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a77a545f492370c22d06ab8e1bb9759b
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FOIA Number: 2006-0462-F
FOIA
· This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the William J. Clinton
Presidential Library Staff.
Collection/Record Group:
Clinton Presidential Records
Subgroup/Office of Origin:
Speechwriting
Series/Staff Men~ber:
Terry Ednionds
Subseries:
10986
OA/ID Number:
FolderiD:
Folder Title:
Train Trip 8/25/96 Kick Off (WV A)
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?j~ [Of~
c:&J2-l-t96-U ·S.Qamt'!EB-
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
TRAIN TRIP KICKOFF
HUNTINGTON, WEST VIRGINIA
AUGUST 25, 1996
[Acknowledgments]. Today, we stand on the edge of a new century. A time of great
challenge and change, but, especially, a time of remarkable possibility for all our people. My
fellow Americans, I am as confident as I have ever been that the future ahead is bright, brighter
than all the days of our magnificent past.
In every city and town of our great land Americans are rising up and coming together to
meet the challenges of our times-- and conquer them. We are doing it in a way that honors our
legacy by protecting our values, but looks to the future by embracing new ideas. It is not a
Democratic approach or a Republican approach -- it is a truly American approach.
They're going to have a great time in Chicago over the next few days. But as much as I'd
like to be there, I wanted to take this train trip more, because I want all Americans to see what's
happening all across our country ... America is on the right track to the 21st century!
Over the next few days, we're going to take a journey together into the heartland. We
will see Americans in all walks of life, mastering our challenges with new solutions based on old
values. My Administration set out to give our people the tools to meet our challenges. I want
people to see how their neighbors are using those tools to succeed. We're putting community
police officers on the beat and citizens are working with them to take responsibility for safer
streets. We're opening markets for American products and businesses are creating opportunity
through new jobs made possible by increased exports. We're working as partners with teachers,
parents, and principals across America to set the highest standards in our schools.
When America is united, nothing can stop us ... and we are coming together around our
common values: Opportunity for all Americans to build a great future, and responsibility from all
Americans.to make the most of it. That's the basic bargain of America. And it thrives when we
come together as a community. These are the values that guide millions of Americans across our
country every day. They are the values that must guide America into the future.
Four years ago, it seemed to some like our problems couldn't be solved-- but one by one,
we're solving them. When I took office, our economy wasn't creating enough opportunity.
Unemployment was nearly eight percent; the deficit was out of control; new jobs were scarce. We
put a comprehensive economic plan in place to get the American economy back on track: cutting
the deficit, shrinking government, expanding exports, and investing in our people.
Look at the results: America is selling more cars than Japan for the first time in a decade.
4.4 million more Americans own their own home. Exports have surged to record levels. We have
cut the federal government by almost 240,000 people. The combined rate of inflation,
unemployment, and mortgages is the lowest in 30 years. We have cut the deficit by 60 percent-it's now the smallest since the year Ronald Reagan took office. America has created more than 10
1
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8/21/96 11:50am
million new jobs. In West Virginia, unemployment has dropped almost 4 percent since I took
office [from 11.2 to 7.3]. We cut taxes for 15 million working families, including more than
100,000 families right here in West Virginia. And real hourly wages are starting to rise for the first
time in a decade.
We have seen recently just how much we can do when we put aside the rancor of partisan
politics and use the common-sense approach of the American people. In the last five days, I
signed bipartisan legislation to reform health care, end welfare as we know it, and reward work.
The Kassebaum-Kennedy health reform bill means families will never again be denied health
insurance because a family member is sick. The welfare reform bill will finally make welfare what
it was meant to be -- a second chance, not a way of life. And the minimum wage increase we
fought so hard for will give 10 million hard-working Americans a raise -- including one out of
every five hourly workers in West Virginia. [83,000]
Now we must press forward. We want the American economy to roar into the 21st
century with every American on board. We must finish the job and balance the budget, and we
must do it in a way that honors our commitments to our parents and our children, by protecting
Medicare, Medicaid, education, and the environment. We have to make sure families have the
economic security they need to build a good life: access to quality health care, a secure retirement,
and the best education.
And we have to make sure every American has the capacity to take advantage of our new
economy. Education is the key to opportunity in the 21st century. We must hold students,
teachers and schools to the highest standards. We must connect every classroom in America to
the Information Superhighway by the year 2000. We must work together at every level on a
massive effort to rebuild our public schools for the 21st century.
And we must cut taxes to make sure every American has the opportunity to go to college.
I want the 13th and 14th years of education to be as universal as the first 12. I have proposed a
$1,500 a year tax cut for Americans to pay for the first two years of college; it will make tuition at
a typical community college free. I also want a $1 0, 000 tax deduction for families to help pay for
all education after high school ... a $500 a year tax cut to middle-class parents for every child .
. . and a tax cut to let people use their IRA to buy a first home, cope with a medical crisis, or pay
for education.
As we work together to create more opportunity, we have to take more responsibility
together as well. We have to take responsibility for the world our children grow up in. That
means fighting crime on the streets ... and it means helping families stick together in their homes.
We are putting 100,000 new police officers on the street-- to walk the beat, learn the
neighborhood, and work with its citizens. We banned 19 deadly assault weapons -- and not one
hunter or sportsman lost his gun because we did. But 60,000 felons, fugitives and stalkers who
tried to buy a handgun were stopped because of the Brady Bill. As long as I am in the White
House, any attempt to repeal the assault weapons ban or the Brady Bill will be met with a veto.
We also understand what the police have been saying for years: the best way to fight crime
2
�8/21/96 11:50am
is to prevent it in the first place. So we fought for drug-education and gang-prevention programs
in our schools. Our crime-fighting plan is making a difference all across America. In city after
city and town after town, the police are hitting the streets and crime is coming down.
Now we have to do more. I want to make it easier for parents to bring order to their
children's lives and teach them right from wrong. I support schools that adopt school uniform
policies; they promote discipline and respect. I support community-based curfews to keep kids
off the street after a certain time, so they're safe from harm and away from trouble. And I urge
schools and communities in the strongest possible terms: Enforce your truancy laws, because
young people belong in school, not on the street.
We have to offer more opportunity, demand more responsibility, and come together as a
community. Families are the basic building blocks of our communities. Nothing we do is more
important than helping families stick together. I am proud I signed the Family and Medical Leave
law -- in the past four years, 12 million Americans have been able to take time off from work to
care for a new baby or a sick parent. We gave parents the V-chip, because you have the right and
the responsibility to control what your child sees on TV. We have worked to protect America's
children from tobacco. It's the single greatest threat to their health. 3,000 children start smoking
every day, and 1,000 ofthem will die early as a result. We said to the tobacco companies: You
have a right to market your products to adults -- but you must draw the line on our children.
Now we must do more. We should pass a second Family and Medical Leave Act so
parents can take time off from work to go to parent-teacher conferences or take a child to the
doctor. And we want employees to have flextime, so they can take the overtime they earn and
use it to spend more time with their families.
We have to keep our communities clean. We want Americans to be confident the air they
breathe is pure, the water they drink is clean, and the land their children play on is safe from toxic
hazards. I am proud we defended 25 years ofbipartisan environmental progress against an
onslaught from the far right.
I want you all to think about what kind of future you want for your children, about what
kind of country you want America to be in the 21st century. That's what this election is all about.
Are we going to meet our challenges and protect our values to make the 21st century the future
we want for our children? All across America, people are coming together and saying, "Yes."
Opportunity for our people by making college more affordable. Responsibility for our
streets by putting community police officers on the beat and taking guns off the street. Families
growing stronger because it's easier to be a good parent and a good worker. And everywhere,
communities coming together, working together, and thriving together. It's happening across our
country, and we should all be proud.
New solutions for new challenges-- guided by values as old as America. We've got more
to do, and we are going to do it. I look to the future and I am filled with confidence. I want this
train trip to show all Americans what you see every day in Huntington -- America is on the right
3
�. .
8/21/96 11:50am
track to the 21st century!
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.
4
�8/21/96 11 :5Oam
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
TRAIN TRIP KICKOFF
HUNTINGTON, WEST VIRGINIA
AUGUST 25, 1996
[Acknowledgments]. Today, we stand on the edge of a new century. A time of great
challenge and change, but, especially, a time of remarkable possibility for all our people. My
fellow Americans, I am as confident as I have ever been that the future ahead is bright, brighter
than all the days of our magnificent past.
In every city and town of our great land Americans are rising up and coming together to
meet the challenges of our times -- and conquer them. We are doing it in a way that honors our
legacy by protecting our values, but looks to the future by embracing new ideas. It is not a
Democratic approach or a Republican approach -- it is a truly American approach.
They're going to have a great time in Chicago over the next few days. But as much as I'd
like to be there, I wanted to take this train trip more, because I want all Americans to see what's
happening all across our country ... America is on the right track to the 21st century!
As we take this trip through the heartland, we are seeing Americans in all walks oflife,
mastering our challenges with new solutions based on old values. My Administration set out to
give our people the tools to meet our challenges. [cops, schools, econ, enviro]
We are coming together around our common values: Opportunity for all Americans to
build a great future, and responsibility from all Americans to make the most of it. That's the basic
bargain of America. And it thrives when we come together as a community. These are the values
that guide millions of Americans across our country every day, and they must guide America into
the future.
When I took office, our economy wasn't creating enough opportunity. Unemployment
was nearly eight percent; the deficit was out of control; new jobs were scarce. We put a
comprehensive economic plan in place to get the American economy back on track: cutting the
deficit, shrinking government, expanding exports, and investing in our people.
Look at the results: America is selling more cars than Japan for the first time in a decade.
The combined rate of inflation, unemployment, and mortgages is the lowest in 30 years. We have
cut the deficit by 60 percent. America has created more than 10 million new jobs. In [state
unemploymen.] We cut taxes for 15 million working families, including more than ... And real
hourly wages are starting to rise for the first time in a decade.
We have seen recently just how much we can do when we put aside partisan politics and
use common-sense. In the last five days, I signed bipartisan legislation to reform health care so
families will never again be denied health insurance because a family member is sick; to end
welfare as we know it; and to give 10 million Americans a raise, by increasing the minimum wage.
1
�8/21/96 11:50am
Now we must press forward.
[speech topic]
I want you all to think about what kind of future you want for your children, about what
kind of country you want America to be in the 21st century. That's what this election is all about.
Are we going to meet our challenges and protect our values to make the 21st century the future
we want for our children? All across America, people are coming together and saying, "Yes."
New solutions for new challenges-- guided by values as old as America. We've got more
to do, and we are going to do it. I look to the future and I am filled with confidence. I want this
train trip to show all Americans what you see every day in Huntington -- America is on the right
track to the 21st century!
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.
2
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Terry Edmonds
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Office of Speechwriting
James (Terry) Edmonds
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1995-2001
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
<a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/show/36090" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7763294" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2006-0462-F
Description
An account of the resource
Terry Edmonds worked as a speechwriter from 1995-2001. He became the Assistant to the President and Director of Speechwriting in 1999. His speechwriting focused on domestic topics such as race relations, veterans issues, education, paralympics, gun control, youth, and senior citizens. He also contributed to the President’s State of the Union speeches, radio addresses, commencement speeches, and special dinners and events. The records include speeches, letters, memorandum, schedules, reports, articles, and clippings.
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
635 folders in 52 boxes
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Paper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Train Trip 8/25/96 Kick Off (WVA)
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Office of Speechwriting
James (Terry) Edmonds
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2006-0462-F
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Box 33
<a href="http://www.clintonlibrary.gov/assets/Documents/Finding-Aids/2006/2006-0462-F.pdf" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7763294" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Adobe Acrobat Document
Medium
The material or physical carrier of the resource.
Reproduction-Reference
Date Created
Date of creation of the resource.
12/9/2014
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
42-t-7763294-20060462F-033-001-2014
7763294