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PHOTOCOPY
PRESERVATION
�'.
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
November 19, 1993
For Internal Use Only
AT
~HE
THE·FIRST LADY
JOINT ARMED FORCES WIVES' LUNCHEON
A PARTICIPANT: Please be seated. The U.S. Coast
Guard Band will now play the Service Medley. Everyone is
invited to sing along with all service songs, and please
stand when your service song is played.
(Applause)
A PARTICIPANT: Good afternoon. The joint armed
forces wives' luncheon is honored to have in attendance
today, as our very special guests, the fqllowing dignitaries.
As I call your name, please stand.
Lee Perry, whose husband is the Deputy Secretary of
•
Defense.
Joyce Downey, whose husband is the Deputy Secretary
of Transportation.
Margaret Dalton, whose husband is the Secretary of
the Navy.
Bill Widnall, whose wife is the Secretary of the .
Air Force ..
of the
Joan Shalikashvili; whose husband is the Chairman
Chiefs of Staff.
~oint
Connie Jeremiah, whose husband is the Vice Chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Alma' Powell,' whose husband is the former Chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Landis Kelso, whose husband is the Chief of Naval
Operations.
Val Kime, whope husband is the Commandant of the
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Coast Guard.
Victoria Carns, whose husband is the Vice Chief of
Staff of the Air Force.
Jenny Lou Arthur, whose husband is the Vice Chief
of Naval Operations.
Sandy Boomer, whose. husband is' the Assistant
Commandant of the Marine Corps.
Pamela Pea, whose husband'is the Vice Chief of
Staff of the Army~
And. last, but certainly not least, Pat Nelson,
whose husband is the Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard.
At this time, I would like to invite Joan
Shalikashvili to come forward to the podium to introduce the
JAFOWL Committee.
MRS. SHALlKASHVILI: As the new honorary chairman
of this committee, I'd like to welcome all of you to this
1993 JAFOWL event. Two years ago, when I first heard the
word JAFOWL, I thought it was a bird.
(Laughter)
But it
stands for the Joint.Armed Forces Officers' Wives'
Committee -- Luncheon.
I do know what it stands for.
And now I'd like to introduce my committee. And if
you'll please stand as I call your name, and remain standing
until I'm through, and please hold your applause until I'm
all done.
First of all, we 'have the overall coordinator for
us today, is Betsy Lynn, Navy. The other committee members
are Kip Rout, Navy; Jane Radish, Navy; Liz Grassey, Air
Force; Sarah Brown, Air Force; Lexalin Hooper, Army; Nancy
Deibler, Army -- this is the one I have trouble with -
Janice Sartucci, Coast Guard; Maureen Applebaum, Coast Guard;
Helen Aitken, Marine Corps; and Debbie Gordon, Marin~ Corps.
Our advisors are Connie Jeremiah and Jane Ryan.
And I also. need to recognize the past honorary chairman, Alma.
Powell; Alma, would you please stand?
I'd like to thank all of you ladies for planning
this wonderful event for us. Thank. you.
(Applause) And
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again welcome to all of you and I hope you enjoy the day.
A PARTICIPANT: At this time I'would like all
guests to remain in their sea~s while Joan Johannsen gives
our invocation.
MRS. JOHANNSEN: Almighty Creator, we ask you to be
with us today, as we come together from our lives of
different experiences, lived in m.any different places, and
representing different channels of'service to you and to our
country.
We thank you for the strong bonds that bring all
here together and join us into one: faith and trust in you;
love and pride in our country; support ,and love for our
spouses, whose lives are spent serving'this great,nation in a
variety of ways; the commitment to use our own' gifts and
talents to help others; adeep'concern for families, for our
'own and for our neighbors'; and,the uriderstanding, learned
through the years of changes, moves, and travels, that every
part of the country and the world is our neighborhood.
Ple~se bless this'gathering and open our minds and
hearts so that
revitalized by
stimulation of
of the meal we
our
the
the
are
whole beings will be nourished and
warmth of the friendship we now share, the
ideas that we will hear ,eind the goodness,
about to receive. Amen.
'
'A, PARTICIPANT: Now it is my pleasure to'call your
attention to a special musical presentation by the United
states Coast Guard Band, from New London, Connecticut,
directed by Commander Lou Buckley.
(End of side 1, tape
1~)
A PARTICIPANT: Good afternoon, ladies. If you
could please be seated, wei 11 pro'ceed with our program.
,Good afternoon, Iac;iies, Dr .. Widnall, and honored
guests. On behalf of the 1993 Joint Armed Forces Officers'
Wives' Luncheon Committee, "I would like to welcome each and
everyone of, you here ;today to this luncheon., '
This has truly becom'e a greatly, anticipated annual
event, and I'm sorry to say we could not accommodate all of
those who wished to participate. I know we will all have
much to recount to our friends, and I would like to recognize
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all those. on the committee who have spent endless hours,
volunteered much time and effort, to make.this such an
outstanding event.
All the military wives here today share a common
bond that is 'at times difficult.to e~press. However, our
most obvious commonality is the support we have for our
husband's career, and his significant contribution to the
security of America.
.
Thomas Paine told us that those .who expect to reap
the blessings of freedom, must undergo the fatigues of
supporting it. We understand .,that fatigue,. and in fact quite
often feel that he has the easyjob.
(Laughter)
We're especially excited today' to have with us a
very special guest speaker,someone with whom we can relate
about support for her husband and his unique career. We
sincerely appreciate the time she~s taken to bewit~ us today
to give us the opportunity to personally meet w.ith her and to
tell her firsthand what it's like to be a military spouse and
dependent in the '90s.
It's my distinct pleasure and honor to introduce
the First Lady of the United states of America, Hillary
Rodham Clinton.
(Applause)
MRS. CLINTON: Thank you. Thank you all so much.
Thank you. This has been so much fun. I don't usually get
to say that when I go to even~s ..'
I am very grateful for the invitation to be here,
and I have certainly enjoyed my visits at'lunch with a number
of you, particularly at my table, .and in the rest room. And
I also enjoyed my visit earlier ·in the day to the Pentagon,
where I got to meet some of your husbands who were there, and
had a chance to do a very quick, a much too quick, tour that
I look forward to going back and, expanding on.
And I have really enjo~ed the opportunity that i
have been given in the last months to get to know some of you
personally. And I look forward to being able to build on
some of those relationships and to expand them.
This has been a remarkable year in my life, and I
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had the feeling, when I was asked to speak some months ago,
that I would probably ~ave more in common with this group
than many groups with whom I would speak. '
Because, in many ways, those of us who are 'in
positi9ns that are committed to our ,country, that have no
real set hours or even days or' months it seems, who are Qn
call twenty four hours a day often, who raise families and
deal with the stresses and strains of everyday life from this
kind of unusual perspective, maybe have some common
experiences that can be very useful to share and to learn
from.
, And I' enjoyed, particularly, my involvement, over
the years, with the Jacksonville Air Force Base that was down
the road from Little Rock, and the opportunities that I had
to attend some of the activities of the officers' wives' club
there. And then today, again, I was reminded about the ways
that all of us have td become accustomed to supporting
spouses who lead the kind of lives that 'yours do.
, I was, struck, when'I picked up and moved from
Little Rock, that it was a very difficult m9ve for my family,
but you all do that two or three ,times a year.
You pack up and you take off. You 'make sacrifices
that many of the rest of America cannot even really imagine,
and you move your children and have to resettle them. And I
had to go through the same' thing. , And for me it was a
difficult transition, one that took some months to get used
to~
What'I should have, done is called and asked you to
give me some lessons. The idea that this would ever be
easy
and I've had the opportunity to hear some of the
women 'at my table talk about how much they've enjoyed the
challenge of a new place -- was very heartening to me,
because in politics nothing 'is secure. So, you know, I've
got to lear:n these lessons and'be ready to pick up and move
nearly at any time.
The kinds of changes that have gone on in my life
are ones that I wanted to spend just a few minutes filling
you in on, because they are not something that I usually talk
about, but I feel very comfortable with all of you, and we
have all of these things in common, I'believe. And many of
you have asked me, since T' have come over today, some of the
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questions that I would like to try to answer for
everybody~
The two most common questions that I'm asked, and
they were asked today" are how is Chelsea' and how is Socks ~
That is what I am always asked, no matter what group I'm in,
and Chelsea is fine, but it was a hard transition. And I
don't know r maybe there's a breakdown between moving under
13-year-old children and moving 13~year-old children and
older. Yes, I see lots of heads nodding.
Again, you all need to publish a book about this,
because it was a rocky transition, leaving friends, leaving
'home, leaving grandparents, leaving' all of that, .and moving
to Washington. But I knew that we had finally gotten over
the hump when we were talking about Thanksgiving plans a few
weeks ago, and we were in what I call our kitchen now.
This is on the, second floor of the White House, and
it is what is a serving.kitchen, or used.to be. Before the
Kennedys, you had to eat all your meals downstairs. And
that's on the ground floor, either in the state Dining Room,
or in a little'room called the Family Dining Room.
'Now, the idea of having to dress for every single
meal as though you might be photographed and have your image
imprinted in the minds of your countrymen and women must have
done the saine thing to Mrs. Kennedy that it would have done
to me. So she took a bedroom, and she divided it, and she,
put up the second floor dining room, which is a lovely room,
pretty formal, and then,had a serving kitchen. '
And that's how then it went from the Kennedys until
the Clintons. So that you could, eat on the second floor, but
you had to eat in the formal dining room. So we would get
there for our meals, when we first got, to the, White House,
'and we would be sitting around, just the three·'of us, or
maybe the three of us and our family members, and it was like
being at a 'formal dinner, for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
You'd get finger' bowls. (Laughter) And Chelsea
kind of looked around, and you could just see this look on
her face like "I'll never be able to bring any new friends
home here."
So I sort of said, you know, "That serving
kitchen; it's got :that great big butcher block in the middle .
.Do you think we could pull that out and maybe put a table in,
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and actually have a kitchen?"
I don't know what it's like when you have a
question in the military that has never been asked before.
(Applause) But I can tell you, there were probably more
meetings about turning the serving pantry kitchen into a
workable family kitchen than anything that's happened in this
administration from its inception. '
We finally did. I bought a table and chairs, and
we put it in there. And we actually began eating there as a
family when it was just the three of us, or maybe my mother,
or somebody was there with us. And it has made all the
difference in the world. And it made all the difference to
her, that we could be a family, that we didn't have to sit
there" straight, on our best behavior with each other, which
is hard.
'
.
And finally ,I knew we had it ~- we were' sitting in
the kitchen, we were talking' about Thanksgiving, and we we~e
having dinner together, and I said, "Well, you know, should
we ask Grandma and Ginger"which is what we call Bill's
mother, and everybody to come up here, or should we go to
Arkansas?"
'
And Chelsea said, "Well, we can 'do either, but you
know, I'm getting to like Washington." And you know what
that's like when you hear that as a mother. It's like,' nOh,
thank you, thank you, Lord." I mean, it's just the most
wonderful feeling. So she's doing fine.
Socks, there's a mixed report. You know I was
trying to explain to Lexalin and some of the others at the
table -- she's a big cat lover, as I am -- that this has been
the most traumatic part of the move for us. '
Because before, he could range freely and do
anything. And now he has to be confined, because we're
worried if we let him loose, he might get cat-napped. And
this is a very serious concern. I don't think I ,can get away
with assigning secret service agents to watch Socks, so the
alternative is that we have to kind of keep him on ,that
leash, and those are terrible p~ctures, I know.
You know, those of you,who love cats~ to see this
beautiful cat, who is really descended from cat nobility
going back to the Egyptians, on this leash. But you will
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be -- I mean, even with cats, things finally get better.
You will be happy to know he does finally have some
friends. And they are coming to visit him. There are two
gray cats, and they kind of hang out with him. But it's a
good thing that Socks doesn't read regularly. It's a good
thing that' nobody in our family reads newspapers and
'magazines regularly, but particularly Socks.
(Applause)
Because there was an article that I found just
incredible, that was published in some magazine, which
somebody clipped out 'for me, which said that this family that
had been touring around the White House had counted 250 rats.
Now, I've been outside the White House a lot, and
I've walked around, and there are rats. I don't think we can
deny we do have some rats. But there aren't that many. But
what I thought about, was think how Socks would feel. Socks,
who is this great hunter.
If he knew that he was not f~lfilling his most ,
fundamental responsibility to our count~y, which is to keep
the rats out of the White House. So we've kept that from
him, but he seems to be adjusting. And I'm so grateful.
And my husband, you can read about him. He's doing
great. Every day it gets better and better and I'm so proud
of him. But, 'generally, we have made the transition. But I
could have used some advice.
And so one of the things JAFOWL should really
consider, and I think it would bea big, big moneymaker, are
hints for moving and for adjusting and for transitions.
Because I certainly would have bought up the entire stock and
passed the~ out to everybody who came with us.
The biggest things that we have really enjoyed,
though, are getting to know people, and particularly people
from all walks of life and from dif~erent kinds of
experiences. And 'many of our most interesting and, for us,
personally gratifying moments have been the times that we
have spent getting to know some of your spouses, your
husbands primarily, except for Bill, who is here. And
I
think that deserves a big round of applause, Bill.
(Applause)
The only thing that I was a little sad about was
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when the Coast Guard band started playing that wonderful
music that made everybody want to dance, I couldn't figure
out how we could organize it so that Bill could dance with
all of us. You know, sort of seriatim. We'd line up, and
he'd do a little spin, and we'd go on.
But to get to know, and to really share with so
many of you and your husbands the. kind of ,common commitment
that we have to this country. And it is a commitment that
has certainly withstood the test of history and challenge and
all kinds of crises. But it is one that in every generation
has to be renewed and has to be put into a new context.
The challenges facing us today are not the same as
those that faced our parents and our grandparents. There are
common threaQs which run through them, that demand the best
from us. And the answers, I believe, are rooted in the same
values and attitudes that really have created the climate of
change that America has always been able to respond to.
But in this time and at this moment in our history,
we have some new and some different challenges. And for
those of you in the military, you know that the military
mission is changing. After we had the cold war come to that
end ,which it did, 'thank goodness, there were those who said,
"Oh,my goodness, now we have such a great opportunity!" And
we do.
.
But we also have some continuing and new dangers
and new.threats and new problems that we have to deal with.
So our time now today gives us the opportunity to shape what
Americ.a's present and future will be like. And if we look at
every area'of our life, we can see what is out there waiting
for us, what are really the kind of generational challenges
that we confront. .
We are, with the wonderful leadership of people
like Retired General Powell, and now General Shalikashvili,
and the ~thers, we are shaping a new military in America. We
are figuring out how we can continue to be the best, and to
continue to iead, and to know where to use our military
strength, and where. to partner it with economic and other
kinds of opportunities.
And on the domestic front, we see also what· is
clearly facing us as a people. We know that we have to do
better at dealing with some of the problems that are
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undermining our strength and productivity here at home.
can't turn our backs on them.
We
And I often think, as my husband talks about the
challenges, that they really do all fall under a broad rubric
-- you might call it "Security and ResponsibilIty" -- both on
the domestic and the international front.
But we have to redefine what those words meim here
at home. And for me, security means that we have to rebuild
the sense of security that Americans have, so that they can
be equipped to deal with the chalienges that confront them.
It is very difficult to tell people who don't have
some of the basics of their lives taken care of, that they
should go out and be productive and future oriented and
responsible.
"
And there are three areas that are of particular
concern. One is economic security. We have to,a better job
making it possible for people to have good jobs. It used to
be that, if you had a job, you could kind of count on it for
the rest of your life if you did what'you were supposed to
do. And we all know that's no longer the case.
And, so for many people, what they had thought they
had w,orked for, or what they had taken for granted, is no
longer there. So we have to think about how do we make
people economically secure?' ,How do we get jobs back into
places where there aren't enough? Or how do we try to
provide opportunities for the people to move out of places to
take jobs where they can be creative?
How do we invest in making new jobs, so that we can
begin to see wages rise again? ,Because in ~he private
sector, most wages for most working people have stayed
stagnant now for fifteen years. They've not had very many
increases. And for many people who have lost what were once
good paying jobs, they find it difficult to match those wages
in the job market.
And many of the kinds of stories that you read
about now, with layoffs and other things occurring, that is
probablya,necessary part of the changes that are going on.
But it's not'enough to, just say, "Fine, those people will
find something else." Uniess we make some of the changes
that we are making,' that may not be the case. So economic
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security is very important.
Another kind of security which is critical is
physical security. It is not an accident that finally we are,
focusing on crime and violence, because it has gotten to such
a point that none of us can ignore it any longer. It has
been a growing problem in many regions of our country,
particularly in our inner cities, for a number of years.
But it hadn't quite spilled over, so that it
brought the attention of the entire country the way it has
now. And I think that much of the reason for its finally
grabbing center stage is because of the number of children
being killed, the number of innocent children being shot on
playgrounds, shot in schools, being the victims of drive by
shootings, and the number of children who are killing other
children.
'
Somehow that has pierced our consciousness unlike
any of the rest of the violence that has been occurring. And
I am sO'grateful that finally it looks like we are on the
brink of addressing that.
(Applause) We are on the brink of
finally saying, "Enough is enough."The most basic duty of a
society, and certainly of a government, is to provide for the
safety of its citizens.'
That's what your husbands spend their lives doing,
to protect us around the globe. And yet we,can't protect
ourselves in our own country. And' I think that the
.
combination of more police officers, which is very important.
You know, in the 1950s we had three police officers on the
street for every serious crime.
TodaY'we have one police officer for every three
serious crimes., So increasing the number of police will make
a diff~rence. Using different kinds of punishment --boot
camps, which many of your husbands know'a lot about, is
something that, if we get young people early enough and we
really give them the right combination of discipline and
fOCUS, can make a difference.
The kinds of programs that General Powell worked on
when he was at the Pentagon, to try ,to reach young people,
particularly in their 13, 14 year period, and get them
interested in Junior ROTC. That's a symbolic effort that can
be multiplied across the country if adults will take the time
to go into some of these ~avaged areas and work with these
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youngsters.
And doing something about a different way 'of
combatting the drug war. Yes, doing everything we can to
keep the drugs out, but beginning to focus more on the demand
side. Trying to get these people not to be addicted by using
some of the treatments that we know work'.
There's a drug court in Miami that has had a
phenomenal success rate. It takes drug offenders 'and it
says, "We will postpone punishing you by sending you to jail
if you will go into drug treatment." And it's a little
controversial because it uses acupuncture. But it works.
And so we ne'ed to be creative and try some things
to break the cycle of drug addiction.
And then finally~ and this I am so grateful for,
and I think all of us should be, we are finally beginning to
do something about taking the guns off the streets ,of our
cities. (Applause) So working on physical security so that
we can all feel safe again.
You know, this came through t9 me, as often these
things do in personal ways, one day about a year and a half
ago, when I was still in Arkansas. And Chelsea came to me
and she said, "Can I ride my bike with so-and-so up to the
library?" ,
The library was only about eight blocks away, and
we were a lot freer to get around in Arkansas than we are
now, but I stopped and I said, "No, I'll drive you," because
I was scared to let her get on a bike in the middle of the
day, wi,th a friend, and ride to the library.
And I thought about the countless days, when I
would run into the house and I would yell, "Mom, we're going
to the library. We're going to the park! We're going to th~
movie." We'd get on our bikes, and she'd yell as we drove
outthe,driveway, "Just be back in,time for dinner."
,
And she didn't worry, and we didn't worry. And
look what we have done to our children. We have robbed them
of their childhoodsi we have taken away the opportunity for
them to explore and to , lea'rn, , that all of us took for
,granted.'
,
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And the third area of security, which is one that I
have worked on now for a number of months, is health
security. It is very hard to.imagine what it is like for the
millioris of Americans who do not have the guarantee of health
coverage.
.
.
But even for those who do, it .is hard for any of us
to know for sure that we will have it next year at this time,
becaus~ nobody is entitled to it in our country.
It depends
upon what you can pay, and who you are, and where you live,
and who you work for, ·and whether you've ever been sick. And
as I have .travelled around the country, I have these
inde~ible images stuck in my mind of the faces of people all
over who·have told me their stories.
And everyone that I hear convinces me even more
that, until every American has health care security, none of
us is secure. And I know that for·many people this whole
health care debate seems very complicated,. But that's
because it's a big, big issue. It's one that has a lot of
various aspects to. it.
But there are some simple, fundamental principles
that I think everybody can agree on. The first is that you
ought to be able to get health care coverage, no matter who
you are, as long as . you're an American. And that means, no
matter where you live. And that means~· no matter whether
you've had a pre-existing condition.
And it ought to be health care coverage that takes
care of you, not that disappears when you read the fine
print,not that is not accessible to you.
It's one thing -- and I know it's one of the
complaints that I learned about as I studied the military and
the VA systems -- is that sometime we say there's health
care, but, in effect, we make it very difficult to access.
-We tell people, "Oh it's there, but you're going to have to
go through 900 hoops; and wait forever before you get it."
That's in effect, for many people, being told it's
not accessible to them. And what we have tried to provide,
in the President's plan, for everybody, is a ,series of plans
that you can choose. And this is going to 'be true, also, ·for
military.dependents and retirees and for VA-eligible people,
because we want all of you to have choice that means
something.
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And we're going to be creating networks of military'
and civilian health care providers, so that we can honestly
tell you, "You not only have coverage, you can access that
coverage." And I think that will make a big difference to a
lot of military dependents and retirees.
So security is key, and every time I ·think that I
have kind of hardened to the stories that I hear, I hear
another one. And last Friday I heard one that I can't get
out of my mind. I was at the Rainbow Babies and Children .
Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, which I think is a great name
for a children's hospital. All the doctors have little
rainbows.on their pockets, and it's a very happy place.
And I was meeting with the families of chronically
ill children, you know, the children with cystic fibrosis and
cerebral palsy and diabetes and arthritis and leukemia and
the kinds of things that make you have to go back to the
doctor all the time.
And there was a family,a mother and a father with
·their three children, their healthy son, .and their two
daughters who had cystic fibrosis •. And the motber was
holding .the younger of the two daughters on her lap.
And she said, "I want you to know how hard my
husband and I have tried to be able to buy insurance to take
care of our daughters. He's a small businessman. We're more
than willing to pay our fair share. We have coverage for
ourselves and our son, but we can't get insurance for our
daughters. , , '
.
And she said, "I didn't realize how my family was
viewed, really, until recently, when I sat across the table
at an insurance company office, trying to work out a way to
have some kind of insurance for these girls. When finally
this person across this table from me looked at me and said,
'I'm sorry, but we don't insure burning houses.'"
And, you know, I was sitting there when this mother
said it. And she just said it in a way that just pierced my
heart. You know, I thought, "What if I were in that
position, with my daughter?" I don't know that I would be so
calm. I'm not sure I could tell my story one more time.
do
And yet she wanted to, with the hope that we could
for her and her family and the millions of
som~thing
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families like her.
And I'm hoping that we can, too.
I remember talking to some of your husbands a few
months ago, when we were. at an event at the White House. And
we were talking about health care, because I was excited
about what we were proposing for DOD and VA, and they had
been briefed, and they .seemed very happy and satisfied about
it.
And one of them said to me, "You know, I never
really stopped to think about this untiiI realiz~d that of
course we provide health'security for our military members.
I mean, how could we send people off on missions or into
battle if they weren't sure they'd be taken care of? How
could we do that?"
And he said,' "And I suddenly realized. that
everyday, in the civilian sector, most people don't know that
they will be taken care of." SO,me of them who are insured
think they will, but you have such things like lifetime
limits and other kinds of obstacles that all of a sudden pop
up. And then millions 'more who aren't...
.
And I remember telling him about a family I had met
who had told me that had finally had to tell their sons they
had to quit sports, because they couldn't afford insurance,
, and they didn't want the boys taking a chance of being hurt.
And that little st'ory -- It wasn't about a tragic
illness -- but that little story was as meaningful to me as
the big stories that I hear.
So trying to provide health security to everybody
is absolutely fundamental. So security and responsibility,
two words that have meant a lot to you and your families and
to your husbands over the years, are two words that need to
mean a lot again to Americans.
Yes, we want to provide better security, economic,
physical, and health. And, yes, we want people to begin to
be more r~sponsible for themselves and their families,
particularly their children. And that two-edged message, we
have to get out, and talk about with everyone.
And you have, in many ways, lived that. You've
demonstrated what it means to put yourselves on the line, to
make sacrifices, to stand behind what you believe and what
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our country
~eeds.
And as we approach Thanksgiving, I would not only
just thank you for what you have done, but challenge you to
also reach out to those beyond, thos~ who also need to know
what it means to be responsible in today's world~ And what
kind of changes America must.make if we are to remain strong
and leading this extremely complicated planet that we find
ourselves on.
I have every confidence that we are going to
emerge, in the 21st century, stronger than ever, because
we're going ·to.live up to the challenges we face. But it's
.goingto take a lot of hard work and a lot of individual
commitment to get us there •. Andl salute all of you for
symbolizing what I mean when I talk about that, and ask you
to be part of helping us make the changes we know our country
needs to have made.
.
Thank you all very.much.
(Applause. )
A PARTICIPANT: Mrs. Clinton, we are so very, very,
very honored that you're here, and I didn't have that written
down. We want to thank you for attending the 16th annual
Joint Armed Forces Officers' Wives' Luncheon. And the
committee is pleased to present you with ~ small token of our
appreciation.
MRS. CLINTON.:· Thank you very much.
Can I look?
A PARTICIPANT: Oh, certainly. The committee is
also pleased to donate this year's charitable contribution,
as chosen by Mrs. Clinton, to Army Emergency Relief, Navy
Marine Corps Relief Society, Air Force Aid society, and Coast
Guard Mutual Assistance.
.
.
Again, thank you very much.
MRS.
CLINTON:Than~you
ver.y much..
(Applause)·
A PARTICIPANT: Mrs. Clinton, it became apparent
from your first days in Washington that you would keep a
hectic schedule, and so we are honored that you chose to
spend a few hours with us today.
(Applause)
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We are grateful for
each other better and to hear
and responsibility, a message
the others.of our members who
this opportunity to get to know
about your interest in security
that we promise to pass.on ~o
couldn't be'here today.
To our honored guests, we thank you for being here
today too, and we appreciate your support of our 16th annual
luncheon.
To the officer wives of Washington, we are here,
today to ,celebrate the sisterhood of military wives. All
around the globe, 24 hours a d~y, our families live the life
of service to country and,sacrifice., The two are
'inseparable, and that 'is' what unites us.
I hope all of you have had a chance to reach out
and meet someone from another service. That's part of what
this day is all about. We thank you for coming, and we look
forward to being together again next year.
, I would now like to introduce Chris Oster, a marine
:wife, who will offer the benediction. Following that, may I
,ask you tp remain seated until the dining 'room doors have
'been opened, at which time you are welcome to leave.
Mrs. Oster.
MRS.·OSTER: Let us pray. Heavenly Father, thank
you ,for the men and women of the 'Army, Navy, Air Force,
Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, who have faithfully served
this great nation throughout history. We are a chosen
nation, we love our God. We love and support those who
defend our precious freedoms.
Thank you, Lord, for providing us with families who
sustain our servicemen and women as they perform difficult
duties around the globe. Thank you, Father, for the women
here today, and for others like them, throughout the world,
who mak~ defending this natiqn a" blessed ~n~ honorable task.
Guide and direct us as we strive to uphold the
moral values that you taught us are important. And let us
not become weary of doing good, for at the proper time we
will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
repres~nt
Even in this time of great change, 'we, as a family,
a most powerful force for good. Heavenly Father,
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we humbly pray that you work your perfect will in the lives
of our leaders. We pray especially for President Clinton and
Mrs. Clinton and for our great nation.
Help us always remember the psalmist, who wrote,
"Blessed is the nation whose God is Lord. The people He
chose for His inheritance."
We offer this prayer according to the tradition of
our individual faith, and I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
(End of proceedings.)
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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
Lissa Muscatine - Press Office
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
First Lady's Office
Press Office
Lissa Muscatine
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1993 - 1997
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
<a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/show/36239" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="http://catalog.archives.gov/id/7431941" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2011-0415-S
Description
An account of the resource
<p>Lissa Muscatine first served in the Clinton Administration as a speechwriter. Within the First Lady’s Office, she served as Communications Director to the First Lady.</p>
<p>Lissa Muscatine’s records consist of materials from First Lady Hillary Clinton’s Press Office, highlighting topics such as health care, women’s rights, the Millennium Council, Hillary Clinton’s 2000 Senate campaign, and deal extensively with press interviews given by the First Lady; her domestic and foreign travel; and speeches and remarks, on a wide variety of topics, given by her before and during her time as First Lady. The records include interview transcripts, press releases, speeches and speech transcripts.</p>
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
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Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Format
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Adobe Acrobat Document
Extent
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1,324 folders in 27 boxes
Text
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Original Format
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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
FLOTUS Statements and Speeches 9/21/93 - 11/22/93 [Binder]: [Joint Armed Forces Wives' Lunch 11/19/1993]
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Box 13
<a href="http://clintonlibrary.gov/assets/Documents/Finding-Aids/Systematic/2011-0415-S-Muscatine.pdf" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="http://catalog.archives.gov/id/7431941" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
First Lady's Office
Press Office
Lissa Muscatine
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2011-0415-S
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
Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Format
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Adobe Acrobat Document
Medium
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Reproduction-Reference
Date Created
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11/26/2012
Source
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2011-0415-S-flotus-statements-and-speeches-9-21-93-11-22-93-binder-joint-armed-forces-wives-lunch-11-19-1993
7431941