-
https://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/files/original/3512e21aeeb7938748bab1633ab73b0d.pdf
3f47e509a2b8ad23ae97effc386ddc49
PDF Text
Text
FOIA Number:
2006-0469-F (2)
FOIA
MARKER
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the William J. Clinton
Presidential Library Staff.
Collection/Record Group:
Clinton Presidential Records
Subgroup/Office of Origin:
Speechwriting
Series/Staff Member:
Michael Waldman
Subseries:
14460
OA/ID Number:
FolderlD:
Folder Title:
SOTU [State of the Union] January 1996: [Drafts]
Stack:
Row:
Section:
Shelf:
Position:
s
92
4
5
3
�Withdrawal/Redaction Sheet
Clinton Library
DOCUMENT NO.
AND TYPE
001. paper
SUBJECT/TITLE
DATE
RE: Phone numbers [partial] (1 page)
n.d.
RESTRICTION
P6/b(6)
COLLECTION:
Clinton Presidential Records
Speechwriting
Michael Waldman
OA/Box Number:
14460
FOLDER TITLE:
SOTU [State of the Union] January 1996: [Drafts]
2006-0469-F
dbl945
RESTRICTION CODES
Presidential Records Act - |44 U.S.C. 2204(a)|
Freedom of Information Act - |5 U.S.C. 552(b)|
Pi
P2
P3
P4
b(l) National security classified information |(bXl) of the F01A|
b(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of
an agency 1(b)(2) of the FOIA)
b(3) Release would violate a Federal statute |(bX3) of the FOIA)
b(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial
information 1(b)(4) of the FOIA|
b(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy 1(b)(6) of the FOIA)
b(7) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement
purposes 1(b)(7) of the FOIA)
b(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of
financial institutions [(b)(8) of the FOIA)
b(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information
concerning wells 1(b)(9) of the FOIA|
National Security Classified Information 1(a)(1) of the PRA|
Relating to the appointment to Federal office 1(a)(2) of the PRA|
Release would violate a Federal statute 1(a)(3) of the PRA|
Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or
financial information 1(a)(4) of the PRA|
P5 Release would disclose confidential advice between the President
and his advisors, or between such advisors |a)(5) of the PRA|
P6 Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy 1(a)(6) of the PRA]
C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed
of gift.
PRM. Personal record misfile defined in accordance with 44 U.S.C.
2201(3).
RR. Document will be reviewed upon request.
�Draft January 18, 1996 4pm
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
"AMERICA'S CHALLENGE"
STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
U.S. CAPITOL
JANUARY 23, 1996
A
^.
'
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice-President, Members of the 104th Congress, distinguished
guests:
Tonight, I speak not only to all of you, and to those listening across America. I speak
also to our men and women in uniform around the world, especially to those helping peace
take root in Bosnia. To our warriors for peace, I say: we are proud of you.
The Constitution requires me to address the state of our union. Not what government
alone can accomplish. Nor what individuals alone can do. But what we as a nation ~
communities, businesses, churches, schools - must do together.
The State of our Union is strong - strong as it has ever been. Our economy is the
strongest in three decades. Our fundamental values are coming back. America remains the
world's strongest force for peace and freedom.
We in Washington must build on this progress. It is time, once and for all, to come to
agreement on a balanced budget in a way that reflects our values.
�In months of negotiation. Democrats and Republicans have come very close to finding
common ground. We can balance the budget, cut spending using conservative assumptions
from Congress' economists, reform welfare, and reduce taxes. A balanced budget is within our
grasp. I believe we can and must seize this moment . . . without devastating Medicare and
Medicaid, without hurting education and the environment. In the weeks to come, I look
forward to working with the Congress, to resolve our disagreements, and balance the budget.
Let me be clear: If Congress will not join me, I will act alone to give the American
people the change they demand.
We have already given 35 states freedom to overhaul their welfare systems. If we
cannot agree on bipartisan welfare reform legislation, I will challenge all 50 states to go
further - to impose time limits and require welfare recipients to work. On my watch, we will
end welfare as we know it.
Every year as President, I will submit to the Congress budgets that cut spending
enough so that we move toward a balanced budget in seven years. On my watch, we will
balance the budget.
America is the greatest nation on earth. We are its leaders, and we must behave
responsibly. No public servant should ever threaten the full faith and credit of the United
States. And no public servant should ever - ever — shut down the government again.
�Tonight, it is time for us to talk about the future.
This is a moment of great change - and great opportunity.
Throughout our history,
we have come together around three great ideals: First, our belief in progress — that every
American can dream of a better future, and that hard work can make those dreams come true.
Second, our love of liberty. And third, our constant struggle to find common ground.
Tonight, our challenge — America's Challenge — is to preserve these old American
ideals for a new time.
For America was built on challenges, not promises. We don't need another program
for every problem. We must ask more of ourselves, and expect more from one another. That
means challenging every citizen to stand guard in the war on crime and drugs . . . challenging
parents and teachers to renew our schools . . . challenging government and business to give
workers health care they can carry with them throughout a career . . . and challenging fathers
to take responsibility for their children.
We will only rise to our challenges by speaking honestly about the duties we owe one
another and the possibilities of what we as a nation can do together. So tonight, I want to
talk about seven great challenges that America must meet as we move into the next century.
The first challenge is for every one of us to join together to take back our streets
�from crime and gangs and drugs.
We here in this chamber must do our part.
That means keeping guns out of the hands of criminals. Under the Brady Bill, 45,000
criminals have been stopped from buying guns. If anyone tries to repeal the Brady Bill and
the assault weapons ban, I will veto it.
That means putting more police on the street through community policing. Across
America, we are making good on our promise to put 100,000 new police on our streets. And
if Congress passes a bill to stop us from putting 100,000 police on the street, I will veto it.
And I challenge Congress to honor the men and women who protect us every day by
passing my bill to ban cop-killer bullets.
We made three-strikes-and-you're-out the law of the land, and said if you kill a law
enforcement officer, you should get the death penalty. Tonight, I challenge judges,
prosecutors, and legislators in every state to meet a new national goal: by the year 2000,
every violent criminal must be required to serve at least 85% of his sentence.
But we could hire a million more police and build a million new prison cells, and we
would not win this war on crime and drugs unless we all step out from behind closed doors
�and shuttered windows to work with the police and with each other.
All over America, citizens are taking responsibility, spotting trouble, watching out for
their neighbors, blowing the whistle on crack houses. In city after city, the crime rate has
dropped three years in a row for thefirsttime in decades. In New York, murders are down
25%; St. Louis, 18%; Seattle, 32%. Two years ago, the people of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana,
were under siege -- literally sleeping in their hallways to avoid stray bullets. Then police
began working with the neighbors to drive drug dealers off the street. The crime rate in
Jefferson Parish has dropped 60%. That is what can happen when law-abiding Americans rise
to the challenge of fighting crime together.
And that is how we will address the one type of crime that continues to rise: violence
by juveniles.
A few years ago, I spoke to grade school children in South Central Los Angeles.
They told me their biggest fear was getting shot on the way to school ~ and their second
biggest fear was being forced to join a gang when they turn 12. That is no way for any
American child to grow up.
Government will do its part: Tonight I am directing our nation's prosecutors to step up
prosecutions of violent juveniles as adults. And I am directing the FBI and other
investigative agencies to target gangs that involve juveniles in violent crime. It is time to
�break the gangs the way we broke the mob.
Communities must do their part. I challenge local housing authorities, and public
housing residents, to link arms to evict the gangs and the drug dealers. From now on, for
public housing residents who get involved in drugs and crime, the rule should be: One strike
and you're out.
And to every teacher and preacher and to every parent in this chamber and around this
country, I say: teach our children right from wrong, and help them see through the false
glamour of drugs and crime.
Tonight we have someone who by his very example can do just that. Brian McCaffrey
is a four star General, an architect of our victory in the Persian Gulf. Today, he commands
our military's campaign against drug kingpins in Latin America. Tomorrow, I will nominate
him as my "drug czar" to command a campaign against drugs on our streets. Thank you.
General McCaffrey. [In the balcony with the First Lady.]
The second challenge is to work together to cherish our children and renew our
schools for a new century.
Washington alone will not achieve this vital national mission. The job must be done in
our classrooms and living rooms.
�First, we must raise our sights by demanding high standards. We should insist that
every teacher meet basic competency standards . . . that every student meet national standards
of excellence . . . that every parent take responsibility for their children . . . and that every
school be held accountable for results.
I challenge every state to give parents the right to choose their child's public school.
And if the idea of choice in public schools is to be real, we must give parents and teachers
the right to start better public schools -- charter schools -- if the current ones do not work.
Second, we must mount a massive national effort - as ambitious as any this nation
has ever undertaken ~ to bring our schools into the 21st century. In the age of the microchip,
technological literacy is now as important as learning to read, write, and do math. When we
walk into any school in the 21st century -- five years from now -- we should see every
classroom connected to the outside world . . . a cutting-edge computer accessible to every
student . . . and teachers with the skills and the software to make technology as exciting in
the classroom as it is in the video arcade. Tens of millions of parents have watched their
children play every video game from Mortal Kombat to Killer Instinct. From now on, the
most important computer game in America must be learning.
Educators, scientists and business leaders must join in connecting the schools and
preparing our students for the future. And what is our part here? If a company or community
is willing to donate money to put new computers in the schools, we will match that donation
�dollar for dollar.
Third, we know that the GI Bill after World War II created an explosion of
opportunity that built the middle class. That is why every year of my presidency, I have taken
every step possible to open wide the doors of college for anyone who is willing to work hard
and seek excellence.
We created a new college loan program that makes it easier and cheaper to borrow
and repay the money for college. We have given scholarships to a record number of
deserving students, and enabled 50,000 of them to earn their way through college by serving
their community. And last year, I asked the Congress to make $10,000 of college tuition costs
tax deductible. If businesses can deduct the cost of their equipment, then families should be
able to deduct the cost of a college education.
Tonight, I propose two more steps to inspire excellence and reward hard work. First,
a $1000 merit scholarship for the top 5% of graduating students in every secondary school in
America. Second, a dramatic expansion of college work-study. I want to make it possible for
1 million young Americans to be working their way through college by the Year 2000.
And tonight I ask colleges and universities to make a promise to those hard-working
students - don't let the cost of college rise faster than Americans' incomes.
�We owe our children something else as well. We must stand up together as adults to
protect our children from the glorification of violence and degradation of values that assault
them every day.
We must say to those in the entertainment industry: create TV shows as if your own
children were going to watch them. And parents, if you don't like what your children are
watching, turn the thing off.
To those who produce and market cigarettes, we must say: take responsibility for your
actions. Sell your products to adults, if you wish. But draw the line on children.
We must challenge our schools to teach ethics and values. And if it will stop children
from shooting children for designer shoes, then schools should be able to require student
uniforms.
We must challenge our young people not to get pregnant or father a child until they
are married. Tonight, I am pleased to say that a group of prominent media, business and civic
leaders have answered my call for a new national campaign against teen pregnancy.
Higher standards. Technology in the classroom. An aggressive strategy to open wider
the doors of college. Teaching our children right from wrong. That is the duty we owe our
children.
�America's third challenge is this: we must change the rules so people can take
health insurance from job to job.
It is wrong that insurance companies compete by cutting off coverage to sick people.
It is wrong that Congress has not passed a law to change that. We should enact reforms to
stop insurance companies from denying you coverage or raising rates when you are changing
jobs, because you or a member of your family have a preexisting condition. Republican
Senator Nancy Kassebaum and Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy have introduced a bill to
make the rules fair. It is bipartisan, and it is strong. Send it to me, and I will sign it.
We should help give small businesses the same purchasing power to buy health care as
big businesses, and find a way to ensure that if you lose your job, you don't lose your health
care.
We need to crack down on Medicare fraud, which costs [x billion] every year. But
government should not have to do it alone. I challenge the American Medical Association to
stop standing in the way of tougher prosecutions, and take responsibility for policing your
own.
And I challenge Congress: It is one of the great strengths of our country that poor
children and the disabled have a guarantee of quality health care. It is a good thing that older
Americans know they will receive quality care, so they can live out their lives in dignity. As
10
�long as "I am President, I will stand up for these basic values.
My fourth challenge is this: government and businesses must join to give our
people the tools they need to become winners of economic change.
America's economy is growing, steady and strong. Over the last three years, we have
had the strongest growth of any major economy. The combined rate of inflation and
unemployment is the lowest in 27 years. Home ownership is at its highest rate in 15 years.
Businesses have created over 7 million American jobs. Businesses owned by women employ
more people than the Fortune 500 combined. Three years ago, we were losing jobs in
construction; today, we have gained nearly 800,000. A decade ago, the auto industry was on
its back. Today, Detroit is beating Japan for the first time since the 1970s.
Thanks in no small measure to the work of Vice-President Gore, the federal workforce
is the smallest in 30 years, and getting smaller every day. We have cut 16,000 pages of
unnecessary rules and regulations. Government works better, costs less, and produces results,
not red tape.
Today's economy offers real opportunity for our people; our challenge is to ensure that
all Americans reap the rewards.
That is why I challenge Congress to pass my GI Bill for workers. It would
11
�consolidate 70 overlapping job training programs, and give the money directly to American
workers to pay for tuition at a community college or training at their next job.
People who
need new skills shouldn't have to waste their time waiting in line at a government office.
We should make it easier for small businesses to start pension plans, and easier for
Americans to save for their retirement.
And businesses have a responsibility to make sure that pensions are secure. If
Congress sends me legislation that lets big companies raid their workers' pensions, I will veto
it.
And we all have a responsibility to honor work and make work pay. Millions of
Americans — many of them women with children — earn the minimum wage, now at a 40
year low. A year ago, I called on Congress to raise the minimum wage. Since then, its value
has dropped $250 -- while Congress* pay has gone up [x]. That's wrong.
In the new economy, we recognize that a clean environment is good for business. We
will challenge business: if you can meet tough pollution goals, we will let youfindthe
cheapest and most efficient way to do it.
We will challenge businesses to clean up polluted sites in the inner city, and we will
cut the red tape and call off the lawyers when they do.
12
�We will draw on the expertise of thousands of backyard community environmental
groups, by expanding the nght-to-know laws that make companies disclose the toxic
chemicals they release into their neighborhood.
Make no mistake: these reforms will make it easier to protect the environment, not
easier to pollute it. We will see to it that the air we breathe and the water we drink are safe - and that our natural heritage is preserved for generations to come.
Our fifth challenge is this: All of us have a duty to rebuild the American family.
Bringing a child into the world is the most extraordinary responsibility any man or
woman can have. No job is more important than loving your child, reading to your child,
teaching your child to play and to pray. As parents, as grandparents, we all need to do our
part to give our children strong and loving families.
For too long, too many government policies — however well-intentioned — have
undermined the family, not made it stronger. That is why I have spent my entire career
working to reform our welfare system, which penalizes work, discourages responsibility, and
breaks up families.
We have made real progress toward enacting sweeping welfare reform that will end
welfare as a way of life. We agree on the need for time limits, tough work requirements, and
13
�the toughest possible child support enforcement. But let's not fool ourselves. We must
provide more child care so mothers will go to work, not stay at home and stay on welfare.
Send me a bipartisan welfare reform bill that will move people from welfare to work, and I'll
sign it in a heartbeat.
But that is only the beginning of welfare reform. We must require people to take jobs,
but we must all commit ourselves to creating new jobs for them to take. I challenge
businesses across America to hire people who want to work their way off welfare.
And I challenge all of us here, across party lines, to reward work over welfare by
uniting behind the Earned Income Tax Credit, which President Reagan called the best antipoverty, the best pro-family, the best job-creation program on the books.
But I also believe it's time to stop making women take the fall for this problem. As a
father, I challenge America's fathers: step forward and accept more responsibility for your
children. If you owe child support, pay it. It is not enough to send your children a check.
You have to give them your time.
One of the proudest things we have done was to pass family leave, which lets people
take time off to care for a new child or a sick parent. But it should not take a law for
corporations to take responsibility. Don't force your workers to choose between their job and
their family.
14
�Finally, let us remember that we can only build strong families when men and women
respect each other. We must work together to end domestic violence. So to men all over this
country — I ask you to pledge never — never — raise a hand in violence to a woman.
Our sixth great challenge is to meet our responsibility to lead the world.
In the American century, we have led the fight for freedom and peace ~ and won.
More people than ever before live free, more nations enjoy peace — and Americans have
known half a century of prosperity and security.
Today, all over the world, people look up to us not only because of our power, but
because of what we stand for — and what we stand against. And they trust us to help them
seek the blessings of peace and freedom.
But as the Cold War fades, voices of isolation say America should retreat from the
responsibilities of leadership. I say they are wrong. We face a host of threats that are equal
opportunity destroyers with no respect for borders — ethnic and religious hatred... aggression
by rogue states... the spread of weapons of mass destruction... terrorism... organized crime...
drug trafficking. In the enduring struggle against chaos and evil, America must never be
neutral.
15
�- ' The isolationists are wrong. But so are those who would have us be the world's
policeman. Our reach and resources are limited. We can't be everywhere. We can't do
everything. But where we can make a difference -- and where our values and interests
demand it — America must lead. And we are.
By keeping our military strong... by using diplomacy where we can and force when we
must... by building coalitions to share the risk and the cost of our efforts.... and by being a
peacemaker ~ America is making a difference for our own people and for people around the
world.
We stayed engaged with Russia. Tonight, there are no Russian missiles pointed at our
cities or citizens.
We applied patient pressure to North Korea. Now, it is dismantling its dangerous
nuclear weapons program.
We used the threat of force in Haiti. Now, the dictators are gone, democracy is back
and the flow of refugees to our shores has ended.
We negotiated a better deal for America and opened markets abroad. Now, exports
are up and more Americans are working.
16
�We have stood with those who take risks for peace. Now, in Northern Ireland the
sound of car bombs has given way to the quiet blessings of normal life... and in the Middle
East, Arabs and Jews who once seemed destined to fight forever share knowledge, resources
and dreams. [We lost a great friend when Yitzhak Rabin was taken from us. But we can be
proud that the people of the Middle East arefindingthe strength to go forward, in part
because they know America will stand with them, now and forever.]
We stood down aggression and stood up for peace in Bosnia. Now, its playgrounds
are no longer killing fields.
We must go forward. We can cut the world's nuclear stockpiles by another XX
percent... if Congress ratifies the START II Treaty - this year. We can stop an entire new
generation of nuclear weapons... if we sign a truly Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty -- this
year. We can control chemical and biological weapons... if Congress approves the Chemical
Weapons Convention ~ this year. We can take the fight to terrorists and organized criminals
. . . if Congress finally passes legislation I proposed after Oklahoma City to give American
law enforcement an even stronger arsenal. We can help more people move from hatred to
hope . . . if Congress gives us the resources we need to remain leaders for peace.
If we reject the call of isolation and the role of policeman, we can remain a
peacemaker - a force for freedom and progress around the world and for real security and
prosperity at home. And the next century will be an American century, too.
17
�America's seventh and perhaps most important, challenge is this: to live up to our
values, and restore a sense of right and wrong, in our daily lives — and especially, a new
sense of personal responsibility for the future of our country.
We more than any people on earth should recognize the truth of the Gospel: "To
whom much is given, from them much is required."
We can start right here in this chamber. In the past year, we have passed many
important political reforms, applying to Congress the laws that apply to America, banning
gifts and meals from lobbyists to lawmakers, and forcing the lobbyists to fully disclose who
they are working for, what they are spending, and what bills they are trying to pass or kill.
But we all know that special interests give too much money to political campaigns.
And we must all take personal responsibility for changing it. A strong, bipartisan campaign
finance reform bill is waiting for your action. Let's pass it without delay.
[Today, Members of Congress spend taxpayer money to flood your districts with
unsolicited mailings. Give up the frank, and give it to the American people to make their
voices heard. And let's pass a law that makes former trade officials live by the same rules I
have imposed on my top trade officials not to become foreign lobbyists. I f you've represented
this country in trade talks, you should not be allowed to switch sides and sell your knowledge
18
�and access to the highest foreign bidder.]
I believe in a woman's right to choose an abortion. Some people disagree. But I
challenge people on both sides of the abortion divide to find common ground. Let us do
what we can to encourage adoption, and unite the thousands of eligible parents who want a
child with the thousands of babies who need a loving home.
I am proud of the 25,000 young AmeriCorps members, working in communities -raising reading scores, pulling garbage out of rivers, immunizing children. But we shouldn't
stop there. Those of us who want government to get smaller but don't want the schools to
decline, the drinking water to get dirty, or crime to worsen — we have an obligation to
actually do something about these problems ourselves. I challenge every citizen to give
something back to their country -- from volunteering at an AIDS clinic to adopting a child.
Two decades ago, the average American lived only five years after retirement; today,
they live twenty years, (ck) So let me issue a special summons to our nation's seniors, who
have the time and the wisdom to teach us all: let your retirement years be a season of service.
We can all gain from your lifetime of experience.
Every one of us must seek common ground with our fellow Americans -- to reach out
beyond our differences, across the lines of race, class, and beliefs, to open our hearts and
minds. When we can meet each other, we will meet any challenge we face as we approach a
19
�new century.
Conclusion
These challenges - from renewing our schools to winning the war against crime — are
linked not by government spending or individual ambition, but by a single important idea that
built this country: the duty we owe to one another. From the moment our founders pledged
to each other their "lives, their fortune, and their sacred honor," Americans have been bound
to one another not by blood, not even by geography, but by common ideals and a sense of
common purpose. Let us never forget: When Americans gather in their homes, their schools,
their churches, or at work, they have far greater power to shape our nation's destiny than do
any of us in this august chamber.
I have asked a lot of America this evening. But I have no doubts. For I know that
the "more we ask of ourselves as Americans, the more we can achieve.
This summer, we will see a special light shine all across America — the torch that will
be carried from Los Angeles to Atlanta for the centennial modem Olympic games. That torch
will not be carried by star athletes, but by a breed of heroes who are meeting the very
challenges we have talked about here tonight. The bearers of the Olympic torch are
Americans who get up every day and use their energy to make this country better -- brighter - one neighborhood, one school, one community at a time.
20
�Most of these heroes will be announced next month. But I am proud that the first
three are here with us tonight [description to come]
My fellow Americans, like them, each of us must hold high the torch in our own lives.
But none of us canfinishthe race alone.
The belief in progress, the love of liberty, the eternal struggle for common ground.
Those are the ideals that have lighted our way for 200 years. If we keep them burning bright
and we do it together, then we will keep the American Dream alive in the century ahead.
That is America's Challenge.
Thank you, and God bless America.
21
�' Most of these heroes will be announced next month. But I am proud that the first
three are here with us tonight [description to come]
My fellow Americans, like them, each of us must hold high the torch in our own lives.
But none of us can finish the race alone.
The belief in progress, the love of liberty, the eternal struggle for common ground.
Those are the ideals that have lighted our way for 200 years. If we keep them burning bright
and we do it together, then we will keep the American Dream alive in the century ahead.
That is America's Challenge.
Thank you, and God bless America.
21
�®
6
A CUNNINGHAM
Those of us who are worried about tho t ost of jrovermnent bul don't want iho schools to
duturiorato, tho drinking water to get dirly, or mmt; to worson - wo have an obligation U
>
actually do somi'lhinc, about th(««> probloms yourself. And I'm not talking about writing a
lollor to your i ongrossman. I'm talking about leaving tho hous<? and working ~ hands on ~ to
solve a problem in your lommunity.
So many Amoriians arc; alroudy doing il. And thoy an*, nothing loss than Amoru an horos. They
1
an th«i working mothers who can barely make time to took themselves dinner bul nonetheless
insist on brinj',in^ meals to homehound seniors. They are the members of the Junior Leagues
and the Kiwanis Clubs, who have had service al the core for decades. They are the people who
volunteer through extraordinary American institutions like the Boys Clubs, the YMCAs or the
Rod Cross - or those who volunlwr al ihe little known shelter down the blocks thai struggles to
make a few beds available for a few needy. They are the millions of Americans who not only
attend synagogue or church but take to heart - and pul into at lion ~ ihe message of the Gospel:
"To whom much is given, from them much is nttjuirod."
And they are Ihe counlry's senior citi7^ns. f-'mm listening to the debate aboul Medicare it's easy
lo get ihe impression thai seniors are only a burden. Bul consider this: Twenty years ago, Ihe
average American lived only 5 years after retiromenl. Now ihey live 20 years, [ck numbers].
Retirees can bo - and have; been
an awesome resource. One small example. In Grand Rapids,
Michigan, A Foster Grandparents program matched up older volunteers with teenage mothers.
Of Ihe 45 teens enrolled, only three became pregnant. Without this kind of help, it was expected
that a third would haver gotten pregnant again and burdened themselves and society.
While most of the answers will be found in individual effort and faith, there an; limes when
governmenl can help. Son. Dan Coats of Indiana has proposed legislation lhal would use tax
credits and governmenl grants to, in his words, "take the side of people and instilutions who
are rebuilding their own communities - and who often fool isolated and poorly equipped." Thai
tj£)
�© 6
A CUNNINGHAM
P01
might moan i red ling rigorous residenliaJ acatlcrmies lo bring some structure to the lives of
leenagers from broken families. Or it might mean linking up high schools to Big Brothers or Big
Sisters programs lhal provide effective mentoring.
And I'm proud to say lhal AmeriCorps, ihe national service; program thai Democrats and
Republicans set up a couple of years ago, has already helped out in remarkable ways. So far
25,000 [ck] young people have been working in iheir communities raising reading scores in
schools, pulling garbage out of rivers, helping police shut down irackhousi-*.
Sometimes
AmeriCorps members have oven helped private charities do their job beller. At the Habitat for
Humanity in Miami, 24 AmeriCorps members - coming from every conceivable background helped supervise another 5,(XX) unpaid volunteers to build 90 low income houses for ihe pwr lo
live in and own. [i k] That's u beller nn-ord than any governmenl program I know of, and best of
all il was done by citi/ons standing side by side hammering nails, sawing boards and,
sometimes, praying together until .i family's dream of home ownership had become a reality.
[olympics stuff]
You know when former President George Bush a few years back called for a 1000 points of light,
some Democrats mocked him. Bul he was on to a very importanl idea. There is no single big
solution Ui our problems - not from governmenl or Ihe free market. No there is no ono solution
-- then' are thousands of solutions in our communities if we're willing to work together. There
are thousands of solutions because Ihero are thousands of heros, men and women on every
block of every street in America who have laken on the rosponsibilily of helping their neighbors,
their community and iheir nation. No one has captured this spirit better than Martin Lulher
King when he said, "Anyone can be greal because anyone can serve."
[get full quote from Clinton's MLK day speech]
�Draft January 17, 1996 am
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
"AMERICA'S CHALLENGE"
STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
U.S. CAPITOL
JANUARY 23, 1996
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice-President, Members of the 104th Congress, distinguished
guests:
The State of our Union is strong - as strong as it has ever been. Our economy is the
strongest it has been in three decades. Through our strength and our moral leadership,
America remains the world's strongest force for peace and freedom. Let me say a special
word to our men and women in uniform who stand sentry around the world, esepcially in
Bosnia, who are listening tonight: we salute you.
It is traditional in a State-of-the-Union Address for Presidents to set forth their plans
for the government. But tonight I want to speak with you about something much larger and
more important. Tonight I will speak not about what government alone can accomplish.
1
�Nor what individuals alone can do. But what we as a nation ~ communities, businesses,
churches, schools - can do together. For only a grand alliance of xxxxxxxxxcan truly meet
the challenges of this new time.
America is blessed with tremendous opportunities, and faces bracing challenges. If we
all work together, we can meet these challenges. But befoer we do this, we in Washington
must finish our work and come to agreement — to balance the budget, cut wasteful spending,
reform welfare, and give the American people a modest tax cut.
In long weeks of negotiation, both Democrats and Republicans have come close, very
close, to finding common ground. Both parties agree: we should balance the budget, using
1
conservative economic assumptions from Congress economists, and reduce taxes. There are
differences between us. But in three months of negotiations, we have significantly narrowed
those differences. A balanced budget is within our grasp. I believe we can and must resolve
these differences without undercutting Medicare, without ending our guarantee of nursign
home care for our parents, without eroding educatinal opportunity for our children, without
pulling back on protecitons for the environment. In the weeks to come, I look forward to
working with the Congress, to enact our agreements, resolve our remaining disagreements,
and balance the budget.
If we fail to act in the interest of the American people — as Ifirmlyhope we will not
�— then I will act, in my capacity as president, to give the American people the change they
demand.
I will, to the extent of my authority, end welfare as we know it. Already, we have
given [36] states freedom to design their own welfare reform, to move people from welfare to
work and to xxx. Tonight I ask all 50 Governors to submit plans to impose time limits on
welfare, require welfare recipients to work, and to transform a program that does not work
into one that does. And I commit to xx so that by the end of this year, we will have put in
place real welfare reform in every state in the union.
And every year as President, I will submit to the Congress budgets that cut spending
enough so that the budget will be balanced in seven years. As long as I am President, we
will balance the budget.
Then we will have the chance to turn to our great challenges that will occupy us in the
coming year, and as we edge toward the new century.
Much more unites us than divides us. That vision has rescued our nation every time
we have been seriously tested. Throughout our history, we have come together around three
great ideals: First, our belief in progress - that every American can dream of a better future,
and that hard work can make those dreams come true. Second, our love of liberty. And
�third, our constant struggle to find common ground.
Now, at another moment of great change, our challenge - America's Challenge ~ is to
find a way to preserve these old American ideals in new times. America's Challenge is to call
on citizens in all walks of life to join together ... to win the war on crime, to renew our public
schools for a new century, to give Americans health care and economic independence so they
can be the winners of change.
The answers will not come from here in Washington alone, or from individuals acting
alone. They will come from all of us, acting together — in our communities, our churches,
our businesses, our homes, our neighborhoods, and, when necessary, through our government.
We must ask more of ourselves, and expect more from one another.
We will only rise to our challenges by speaking honestly about the duties we owe one
another and the possibilities of what we as a nation can do together. So tonight, I want to
speak directly about eight great challenges that America must meet as we move into the next
century. For America was built on challenges, not promises.
America's first challenge is to keep our citizens safe from crime and gangs and
drugs.
To fight crime, a coalition of goemment, citizen groups, neighborhood associations
and individuals is need
For 3 years in a row, crime has gone down in this country. In New York, the murder
rate dropped 25% in one year; in St. Louis, 18%; in Seattle, 32%. Government is living up
to its first responsibility, to keep its citizens safe . . . and citizens are living up to their
�responsibility, by coming out from behind closed doors and shuttered windows to help one
another. Tonight, for thefirsttime in decades, we can say that America is winning the battle
against crime.
But we have not yet won the war. We still face the challenge to make the defense of
our streets as important as the defense of our shores.
That means keeping guns out of the hands of criminals. Under the Brady Bill, already
45,000 criminals have been stopped from buying guns. And that is why, if anyone tries to
repeal the Brady Bill and the assault weapons ban, I will veto it.
That means putting more police on the street through community policing ~ walking
the beat, working with neighbors, catching criminals and stopping crime before it happens.
And if Congress tries to gut the law that will put 100,000 more police on the street, I will
veto it.
In the days after the Oklahoma City bombing, Americans wore T-shirts with a simple
slogan: "A society that makes war against its police officers had better learn to make friends
with its criminals." Those officers put their lives on the line to protect us, every day. We owe
them our help, our support, our gratitude, and most of all, our undying respect.
We can cheer the drop in crime. We cannot begin to meet our other challenges until
we break the culture of crime that engulfs our young people. Crime among juveniles is the
one kind of crime that continues to rise. A few years ago, I spoke to grade school children in
South Central Los Angeles. They told me that their biggest fear was getting shot on the way
to school - and their second biggest fear was being forced to join a gang when they turn 12.
We need more efforts like the boys and girls clubs in Chicago to steer young people
away from drugs and crime.
People who live in public housing should live decent lives without being terrorized by
gangs. Tonight I am asking every housing authority to take all steps necessary to drive gangs
from public housing. From now on, for public housing residents involved in drugs and crime,
the rule will be: One strike and you're out. I am directing our nation's prosecutors to prosecute
violent juveniles as adults. And I am directing the FBI and other enforcement agencies to
target gangs that involve juveniles in violent crime. It is time to break the gangs the way we
broke the mob.
We must stop the scourge of illegal drugs among young people. Tomorrow, I will
nominate General Brian McCaffrey — a four star general and an architect of our victory in the
Persian Gulf — as my new Drug Czar. Today, he commands our military's campaign against
drug kingpins in Latin America. Soon, I hope he will command a campaign to teach our
nation's youth that drugs are wrong, deadly, and against the law. Thank you, General
McCaffrey. [In the balcony with the First Lady.]
�We must slam shut the revolving door that lets violent criminals go free. I am proud
that we passed the Violence Against Women Act, made three-strikes-and-you're-out the law of
the land, and said that if you kill a law enforcement officer, you will get the death penalty.
Tonight, I challenge judges, prosecutors, and legislators in every state to meet a new national
goal that, by the year 2000, every violent criminal will serve out at least 85% of his sentence.
All of this will make a difference. But, my friends, we could put a million new police
on the streets and build a million new prison cells, and we would not win this war on crime
and drugs unless we all join together — every one of us ~ to fight this fight.
America's fourth challenge is to give our people the tools they need to make the
most of their GjuLjjiven potential and become the winners of economic change.
\rhfse aregood times for America. For three straight years, we have had the strongest
growth of any major economy. Businesses have created nearly 8 million American jobs.
Three years ago, our auto industry was losing jobs. Today, it has gained over 700,000 jobs,
and Detroit is beating Japan for the first time since the 1970s. Three years ago, we were
losing jobs in construction; today, we have gained over 700,000. Small businesses owned by
women now employ more people than the Fortune 500. Home ownership is expanding more
rapidly than ever before, (ck) Thanks in no small measure to the work of Vice-President
Gore, we have cut 16,000 page of unnecessary rules and regulations - so government costs
less and works better to build our economy. And from coast to coast, remarkable new
industries like biotechnology and telecommunications are leading the world into the 21st
century.
In the industrial economy dominated by big companies, people got their health care,
their pensions and their training where they worked. Today, in the information age, more and
more people work in small businesses or at home. More than ever, we need to help people
| carry with them the fruits of their work -- their training, their health care, their retirement
benefits - so they can thrive in the new economy. We must not fear economic change. We
must conquer it.
\
We can do this, if Congress passes my GI Bill for workers, which will give people a
) training voucher they can take to a community college or their next job.
We can do it, if we enact reforms so that insurance companies cannot deny you
coverage or raise rates when you are changing jobs, because you or a member of your family
have a preexisting condition. We should help give small businesses the same purchasing
power to buy health care as big businesses, make it easier for women to get mammograms
every year, and find a way to ensure that if you lose your job, you don't lose your health care.
We can do this, if we cut through red tape to make it easier for small business to
provide pensions for their employees, so that every American can share the responsibility of
saving for retirement. I propose that every American be allowed to join the federal workers
�retirement system. I f it is good enough for federal workers, it should be good enough for
employees of small businesses across the country.
Economic growth and environmental protection go hand in hand. We should say to
business: if you can meet tough pollution goals, we will let you figure out how to do it in the
cheapest, most efficient way. We will give communities the right-to-know what toxic
chemicals are being released into their neighborhood, by expanding our pollution disclosure
order. And we will launch a "brownfields initiative" to waive the rules and call off the
lawyers for businesses that develop abandoned industrial sites.
And i f we honor work, then work must pay. Two and a half million Americans -many of them women with children ~ earn the minimum wage, and it is at a 40 year low. A
year ago, I called on Congress to raise the minimum wage. Since then, the value of the
minimum wage has dropped $250 ~ while Congress' pay has gone up [x]. That's wrong.
Congress should' incre^e the-miniinurn^ wage.
We will all be stronger the more our companies invest in the long term andlfeat their
'workers like their most valuable asset. Last month, the Maiden Mills factory in
Massachusetts burned to the ground, taking 2400 jobs with it. The mill's owner could have
cut his losses and left his workers behind. That's not what he did. Here's what he said at the
time -- quote: " I don't consider the workers an expense that can be cut. I know in the long ^
run that what I'm doing today will come back tenfold." His name is Aaron Fuerstein.^nd'he
is with us tonight. We salute him; and pledge to learn from his example. [Mr Fuerstein will
be in the First Lady's box.]
^
- ...
. Fifth, to renew the American dream of opportunity for all, I challenge parents,
teachers and students — and business and community leaders — to join a national
mission to renew our public schools for the challenges of Ihe 21st century.
Our best economic strategy is also our best opportunity strategy.
America was the first nation to believe that every child deserves an education. For two
hundred years, the public schools raised up generation after generation, and taught us what it
meant to be an American. They have opened the world of math and science and poetry and
history to the sons of farmers and the daughters of factory workers. Next year there will be
more young Americans in school than ever before. Yet today, our schools are not ready for
the new era. Our schools have low standards, dilapidated and crowded classrooms, and only
chalkboards in the age of the microchip.
To make our school succeed at this moment of change, tonight I propose a four part
challenge to renew every level of education in America for the new century.
We must raise our sights. We should insist that every teacher meet basic competency
standards . . . that every student meet national standards of excellence . . . that every parent
�take responsibility for their children . . . and that every school be held accountable for results.
Every state should give parents the right to choose their child's public school. And if
the idea of choice in public schools is to be real, we must give parents and teachers the right
to start better public schools ~ charter schools - if the current ones do not work.
We must recognize that technological literacy is now as important as learning to read,
write, and do math. Our goal is clear: when we walk into any school in the 21st century five years from now — we should see every classroom connected to the outside world . . . a
cutting-edge computer accessible to every student . . . and teachers with the skills and the
software to make technology as exciting in the classroom as it is in the video arcade. Tens of
millions of parents have watched their children play every video game from Mortal Kombat
to Killer Instinct. From now on, the most important computer game in America must be
learning.
Tonight I challenge educators, scientists and business leaders to join in connecting the
schools and prepare our people for the future. If a company or community is willing to
donate money to put new computers in the schools, we will match that donation dollar for
dollar, (policy decision needs to be made)
It is not enough to make our public schools the best in the world. We must make it
easier for deserving Americans to go to college. We have already made it easier for people
to pay back their college loans.
And last year, I asked the Congress to make $10,000 of college tuition costs tax
deductible. I f businesses can deduct the cost of their equipment, then families should be able
to deduct the cost of a college education.
Tonight, I propose two more steps to open the doors of college for people who are
willing to work hard and excel. First, a $2000 merit scholarship for the top 2% of graduating
students in every secondary school in America. Second, a dramatic expansion of college
work-study, so that 1 million young Americans will be working their way through college by
the Year 2000. (ck)
Higher standards. Public school choice. Technology in the classroom. And an
aggressive strategy to open wider the doors of college. That is my education challenge.
Because when our schools succeed, America succeeds.
America's eighth and perhaps most important, challenge is this: to live up to our
values, and restore a sense of right and wrong, in our daily lives. I challenge Americans
in all walks of life to reach within themselves and find a new sense of personal
responsibility.
As Americans, we more than any people on earth should recognize the truth of the
�Gospel: "To whom much is given, from them much is required." We need a rebirth of ethics,
of values, of the moral code that this country was built on. Only if we share a community of
values, can we value community.
Throughout our history, Americans have always joined together as neighbors and
citizens to build strong communities and a strong country. We need that spirit more than
ever today.
That means:
•
We in this chamber should give the government back to the people. In the past year,
we have already applied to Congress the laws that apply to America, banned gifts and
meals from lobbyists to lawmakers, and forced the lobbyists to fully disclose who they
are working for, what they are spending, and what bills they are trying to pass or kill.
But we all know that special interests give too much money in political campaigns.
And we should all take personal responsibility for changing it. There is a strong,
bipartisan campaign finance reform bill, waiting for action. Let's pass it without delay.
•
We must challenge our young people not to get pregnant or father a child until they
are ready. Tonight, I am pleased to announce that a group of prominent Americans
have answered this call, and are forming a new national organization to enlist the
media, business and communities to help our young people do the right thing.
•
I believe in a woman's right to choose an abortion. Some people deeply disagree. But
I challenge people on both sides of the abortion divide to find common ground. At
the very least, let us do what we can to encourage adoption, and unite the hundreds of
thousands of eligible parents who want a child with the thousands (ck) of babies who
need a loving home.
We must challenge every father to take responsibility for his children. Spend time
with your child, love your child, and take an interest in your child's daily life. And if
you owe child support, pay it. Your child needs you. You cannot walk away.
•
We must challenge those who produce and market cigarettes to take responsibility for
your actions. Sell your products to adults, if you wish. But draw the line on children.
All of us working together must find a way to do something about violence and sex on
TV. We must challenge the media to put more education and less sex and violence on
TV. And challenge parents to turn off the set if they don't.
•
We must challenge every citizen to give something back to their community through
service. I am proud of what the national service program, AmeriCorps, has done to
put 25,000 young people to work in communities - raising reading scores, pulling
garbage out of rivers, helping police shut down crack houses. But we shouldn't stop
�there. Every American has something to contribute ~ from volunteering at an AIDS
clinic to adopting a child. And let me issue a special summons to our nation's
seniors, who have the time and the wisdom to teach us all: let your retirement years be
a season of service.
And let me say this above all: Every one of us faces a challenge to seek common
ground with our fellow Americans — to reach out beyond our differences, both because it is
the right thing to do, and because it is the way we will meet every one of our other
challenges as we enter a new century.
Conclusion/Olympic torchbearers
That is what we will see this summer in Atlanta, when we are hosts to the centennial
of the modem Olympics. I am not just talking of our athletes, who show us all how to work
hard to make our dreams come true. I also mean the shared effort of the entire community
of Atlanta ~ the City Too Busy to Hate. One community, pulling together. That is what's
right with America.
But there is another group of Americans I want to call your attention to tonight.
They are the ones who will hold high the Olympic torch and carry it on its path across
America, from Los Angeles, across mountains, concrete canyons, unbroken desert and lush
farmland. They will even carry the torch across the White House lawn, and I'll be there to
greet them.
These are not celebrities or heroic athletes, but they are heroes nonetheless. Thousands
of them are being selected because they are community heroes ~ Americans who have used
their energies to make our world better, one community at a time. Most of these people will
be announced next month. But I am proud to say that thefirstthree of them have been
chosen so they can be here with us tonight, [insert on two or three heroes]
Let us strive to be like these everyday champions. They show us a different kind of
strength and endurance and a lot of heart. They show us that if we each do our part, we are
sure to reach our destination. Together. And when we do, we will know the joy of a special
victory ~ where every American has a chance to win.
We are going to show the world this summer what happens when America pulls
together. And I believe, my fellow Americans, we are going to show it time and time again
in the century that lies ahead. That is, and forever will be, America's challenge.
10
�Draft January 18, 1996 3pm
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J . CLINTON
"AMERICA'S CHALLENGE"
STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
U.S. CAPITOL
JANUARY 23, 1996
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice-President, Members of the 104th Congress, distinguished
guests:
Tonight, I speak not only to you gathered here in this chamber, and to those listening
across America. I speak also to men and women in uniform around the world, esepcially to
those helping peace take root in Bosnia. To our warriors for peace, I say: we are proud of
you.
It is traditional, on this night, for Presidents to set forth their plans for the government.
But the Constituion requires me to address the state of our union. Not what government alone
can accomplish. Nor what individuals alone can do. But what we as a nation -communities, businesses, churches, schools — must do together.
The State of our Union is strong - strong as it has ever been. Our economy is the
strongest in three decades. Our fundamental values are coming back. America remains the
world's strongest force for peace and freedom. Now we must call on the energy, ideas and
responsibility of all our people so we can move forward.
In that spirit, we in Washington must finish our work and come to agreement ~ to
balance the budget in a way that reflects our values.
In long weeks of negotiation, both Democrats and Republicans have come close, very
close, to finding common ground. We can balance the budget, cut spending using
conservative economic assumptions from Congress' economists, reform welfare, and reduce
taxes. A balanced budget is within our grasp.
I believe we can and must resolve our remaining differences . . . without devastating
Medicare and Medicaid, without hurting education and the environment. In the weeks to
come, I look forward to working with the Congress, to resolve our remaining disagreements,
and balance the budget.
Let me be clear: I f Congress will not join me, I will act alone to give the American
people the change they demand.
We have alredy given 35 states freedom to overhaul their welfare systems. I f we
�cannot agree on bipartisan welfare reform legislation, I will challenge all 50 states to go
further ~ to impose time limits and require welfare recipients to work. As long as I am
President, we will end welfare as we know it.
Every year as President, I will submit to the Congress budgets that cut spending
enough so that the budget will be balanced in seven years. As long as I am President, we
will balance the budget.
America is the greatest nation on earth. We are its leaders, and we must behave
responsibly. No public servant should ever threaten the full faith and credit of the United
States. And no public servant should ever — ever ~ shut down the government again.
Tonight, it is time for us to talk about the future.
This is a moment of great change — and great opportunity. Throughout our history,
at moments of change like this, we have come together around three great ideals: First, our
belief in progress — that every American can dream of a better future, and that hard work can
make those dreams come true. Second, our love of liberty. And third, our constant struggle
to find common ground.
Tonight, our challenge - America's Challenge - is to preserve these old American
ideals for a new time.
For America was built on challenges, not promises. We don't need another program
for every problem. We must ask more of ourselves, and expect more from one another. That
means challenging every citizen to stand guard in the war on crime and drugs . . . challenging
parents and teachers to renew our schools . . . challenging government and business to give
workers health care they can carry with them throughout a career . . . and challenging fathers
to take responsibility their children.
We will only rise to our challenges by speaking honestly about the duties we owe one
another and the possibilities of what we as a nation can do together. So tonight, I want to
speak directly about seven great challenges that America must meet as we move into the next
century.
The first challenge is for every one of us to join together to take back our streets
from crime and gangs and drugs.
Government's first responsibility is to keep its citizens safe. And citizens in every
neighborhood have a responsibility to step out from behind closed doors and shuttered
windows, to work with the police and with each other.
We here in this chamber must do our part.
�That means keeping guns out of the hands of criminals. Under the Brady Bill, already
45,000 criminals have been stopped from buying guns. If anyone tries to repeal the Brady Bill
and the assault weapons ban, I will veto it.
That means putting more police on the street through community policing. Across
America, we are making good on our promise to put 100,000 new police on our streets. And
if Congress passes a bill to stop us from putting 100,000 police on the street, I will veto it.
And I challenge Congress to honor the men and women who protect us every day by
passing my bill to ban cop-killer bullets.
We made three-strikes-and-you're-out the law of the land, and said that if you kill a
law enforcement officer, you should get the death penalty. Tonight, I challenge judges,
prosecutors, and legislators in every state to meet a new national goal: by the year 2000,
every violent criminal must be required to serve at least 85% of his sentence.
But we could hire a million more police and build a million new prison cells, and we
would not win this war on crime and drugs unless we all join together ~ every one of us.
All over America, citizens are taking responsibility, spotting trouble, watching out for
their neighbors, blowing the whistle on crack houses. In city after city, the crime rate has
dropped three years in a row for the first time in decades. In New York, murders are down
25%; St. Louis, 18%; Seattle, 32%. Two years ago, the people of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana,
were under seige — literally sleeping in their hallways to avoid stray bullets. Then police
began working with the neighbors to drive drug dealers off the street. The crime rate in
Jefferson Parish has dropped 60%. That is what can happen when law-abiding Americans rise
to the challenge of fighting crime together.
And that is how we will address the one type of crime that continues torise:violence
by juveniles.
A few years ago, I spoke to grade school children in South Central Los Angeles.
They told me their biggest fear was getting shot on the way to school ~ and their second
biggest fear was being forced to join a gang when they turn 12. That is no way for any
American child to grow up.
Government will do its part: Tonight I am directing our nation's prosecutors to step up
prosecutions of violent juveniles as adults. And I am directing the FBI and other
investigative agencies to target gangs that involve juveniles in violent crime. It is time to
break the gangs the way we broke the mob.
Communities must do their part, too. I challenge local housing authorities, and public
housing residents, to link arms to evict the gangs and the drug dealers. All of our children
deserve decent lives. From now on, for public housing residents who get involved in drugs
and crime, the rule should be: One strike and you're out.
�And to every teacher and preacher and to every parent in this chamber around this
country, I say this: teach our children right from wrong, and by your example, help them see
through the false glamour of drugs and crime.
Tonight we have someone who by his very example can do just that. Brian McCaffrey
is a four star General, one of the architects of our victory in the Persian Gulf. Today, he
commands our military's campaign against drug kingpins in Latin America. Tomorrow, I will
nominate him as my "drug czar" to command a campaign against drugs on our streets. Thank
you. General McCaffrey. [In the balcony with the First Lady.]
The second challenge is to work together to cherish our children and renew our
schools for a new century.
Washington alone will not achieve this vital national mission. The job must be done in
our classrooms and living rooms.
First, we must raise our sights by demanding high standards. We should insist that
every teacher meet basic competency standards . . . that every student meet national standards
of excellence . . . that every parent take responsibility for their children . . . and that every
school be held accountable for results.
I challenge every state to give parents the right to choose their child's public school.
And if the idea of choice in public schools is to be real, we must give parents and teachers
the right to start better public schools — charter schools ~ if the current ones do not work.
Second, we must mount a massive national effort - as ambitious as any this nation
has ever undertaken -- to bring our schools into the 21st century. In the age of the microchip,
technological literacy is now as important as learning to read, write, and do math. When we
walk into any school in the 21st century ~ five years from now — we should see every
classroom connected to the outside world . . . a cutting-edge computer accessible to every
student . . . and teachers with the skills and the software to make technology as exciting in
the classroom as it is in the video arcade. Tens of millions of parents have watched their
children play every video game from Mortal Kombat to Killer Instinct. From now on, the
most important computer game in America must be learning.
Educators, scientists and business leaders must join in connecting the schools and
preparing our students for the future. And what is our part here? I f a company or community
is willing to donate money to put new computers in the schools, we will match that donation
dollar for dollar.
Third, we know that the GI Bill after World War I I created an explosion of
opporutnity that built the middle class. That is why every year of my presidency, I have taken
every step possible to open wide the doors of college for anyone who is willing to work hard
and seek excellence.
�We created a new college loan program that makes it easier and cheaper to borrow
and repay the money for college. We have given scholarships to a record number of
deserving students, and enabled 50,000 of them to earn their way through college by serving
their community. And last year, I asked the Congress to make $10,000 of college tuition costs
tax deductible. I f businesses can deduct the cost of their equipment, then families should be
able to deduct the cost of a college education.
Tonight, I propose two more steps to inspire excellence and reward hard work. First,
a $1000 merit scholarship for the top 5% of graduating students in every secondary school in
America. Second, a dramatic expansion of college work-study, to enable 1 million young
Americans to work their way through college by the Year 2000.
And tonight I ask colleges and universities to make a promise to those hard-working
students ~ don't let the cost of college rise faster than Americans' incomes.
We owe our children something else as well. We must stand up together as adults to
protect our children from the glorification of violence and degradation of values that assault
them every day.
We must say to those in the entertainment industry: create TV shows as if your own
children were going to watch them. Take responsibility for what you put on the air. And
parents, if you don't like what your children are watching, take responsibility. Turn it off.
To those who produce and market cigarettes, we must say: take responsibility for your
actions. Sell your products to adults, if you wish. But draw the line on children.
We must challenge our schools to teach ethics and values. And i f it will stop children
from shooting children for a gang jacket or designer shoes, then schools should be able to
require student uniforms.
We must challenge our young people not to get pregnant or father a child until they
are married. Tonight, I am pleased to say that a group of prominent Americans has answered
the call I issued last year, and have formed a new national campaign to enlist business,
communities and the media to help our young people do the right thing.
Higher standards. Technology in the classroom. An aggressive strategy to open wider
the doors of college. Teaching our children right from wrong. That is the duty we owe our
children. Because when our children succeed, America succeeds.
America's third challenge is this: we must change the rules so people can take
health insurance from job to job.
It is wrong that insurance companies compete by cutting off coverage to sick people.
And it is wrong that Congress has not passed a law to change that. We should enact reforms
�to stop insurance companies from denying you coverage or raising rates when you are
changing jobs, because you or a member of your family have a preexisting condition.
Republican Senator Nancy Kassebaum and Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy have introduced
a bill to make the rules fair. It is bipartisan, and it is strong. Send it to me, and I will sign
it.
We should help give small businesses the same purchasing power to buy health care as
big businesses, make it easier for older women to get mammograms every year, and find a
way to ensure that if you lose your job, you don't lose your health care.
We need to crack down on Medicare fraud, which costs [x billion] every year. But
government should not have to do it alone. I challenge the American Medical Association to
stop standing in the way of tougher prosecutions, and take responsibility for policing your
own.
And I challenge Congress: It is one of the great strengths of our country that poor
children and the disabled have a guarantee of quality health care. It is a good thing that older
Americans know they will receive quality care, so they can live out their lives in dignity. As
long as I am President, I will stand up for these basic values.
My fourth challenge is this: government and busines must join to give our people
the tools they need to become winners of economic change.
America's economy is growing, steady and strong. Over the last three years, we have
had the strongest growth of any major economy. The combined rate of inflation and
unemployment is the lowest in 27 years. Home ownership is at its highest rate in 15 years.
Businesses have created over 7 million American jobs. Businesses owned by women employ
more people than the Fortune 500 combined. Three years ago, we were losing jobs in
construction; today, we have gained nearly 800,000. A decade ago, the auto industry was on
its back. Today, Detroit is beating Japan for the first time since the 1970s.
Thanks in no small measure to the work of Vice-President Gore, the federal workforce
is the smallest in 30 years, and getting smaller every day. We have cut 16,000 pages of
unnecessary rules and regulations. Government works better, costs less, and produces results,
not red tape.
Today's economy offers real opportunity for our people; our challenge is to ensure that
all Americans reap the rewards.
That is why I challenge Congress to pass my GI Bill for workers. It would
consolidate 70 overlapping job training programs, and give the money directly to American
workers to pay for tuition at a community college or training at their next job. People
shouldn't have to wait in line at yet another government office to get the skills they need to
compete.
�We should make it easier for small businesses to start pension plans, and easier for
Americans to save for their retirement.
And businesses have a responsibility to make sure that pensions are secure. I f
Congress sends me legislation that lets big companies raid their workers' pensions, and put
their retirement at risk, I will veto it.
And we all have a responsibility to honor work and make work pay. Millions of
Americans — many of them women with children — earn the minimum wage, now at a 40
year low. A year ago, I called on Congress to raise the minimum wage. Since then, its value
has dropped $250 - while Congress' pay has gone up [x]. That's wrong.
In the new economy, we recognize that a clean environment is good for business. We
will challenge business: if you can meet tough pollution goals, we will let you find the
cheapest and most efficient way to do it.
We will challenge businesses to clean up polluted sites in the inner city, and we will
cut the red tape and call off the lawyers when they do.
We will draw on the expertise of thousands of backyard community environmental
groups, by expanding the right-to-know laws that make companies disclose the toxic
chemicals they release into their neighborhood.
And make no mistake: these reforms will make it easier to protect the environment,
not easier to pollute it. We will see to it that the air we breathe and the water we drink are
safe — and that our natural heritage is preserved for generations to come.
Our fifth challenge is this: All of us have a duty to rebuild the American family.
Bringing a child into the world is the most extraordinary responsibility that any man or
woman can have. No job is more important than holding your child, loving your child,
reading to your child, teaching your child to play and to pray. As parents, as grandparents, as
community leaders, as citizens, we all need to do our part to give our children strong and
loving families.
For too long, too many government policies ~ however well-intentioned — have
undermined the family instead of making it stronger. That is why I have spent my entire
career working to reform our broken welfare system, which penalizes work, discourages
responsibility, and breaks up families.
We have made real progress toward enacting sweeping welfare reform that will end
welfare as a way of life. We agree on the need for time limits, tough work requirements, and
the toughest possible child support enforcement. But let's not delude ourselves. We must
provide more child care so mothers will go to work, not stay at home and stay on welfare.
�Send me a bipartisan welfare reform bill that will move people from welfare to work, and I'll
sign it in a heartbeat.
But that will not be the end of welfare reform; it is only the beginning. We must
require people to take jobs, but we must all commit ourselves to creating new jobs for them
to take. I challenge businesses across America to hire people who want to work their way off
welfare.
And I challenge all of us here, across party lines, to reward work over welfare by
uniting behind the Earned Income Tax Credit, which President Reagan called the best antipoverty, the best pro-family, the best job-creation program on the books.
But I also believe it's time to stop making women take the whole fall for this problem.
As a father, I challenge America's fathers: step forward and accept more responsibility for
your children. I f you owe child support, pay it. It is not enough to send your children a
check. You have to give them your time.
One of the proudest things we have done was to pass family leave, which lets people
take time off to care for a new child or a sick parent. But it should not take a law for
corporations to take responsibility. Don't force your workers to choose between their job and
their family.
Finally, let us remember that we can only build strong families when men and women
respect each other. We must work together to end domestic violence. So I say to men all
over this country — I ask you to pledge never — never — raise a hand in violence to a woman.
Our sixth great challenge is to meet our responsibility to lead the world.
In the American century, we have led the fight for freedom and peace ~ and won.
More people than ever before live free, more nations enjoy peace -- and Americans have
known half a century of prosperity and security.
Today, all over the world, people look up to us not only because of our power, but
because of what we stand for ~ and what we stand against. And they trust us to help them
seek the blessings of peace and freedom.
But as the Cold War fades, voices of isolation say America should retreat from the
responsibilities of leadership. I say they are wrong. We face a host of threats that are equal
opportunity destroyers with no respect for borders - ethnic and religious hatred... aggression
by rogue states... the spread of weapons of mass destruction... terrorism... organized crime...
drug trafficking. In the enduring struggle against chaos and evil, America must never be
neutral.
The isolationists are wrong. But so are those who would have us be the world's
�policeman. Our reach and resources are limited. We can't be everywhere. We can't do
everything. But where we can make a difference ~ and where our values and interests
demand it — America must lead. And we are.
By keeping our military strong... by using diplomacy where we can and force when we
must... by building coalitions to share the risk and the cost of our efforts.... by using the right
tools at the right time in the right places... and by being a peacemaker -- America is making a
difference for our own people and for people around the world.
We stayed engaged with Russia. Tonight, there are no Russian missiles pointed at our
cities or citizens.
We applied patient, steady pressure to North Korea. Now, it is dismantling its
dangerous nuclear weapons program.
We used the threat of force in Haiti. Now, the dictators are gone, democracy is back
and the flow of refugees to our shores has ended.
We negotiated a better deal for America and opened markets abroad. Now, exports
are up and more Americans are working.
We have stood with those who take risks for peace. Now, in Northern Ireland the
sound of car bombs has given way to the quiet blessings of normal life... and in the Middle
East, Arabs and Jews who once seemed destined to fight forever share knowledge, resources
and dreams. [We lost a great friend when Yitzhak Rabin was taken from us. But we can be
proud that the people of the Middle East are finding the strength to go forward, in part
because they know America will stand with them, now and forever.]
We stood down aggression and stood up for peace in Bosnia. Now, its playgrounds
are no longer killing fields.
We must go forward. We can cut the world's nuclear stockpiles by another XX
percent... if Congress ratifies the START II Treaty ~ this year. We can stop an entire new
generation of nuclear weapons... if we sign a truly Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty — this
year. We can control chemical and biological weapons... if Congress approves the Chemical
Weapons Convention - this year. We can take the fight to terrorists and organized
criminals... if Congress finally passes legislation I proposed after Oklahoma City to give
American law enforcement an even stronger arsenal. We can help more people move from
hatred to hope... if Congress gives us the resources we need to remain leaders for peace.
The challenge before us is clear: if we reject the call of isolation and the role of
policeman, we can remain a peacemaker - a force for freedom and progress around the
world and for real security and prosperity at home. And the next century will be an
American century, too.
�America's seventh and perhaps most important, challenge is this: to live up to our
values, and restore a sense of right and wrong, in our daily lives — and especially, a new
sense of personal responsibility for the future of our country.
We more than any people on earth should recognize the truth of the Gospel: "To
whom much is given, from them much is required."
We can start right here in this chamber. In the past year, we have passed many
important political reforms, applying to Congress the laws that apply to America, banning
gifts and meals from lobbyists to lawmakers, and forcing the lobbyists to fully disclose who
they are working for, what they are spending, and what bills they are trying to pass or kill.
But we all know that special interests give too much money to political campaigns.
And we must all take personal responsibility for changing it. A strong, bipartisan campaign
finance reform bill is waiting for your action. Let's pass it without delay.
[Today, Members of Congress spend taxpayer money to flood your districts with
unsolicited mailings. Give up the frank, and give it to the American people to make their
voices heard. And let's pass a law that makes former trade officials live by the same rules I
have imposed on my top trade officials not to become foreign lobbyists. I f you've represented
this country in trade talks, you should not be allowed to switch sides and sell your knowledge
and access to the highest foreign bidder.]
I believe in a woman's right to choose an abortion. Some people disagree. But I
challenge people on both sides of the abortion divide to find common ground. At the very
least, let us do what we can to encourage adoption, and unite the thousands of eligible parents
who want a child with the thousands of babies who need a loving home.
I am proud of what the national service program, AmeriCorps, has done to put 25,000
young people to work in communities ~ raising reading scores, pulling garbage out of rivers,
helping police shut down crack houses. But we shouldn't stop there. Those of us who want
government to get smaller but don't want the schools to decline, the drinking water to get
dirty, or crime to worsen — we have an obligation to actually do something about these
problems ourselves. I challenge every citizen to give something back to their country ~ from
volunteering at an AIDS clinic to adopting a child.
Two decades ago, the average American lived only five years after retirement; today,
they live twenty years, (ck) So let me issue a special summons to our nation's seniors, who
have the time and the wisdom to teach us all: let your retirement years be a season of service.
We can all gain from your lifetime of experience.
10
�Every one of us faces a challenge to seek common ground with our fellow Americans
— to reach out beyond our differences, reach across the lines of race, class, and beliefs, to
open our hearts and minds. When we meet each other, we can will meet every other
challenge we face as we approach a new century.
Conclusion
These challenges ~ from renewing our schools to winning the war against crime -- are
linked not by government spending or individual ambition, but by a single important idea that
built this country: the duty we owe to one another. From the moment our founders pledged
to each other their "lives, their fortune, and their sacred honor," Americans have been bound
to one another not by blood, not even by geography, but by common ideals and a sense of
common purpose. Let us never forget: When Americans gather in their homes, their schools,
their churches, or at work, they have far greater power to shape our nation's destiny than do
any of us in this august chamber.
I have asked a lot of you this evening. But I have no doubts. For I know that the
more we ask of ourselves as Americans, the more we can achieve.
This summer, we will see a special light shine all across America ~ the torch that will
be carried from Los Angeles to Atlanta for the centennial modem Olympic games. That torch
will not be carried by star athletes, but by a breed of heroes who are meeting the very
challenges we have talked about here tonight. The bearers of the Olympic torch are
Americans who get up every day and use their energy to make this country better - brighter - one neighborhood, one school, one community at a time.
Most of these heroes will be announced next month. But I am proud that the first
three to be chosen are here with us tonight [description to come]
My fellow Americans, like them, each of us must hold high the torch in our own lives.
But none of us can finish the race alone.
The belief in progress, the love of liberty, the eternal struggle for common ground.
Those are the ideals that have lighted our way for 200 years. If we keep them burning bright
and we do it together, then we will keep the American Dream alive in the century ahead.
That is America's Challenge.
Thank you, and God bless America.
11
�First, we must raise our sights by demanding high standards. We should insist that
every teacher meet basic competency standards . . . that every student meet national standards
of excellence . . . that every parent take responsibility for their children . . . and that every
school be held accountable for results.
I challenge every state to give parents the right to choose their child's public school.
And if the idea of choice in public schools is to be real, we must give parents and teachers
therightto start better public schools ~ charter schools — if the current ones do not work.
Second, we must mount a massive national effort to modernize our schools. In the
age of the microchip, technological literacy is now as important as learning to read, write, and
do math. When we walk into any school in the 21st century - five years from now - we
should see every classroom connected to the outside world . . . a cutting-edge computer
accessible to every student . . . and teachers with the skills and the software to make
technology as exciting in the classroom as it is in the video arcade. Tens of millions of
parents have watched their children play every video game from Mortal Kombat to Kiher
Instinct. From now on, the most important computer game in America must be learning.
Tonight I challenge educators, scientists and business leaders to join in connecting the
schools and preparing our people for the future. If a company or community is willing to
donate money to put new computers in the schools, we will match that donation dollar for
dollar.
Third, we must open the doors of college for people who are willing to work hard and
seek excellence.
We have already made it easier for people to pay back their college loans. And last
year, I asked the Congress to make $10,000 of college tuition costs tax deductible. If
businesses can deduct the cost of their equipment, then families should be able to deduct the
cost of a college education.
Tonight, I propose two more steps that will reward hard work. First, a $1000 merit
scholarship for the top 5% of graduating students in every secondary school in America.
Second, a dramatic expansion of college work-study, to enable 1 million young Americans to
work their way through college by the Year 2000.
We should do all this to give our children a better future. But we owe them
something else as well. We must stand together as parents and protect our children from the
glorificaiton of violence and the degradation of values that assaults them every day.
We must challenge those in the entertainment industry to create TV shows as if your
own children were going to watch them. Take responsibility for what you put on the air.
And parents cannot escape responsiblity either: if you don't like what's on TV, turn it off.
�consolidate 70 overlapping job training programs, and give the money directly to American
workers to pay for tuition at a community college or training at their next job.
People who
need new skills shouldn't have to waste their time waiting in line at a government office.
We should make it easier for small businesses to start pension plans, and easier for
Americans to save for their retirement.
And businesses have a responsibility to make sure that pensions are secure. I f
Congress sends me legislation that lets big companies raid their workers' pensions, I will veto
it.
And we all have a responsibility to honor work and make work pay. Millions of
Americans ~ many of them women with children — earn the minimum wage, now at a 40
year low. A year ago, I called on Congress to raise the minimum wage. Since then, its value
has dropped $250 ~ while Congress' pay has gone up [x]. That's wrong.
In the new economy, we recognize that a clean environment is good for business. We
will challenge business: if you can meet tough pollution goals, we will let you find the
cheapest and most efficient way to do it.
We will challenge businesses to clean up polluted sites in the inner city, and we will
cut the red tape and call off the lawyers when they do.
We will draw on the expertise of thousands of backyard community environmental
groups, by expanding the right-to-know laws that make companies disclose the toxic
chemicals they release into their neighborhood.
Make no mistake: these reforms will make it easier to protect the environment, not
easier to pollute it. We will see to it that the air we breathe and the water we drink are safe - and that our natural heritage is preserved for generations to come.
Our fifth challenge is this: All of us have a duty to rebuild the American family.
12
�Today, all over the world, people look up to us not only because of our power, but
because of what we stand for — and what we stand against. And they trust us to help them
seek the blessings of peace and freedom.
But as the Cold War fades, voices of isolation say America should retreat from the
responsibilities of leadership. I say they are wrong. We face a host of threats that are equal
opportunity destroyers with no respect for borders — ethnic and religious hatred... aggression
by rogue states... the spread of weapons of mass destruction... terrorism... organized crime...
drug trafficking. In the enduring struggle against chaos and evil, America must never be
neutral.
The isolationists are wrong. But so are those who would have us be the world's
policeman. Our reach and resources are limited. We can't be everywhere. We can't do
everything. But where we can make a difference ~ and where our values and interests
demand it — America must lead. And we are.
By keeping our military strong... by using diplomacy where we can and force when we
must... by building coalitions to share the risk and the cost of our efforts.... and by being a
peacemaker — America is making a difference for our own people and for people around the
world.
We stayed engaged with Russia. Tonight, there are no Russian missiles pointed at our
cities or citizens.
We applied patient pressure to North Korea. Now, it is dismantling its dangerous
nuclear weapons program.
We used the threat of force in Haiti. Now, the dictators are gone, democracy is back
and the flow of refugees to our shores has ended.
We negotiated a better deal for America and opened markets abroad. Now, exports
are up and more Americans are working.
We have stood with those who take risks for peace. Now, in Northern Ireland the
sound of car bombs has given way to the quiet blessings of normal life... and in the Middle
East, Arabs and Jews who once seemed destined to fight forever share knowledge, resources
and dreams. [We lost a great friend when Yitzhak Rabin was taken from us. But we can be
proud that the people of the Middle East arefindingthe strength to go forward, in part
because they know America will stand with them, now and forever.]
We stood down aggression and stood up for peace in Bosnia. Now, its playgrounds
are no longer killing fields.
We must go forward. We can cut the world's nuclear stockpiles by another XX
14
�percent... i f Congress ratifies the START II Treaty — this year. We can stop an entire new
generation of nuclear weapons... if we sign a truly Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty ~ this
year. We can control chemical and biological weapons... if Congress approves the Chemical
Weapons Convention - this year. We can take the fight to terrorists and organized criminals
. . . if Congress finally passes legislation I proposed after Oklahoma City to give American
law enforcement an even stronger arsenal. We can help more people move from hatred to
hope . . . i f Congress gives us the resources we need to remain leaders for peace.
If we reject the call of isolation and the role of policeman, we can remain a
peacemaker ~ a force for freedom and progress around the world and for real security and
prosperity at home. And the next century will be an American century, too.
America's seventh and perhaps most important, challenge is this: to live up to our
values, and restore a sense of right and wrong, in our daily lives - and especially, a new
sense of personal responsibility for the future of our country.
We more than any people on earth should recognize the truth of the Gospel: "To
whom much is given, from them much is required."
We can start right here in this chamber. In the past year, we have passed many
important political reforms, applying to Congress the laws that apply to America, banning
gifts and meals from lobbyists to lawmakers, and forcing the lobbyists to fully disclose who
they are working for, what they are spending, and what bills they are trying to pass or kill.
But we all know that special interests give too much money to political campaigns.
And we must all take personal responsibility for changing it. A strong, bipartisan campaign
finance reform bill is waiting for your action. Let's pass it without delay.
[Today, Members of Congress spend taxpayer money to flood your districts with
unsolicited mailings. Give up the frank, and give it to the American people to make their
voices heard. And let's pass a law that makes former trade officials live by the same rules I
have imposed on my top trade officials not to become foreign lobbyists. If you've represented
this country in trade talks, you should not be allowed to switch sides and sell your knowledge
and access to the highest foreign bidder ]
I believe in a woman's right to choose an abortion. Some people disagree. But I
challenge people on both sides of the abortion divide to find common ground. Let us do
what we can to encourage adoption, and unite the thousands of eligible parents who want a
child with the thousands of babies who need a loving home.
I am proud of the 25,000 young AmeriCorps members, working in communities ~
raising reading scores, pulling garbage out of rivers, immunizing children. But we shouldn't
stop there. Those of us who want government to get smaller but don't want the schools to
decline, the drinking water to get dirty, or crime to worsen — we have an obligation to
15
�actually do something about these problems ourselves. I challenge every citizen to give
something back to their country — from volunteering at an AIDS clinic to adopting a child.
Two decades ago, the average American lived only five years after retirement; today,
they live twenty years, (ck) So let me issue a special summons to our nation's seniors, who
have the time and the wisdom to teach us all: let your retirement years be a season of service.
We can all gain from your lifetime of experience.
Every one of us must seek common ground with our fellow Americans ~ to reach out
beyond our differences, across the lines of race, class, and beliefs, to open our hearts and
minds. When we can meet each other, we will meet any challenge we face as we approach a
new century.
Conclusion
These challenges — from renewing our schools to winning the war against crime ~ are
linked not by government spending or individual ambition, but by a single important idea that
built this country: the duty we owe to one another. From the moment our founders pledged
to each other their "lives, their fortune, and their sacred honor," Americans have been bound
to one another not by blood, not even by geography, but by common ideals and a sense of
common purpose. Let us never forget: When Americans gather in their homes, their schools,
their churches, or at work, they have far greater power to shape our nation's destiny than do
any of us in this august chamber.
I have asked a lot of America this evening. But I have no doubts. For I know that
the more we ask of ourselves as Americans, the more we can achieve.
This summer, we will see a special light shine all across America — the torch that will
be carried from Los Angeles to Atlanta for the centennial modem Olympic games. That torch
will not be carried by star athletes, but by a breed of heroes who are meeting the very
challenges we have talked about here tonight. The bearers of the Olympic torch are
Americans who get up every day and use their energy to make this country better - brighter - one neighborhood, one school, one community at a time.
Most of these heroes will be announced next month. But I am proud that the first
three are here with us tonight [description to come]
My fellow Americans, like them, each of us must hold high the torch in our own lives.
But none of us can finish the race alone.
The belief in progress, the love of liberty, the eternal struggle for common ground.
Those are the ideals that have lighted our way for 200 years. I f we keep them burning bright
and we do it together, then we will keep the American Dream alive in the century ahead.
That is America's Challenge.
16
�Thank you, and God bless America.
17
�America was built not on promises, but on challenges
[In our first days as new nation, in a state of the union address delivered
exactly two hundred years ago, George Washington said: Y From Andrew
Jackson's crusade for equal opportuntiy for all, special privileges for none ... to
the civil war
We met these challenges before: Revolution. Andrew
Jackson's determination to create an economy of small businesses, with equal
opportunity for all, sp pr for none. Civil war. The great move freom the farm to
the factory, as america industrialized at the turn of the century> The challenge
fo civil rights and womens rights. The chalenge of communism.]
Today, our challenge — America's Challenge -is this: To summon the
values and spirit that brought us this far, to call on Americans in all walks of
life to take responsibility for moving the country forward. Tonight I challenge
every American to work together to meet our national needs: winning the war
on crime; modernizing our schools; xxxxxxxx.
As we face America's new challenge, we must be guided by our old
values, [add back values graf from previous draft]
And as we face America's Challenge, we must recognize that yesterday's
debate will not solve today's problems. Over the last thirty years, it has become
clear that government cannot solve all our problems for us. And in the last
twelve months, it has become equally clear that getting rid of government will
not solve all of our problems, either.
We don't need a program for every problem. We shouldn't ask
government to do for people what the ought to do for themselves. But our
government has one fundamental responsibility that will never change: To lead.
To act. To challenge Americans to move this country forward.
Not from Washington, not from individuals acting alone, but from all of
us acting together, will come the answers to our problems. All of us ~ in our
communities, our churches, our businesses, our homes, our neighborhoods. We
must ask more of ourselves, and expect more from one another.
1. Balance the budget
Our first challenge is to all of us here tonight: put aside partisanship,
reject rigid ideologies, find common ground — and balance the budget.
�PRESIDENT WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON
SIGNING OF EXECUTIVE MEMORANDUM ON MISSING CHILDREN
OVAL OFFICE
JANUARY 19, 1996
[Acknowledgements: Attorney General Janet Reno, Secretary Shalala
Sen. DeConcini; Sen. Biden; Rep. Peter Deutsch]
Every year, approximately 300 c h i l d r e n are abducted by
strangers. Just yesterday, t h e Hagerman f a m i l y o f A r l i n g t o n ,
Texas, received news t h a t t h e i r daughter Amber, who had
disappeared e i g h t days e a r l i e r , had been found murdered. Our
hearts and prayers go out t o t h e Hagerman f a m i l y as they t r y t o
cope w i t h t h i s t e r r i b l e tragedy.
We must do everything we can t o stop t h i s from happening
again. Time i s t h e enemy i n abduction cases — and t h e most
important t o o l we have against i t i s making sure i n f o r m a t i o n gets
out t o t h e p u b l i c .
The f e d e r a l government, through t h e FBI and other law
enforcement agencies, i s doing i t s p a r t t o help s t a t e and l o c a l
law enforcement i n v e s t i g a t e these cases and disseminate
i n f o r m a t i o n as q u i c k l y as p o s s i b l e .
But i t i s c r i t i c a l t h a t the FBI be n o t i f i e d w i t h i n 48 hours
of t h e abduction. I n s i x out o f t e n recent cases, t h e FBI
learned o f t h e abduction from TV r e p o r t s . We've g o t t o do
b e t t e r . And we w i l l .
^ u r r a i t l y , nearly art±^±&P&Q{) p o l i c e departments around t h e
country have t h e capacity, through a s t a t e - o f - t h e - a r t computer
system, t o r e p o r t missing persons t o the FBI. By b e t t e r using
t h i s system, we can make sure t h e FBI i s immediately a l e r t e d when
a c h i l d i s abducted by a stranger.
The National Center f o r Missing and E x p l o i t e d Children,
funded by t h e J u s t i c e Departmentm serves as a clearinghouse f o r
i n f o r m a t i o n i n v o l v i n g these cases. I n 1984, only f o u r s t a t e s had
established missing c h i l d r e n clearinghouses. Through t h e work o f
Ernie A l l e n and t h e National Center, forty-seven s t a t e s plus t h e
D i s t r i c t o f Columbia have now established clearinghouses. I n
a d d i t i o n , t h e Center funds P r o j e c t A l e r t , which uses t h e
expertise o f volunteer r e t i r e d p o l i c e o f f i c e r s t o help search
f o r missing c h i l d r e n .
I n a few moments I w i l l sign an Executive Memorandum
d i r e c t i n g a l l agency heads t o take the necessary actions t o allow
the p o s t i n g of photos o f missing c h i l d r e n i n f e d e r a l b u i l d i n g s .
Because o f t h e d i r e need f o r immediate a c t i o n i n instances o f
stranger abductions, notices d e s c r i b i n g those missing c h i l d r e n
would be given p r i o r i t y . This Memorandum also d i r e c t s agencies
t o appoint a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e t o ensure t h a t t h e space f o r these
�notices i s properly maintained.
This Memorandum i s j u s t one step — but i t ' s a step i n the
right direction. I've also asked the Attorney General to
expedite the information about each abducted c h i l d so i t i s
immediately routed to the FBI's Child Abduction and S e r i a l K i l l e r
Unit, as well as the National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children. There i s more we can do — and we w i l l .
But the key to finding missing children i s within t h e i r own
communities. When these t e r r i f y i n g abductions ocurr, we have
seen communities band together to distribute f l y e r s , interview
potential witnesses and support the families. Although when an
abduction ocurrs i t i s a t e r r i b l e tragedy, i t brings out the best
in communities.
I'd l i k e to especially thank two families for joining me
today. Mark Klaas and Claudine and Don Ryce both l o s t a c h i l d to
abductors. These individuals have now dedicated t h e i r l i v e s to
ensure that other families w i l l not have to suffer as they did.
[Hold up photo] I'd also l i k e to thank Colleen Nick for
joining me today. Her daughter, Morgan Chauntel Nick, was
abducted from a ballpark i n Alma, Arkansas, on June 9. Anyone
who has any information about her whereabouts should c a l l 1-800843-5678.
I t i s the responsibility of each and every American to do
what they can to help find our missing children. Please look
twice a t the photos of missing children you see i n the mail, on
your milk cartons, and now, i n federal buildings across the
country.
*
�Withdrawal/Redaction Marker
Clinton Library
DOCUMENT NO.
AND TYPE
001. paper
SUBJECT/TITLE
DATE
RE: Phone numbers [partial] (1 page)
n.d.
RESTRICTION
P6/b(6)
COLLECTION:
Clinton Presidential Records
Speechwriting
Michael Waldman
OA/Box Number:
14460
FOLDER TITLE:
SOTU [State of the Union] January 1996: [Drafts]
2006-0469-F
dbl945
RESTRICTION CODES
Presidential Records Act -144 II.S.C. 2204(a)|
Freedom of information Act - |5 U.S.C. 552(b)]
PI
P2
P3
P4
b(l) National security classified information |(bXl) of the FOIA]
b(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of
an agency 1(b)(2) of the FOIA]
b(3) Release would violate a Federal statute 1(b)(3) of the FOIA]
b(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial
information 1(b)(4) of the FOIA]
b(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy 1(b)(6) of the FOIA]
b(7) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement
purposes 1(b)(7) of the FOIA]
b(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of
financial institutions 1(b)(8) of the FOIA)
b(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information
concerning wells |(bX9) of the FOIA]
National Security Classified Information 1(a)(1) of the PRA|
Relating to the appointment to Federal office 1(a)(2) of the PRA]
Release would violate a Federal statute 1(a)(3) of the PRA]
Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or
financial information 1(a)(4) of the PRA]
P5 Release would disclose confidential advice between the President
and his advisors, or between such advisors |a)(5) of the PRA]
P6 Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy 1(a)(6) of the PRA]
C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed
of gift.
PRM. Personal record misfile defined in accordance with 44 U.S.C.
2201(3).
RR. Document will be reviewed upon request.
�1
Cool
r
PHOTOCOPY
PRESERVATION
Clinton Library Photocopy
J
�
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
SOTU [State of the Union] January 1996: [Drafts]
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 44
<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
The material or physical carrier of the resource.
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-Seg2-044-007-2015