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70m-
ular we're done on
July 4 4th
for
PHOTOCOPY
PRESERVATION
integration
storye
women in the United States to head major
happen this year. Spelman, who will be on
youngest person to be named National Zoo director.
ZOOS. She was hired by the ZOO in 1995 as
the team that brings the pandas to Wash-
your
And
this
and
letter
INVASION PLUS 50
The Legacy of Korea
Arlene
ve
our
way
David
her
were
so
teaches
kids
half
in
or
a
letter
support,
0,000
a
sets,
time.
so
it
even
of
t,"
are
and
ycock
since
BY FRANK JOHNS THE WASHINGTON POST
eade
Army gallery: Lt. Gen. Julius W. Becton Jr. at home with photos of family members who served in the Army.
classes
has
th
up, too.
3 the
eed to
Erasing the Color Line
scores
in.
e.
War Forced a Reluctant U.S. Military to Accept Integration
elp
ys. "But
Second in a series
Two years later, the outbreak of the Kore-
raising
an War changed everything for blacks in the
nvinced
By STEVE VOGEL
U.S. military, and with it, race relations in
1 her
Washington Post Staff Writer
America. But it was combat necessity, not
social policy, that forced integration.
ulius W. Becton Jr. was a young lieuten-
"Korea was what broke the eggshell to
bols.
t could
J
ant training at Aberdeen Proving
make the omelet to make the integration a
Ground in Maryland when he got an
reality," said Becton, who later rose to three
roving
education in how the Army would en-
stars as the Army's first black corps com-
and
force a new presidential order directing
mander.
1 was
racial integration for the nation's military.
Like other blacks in the military, Becton
or
Soon after President Harry S. Truman
was used to second-class treatment. Though
signed the order in the summer of 1948, ac-
blacks had served with distinction in World
ew
cording to Becton, the commander at Aber-
War II, they had fought as segregated units.
deen assembled all officers on the post and
Becton, who joined the Army near the end of
1 by
read them the executive order. The com-
that war, was treated as an inferior even by
erful
mander paused. As long as he was there, he
Italian prisoners of war in Florida.
and
continued, there would be one officers' club
After Truman's order, blacks were still in
and swimming pool for whites and another
practice often limited to serving in designat-
officers' club and swimming pool for blacks.
COURTESY OF GEORGE M BROOKS
ed "colored" units, barred from many mil-
"And that's the way it stayed," Becton, a
"When we went to bed that
itary specialties and given few opportunities
0 pay
retired Army general and former D.C. pub-
for promotion. "We had a lot of people op-
lic schools chief, said in a recent interview at
his Springfield home. "Let's say the Army
night, we were integrated."
posed to mixing races in the Army," Becton
said.
pate
viewed [integration] with all the deliberate
- George M. Brooks,
Weeks after the North Korean invasion
lied
speed that was later used by the educators in
above, on the sudden change in his
the Brown case."
Maryland National Guard unit
See KOREA, B5, Col. 2
Γ, we
n
ols."
T
Child Molester
METRO
Gets 18-Year Term
Calvert Reside
Tuesday
cut
S to
For Third Attack
THE DISTRICT
Of Proposal for
Sit-ins by Disabled
it.
By RAYMOND McCaffrey
vert 1
By NEELY TUCKER
A disability rights group
Washington Post Staff Writer
are (
e
Washington Post Staff Writer
blockaded the American
behir
Medical Association and
For centuries, Calvert County has
That
A child rapist was sentenced yesterday in D.C. Su-
the HUD secretary's home.
been known for the farmers who work
of M
perior Court to at least 18 years in prison for his third
Page B3
the land and the watermen who fish the
Techt
assault on a young girl in the past 25 years.
10
Leon A. Fields's
METRO
M2
TUESDAY. JUNE 20, 20018 B5
A
THE
REGION
In the Army, Color Line Was a Casualty of War
KOREA, From B1
ny. But when promotions came,
California," Wilder said. Litt
they would go to the newer white
Preserving the racial equality
June 25, 1950, Becton was sent to
soldiers rather than experienced
gained in Korea was to-prove a
Korea as a platoon commander to
black ones.
struggle.
a
fight with the 3rd Battalion of theil
Wilder, his loquaciousness evi-
George M. Brooks, of Baltimore,
9th Infantry Regiment. Every sola
dent to his fellow soldiers, was cho-
belonged to the MarylandiNational
dier in the battalion was black-
sen to lead a delegation to bring the
Guard's 231st Transportation
except the commander and the ex-
problem to the attention of the bat-
Truck Battalion when it a acti-
ecutive officer.
talion commander.
vated in 1950 and sent to/Korea.
The battering taken by (U.S.)
The commander promised he
The all-black unit was the only one
troops soon forced changes. After
would take action, and he did, Wil-
in which minorities could then
two weeks of fighting in the Pusan
der said. Black soldiers started see-
serve in the Maryland Guardv
perimeter, all three 9th Regiment
ing promotions, and Wilder himself
Arriving in Korea in Decem-
battalions-two white and one
advanced to corporal and then to
ber, the Maryland Guard unit was
rday
black-had taken heavy losses. The
sergeant, with increased responsi-
quickly caught up in the wave of in-
of si-
regimental commander,
Col.
bilities.
tegration sweeping through the Ar-
and
Charles C. Sloane, was approached
The experience influenced the
my.
fllw
leg-
by a staff officer who asked where
course his life would take back in
"You went to bed one night seg-
Lou-
the white and black replacement.
Virginia, encouraging him to be-
regated," said Brooks, theni a 1st
e
soldiers arriving in Korea should be
lieve that segregation might be
lieutenant. "The next morning. we
far
assigned, Becton said he was later
overcome.
had a whole lot of white soldiers as-
sdic-
told.
"It had a very profound effect on
signed to us. When we went to bed
how
'We've got all these replace-
me," said Wilder, who eventually
that night, we were integrated.
ments coming in, but they're not
launched a political career that cul-
That's what we call instant in-
dad-
coming in racially versus our loss-
minated in his becoming the na-
tegration."
0 in-
es. What should I do with them?'
DUDLEY BROOKS-THE WASHINGTON POST
tion's first black elected governor.
The unit stayed that way
ve a
Becton said the officer asked
Changed by war: George M. Brooks's Maryland Guard
"It said the system might work."
through the war, winning numer-
the
Sloane,
tell
"And Sloane said, Put them
unit went to Korea segregated and returned integrated.
Wilder's life was saved one day
ous commendations for ifs/perfor-
when a white soldier whom he had
mance.
tate,
where they' needed, Becton re-
not disappear overnight, but none-
on many black soldiers, not only on
befriended pushed him into a shel-
After the war, Brooks and other
ilent
called. "And with that, we were in-
theless, white soldiers never ques-
their lives in the military, but also
ter right before an enemy mortar
soldiers from the battalion met in
plic-
tegrated:
tioned his authority, Becton said.
on their expectations of society af-
strike.
Baltimore with Maj. Gen. Milton A.
hers
Becton, assigned his first non-
"In combat, a very interesting
ter returning home.
Not long after, on April 18, 1953,
Reckord, the longtime Maryland
of
black soldier, drew aside his pla-
dynamic takes place," said Becton,
L. Douglas Wilder, a 22-year-old
Wilder's unit was sent up Pork
adjutant general, to discuss rees-
toon sergeant. "Don't let anything
who was wounded twice in Korea
college graduate from Richmond,
Chop Hill, a key position held by
tablishing the unit with the Mary-
ricts
happen to that guy," Becton told
and awarded the Silver Star. "Peo-
was less than eager to go to Korea
U.S. troops that was being assault-
land Guard. The black soldiers told
tate
the sergeant. "We not going to be
ple want to survive, and people are
after he was drafted in 1952. "I had
ed by communist Chinese forces.
Reckord that they would dd it only
tide-
the ones to go down in history as
prepared to do what you tell them
some very mixed feelings, fighting
Wilder repeatedly put himself in
as an open-meaning integrated—
we
having gotten that guy killed."
to do as long as they believe you
in another country for freedoms
the line of artillery and mortar fire
unit.
for
With an unprepared American
have some idea what you're talking
that did not enjoy in my own coun-
to pull wounded soldiers to safety,
"He looked at us and What
military plagued by manpower
about. Since I was the type of offi-
try," Wilder said.
according to the citation for the
do you mean, an open unit?)As long
and
shortages early in the war, the situ-
cer who would do anything I told
Assigned to a front-line unit with
Bronze Star he was awarded later.
as he was white and we were/black,
loun
ation in Becton's outfit was repeat-
the men to do, we had no prob-
the 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th In-
He and two other soldiers managed
it wasn't going to happent" said
ed many times over in other units.
lems."
fantry Division, Wilder was in-
to force the surrender of 19 Chi-
Brooks, 77. "We walked aways"
By the end of the war in 1953, 90
Some black units in Korea were
trigued by the integrated life in his
nese soldiers.
They went to the Afro-American
ows
percent of military units were in-
accused of cowardice by the Army
company. "That was my very first
It did not matter that some of the
newspaper and to the NAACP for
S of
tegrated, and more than 90 percent
after collapsing during the early
real interaction with members of
soldiers he helped save were black
help. After subsequent publicity,
urk,
of blacks in the Army were serving
fighting, but later historians have
the Caucasian race-sleeping to-
and others white, he said. "You
the Army notified the Maryland
idu-
in integrated units. The number of
contended that the men in question
gether, eating together, doing ev-
came to understand that the name
Guard in November 1955:that un-
acy
black Army officers in the Far East
were poorly led and unfairly brand-
erything together," he said.
of the game is survival," Wilder
less it opened all its units torall qual-
theater grew fourfold to 955 over
ed.
Even more stunning was seeing
said. "It didn't matter what color
ified individuals, federal funds for
a of
that time.
"Korea gave black Americans the
that some of the officers in his bat-
the soldier was who had drunk out
the Maryland Guard would(be cut
can
"We had white company com-
opportunity to prove among other
talion were blacks, who were giving
of your canteen, or eaten with your
off.
ntly
manders, black company com-
things that they could be soldiers,"
orders to white soldiers. "It made a
fork."
Reckord retreated, and/slowly,
manders, white soldiers, black sol-
Becton said. "Korea gave the Army
difference, seeing people of color
But when his stint in Korea was
the Maryland Guard washintegrat-
ate-
diers, Hispanic soldiers," said
the opportunity to prove that in-
being in positions of authority that
up in 1953 and Wilder headed back
ed. Brooks retired in 1975nas the
ark
Becton, now 73. "We basically
tegration would work and work
heretofore I had not seen," Wilder
to the United States, he noticed a
first black colonel in the Maryland
feel
looked like what society looked
well. It took a long time to get to
said.
disturbing development in black-
Guard's history.
the
like. It just took time."
that point, and then it took a much
But Wilder and other black sol-
white relations even before he
After fighting as an integrated
at
Becton quickly rose from a pla-
longer time after Korea for the mes-
diers soon learned that a double
made it home. "When you came
Army in Korea, the soldiers would
in
toon leader to a company executive
sage to sink in."
standard was often at play. They
back on the ship, you started seeing
never go back to being segregated.
officer, then to a company com-
The integration experienced in
would help train white replacement
that camaraderie and closeness
"We had done it, and there was
ou
mander. The racism of the day did
Korea would have a profound effect
soldiers who arrived in the compa-
slowly dissipate as you got closer to
no turning back," Brooks said.
iza-
the
of-
THING
not
MARYLAND
in
and
new
all
Jerl
Suspect Related Details of Slaying, Prosecutor Says
leod
PRIEST, From B1
home and cared for stray cats, once even tak-
ber. "He provided a lot of detail about what
showing no signs of emotion.
096
ing in a litter of seven kittens.
happened," she said.
A pretrial hearing was scheduled July
ict
sorry to everybody, if he has done this. Please
Wells, 56, was found stabbed to death in his
Prosecutors described Lucas as an alcohol-
14, but prosecutors will likely seek an in-
m-
forgive him. Please pray for him."
bedroom June 8 by parishioners and an em-
ic who k daily-often as many as two six-
dictment before then.
(gin
icy
She did not know whether her son ever had
ployee at the Germantown church who went
packs a day-and who has said he also used
Gansler said that, because sto-
the
contact with Wells before the night the priest
to look for him after he failed to show up for
crack and marijuana.
len during the slaying, the case is eligible for
in-
was slain. She said that she was a practicing
an 8 a.m. Mass. Authorities said the priest
Court records show Lucas has a conviction
the death penalty. A decision on whether to
Catholicand had taken her son to church in a
was stabbed repeatedly during what ap-
for drunken driving, and he pleaded guilty to
prosecute this as a capital case, however, is
on
different parish when he was younger, but
peared to be a violent struggle, and the recto-
charges of theft and possession of drug para-
still far off, he said.
todt
that he had stopped going to church. Still, she
ry was ransacked.
phernalia. He had been living in his van,
"This is a unique situation because we are
said, when she saw him in jail over the week-
Authorities believe Wells was awakened by
which was parked outside a Clarksburg tree-
aware of the monsignor's own position re-
aid
end, he asked to see a priest and was later vis-
noises in the rectory created when Lucas,
trimming business where he worked.
garding the death penalty, which is that he
ited by someone from Mother Seton.
who was acting alone, broke into the house,
Winfree argued that Lucas's release would
was against it," Gansler said in an interview.
Judith Lucas painted a picture of her son
sources said.
pose a danger to the community and to him-
The decision on whether to pursure: cap-
nd
that stood in contrast to the portrait of a cold-
Winfree said Lucas provided information
self. She said Lucas was suicidal and at one
ital case will be made in consultation with
ip-
blooded killer presented by prosecutors. She
about events inside Wells's room during his
point asked detectives for some rope. He ap-
Wells's family and Catholic Church/officials,
described him as a kind man, the sort of per-
interview with detectives, despite his moth-
peared in the courtroom via closed-circuit
and in consideration of the prosecution's "ob-
he
son who would bring people in need of shelter
er's comment that he claimed not to remem-
television, looking somewhat disheveled but
ligation to society," he added.
11
lube
ffl-
TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 2000
METRO
THE WASHINGTON POST
VIRGINIA
Top Navy Fighter Pilot 'Always Gave of Himself
By JOSH WHITE
the no-fly zone in Iraq before he was assigned
his neighborhood as a jovial person who of-
trees about 100 yards away, narrowly miss-
to witnesses and analyzing videotapes of the
was Post Staff Writer
to an elite training group. Soon he became
ten organized neighborhood basketball
ing two civilian buildings. "Then there was a
crash but have yet to come up with a prelimi-
evotq
one of four officers in the Atlantic Fleet to
games and coached community basketball.
fireball and a puff of smoke."
nary explanation. Merritt said the plane,
David Erick Bergstrom was an all-Amer-
demonstrate the powers of his flying ma-
He attended Virginia Tech for one year be-
Bergstrom and Dey represented half of
which costs about $35 million, appeared to
cremication kid who loved his family, loved his
chine to the public.
fore following his dream to Annapolis-
the Atlantic Fleet's elite F-14 demonstration
flip over on its right wing after an inverted
coitehurch and loved his country.
On Sunday, Lt. Bergstrom and the officer
something Philipps said was inevitable.
team, and both had been instructors at Fight-
maneuver and then careened into the woods.
delioDespite a calm and deferential demeanor,
piloting his jet died during an air show out-
Bergstrom and Lt. William Joseph Dey,
er Squadron 101, based at the Oceana Naval
"It did go down in a civilian housing area,
allivhe ever wanted to do was follow his fa-
side Philadelphia when their F-14 completed
30, of Hightstown, N.J., were killed when
Air Station in Virginia Beach. Both had been
and we're not sure if the pilots had enough
footsteps into the edgy lifestyle of fly-
a routine inverted maneuver-flying upside
their fighter jet crashed at Willow Grove Na-
in the Navy for eight years and had logged
control to avoid the houses," Merritt said.
ving fighter jets. Family and friends in his An-
down-and crashed into woods in front of
val Air Station in Willow Grove, Pa., while
more than 1,000 flight hours in the F-14, a
"But it didn't hit a house, and there were no
nandale community say the man simply
more than 100,000 spectators. The crash,
they were performing standard flight tactics
standard carrier-based fighter jet.
civilian casualties."
Nani
wanted to defend his nation. He "always
which is under investigation, killed two of
and wowing the air show crowd with the
Military officials said the F-14 is no longer
Merritt said the crash has sent shock
neogave of himself," said George Philipps, a
the Navy's top fliers in one of the military's
speed and versatility of their craft. Military
in production and will be replaced in 2002 by
waves through the naval aviation communi-
RSW Bergstrom family friend and longtime An-
most dangerous professions.
officials said they are unsure what caused the
a new fighter jet, the Super Hornet, which
ty. But she added that there are no plans to
ni 10 nandale neighbor.
"He loved his job. He admitted that it had
F-14 to veer into the woods, but Willow
has a longer flight capability and takes ad-
suspend air shows, which the Navy consid-
A 9rf1 rAfter a boyhood in which he was obsessed
inherent danger to it, but it was something
Grove spokeswoman Sherri Jones said noth-
vantage of more advanced technology. The
ers valuable recruiting tools and one of the
with joining the Navy, Bergstrom graduated
he said he had to do," Philipps said. "He was
ing appeared abnormal about their 20-min-
F-14s are popularly associated with the mov-
few opportunities the military has to show
y92 from the Naval Academy and became a radar
what the movies depict as the good old
ute flight.
ie "Top Gun."
the public how tax money is spent.
S intercept officer, taking over the rear seat of
American kid. He loved what he was doing."
"Everything seemed fine," Jones said,
Cmdr. Roxie Merritt, a spokeswoman for
"Fighter pilots know they're in a very dan-
3W athermilitary's supersonic F-14 Tomcat. He
Bergstrom, 31, a 1987 graduate of W.T.
adding that the plane swooped across the
the Naval Air Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, in
gerous job," Merritt said: "It's something
26 missions over the Balkans and enforced
Woodson High School, was known around
base before disappearing into a grove of
Norfolk, said investigators have been talking
they know comes with the turf."
bed of tris
-ill Inster
THEDISTRICT
V6W Jsd.
terms
notied
Woman Named Zoo Chief
D.C., U.S. Strike Deal
T9110 bive
ai tem ПО
A notto, From Bl.
its a year, to 4 million a year over the next dec-
To Maintain Roads
basivieM
ade.
3591 the world's diversity of plants and animals.
One way to do that, she said, is to play up
76M off his place needs to inspire people," she said
"charismatic mega-vertebrates" like tigers and
By MICHAEL H. COTTMAN
tunnels; 108,270 feet of guardrail;
Liot sinian interview, wearing her trademark scrubs,
pandas that visitors crave. The zoo, she said,
Washington Post Staff Writer
and 51 crash cushions.
víno tchinos and athletic shoes. "I will get involved in
needs to upgrade its sometimes "less than
Eighty percent of the money for
-betanything that will accomplish that."
world-class" enclosures to offer better indoor
D.C. and federal officials have
the project comes from federal
The search for a new director began in No-
viewing in the winter and more natural condi-
announced a $70 million, year
highway funds that had been set
Wvember when Robinson announced he would re-
tions for animals.
PHOTO/BY
agreement to "maintain, improve
aside for the now-canceled Barney
anol esign and return to scientific research. Spelman
Spelman said she and Small want to expand
Lucy Spelman takes care of Nancy the
and preserve" 75 miles of key road-
Circle freeway project. The re-
Hosldwas one of about 10 candidates for the job, but
the zoo's community outreach to "share what we
elephant's toe problem at the zoo last year.
ways in the District.
mainder will come from the Dis-
bisa shedid not apply until month ago, she said,
have with people who don't have it," though she
VMS Inc., a Richmond-based
trict.
16
when Dennis 0 Connor, the Smithsonian under-
offered no specific details. She also hopes to
Spelman, who grew up in Connecticut with an
contractor, has been hired to man-
Williams was joined at the news
assissectary who chaired the search committee,
showcase the zoo's expertise in reproductive bi-
assortment of animals, now keeps only two Lab-
age roads that are heavily used by
conference at Freedom Plaza by
:ot asked whether she would be interested.
ology and veterinary medicine.
radors. As chief vet, she maintained a research
residents, commuters, businesses
U.S. Transportation Secretary
Seard - 145 Results fourth of july
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Public Papers of the Presidents
Public Papers of the Presidents
July 2, 1999
CITE: 35 Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc. 1269
LENGTH: 173 words
HEADLINE: Radio Remarks on the Observance of Independence Day, 1999
BODY:
This weekend, as we celebrate the 223d anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the
birthday of our great Nation, let us reflect on what it means to be an American.
Let us remember the visionaries, the patriots, and the soldiers who were inspired by a single ideal,
that we are all created equal. And let us strive to honor that ideal today and every day by building a
world where every individual can make the most of his or her talents and know what it truly means to
live and breathe free.
On this, the last Independence Day of the 20th century, Hillary and I wish you a happy and
memorable Fourth of July.
NOTE: The President's remarks, were recorded at approximately 1 p.m. on June 29 in the Cabinet
Room at the White House for later broadcast on the Fourth of July. The transcript was released by
the Office of the Press Secretary on July 2. These remarks were also made available on the White
House Press Office Radio Actuality Line. A tape was not available for verification of the content of
these remarks.
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Date/Time: Tuesday, June 20, 2000 - 9:33 AM EDT
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6/20/2000 9:34 AM
http://www.pub.whitehouse.gov/uri-res/I2RPurn.pdi://oma.eop.gov.us/1998/7/6/7ext.2
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
(Hong Kong Special Autonomous Region)
For Immediate Release
July 4, 1998
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
IN RADIO ADDRESS TO THE NATION
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. I've just returned from my trip to
China, a great and ancient nation that is undergoing historic change
change I could see in new private businesses that are helping China's
economy to grow, in people free for the first time to work in jobs of
their own choosing, and in Chinese villages in the first free elections
of local leaders.
I was able to speak directly, not only to President Jiang and the
leaders of the Chinese government, but to the Chinese people themselves
about the partnership we hope to build with China for peace and
prosperity and about the importance of freedom and what it means to us
in America. At this particular moment in history, when for the first
time a majority of the world's people live under governments of their
own choosing, and when in China the positive impacts of greater openness
and personal liberties are already apparent, I'm especially glad to be
home for Independence Day -- the day we celebrate the freedom our
founders declared 222 years ago this Fourth of July.
And this Fourth of July, even as we celebrate, we should be not only
grateful for the freedom we enjoy, we should rededicate ourselves to the
work of responsible citizenship. For example, on the Fourth of July
families and friends come together all over America at backyard
barbecues and parks for picnics. As they enjoy their meals, I want to
report to you about what I'm doing to make sure the food and drinks we
serve our families this Independence Day and every day are safe.
Our food supply is the most bountiful and the safest in the world, but
we know we can do better. For nearly six years I've worked hard to put
in place a modern food safety system for the 21st century. I signed
into law legislation to keep harmful pesticides off our fruits and
vegetables. We put in place strong protections to ensure that seafood
is safe, and we're modernizing our meat and poultry safety system.
Last year, we launched a nationwide early warning system to catch
outbreaks of food-borne illnesses sooner and prevent them from happening
in the first place. But as much as we've done, we know we have to do
more to keep our families safe and strong. We know older people and
children are especially vulnerable to contaminated food. That lesson
was driven home tragically last year, when apple juice contaminated with
a deadly strain of e. coli caused the death of a 16-month-old child in
Washington State and led to the hospitalization of more than a dozen
other children.
Today we're taking two important steps to ensure that our food
supply is as safe as we can make it. First, I am pleased to announce a
new rule that requires warning labels on all packaged juice that has not
been pasteurized or processed to kill harmful bacteria. These warnings
will help families make better decisions about the juice they buy, and
they will help us to prevent thousands of Americans from becoming ill
every year.
Second, I'm directing the Department of Health and Human Services
and the Department of Agriculture to report back to me within 90 days
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with a plan to create a new national institute for food safety research.
This institute will join the resources of the public and private sectors
and bring together the talents of the most esteemed scientists in the
government, in universities, and in businesses to develop cutting edge
techniques to keep our food safe.
I'm doing what I can to protect our families from contaminated
food. Congress must also do its part to ensure the safety of America's
food supply. First and most important, it should fully fund my
comprehensive $101 million food safety initiative. Among other
important programs, this initiative will pay for 225 new food and drug
administrators, inspectors, and employees -- people who can keep unsafe
food away from our borders, out of our stores, and off our dining room
tables.
Congress should also give the FDA greater authority to halt
imports of fruits, vegetables, and other food products that are produced
under safety conditions that simply do not match our own strict
standards. It should give the U.S. Department of Agriculture new
authority to impose tough fines on businesses who violate those
standards, and to issue mandatory recalls of unsafe meat and poultry
before they reach our table; and it should confirm a respected,
experience scientist, Dr. Jane Henney to lead our food safety efforts as
Commissioner of FDA.
Food can never be made entirely safe; therefore, every parent also
has a responsibility -- a responsibility to handle food carefully,
especially during the summer. Meanwhile, we must do everything we can
to protect the food Americans eat and to give our families the peace of
mind they deserve. That's one important way on this Fourth of July we
can resolve to keep our nation strong as we move into the 21st century.
Happy Independence Day, Americans, and thanks for listening.
END
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Public Papers of the Presidents
Public Papers of the Presidents
July 4, 1996
CITE: 32 Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc. 1192
LENGTH: 2289 words
HEADLINE: Remarks at an Independence Day Celebration in Youngstown, Ohio
BODY:
Thank you so much. Thank you. What a beautiful day. I am so glad to see this great crowd here. I
want to thank Clare Maluso excuse me, I'm having a little trouble with my voice, but I hope you
can hear me back there. I want to thank Clare Maluso for doing such a fine job with this event. I
want to thank Mayor Ungaro and the other members of the city council who are here. I want to thank
Congressman Traficant for what he said and for the work he does for you in Washington every day.
I want to thank the other officials that are here, the members of the county commission; especially
David Engler, who's pled your case to me on so many occasions. I want to thank this wonderful choir
for getting us off to a good start. Weren't they great? Thank you.
Reverend Powell, you are the best looking 94-year-old woman in the world. I was told before we
came out here that her husband was a steelworker so long ago that he started working at 15 cents
an hour. So she's seen a lot of things happen in this community. And hearing her optimism and her
hope for the future should be encouraging to all of us.
I wish that Hillary were here with me today, but she's representing our country [applause] -- thank
you. She is representing our country in visiting on our day of freedom a lot of the countries in Central
and Eastern Europe that used to be dominated by communism that themselves are now free. And
they invited her to come for this week, and I think it's a good thing to be doing.
Somebody joked with me I don't know if any of you have seen this new movie "Independence Day"
-- but somebody said I was coming to Youngstown because this is the day the White House got blown
away by space aliens. [Laughter] I hope it's there when I get back. [Laughter] Anyway, I recommend
the movie. I got a chance to see it the other night.
The last time I came here the Congressman referred to it it was in 1992, and I almost broke up
a wedding party. Our bus caravan literally ran into the wedding of Judy and Mario Riccardi. And I was
so impressed by them, and I thought she was such a beautiful bride, and he was such a lucky fellow,
that I invited them to get up on stage at our rally. And they did. And I was just trying to sort of help
the marriage get off to a good start. That was 4 years ago, and since then they've had one child, and
another one's on the way. So I hope that our campaign made some contribution to it. I understand
they're here. Would they stand up. You all stand up. Give them a hand. [Applause] Thank you. Bless
you.
I also had an opportunity to see a lot of folks from Youngstown last year when you brought your
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national championship football team down, and I enjoyed that. And they'll be back.
I wish I could stay all day and stay throngh the evening and see the fireworks display that I know
Bruce Zoldan's going to do. But I just want to thank you for giving me a chance to be a small part of
your bicentennial.
This is a day where all Americans put aside their business and their political preconceptions and just
celebrate the freedom of our country,, a day for family and friends, for softball and barbecue and
music, a day to remember that even though we sometimes take the blessings of liberty for granted,
millions of people around the world would give anything to share them. So I wanted to share with
you my feelings about some joyous news a long way around the world.
Yesterday the Russian people went back to the polls in a free and fair election. They had an election;
then they had a runoff. And it was the second election. That is, they had once elected a President,
and now we were going to see if democracy would take in a country that was so long dominated by
Communists, and before that by the czars. With a decisive voice, the Russian people chose
democracy.
Yesterday, even in the runoff election almost two-thirds of them showed up to vote, to say, "We want
to say we want to control our destiny." They deserve enormous credit for the remarkable progress
they have made toward democracy and toward a free economy. And yesterday, they said, "We want
to keep on moving forward. We choose freedom. We choose democracy. We choose hope. We choose
the future."
Over our own 220 year history, we know it's not easy to preserve democracy, to meet its own
challenges, to keep pursuing life, liberty, and happiness as our Founders intended us to do. Well,
we've all got a stake in what happens in other countries that we used to be so far apart from. And I
hope that all of you today, in just a good old-fashioned American gesture, would join me here in the
heartland of America in congratulating President Yeltsin and the people of Russia for their
commitment to the freedom that we love.
Two centuries ago at another time of great challenge and change, a group of Revolutionary War
veterans were given this piece of land in an unchartered wilderness. They were told to go take the
land, cut the path to the West, and to the American future, take responsibility to seize the
opportunities offered by our young democracy. They were pathfinders into a new land, trailblazers for
our new Nation. Their work helped to build us into the greatest, strongest, most prosperous nation in
the world.
Throughout your history, Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley have been at the heart of this Nation
and its life. When our great steel mills and factories built the world's greatest industhai power,
Youngstown led the way. When the forces of democracy joined to defeat fascism and then to defeat
communism, Youngstown led the way.
Your hard work and your enduring values have been a shining example to all America. Now those
same virtues and values will bring this region back and carry America into the 21st century, still the
world's strongest force for prosperity and peace and freedom, still a place where the American dream
is alive for every single American who is willing to work to achieve it.
Two hundred years ago, the people of Youngstown were pioneers. You were then pioneers as you
built the world's greatest industrial machine, and now again you are pioneers as you make the great
transition into a new economy and a new century.
For many years, as the steel industry was battered by a changing economy, this city was hit hard.
But instead of sinking into defeatism, you stepped into the future, manufacturing specialty steel and
aluminum and liquid crystals for computer displays. You are becoming a trade and a storage hub for
the world. Youngstown is ready to take off, to move into the 21st century more ital and prosperous
than ever.
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I know you've united in an effort to mild a world-class air cargo facility at the Youngstown Warren
Regional Airport. We will continue to be a strong partner in that effort. Last April we announced
Federal assistance to help Youngstown plan for this facility and to move forward. Now our
administration has recommended $ 47 million in Federal funds to help to develop the airport. And I
know with the Congressman's help and work we can work together and get it done.
The challenges you have faced here are really challenges all Americans are facing, and we have to
meet them as you are working to meet them, as one community, one America reaching out across
the lines that divide us, pressing forward and never looking back.
For decades, Youngstown milled the steel that built the bridges that spanned our great rivers and
linked our great cities. Now your values must build the bridges to carry us all into a new century. On
this Independence Day let us resolve to keep our families strong and our children healthy.
We are all saddened by the deaths yesterday of eight people from the fireworks in southern Ohio. Let
us pray for their families. And let us resolve to pull all the closer to our own families. Let us resolve to
make sure that all of our people have a chance to be winners in this new economy.
I am very grateful that in the last 3 1/2 years America has cut its enormous deficit by more than half
and generated 9.7 million new jobs. But I know I know there are still Americans who want to work
and who could be good workers who don't have jobs. I'm very grateful that after 10 long years the
average wages in our country are beginning to rise again. But I know there are too many people who
are working harder and harder without getting those raises. So let us resolve to increase incomes and
grow together, not drift apart.
I am grateful that we are entering the 4th year in a row when the crime rate is coming down in
America; that we are putting 100,000 police on the street; that we are protecting our people from
the real problems that we can protect them from with initiatives like the Brady bill that has kept
60,000 fugitives, felons, and stalkers from buying guns when they should not have been able to do it.
But we must resolve to keep working at this until we take our streets back from crime and gangs and
drugs. We can never say we have dealt with the crime problem adequately until you can go home at
night and turn on the evening news and be genuinely surprised instead of numbed if the lead story is
a crime story. That's when we'll know we have restored America to where it ought to be.
Let us resolve to give our children the world's best education. I am glad for the progress that has
been made in that, but I won't be satisfied until we have done more. By the year 2000, every
schoolroom and library in this entire country should be connected to the Internet so that every child
has access to the virtues of the computer age.
And I want every single person in America who needs it to be able to go on to college. I want the
college tuition of every family to be deductible up to $ 10,000 a year. And I want us to reach the
point in America where 2 years of education after high school are just as universal as those first 12
years. We need that guarantee. And that's why I've proposed a tax credit for 2 years of community
college for every American of any age to go back and get the education and training they need to
make the most their own lives. It is important.
I am grateful for the progress we have made in relieving tensions with Russia and reducing the
nuclear threat and helping to make peace in places like Bosnia, the Middle East, Northern Ireland,
and Haiti. But as we mourn the 19 brave young men who gave their lives for our freedom and
security in Saudi Arabia, let us resolve to keep working to be a beacon of freedom in the rest of the
world and here at home.
We know that terrorism can strike anywhere, whether it's in the World Trade Center or Oklahoma
City or Tokyo or London or the Holy Land. And we know it can strike from sources within and without.
But we know almost always it is fueled by religious or ethnic or racial hatreds that make people look
down on other human beings as less worthy than themselves. That is not the American way. And let
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us resolve to continue to fight it.
This week, I declared officially that this month, July, would be a month of national unity, calling on
Americans of all faiths, from all walks of life, to join together to combat and speak against the rash of
burnings of African-American churches and other houses of worship in this country. Let's say on this
July 4th: This is our America, here. That is not our America. We want this America for all Americans.
Opportunity and responsibility, faith and family, freedom and community, respect for law and respect
for one another: these are the bridges across which we must walk to the 21st century'. These are the
bridges you are building here now in 1996, in the 200th year of Youngstown's existence. Our values
and our visions are as sturdy as tempered steel. If we remember what it means to be Americans, how
blessed our great Nation has been, how great we are, and how great we can be when we come
together to meet our challenges and protect our values, then the best days of America are still
ahead.
I ask you just to think of this as you wave your flags on the Fourth of July. What did those people
mean in 1776 when they said, "We hold these truths of be self-evident"? What does it mean to
believe that we're all equal, that we all have a right, but not a guarantee to life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness? What does it mean to say everybody should have an equal opportunity, but
everyone should provide equal responsibility? What does it mean to say that we are greater together
than we can ever be on our own? These are the things you must ask.
And think about this: With all the changes you've been through and all the troubles you've seen, this
is still the greatest country in the world. And what we have to ask ourselves is, what do we want
America to look like when our children grow up to be our age, or our grandchildren? What do we want
it to mean to them when they pledge allegiance to the flag and say they are still pledged to the
Republic for which our flag stands, one Nation one Nation -- under God, with liberty and justice for
all. Think about that. The answer will be clear.
Thank you. Good luck. God bless you, and God bless America.
NOTE: The President spoke at 3:24 p.m. at Riverfront Park at the ceremony celebrating the 200th
anniversary of Youngstown and the 150th anniversary of Mahoning County, OH. In his remarks, he
referred to Clare Maluso, Federal Plaza director, Mayor Patrick J. Ungaro of Youngstown; David
Engler, Mahoning County commissioner; Rev. Elizabeth Powell, paster, World Fellowship
Interdenominational Church; Bruce Zoldan, president, B. J. Alan Fireworks Co. A tape was not
available for verification of the content of these remarks.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
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31 Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc. 1186
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Public Papers of the Presidents
Public Papers of the Presidents
July 1, 1995
CITE: 31 Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc. 1186
LENGTH: 894 words
HEADLINE: The President's Radio Address
BODY:
Good morning. On this Fourth of July weekend, I want to talk about one thing that is at the root
of all of our independence, going to work. It makes you self-sufficient. It makes you and your family
truly independent.
Unfortunately, millions of Americans are not independent because they are dependent on welfare.
The vast majority of these Americans dream the same dreams most of us do. They want the same
dignity that comes from going to work and the pride that comes from doing right by their children.
They want to be independent.
The Congress and I are now working hard on welfare reform to give them that kind of independence.
I look forward to Congress passing and my signing into law a bipartisan bill that stands a real chance
of ending welfare as we know it.
Though there are very different approaches in the bills now before Congress, we have agreed on
much of what we need to do. We agree there must be time limits on welfare after which all who can,
must work. And I'm pleased that Congress has now agreed with me that we must enforce child
support with the toughest possible laws.
But if we're going to end welfare, we must do more than a crucial element that is missing from the
current approach of many in Congress. Instead of providing the child care people need to get off
welfare, some in Congress actually are trying to cut child care.
So today I say to Congress, child care must be the central element of our effort to put welfare
mothers to work. The bold plan that I support, which has been proposed by Senators Daschle,
Breaux, and Mikulski, provides that kind of child care. Our bill presents a genuine opportunity for
bipartisan agreement, and I hope we take advantage of it soon. After all, we should want the same
thing for people on welfare we want for all Americans, the chance to build strong families and to
make the most of their own lives.
The very name of the welfare program says it all: Aid to Families With Dependent Children. Children
by nature are dependent. The point of welfare reform must not be to punish children but to help their
families become independent. To be independent with dependent children, a person must be able to
succeed both as a worker and a parent. That's what most Americans have to do these days. That's a
big reason I worked so hard back in 1993 to cut taxes for working families with children whose
incomes were under $ 28,000, and now they're about $ 1,000 less than they used to be.
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And that's why I'm working hard to include in my middle class bill of rights a tax credit of $ 500 per
child for all the children under 13 in middle class families. And that's why it is pure fantasy to believe
we can put a welfare mother to work unless we provide child care for her children. We don't need
more latchkey kids. We certainly don't need more neglected children. And we don't want more
welfare mothers staying at home, living on welfare, just because they can't find child care.
We do want people to be good workers and good parents. And if we want parents on welfare to go to
work, we have to make sure they can find good, clean, safe places for their children to go during the
day.
Many in Congress want to cut child care just to save money. Well, I want to cut spending, and I want
to save money too. But we have to do it the smart way. Cutting child care will make it harder for
parents to get off and stay off welfare. It will, therefore, cost us far more down the road than it will
ever save in the near term.
Some people in Congress want to take even more extreme steps that will hurt, not strengthen,
families. They don't want welfare reform unless it cuts off all help to children whose mothers are
poor, young, and unmarried. I want to discourage teen pregnancy. We have to do that, but not by
hurting innocent babies. We should require teen mothers to live at home, stay in school, and turn
their lives around so they and their children stay off welfare for good.
Our administration has already put 29 States on the road to ending welfare as we know it with
waivers to free them up from cumbersome Federal rules and regulations when they have good ideas
to reform welfare.
Today I'm pleased to announce that Virginia will receive the newest waiver. Virginia's plan requires
people on welfare to go to work. Like the States of Oregon, Missouri, and a few others, it also allows
money now spent on welfare and food stamps to go to employers to supplement wages to help create
jobs in the private sector. And it helps people get child care. It's a good plan, and I'm proud to be
supporting.
Several months ago, I called on Congress to send me a welfare reform bill by July the 4th,
Independence Day. I'm disappointed they haven't been able to meet that deadline, but I am
hopeful that we'll move forward on a bipartisan welfare reform bill. I don't want filibusters. I don't
want vetoes. I don't want gridlock. But I do want real welfare reform that requires work, demands
responsibility, and provides the child care people need to move off welfare and to be successful as
workers and parents.
It's time to get to work so we can give millions of other Americans a new Independence Day.
Thanks for listening.
NOTE: The address was recorded at 12:38 p.m. on June 30 at the Sheraton Chicago in Chicago, IL,
for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on July 1.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
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Public Papers of the Presidents
Public Papers of the Presidents
July 4, 1994
CITE: 30 Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc. 1409
LENGTH: 226 words
HEADLINE: Remarks on Independence Day
BODY:
The President. Hello. Happy Fourth of July. Let me just say, part of this wonderful celebration --
can you hear?
Audience members. Yes.
The President. Part of this wonderful celebration is music, fireworks, family, friends, no speeches. But
I just want to welcome you here tonight and say what an immense pleasure and pride it is for Hillary
and for me to have you here. We hope you enjoy the fireworks. We're proud to have you here on the
grounds of your house and hope "that you feel it is your house.
And let me just say one little thing seriously. Every Fourth of July, I try to take a little time to think
about what this country means in a special way. And today, I finished a biography I've been reading
of our second President, John Adams. He's the first person who ever lived in this house, in 1800. He
died on the 50th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence, on July the 4th, 1826, the same
day President Jefferson died. They were great friends. And they died, on the same day, as they had
lived: loving this country. And what I want to ask all of you to think about is what we can do to make
sure that this country's still here 200 years from now. That's our job.
Thank you. God bless you. Have a great night.
NOTE: The President spoke at 9 p.m. on the South Lawn at the White House.
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Public Papers of the Presidents
Public Papers of the Presidents
July 2, 1994
CITE: 30 Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc. 1399
LENGTH: 1267 words
HEADLINE: The President's Radio Address
BODY:
Good morning. On Monday, July 4th, we celebrate America's birth. Two hundredeighteen years
ago, our Founding Fathers pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to the untested
idea of liberty, equality, and democracy.
Those ideas have survived and thrived because they're at the heart of the only system of government
we know that produces wisdom from debate and consensus from division. Indeed right now, we're
seeing how our democratic process can produce results that constantly renew the pledges of our
Founders, and we're making substantial progress.
I sought the Presidency because our economy was in trouble and because our Government wasn't
working. We put in place an economic plan designed to restore the middle class and guarantee
growth and jobs by cutting over $ 250 billion in spending; reducing over 250,000 Government
positions; offering tax cuts to 15 million working families, 90 percent of our small businesses, and
increases to about 1.5 percent of our people to ask them to help pay down the deficit.
The result has been a remarkable recovery: 3 million jobs, a 1.7 percent drop in unemployment, 3
years of deficit reduction in a row for the first time since Harry Truman was President of the United
States. But the agenda for change requires more. It requires us to empower the people of the United
States to do well in a world filled with change and competition.
That's at the heart of the crime bill we're about to pass in Congress that will put 100,000 police
officers on the street, enact a law that says, "Three strikes and you're out," ban assault weapons that
go with the Brady bill, and at the heart of our efforts, to reform the college loan program to make
interest rates lower and repayment terms better so that no young person will ever not go to college
because of the cost of a college education. We're going to make 20 million young college graduates
eligible for these better repayment terms and issue $ 1 billion of college loans next year under the
better terms.
And we're on our way to providing the security of health care to keep all our families whole and give
Americans the confidence and security they need to compete and win in a changing world. This is
especially important now, when 81 million of us live in families with preexisting conditions, people
who could lose their health insurance when they change their jobs. And we know the average
American will now change jobs seven or eight times in a lifetime.
The real choices on health care reform facing the Congress are becoming quite clear. For many, many
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months now, I have been fighting for private insurance coverage not a Government program -- for
all Americans, along with provisions to make health care affordable to small business, to farmers, to
the families with preexisting conditions. Interest groups and Members of Congress in the other party
have criticized my plan, while many of them have said that they, too, are for full coverage for all
Americans, but they offer no alternative to guarantee it.
Now, I have been working on our plan to make it even less regulatory and more friendly to small
business, to guarantee that no one would lose any benefits because of the plan's requirements.
Finally, after months of criticizing our plan, the Republican leader, Senator Bob Dole, has finally
proposed an alternative. Unlike our proposal, his idea of reform is really more politics as usual. It
gives a little help to the poor, it's paid for by cuts in Medicare to the elderly, it requires no
contribution from the interest groups that are making a great deal of money out of the health care
system now and no contribution from those who are not paying anything now into the system, and it
gives absolutely no help and security to the middle class, to small businesses and no guarantee of
coverage to anyone. Estimates are that more than a million Americans would continue to lose their
health insurance every month under this plan, most of them from hard-working, middle class
families. It will help you a little bit if you're poor. It won't affect you if you're wealthy. But if you're in
the middle, you can still lose your health insurance, and if you don't have it, it won't do much to help
you.
One aspect of the Dole plan is particularly disturbing. It was brought home to me this week when
small business people from all over America came to the White House and urged us to reject this
approach. They don't want any plan that will make it harder to do right by their workers. The Dole
alternative leaves small businesses at the mercy of insurance companies who can still charge them
more than big businesses or Government. And small businesses that do offer insurance will continue
to pay much higher rates, because they'll have to give a free ride to their competitors who don't
make any effort at all.
Now, more than 620,000 small businesses have joined together to support the idea that we ought to
have full coverage, universal coverage, for all Americans and one that requires the employers and the
employees to contribute to that coverage. They know that without guaranteed private insurance for
every American, small businesses that do cover their employees will have a harder time competing
here at home and across the world.
There's simply too much at stake as we try to prepare our citizens to take advantage of our global
opportunities. We can't continue to handicap ourselves in that way. And not only that, it simply won't
work. We know from the experience in some States that if you try to reform insurance practices and
you don't do anything to help small business and individuals, what will happen is that more and more
people will give up their coverage because it will get more and more expensive.
For the last 50 years, our country has come close to health care reform a time or two, but we failed
every time. Congressman Sam Gejdenson of Connecticut said this week that during that 50 years,
our country has gone from the propeller to the jet airplane, from adding machines to computers,
from the radio to virtual reality, but our health care system has actually gone backward in
guaranteeing security to middle class families. That's right. In the 1980's, about 87 percent of our
people had guaranteed health insurance. Now, only 83 percent of our people are covered.
That's why the vast majority of Americans agree that universal coverage must be our goal. This time
we have to move forward. In health care as in crime and education, our democracy is producing
solutions that hold fast to our time-honored values, building on what has always been our greatest
strength: people helping one another to take responsibility for themselves and their families, their
communities, and their countries.
On July 4th, we'll celebrate with family and friends at picnics and parades. But if you find a quiet
moment, I hope you'll reflect on the lessons of our history and make this promise to yourself: to do
the best you can to be a good American, to rebuild the safety of our communities, the sanctity of our
families, the strength of our schools, the vitality of our economy.
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The best way to celebrate our freedoms is by renewing our democracy. We're trying to do that here in
Washington by facing up to our responsibilities. I hope you'll urge us to do that as well.
Thanks for listening, and best wishes for a wonderful holiday.
NOTE: The address was recorded at 7:02 p.m. on July 1 in the Roosevelt Room at the White House
for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on July 2.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: August 05, 1994
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