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�Draft 1/17/99 4pm
sotu99.16
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.
First, let me recognize two individuals who are
sitting in thefrorettniigihtwith Mrs. Hastert, Lyn Gibson
and Wei Ling Chestnut « the widbws of the two brave
Capitol Police Officers who gave their lives to defend
freedom's house.
PHOTOCOPY
WJC HANDWRJTING
�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 ^E^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.
PHOTOCOPY
A/JC HANDWRITING
�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 §e^ikk,
are 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.
PHOTOCOPY
W J C HANDWRITING
�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-fe^the 21st
CenturyAupon what we do today. With our budget surplus
growing, our economy expanding, and our confidence
rising, now it io our gcncratiofr^s-rosponsibility to meet
the^ftgge^lon^tmri challengesdf-of 21 st Century*
THE AGTNG OF 21st CENTURY AMERICA
Our fiscal discipline gives us an unsurpassed
opportunity to address a remarkable new challenge: the
aging of America.
PHOTOCOPY
WJC HANDWRITING
�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 21 st 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.
7
�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.
8
�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
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 women, who are
twice as likely to be poor as other seniors -- and eliminate
the limits on what senior citizens on Social Security can
earn.
�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.
10
�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 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.
ll
�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 21 st 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.
12
�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.
13
�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.
14
�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 have 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.
15
�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.
16
�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.
17
�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.
18
�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.
19
�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 tum
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 tum around their failing schools.
20
�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.
21
�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.
22
�Fifth, 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 leam 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.
23
�If we do these things ~ end social promotion, tum
around failing schools and build modem ones, 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.
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.
24
�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.
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.
25
�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.
26
�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 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:
27
�This year, we will pass a strong and enforceable Patients'
Bill of Rights ... so every American has 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.
28
�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.
29
�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 Gorrgress to increase supporbfoc
communily health cenimaiRl public hospttafe-soihat
they better provide basiacare for fafflilieseev^ragc altogether.
3 0
PHOTOCOPY
WJC HANDWRITING
�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 - 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.
31
�For decades the tobacco industry has passed too
much of the real cost of smoking — medical care for
illnesses from cancer to emphysema — onto you, the
taxpayers. It is time to recover those costs, as the states
have done.
Tonight, I am directing the Department of Justice to
prepare and bring a lawsuit against the tobacco
companies for the costs to Medicare of tobacco-related
illnesses.
32
�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
Next, we must build a 21st Century economy for all
Americans.
1 Today, America is the most dynamic, competitive,
job creating economy in history.
But we can do better.
33
PHOTOCOPY
WJC HANDWRITING
�We mustriii3ke"a~ptace for all oar people in the new
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 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
grade level.
34
PHOTOCOPY
WJC HANDWRITING
�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.
We also must bring the spark of private enterprise
into inner cities and remote rural areas, with support for
community development banks and affordable housing.
35
�And I ask Congress to support our new plan to help
businesses raise upt o $15 billion to bring jobs and
oportunity to our ninner 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.
36
�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 21 st 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 21 st.
37
�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.
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 we have a chance to contain it.
38
�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 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.
39
�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, America will respond.
Still, the best course for the United States and the
world is increased trade. Therefore, I call for a new
Yound of] global negotiations to expand our exports of
farm products, services and manufactures.
40
�We must also press for trade that promotes the
dignity of work, the rights of workers, and environmental
protection. We must insist that 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.
41
�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 21 st
Century prosperity for America.
42
�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 ~
^brriitHt.
4 3
PHOTOCOPY
WJC HANDWRITING
�All Americans can be proud that our leadership has
put Bosnia on the path to peace. This ycai, wc v\414-hclp
thaq^^etnukelI5epe£=a)ot - aswexontinue to bimg-our
k tend in Kosovo
u
™ ^^rV^ffTtn^
i U a
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 suppert the Wye Agreement
PHOTOCOPY
WJC HANDWRITING
44
�. . . 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 witii?
defend our security wherever we are threatened ~ as we
did this summer when we struck at^Osama bin Laden's
ftotwork ofterror. 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. Ifesy
deseaeepiulAliun, iiLiaugmliun aud oupport.-kefe^pye
tfrem^the resources they need so America can continue to
lead.
PHOTOCOPY
WJC HANDWRITING
45
�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 increases our efforts to restrain the spread
of nuclear weapons, from North Korea to India and
Pakistan.
My balaneedim^et^wiH 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.
^
U ^ T ^ U ^ M ^
PHOTOCOPY
WJC HANDWRITING
46
�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.
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
47
PHOTOCOPY
WJC HANDWRITING
�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
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
48
�that began in 1985. -fca^year,(tpgethep we added nearly
$6 billion to maintain our readiness!' My balanced budget
calls for an increase of $12 billion for readiness and
modernization, and qa^ft flWiil^Q^ide 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 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
4 9
PHOTOCOPY
WJC HANDWRITING
�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
50
�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 wc must icaffiHfl^hul 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
peace and^domocracy
nowhere more important than in
51
PHOTOCOPY
WJC HANDWR!T!NG
�Nigeria. And because trade and investment are the keys
to African-p^espflSrity - we must finally pass the Africa
Growth and Opportunity Act.
We are-strengthening our ties to the Americas ~ to
educate children, fight drugs,
democracy .asd^/^t.
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.
PHOTOCOPY
WJC HANDWRITING
52
�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.
53
�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.
21ST CENTURY COMMUNITIES
As the world has changed, so have our own
communities. Wc must continue to strengthen them-fbr
•ttegrrrrrw^tttnear. We must make them safer, more
livable, and more united.
PHOTOCOPY
WJC HANDWRmNC
54
�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 rateldropped for the six"® 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
/WAJ
equips them with
tools, from crime-mapping
computers to digital mug shots.
PHOTOCOPY
WJC HANDWRfTINQ
55
�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 keep our schools the safest places in
our communities.
56
�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.
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.
57
PHOTOCOPY
WJC HANDWRITING
�I ask Congress to pass my plan to strengthen the Safe
and Drug-Free School Act, and to hire and train 2,000
new community police and school resource officers to
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.
58
�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 If^h 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.
PHOTOCOPY
WJC HANDWRITING
59
�Erery community faceg( 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 siajor initiatives: first, a
IK.
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. I thank Vice
President Gorefdeading role indyp
nronosial
1
PHOTOCOPY
WJC HANDWRITING
60
�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.
61
�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 21 st 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.
62
�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 tiT^#^ej^betw^Ffe^afi£&. 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.
63
PHOTOCOPY
WJC HANDWRITINQ
�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 NonDiscrimination 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.
64
�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.
65
�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.
66
�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 FactoryHarriet Tubman's Home,!
^flTr^TirrTTmrn i M Conmrrntrir] nf Finn rn
^ 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
treasures in
every community.
67
PHOTOCOPY
WJC HANDWRITINQ
�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 21 st Century.
We must-kee^ralive, in ways large and small, what
George Washington called "the sacred fire of liberty.
5?
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.
PHOTOCOPY
WJC HANDWRITIMQ
Do
�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 rosolvic 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.
mcmmmmm
69
�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 put aside our
divisions and found a new hour of healing and
hopefulness; that together we rekindled our ideals in
genuine public service.
70
�Let us lift our eyes as one nation, and from the
mountaintop of this American century, look ahead to the
next one.
~~i^rf us join our spirit's and our wills for Lhe^work
""^efbre^uS'. HA^ask God's blessing on our endeavors and
our beloved country.
7 1
PHOTOCOPY
WJC HANDWRim'O
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Michael Waldman
Description
An account of the resource
<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
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Michael Waldman
Office of Speechwriting
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1993-1999
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2006-0469-F
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
Segment One contains 1071 folders in 72 boxes.
Segment Two contains 868 folders in 66 boxes.
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Adobe Acrobat Document
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
paper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
MW [Michael Waldman] Personal: [1999 State of the Union] [Folder 3]
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Office of Speechwriting
Michael Waldman
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Box 38
<a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/show/36404"> Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7763296">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2006-0469-F Segment 2
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
White House Staff and Office Files
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Adobe Acrobat Document
Medium
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Preservation-Reproduction-Reference
Date Created
Date of creation of the resource.
6/3/2015
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
7763296
42-t-7763296-20060469F-Seg2-038-002-2015