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PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
UNITED STATES CAPITOL
January 19,1999
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, honored guests, my fellow
Americans:
First, let me recognize two individuals who are sitting in the box tonight with Mrs.
Hastert, Lyn Gibson and Wei Ling Chestnut - the widows of the two brave Capitol Police
Officers who gave their lives to defend freedom's house.
Tonight, we begin our work together for the people of America. Let me start by
saluting the new Speaker. At your swearing in, you asked us to work in a spirit of civility and
bipartisanship. Mr. Speaker, let's do exactly that.
Tonight, I have the honor of reporting on the State of our Union.
I stand before you to report that America has created the longest peacetime economic
expansion in our history — with wages rising at nearly twice the rate of inflation and nearly 18
million new jobs.
I stand before you to report that homeownership is the highest in history — welfare rolls
are the smallest in 29 years ~ and peacetime unemployment is the lowest it has been since 1957.
I stand before you to report that for the first time in three decades, the budget is balanced.
From a budget deficit of $290 billion in 1992, we now have a budget surplus of $70 billion this
year. We are on course for a budget surplus each year for the next 21 years.
Violent crime is the lowest in a quarter century ~ and the environment is the cleanest in a
quarter century.
America stands strong - a peacemaker from Northern Ireland, to Bosnia, to the Middle
East.
Thanks to the pioneering leadership of Vice President Gore, we have a government for
the Information Age. Once again, our government is a progressive instrument of the common
good ~ offering opportunity to all, demanding responsibility from all, and building a community
of all Americans ~ a flexible, creative government, devoted to fiscal responsibility and
determined to give the American people the tools they need to make the most of their own lives.
A 21 st Century government for 21 st Century America.
�My fellow Americans, I stand before you to report that the state of our union is strong.
America is working again. The promise of our future is limitless. But we cannot
realize that promise if we allow the hum of our prosperity to lull us into complacency. How
we fare as a nation far into the 21st Century depends [not upon what we enjoy today, but]
upon what we do today. [The prosperity we have built and the progress we have made are
proof that this generation has begun to fulfill its duty. But to face the challenges and seize the
opportunities of the new century, we have work to do.] So with our budget surplus growing,
our economy expanding, and our confidence rising, let's get to work.
AGING QF AMERICA
Our fiscal discipline gives us an unsurpassed opportunity to address a remarkable new
challenge: the aging of America.
With the number of elderly Americans set to double by 2030, the Baby Boom will
become a Senior Boom.
So first and above all, we must save Social Security for the 21st Century. Early in this
century, being old meant being poor.
When President Roosevelt created Social Security, thousands wrote to thank him for eliminating
what one woman called the "stark terror of penniless, helpless old age." Even today, without
Social Security, half our nation's elderly would be forced into poverty.
Today, Social Security is strong. But by 2013, payroll taxes will not cover retirement
obligations. And by 2032, the Trust Fund will be exhausted, and Social Security will be unable
to pay out the full benefits older Americans have been promised.
The best way to keep Social Security a rock-solid guarantee is not to make drastic cuts in
benefits; not to raise payroll tax rates; and not to drain resources from Social Security in the
name of saving it.
Instead, I propose that we make the historic decision to invest the surplus to save Social
Security.
Specifically, I propose that we commit half the budget surplus for the next 15 years to
Social Security, investing a small portion of the surplus in the private sector just as any private or
�state government pension would do. That will earn a higher return and keep Social Security
sound for 50 years.
But we must aim higher. We should put Social Security on a sound footing for the next
75 years. And we should reduce poverty among elderly widows, who are twice as likely to be
poor as other seniors ~ and eliminate the limits on what senior citizens on Social Security can
eam.
These changes will require difficult but achievable choices. They must be made on a
bipartisan basis. They should be made this year. Tonight, together, let us say: we will Save
Social Security now.
Second, once we have set aside sufficient funds from the surplus to save Social Security,
we must fulfill our obligation to save and improve Medicare. Already, we have extended the life
of Medicare by 10 years -- but it should be extended for at least another decade. Tonight I
propose that we use one out of every five dollars in the surplus over the next 15 years to
guarantee the soundness of Medicare, until the year 2020.
But again, we should aim higher. We must be willing to work in a bipartisan way and
look at new ideas, including the upcoming report of the Medicare panel chaired by Sen. John
Breaux and Rep. Bill Thomas.
If we do this, we can improve the quality of Medicare by covering seniors' greatest and growing
need, affordable prescription drugs -- and still secure Medicare for the next two decades.
Third, we must help all Americans, from their first day on the job, to save, to invest, to
create wealth. From its beginning, Social Security has been supplemented by private pensions
and savings. Yet today, tens of millions of people retire with little to live on other than Social
Security. Americans living longer than ever must save more than ever.
Tonight, in addition to saving Social Security and Medicare, I propose a new pension
initiative for retirement security in the 21st Century. I propose that we use 10% of the surplus to
establish Universal Savings Accounts ~ USA Accounts. Americans who save in these new
accounts can invest as they choose, and receive funds to match a portion of their savings, with
extra help for those least able to save.
USA Accounts will give all Americans the means to save, to share in the nation's wealth,
and enjoy a more secure retirement.
Fourth, we must invest in long-term care. I propose a tax credit of $1,000 for those who
care for aged, ailing, or disabled loved ones. This kind of care is invaluable. Let us show that
we honor and reward it.
�I was bom in 1946, in the first year of the Baby Boom. Our generation is determined not
to let our growing old place an intolerable burden on our children and their ability to raise our
grandchildren. There is no better use for the surplus than lifting that burden.
With these four measures ~ saving Social Security, strengthening Medicare, establishing
USA Accounts, and providing the long-term care tax credit ~ we can begin to meet our historic
responsibility to establish true security for 21st Century seniors.
STRONG SCHOOLS FOR THE 21 ST CENTURY
There are more children, from more diverse backgrounds, in our public schools than at
any time in our history. Their education must provide the knowledge and nurture the
creativity so they can thrive in the new economy.
Today we can say something about their future we could not say six years ago: with
more affordable student loans, more Pell grants, 1 million new work-study jobs, education
IRAs, and the new HOPE scholarship tax cut that more than 5 million Americans will receive
this year, we have opened the doors of college to aH.
Nearly every state has set higher academic standards for public schools, and we will
soon have a voluntary national test to measure the progress of our students. Schools are
cracking down on drugs and gangs and guns and violence. Many are improving learning and
discipline with school uniforms, teaching values, finding a proper place for religious faith.
We are supporting these developments. And we are marshaling a volunteer army of college
students to teach young children to read, and to mentor middle school children and prepare
them for college.
With the leadership of Vice President Gore, we have helped communities connect more
than one million classrooms to the Internet. This year, with over one billion dollars in
discounts to make Internet connections affordable, we can meet our goal: every classroom and
every library connected to the Internet by the dawn of the new century.
Last fall, you passed our proposal to start hiring 100,000 new highly-trained teachers
to reduce class size in the early grades. But we need more than a start. Now I call on
Congress to finish the job of hiring 100,000 teachers.
Our children are doing better. SAT scores are up. Math scores have risen in nearly all
grades. But there is a problem: While our fourth graders outperform their peers in other
developed countries in math and science, our eighth graders are around average, and our twelfth
graders rank near the bottom.
�We must do better. Each year the national government invests over $20 billion in our
public schools. I believe we must change the way we invest that money, to support what works
and stop supporting what doesn't.
Later this year, I will send Congress a plan that for the first time holds states and school
districts accountable for progress and rewards them for results. The plan would require every
school district receiving federal help to take the following four steps.
First, aH schools must end social promotion.
No child should graduate from high school with a diploma he or she can't read. We do
our children no favors when we allow them to pass from grade to grade without mastering the
material. We have a moral obligation to insist that our children learn.
But we can't just hold students back when the system fails them. So my balanced budget
triples the funding for summer school and after school programs. We can keep one million
students learning beyond regular school hours, when parents work and juvenile crime soars.
If you doubt this will work, look at Chicago, which ended social promotion and made
summer school mandatory for those who don't master the basics. Math and reading scores are up
three years running — with some of the biggest gains in some of the poorest neighborhoods.
Second, aH states and school districts must turn around their worst-performing schools
- or shut them down. That is the policy established by Gov. Jim Hunt in North Carolina,
where test scores made the biggest gains in the nation last year. My budget includes $200
million to help states turn around their failing schools. We must do this.
Third, all states and school districts must be held responsible for the quality of their
teachers. The great majority of teachers do a fine job. But in too many schools, teachers
don't have college majors - or even minors - in the subjects they teach. All new teachers
should be required to pass skills tests and to know the subject they are teaching. My balanced
budget contains new resources to help all teachers reach these high standards.
To attract talented young teachers to the toughest assignments, I recommend a five-fold
increase in scholarships for college students who commit to teach in the inner cities, in isolated
rural areas and in Indian communities.
Fourth, we must empower parents, with more information and more choices. In too
many communities, it is easier to get information on the quality of local restaurants than the
quality of local schools. Every school district should issue report cards on every school.
And parents and students should have more choice in selecting their public schools.
�When I became President, there was one independent, public charter school in all of America.
With our support, there are 900 today. My budget assures that early in the next century,
there will be 3000.
Fifth, all states and school districts must adopt and enforce a strict discipline code.
Classrooms must be places of learning.
If we do these things - end social promotion, turn around failing schools, demand and
support qualified teachers, and promote innovation, competition and discipline - we will begin
to meet our generation's historic responsibility to create 21st Century schools.
Let's do one more thing for our children. Today, too many of our schools are so old
that they're falling apart, or so overcrowded students must learn in trailers. Last fall,
Congress missed the opportunity to change that. This year, for the sake of our 53 million
schoolchildren, Congress must not miss that opportunity again. I ask you to pass our program
to build or modernize 5000 schools.
BUILDING STRONG FAMILIES FOR THE 21st CENTURY
We must do more to help the millions of working American parents who give their all
every day at home and at work.
The most basic tool of all is a decent income. Let's raise the minimum wage by one
dollar an hour over the next two years.
One of the greatest needs for working parents is quality child care. Again, I ask the
Congress to support our plan for tax credits for working families, child care subsidies for families
and small business, high standards and training for child care providers, and expanded after
school programs. Our plan also includes a new tax credit for stay-at-home parents. They need
support too.
The Family Medical Leave Act ~ the first bill I signed into law ~ has helped nearly 20
million Americans care for a new baby or an ailing relative without risking their jobs, at minimal
cost to employers. We should extend Family Leave to 10 million more Americans working in
smaller companies.
Parents should never face discrimination in the workplace. I will ask Congress to
prohibit companies from refusing to hire or promote workers simply because they have children.
America's families deserve the world's best medical care.
We have begun testing the first drugs to prevent cancer. Medical researchers have
�introduced the first effective drugs to treat AIDS. They have made new discoveries about the
process of aging itself - nearing new treatments to prevent or delay diseases from Parkinsons to
Alzheimers to arthritis.
As we continue our advances in medical science, we cannot let our health care system lag
behind.
Managed care has transformed medicine in America ~ driving down costs, but
threatening to drive down quality as well. Let's make all Americans a promise:
This year, we will pass a strong and enforceable Patients' Bill of Rights ... so every American
can have the right to the best care, not just the cheapest. The right to see a specialist. And the
right to emergency care.
I am now extending these rights by executive authority to the 85 million Americans
served by Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal health plans. But only Congress can enact the
Patients' Bill of Rights for all Americans. Last year, Congress missed that opportunity. This
year, for the sake of our families. Congress must not miss that opportunity again. [I ask Congress
to pass the Patients' Bill of Rights by [date].]
As more of our medical records are stored electronically, the threats to our privacy
increase. Either by an act of Congress or by executive authority we will protect the privacy of
medical records, this year.
Two years ago, we extended health insurance to up to 5 million children. Now, we
should give people between the ages of 55 and 65 who lose their health insurance the chance to
buy in to Medicare. We should make it easier for small businesses to offer health insurance to
their employees. And we should pass the historic bipartisan legislation, introduced by Senators
Jeffords, Kennedy, Roth and Moynihan, to allow people with disabilities to keep Medicaid health
insurance when they go to work. No one should have to choose between keeping health care and
taking a job.
And I ask the Congress to increase support for community health centers and public
hospitals so that they better provide basic care for families who lack coverage altogether.
We must step up our efforts to treat and to prevent a condition that brings pain to millions
of families - mental illness. No American should ever be afraid to recognize and treat this
disease. This year, we will host thefirst-everWhite House Conference on Mental Health. With
sensitivity and commitment. Tipper Gore is leading our efforts here ~ and I thank her.
As everyone knows, our children - whom the tobacco industry has called "replacement
smokers" ~ are targets of a massive media campaign to hook them on cigarettes. I ask this
Congress to resist the tobacco lobby and pass a bipartisan bill that safeguards our children while
protecting farmers.
�In all these areas - minimum wage, child care, health care, family leave and the safety of
our children — we can begin to meet our historic responsibility to strengthen our families for the
21st Century.
A 21st CENTURY ECONOMY
Next, we must build a 21st Century economy for all Americans.
Today, America is the most dynamic, competitive, job creating economy in history.
But we can do better.
We must make a place for all our people in the new economy.
Today's income gap is largely a skills gap. Last year, I signed bipartisan legislation to
transform our worker training system. Now, with a simple skills grant, eligible workers can
choose the training they need.
This year, I recommend a five year investment in this new system so that we can provide that
training for aU Americans who lose their jobs. And let us launch a national campaign to increase
adult literacy for the millions of working people who read at less than a fifth grade level.
In the last six years, we have cut the welfare rolls nearly in half. Two years ago, from
this podium, I asked five companies to lead a national effort to hire people off the welfare rolls.
Tonight, our Welfare to Work Partnership includes 10,000 companies who have hired hundreds
of thousands of people.
My budget provides funds to help another 200,000 people move from the indignity of welfare to
the dignity and pride of work.
The largest untapped markets are not overseas - they are right here at home, in the
central cities and towns that are gateways of opportunity for millions. I ask Congress to
support tax credits, incentives and loan guarantees to help businesses raise uo to $15 billion to
expand and bring jobs to underserved areas. For years, OPIC, the Overseas Private Investment
Corporation, has helped promote growth abroad. It's time we had an APIC to promote
investment and growth in America.
And we must bring prosperity back to rural America — back to the family farm that
remains a powerful symbol of American plenty. Dropping prices and the loss of foreign markets,
have led to dire economic conditions for too many family farmers. The safety net for rural
America should include crop insurance reform and farm income assistance. I am ready to work
with lawmakers of both parties to get it done.
8
�We must strengthen our lead in technology.
Government investment in information technology led to the creation of the Internet. I
propose a 30% increase in long-term computer research.
We must be ready for the 21st Century from its very first moment, by solving the "Y2K"
computer problem. We have already made sure Social Security checks will keep coming on time.
But every government department, every business, every state and city, every university must be
ready — so the "Y2K problem" will be remembered as the last headache of the 20st Century, not
the first crisis of the 21st.
And we must recognize: Economic growth at home also depends upon economic growth
abroad.
Until recently, one third of our economic growth came from exports. But over the past
year and a half, financial turmoil overseas has put that growth at risk. Today, much of the world
is in recession. Across Asia, an entire generation that worked its way into the middle class has
plunged into poverty.
This is the most critical financial crisis in a half century. To meet it, America has
reduced interest rates, met our obligations to the International Monetary Fund, and worked with
other nations to contain the crisis. The turmoil is not over, but thanks to lawmakers of both
parties, we have a chance to contain it.
Now we must build a global financial system for the 21st Century that tames the cycles of
boom and bust. This spring, I will meet with other world leaders to lay plans for a system with
clear, open accounting; stronger international bank regulations; an aggressive response to prevent
regional problems from becoming global crises; and a strong social safety net for the most
vulnerable victims of financial turmoil.
We must also build a freer and fairer trading system for the 21st Century. Trade has
divided Americans for too long. We must find the common ground on which business, workers,
environmentalists and government can stand together.
We must do more to help American manufacturers hit hard by the present crisis. I ask
Congress to boost U.S. manufacturing exports with $2 billion in new credit. When imports
unlawfully flood our nation, we must enforce our trade laws. Free trade must be fair trade. I
have already informed the government of Japan that if Japan's sudden surge of steel imports into
our country is not reversed, I will respond.
But let me make clear: the best course for the United States and the world is increased
trade. Therefore, I call for a new round of global negotiations to expand our exports of farm
�products, services and manufactures.
We must also press for trade that promotes the dignity of work and the rights of workers.
We must insist that international trade organizations be open to public scrutiny, and that trade
rules never be used as a pretext to destroy environmental protections. We must never let
vigorous international competition become a race to the bottom among nations.
I ask Congress to join me in this common approach and pass legislation granting the
President the trade authority long used to advance our prosperity.
We will work with the International Labor Organization on a new initiative to lift labor
standards around the world. And we must act to end the most abusive trade practice of all: This
year I will sign a new international agreement to ban child labor everywhere in the world.
If we do these things, then we can begin to meet the historic responsibility of this
generation to build a 21st Century prosperity for America.
10
�A STRONG AMERICA IN A NEW WORLD
No nation in history has had the opportunity and the responsibility we now have to help
shape a world more peaceful, secure, and free.
All Americans should be proud that our leadership helped to bring peace in Northern
Ireland ~ and America should help them build it.
All Americans can be proud that our leadership has put Bosnia on the path to peace. This
year, we will help that peace take deeper root - as we continue to bring our troops home. And in
Kosovo we will work to stop the bloody repression and find a peaceful path to self government.
All Americans can be proud that our leadership renewed hope for lasting peace in the
Middle East. Some of you were with me in December as we watched the Palestinian National
Council completely renounce its call for the destruction of Israel. I ask Congress to act now to
provide resources to support the Wye Agreement
. . . to protect Israel's security, stimulate the Palestinian economy, and support our friends in
Jordan. We must not, we cannot, let them down.
As we work for peace, we must also meet threats to our nation's security - including
increased dangers from outlaw nations and terrorism. We will fight terror and defend our
security wherever we are threatened -- as we did this summer when we struck at Osama bin
Laden's network of terror. The bombing of our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania remind us of
the risks faced every day by those who represent America to the world. They deserve protection,
recognition and support. Let's give them the resources they need so America can continue to
lead.
We will work to keep terrorists from disrupting computer networks, to prepare local
communities for biological and chemical emergencies, and to support research into vaccines and
treatments.
We will work to restrain the spread of nuclear weapons, from North Korea to India and
Pakistan.
My balanced budget will expand our work with Russia, Ukraine, and the other former
Soviet nations to safeguard their weapons and technology so they never fall into the wrong
hands.
There is another vital step Congress can take. In 1963, the Senate approved the Limited
11
�Nuclear Test Ban Treaty just two months after President Kennedy signed it. It's been two years
since I signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. By acting now, the Senate can make it
harder for new nations to develop nuclear arms, and we can end nuclear testing forever.
And with Russia, we must continue to reduce our nuclear arsenals. The framework we
have already agreed to for a START III Treaty could cut them by 80% from their Cold War
height. We must keep moving forward.
For nearly a decade, Iraq has defied its obligation to destroy its weapons of terror and the
missiles to deliver them. America will continue to contain Saddam — and we will work for the
day when Iraq has a government worthy of its people.
Last month, when America struck at Saddam's war machine, our troops were superb.
Their mission was so flawlessly executed that we risk taking for granted the bravery and skill it
required. Captain Jeff Taliaferro [TAH-la-ver], pilot of an XX fighter, destroyed Republican
Guard barracks in XX city. He is here with us tonight. Let us all honor the 10,000 men and
women of Desert Fox.
It is time to reverse the decline in defense spending that began in 1985. Last year, I asked
and Congress agreed to add nearly $6 billion to maintain our readiness. My balanced budget
calls for an increase of $12 billion for readiness and modernization. It will ensure that our troops
can deploy rapidly, with the best training and weapons in the world. And it will provide for them
and their families.
We are the heirs of a legacy of bravery that spans the generations ~ including millions of
veterans. America's defenders today stand ready at a moment's notice to go where comforts are
few and dangers are many, doing what needs to be done as no one else can.
They always come through for America. We must come through for them.
The new century demands new partnerships for peace and security.
This spring, I will convene the leaders of NATO in Washington for its 50th anniversary
summit, to prepare for the missions of the next 50 years. We will welcome Hungary, Poland and
the Czech Republic as our first new allies from Central Europe. And we will reaffirm our
determination that Europe must never again be divided by concrete and barbed wire.
More than ever, we know the security of America is also bound to the stability of Asia. I
have worked to strengthen the bonds with our allies Japan and Korea. Last year, I also traveled
to China because our relationship with the world's largest country helps determine prospects for
peace and security across Asia. I said to the leaders of China, and I say again tonight: Stability
can no longer be bought at the expense of liberty.
But we must reaffirm that it is important not to isolate China. The more we bring China
12
�into the world, the more the world will bring change and freedom to China.
Last spring, with some of you, I traveled to Africa, where I saw democracy and reform
rising, but still held back by violence and disease. We must fortify African peace and democracy
— nowhere more important than in Nigeria. And because trade and investment are the keys to
African prosperity - we must finally pass the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act.
We are strengthening our ties to the Americas ~ to educate children, fight drugs, deepen
democracy and increase shared prosperity, with a Free Trade Area of the Americas and increased
trade with our neighbors in Central America and the Caribbean.
In our own hemisphere, every government but one is freely chosen by its people. We are
determined that Cuba, too, will know the blessings of liberty.
The American people have opened their arms and their hearts to our neighbors in Central
America and the Caribbean in the wake of devastating hurricanes. More than 5000 American
troops have helped rebuild roads and homes and lives. Many are still at work. I am proud of
them - and proud of the generosity of the American people. I will work with Members of
Congress of both parties to help our neighbors rebuild.
The United Nations plays a crucial role in so many of the areas I have mentioned tonight.
America needs a strong relationship with an effective UN. I want to work in this new year with
this new Congress to pay our dues and our debts.
And if we do all these things, then we can meet the historic responsibility of our
generation to build a safer and more secure 21st Century America in a freer and more peaceful
world.
13
�21ST CENTURY COMMUNITIES [10 minutes]
As the world has changed, so have our own communities. We must continue to
strengthen them for these new times.
Strong communities are safer communities.
We are months away from our goal of putting 100,000 community police officers on the
street - ahead of schedule and under budget. The Brady Bill has stopped a quarter million
felons, fugitives, and stalkers from buying guns. The murder rate is the lowest in 30 years, and
last year, the crime rate dropped for the sixth straight year.
Tonight, I propose a 21st Century crime bill to marshall the latest technologies and tactics
to make our communities even safer.
My budget provides funds to put up to 50,000 more police on the beat in the areas hardest
hit by crime, and equips them with 21st Century tools, from crime-mapping computers to digital
mug shots.
We must break the deadly cycle of drugs and crime. My budget strengthens support for
drug testing and treatment. It says to prisoners: If you stay on drugs, you must stay behind bars.
And it says to those on parole: To keep your freedom, keep free of drugs.
Congress should restore the mandatory 5-day waiting period for buying a handgun, and
extend the Brady Bill to prevent juveniles who commit violent crimes from ever buying
handguns.
And we must make our schools the safest places in our communities.
Last year, our nation was horrified and heartbroken by the tragic killings in our schools ~
in Jonesboro, Paducah, Pearl, Edinboro, Springfield. We will never forget the courage of the
parents who have dedicated themselves to keeping guns out of the hands of children - so no
parent ever has to live through their loss.
Suzann Wilson lost her daughter, Brittheny, when a student opened fire on his classmates
in Jonesboro. When she came to visit me at the White House, she issued a powerful plea to us
all: "Please, please, for the sake of your children, lock up your guns. Don't let your gun become
an instrument of murder. Don't let what happened in Jonesboro happen in your town." Suzann
is here with us in the First Lady's box. In her presence, and in memory of aU the children who
lost their lives this year to school violence, let us pledge tonight to redouble our efforts to make
our schools safe.
I ask Congress to pass my plan to strengthen the Safe and Drug-Free School Act, and to
14
�hire and train 2,000 new community police and school resource officers to keep our children
safe.
Strong communities are livable communities.
A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt defined our "great, central task" as
"leaving this land even a better land for our descendants than it is for us." Today, we are
restoring the Florida Everglades, saving Yellowstone, preserving the red-rock canyons of
Utah, protecting California's redwoods and our precious coasts.
But our most fateful new challenge is the threat of global warming. Last year's heat
waves, ice storms, and floods are but a hint of what future generations may endure if we don't
act now.
So tonight, I propose a new clean air fund to help communities reduce both pollution;
new funds for clean energy technology; tax cuts for energy-efficient cars and homes and
appliances; and vigorous diplomatic efforts to involve other countries. And I will work with
Congress to reward companies that take early, voluntary action to reduce greenhouse
pollution.
Our next challenge is visible today in every community. As more citizens buy new
homes and share in the American Dream, the frontier recedes; 7,000 acres of farmland and
open space are lost every day.
In response, Vice President Gore and I propose two major initiatives: first, a
Livability Agenda to help communities save open space, ease traffic congestion, and grow in
ways that enhance every citizen's quality of life; second, a historic one billion dollar Lands
Legacy Initiative to preserve places of natural beauty all across America - from the most
remote wilderness to the nearest city park.
To get the most out of your community, you have to give something back. That's why
we created AmeriCorps ~ our national service program that gives today's generation a chance
to serve their community and earn money for college.
So far, in just four years, 100,000 young people have built low-income homes with
Habitat for Humanity ... helped churches tutor children ... worked with FEMA to ease the
burden of natural disasters ... and performed countless other acts of service that have made
America better.
Some of them are here with us tonight. I thank them for their service — and I ask
Congress to give more young Americans the chance to follow their lead.
15
�As we work to strengthen our community, we must work to renew our national
democracy.
Last year, the House passed the bipartisan campaign finance reform legislation
sponsored by Reps. Shays and Meehan and Sens. McCain and Feingold. But a partisan
minority in the Senate blocked reform. To the House I say: Pass reform again, quickly. And
to the Senate: Say no to big money and yes to a strong democracy in the Year 2000.
Most important, to build strong communities, we must be truly One America.
Since 1997, our Initiative on Race has sought to bridge the divides between our people.
In its report last fall, the Initiative's Advisory Board found that Americans want to bring our
people together across racial lines - but that we must do more to close the opportunity gap
that deepens the divides between the races. The economic, health care, and education
initiatives in my balanced budget will do a lot to close those gaps.
But we have more to do.
Discrimination or violence because of race or religion, ancestry or gender, disability or
sexual orientation, is wrong. It should be illegal. Therefore I call upon Congress to make the
Employment Non-Discrimination Act and the Hate Crimes Prevention Act the law of the land.
Our newest immigrants must be part of One America. They are revitalizing our cities,
energizing our culture, building our new economy. We have a responsibility to make immigrants
welcome here, and they have a responsibility to enter the mainstream of American life.
That means learning English, and learning about our democratic system of government. There
are now long waiting lines of immigrants seeking to do just that. Therefore, my budget contains
a substantial increase in funds to help them exercise their responsibility. That's part of our
responsibility.
Whether our ancestors came here on the Mayflower or on slave ships, whether they
landed on Ellis Island or at Los Angeles Airport, whether they arrived yesterday or walked
this land for thousands of years - we can be, and we must be One America. We have no
greater obligation to the 21st Century.
PERORATION: THE MILLENNIUM [5 minutes]
Barely more than 300 days from now, we will cross that bridge into a new millennium.
This is a moment, as the First Lady has said, to honor the past and imagine the future.
I honor her - for leading our Millennium Project - for all she has done to represent
our country at home and abroad - for all she has done for our children - and for her historic
role in serving this nation and advancing our best ideals.
16
�Last year, I called on the Congress and every citizen
to mark the millennium by saving America's treasures. Hillary has traveled across the country to
inspire recognition and support for saving places like Thomas Edison's Invention Factory and
Harriet Tubman's Home.
The response has been remarkable, and I thank Congress and our private sector partners
for their support. Because of you, the Star Spangled Banner will be preserved for the ages. We
must preserve the treasures in every community. I invite every American town, city, and county
to become nationally recognized "Millennium Communities" by launching projects that save our
history and prepare our children for the 21st Century.
We must keep alive, in ways large and small, what George Washington called "the sacred fire of
liberty."
Six years ago tomorrow, I came to office in a time of doubt for America, with our
economy troubled, our deficit high, our people divided. Some even wondered whether our best
days were behind us. But across this nation, in a thousand neighborhoods, I had seen, even amid
the pain and uncertainty of recession, the heart and character of America.
I had no doubt then of what we Americans could do for our country.
Tonight, as I deliver the last State of the Union message of the 20th Century, no one can
doubt the enduring resolve of Americans to work toward that "more perfect union" of our
founders' dreams.
We near the end of a century when generations of Americans answered the call to
greatness, overcoming Depression, lifting up the dispossessed, bringing down barriers of racial
prejudice, building up the largest middle class in history, winning two world wars, and the "long
twilight struggle" of the Cold War.
Perhaps in the daily press of events, in the clash of controversy, we do not see our time
for what it truly is - a new dawn for America.
A hundred years from tonight, an American President will stand in this place to report on
the State of our Union. He - or she - will look back on a 21st Century shaped in so many ways
by the decisions we make here and now.
Let it be said of us then that we were thinking not only of our time, but of their time; that
we reached as high as our ideals; that we put aside our divisions and found a new hour of healing
and hopefulness; that we joined together to serve and strengthen the country we love.
Let us lift our eyes as one nation, and from the mountaintop of this American century,
look ahead to the next one.
17
�Let us join our spirits and our wills for the work before us. We ask God's blessing on our
endeavors and our beloved country.
18
�Draft 1/17/99 %m
sotu99.\^
^
•1
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
UNITED STATES CAPITOL
January 19,1999
i
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�Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, honored guests, my fellow
Americans:
Tonight, I have the honor of reporting on the State of the Union.
First, let me recognize two individuals who are sitting in the box tonight with Mrs.
Hastert, Lyn Gibson and Wei Ling Chestnut - the widows of the two brave Capitol Police
Officers who gave their lives to defendfreedom'shouse.
Tonight, we begin our work together for the people of America. Let me start by saluting
the new Speaker. At your swearing in, you asked us to work in a spirit of civility and
bipartisanship. Mr. Speaker, let's do exactly that.
I stand before you to report that America has created the longest peacetime economic
expansion in our history ~ with nearly 18 million new jobs, wages rising at nearly twice the rate
of inflation, the highest homeownership in history, the smallest welfare rolls in 29 years - and
the lowest peacetime unemployment since 1957.
For the first time in three decades, the budget is balanced. From a budget deficit of $290
billion in 1992, we now have a budget surplus of $70 billion this year. We are on course for a
budget surplus each year for the next 25 years.
Violent crime is the lowest in a quarter century - and our environment is the cleanest in a
quarter century.
America is a strong force for peace from Northern Ireland, to Bosnia, to the Middle East.
Thanks to the pioneering leadership of Vice President Gore, we have a government for
the Information Age. Once again, our government is a progressive instrument of the common
good - offering opportunity to all, demanding responsibility from all, and building a community
of all Americans ~ a flexible, creative government, devoted to fiscal responsibility and
determined to give our people the tools they need to make the most of their own lives. A 21st
Century government for 21st Century America.
My fellow Americans, I stand before you to report that the state of our union is strong.
America is working again. The promise of our future is limitless. But we cannot realize
that promise ifwe allow the hum of our prosperity to lull us into complacency. How we fare as a
nation far the 21st Century upon what we do today. With our budget surplus growing, our
economy expanding, and our confidence rising, now it is our generation's responsibility to meet
the large, long-term challengese of 21st Century America. Let's get to work.
THF AGING OF 21st CENTURY AMERIC A
�Our fiscal discipline gives us an unsurpassed opportunity to address a remarkable new
challenge: the aging of America.
With the number of elderly Americans set to double by 2030, the Baby Boom will
become a Senior Boom.
So first and above all, we must save Social Security for the 21st Century. Early in this
century, being old meant being poor.
When President Roosevelt created Social Security, thousands wrote to thank him for
eliminating what one woman called the "stark terror of penniless, helpless old age." Even
today, without Social Security, half our nation's elderly would be forced into poverty.
Today, Social Security is strong. But by 2013, payroll taxes will not cover retirement
obligations. And by 2032, the Trust Fund will be exhausted, and Social Security will be unable
to pay out the full benefits older Americans have been promised.
The best way to keep Social Security a rock-solid guarantee is not to make drastic cuts in
benefits; not to raise payroll tax rates; and not to drain resources from Social Security in the
name of saving it.
Instead, I propose that we make the historic decision to invest the surplus to save Social
Security.
Specifically, I propose that we commit half the budget surplus for the next 15 years to
Social Security, investing a small portion in the private sector just as any private or state
government pension would do. That will eam a higher return and keep Social Security sound for
50 years.
But we must aim higher. We should put Social Security on a sound footing for the next
75 years. And we should reduce poverty among elderly women, who are twice as likely to be
poor as other seniors ~ and eliminate the limits on what senior citizens on Social Security can
eam.
These changes will require difficult but achievable choices. They must be made on a
bipartisan basis. They should be made this year. Tonight, together, let us say: we will Save
Social Security now.
Second, once we have set aside sufficient funds from the surplus to save Social Security,
we must fulfill our obligation to save and improve Medicare. Already, we have extended the life
of Medicare by 10 years ~ but it should be extended for at least another decade. Tonight I
�propose that we use one out of every five dollars in the surplus over the next 15 years to
guarantee the soundness of Medicare, until the year 2020.
But again, we should aim higher. We must be willing to work in a bipartisan way and
look at new ideas, including the upcoming report of the Medicare panel chaired by Sen. John
Breaux and Rep. Bill Thomas.
If we do this, we can improve the quality of Medicare by covering seniors' greatest need,
affordable prescription drugs - and still secure Medicare for the next two decades.
Third, we must help all Americans, from their first day on the job, to save, to invest, to
create wealth. From its beginning, Social Security has been supplemented by private pensions
and savings. Yet today, tens of millions of people retire with little to live on other than Social
Security. Americans living longer than ever must save more than ever.
Tonight, in addition to saving Social Security and Medicare, I propose a new pension
initiative for retirement security in the 21st Century. I propose that we use 10% of the surplus to
establish Universal Savings Accounts — USA Accounts. Americans who save in these new
accounts can invest as they choose, and receive funds to match a portion of their savings, with
extra help for those least able to save.
USA Accounts will give all Americans the means to save, to share in the nation's wealth,
and enjoy a more secure retirement.
Eourth, we must invest in long-term care. I propose a tax credit of $1,000 for those who
care for aged, ailing, or disabled loved ones. This kind of care is invaluable. Let us show that
we honor and reward it.
I was bom in 1946, in the first year of the Baby Boom. Our generation is determined not
to let our growing old place an intolerable burden on our children and their ability to raise our
grandchildren. There is no better use for the surplus than lifting that burden.
With these four measures - saving Social Security, strengthening Medicare, establishing
USA Accounts, and providing the long-term care tax credit — we can begin to meet our historic
responsibility to establish true security for 21st Century seniors.
21st CENTURY STRONG SCHOOLS AMERICA
There are more children, from more diverse backgrounds, in our public schools than at
any time in our history. Their education must provide the knowledge and nurture the creativity
our nation needs for the new economy.
Today we can say something we could not say six years ago: with more affordable
student loans, more Pell grants, 1 million new work-study jobs, education IRAs, and the new
HOPE scholarship tax cut that more than 5 million Americans will receive this year, we haye
opened the doors of college to all.
�Nearly every state has set higher academic standards for public schools, and we will soon
have a voluntary national test to measure the progress of our students. Schools are cracking
down on drugs and gangs and guns and violence. Many are improving learning and discipline.
We are supporting these developments. And we are marshaling a volunteer army of college
students to teach young children to read, and to mentor middle school children and prepare them
for college.
With the leadership of Vice President Gore, we have helped communities connect more
than one million classrooms to the Internet. This year, with over one billion dollars in discounts
to make Internet connections affordable, we can meet our goal: every classroom and every
library connected to the Internet by the dawn of the new century.
Last fall, you passed our proposal to start hiring 100,000 new teachers to reduce class size
in the early grades. But we need more than a start. Now I call on Congress to finish the job of
hiring 100,000 teachers.
Our children are doing better. SAT scores are up. Math scores have risen in nearly all
grades. But there is a problem: While our fourth graders outperform their peers in other
developed countries in math and science, our eighth graders are around average, and our twelfth
graders rank near the bottom.
We must do better. Each year the national government invests over $20 billion in our
public schools. I believe we must change the way we invest that money, to support what works
and stop supporting what doesn't.
Later this year, I will send Congress a plan that for the first time holds states and school
districts accountable for progress and rewards them for results. The plan would require every
school district receiving federal help to take the following five steps.
First, all schools must end social promotion.
No child should graduate from high school with a diploma he or she can't read. We do
our children no favors when we allow them to pass from grade to grade without mastering the
material.
But we can't just hold students back when the system fails Ihem. So my balanced budget
triples the funding for summer school and after school programs. We can keep one million
students learning beyond regular school hours, when parents work and juvenile crime soars.
If you doubt this will work, look at Chicago, which ended social promotion and made
summer school mandatory for those who don't master the basics. Math and reading scores are up
three years running - with some of the biggest gains in some of the poorest neighborhoods.
�Second, all states and school districts must turn around their worst-performing schools —
or shut them down. That is the policy established by Gov. Jim Hunt in North Carolina, where
test scores made the biggest gains in the nation last year. My budget includes $200 million to
help states turn around their failing schools.
Third, all states and school districts must be held responsible for the quality of their
teachers. The great majority of teachers do afinejob. But in too many schools, teachers don't
have college majors ~ or even minors - in the subjects they teach. All new teachers should be
required to pass skills tests and to know the subject they are teaching. My balanced budget
contains new resources to help all teachers reach these high standards.
To attract talented young teachers to the toughest assignments, I recommend a five-fold
increase in scholarships for college students who commit to teach in the inner cities, in isolated
rural areas and in Indian communities.
Fourth, we must empower parents, with more information and more choices. In too many
communities, it is easier to get information on the quality of local restaurants thamthe quality of
local schools. Every school district should issue report cards on every school. / '
And parents and students should have more choice in selecting tfepir public schools.
When I became President, there was one independentA^ublic charter school in all of America.
With our support, there are 900 today. My_budget assures that early in the next century, there
will be 3000.
Eifth, all states and school districts must adopt and enforce a strict discipline code.
Classrooms must be places of learning.
Let's do one more thing for our children. Today, too many of our schools are so old that
they're falling apart, or so overcrowded students must learn in trailers. Last fall. Congress
missed the opportunity to change that. This year, for the sake of our 53 million schoolchildren,
Congress must not miss that opportunity again. I ask you to pass our program to build or
modernize ^,000 schools.
If we do these things ~ end social promotion, turn around failing schools and build
modem ones, demand and support qualified teachers, and promote innovation, competition and
discipline ~ we will-b^jpte-meet our generation's historic responsibility to create 21st Century
schools.
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i
21st CENTURY SUPPORT FOR AMERICAN FAMILIES
We must do more to help the millions of working American parents who give their all
every day at home and at Work.
�The most basic tool of all is a decent income. Let's raise the minimum wage by one
dollar an hour over the next two years, fir*^ (Qp (ZgJ^e nWfcAK*firt f>
«^^v.
Working parents also need quality child care. Again, I ask the Congress to support our
plan for tax credits for working families, child care subsidies for families and small business,
high standards and training for child care providers, and expanded after school programs. Our
plan also includes a new tax credit for stay-at-home parents. They need support too.
The Family Medical Leave Act — the first bill I signed into law — has helped nearly 20
million Americans care for a new baby or an ailing relative without risking their jobs, at minimal
cost to employers. We should extend Family Leave to 10 million more Americans working in
smaller companies.
Parents should never face discrimination in the workplace. I will ask Congress to
(^prohibit companies from refusing to hire or promote workers simply because they have children.
America's families deserve the world's best medical care.
Thanks to federal support for medical research, we have begun testing the first drugs to
prevent cancer. Medical researchers have introduced the first effective drugs to treat AIDS.
They have made new discoveries about the prbcesff"of'aging itself - nearing new treatments to
prevent or delay diseases from Parkinsons to Alzheimers to arthritis.
As we continue our advances in medical science, we cannot let our health care system lag
behind.
Managed care has transformed medicine in America ~ driving down costs, but
threatening^to^riye dowrujuality as welLLst^sji^^^American^apromise:
^ ^ r y e a r ^ T w u T p a s s a strona-and cnforccablc-£atient£_Bill of Rights^? & ^ery American
has the right to tHebest care, not just the cheapest. The right to see a specialist. And the right to
emergency care.
I am now extending these rights by executive authority to the 85 million Americans
served by Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal health plans. But only Congress can enact the
Patients' Bill of Rights for all Americans. Last year, Congress missed that opportunity. This
year, for the sake of our families, Congress must not miss that opportunity again.
As more of our medical records are stored electronically, the threats to our privacy
increase. Either by an act of Congress or by executive authority we will protect the privacy of
medical records, this year.
Two years ago, we extended health insurance to up to 5 million children. Now, we
should give people between the ages of 55 and 65 who lose their health insurance the chance to
7
^
�so that we can provide that training for all Americans who lose their jobs. And let us launch a
national campaign to increase adult literacy for the millions of working people who read at less
than a fifth gradgjevel.
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In the last six years, we have cut the welfare rolls nearly in half. Two years ago, from
this podium, I asked five companies to lead a national effort to hire people off the welfare rolls.
Tonight, our Welfare to Work Partnership includes 10,000 companies who have hired hundreds
of thqusapds of people./ My budget provides funds to help another 200,000 people move from
to the dignity and pride of work.
^
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e also must bring the spark of private enterprise into inner cities and remote rural areas, I i^J^'dh
withpupport for community development banks^nd affordable housing. And I ask Congress to
support our new plan to help businesses raise uptJo $15 billion to bring jobs and oportunity to our
riinner cities and rural areas - with tax credits and loan guarantees, including new American
Private Investment Companies modeled on our Overseas Private Investment Corproation. Our
greatest untapped markets are not overseas — they are right here at home.
We must bbring prosperity back to the family farm. Dropping prices and the loss of
foreign markets have hurt too many family farmers. I am ready to work with lawmakers of both
parties to create a farm safety net including crop insurance reform and farm income assistance.
We must strengthen our lead in technology.
Government investment in information technology led to the creation of the Internet. I
propose a 30% increase in long-term computer research.
We must be ready for the 21st Century from its very first moment, by solving the "Y2K"
computer problem. We have already made sure Social Security checks will keep coming on time.
But every government department, every business, every state and city, every university must be
ready — so the "Y2K problem" will be remembered as the last headache of the 20st Century, not
the first crisis of the 21st.
For our own prosperity, we must support economic growth abroad.
Until recently, one third of our economic growth came from exports. But over the past
year and a half, financial turmoil overseas has put that growth at risk. Today, much of the world
is in recession, with Asia hit especially hard.
Sen ^
This is the most crrtteel financial crisis in a half century. To meet it, America has
reduced interest rates, met our obligations,!!) the International Monetary Func^and worked with
lave ajcnancaio contain it.
other nations lu uunUilT&e-umis-. Tne tumwil is not over, but we have zfj^Hanc^tocomain u.
�Now we must build a global financial system for the 21st Century that tames the cycles of
boom and bust. This spring, I will meet with other world leaders to lay plans for a system with
clear, open accounting; stronger international bank regulations; an aggressive response to prevent
regional problems from becoming global crises; and a strong social safety net for the most
vulnerable victims iffftnnnniiiltm iiwil p~
We must also create afreerand fairer trading system for the 21st Century. Trade has
divided Americans for too long. We must find the common ground on which business, workers,
environmentalists and government can stand together.
We must do more to help American manufacturers hit hard by the present crisis. I ask
Congress to boost U.S. manufacturing exports with $2 billion in new credit.
When imports unlawfully flood our nation, we must enforce our trade laws, -ffd^ga^gJj^TUfli^g fiiij-4»jili. I have already informed the government of Japan that if Japan's sudden surge
of steel imports into our country is not reversed, America will respond.
Still, the best course for the United States and the world is increased trade. Therefore, I
call for a new [round of] global negotiations to expand our exports of farm products, services and
manufactures.
We must also press for trade that promotes the dignity of work, the rights of workers, and
environmental protection. WeTTTffStilSiSDhat international trade organizations be open to public
scrutiny. We must assure that ordinary citizens in all countries benefit from trade.
I ask Congress to join me in this common approach and pass legislation granting the
President the trade authority long used to advance our prosperity.
We will work with the International Labor Organization on a new initiative to lift labor
standards around the world. And we must act to end the most abusive trade practice of all: This
year I will sign a new international agreement to ban child labor everywhere in the world.
If we do these thingsVuien we^can begin to meet the historic responsibility of this
generation to build a 21st Centuryprosperity for America.
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10
�A STRONG AMERICA TN A NEW WORLD
No nation in history has had the opportunity and the responsibility we now have to help
shape a world more peaceful, secure, and free.
All Americans should be proud that our leadership helped to bring peace in Northern
Ireland —arrd-America shouWIrdp-them-buikUL
All Americans can be proud that our leadership has put Bosnia on the path to peace. This
year,'we will help that peace take deeper root - as we continue to bring our troops home. And in
Kosovo we will work to stop the bloody repression and find a peaceful path to self government.
All Americans can be proud that our leadership renewed hope for lasting peace in the
Middle East. Some ofyou were with mehiDecember as we watched the Palestinian National
Council t^ompktely^enounce its calllbFthe destruction of IsraelAlfek'^fon^re^tCKact now to
provide resonfcesto sapBSBl the Wye Agreement
. . . to protect Israel's security, stimulate the Palestinian economy, and support ourfriendsin
Jordan. We must not, we cannot, let them down,
As we work for peace, we must also meet threats to our nation's security - including
increased dangers from outlaw nations and terrorism. We will fighi lerroTand defend our
security wherever we are threatened ~ as we did this summer when we struck at Osama bin
Laden's network of terror.frhe bombing of our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania &ngn$ us of
the risks fag&d every day by those who
reOTegOTtAmegica,to^w^^^^jifi^aS^^GGtion,
theV ne&fso America' can^dntmue to. ^ n ci
We wiU. work to keep terrorists from disrupting computer networks, toprepSelocah
communities for biological and chemical emergencies, and to support research into vaccines and
treatments.
We must increases our efforts to restrain the spread of nuclear weapons, from North
Korea to India and Pakistan.
iMy bakimui-l'mrisLl mill cx^gjij our work with Russia, Ukraine, and the other former
Soviet MtfSnFtb safeguard their^veapons andtechnology so they never fall into the wrong .
hands.
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With Russia, we must continue to reduce our nuclear arsenals. The framework we have
already agreed to for a START III Treaty could cut them by 80% from their Cold War height.
We must keep moving forward.
11
�There is another vital step Congress can take. In 1963, the Senate approved the Limited
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty just two months after President Kennedy signed it. It's been two years
since I signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. By acting now, the Senate can make it
harder for new nations to develop nuclear arms, and we can end nuclear testing forever.
For nearly a decade, Iraq has defied its obligation to destroy its weapons of terror and the
missiles to deliver them. America will continue to contain Saddam ~ and we will work for the
day when Iraq has a government worthy of its people.
Last month, in our action over Iraq, our troops were superb. Their mission was so
flawlessly executed that we risk taking for granted the bravery and skill it required. Captain Jeff
Taliaferro [TAH-la-ver], pilot of an XX fighter, destroyed Republican Guard barracks in XX
city. He is here with us tonight. Let us^f hononfie 10,000 men and women of Desert Fox.
It is ^imejo reverse the decline in defense spending that began in 1985.nearly $6 billion to maintain our readiness. My balanced budget calls for an
increase $4 2 billion for readiness and modernization,^^and rtawrilpm^c for our troops
and their families.
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We are the heirs of a legacy of bravery represented today by millions of veterans.
America's defenders today stand ready at a moment's notice to go where comforts are few and
dangers are many, doing what needs to be done as no one else can. They always come through
for America. We must come through for them.
The new century demands new partnerships for peace and security.
This spring, I will convene the leaders of NATO in Washington for its 50th anniversary
summit, to prepare for the missions of the next 50 years, to welcome Hungary, Poland and the
Czech Republic as our first new allies from Central Europe, and to reaffirm our determination
that Europe must never again be divided by concrete and barbed wire.
We must also support stability in Asia. I have worked to strengthen the bonds with our
allies Japan and Korea. Last year, I also traveled to China because our relationship with the
world's largest country helps determine prospects for peace and security^cross Asia. I said to the
leaders of China, and I say again tonight: Stability can no longer be bought at the expense of
But w.Ljnll'Jl fnffinicgT&t it is important not to isolate China. The more we bring China
into the world, the more the world will bring change andfreedomto China.
Last spring, wrtteaMltiilJiili, I traveled to Africa, where I saw Hemnrrpr.y am Prefer
rising, but still held back byviplence and disease. We must fortify African^eac^/anp democracy
40
- npi^re-n^eriffip^o^fijtn^fflNigeria. And because trade and investmefttare the keys to
^iiicaa^ffsperrty - we must finally pass the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act.
We aie Miuiglhoning our ties to the Americas - to educate children, fight drugs, deepen
12
�democracy, and increase shared prosperity, with a Free Trade Area of the Americas and increased
trade with our neighbors in Central America and the Caribbean.
In our own hemisphere, every government but one isfreelychosen by its people. We are
determined that Cuba, too, will know the blessings of liberty.
The United Nations plays a crucial role in so many of the areas I have mentioned tonight.
America needs a strong relationship with an effective UN. I want to work in this new year with
this new Congress to pay our dues and our debts.
The American people have opened their arms and their hearts to our neighbors in Central
America and the Caribbean in the wake of devastating hurricanes. More than 5000 American
troops have helped rebuild roads and homes and lives. Many are still at work. I am proud of
them — and proud of the generosity of the American people. I will work with Members of
Congress of both parties to help our neighbors rebuild.
And if we do all these things, then we can meet the historic responsibility of our
generation to build a safer and more secure 21st Cuitury America in afreerand more peaceful
world.
s-fct-t"
21 ST CENTURY COMMUNITIES
As the world has changed, so have our own communities
/e must make them safer, more livable, and more united.
We will soon reach our goal of putting 100,000 community police officers on the street ~
ahead of schedule and under budget.^Tlip Brady Bill has stopped a quarter million felons,
fugitives, and stalkers from buying^uns. Now, the murder rate is the lowest in 30 years, and the
crime rate dropped for tte-sixt®straight yeao Tonight, I propose a 21st Century crime bill to marshall the latest technologies and tactics
to make our communities even safer.
My budget provides funds to put up to 50,000 more police on the beat in the areas hardest
hit by crime, and equips them with 2ist£6atuiy.tools, from crime-mapping computers to digital
mug shots.
»v_9-^
We must break the deadly cycle of drugs and crime. My budget strengthens support for
drug testing and treatment. It says to prisoners: If you stay on drugs, you must stay behind bars.
And itflwycto those on parole: To keep yourfreedom,keep free of drugs.
Congress should restore the mandatory 5-day waiting period for buying a handgun, and
extend the Brady Bill to prevent juveniles who commit violent crimes from ever buying
handguns.
And we must keep our schools the safest places in our communities.
13
�Last year, our nation was horrified and heartbroken by the tragic killings in our schools in Jonesboro, Paducah, Pearl, Edinboro, Springfield. We will never forget the courage of the
y
parents who have dedicated themselves to keeping guns out of the hands of children ~ so no d r^~
parent ever has to live through their loss.
CL
One of them, Suzann Wilson of Jonesboro, Arkansas, is with us tonight in the First
Lady's box. After she lost her daughter, she came to the White House with a powerful plea:
"Please, please, for the sake of your children, lock up you guns.... Don't let what happened
in Jonesboro happen in your town." In memory of all the children who lost their lives to school
violence, let us redouble our efforts to make our schools safe^ ^^^——f-^—/
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J
I ask Congress tojjass-my plan tq/sjtrengthen the Safe and Drug-Free School Act, and to
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hire and train 2,000 new community police and school resource/officers to keep our children
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safe.
{ ^ M ^ i J f ^ y
A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt defined our "great, central task" as "leaving
this land even a better land for our descendants than it is for us." Today, we are restoring the
Florida Everglades, saving Yellowstone, preserving the red-rock canyons of Utah, protecting
California's redwoods and our precious coasts.
But our most fateftil new challenge is the threat of global warming. Last year's heat
waves, ice storms, and floods are but a hint of what future generations may endure ifwe don't act
now.
So tonight, I propose a new clean air fund to help communities reduce both pollution;
new funds for clean energy technology; tax cuts for energy-efficient cars and homes and
appliances; and vigorous diplomatic efforts to involve other countries. And I will work with
Congress to reward companies that take early, voluntary action to reduce greenhouse pollution.
-Every commumt^ace^preservation challengdpas they grow and green spacq^shri
7,000 acres of farmland and open space are lost eyery day.
i /IJJ
/lil/
/
In response, I propose twcKmftjer initiatives: first, a Livability Agenda to help
communities save open space, ease traffic congestion, and grow in ways that enhance every
citizen's quality oflife; second, a histopc one billion dollar Lands Legacy Initiative to preserve
places of natural beauty all across America — from the most remote wilderness to the nearest city
park. I thank Vice President Gor^^^^^role^^evel ^ping this impm ant P ™ ? ^ ^ ^ , ^ - ^ ^ ^ - ^
1
0
To get the most out of yoiircommunity, you have to give something back. That's why
we created AmeriCorps ~ our national service program that gives today's generation a chance to
serve their community and eam money for college.
So far, in just four years, 100,000 young people have built low-income homes with
Habitat for Humanity ... helped churches tutor children ... worked with FEMA to ease the burden
of natural disasters ... and performed countless other acts of service that have made America
better.
14
�Some of them are here with us tonight. I thank them for their service ~ and I ask
Congress to give more young Americans the chance to follow their lead.
We must work to renew our national community for the 21st Century.
Last year, the House passed the bipartisan campaign finance reform legislation sponsored
by Reps. Shays and Meehan and Sens. McCain and Feingold. But a partisan minority in the
Senate blocked reform. To the House I say: Pass reform again, quickly. And to the Senate: Say
yes to a strong democracy in the Year 2000.
Since 1997, our Initiative on Race has sought to bridge the divides between our people.
In its report last fall, the Initiative's Advisory Board found that Americans want to bring our
people together across racial lines - but that we must do more to close the opportunity gap that
deepens the divides between the races. The economic, health care, and education initiatives in
my balanced budget will do a lot to close those gaps.
But we have more to do.
Discrimination or violence because of race or religion, ancestry or gender, disability or
sexual orientation, is wrong. It should be illegal. Therefore I call upon Congress to make the
Employment Non-Discrimination Act and the Hate Crimes Prevention Act the law of the land.
Our newest immigrants must be part of One America. They are revitalizing our cities,
energizing our culture, building our new economy. We have a responsibility to make immigrants
welcome here, and they have a responsibility to enter the mainstream of American life.
That means learning English, and learning about our democratic system of government. There
are now long waiting lines of immigrants seeking to do just that. Therefore, my budget contains
a substantial increase in funds to help them meet their responsibility.
Whether our ancestors came here on the Mayflower or on slave ships, whether they
landed on Ellis Island or at Los Angeles Airport, whether they arrived yesterday or walked this
land for thousands of years ~ we can be, and we must be One America. We have no greater
obligation to the 21st Century.
PERORATION; THE MILLENNIUM [5 minutes]
Barely more than 300 days from now, we will cross that bridge into a new millennium.
This is a moment, as the First Lady has said, to honor the past and imagine the future.
I honor her — for leading our Millennium Project — for all she has done for our children —
and for her historic role in serving this nation and advancing our best ideals at home and abroad.
Last year, I called on the Congress and every citizen
to mark the millennium by saving America's treasures. Hillary has traveled across the country to
inspire recognition and support for saving places like Thomas Edison's Invention Factory and
Harriet Tubman's Home, the San Fransisco Conservatory of Flowers.
15
�The response has been remarkable, and I thank Congress and our private sector partners
for their support. Because ofyou, the Star Spangled Banner will be preserved for the ages. We
must preserve the treasures in every community. I invite every American town, city, and county
to become nationally recognized "Millennium Communities" by launching projects that save our
history and prepare our children for the 21st Century.
We must keep alive, in ways large and small, what George Washington called "the sacred fire of
liberty."
Six years ago tomorrow, I came to office in a time of doubt for America, with our
economy troubled, our deficit high, our people divided. Some even wondered whether our best
days were behind us. But across this nation, in a thousand neighborhoods, I had seen, even amid
the pain and uncertainty of recession, the heart and character of America.
I knew then we Americans could renew our country.
Tonight, as I deliver the last State of the Union message of the 20th Century, no one can
doubt the enduring and unquestionable resolve of Americans to work toward that "more perfect
union" of our founders' dreams.
We near the end of a century when generations of Americans answered the call to
greatness, overcoming Depression, lifting up the dispossessed, bringing down barriers of racial
prejudice, building up the largest middle class in history, winning two world wars, and the "long
twilight struggle" of the Cold War.
Perhaps in the daily press of events, in the clash of controversy, we do not see our time
for what it truly is - a new dawn for America.
A hundred years from tonight, an American President will stand in this place to report on
the State of our Union. He - or she - will look back on a 21 st Century shaped in so many ways
by the decisions we make here and now.
Let it be said of us then that we were thinking not only of our time, but of their time; that
we putaside our divisions and found a new hour of healing and hopefulness; that together we
. ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
p-iblr " ' r n - J p t f rfaf ' t t f f * ; £ ^
4
^
Let us lift our eyes as onp^TationT^nd^hailihejTwuntaintop of this American century,
look ahead to the next one. fi*^
bet us joiiTour spiritg~and-our wills forthe work befefe-asr~Wfe ask God's blessing on our
endeavors and our beloved country.
16
^ f c .
�Tomasz P. Malinowski
01/17/99 08:30:14 PM
Record Type:
To:
Record
Michael Waldman/WHO/EOP
cc:
Subject: sou
Three tiny things:
(1) Could you add "Iran" to the list of countries where we will work to restrain the spread of
nuclear weapons?
(2) In the START III graph, it shoud say that the new framework " w o u l d " , rather than " c o u l d " ,
cut arsenals by 8 0 % .
(3) In the Kosovo line, Sandy would like to change "bloody" to "brutal". Don't ask.
Thanks. I think the speech looks great.
��Withdrawal/Redaction Marker
Clinton Library
DOCUMENT NO.
AND TYPE
SUBJECT/TITLE
001. memo
Michael Waldman to the President; RE: Revised State of the Union
Draft (1 page)
DATE
01/18/1999
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COLLECTION:
Clinton Presidential Records
Speechwriting
Michael Waldman
OA/Box Number:
14418
FOLDER TITLE:
SOTU [State of the Union] 1999 Speech Drafts 1/17/99 - 1/18/99 [Binder] [6]
2006-0469-F
db2249
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RR. Document will be reviewed upon request.
�Draft 1/18/99 12 pm
sotu99.18
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
UNITED STATES CAPITOL
January 19,1999
�Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, honored guests, my fellow
Americans:
Tonight, I have the honor of reporting on the State of the Union.
Let me begin by saluting the new Speaker of the House, and thank him for extending
invitations to two special guests who are sitting in the gallery with Mrs. Hastert. Lyn Gibson and
Wei Ling Chestnut are the widows of the two brave Capitol Police Officers who gave their lives
to defend freedom's house.
Speaker Hastert: At your swearing in, you asked us to work in a spirit of civility and
bipartisanship. Mr. Speaker, let's do exactly that.
Tonight, we begin our work together for the people of America.
^jf*
I stand before you to report that America has created the longest peacetime economic
expansion in our history -- with nearly 18 million new jobs, wages risingiriore than twice the
rate of inflation, the highest homeownership in history, the smallest welfare rolls in 30 years and the lowest peacetime unemployment since 1957.
For the first time in three decades, the budget is balanced. From a deficit of $290 billion
in 1992, we had a budget surplus of $70 billion last year. We are on course for budget surpluses
for the next 25 years.
Violent crime is the lowest in a quarter century ~ and our environment is the cleanest in a
quarter century.
America is a strong force for peace from Northern Ireland, to Bosnia, to the Middle East.
Thanks to the pioneering leadership of Vice President Gore, we have a government for
the Information Age. —-~>
COnce again, ourgovernment is a progressive instrument of the common good -- offering
opportunity to all, demanding responsibility from all, building a community of all Americans. A
modem government, devoted to fiscal responsibility and determined to give our people the tools
they need to make the most of their own lives. A 21st Century government for 21st Century
America.
My fellow Americans, I stand before you to report that the state of our union is strong.
America is working again. The promise of our future is limitless. But we cannot realize
that promise if we allow the hum of our prosperity to lull us into complacency. How we fare as a
nation far into the 21st Century depends upon what we do as a nation today.
�With our budget surplus growing, our economy expanding, and our confidence rising,
let's get to work. Now is the moment for this generation to meet our historic responsibility to the
21st Century.
THF AC.INC, OF 21 ST CENTURY AMERICA
Our fiscal discipline gives us an unsurpassed opportunity to address a remarkable new
challenge: the aging of America.
With the number of elderly Americans set to double by 2030, the Baby Boom will
become a Senior Boom.
So first and above all, we must save Social Security for the 21st Century. Early in this
century, being old meant being poor.
When President Roosevelt created Social Security, thousands wrote to thank him for
eliminating what one woman called the "stark terror of penniless, helpless old age." Even
today, without Social Security, half our nation's elderly would be forced into poverty.
Today, Social Security is strong. But by 2032, the Trust Fund will be exhausted, and
Social Security will be unable to pay out the full benefits older Americans have been promised.
The best way to keep Social Security a rock-solid guarantee is not to make drastic cuts in
benefits; not to raise payroll tax rates; and not to drain resources from Social Security in the
name of saving it.
Instead, I propose that we make the historic decision to invest the surplus to save Social
Security.
Specifically, I propose that we commit half the budget surplus for the next 15 years to
Social Security, investing a small portion in the private sector just as any private or state
government pension would do. This will eam a higher return and keep Social Security sound for
50 years.
But we must aim higher. We should put Social Security on a sound footing for the next
75 years. And we should reduce poverty among elderly women, who are twice as likely to be
poor as other seniors ~ and eliminate the limits on what senior citizens on Social Security can
eam.
These changes will require difficult but achievable choices. They must be made on a
3
�bipartisan basis. They should be made this year. Tonight, together, let us say: We will Save
Social Security now.
Last year, we wisely reserved all of the surplus until we knew what it would take to save
Social Security. Although our best analysis is that we will need just half of the surplus, again
this year we should not spend any of it until after Social Security is truly secure. First things
firsL
Second, once we have set aside sufficient funds from the surplus to save Social Security,
we must fulfill our obligation to save and improve Medicare. Already, we have extended the life
of Medicare by 10 years - but it should be extended for at least another decade. Tonight I
propose that we use one out of every five dollars in the surplus over the next 15 years to
guarantee the soundness of Medicare, until the year 2020.
But again, we should aim higher. We must be willing to work in a bipartisan way and
look at new ideas, including the upcoming report of the bipartisan Medicare commission. If we
work together, we secure Medicare for the next two decades and Medicare's quality by covering
seniors' greatest need, affordable prescription drugs.
Third, we must help all Americans, from their first day on the job, to save, to invest, to
create wealth. From its beginning, Social Security has been supplemented by private pensions
and savings. Yet today, tens of millions of people retire with little to live on other than Social
Security. Americans living longer than ever must save more than ever.
Tonight, in addition to saving Social Security and Medicare, I propose a new pension
initiative for retirement security in the 21st Century. I propose that we use 10% of the surplus to
establish Universal Savings Accounts — USA Accounts — to give all Americans the means to
save. With these new accounts, Americans can invest as they choose, and receive funds to match
a portion of their savings, with extra help for those least able to save.
USA Accounts will help all Americans to save, to share in the nation's wealth, and to
enjoy a more secure retirement.
Fourth, we must invest in long-term care. I propose a tax credit of $1,000 for the elderly
or disabled, or the families who care for them. This kind of care is invaluable. Let us show that
we honor and reward it.
I was bom in 1946, the first year of the Baby Boom. Our generation is determined not to
let our growing old place an intolerable burden on our children and their ability to raise our
grandchildren. There is no better use for America's surplus than lifting that burden.
With these four measures - saving Social Security, strengthening Medicare, establishing
USA Accounts, and supporting long-term care — we can begin to meet our historic responsibility
to establish true security for 21st Century seniors.
�21st CENTURY SCHOOLS
There are more children, from more diverse backgrounds, in our public schools than at
any time in our history. Their education must provide the knowledge and nurture the creativity
our nation needs for the new economy.
Today we can say something we could not say six years ago: with more affordable
student loans, more Pell grants and work-study jobs, education IRAs, and the new HOPE
scholarship tax cut that more than 5 million Americans will receive this year, we have opened the
doors of college to all.
With our help, nearly every state has set higher academic standards for public schools,
and we are developing a voluntary national test to measure the progress of our students. We are
marshaling a volunteer army of college students to teach young children to read, and to mentor
middle school children and prepare them for college.
With the leadership of Vice President Gore, we have helped communities connect more
than one million classrooms to the Internet. And with over one billion dollars in discounts
available this year, we can meet our goal of connecting every classroom and library to the
Internet.
Last fall, you passed our proposal to start hiring 100,000 new teachers to reduce class size
in the early grades. Now I call on Congress to finish the job.
Our children are doing better. SAT scores are up.
Math scores have risen in nearly all grades. But there is a problem: While our fourth graders
outperform their peers in other countries in math and science, our eighth graders are around
average, and our twelfth graders rank near the bottom.
We must do better. Each year the national government invests over $20 billion in our
public schools. I believe we must change the way we invest that money, to support what works
and stop supporting what doesn't.
Later this year, I will send Congress a plan that for the first time holds states and school
districts accountable for progress and rewards them for results. The plan would require every
school district receiving federal help to take the following five steps.
First, all schools must end social promotion.
No child should graduate from high school with a diploma he or she can't read. We do
our children no favors when we allow them to pass from grade to grade without mastering the
material.
�But we can't just hold students back when the system fails them. So my balanced budget
triples the funding for summer school and after school programs. We can keep one million
students learning beyond regular school hours, when parents work and juvenile crime soars.
If you doubt this will work, look at Chicago, which ended social promotion and made
summer school mandatory for those who don't master the basics. Math and reading scores are up
three years running - with some of the biggest gains in some of the poorest neighborhoods.
Second, all states and school districts must turn around their worst-performing schools ~
or shut them down. That is the policy established by Gov. Jim Hunt in North Carolina, where
test scores made the biggest gains in the nation last year. My budget includes $200 million to
help states turn around their failing schools.
Third, all states and school districts must be held responsible for the quality of their
teachers. The great majority of teachers do a fine job. But in too many schools, teachers don't
have college majors — or even minors — in the subjects they teach.
All new teachers should be required to pass performance exams and to know the subject they are
teaching. My balanced budget contains new resources to help teachers reach these high
standards.
To attract talented young teachers to the toughest assignments, I recommend a five-fold
increase in scholarships for college students who commit to teach in the inner cities, in isolated
rural areas and in Indian communities.
Eourth, we must empower parents, with more information and more choices. In too many
communities, it is easier to get information on the quality of local restaurants than the quality of
local schools. Every school district should issue report cards on every school.
And parents should have more choice in selecting their public schools. When I became
President, there was one independent, public charter school in all of America. With our support,
there are 900 today. My budget assures that early in the next century, there will be 3000.
Eiflh, all states and school districts must adopt discipline policies to ensure our
classrooms are places of learning.
Let's do one more thing for our children. Today, too many of our schools are so old
they're falling apart, or so overcrowded students must learn in trailers. Last fall, Congress
missed the opportunity to change that. This year, with more than 53 million children in our
�schools, Congress must not miss that opportunity again. I ask you to pass our program to build or
modernize 5000 schools.
If we do these things — end social promotion, turn around failing schools, build modem
ones, support qualified teachers, and promote innovation, competition and discipline - we will
begin to meet our generation's historic responsibility to create 21st Century schools.
21st CENTURY SUPPORT FOR AMERICAN FAMILIES
We must do more to help the millions of parents who give their all every day at home and
at work.
The most basic tool of all is a decent income. Let's raise the minimum wage by one
dollar an hour over the next two years.
And let's make sure women and men get equal pay for equal work by strengthening
enforcement of equal pay laws.
Working parents also need quality child care. Again, I ask the Congress to support our
plan for tax credits and subsidies for working families, training for child care providers, and
expanded after school programs. Our plan also includes a new tax credit for stay-at-home
parents. They need support too.
The Family Medical Leave Act - the first bill I signed into law - has helped millions of
Americans care for a new baby or an ailing relative without risking their jobs. We should extend
Family Leave to 10 million more Americans working in smaller companies.
Parents should never face discrimination in the workplace. I will ask Congress to
prohibit companies from refusing to hire or promote workers simply because they have children.
America's families deserve the world's best medical care.
Thanks to federal support for medical research, we have begun testing the first drugs to
prevent cancer, and introduced the first effective drugs to treat AIDS. With new discoveries
about the process of aging itself, we are on the verge of new treatments to prevent or delay
diseases from Parkinsons to Alzheimers to arthritis.
As we continue our advances in medical science, we cannot let our health care system lag
behind.
Managed care has transformed medicine in America — driving down costs, but
threatening to drive down quality as well. Every American should have the right to the best care,
not just the cheapest. The right to see a specialist. And the right to emergency care.
�I am now extending theserightsby executive authority to the 85 million Americans
served by Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal health plans. But only Congress can enact the
Patients' Bill of Rights for all Americans. Last year, Congress missed that opportunity. This
year, for the sake of our families, Congress must not miss that opportunity again.
As more of our medical records are stored electronically, the threats to our privacy
increase. Either by an act of Congress or by executive authority we will protect the privacy of
medical records, this year.
Two years ago, we extended health insurance that will cover up to 5 million children.
Now, we should make it easier for small businesses to offer health insurance, and give people
between the ages of 55 and 65 who lose their health insurance the chance to buy in to Medicare.
No one should have to choose between keeping health care and taking a job. We should
pass the historic bipartisan legislation, proposed by Senators Jeffords, Kennedy, Roth and
Moynihan, to allow people with disabilities to keep Medicaid health insurance when they go to
work.
Many employers and working families still can't afford health insurance. We need to
enable community health centers and public hospitals to provide basic, affordable care for
families without coverage. My budget makes a down payment toward that goal.
And we must continue to ensure access to family planning and reproductive health care free from the fear of violence.
We must step up our efforts to treat and prevent mental illness. No American should ever
be afraid to recognize and treat this disease. This year, we will host a White House Conference
on Mental Health. With sensitivity and commitment. Tipper Gore is leading our efforts here —
and I thank her.
As everyone knows, our children are targets of a massive media campaign to hook them
on cigarettes. I ask this Congress to resist the tobacco lobby. Together, let's reaffirm the FDA's
authority to protect children from tobacco, hold the tobacco companies accountable, and protect
tobacco farmers.
Smoking has cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars under Medicare and other
programs. Tonight, I am announcing that the Department of Justice is preparing a litigation plan
to take the tobacco companies to court. American taxpayers shouldn't pay for the costs of lung
cancer, emphsyzema and other tobacco related illnesses — the tobacco companies should. And
with the funds we recover, we should strengthen Medicare.
In all these areas — minimum wage, family leave, child care, health care and the safety of
�our children - we can begin to meet our historic responsibility to strengthen our families for the
21st Century.
A 21st CENTURY ECONOMY
Today, America is the most dynamic, competitive, job creating economy in history. A
century ago, the average American had to work a week to eam what the average American now
makes in a day.
But we can do better — if we act to build a 21st Century economy for all Americans.
Today's income gap is largely a skills gap. Because of a law I signed last year, workers
now can get a skills grant to choose the training they need. This year, I call for a half a billion
dollar investment for training Americans who lose their jobs and a national campaign to increase
adult literacy for the millions of working people who read at less than a fifth grade level.
In the last six years, we have cut the welfare rolls nearly in half. Two years ago, from
this podium, I asked five companies to lead a national effort to hire people off welfare.
Tonight, our Welfare to Work Partnership includes 10,000 companies who have hired hundreds
of thousands of people. My budget provides funds to help another 200,000 people move from
the dependency of welfare to the dignity and pride of work.
We also must bring the spark of private enterprise into inner cities, remote rural areas,
[and Indian reservations], with more support for community development banks, empowerment
zones and 100,000 vouchers for affordable housing.
I ask Congress to support our new plan to help businesses raise up to $15 billion of private sector
capital to bring jobs and oportunity to our inner cities and rural areas — with tax credits and loan
guarantees, including new American Private Investment Companies modeled on our Overseas
Private Investment Corproation. Our greatest untapped markets are not overseas -- they are right
here at home.
We must bring prosperity back to the family farm. Dropping prices and the loss of
foreign markets have hurt too many of our farmers. I am ready to work with lawmakers of both
parties to create a farm safety net including crop insurance reform and farm income assistance.
We must strengthen our lead in technology.
Government investment in information technology led to the creation of the Internet. I
propose a 30% increase in long-term computing research.
�We must be ready for the 21st Century from its very first moment, by solving the "Y2K"
computer problem. We have already made sure Social Security checks will come on time. If we
work hard and work together — business and government at all levels — the "Y2K problem" can
be remembered as the last headache of the 20th Century, not the first crisis of the 21st.
For our own prosperity, we must support economic growth abroad.
Until recently, one third of our economic growth came from exports. But over the past
year and a half,financialturmoil overseas has put that growth at risk. Today, much of the world
is in recession, with Asia hit especially hard.
This is the most serious financial crisis in a half century. To meet it, the U.S. and other
nations have reduced interest rates and we strengthened the International Monetary Fund. While
the turmoil is not over, we are working with other nations to contain it.
This June, I will meet with other world leaders to continue to build a global financial
system for the 21st Century that tames the cycles of boom and bust. Our new rules will call for
open accounting, stronger international bank regulations, an aggressive response to prevent
regional problems from becoming global crises, and a strong social safety net for the most
vulnerable victims of financial upheaval.
We must also create a freer and fairer trading system for the 21st Century. Trade has
divided Americans for too long. We must find the common ground on which business, workers,
environmentalists and government can stand together.
We must tear down barriers, open markets, and press for expanded trade. At the same
time, we must assure that ordinary citizens in all countries benefit from trade — pressing for trade
that promotes the dignity of work, the rights of workers and protection of the environment. And
we must insist that international trade organizations be open to public scrutiny.
With this new consensus, we can enact legislation granting the President the trade
authority long used to advance our prosperity. [We can pass the Africa Trade and Growth
Initiative. We can pass our Carribbean Basin Trade Initiative.] [Gene and I believe these should
go back here — to help bolster Democratic support for Fast Track. We can discuss tomorrow.]
Tonight, I issue a call to the nations of the world to join the United States in a new round
of global negotiations to expand exports of services, of manufactures, and most of all, of our
farm products.
We will work with the International Labor Organization on a new initiative to lift labor
standards around the world. And this year, we will lead the international community to conclude
a treaty to ban abusive child labor everywhere in the world.
As we do this, we must act now to help American manufacturers hit hard by the present
crisis — with loan guarantees to increase U.S. exports by $2 billion. And when imports
10
�unlawfully flood our nation, we must enforce our trade laws. I have already informed the
government of Japan that if Japan's sudden surge of steel imports into our country is not
reversed, America will respond.
If we do these things — invest in our own people, invest in our own communities, invest
in our technology, and lead in the global economy - then we can begin to meet the historic
responsibility of this generation to build a 21st Century prosperity for America.
A STRONG AMERICA IN A NEW WORLD
No nation in history has had the opportunity and the responsibility we now have to shape
a world more peaceful, secure, and free.
All Americans can be proud that our leadership helped to bring peace in Northern Ireland.
All Americans can be proud that our leadership has put Bosnia on the path to peace. And
we are working with our NATO allies in Kosovo to stop the bloody repression and find a
peaceful path to self government.
All Americans can be proud that our leadership renewed hope for lasting peace in the
Middle East. Some of you were with me in December as we watched the Palestinian National
Council completely renounce its call for the destruction of Israel. I ask Congress to act now to
provide resources to implement the Wye Agreement . . . to protect Israel's security, stimulate
the Palestinian economy, and support our friends in Jordan. We must not, we cannot, let them
down.
�As we work for peace, we must also meet threats to our nation's security - including
increased dangers from outlaw nations and terrorism. We will defend our security wherever we
are threatened — as we did this summer when we struck at Osama bin Laden's network of terror.
The bombing of our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania remind us of the risks faced every day by
those who represent America to the world. Let's give them our support, the safest possible
workplaces, and the resources they need so America can continue to lead.
We will work to keep terrorists from disrupting computer networks, to prepare local
communities for biological and chemical emergencies, and to support research into vaccines and
treatments.
We must increase our efforts to restrain the spread of nuclear weapons, from North Korea
to India and Pakistan.
We must expand our work with Russia, Ukraine, and the other former Soviet nations to
safeguard nuclear weapons and technology so they never fall into the wrong hands. My balanced
budget will increase funding for these critical efforts by 70% for the next 5 years.
With Russia, we must continue to reduce our nuclear arsenals. With START II, the
framework we have already agreed to for a START III Treaty could cut them by 80% from their
Cold War height. We must keep moving forward.
There is another vital step Congress can take. It's been two years since I signed the
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. If we don't act, other nations won't. By acting to ratify it now,
the Senate can make it harder for new nations to develop nuclear arms, and we can end nuclear
testing forever.
For nearly a decade, Iraq has defied its obligation to destroy its weapons of terror and the
missiles to deliver them. America will continue to contain Saddam — and we will work for the
day when Iraq has a government worthy of its people.
Last month, in our action over Iraq, our troops were superb. Their mission was so
flawlessly executed risk taking for granted the bravery and skill it required. Captain Jeff
Taliaferro [tolliver], pilot of an XX fighter, flew xx nightime missions as we attacked Saddam's
war machine. He is here with us tonight. Let us him and all the 10,000 men and women of
Desert Fox.
It is time to reverse the decline in defense spending that began in 1985. Since April,
together we have added nearly $6 billion to maintain our readiness. My balanced budget calls
for an increase of $12 billion for readiness and modernization, and for more support for our
troops and their families.
We are the heirs of a legacy of bravery represented today by millions of veterans.
America's defenders today stand ready at a moment's notice to go where comforts are few and
12
�dangers are many, doing what needs to be done as no one else can. They always come through
for America. We must come through for them.
The new century demands new partnerships for peace and security.
[This spring, I will convene the leaders of NATO in Washington for its 50th anniversary
summit, to prepare for the missions of the next 50 years, to welcome Hungary, Poland and the
Czech Republic as our first new allies from Central Europe, and to reaffirm our determination
that Europe must never again be divided by concrete and barbed wire.] [cuttable]
The United Nations plays a crucial role in so many of the areas I have mentioned tonight.
America needs a strong relationship with an effective UN. I want to work in this new year with
this new Congress to pay our dues and our debts.
We must also support stability in Asia. I have worked to strengthen the bonds with our
allies Japan and Korea. Last year, I also traveled to China because our relationship with the
world's largest country helps determine prospects for peace and security all across Asia. I said to
the leaders of China, and I say again tonight: Stability can no longer be bought at the expense of
liberty.
And I say again the American people: it is important not to isolate China. The more we
bring China into the world, the more the world will bring change and freedom to China.
Last spring, with some of you, I traveled to Africa, where I saw democracy and reform
rising, but still held back by violence and disease. We must fortify African democracy and peace
— and support transitions to democracy, including in Nigeria. And because trade and investment
are the keys to African development — we must finally pass the Africa Growth and Opportunity
Act.
We are strengthening our ties to the Americas -- to educate children, fight drugs, deepen
democracy. We must increase shared prosperity with a Free Trade Area of the Americas and
increased trade with our neighbors in Central America and the Caribbean.
In our own hemisphere, every government but one is freely chosen by its people. We are
determined that Cuba, too, will know the blessings of liberty.
The American people have opened their arms and their hearts to our Central America and
Caribbean neighbors in the wake of devastating hurricanes — and working with Congress, we
will help them rebuild. When the First Lady led a mission there, she saw thousands of American
13
�troops and volunteers. And she rededicated a hospital, rebuilt by Dominicans and Americans
workign arm in arm — and led by Sammy Sosa. Sammy represents our oldest traditions and the
best of the new America. He has been taken into our hearts - and he has not forgotten where he
came from. Thank you, Sammy, for your remarkable example, on the field and off.
And if we do all these things ~ pursue peace, fight terrorism, increase our strength, and
renew our alliances for shared progress — then we will begin to meet the historic responsibility of
our generation to build a safer and more secure 21st Century America in a freer and more
peaceful world.
21 ST CENTURY COMMUNITIFS
As the world has changed, so have our own communities. We must make them safer,
more livable, and more united.
We will soon reach our goal of putting 100,000 community police officers on the street —
ahead of schedule and under budget. The Brady Bill has stopped a quarter million felons,
fugitives, and stalkers from buying guns. Now, the murder rate is the lowest in 30 years, and the
crime rate has dropped for six straight years.
Tonight, I propose a 21st Century Crime Bill to marshall the latest technologies and
tactics to make our communities even safer.
My budget provides funds to put up to 50,000 more police on the beat in the areas hardest
hit by crime, and equips them with new tools, from crime-mapping computers to digital mug
shots.
We must break the deadly cycle of drugs and crime. My budget strengthens support for
drug testing and treatment. It says to prisoners: If you stay on drugs, you must stay behind bars.
And it says to those on parole: To keep your freedom, keep free of drugs.
Congress should restore the mandatory 5-day waiting period for buying a handgun, and
extend the Brady Bill to prevent juveniles who commit violent crimes from ever buying a
handgun again.
And we must keep our schools the safest places in our communities.
Last year, we were horrified and heartbroken by the tragic killings in our schools — in
Jonesboro, Paducah, Pearl, Edinboro, Springfield. We will never forget the courage of the
14
�parents who have dedicated themselves to keeping guns out of the hands of children - so no
other parent ever has to live through their loss.
One of them, Suzann Wilson of Jonesboro, Arkansas, is with us tonight in the gallery
with the First Lady's. After she lost her daughter, she came to the White House with a powerful
plea: "Please, please, for the sake of your children, lock up you guns. ... Don't let what happened
in Jonesboro happen in your town." In memory of all the children who lost their lives to school
violence, let us redouble our efforts to make our schools safe.
Let's pass legislation to require child trigger locks. Let's strengthen the Safe and DrugFree School Act. Let's keep our children safe.
A century ago. President Theodore Roosevelt defined our "great, central task" as "leaving
this land even a better land for our descendants than it is for us." Today, we are restoring the
Florida Everglades, saving Yellowstone, preserving the red-rock canyons of Utah, protecting
California's redwoods and our precious coasts.
But our most fateful new challenge is the threat of global warming. Last year's heat
waves, ice storms, and floods are but a hint of what future generations may endure ifwe don't act
now.
So tonight, I propose a new clean air fund to help communities reduce pollution, and tax
incentives and investiments to spur clean energy technologies. I will work with Congress to
reward companies that take early, voluntary action to reduce greenhouse gases.
All communities face a preservation challenge, as they grow and green space shrinks.
7,000 acres of farmland and open space are lost every day.
In response, I propose two major initiatives: firsl, a one billion dollar Livability Agenda
to help communities save open space, ease traffic congestion, and grow in ways that enhance
every citizen's quality oflife; second, a one billion dollar Lands Legacy Initiative to preserve
places of natural beauty all across America — from the most remote wilderness to the nearest city
park. I thank Vice President Gore for his visionary leadership in developing this historic
proposal.
To get the most out of your community, you have to give something back. That's why
we created AmeriCorps — our national service program that gives today's generation a chance to
serve their community and eam money for college.
So far, in just four years, 100,000 young people have built low-income homes with
Habitat for Humanity ... helped churches tutor children ... worked with FEMA to ease the burden
15
�of natural disasters ... and performed countless other acts of service that have made America
better.
Some of them are here with us tonight. I thank them for their service -- and I ask
Congress to give more young Americans the chance to follow their lead. And I challenge more
young Americans to give something back to the country that has given them so much.
We must work to renew our national community for the 21st Century.
Last year, the House passed the bipartisan campaign finance reform legislation sponsored
by Reps. Shays and Meehan and Sens. McCain and Feingold. But a partisan minority in the
Senate blocked reform. To the House I say: Pass it again, quickly. And to the Senate: Say yes to
a strong democracy in the Year 2000.
Since 1997, our Initiative on Race has sought to bridge the divides between our people.
In its report last fall, the Initiative's Advisory Board found that Americans want to bring our
people together across racial lines — but that we must do more to close the opportunity gaps that
remain. The economic, health care, and education initiatives in my balanced budget will do a lot
to close those gaps.
But we have more to do.
Discrimination or violence because of race or religion, ancestry or gender, disability or
sexual orientation, is wrong. It should be illegal. Therefore I call upon Congress to make the
Employment Non-Discrimination Act and the Hate Crimes Prevention Act the law of the land.
Our newest immigrants must be part of One America. They are revitalizing our cities,
energizing our culture, building our new economy. We have a responsibility to make immigrants
welcome here, and they have a responsibility to enter the mainstream of American life.
That means learning English, and learning about our democratic system of government. There
are now long waiting lines of immigrants seeking to do just that. Therefore, my budget contains
a substantial increase in funds to help them meet their responsibility.
Whether our ancestors came here on the Mayflower or on slave ships, whether they
landed on Ellis Island or at Los Angeles Airport, whether they arrived yesterday or walked this
land for thousands of years — we can be, and we must be One America. We have no greater
obligation to the 21 st Century.
16
�PERORATION: THF MILLENNIUM
Barely more than 300 days from now, we will cross that bridge into the new millennium.
This is a moment, as the First Lady has said, to honor the past and imagine the future.
I honor her — for leading our Millennium Project — for all she has done for our children and for her historic role in serving our nation and advancing our best ideals at home and abroad.
Last year, I called on Congress and every citizen
to mark the millennium by saving America's treasures. Hillary has traveled across the country to
inspire recognition and support for saving places like Thomas Edison's Invention Factory and
Harriet Tubman's Home. We must preserve our treasures in every community.
I invite every American town, city, and county to become nationally recognized "Millennium
Communities" by launching projects that save our history, promote the arts and humanities, and
prepare our children for the 21st Century.
Already, the response has been remarkable, and I thank Congress and our private sector
partners for their support. Because of you, the Star Spangled Banner will be preserved for the
ages.
We are keeping alive, in ways large and small, what George Washington called "the
sacred fire of liberty."
Six years ago tomorrow, I came to office in a time of doubt for America, with our
economy troubled, our deficit high, our people divided. Some even wondered whether our best
days were behind us. But across this nation, in a thousand neighborhoods, I had seen, even amid
the pain and uncertainty of recession, the heart and character of America.
I knew then we Americans could renew our country.
Tonight, as I deliver the last State of the Union message of the 20th Century, no one can
doubt the enduring resolve and boundless capacity of Americans to work toward that "more
perfect union" of our founders' dreams.
We near the end of a century when generations of Americans answered the call to
greatness, overcoming Depression, lifting up the dispossessed, bringing down barriers of racial
prejudice, building the largest middle class in history, winning two world wars and the "long
twilight struggle" of the Cold War.
Perhaps in the daily press of events, in the clash of controversy, we do not see our time
for what it truly is - a new dawn for America.
A hundred years from tonight, an American President will stand in this place to report on
the State of the Union. He - or she - will look back on a 21st Century shaped in so many ways
17
�by the decisions we make here and now.
Let it be said of us then that we were thinking not only of our time, but of their time; that
we reached as high as our ideals; that we put aside our divisions and found a new hour of healing
and hopefulness; that we joined together to serve and strengthen the country we love.
My fellow Americans, this is our moment. Let us lift our eyes as one nation, and from the
mountaintop of this American century, look ahead to the next one - asking God's blessing on
our endeavors and our beloved country.
�*
^
Michael Waldman
01/18/99 01:38:01 AM
Record Type:
To:
Record
Joshua S. Gottheimer/WHO/EOP
cc:
Subject: sosa
Forwarded by Michael Waldman/WHO/EOP on 01/18/99 01:39 AM
| •
"
;
/
^ "
:
Lowell A. Weiss
01/17/99 08:56:54 PM
Record Type:
To:
Record
Michael Waldman/WHO/EOP, Jordan Tamagni/WHO/EOP
cc:
Subject: sosa
The American people have opened their arms and hearts to our Central American and Caribbean
neighbors devastated by hurricanes -- and working with Congress, we will continue to help them
rebuild. When the First Lady led a mission there, she saw thousands of American troops and
volunteers helping the victims. In the Dominican Republic, she visited a hospital rebuilt by North
Americans and Dominicans working side by side. She rededicated it w i t h someone who has been
instrumental in the relief efforts...one of the greatest heroes of that nation and ours... Sammy
Sosa. Thank y o u , Sammy, for your extraordinary example on the field and off.
�4
�Michael Waldman
Mid
01/18/99 01:38:33 AM
Record Type:
To:
Record
Joshua S. Gottheimer/WHO/EOP
cc:
Subject: immigration graf
Forwarded by Michael Waldman/WHO/EOP on 01/18/99 01:39 AM
Jordan Tamagni
0 1 / 1 6 / 9 9 0 9 : 2 9 : 1 8 PM
Record Type:
To:
Record
Michael Waldman/WHO/EOP
cc:
Subject: immigration graf
We have a responsibility to make immigrants welcome here, and they have a responsiblity to
enter the mainstream of American life. That means learning English, and learning about our
democratic system of government. There are now long waiting lines of immigrants seeking to
do just that. Therefore, my budget contains a substantial increase in funds to help them
exercise their responsibility. That's part of our responsibility.
�j' \ 'T\ - '"
4?
Michael Waldman
01/18/99 01:40:04 AM
Record Type:
To:
Record
Joshua S. Gottheimer/WHO/EOP
cc:
Subject: shorter apic
Forwarded by Michael Waldman/WHO/EOP on 01/18/99 01:41 AM
•
JuneShih
Record Type:
To:
-
01 / I 6/99 0 9 : 2 0 : 4 7 PM
Record
Michael Waldman/WHO/EOP
cc:
Subject: shorter apic
The largest untapped markets are not overseas ~ they are in our own
backyards, [want to mention EMPOWERMENT ZONES, CDFIs, other
accomplishments?] I ask Congress to support tax credits, incentives and
loan guarantees to help businesses raise up to $15 billion to bring jobs and
opportunity to our inner cities and rural areas. For years, OPIC, the
Overseas Private Investment Corporation, has helped promote growth
abroad. It's time we had an APIC to promote investment and growth at
home.
�(
t
"
Js*
Michael Waldman
01/18/99 01:40:44 AM
Record Type:
To:
Record
Joshua S. Gottheimer/WHO/EOP
cc:
Subject:
Forwarded by Michael Waldman/WHO/EOP on 01 /18/99 01:42 AM
•
JuneShih
Record Type:
To:
0 1 / I 7/99 0 3 : 5 5 : 5 7 PM
Record
Michael Waldman/WHO/EOP
cc:
Subject:
We must also bring the spark of private enterprise back to our distressed central cities - back
to our downtowns that for years have served as the gateway to opportunity for millions of
hard-working Americans. I ask Congress to support tax creidts, incentives and loan
guarantees to help businesses raise uo to $15 billion to expand and bring jobs to our
underserved areas. Today,in board rooms all across America, businesses are planning new
investments in emerging markets in Eastern Europe and Asia. Let's help them recognize that
the our greatest untapped markets arre not overseas ~ they are right here at home.
�up at least $100 million, then the government will guarantee
another $200 million in loans. Now, if five groups of investors do
the same thing, that's $1.5 billion in equity for investment in
underserved America.
Forwarded by Michael Waldman/WHO/EOP on 01/18/99 01:42 AM
•
June Shih
Record Type:
To:
01/1 6/99 0 1 : 4 6 : 1 9 PM
Record
Michael Waldman/WHO/EOP
cc:
Subject: Re:
^
We must also bring the spark of private enterprise into our inner cities and
remote rural areas. My balanced budget offers tax credits for investors in
underserved markets, increases support for community banks, and provides
100,000 vouchers to help people find affordable housing.
For years, America has supported OPIC, the Overseas Private
Investment Corporation to promote growth abroad. We ought to have an
APIC, an American Private Investment Corporation to open untapped
markets at home.
.
•
Forwarded by Michael Waldman/WHO/EOP on 01/18/99 01:42 AM
JuneShih
Record Type:
0 1 / I 6/99 02:1 5:24 PM
Record
To:
Michael Waldman/WHO/EOP
cc:
Joshua S. Gottheimer/WHO/EOP
Subject: flotus box
d a t a s h i n s e n t m e bio o f t h e asian m a n c h o s e n f o r f l o t u s b o x . let m e k n o w w h e n y o u n e e d i t .
—
Forwarded by Michael Waldman/WHO/EOP on 01 / I 8/99 01:42 AM
�
Dublin Core
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Title
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Michael Waldman
Description
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<p>Michael Waldman was Assistant to the President and Director of Speechwriting from 1995-1999. His responsibilities were writing and editing nearly 2,000 speeches, which included four State of the Union speeches and two Inaugural Addresses. From 1993 -1995 he served as Special Assistant to the President for Policy Coordination.</p>
<p>The collection generally consists of copies of speeches and speech drafts, talking points, memoranda, background material, correspondence, reports, handwritten notes, articles, clippings, and presidential schedules. A large volume of this collection was for the State of the Union speeches. Many of the speech drafts are heavily annotated with additions or deletions. There are a lot of articles and clippings in this collection.</p>
<p>Due to the size of this collection it has been divided into two segments. Use links below for access to the individual segments:<br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=43&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=2006-0469-F+Segment+1">Segment One</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=43&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=2006-0469-F+Segment+2">Segment Two</a></p>
Creator
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Michael Waldman
Office of Speechwriting
Date
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1993-1999
Identifier
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2006-0469-F
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Segment One contains 1071 folders in 72 boxes.
Segment Two contains 868 folders in 66 boxes.
Provenance
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Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
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William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
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Adobe Acrobat Document
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paper
Dublin Core
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Title
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SOTU [State of the Union] 1999 Speech Drafts 1/17/99 - 1/18/99 [Binder] [6]
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Office of Speechwriting
Michael Waldman
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Box 46
<a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/show/36403"> Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7763296">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
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2006-0469-F Segment 1
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White House Staff and Office Files
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William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
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Adobe Acrobat Document
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Preservation-Reproduction-Reference
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6/3/2015
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7763296
42-t-7763296-20060469F-Seg1-046-010-2015