge you to urge congress
to help stop lawsuit madness. We must help each other more and
sue each other less. (Applause.)
I'll give you an example. A lot of the people Here
in this plant I'm sure have kids in little league Some of you
may coach little league, like I did 1000 years ago. And some
people are refusing to coach little league because they're afraid
of some frivolous lawsuit. Doctors afraid of delivering babies
because of a frivolous lawsuit we really have to change this
litigious society into a more ventle and a more friendly society.
Cur comprehensive legal reform will be far-reaching,
extending, then, into a third area critically in need of change
our nation's health system. Everybody here m sure is
concerned about the health care system. The litigation explosion
has hit Michigan's health care hard. Every year your physicians
and hospitals pay almost $500 million for medical liability
coverage -- $500 million. For the patient, that translates into
an extra $300 added on to the average hospital bill.
The trends are simply unsustainable. Botre estimates
say that by 2030, the year 2030 -- that's only, what, 38 years
away -- we will spend 30 cents of every dollar of national income
on health CATA. Again, much of the burden falls on business.
Right now, American corporations spend more on health care each
year than they earn in after-tax profits.
Now, we ve got to stop this drain OR our country
productivity MY proposed health care reform will build on our
system's assets -- especially in preserving the quality of care.
We've still got the world's finest quality health care. We will
reform the private insurance market, and increase consumer
choice. Through transferable tax credits we will bring coverage
to those who are uninsured, and control costs through market
incentives. And we will avoid the pitfalls of what I would see
as a nationalized care, with the rationing and the long waiting
lines, and mediocre quality that comes with it: Health care
reform must new to this principle -- government has no business
dictating what kind of health care you want to choose; dictating
what kind of health care you receives (Applause.)
I target then a feurth area for attention like
the others -- absolutely critical for our success in the coming
decades. With its global reach, this great company, Giddings &
Lewis, exemplifies an indisputable truth about our future: If
America is to succeed economically at>home, we must succeed
economically abroad. And in the postwar period, trade-related
jobs have grown three times faster than the overall job creation
Exports have accounted for 70 percent of our economy's growth
over the past three years
We will build on this success by continuing to open
foreign markets to American goods and services 11 including the
world's second largest market economy Japan And since I took
office, our exports to Japan have grown 10 times faster than out
imports from Japan, and our manufactured products are leading
this expansion. That boom has already created an additional
200,000 jobs here at home.
MORE
- 4 -
And that's why we made this now-famous trip to
Japan. I heard some criticism of that trip, but let's get the
facts straight about what we accomplished. of special interest
to many of you, for example, was the pledge by private Japanese
companies to increase the purchase of U.S. -made auto parts from
$9 billion to $19 billton by 1994.
And we didn't stop there. As a result of our trip,
we ve opened up Japan $4-billion glass market, its $9-billion
publ ic-sector computer market; and its $27-billion paper market
offering American business enormous opportunities to sell
American goods and that, of course means to create American
jobs.
And if we are to take advantage of the
opportunities, we must stay abroad. We must have a world-class
work force. And yet the grim fact is undeniable: our current
education system is unable to produce the workers the highly
competitive world market demands.
The only solution left to us is radical change.
That means we must literally reinvent American education And on
Thursday, I'm going to discuss the progress we've made in the
year since we launched our America 2000 education initiative, a
revolutionary movement that challenges every community to create
what we call break-the-mold schools. we know how to do it. we
set world-class standards for students. We redouble our afforts
to rid our schools of drugs and violence -- to cleanse America of
this scourge that Wastes RO many young lives And we make
schools more accountable by forcing them to compete. And that
means letting parents choose their children's schools -- public,
private, or religious. we must have that kind of choice to bring
real competition into the classroom. (Applause.
And we need to take the same bold approach to job
training, to provide Americans with the skills that this age of
intense international competition demands: And I have developed
such an approach, working with the Secretary here, and when
Congress returns from recess, we will submit the Job Training
2000 Act.
Our current job training system is merely -- it's
kind of a drazy-quilt of good intentions. over the years
Congress has put in place scores of training programs but they
are uncoordinated, sometimes redundant, and too often
unaccountable. This year, seven different-federal agencies will
administer some 60 training programs, at a cost of $18 billion.
And with this Jumble, 18 it any wonder that an
18-year-old, fresh from high-school, school, doesn!t know where to go for
career guidance or that an unemployed older worker, eager to
learn a new trade, is confused about how to find training. or
that a young parent on welfare, in search of a rewarding job,
can't find advice on which trade school to attend, or which
career to pursue.
Unscrupulous operators, these fly=by-night trade
schools prey on this confusion, and they take advantage of the
system's lack of accountability. And they recruit the naive or
somebody that's so desperate even though they know it's bad,
they re willing to take a chande. Bigning them up for thousands
of dollars in grants or loans, offer a few weeks training, and
then leave the people burdened with debt.
A truly competitive America can't afford this yaste
of talent and energy And it's not fair to the American worker.
Job Training 2000 will. disentangle that knot of federal programs
and make them serve the people who need them And here are the
key elements of this plan: First; it will create one-stop
shopping for vocational training in every community Second, it
will certify programs so that they meet the needs of the local
MORR
5
labor markets. And third, it will offer vouchers so aspiring
workers can choose the training they want
Along with Job Training 2000, I'm going to submit to
Congress an important new initiative it's called the Youth
Apprenticeship Act of 1992 ApprenticesHip is one of the sutest
routes into the world of work, and we need to make it more widely
available to our young people. And at the same time, we've got
to encourage them to complete a sound high school education that
prepares them for a lifetime of learning. The Act accomplishes
both these goals, making it easier for kids in the 11th and 12th
grades to combine on-the-job training with their regular studies
at school. And when they graduate from school, they will have
not only a certificate that attests to their job skills, but a
diploma that represents a substantial and varied education.
NOW, to get that Apprenticeship Act up and running,
we will be offering demonstration grants to six states:
California, Iowa, Maine, Oregon, Wisconsin and right here in:
Michigan -- as well as a series of local areas. We owe our young
people -- we owe every American who seeks to climb the ladder of
economic advantage -- the finest Job, the finest job the training
system in the world can produce; and I mean to see that they get
it. (Applause.)
Therefore I want to challenge the United States
Congress to pass both of these initiatives -- Job Training 2000
and the youth Apprenticeship Act -- this session, before the
Congress adjourns for the year. But as you know, I'm the first
to admit that I can't always count on Congress to act, no matter
how great the urgency. For real education reform I enlisted the
help of the nation's governors. You may remember this a couple
of years ago, we got together at Charlottesville, Virginia. so
far 43 governors have responded by enrolling their states in this
program we call America 2000.
And now I ask their help again. I call on the
governors here today -- all of the governors around the
country --to initiate Job Training 2000 strategies in their own
states; several are already hard at work. And I ask every
governor to bring together labor and business leaders with local
officials to consolidate their own job training programs. And
wherever possible, my administration will grant waivers to
accelerate these efforts. And we will provide incentive grants
to help them get started.
Each of the reforms that I've outlined here today --
making government accountable and flexible, restoring sanity to
our legal system, ensuring quality health care for all, expanding
world trade, and reinventing American education and job training
for tomorrow's work force -- each shares a single goal: To
ensure that America remains the undisputed leader of the world,
the freest, most prosperous and competitive nation on Earth.
(Applause.)
And each of these reforms grows from a fundamental,
uniquely American principle. Thomas Jefferson said it best:
"The pillars of our prosperity are the most thriving when left
most free to individual enterprise." And in practice, that means
government must trust the wisdom of markets more than the whims
of bureaucrats. And the freely-made decisions of the people must
take precedence over the engineering schemes of government.
(Applause.) And all our institutions -- from Congress to the
local trade school -- must be accountable to those that they
serve.
over the lact decade, America has changed the world.
Today we're blessed with the opportunity to change America. I
couldn't help thinking about that sentence, "Over the last
decade, America has changed the world." As I was walking along
the line here and reading the computer screen in English and then
in what the man running the screen told me was Russian. I had to
MORE
6
take his word for that. But here was a shipment going off
a
machine going off to Russia
We have a tremendous opportunity and I intend to
see that we continue to lead the world, And in so:doing, we will
be offering encrmous job opportunities, expanded job markets for
the American worker. We cannot pull back We cannot withdraw
into some sphere of isolation
And 80 as your President I take great pride in the
fact we ve helped change the World. And now I can tell you we
are going to wake these changes at home that will anable us to
remain the undisputed -- the undisputed admired leader of this
changing world in which we Iive.
Thank you all very much And may. God bless each and
every one of you and your Families And may God bless the United
States of America Thank you very very much (Applause,)
END
3:15 P.M. EDT
TOTAL P.06
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
Embargoed For Release
Until 9:00 A.M.,
Saturday, April 11, 1992
RADIO ADDRESS
BY THE PRESIDENT
TO THE NATION
THE PRESIDENT: The American people have always been a
people constantly searching for improvement; impatient for change
when things need changing. Last week I spoke about the need for a
change here in Washington for government reform -- especially
congressional reform. Today I want to focus on reforming our welfare
system, especially on our government's role in that reform process.
After years of trying to help those who are in need, we
have found that too often our assistance does not help people out of
poverty, it traps them there. It's not that people stop caring, it's
that the system stopped working.
We want a welfare system that breaks the cycle of
dependency before dignity is destroyed, and before poverty becomes a
family legacy. But today we must face this fact: Our system has
failed. I have repeatedly called for the forging of federal-state
partnerships that would make welfare reform a powerful, effective
reality.
Yesterday, at my direction, the federal government waved
outdated rules to allow Wisconsin to try a new kind of welfare
reform. The Wisconsin plan replaces some of the old assumptions of
the welfare state and recognizes the importance of personal
responsibility, self-respect, independence, and self-sufficiency.
In my State of the Union Address, I made a commitment to
make it quicker and easier for states with welfare reform ideas to
get the federal waivers they need. By approving Wisconsin's waivers
24 days after we received their request, that commitment now has the
force of action. I want to commend Wisconsin Governor Tommy
Thompson, and I want to challenge other states to propose their own
reforms.
We must balance America's generous heart with our
responsibility to the taxpayers who underwrite governmental
assistance. Our assistance should in no way encourage dependency or
undermine our nation's economic competitiveness. We pay twice for
those who make welfare a way of life, once for the initial benefits,
but even more because the nation loses their contribution to the
nation's economic well-being.
Those who receive government assistance have certain
responsibilities: the responsibility to seek work, or get education
and training that will help them get a job; and the responsibility to
get their lives in order. That means establishing lifestyles that
will enable them to fulfill their potential, not destroy it.
We have responsibilities, too. We must structure our
welfare programs so that they reverse policies which lock in a
lifestyle of dependency and subtly destroy self-esteem. We must
encourage family formation and family stability. Too often our
welfare programs have encouraged exactly the opposite.
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We must incorporate incentives for recipients to stay in
school. For instance, in Wisconsin teen parents are required by the
Learnfare program to stay in school to obtain full benefits. They
recognize that in many respects opportunity is equated with
education. And I'll have more to say about the urgent need for
educational reform next week as we mark the first anniversary of the
crusade that I call America 2000.
My approach to welfare reform should not only open the
doors of opportunity for our citizens who are on public assistance,
but also prepare them to walk proudly and competently through those
doors. Our goal is to build a system of welfare that will encourage
self-respect, build strength of character, and develop to the fullest
each individual's potential for a productive, meaningful life.
Thank you for listening. And may God bless the United
States of America.
END
8:00a.m.
4/16-
THE WHITE HOU
Office of the Press secretary
Embargoed For Release
until 9:00 A.M.,
Saturday, April 18, 1992
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
IN RADIO ADDRESS ON JOB TRAINING 2000
9:00 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: This past week I spent some time in the
town of Fraser, Michigan. I met with workers at a major machine tool
factory and talked with them and local business leaders about a
program I call Job Training 2000. Thursday, I was in Allentown,
Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley -- one of the first communities to
take up our America 2000 crusade to revolutionize this nation's
schools.
In Michigan and in Pennsylvania, I announced specific
proposals, legislative initiatives aimed at helping people with two
of the real building blocks of opportunity: advancing their
education and sharpening their job skills. If acted on by Congress,
these initiatives will make a real impact on the way people live --
not just in Fraser and in Allentown, but all across America.
Let me start with a concept I call the Lifetime
Education and Training Account -- a package of grants and line of
credit worth $25,0 dollars to every eligible American to use to
further their education or acquire new job skills to make the most of
their abilities. It's a new way of thinking about an old idea known
as student aid. And it's based on this simple fact: Education does
not end with graduation.
How will this Lifetime Education Account help real
families? Think of a single mother, struggling to balance her
responsibility for her family and for her job against her own hopes
for the future. Her dream is to set aside one night a week and take
one college course at a time. But money's tight, and under present
federal rules as a part-time student, she doesn't qualify for the
grant or loan that would help pay tuition.
That just doesn't make sense. Here's a woman willing to
work hard to better herself stopped short by a program that works
against her. With our lifetime line of credit, all that would
change. The woman would be able to go to school, bring that distant
dream another day closer. When government can help people help
themselves, that's the kind of government we need.
And the other proposal I announced was a new
Apprenticeship Initiative -- a companion program to our Job Training
2000. To see what kind of difference this initiative can make, take
that same family -- the working mother I mentioned earlier, this time
with a 17-year-old-son, a senior in high school. He's made the
decision that it's time for him to enter the working world, to help
out by bringing home a paycheck. Right now, he faces a tough choice
-- juggling school and a job. He's trying to do both, and both are
suffering. He doesn't want to close the door on college, but he's
feeling pressure to drop out.
Our Youth Apprentice Act can help that young man stay in
school, keep his job, and keep his options open. It will let him sit
down with his school and his employer, put together a course of study
and a job schedule that will keep him on track for graduation. And
later on, if that young man wants to change careers or go to college,
he's go
skill certificate to show futur
oyers and a diploma
that re
y
means something.
Each one of these initiatives begins with the same
question: What can government do to open the doors of opportunity to
every American? As the President, I've made it my mission to
preserve and advance three legacies close to all our hearts: a world
at peace, an economy with good jobs, a nation of strong families.
The initiatives I've talked about today can help Americans make those
legacies their own.
Thank you for listening today. And as so many of you
celebrate Passover or prepare for Easter Sunday, may God bless the
United States of America.
END