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Case Number: 2006-0459-F
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. State of the Union '98 Background 12/97
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!------------------------------1
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DOCUMENT NO.
AND TYPE
001. notes
SUBJECTffiTLE
DATE
re: [State of the Union Meeting] (5 pages)
12/08/1997
. RESTRICTION
P5
, I
COLLECTION:
Clinton Presidential Records
National Security Council
Anthony Blinken (Speechwriting)
ONBox Number: 3389 ,
FOLDER TITLE:
State of the Union '98 Background 12/97
2006-0459-F
rs562
RESTJUCTION CODES .
Freedom of Information Act -IS U.S. C. 552(b)J
Presidential Records Act -144 U.S.C. 2204(a)J
PI
P2
P3
P4
National Security Classified Information l(a)(J) of the PRAJ
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C. Closed in accordance with restrictions :contained i~ donor's deed
of gift. .
,
,
PRM. Personal record misfile defined in accordance with 44
2201(3).
RR. Document will be reviewed upo~ request.
u.s. c.
b(l) National security classified information ((b)(l) of the FOIA(
b(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of
an agency [(b)(2) of the FOIA(
b(3) Release would violate a Federal statute ((b)(3) of the FOIAI
b(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial
information ((b)(4) of the FOIAI
·
,
· b(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy [(b)(6) of the FOIAI
· ·
.,. b(7) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement
purposes ((b)(7) of the FOIAJ
,
,
b(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of
·
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b(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information
.
concerning wells ((b)(9) of the FOIAI
�.
_,
. ~~ .
"'
.... ~·';
8231
NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20504
December 5, 1997
ACTION
MEMORANDUM FOR SAMUEL R. BERGER - JAMES STEINBERG
FROM:
ANTONY BLINKEN ~B
SUBJECT:
Foreign policy themes and initiatives for the
Sta.te of the Union.
The President requested the attached memorandum, which proposes
a st~ucture for the foreign policy section of the State of· the
Union and initiatives/objectives to highlight.
The first
meeting with the President to discuss the speech is Monday.
The
Chief of Staff's office has requested that he receive our
memorandum as soon as possible before the meeting.
Concurrence by:
Mara Rudman
~
~-~
RECOMMENDATION
That you sign the.attached memorandum to the President.
·Attachment
Tab I . Memorandum to the President on Foreign Policy Themes and
Initiatives for the State of the Union
�8231
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
INFORMATION
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
FROM:
SAMUEL BERGER
SUBJECT:
State of the Union
Ideas
-~
Foreign Policy Themes and
As you requested, this memorandum proposes a theme for the
foreign policy section of the State of the Union and specific
objectives/initiatives to emphasize.
I.
THEME
Because the framework for the foreign policy section should flow
from the overall direction of the speech, it may.be premature to
lock in a theme. And while repeating last year's "six
priorities" risks bor~dom, deviating from them in an o~vious way
(i.e. by listing new categories of priorities) risks confusion
and charges of inconsistency.
With these caveat~ in mind, one organizing principle suggests
itself:
describe the new security challenges of the 21st century
--·and then show how we are meeting them with a new security
strategy. Any of the specific initiatives or goals you may
choose to highlight would follow logically from this structure.
'
.
•\
~fJl)7
\\
fvo (_l"1n'·~tft..1 v-.t--\-Q
t--.-11
Conflicts between nation-states may be decreasing -- but
rr--) 1 .
outbreaks of extreme nationalism and ethnic, racial and
religious hatred have increased conflict within them.
The
super:-power stand o~as ended -- but we remain vulnerable to J • ~J
rogue states and to '{_nexus of ne0threats (terrtrrisHt-, drug
· h
.
trafficking, internati1onal crime), which will be all the more
lethal if weapons of mass destruction are allowed to spread.
Our answer to these challenges is a ne~ security strategy for
the 21st century. As you explained in your speech to the U.N.,
the core elements of our foreign policy -- security alliances
like NATO; arms control regimes like CWC; free trade agreements
like the ITA; international coalitions to support peace and to
act against terror, crime and drugs; binding international
cc: Vice President
Chief of Staff
�.------------
..
--------------------------------------------~--------------.
,, .
_~
2
commitments on the environment and humanrights --each advance
a distinct mission but also serve a common purpose:
to secure
and strengthen democracy, peace and ftee markets while turnitig
back their enemies.
This network of institutions and
arrangements -- forged by American diplomacy; guaranteed by
American force -- forms a bulwark for those who play by the
rules, isolating those who do not.
II.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES/INITIATIVES
Last year's foreign policy section worked well because, while
most issues that needed a mention got one, you dwelled on only
three:
NATO enlargement; the Chemical Weapons Convention and
trade. We should follow that same approach this year and focus
on three key initiatives that require legislative action in
1998: (i) NATO enlargement. ratification; (ii) funding and/or
support for a possible post-SFOR security presence in Bosnia;
and (iii) ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
Each follows logically from the framework outlined above.
Three other issues may also merit highlighting.
First, we are looking at an initiative to strengthen the
Biological Weapons Convention, as well as our own efforts to
protect. against and respond to. the use of biological weapons
against our troops or citizens.
In the wake of Iraq, and
coupled with a call for the CTBT. (and a reminder that Congress
has·yet to pass ewe implementing legislation) such an initiative
would highlight your understanding of and leadership on the new
threats posed by weapons of mass de~truction.
Second, a tough paragraph on U.N. arrears would be timely.
Congressional leadership, especially in. the Senate, wa~ acutely
embarrassed .when the arrears package fell victim to politics in
the midst of the Iraq crisis. The heroic work on the U.N.
weapons inspectors makes vivid the case for settling our debts
and dues.
Thirdj we need to consider carefully what yori say on trade in
general and ~ast Track in particular. With the Santiago S.ummi t
fast approaching, and questions about next steps lingering, the
issue must be .addressed -- indeed, it may merit a stand alone
section in the speech under the rubric of globalization.
(0
.·~ lt~\1
Finally, we should consider whether and to what extent to use
VJt~ ,;~J\
the State of the Union .to foreshadow your heavy foreign, travel \ ~
schedule for 1998.
}
\ I"
'
J lr\. ·
(: {j(n\,'-) )..)r- t\!lf> G\-.,\-.. '-' 1 v·r
j
rtw-. ~ ~ r:' l'\"'
�·Withdrawal/Redaction Marker •
Clinton Library
DOCUMENT NO.
AND TYPE
001. notes
SUBJECTrfiTLE
DATE
. re: [State of the Union Meeting] (5 pages)
12/08/1997
'
RESTRICTION
P5
.
;~ .
COLLECTION:
Clinton Presidential Records
National Security Council
Anthony Blinken (Speechv.Titing)
OA/Box Number: 3389
FOLDER TITLE:
State of the Union '98 Background 12/97
2006-0459-F
rs562
RESTRICTION CODES
Presidential Records Act -144 U.S.C. 2204(a)( .
· PI
P2
· P3
P4
National Security Classified Information j(a)(l) of the PRA} ·
Relating to the appointment to Federal office [(a)(2) of the PRAI
Release would violate a Federal statute [(a)(3) of the PRAl '
Release would disdose trade secrets or confidential commercia·l or
financial information ((a)(4) of the PRAI
P5 Release would disclose confidential advice between the President
and his·advisors, or betwee.n such advisors (aj(5).of the PRA)
P6 Release would constitute a dearly unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy ((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.
Freedom of Information Act- (5 U.S.C. 552(b)J
b(l) National security classified information ((b)(l) Of the FOIAI
b(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practi'ces of
·an agency [(b)(2) of the FOIAI
· b(3) Relea~e would violate a Federal statute [(b)(3) of the FOIAI
b(4) Release would disclose. trade secrets or confidential or financial
·
information [(b)(4)ofthe,FOIAI ,
b(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
· · personal privacy [(b)(6) of the FOIA) ·
b(7) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement
purposes [(b)(7) of the FOIA]
b(8j 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 [(b)(9) of the FOIA]
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�'!J7
December 2, 1997
To:
From:
Re.
SRB
Blinken
·state of the Union
In the absence of a unifying theme-- which Waldman & Co. ar~~
still working on-- it's tricky to propose a framework forth~ ~~
foreign policy section of the State of the Union . I suspect it
will not deviate much from "preparing the American people for
• $~
the 21 st century" -- but we need to get a better sense of the
~
overall direction from this evening ' s meeting before setting a
~
course for our section. Thus far, I have not been privy to any
~.-~~
of the discussions . You may wish to designate me NSC point
~~
person as the process moves forward.
~
mas(:~~t~~
Last year, as you'll recall , we talked about
forces of ch ange in the 21st cen r . And we set out your s1x
broad objectives in the foreign policy arena: building an )(
undivided, peaceful, democratic Europe; forging an Asian Pacific
community of cooperation; creating a new, open global trading
system; r~maining an unrelenting force for peace; moving
strongly against new threats like WMD , terrorism, crime and
drugs; and giving ourselves the tools to meet these challenges
(ready military and fully funded diplomacy) .
Repeating the same framework would be boring; deviating from it
in an obvious way (i.e. by listing new categories of priorities)
would be confusing and inconsistent. Thus, we either should use
the overall thematic of the sp~ech to advanc key objectives for
the next twelve months (e.g. NATO+; Bosnia; CTBT/BWC; Korean
peace process; engagement with China; FTAA/Fast Track II; UN
arrears) and/or play off some version of the CSIS/UN speech
framework (i.e. building new system of security alliances , arms
control regimes, free trade agreements, coalitions versus terror
and drugs, commitments on the environment and human rights that,
as a whole, protects those who play by the rules while isolating
those who reject them. That's our new strategy for security).
One trick that did work well last year was to mention everything
that had to be mentioned, but to devote a full paragraph to only
two or three issues. Last year , it was NATO+ , ewe and trade .
This year, the big three probably would be NATO+, Bosnia and
CTBT/BWC .
.,
I
�12/06/9i
lgj006
APNSA
SAT 16:18 FAX
8231
THE WHlTE HOU$E.
~
.
.
WASHINGTON'
INFORMATION
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
FROM:
SAMUEL B~R:GER ·
SUBJECT;
State of the Union Ideas
Foreign Policy Themes and
As
you requested,. this memorandum proposes a theme for the
policy section of the S.tate of the Union and specific·
objectives/initiatives to emphasize.
fore~gn
I.
THEME
Because the frarnework for the foreign policy'sectipn should flow
from the overall direction of the·~peech, i~ may be premature to
lock in a theme. And while repeating last year:'.s. "six
priorities" risks boredom, deviating from .them in an obvious way
(i.e. by listing.new categories o~ priorities) ri~ks confusion
and charges of inconsistency.
With these caveats in mind, one organizing principle suggests
itself: ·describe the new security challenges of the 21.:; 1: century
-- ond th~n show how we are meeting them with a new ~ecurity
strategy. Any of the specific initiatives or goals you may
~:{ ~~:t::;;;::;l~~~·y~.
Confl:P:ts between nation-statf=s may_~~~--. -~t
.
outbreaks .of extreme nationalism and ethnic, racial and
religious hatred have increased cOnfli~t within the~. The
super-power stand off has ended ":"'":" but we remain vulnerable to
rogue states and to a nexus of~ew threats (terrorism, drug
·
.
traffick.lng, international critn") ~ wh. ich will be all the more
· ·'
le~hal if weapons of mass dest ucticr. are allowed to spread. ~
_
.
. .
.
~
-..~a'N
Our an~wer to these challenges is a~ security strategy .. fOi· ~~
the 21 century. As you explained in your speech to the U.N. ,~~
the core elements of our foreign policy - security alliances · __.,
like NATO; arms control regimes like CWC; free trade agreements
like the ITA;· international coalitions to support peac~ and to
act against terror, crime and drugs; binding international,
..,1;
cc: Vice President
Chief of.Staff
�.12/06/97
SAT 16:19 FAX
141 007
APNSA
2
cormni tments on the environment and human rights -- each advance
a distinct mission but also serve a common purpose: to secure
and strengthen democracy, peace·and free markets while turning
back their enemies. This netw6rk df in~titutions and
arrangements -- forged by .A:ffierican diplomacy; guaranteed by.
American force -- forms a bulwark for those who play.by the
rules, i~olating those.who do.no~:
II..
i'
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES/INITIATIVES
L~st year's foreign policy section worked ~eil because, while
most issues that needed a mention got qne, you dwelled on only
three: NATO enlargement; the Chernical·Weapons Convention and
trade. ~e should follow that same ·approach this year and focus
on three·key iriitiatives that require'legislati~e.action in
l998:
( i) NATO enlargement ratification; ( ii) · funding and/or
support for a possible post-SFOR secur~ty presence in Bosnia;
and (iii) ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
Each follows logically from the framework outlined above.
c. ,.,)
Three other issues may also merit highlighting.
!r
II
I
/
'CJJ /6.,.) -
~
First, we are looking at an initiative to strengthen .the
Biological Weapons Convention, as well as our . O)'JT).. efforts to
~rotect ag~inst and respond to the· use of biologic~l W~apons
against our tioops or citizens. In the wake of Iraq, .~nd
coupled w~th a call for the CTBT (and a reminder that Congress
has yet to pass ewe implementing legislation) such an initiative'
would highlight your understanding of and lea~ership on the n~w
threats posed by weapons of ma~s destruction.
Second, a tough paragraph on U.N. arrears wo~ld be timely.
Congressional leadership, especially. in the S~nate, was acutely
embarrassed when the arrears package fell victim to politics in
the midst of the Iraq crisi~. The heroic work on the U.N.
weapons in~pectors makes vivid the case for ~ettling our debts
and dues.
'
Third, we need to consider carefully what you say· on trade in
general and Fast Track in particular. With the Santiago Summit
fast approaching, and questions about next steps lingering, the
issue must be addressed -- indee~, it may merit a stand.alone
section in the speech under the rubric of globalizatio~.
Fi~ally, w~ should consider whether and to what extent to use
·--
State of the Union to foreshadow your heavy foreign travel
schedule for 1998.
th~
�12/06/97
-------
SAT 16:16 FAX
APNSA
-----
December 5, 1997
MEMORANDUM FOR CIRCULATION
FROM:
MICHAEL WALDMA.l'\J
.SUBJECT:
ATTACHED DRAFT MEMO ON THE STATE OF THE UNION
Please take a look atthis draft memorandum, which is .based on our earlier memoranduin,
and call or page me with comments. My goal is to get it to th~ President on S~nday. Thanks.
@001
�.12/QG/•3,7
,.
SAT 16: 17 FAX
'
-·~
DRAFT 8pm
DRAFT 8pm
DRAFT 8prn
PLEASE GET YOUR COMMENTS BACK TO
MICHAEL WALDMAN (202)364-4283 ORPAGE ME
December x, 1997
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
THROUGH:
ERSKINE BOWLES
SYLVIA MAlliEWS
FROM:
MICHAEL WALDMAN
SUBJECT:
STATE OF THE UNION PLANNING PROCESS
The 1998 State of the Union Address- your sixth- comes at a critical time in the
Presidency. It will be y~uffirst m~jor statement ofpurposeto ihe country since the completion.
of the balanced budget; it will be an opportunity to frame the issues that can dominate the 1998 ·
elections; it can enable you t() set large national goals and posit a new role for government in the
new era ..
The purpose of this memorandum is to prcpare,you for our first meeting with you on the
State of the Union, to be held Monday morning, In this meeting. we propose to:
•
discuss the overall strategic goal of the speech,
•
focus, in particular,
how best to fi:ame the ''new social compact for a new
economy" that you have been· discussing, and'
..
present some thematic approaches for your initial reaction.
an
This memorandum reflects discussions among Sylvia Mathews, John Podesta, Rahm
Emanu~l, Paul Begala, Sid Blumenthal, Ann Le'Wis., Ron Klain, Gene Sperling, Bruce Reed,. ·
Sandy Berger, Elena Kagan,'Maria Echaveste, John Hilley, Frank Raines, Tony Blinken, Doug
Sosnik and Mark Penn.
·
·
I. PURPOSES OF THE 1998 STATE OF THE UNION
The moment. This Address comes at a turning point in your Presidency-- the beginning
of a new phase that may encompass your final three years in office.. America has fundamentally
succeeded in meeting. the challenges placed before it when you were elected. You addressed the
budget deficit (a legacy of the 1980s); and the crises of crime and the underclass (lega~ies of the
1960s and· 1970s). More broadly, the.policies you have put in place have gone far to guide the
transition to a new economy that is information-based and technology-powered ... through the
�APNSA
!gj003
and
shoals of the post-Cold War world~ __
toward an increasingly integrated global marketplace
and community. The public is now poised to regard these changes, which once seemed only
omens of disruption, as creating a new and hopeful time.
Ironically, this very record of success creates a vacuum, and hence an opportunity. We
believe there is a willingness, even an eagerness, on the part of the public to be challenged to the
Il£tU agenda. Many of your p10st memorable speech lines have been those of negation -- "en_d
welfare as we know it," "the era.ofbig government is pver." Tins is an occasion for focusing-on
"construction" -- for a distinctly positive vision.
This argues strongly that the policies advanced should be bolder, painted in more vivid
co~ors, than we are perhaps accustomed to doing. They should paint a vision of the changes we
seek, even if the enactment of some of those changes are unlikely in the short term. And it
argues that the argumentation .itself-:- the story line that binds the issues together-- should be
emphasized more than it has been. ·
In addition, this State of the Union is different from its predecessors in one other way.
Each of them revolved aroood a single, looming issue - the economic plan (1993 ), health care
(1994), the unfolding fight with the Republicans on how to balance the budget (1995-1997). The
speeches put forward an array of smaller policies, but they served as accompanying notes to the
dominant theme. This time. thus far, no single policy proposal or debate rises to the level of the
economic plan, tl1e health care plan. or the balanced budget
· ·Goals.· First and foremost, this address must set forth an ambitious agenda of programs
and goals for the nation and world over the next three years, and even beyond. More than most
such speeches, this can aim for far horizons.
.
'
Second, this address gives you a chance to explicitly .set forth your your public
philosophy, andlink. your-many proposals as part of a new vision of government in the new
economy. In some addz:ess~s in recent years, it seemed as if every sentence that wasn't devoted
to putting forward a new proposal or position was wasted. This year, a bit more time explaining
the new era and the policies it demands is in order.
Third, the address should highlight some issues that illustrate this public philosophy, and
which highlight the different approaches of Democrats and Republicans. The overall purpose of
the speech cannot be to unite the Democrats, but rather, to lead them and the country through
compelling issues.
II. THE NEW SOCIAL COMPACT
.
'
Regardless of whether it is an overarching structure for the speech, or merely an· extended
passage dis<:ussing economic and social policy, it may well make sense to talk at length about .
your vision of the new social compact for a new econoJm;. In recent weeks, you have discussed ·
the new forms of "social security" .we need to give people the confidence they need to seize the
. opportunities of the new economy, as
as the '~new social compacf' you discussed at the '
well
�·1.2/06'/9.7: SAT 16:18 FAX
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........
DLC speech. It speaks to your vision of government-- "neither a government th~t does
everything, nor a government that does nothing, but a government that gives people the tools to
make the most of their own lives."
This could be a way to frame those d0111estic policy initiatives that involve updating the
welfare state:
"As we enter a new century, America must renew the ties that bind us to each other and
our country_ During the Industrial Age, we forged a social compact that protected our
· people and shielded them from economic dislocation. Today, the unfolding new
economy offers wide new opportunities -- but rapid change has made the old social
contract less· effective. As we enter a new century with a new economy, we need a new
social compact/contract as well. One based on individual empowerment, not big .
institutions. That means. more and better education, a lifetime .of learning to stay current
.
.
.
in the ever~changing economic market, policies that.encourage portability of health care
and pensions as people change jabs, and an update of important programs like Social
Security and Medicare so they can work better in the 21st Century."
Regardless of the precise wording, there is a more fundamental question that would
benefit from your input.
What~
•
precisely, do we mean? Does this mean, in effect, a modernized welfare
state in which people are given the tools to help themselves (e.g., portable health
care, IRAs, training) rather. than given blanket assurances of «security", or does it
speak more broadly to a change in the relationship between il1dividuals ;md
government?
·
·
•
How does the.important theme ofbalancin~ wsirk and family fit in?
Are there specific policy areas-- e.g., a more aggressive approach to
unemployment insurance and training that need to be developed to bolster the
theme?
·
·
Are there approaches or phrases to use or avoid?
III. OVERARCHING THEMES AND STRUCTURES
.
.
We are currently discussing several thematic approaches to the speech, and would like to
. get your. initial reaction and guidance before we proceed further. Mark Penn will be testing these
various formulations, among others.' Two, in particular, seem promising:·
Preparing America far the 21st Century. There is a new et;:onomy taking shape around
us, the product of the progress put in place by our administration.· We must act to give our
people the tools to seize this new moment. · That means a new social compact for the new
economy, so all out people can seize the opportunity 'of this time. It means acting to spur the
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developmeiit of miraculous new medical and scientific breakthroughs. It means working to
create new security in the new wodcl, as America faces new threats of terrorism, chemical_ and
biological weapons; and ethnic warfare. It mearis building a new American community out of
the exploding diversity we will face.
.
·
• Nofe: This theme,
a
mare rigorous update ofthe 1997 Sta;e qfthe Union, has the
advantage ofbeing relentlessly future oriented and vi~ionary.
TheNew A1nericanDream (alternately, "Renewed American Dream," "21st Cenrury
American Dream," or ''an American Dream for the. 21st Cenrury"): The American Dream has
_always been at the heart of the American experience. A good job, pwning a home in a safe and
. clean community. Gi\fing your children a good education, seeing a doctor when you're sick,
retiring in dignity. But as we enter a new century we need ~ess bureaucratic and more effective
_means of enabling people to achieve the American Dream of earning a good living and living a _
good life. That means an economic policy that invests in people's ski Ils and pays do~ the debt
and deficit of the past. It means ta.X cuts that are targeted where they're n~eded most -:retirement, child care, education -· rather than the old days of unfair tax cuts that exploded the
deficit and hurt the economy. It means an education policy thatreforrns and improves public
education -- reducing class size, restoring discipline, testing new teac~ers to make sure they're
competent It means a health care policy that protects the rights of patients, an environmental
policy .that puni~hes polluters and ensures clean air and water. And a r~tirement system that's
flexible enough to protect senior citizens in changing times.
.
-
Nat~. This theme has the adva~tage of being cqncretely tied to the aspiratons a[people in
their everyday lives.
··
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December 5~ J 997
j
MEMORANDUM FOR CIRCULATION
FROM:
MICHAEL WALDMAN
SUBJECT:
A IT ACHED
DRAFT MEMO ON THE STATE OF THE UNION
Plea'>e take a loo]c at this draft memorandum. which is based on our earlier memorandum, .
and call or page me with comments~ My goal is to get it to the President ori Sunday. Thanks.
..
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DRAFT Spm
DRAFT 8pm
PLEASE GET YOUR COMMENTS BACK TO
MICHAEL WALDMAN (202)364-4283 OR PAGE ME
Decem~er
x, 1997
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
THROUGH:
ERSI<lNE BOWLES
SYLVIA MATHEWS
FROM:
MICHAEL WALDMAN
SUBJECT:
STATE OF THE UNION PLANNING PROCESS
The 1998 State of the Union Address -your sixth - comes at a critical rime in the
P~e.sidency. It will be your first major statement of purpose to the country since tp_e completion
of the balanced budget; it will be an opponunity to frame the issues that can dominate the 1998
dections; it can enable you to set large national goals and posit a new role for gove~ent in the
new era.
The purpose of this memorandum is to prepare you for our first meeting with you on the
State of the Union. robe held Monday morning. In this meeting, we propose to:
•
discuss the overall strategic goal ofthe speech,
•
focus, in particular, \:ln how best to fram.:: the ··ne~ social compae't for a new
economy" that you have been· discussing, a11d
•
present some thematic approaches for your initial reaction.
This memorandum reflects discussions among Sylvia Mathews, John Podesta, Rahm
Emanuel, Paul Begala, Sid Blumenthal, Ann Lewis, RonKlain, Gene Sperling, Bruce Reed,
Sandy Berger, Elena Kagan, Maria Echaveste, JohnHilley, Frank. Raines, Tony Blinken, Doug
Sosnik and Mark Penn_
I. PURPOSES OF THE 1998 STATE OF THE UNION·
·The moment. This Address comes at a.mrning point in your Presidency -- the beginning
of a new phase that may encompass your final three years in office. America has fundamentally
succeeded meeting the challenges placed before it when you were elected; You addressed the
budget deficit (a legacy of the 1980s), and the crises of crime and the underclass (legacies of the
1960s and 1970s). More broadly, the policies you have put in place have gone far ro guide the
~ransition to. a newecqnomy £hat is information-based and technology-powered ... through the "
in
@ooz
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.. ·-
.shoals of the post-Cold War world.·-. andtoward an increasingly integrated global marketplace
at\dcommtllliiy. The public is now poisedro regard-these changes, which-once seemed only
omens of disruption, as creating a new and hopeful rime.
.
Ironically, this very record of success creates a vacuum, and hence an opportunity. We
believe there is a willingness, even an eagerness, on the part of the public to be .challenged to the
~ agenda. Many of your most memorable speech lines have been those of negation -~ ''en.d
weltarc as we know it," "the era of big government is over." This. is an occasion for focusing on
"construction"-- for a distinctly positive vision.
in
This argues strongly that the policies advanced should be bolder, painted more vivid
colors, than we· are perhaps ac·customed to doing. They should paint a vision of the changes we
seek, even if the enactment of some of those changes are unlikely in the short term. And it
argiles that the argumentation itself-- the story line that binds the issues together .:._ should be
emphasized more than it has been. .
In addition, this State of the Union is different from its predecessors in one other way.
Each of them revolved around a single. looming issue- the economic plan (1993), health care.
( 1994), the unfolding fight with the Republicans on how to balance the budget (1995-1997). The
speeches pt.lt forward an array of smaller policies, but Ihey served as accompanying notes to the
dominant theme. This time, thus far, no single policy proposal or debate rises to the level of the
economic plan, the health care plan, or the balanced budget.
·
Goals. First and fore[!lQSt, this address must set forth a:ri ambitious agenda ofprogi-ams
and goals for the nation and world over the next three years, and even beyond. More than most
such speeches, this can aim for far horizons.
Se!i2n<!, this address gi:ves you a chance to explicitly set fonh your your public
philosophy, and link your many proposals as part of a new vision of government in the new
economy. In some addresses in' :recent years~ it seemed as if every sentence that wasn't devoted
to putting forward a new proposal or position was wasted. This year, a bit more time. explaining
the new era and the policies it demands is order. .
in
Third; the address should highlight some issues that illustrate this public philosophy, and
which highlight the different approaches of Democrats and Republicans. The overall purpose of
the speech cannot be to ~nite the Democrats, but rather, ~o lead them and ~e country through
compelling ~ssues.
II. THE NEW SOCIAL 'COMPACT
Regardless of whether it is an overarching stt,ucture·for the speech, or merely an extended
passage discussing economic and social policy, it may well make sense to talk at length about
your vision of the n~w social com:aact f2r u new ecQnorny. in recent weeks, you have discussed
· the new forms of"social security'' we need to. give people the confidenc.e they need to seize the
opportunities of the new economy, as well a.S the "new social compact" you discussed at the
141003
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DLC speech. It speaks to your vision of government-- "neither a goverrunr=nrthat does
everything, nor a government that does noThing, but a government that gives Eeople the tools to .
make the most of their own lives.'' ·.
·
·
This could b~ a way to frame those domestic pol1cy initiatives that involve updating the .
welfare state:
"As we enter' a new centucy, Americamustrenewthe iies'that b~d us to each other
our country. During the Industrial Age, we forged a social compact that protected our
people and shielded them from economic dislocation. Today, the unfolding new
economy offers wide new opportWlities-- but rapid change haS made the old social
contract less effective. As we enter a new centul')' with a new .economy, we. need a new
social compact/contract as well. One based on individual empowerment, not big
institutions. That means wore and better education, a lifetime of learning to stay current
in the ever~changing economic rnarket, policies tha~ encourage portability of health care
and pensions as people change jobs, and an update of important programs like Social
Security and Medicare so they can work better in the 21st Cenmry_·•
and
Regarq.Iess ofthe precise wordi~g, there is a more fundamentai question that would
benefit frOm your input.
•
What,. pre.cisely, do we mean? Does this mean, in effect, a modernized ~elfare
state in which people are given the tools to help themselves (e.g., portable health
care, IRAs, training) rather than given blanket assurances of ..security", or does it
speak more broadly to a change in the relationship between ind5viduals 'and
government?
•
How docs the important theme ofbilaucingwork and family fitin?
.
•
•
.
.
Are there specific policy areas-- e.g., a more aggressive approach to
· Unemployment insurance and training .... that need to be developed to bolster the
theme?
Are there approaches or phrases· to use or avoid?
III. OVERARCHlNG- THEMES AND STRUCTURES
We are currently discussing.several thematic approaches to the speech, and would like to
get your initial reaetii:m·and guidance before we proceed funher. Mark Penn will be testing these.
.
variouS formulations, amOng others. Two, in p'artic1llar, seem promising:
PrcwaringAmedcafor the2lsr Cenmry. l'here is a new economy taking shape aroWld
us, the producr of the progress put in place by our administration. Wc must act to. give our
people the tools to seize this 11.ew moment That means a new social compact for the new ·
economy, so all our people can sei;.e rhe opportunity of this l'ime. It means act:ing to spur the
!41 004
!41 004
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development of miraculous. new medical and scienrific breakthroughs. it. means working to
create new security in the new world, as America fa.::~s new :threats of terrorism, chemical and
biologiCal weapons, and ethnic warfarl!. !t means building a new American community ou£ of
the exploding diversity we will face.
Nate: This
them~.
a more rigorous update ofthe 1997 State ofthe Union, has the
advamage of being relentles-!lY future oriented and visionary.
The New American Dream (allernately, "Renewed American Dream," 11 2lst Century
American Dream," or "an American Dream for the 21st Cep.tury"): The American Dream has.
alWa.ys been at the heart ofthe American experience. A good job, owning ahome in a safe and
clean community.· Giving your cJ;Uldren a good education, seeing a doctor when you're sick,
retiring in dignity. But as we enter a new century we need less bureaucratic and more effective
means of enabling people to achieve the .American Dream of eaming a good living and living a
good life. That means an economic policy that invests in people's skills and pays down the debt
and deficit of the past It means tax cuts that are targeted where they're needed most -retirement; c~itd care, education .... rather than the old days of unfair taX. cuts that exploded the
deficit and hun the economy. It means an education policy that refonns and improves public
education reducing class size, restoring discipline~ testing new teachers to make sure they're
competent. It means ~health care policy that .protects the rights of patients, an environmental
policy that punishes polluters and ensures clean air and water. And a retirement system that's
flexible enough to protect senior citizens in changing tirnes.
· Note: This theme has the advantage ofbeing.concretely ried to the aspifato'IS ofpeople in '
their everyday live.r:.
·
@005
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8231
THE WHITE HOUSE·
WASH IN GTO.N
INFORMATION
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
FROM:
SAMUEL BERGER
SUBJECT:
State of the Union
Ideas
Foreign
Policy.T~emes
and
As you r9q.uested, , this rnemor.andum proposes a theme for the
foreign policy section of.the State of the Union and specific
objectives/inifia.tives to emphasize.
I.
THEME
Because the framework for the.for.eign policy section should flow
from the overall diiection of the speech, it may be premature to
lock in a theme. Arid while repeating last year's "six
priori ties" risks boredom, devi.ating from them in an obvious way
(i.e. by listing new.categories of priorities) risks confusion
and charges of ~nconsistsncy.
With these caveats· in mind, one organizirig principle sugge~ts
itself: describe the ne~ security challenges of the 2lrt century
-- and then show how we ·are meeting them with a new security
st~ategy.
Any of the specific initiatives or goals you may
choose to high_fight would _follow loi.~·~
al y i¥omi~s~cp~~ 1 \
C4.l•A_
~fs· ~~ ~~i;;~~, ,___ ~e ~'~
. Confl~ts between nation-stat~s J:lto!i.Y
_
_ -~t
outbreaks of extreme nationalism and ethn1c, racial and
religious hatred have increased conflict within them. The
super-power stand off has ended -- but we remain vulnerable to
rogue states and to a .nexus of~ew threats (terrorism, drug
trafficking~ international cri
), which will be all the more
lethal if ·weapons of mass dest uction are allowed to spread. ~
.
~
~~~
Our an:wer to these challenges is a~ security strategy for~~
.
·.
the 21 .. 1". century. As you explained in your speech to the U.N.,~;;_
the core elements of our foreign policy -- security alliances . ~~
like NATO; arms control regimes like CWC; free trade agreernents
·
like the ITA; international coalitions to support peace;and to
act against ~error, crime and drugs; bin~ing international
�12/08/97
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2
.commitments on the environment and human rights -- each· advance
a distinct mission but also serve a col'lliiton purpose: tq secure
and strengthen democracy; peace and free markets while turning
back.their enemies. This network of institutions and
arrangements -- forged by American diplomacy; gua.ranteed by
American force-- forros·a bulwark for those· who play by the
rule's, isolating those who do not.
II.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES/INITIATIVES
·Last year's foreign policy section worked well because, while
most, issues that needed. a mention got one,· you dwelled on only
~hree:
NATO enlargement; the Chemical Weapons Convention and
trade. We should follow that same approach this year and focus
on three key initiatives that require leg~slative' action in
1998:
(i) NATO enlarqe:ment ratification; (iil funding and/or
support for a possible post-SFOR security presence in Bosnia;
and (iii} ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
Each follows logically from the. framework outlined above.
Three othe'r issues may also merit highlightJ..ng _
l:. 1.:) oJ/6~~.r- ·
.
~
First, w~ are looking a.t.an initiative to strengthen the
Biological Weapons Convention, as· well as our own efforts to
protect against and respond to the use of biological weapons
against our troops or citizens. In-the wake of Iraq, and
coupled with a call. for the CTBT (and a reminder that Congress
has yet to:pass ewe implementing legislation} such an initiative
would highlight your understanding of and leade:tship·on the. new
threats posed by weapons of mass destruction.
Second, a tough paragraph on U.N. arrearswould be timely.
Congressional leadership, especially in 'the Senate, was acutely
embarrassed when the arrears package fell victim to pol-itics in·
the midst of the Iraq crisis. 'The heroic work on the U.N.
·weapons inspectors makes vivid the case for settling our debts
arid dues.
Third, we need.to consider carefully what. you say on trade in
general and Fast Track in patticular. With the Santiago summit
fast approaching, and question,s about next steps lingering, the
is~ue must be addressed ~- indeed, it ruay merit a stand alone
~ection in the speech under the rubric of globalization.
Finally, we should consider.whether and to what extent to use
tl::ie State of the Union to foreshadow your heavy foreign travel
schedule' for 1998.
~
.41_
~r;;.C4..
�~-----------------------------------------------------·-------
President Clinton Second Term Accomplishments:
I. BUILDING A PEACEFUL, UNDIVIDED, DEMOCRATIC EUROPE:
•
Madrid Summit/Culmination of NATO Enlargement Process
At the Madrid Summit and in visits to Warsaw and Bucharest, President Clinton reached a
milestone in realizing the vis~on of an undivided, democratic, peaceful Europe. At Madrid, the
Allies invited Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic to join NATO. Enlargement advances US
national interest by enlarging the zone of stability in Europe, strengthening our common security, ·
and creating a peaceful and secure environment for trade and economic growth in Central and
Eastern Europe. · NATO also took important steps to adapt itself to new missions and to strengthen
the successful Partnership for Peace.
•
Negotiation and Signing of NATO-Russia FoundingAct!Paris Club
The President traveled to Helsinki and Paris to help forge a new security partemship between the
NATO Alliance and the Russian Federation. The deceive meeting at Helsinki between President
Clinton and President Yeltsin secured Russia's acceptance ofNATO enlargement and built the
foundation for the historic signing of the NATO-Russia Founding Act in Paris. Through the Act,
NATO and Russia will work together to strengthen stability in all of Europe . :. . consulting
regularly and, where appropriate, acting jointly, as in Bosnia.
•
Re-energizing Dayton Process/Capture of War Criminals.
The President launched an intensive campaign to reinvigorate the international effort in
implementing the Dayton Peace Accords. The President directed his foreign policy team to
build on the successes already taking in place Bosnia by targeting economic assist~ce to
localities and individuals that support Dayton principles; denying political participation to
officials who obstruct Dayton; and bringing indicted war criminals to justice.
FUTURE AGENDA ITEAMS:
•
•
•
•
Continuing to push for $enate Ratification of NATO+, internal
adaptation, strengthen PFP, build partnerships with Russia,
Ukraine.
Support full implementation of Dayton and complete SFOR mission
on schedule.
Improve bilateral ties between Greek & Turkey and move Cyprus
peace process forward.
Continue promoting Russian democracy, Western integration and
arms control agenda.
�.
r.
.,·
2
II. FORGING STABLE ASIA PACIFIC COMMUNITY:
•
House Passage of MFN
Secured passage of normal trading statUs with China and strengthened the bipartisan consensus on
engagement with China. Engagement is in the national interest of the American people and the
President is working towards a policy of fostering a stable, secure and prosperous China that is a
responsible member of the world community and works in partnership on common interests.
•
Burma Sanctions
President Clinton imposed a bah on new US investment, established an arms embargo, and
suspended all assistance to Burma to demonstrate our condemnation of Burma's suppression of
political freedom and commitment to seeing Burma evolve into a democratic, law abiding
society.
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS:
·•
•
Work to rebuild bipartisan consensus on engagement with China
and draw ·china into .world community by encouraging economic and
political change.
Promote peace on Korean Peninsula (through Four Party Talks);
implement agreement 'to dismantle frozen N. K. nuclear reactor.
•
0
•
III. REMAINING LEADING FORCE FOR PEACE and PROSPERITY:
•
Hosted Series of Meetings With Key Middle East leaders
During February and March, President Clinton hosted at the White House Prime Minister
Netanyahu, Chairman Arafat, President Mubarak and King Hussein to keep the peace process on
track and in our effort to forge a comprehensive peace in the Middle East.
•
Israeli Troop Withdrawal From Hebron
US brokered agreement advanced the Middle East Peace Process by successfully managing Israeli
troop withdrawal from West Bank town of Hebron.
•
Successful Latin American Trip
President Clinton visited Mexico and attended regional summits for Caribbean and Central
American heads of state. The President's trip produced agreement on drugs, trade and regional
security that helps integrate the hemisphere and increase the prosperity for the American people.
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS:
•
•
•
Pursue comprehensive Middle East. Peace Process
Continue to support Haiti's transition to democricy.
Pursue settlement in Northern Ireland
�'
.
3
•
Pursue effort to strengthen foundation of democracy and free
markets in Americas during trip to S. America
IV. MEETING NEW SECURITY THREATS:
•
Senate Ratification CWC
The Senate ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention, one of the President's top priorities,
which bans the production, stockpiling and distribution of chemical weapons. The CWC treaty
will strengthen America's national security by isolating those countries still developing chemical
weapons and make the use of these dangerous weapons less likely.
•
Hosted Successful Summit of the Eight in Denver
President Clinton hosted the leaders of G-7 countries that enhanced cooperation on the new global
challenges of the 21st century. Working with our closest partners to lay a strong foundation for our ·
common security and prosperity, the Summit leaders took specific steps to fight terrorism, drug
trafficking, the spread of infectious diseases and the spread of weapons of mass destruction. These
transnational threats pose a threat to the common security of the world community and the steps
taken at Denver helped develop common solutions to these common problems.
•
Senate Ratification of Mexico Drug Certification
The Senate reaffirmed the President's decision to certify Mexico as an ally in combating drug
trafficking.
•
Successful law enforcement cooperation on Kansi. Arrest
The FBI, CIA and other national security agencies, successful pursued and arrested the suspect
in the killings of two CIA employees. The strong cooperative effort of the nation's law
enforcement agencies is a model for deterring international crimes.
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS: ·
•
•
•
Submit CTBT legislation.
Encourage ratifi'cation of START II by DUMA
Negotiate worldwide ban on anti-landmines.
V. BUILDING OPEN TRADING SYSTEM:
•
Negotiation of Information Technology Agreement and Telecommunications Agreement
Negotiated market access agreement to open international global information technology markets
toUS companies. This agreement eliminatedtariffs and unshackled $500 billion of
trade in semiconductors, computers, telecommunications· equipment and software, amounting to
�4
a $5 billion tax cut in tariffs on American exports.
•
Launched African Trade Initiative
President Clinton launched an ambitious and innovative program aimed at spurring Africa's
integration into the global economy through promotion of increased trade and investment.
•
•
Passage of fast track authority.
Continue work toward FTA in ASIA at APEC in November.
VI. KEEPING MILITARY STRONG AND DIPLOMACY FULLY FUNDED:
•
Full funding of 150 account in Balanced Budget Agreement
The Administration succeeding in securing full funding for international relations programs in
the balanced budget agreement. This was the first time in a decade that spending on foreign
affairs did not decrease.
·•
Ordered Reorganization of US Foreign Policy Agencies
To be more accountable and responsive to the challenges of the 21st century, President Clinton
ordered the consolidation of the government agencies charged with conducting US foreign
policy. The Administration worked out a plan with the Congress to consolidate the State
Department, ACDA-, USIA, and AID. This process will streamline processes, make
communications more efficient and strengthen the conduct of US foreign policy.
• · UN Arrears Package
For the first time, the Administration and Congress (including Senator Jesse Helms) have agreed
on a package to pay off US arrears to the UN and other international organizations and, in
conjunction with US repayment, a reform play to streamline and strengthen the United Nations
for the challenges of the next century ...
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS:
•
•
•
Implement QDR
Secure U.N. arrears legislation and encourage UN reform(UNGA)
Continue reorganization of foreign affairs agencies.
�-
-----~--~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~----.
Draft 2/4/97 lam
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
STATE-OF-THE-UNION ADDRESS
UNITED STATES CAPITOL
FEBRUARY 4, 1997
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice-President, Members ofthe 105th Congress, disfinguished guests, my
fellow Americans:
Thank you for inviting me back.
I come before you tonight with a challenge as great as any in our peacetime history -- and
a plan of action to meet that challenge, to prepare our people ·for the bold new world of the 21st
·
Century.
We have much to be thankful for. With four years of growth, we have won back the
_basic strength of our economy. With crime and welfare rolls declining, we are winning back our
basic optimism, the enduring faith of America that we can master any difficulty. With the Cold
War receding and global conunerce at record levels, we are helping to win unrivaled peace and
prosperity all across the world.
My fellow Americans, the state of our union is strong, but now' we must rise to the decisive moment, to make a nation and a world better than any we have ever known.· The new
promise of the global economy, the Information Age, brilliant new careers, life-enhancing
technology -- are ours to seize. That is our honor and our challenge. [We must be shapers of
events, not observers. The question before us is not what the future means for us, but what
meaning we can give to the future.} But if we do not act, the moment will pass -- and we will
lose the best possibilities of our future.
Tonight, we face no imminent threat, but we do have an enemy: The enemy of our time is
inaction.
So tonight, I issue a call to action -- action by this Congress, by our states, by all our
people, to prepare America for the 21st Century. Action to keep our economy _and our
·democracy, strong and working for all our people; action to strengthen education and harness the
forces of technology and science; action to build stronger families and stronger conununities and
a safer environment; action to keep America the world's strongest force for peace and freedom
and prosperity. And above all, action to build a more perfect union here at home.
The spirit we bring to our work will determine its success. The people of this nation
elected us all. They want us to be partners, not partisans. They put us all right here in the same
�boat ... they gave us all oars ... and they told us to row. Now let's get going,
First, we must move .quickly to finish the unfinished business of our country -- to
balance our budget, renew our democracy, finish the job of welfare reform .
.
Over the last four years, we brought new economic growth by investing in our people,
expanding our exports, cutting our deficits, creating over 11 million new jobs. Now we must
keep our economy the strongest in the world.
We here tonight have an historic opportunity. Let this Congress be the Congress that
finally balances the budget.
In two days, I will propose a detailed plan to balance the budget by 2002.
This plan will balance the budget and invest in our people while protecting Medicare,
Medicaid, education, and the environment. It will balance the budget and build on the Vice
President's efforts to make our government work better, even as it costs less. It will balance the
.budget and provide middle class tax relief to pay for education and health care, to help raise a
child, to buy and sell a home.
Balancing the budget requires only your vote and my signature. It does not require us to
rewrite our Constitution. I believe it is unnecessary and unwise to adopt a balanced budget
amendment that could cripple our country in tim~ of crisis later on, and force unwanted results
such as judges impounding Social Security checks or increasing taxes. We don't need an
amendment -- we need action.
Whatever our differences, we should bal~ce the budget now, and then, for the long-term
health of our society, we must agree to a bipartisan process to preserve Social Security and
reform Medicare, so that these fundamental programs will be as strong for our children as they
are for our parents.[can't read your writing on p. 4]
Our second piece of unfinished business requires us to commit ourselves, before the eyes
of America tonight, to enacting bipartisan campaign finance reform.
'
Senators McCain and Feingold, Representatives Shays and Meehan, have reached across
party lines to craft tough and fair campaign reform. [I ask them to stand.] Their proposal would
curb spending, reduce the role of special interests, create a level playing field between
challengers and incumbents and ban contributions from noncitizens and all corporate sources -the large soft money contributions that both parties receive.
'
You know and I know that delay will mean the death reform. So let's set our own
deadline. Let's work together to write bipartisrui:campaign finance reform into law, [and pass
McCain-Feingold] by the day we celebrate the birth of our democracy --July the 4th.
2
�There is a third piece of unfinished business: Over the last four years, we moved a record
two and a quitrter million people off the welfare rolls. Then last year we enacted landmark
welfare reform, demanding that able-bodied recipients assume the responsibility of moving from
welfare to work. Now each and every one of us has to fulfill our responsibility -- indeed, our
moral obligation -"... to make sure that people who !Illl§1 work, £m1 work. Now we must act to
meet a- new goal: two million more people off the welfare rolls by the Year 2000.
Here is my plan: Tax credits and other i.qcentives to businesses that hire people off
welfare. Incentives for job placement firms and for states to create joos for welfare recipients.
Training, transportation and child care to help people go to work.
Now I challenge every state: turn those welfare checks into private sector paychecks. I
challenge every religious congregation, every community non-profit, and every business: hire
someone off welfare. And I say especially to every employer in this country who has ever
criticized the old welfare system: You cannot blame the old system anymore. We have tom it
down. Now do your part. Give someone on welfare the chance to work.
If we all do that, we can end the permanent underclass by lifting it up into a growing
middle class.
Tonight, I am proud to announce that five major corporations -- Sprint, Monsanto, UPS,
Burger King, and United Airlines -- will be the first to join in a new national effort to marshal
America's businesses to hire people off welfare.;.··
And we must join together to do something else too -- something Republican and
Democratic governors alike have asked us to do -- to restore basic health, nutrition, and disability
benefits when misfortune strikes immigrants who came to this country legally, who work hard,
. pay taxes, and obey the law. To do otherwise is simply unworthy of a great nation of
immigrants.
We passed welfare reform. We were righfto do it. But no one can walk out of this
chamber with a clear conscience unless you are prepared to finish the job.
Next, the greatest step of all- the high threshold to the future we now must cross -and my number one priority as President for the next four years - is to ensure that
Americans have the best education in the world. Let's work together to meet these goals:
Every 8 year old must be able to read; every 12 year old must be able to log on to the
Internet; every 18 year old must be able to go jo college, and every adult American must be
able to keep on learning.
My balanced budget makes an unprecedented commitment to these goals -- $51 billion
dollars next year. But far more than money is required.
.3
�I have a plan, a Call to Action for American Education, with ten principles to which we
must commit ourselves tonight. [hold up booklet]
First, we must begin a national crusade fm; education standards -- not federal government
standards, but national standards representing what all of our students must know to succeed in ·
the knowledge economy ofthe 21st Century. Every state and every school must shape the
curriculum to reflect these standards, and train teachers to lift students up to meet them. To help
the schools to meet the standards and to measure their progress, we will lead an effort over the
next two years to develop natimial tests of student achievement.
·
Tonight I issue a challenge to the nation: Every state should adopt high national
standards. and by 1999. every state should test every 4th grader in reading and every 8th grader
in math to make sure these standards are met.
Raising standards will not be easy, and some of our children will not be able to meet ·
them at first. The point is not to put our children down, but to lift them up. Good tests will show
us who needs help, what changes in teaching to make, and which schools to improve. And they
can help us to end social promotion. For no child should move from grade school to junior high,
or junior high to high school until he or she is ready.
Last month, along with my partner in this effort, Secretary of Education Dick Riley, I·
visited schools in [tk] county in Northern Illinois, where 8th grade students from 20 school
districts, in a project they called "First in the World," took the Third International Math and,
Science Study, called the TIMSS test-- a test that reflects the world-class standards our children
must meet for the new era. And those students in Illinois were tied for first in the world in
science, and came in second only to Singapore ip. math. Two of them, Kristin TaJ111er, and Chris
Getsla are here tonight, with their teacher, Sue Winski. They prove that when we aim high and
·
challenge our students, they will be the best in the world.
The second point of my plan recognizes this simple truth: to have the best schools, we
must have the best teachers. Most of us"'- certainly including myself-- would not be here
tonight without the help of such teachers .. For years, many educators, led by North Carolina's
Governor Jim Hunt and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, have worked
hard to establish nationally accepted credentials "for excellence in teaching. 400 of these master
teachers have been certified since 1995. My. budget will enable 100,000 more to seek national
certification as master teachers. We should reward our best teachers, quickly and fairly remove
those few who don't measure up, and challenge our finest young people to consider teaching as a
career.
Third: we must do more to help all our children read. 40% of oill 8 year olds cannot read ·
on their own. That's why we havejust launched .~he America Reads initiative-- to build a citizen
army of one million volunteer tutors to make sure every child can read independently by the end ·
of 3rd grade. We will use thousands of AmeriCorps volunteers to mobilize this citizen army. We
4
�want at least 100,000 college students to help. And tonight, I am pleased that 60 college
presidents have answered my call, and pledged that thousands of their. work study students will
serve for one year as reading tutors.
This is also a challenge to every teacher and every prinCipal: create a system to use these
tutors to help your children read. And it's especially a challenge to our parents: Read with your
children every night.
That leads to the fourth part of my plan: We can't start teaching children too soon. My
. budget expands Head Start to one million children by 2002.
Yet what we are learning more and more now about very young children's emotional and
intellectual development teaches us we must start even earlier. Parents' quiet moments with their
children makes a big difference in their lives. The First Lady has spent years studying and
writing about this issue. She and I will convene a White House Conference on Early Learning
and the Brain this Spring, to explore how parents and educators can best use these startling new
scientific discoveries. Then, in June, the Vice President and Mrs. Gore will host their sixth
annual family conference. This one will focus on the importance of parents' involvement
throughout a child's education.
Fifth, every state should give parents the power to choose the right public school for their
children. Innovation and competition will make our public schools better. And we must do
more to encourage parents and teachers to start charter schools, schools that set and meet the
. highest standards, and survive only as long as they do. Our plan will help America create 3,000
of these charter schools by the next century-- that's nearly seven times as many as there are
today -- so that parents will have more choice in sending their children to the best public schools.
Sixth: character education must be taught in our schools. We must teach our children to
be good citizens, and continue to promote order and discipline, supporting communities that
introduce school uniforms, impose curfews, enforce truancy laws, remove disruptive students
from the classroom, and have zero tolerance for ,guns and drugs.
,•
Seventh: we canno't expect our children to raise themselves up in schools that are literally
falling down.· Traditionally, the federal government has played no role in school construction ..
But with the student population at an all time high, and record numbers of school buildings
falling into disrepair, this has become a serious national concern. My budget, therefore, includes
$5 billion to help communities finance $20 billion in school construction over the next four
·
years. [Moseley-Braun]
·
Eighth: We must make the 13th and 14th years of education-- at least two years of
college-- just as universal in America as a high school education is today, and open the doors of
college to all ..
To do that, I propose America's HOPE scholarship, based on Governor Zell Miller's
�--·-
·--------------------------------------,
pioneering program in Georgia: two years of a $1 ,500 tax credit for college tuition, enough to
pay for the typical community college. I also propose a tax deduction of up to $10,000 a year for
all tuition after high school; an expanded IRA you can withdraw from tax free for education; and
the largest increase in Pell Grant scholarships in.20 years. This plan will give most families the
ability to pay no taxes on money saved for colleg~ tuition. I ask you to pass it -- to give every
American who works hard the chance to go to college.
Ninth: In the 21st Century, we must expand the frontiers oflearning across a lifetime.
All our people, of whatever age, must have the chance to learn new skills. Most American
workers live near a community college. The roads that take them there can be paths to a better
future. My G.I. Bill for Workers will transform the confusing tangle of federal training programs
into a simple skill grant that will go directly into eligible workers' hands. For too long, this bill
has sat before you without action-- and I ask you to pass it now. Let's give more of our workers
the chance to learn what they need, to earn a better-life.
Tenth: we must harness the Ijlformation Age to make our schools equal to the 21st
Century. Last year, I challenged America to connect every classroom and library to the Internet
by the year 2000, so that, for the first time in history, a child in the poorest inner city school, the
most isolated rural town, the most comfortable suburb, will have the same access to the same
universe of knowledge. I ask your support to com~lete this historic mission.
That is my plan -- a Call to Action for American Education.
It reflects a basic insight: One of the greatest sources of our national strength throughout
the 20th Century has been a bipartisan foreign policy; politics stopped at the water's edge. Now I
. ask you -- and I ask the governors from the many states who have joined us here tonight -- and
teachers, parents and citizens all across America :.:. for a new nonpartisan commitment to
education -- because education is the national security issue of our future -- and politics should
stop at the classroom door.
We have the strongest economy and the strongest democracy in the world. If we want .
tomorrow's children to enjoy these blessings 50 years from now, we dare not fall prey to inaction
and miss this moment of opportunity in education.
I pledge to take this Call to Action to the country, so that together, we can make
American education, like America itself, the envy of the world.
To prepare America for the 21st century, we must harness the powerful forces of
science and technology to benefit all Americans.
This is the first State ofthe Union carrie4 live over the Internet. But we have only begun
to spread the benefits of a technology revolution that should be the modem birthright of every
citizen.
6
�,----------------------~----·-·--~-
. Our effort to connect every classroom is just the beginning. I challenge the private sector
to help us connect every children's hospital to the Internet as soon as possible, so a child in bed
can stay in touch with school, family and friends. A sick child should not be a child alone. ·
We will build the second generation ofthelnternet so our leading universities and
national laboratories can communicate at speeds 1000 times faster than today, to develop new
medical treatments, new sources of energy, and !I~W ways of working together.
But we cannot stop there. As the Internet becomes our new toWn square, a computer in
every home -- a teacher of all subjects, a connection to all cultures -- this will no longer be a
dream, but a necessity. And over the next decade, that must be our goal.
We must continue to explore the heavens, pressing on with the Mars probes, the
· international space station, both of which will have practical applications for our everyday living.
We must speed the remarkable advances in medical science. The.human genome project
.is now decoding the genetic mysteries of life. In the la5t year alone, American scientists
discovered genes linked to breast cancer and .ovarian cancer, and medication that stops a stroke in
progress and begins to reverse its effects -- and we have discovered treatments that dramatically
·
lengthen the lives of people with HIV and AIDS.
Since I took office, funding for AIDS re&earch at the National Institutes of Health has
increased dramatically, to $1.5 billion next year. With these new resources, NIH will now
become the primary discovery engine for an AIDS vaccine. And every year we move up the
discovery of an AIDS vaccine, we can save 3 million lives around the world. If you approve this
·budget, scientists from the private sector, universities, and our national labs will be able to work
together more efficiently so that we can end the threat of AIDS.
To prepare America for the 21st Century, we must build stronger families and help
parents pass on their values to their children:··
With new pressures on people in the way they work and live, we should expand the
Family and Medical Leave Law so workers can take time off for teacher conferences and a
child's medical checkup. Now we should pass flextime so workers can choose to be paid for
overtime in income, or trade it in for time off to be with their families.
We must continue, step-by-step, to give ~ore families access to affordable, quality health
care. 40 million Americans -- most of them in working, taxpaying families, still lack health
insurance:
10 million children lack health insurance -- 80% of them have working parents who pay
taxes. That is wrong. My balanced budget will extend health coverage to up to five million of
those children. It will help all working Americans by ensuring that people who temporarily lose
I.
�)
their jobs can still afford to keep their health insurance. No child should be without a doctor just
because a parent is without a job.
My Medicare plan provides support for respite care for the many families taking care of
·loved-ones afflicted with Alzheimers --and for the first time, it would pay for annual
mammograms.
Just as we ended drive through deliveries of babies last year, we must now end the
dangerous and demeaning practice of sending women home from the hospital only hours after a
mastectomy. With us tonight is Dr. Kristen Zarfos, a Connecticut surgeon whose outrage at this
practice spurred a national movement and inspir~~ this legislation. We thank her for her efforts.
In the last four years, we have increased child support collections by 50%. Now, we
should go further and make it a felony for any parent to cross state lines in an attempt to flee
from his or her most sacred obligations.
We must protect our children by standing by our action to ban the advertising and
marketing of cigarettes that endangers their lives.
To prepare America for the 21st Century, we must build stronger communities.
Our growing economy has helped revive poor urban and rural neighborhoods. But we
have more to do, to empower them to create the conditions in which families can floUrish, and to
·
create jobs through investment by business and loans by banks.
We should double the number of empo~rment zones. They have already brought hope
to communities like Detroit, where the unemployment rate has been cut in half in four years. We
should expand the network of community development banks. We should restore contaminated
urban land and buildings to productive use.
And together, we must pledge tonight that we will use this empowerment approach-including private sector tax incentiv~s -~to renew this great capital city, so that Washington,
D.C. is a great place to live, and is once again the proud face America shows to the world.
'
.
We must protect our environment in every community. In the last four years, we cleaned
up 250 toxic waste sites, as many as in the previous twelve. Now we should clean up 500 more
of the worst toxic waste sites, so our children grow up next to parks, not poison. We should pass
my proposal to make big polluters live by this simple rule: If you pollute our environment, you
pay to clean it up.
In the last four years, we strengthened tire nation's safe food and clean water laws. We
protected some of America's rarest, most beautiful land in Utah's Red Rocks region, created
three new national parks in the California desert, and began to protect Florida's Everglades. Now
8
�we must be as vigilant with our rivers as we are with our land. Tonight, I announce that this year
I will designate 10 American Heritage Rivers, and help communities develop their waterfronts
and clean up pollution in their rivers, proving once again that we can grow the economy as we
protect the environment.
And we must also protect our global environment, working to ban the worst toxic
chemicals and to reduce greenhouse gasses that challenge our health as they change our climate.
Next, we must press our fight against crime and violence. Serious crime has dropped five
years in a row. The key has been community policing -- and we must finish the job of putting
100,000 community police on our streets. We should pass the Victims' Rights Amendment to
the Constitution. And I ask you to join me in mounting a full scale assault on juvenile crime,
with legislation that: declares war on gangs, with new prosecutors and tougher penalties; that
extends the Brady Bill so violent teenage criminals will not be able to buy handguns; that
requires child safety locks on handguns to prevent unauthorized use; and helps keep our schools
open after dark, on weekends, and in the summer, so young people have someplace to go and
something to say yes to.
My balanced budget includes the largest anti-drug effort ever: to stop drugs at their
source, punish those who push them, and steer young people away from them.
Because so many of our young children do not have what they need to grow and learn in
their homes, schools and neighborhoods, the rest of us must do more. That is why President
Bush, General Colin Powell, and former Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros will join Vice.
President Gore and me to lead the Presidents's Summit of Service in Philadelphia in April. We
intend to mobilize millions of Americans to serve in thousands of ways. Our national service
program, Americorps, has already helped 70,000 young people work their way through college
as they serve America. It is an American responsibility, which all Americans should embrace in
their daily lives.
I'd like to make one last point about our national community. Our economy is measured
in numbers and statistics: But the enduring worth of our nation lies in our values and our soaring
spirit. So instead of cutting back on our modest efforts to support the arts and humanities, we .
should stand by them, and challenge our artists and writers, our museums and our theaters, to
join with all Americans to make the Year 2000 a national celebration of the American spirit in
every community -- a celebration of our culture in the century that has passed, and in the new one
to come, so that we can remain the world's beacbn of liberty and creativity, long after the
fireworks have faded. ·
To prepare America for the 21st Century, we must master the forces of change in
the world and keep American leadership strong and sure for an uncharted time.
Fifty years ago, a farsighted America led in creating the institutions that secured victory
9
�in the Cold War and built a growing world economy; As a result, today, more people than ever
embrace our ideals and share our interests.
Already, we have dismantled many of th.e· blocs and barriers that divided our parents'
world. For the first time, more people live under democracy than dictatorship, including every
nation in our own hemisphere but one -- and its day too will come.
Now, we stand at another moment of change and choice -- and another time to be
farsighted, to bring America 50 more years of security and prosperity.·
Our first task is to help build, for the firsttime, an undivided, democratic Europe. When
Europe is stable, prosperous and at peace, America is more secure.
We must expand NATO by 1999, so countries that were once our adversaries can become
our allies. At the special NATO summit this summer, that is what we will do. In addition, we
must strengthen NATO's Partnership for Peace with non-member allies. And we must build a
stable partnership between NATO and a democratic Russia. An expanded NATO is good for
America. And a Europe in which all democraci~s define their future not in terms of what they
Can do to each other, but in terms of what they Call do together for the good of all, that kind of
Europe is good for America.
'
Second, America must look to the East no less than the West. Our security demands it:
Americans have fought three wars in Asia this century. Our prosperity requires it: more than 2
million American jobs depend upon trade with Asia.
There, too, we are helping to shape an A~ian Pacific community of cooperation, not
conflict. But we must not let our progress mask the peril that remains. Together with South
Korea, we must advance peace talks with North Korea and bridge the Cold War's last divide.
And I call on Congress to fund our share of the agreement under which North Korea must
continue to freeze -- and then dismantle -- its nuclear weapons program.
We must pursue a deeper dialogue with China -- for the sake of our interests and our
ideals. An isolated China is not good for Americ~, A China playing its proper role in the world
is. I will go to China and I have invited China's president to come here, not because we agree on ·
everything, but because engaging with China is the best way to work on common challenges like
ending nuclear testing -- and to deal frankly with fundamental differences like human rights.
Third, the American people must prosper in the global economy.· We have made it our
mission to tear down trade barriers abroad, so that we can create good jobs at home, and to
· promote prosperity and freedom around the world. I am proud to tell you that today, America is·
once again the most competitive nation, and the "nu.mber one exporter in the world.
Now, we must act to expand our exports, especially to Asia and Latin America, the two
10
�fastest growing regions on earth -- or be left behind as these emerging economies forge new ties
with other nations. That is why we need authority now to conclude trade agreements that open
markets to our goods and services even as we preserve our values.
We cannot shrink from the challenge of the global economy. We have the best workers
and the best products. Give Americans the opportunity of an open market, and we can out
compete anyone in the world.
We should all be proud that America led the effort to rescue otir neighbor Mexico from
its economic crisis --and we should all be proud that last month, Mexico repaid the United
States, three full years ahead of schedule, with a half a billion dollars profit for us. And today
our exports to Mexico are at an all time high.
The events ofthe last few years prove that if we can link this entire hemisphere in a
network of open and fair trade, it will not only increase our prosperity, it will advance the cause
of freedom and democracy.
Fourth, America must continue to be an unrelenting force for peace-- from the Middle
East to Haiti ... from Northern Ireland to Africa. Taking reasonable risks for peace k~eps us
from being drawn into far more costly conflicts later.
With American leadership, the killing has.stopped in Bosnia. Now, the habits of peace
must take hold. The new NATO force will allow reconstruction and reconciliation to accelerate;
Tonight, I ask Congress to continue its strong support for our troops there. They are doing a
remarkable job for America -- and America must do right by them.
Fifth, we must strongly move against new threats to our security: weapons of mass
destruction ... terrorism ... international crime and drugs. In the past four years, we agreed to
ban nuclear testing; with Russia, we dramatically cut our nuclear arsenals, and stopped targeting
each others citizens. We are acting to rid the world oflandmines, and prevent nuclear materials
from falling into the wrong hands. We are working with other nations, with renewed intensity, to
stop terrorists and drug traffickers before they act, and to hold them fully accountable if they do ..
Now, we must rise to a new test of leadership: ratifying the Chemical Weapons
Convention. It will make our troops safer from chemical attack. It will help us to fight terrorism.
This treaty has been bipartisan from the beginning, supported by Republican and Democratic
administrations alike-- and already approved by 68 nations. Together, we must make the
Chemical Weapons Convention law; so that we can begin to outlaw poison gas from this earth;
Finally, we must have the tools to meet all these challenges.
We must maintain a strong and ready military. We must increase funding for weapons
modernization and we must take good care of our men and women in uniform.
11
�We must also renew our commitment to America's diplomacy-- and pay our debts and
dues to international financial institutions such as the World Bank, and to a reforming United
Nations. Every dollar we devote to preventing conflicts ... to promoting democracy ... to
stopping the spread of disease and starvation .. ; prings a sure return in security and savings. Yet
international affairs spending today is just one percent of the federal budget -- a small fraction of
what America invested to choose engagement over escapism at the start of the Cold War. If
America is to continue to lead the world, we here who lead America simply must find the will
and pay our way.
A farsighted America moved the world to a better place over these last fifty years. And it
can do so for another fifty years. But the weirds of a shortsighted America would soon fall on
deaf ears all around the world.
·
Almost exactly fifty years ago, in the first winter of the Cold War, President Harry
Truman stood before a Republican Congress and called upon our country to meet its
responsibilities of leadership. "If we falter," he warned, "we may endanger the peace of the
world-- and we shall surely endanger the welfare of this nation.". That Congress, led by
Republicans like Senator Arthur Vandenberg, answered President Truman's call. Together, ,they
made the commitments that strengthened our cotmtry for fifty years. Now let us do the same.
Let us do what it .takes to remain the indispensable nation -- to keep America strong, secure and
prosperous for another fifty years..
In the end, more than anything else, our world leadership grows out of the power of
our example, out of our ability to remain strong as one America.
All over the world, people are being tom ~under by racial, ethnic, and religious conflicts
that fuel fanaticism and terror. We are the world's most diverse democracy. And the world
looks to us to show that it is possible to live and advance together across those kinds of
differences.
America has always been a nation of immigrants. From the start, a steady stream of
people, in search of freedom and opportunity, have left their own lands to make this land their
home. We started as an experiment in democracy fueled by Europeans. We have grown into an
experiment in democratic diversity fueled by opbnness and promise.
My fellow Americans, we must never believe that this diversity is a weakness -- it is our
greatest strength. For people on every continent can look to us and see the reflection of their
own greatness, as long as we give all of our citizens, whatever their background, an opportunity
to achieve their greatness.
We have not done that yet. Evidence ofJip.gering division is all around us. We see it
every day in the sullen, hopeless faces worn by too many of our young people. Too often, we see
it in the corr!dors of power, in the schoolyards, in the streets of our cities. We see it in burned- ·
12
�out houses of worship and bombed-out clinics. Too many people still seek to exploit our
differences. We must respect our differences, and each other. And we must never hate. We must
never, ever hate.
A few days .before my second inauguration, one of America's best known pastors, Rev.
Robert Schuller, suggested I read Isaiah 58:12. It says: "Thou shalt raise up the foundations of
many generations, and thou shalt be called, the repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths to
dwell in." I placed my hand on that verse when I took the oath of office, on behalf of all
Americans. For no matter what our differences-- in our faiths, our backgrounds, our politics-we must all be repairers of the breach. We may not all share a co
, · urely we share
a common future.
(IVJ<-V~
1 want to say a word about two other Americans who e lives show us the way to that
common future. Congressman Frank Tejeda was buried yest rday, [a proud American whose.
d-the Silver Star, the Bronze
family came from Mexico.] He was only 51 years old. He
Star and the Purple Heart fighting in Vietnam, and he went on to serve Texas and America
fighting for our future in this chamber. We are honored to have his mother, Lillie Tejeda, with us
tonight.
Gary Locke, [a proud American whose family came from China], is the newly elected
Governor of Washington, the son of two ofthe millions of Asian American immigrants who
have strengthened America with their hard work, family values, and good citizenship.
Rev. Schuller, Congressman Tejeda, Governor Locke, along with Kristin Tanner, Chris
Getsla, Sue Winski and Dr. Kristen Zarfos --Americans from different roots, whose lives reflect
our shared values and the best of what we can become when we are one· America.
Building that one America is our most important mission, "the foundation of many
generations," of every other strength we must build for the new century. Money cannot buy it .
. Power cannot compel it. Technology cannot create it. It must rise from the human spirit.
America is far more than a place. It is an idea, the most powerful idea in the history of
nations. We are now the bearers of that idea, leading a great people into a new world. We don't
have a moment to waste. The children born tonight will have almost no memory of the 20th
Century. Everything they will know of America, they wilfknow only through the work we do
now to build a new centUry.
Tomorrow morning, there will be just over 1,000 days until the Year 2000. 1,000 days to
prepare our people. 1,000 days to work together. 1,000 days to our land of new promise. My
fellow Americans, we have work to do. Let us ~eize the days and the century.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless ·America.
13
�THE WHITE HOUSE
WASH I N G.TO N
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November25, 1997
MEMORANDUM FORTH
FROM:
DENT
BRUCEREED
GENE SPERLING
ELENA KAGAN
SUBJECT:
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As you requested, this memorandwn provides a brief description of new
seriously c.onsiderj.ng for the S~ate oft.hc Union. Most of. th~se ideas involve increased ~di
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and you wtll.havc to make chmces among th~m as you.cons1der the FY 99 budget. Options
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relating .io social Security and tax refonn are .nOt inCluded in this .memo.
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Education
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Class size /.100,000 teachers: We are vvorking wi,th the Vice· President's office and others on
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~ an ambitioq.s initiative to reduce class sizes in tb~ early grades by provid. ing money to hire up to
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100,000 new teachers, perhaps paid for by reducing the i~deral work force by another l 00,000
e./~~~ positions. We estimate that I 00,(!00 new reachers in grades 1-3 'Nould reduce average class size
from rou.· ghly 21 t? .rou~.h.ly.l8. The initi~ti•.~t: \voul~ have t.hree ma.~n elements: 1) grants t~ help
states or commumtles lure new re~chers (a~ Hl the COPS pregram, these grants would be tune- ·
~\Jf.Jr limited (3-4 years) aTJ.d the federal share wm.!td Lc 50-75%); 2) timds for teacher training, with a
. ~ . special emphasis on reading;. and 3) provisicn~_to ei1sure acc~untabillty., such as r~quiri~g testing
A,~---:-- of new teachers and/or ensunng the rem::>val Ol b().d teachers t.rom the classroom. A senous
~ ~~~r~posal along these lines would. ~ost $5-l 0 .biPion iwer five. years. depending on th.e size of the
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~ ~eral match and the target date fnt.: reaching lOG,OOO. We also would need to accompany the
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roposal with a school construction initiative (see below).
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/Education Opportunity Zones: As we outlmed in an eirrlier memo on policy proposals for
the rae~ tmtlatlve, we are workmg with the EducatiOn Department on a plan that would reward ·
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10-15 poor inner City and rural school districts for agreeing to adopt a school. reform agenda that
~4- .~ nclu.~es: e~di~g so.cialpr~motions, remt'i~;ing tnd teachers, reconstituti~g fai~ing:schools,. an~
.
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~ adoptmg dtstnct:-vllde choice and/or pnbhc school vouchers. Our goalts to gtve school dtstncts
~A incentives to hold ~tudents. teachers, and schools act:ountablc, in e'ssentiall~ tl.1e way Chicago has
~one. In our workmg proposal, each urban grant v.'ould be worth $10-25 nulhon and each rural
grant would be worth np to $2 mi!.licn,fcr 3.totai request in FY99 of$320 million.
3. National PubEc SchGIJl Cho~i.:c ]:,~,.,: · \Vt:,. are exploring the possibility of proposir.g
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legislation to reqnire that' states and communities allow public school choice as a condition of
0;,~ receiving federal ·education funding. Together with a strong endorsement ofbipartisan~charter
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school legislation (bound to pass next year), this measure will show that we.firmly support
choice and competition. We are also looking into the concept .of a parents' right-to-know law
that would require states and communities to make key information on school performance
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available, so that parents can make informed choices. ·
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4. University-School Partnerships; Aswe also outlined in our earlier memo on the r~ce
~ -~ . initiative, we are working on a grant program to promote strong partnerships between colleges
~' and high-poverty middle and high schools, with the goal of enabling more youth to go on to·
college. This initiative would encour.age colleges to adopt the Eugene Lang model for helping
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disadvantaged youngsters .. Colleges would encourage students to take demanding courses, while
providing academic enric~er1t and intensiv~ mentoring, tutoring, and other ·support services~
The students would receive special certificates for participating in the program, somewhat along .
• the lines of Chaka Fatah'.s proposal. The Department of Education has requested $200 million for
FY 99 for this initiative.
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~~- · Campaign on Access to. Higher Education: We are preparing tO ·conduct an intensive
·~ ~ publicity campaig~ on the affoi:da~ility ofhig~er ~ducation .. The goal of th~ campai&n would be
to make every famtly aware that htgher educatwn ts now untversally accesstble, as well as to
~ reiteritte that higher education is the key to higher earnings. . .. . .
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6. School Construction: We
need to re-propose a
initiative this year.
We ~r~ ~urrently con~l.de.ri~g-~h~ .ap_propriate size a~d duration ofthis initiative, as well as the~~-' ~
poss1 bihty of structurmg thiS IIU!tattveas a tax credit.
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Teacher Training for Technology: We are currently weighing several options on training
teachers to use educational technology. These include (1) expanding various innovation grants to'\:
ensure that within four years, all new teachers will be ready to use educational technology, or (2)
using the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund to train and certi at least one ''master teacher"
.m every school, wl).o cant en tram other teachers in the use of educational technology.
8. Hispanic Educ3tion Dropout Plan: We have develOped a plan to improve educational
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opportunities for Hispanic Americans (or limited English proficient students generally),' wi~ the )'fJl'tJ 6-. '\
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goal of decreasing the current disparity in dropout rates. The draft plan includes a number of \v
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administrative actions, as well as targeted investments ofroughly$100 million to programs for'
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~~ ~. "Learning on Demand':': We are developing an ini.tiative, related to some of Governor .
Romer's ideas, to encourage the use of technology(~; the interne.t, CD-ROM, interactive TV)
for lifelong learning. The initiative will begin the process of giving all Americans "anYtime,·
anywhere" access to affordable and high-quality learning opportunities. The initiative is still in
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~e developmental stage, and at this time we recommend Only a small investment.
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Child Care
1. Affordability: We are developing a proposal that will help working families afford
child care by ( 1) increasing funding for federal child care subsidies through the Child
Care and Development Block Grant, and (2) changing the Child and Dependent Care Tax
Credit by raising the percentage of child care expenses for which taxpayers of certain
income levels may take a.credit. ·On the subsidy side, every additional $fOO million in the
block grant will pay child care costs for at lea5t 35,000 more children with inco~es below
200 percent of poverty. On the tax side, weare considering raising the m~mum credit
rate to 50 percent for taxpayers·with adjusted gross income (AGI) oflessthan $30,000
(from a current high of30 percent ~or taxpayers with AGI of less than $10,000), and
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adjusting the income slide accordingly.
~~i;" and Quality:
conside~ing
We are also
targeted investments to· improve the
safety and quality of care. Our current proposal adds funding to the scholarship program
~ for child care providers that you. anilotmced at the child care conference (which was very
· well received); provides resources for states to improve their enforcement of health and
safety standards; and funds efforts to educate parents on quality child care ..
3. Early Childhood Learning and Afterschool Programs: Our curre~t proposal also
expands. early learning opportunities by increasing investment in Early Head Start and
creating a new 0-5 Early Education Fund. The riew fund will provide grants for
innovative early learning programs for both working and stay-at-:home parents. We are
also considering ways of exp;aRaing and streaf!ilining a'fterschool prograrris.
4. Helping Parent~ Stay Home: To support parents who wish to stay .·at home w~th their
children, we are working on ways to expand the FMLA --to six months instead of 12
weeks and to smaller-sized employers. We are also looking at a variety of ways to
provide financial assistance; whether through a modified version of the Child and
· Dependent Care Tax Credit or through paid family leave administered under the
unemployment insurance system. The cost of these financial proposals, however, may be
prohibitive.
Health
1. Consumer .Protection Legislation: We should reiterate our .support for three pieces of health
care consumer protection legislation: (1) the Quality Commission's Consumer Bill ofRights,
which has s~rong public and elite support and arguably is more moderate than a bill in the House
that alreadyhas attracted over 85 Republicans; (2) our genetic anti-discriminatiop.legislation,
which has attracted bipartisan support on both sides of the Hill as a way to protect Americans
�4from the misuse of new advances in genetics; and (3) privacy protection legislation, which would
establish strong federal standards to ensure the confidentiality of medical records. Although
these consumer protections would benefit the entire population, women's health advocates are
especially .supportive of them, because the ~onsumer Bill of Rights would ensure direct access to
bBIGYNs .and our genetic anti-discrimination legislation would. protect women who und~rgo
new tests for the breast cancer gene~
· 2. Medicare Reform and Program Improvements: To build on the Medicare reforms in the
balanced budget agreement, we are· considering two reform initiatives: additional anti-fraud
itiatives (perhaps prov~ding $2-3 billion in savings over five years) and an income related
· remium (providing another $7-8 billion in savings assuming it kicks in at an income around
50,000). ·We are also considering a number of Medicare improvements to which we could
apply the above savings: (1) a Medicare (or COBRA) buy-in for pre-65 year olds (or some
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targeted subset of this age group), the cost of which would depend on whether we· decide to
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subsidize this benefit; (2) Medicare coverage of cancer clinical trials, which could substantially
~ increase investment in the treatment and cure of cancer, including prostate cancer; and (3) a new
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me'chanism to provide Medicare beneficiaries with information about private long-term care
insurance that meets appropriate standards.
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3. Doubling the NIH Research Budget with Proceeds from Tobacco Legislation: We (along
with the Republicans) are considering a proposal to double the NIH budget, which woulc;i cost.
about $20 billion over five years. Such an investment could lead to breakthroughs in research
~,..... ·-" that would greatly improve our ability to prevent and treat diseases like diabetes and cancer -~ and s-ubstantially lessen the costs associated With these diseases. Because th~ discretionary caps
~r are so tight, the only realistic way to pay for such an initiative is through dedicated savings from
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the tobacco agreement. This link between tobacco legislation and health research should
Je·sonate strongly with the public. - ·
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;:: ~~ Purchas_mg ~o.operahves: Vl_e are workmg on a p_ub~tc/pnvate outreach effort to ensure that
~~~.everychlld ehgtble for health msurance under Medtcatd or our new program actually gets
tr\. ~ covered. The public side of this effort could include proposals to: give bonuses for enrolling
\~~more children in Medicaid; expand the kinds of places where children can enroll; and simplify
~~ ~ligibility processes. In addition, we are considering whether to propose a demonstration of our
~old policy to provide coverage to.workets who are in-between jobs. Finally, we are continuing to
~~ pursue proposals -relating to voluntary purchasing cooperatives, as a way to help small business
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gain access to and afford he~lth insurance coverage.
5. Racial Disparities in Health Care: We are working on a proposal to address racial
disparities in six carefully selected areas of health care: infant mortality, breast and cervical
W"<J\' ~~cer, ~eart d~seas~ and strok~, dia~etes,_ ~IDS, and immunizatio~. This _prop?sal ~ll include
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_pat10nw1de actwns to reduce these dtsparttles, as well '!-5 focused ptlot proJects m th1rty
communities '(say~project on diabetes on an Indian-reservation ora project <;mAIDS in an inner
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city). The stated aim of the proposal will be to eliminate racial disparities in these .six areas by ·
2010.
Crime
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1. Community Prosecutors: We are working on a proposal, costing up to $100 million, to
provide grants to prosecutors for innovative, community-based prosecution efforts. A number of
jurisdictions already have embraced such efforts; for example, c . .
rosecution is an
essential component of Boston's juvenile crime strategy. These jurisdictions have .found that a
''Problem-oriented" (rather than incident-based) appro£chto prosecuting, using a wide variety of
enforcement methods and attending to the concerns of victims and witnesses, can pay real
iv· ends. A grant program could spread these innovative programs across the country .
~~..~~rime Initiative: Although we got funds for much of our youth violence strategy in
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last year'·s appropriations bills, We should continue to press for the passage of juvenile crime
legislation -~ especially for a juvenile Brady provision, which will stop violent juveniles from
owning guns as adults. We also should challenge the four cities leading the nation injuvenile
-crime (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, andDetroit)to replicate Boston's successful strategy
and target resources to these cities to help them meet this challenge;
Welfare/Housing
1. Welfare-to-Work Housing Vouchers: We are working with OMB and HUDon a proposal
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for 50,000 new housing vouchers to help welfare recipients in public housing who need to move
in order to. find employment. We would distribute these vouchers on a competitive basis to
public housing authorities working with local TANF agencies and/or grantees of the new $3
billion welfare-to-work program. We are working o'na riumber ofproposalstoincreas~ housing
.riwhiliJ¥Jsee below), and linking this issue to welfare reform may increaSe the chance of
a~actmg congressional support. At the same time~ we should reiterate our support for welfare-:
to-work transportation funds as part of NEXTEA.
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Housing
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1. . Housing Portability/Choice: In addition to the new welfare-to-work housing vouchers
discussed above, a package on housing portability and choice could include: increasing the
number of Regional Opportunity Counseling (ROC) sites; encouraging the use of exception rents
(rents up to 120 percent of the "fair market rent") as a tool for opening up more expensiv~
suburban housing markets; and eliminating obstacles to portability of Section 8 vouchers.
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2. Fair Lending/Fair Housing: This proposal could include: an· examination of the impact of
· credit scodng and risk-based pricing on the availability of credit/capital to lower-income and
minority individuals; issuance-of-guidance by banking regulators on certain key cred~oring
issues &rui,. possibly, on risk-based pricing; a. Presidential call to the· FDIC and the Federal
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· ~eserve to obtain more data on reasons for horne mortgage loan denials (OCC and OTS already
collect such information); and collection of race and income data as part of the Equal Credit
Opportunity Act/CRA small business and small farm lending reporting requirement .
3. Down payment Reduction: We are working on a propos(:ll to increase horneownership by
reducing the barriers to ·buying a new horne. Many low~ and moderate-income families find
downpayrnent the largest hurdle to buying a new horne; this initiative would lower this cost and _
he p more families-become homeowners. In 1992, Congress authorized the National
Horneownership Trust, but never appropriated any money. We are investigating whether we
should request money for this program or whether it is better policy to expand the existing
HOME program (which serves a similar purpose).
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Labor/Workforce
L Child Labor:. We are working on·a comprehensive Child Labor Action Plan, anchpred by a
· $-100 million cornmitrnentto the Intemational-Prograil1 on the Elimination ofChilcl.Labor (IPEC).
-- a voluntary program ·of the International LabourOrganization which is dedic~ted to the
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el~rnination of child labor. The funds, which would be ·managed by the Department of Labor in
accordance with criteria we would develop, would go to programs attacking the-most intolerable
forms of child labor. The initiative also might include a stepped up Customs ro ram to enforce .
U.S. law banning the import o goods made wit orce or onded child labor; increased-support
for the Migrant Education Program to support elementary and secondary education to th~
hardest-to-serve migrant children; and a call for prominent organizations, such as the Boy Scouts
and Girls Scouts, to adopt a "No Sweat" code for uniforms and an accompanying label.
2~ Pensions: We have developed an expanded pension coverage initiative that focuses on a
simplified defined benefit plan for small businesses, based on the SAFE plan proposed by the
American Society of Pension Actuaries (ASPA). We are also looking at a payroll deduction IRA
proposal, a three-year vesting requirement for employer matching contributions in 401(k) plans,
a women's pension initiative, and a pension right-to-know proposal.
3. Community Adjustment: As part of the Fast Track debate, we proposed the creation of the
Office of Community and Economic Adjustment (OCEA)· ·As you know, this office will be
modeled after the Defense Department's Office ofEconornicAdjustrnent(OEA) -:-the
Administration's first point of contact with cornn:lunities experienci~g a military base closure or
defense plant closing. The OCEA would coordinate the Adrninistra~ion's response to regions
impacted by a major plant closing br trade, by working with Labor, Commerce, SBA, HUD,
Treasury, and other govern~rH~nt entities. This group would provide planning grants and
expertise to help cornrnuniti~s develop-comprehensive economic adjustment strategies.. Since.
this program will be part of the Economic Development Administration (EDA), we ·are ~
i~vestigating whe~r we could initiate this proposal by executive memorandum, while awaiting
~ ~ Congressional appropriations.
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Climate Change
~1. Tax Incentive and R&D Package:
You already have.copunitted to a $5 billion package over
five years for tax incentives and R&D to promote low-carbon technologies. The Treasury
Department is working on a possible package of tax incentives to be included in·the FY 1999 budget,
and DOE has a proposal on the expenditure side. We are working to develop final options.
rA.number of the above proposals--~. education opportunity zones, university-school partnerships,
pousing vouchers-- can be presented as part of the race initiative, because they target predominantly
minority areas or provide disproportionate benefits to members of minority groups. Other proposals
described above --the Hispanic dropout plan and the race and health initiative -., have obvious and
explicit race connections. In addition:
1. Civil Rights Enforcement Initiative: We are working on a coordinated package of reforms for
the EEOC and the civil rights offices at bOJ, HUD, HHS, Education, and DOL. Among other
. things, this proposaL would expand dramatically the EEOC's mediation program,.substantially
increasing the avera e speed of resolving com laints and reducin the EE C's current backlog.
Similar y, the proposal would promote the increased use of non-adversarial techniques by the
gencies' civil rights offices. T~e proposal also would provide a mechanism for better coordination
among the various civil rights offices..
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�Record Type:
Record
To:
cc:
Subject: State of Onion Outreach
The considered opinion of my shop:
Former and Current Administration Officials
Tony Lake
Jeremy Rosner (was chief FP speechwriter. Now special adviser on NATO ratification)
Bob Boorstin
Jessica Mathews (was in State Dept. Now at CFR)
·
Dick Holbrooke
David Rothkopf (was at Treasury. Now with Kissinger Associates. Very strong on global economy)
Jane Hall (was at NSC; just completed study on conflict resolution for Carnegie)
Adm. Bill Owens, Ret. (strong on military, hi-tech)
Jeff Garten (former Treasury. Now at Yale. Good on global economy)
Foreign Policy Generalists
Mort Abramowitz (Carnegie)·
Richard Haas (Brookings. Former Bush NSC. Has been, will be active on moderate republican
campaigns)
Zbig Brzezinski
Big Thinkers and Academics
Elie Wiesel
Fouad Adjami (SAIS) ·
Paul Krugman (MIT-- very strong on global economy)
Fareed Zakaria (editor, Foreign Affairs)
Eliot Cohen (military analyst)
James Chace (World Policy Institute)
Non Foreign Policy
Ruth Simmons (president of Smith)
Nan Keohane (president of Duke)
Gina Kalata (NYT Science editor)
Cornel West
Gary Wills
Stephen Ambrose
Michael Bechloss
Steve Jobs
Richard Reeves
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. :The ~nd' of the ~old ;war aroused .fears among '.'longer anchored in the worldwide contest With Mos~ '
: -"some who conduct foreign policy that Americans</ cow''have little paW.mce. 'But·the Pew ·survey has · ·
· . wo~Id .tire of shouldering the wqrld~s problem~. · · shown surprising concerl) about those occurren~es ...
· Superficially, those fears appear well founded'. Sur-· abroad that affect Americans' economic well-being,
··
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' · vey~ show that Americans are· put . off by news of . heai~h and safety. ·
. distant conflicts and prefer not tQ ~ecome involved... ·. · · This might s~em like mere selfishn~ss, but the \-.
·Look again, howeyer, and . a· different picture: ·. sp~cific; examples t~ll a different \story. The Pew
.-em~rges. It turns out that Americans crave engage-, . surv.ey found broad sypport for cooperative action
· · mei}t in the world's, crises, but not in the way they to halt globar warming,_ even if it ,means-.app}ying
·' are·defined· by 'some leaders in -Government,·:aca- ·fuel consumption standards that lead to higheP
,:demic institutions and th~ news media. As new gasoline prices in the United. States. Pollsters have. .
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year dawns;· It is worth remembering that citizeps_ · al~9 fpund .that in the medical_, sphere, Americans
wain the· United States to assert its ·global leadet~ · expect a ·muscular, multilat~ral response· to the
ship, but in a more nuanced ~d coordinated fashion' '·spr~ad:of ,disease, whether from the outbreak of
·than in the past. . ·
· . .· .
. .· · . . · <~: .,. · m'ad.cow disease in Brjt~in, AIDS in.Africa or avian
.
.These thoughts·areprompted'·by'twpnew sur~'··fluinoi:IongK.orig. Americans-are also known to.be.
·. ·Vef.S showing Americ~s.to b¢ perhaps· more; co~~; . mcrea.~mgly, aware tqa_tthe. collapse
economies
cerned and even idealistic about the,.wotld's prob-. ·in L~tin:Ame~icaor,'the Carib~ean c'an translate
. Ienis than many in Washington~ Polls by die Univer~ ·... into immigration;· arid, that ·certain .economies are~
·sity of Maryland's Program on :International Poli~y . depengent.on',drtig exports to the United States. As
Attitud~s J~nd .the. Pew .Research. Center for ·the .for the .collapse of curi•encies and-fir;tancial in~titu"' .·People Cl;nd the P~es~ found a strong cooperatiopist ... t~ons intAsia; .voter(will certainly punish· ~_ny gov7 .
· str~ak. For example, the. Maryland study:fouiid.fu.at .. /~np;nen,tthat 1gnores the threat they pos~ to Ameri-.
74 percent of those surveyed wanted a·sharing of· · ¢ali banks, individual-investors and pension funds.
power internationally, while only 13 Pf!rcent wanted
. 'As President Cliriton prepares for the' second
the :united· States tQ throw. its weight'around as the . · year ()f his second term, the'.foreign policy agen~a.is
sole superpower. In additio_n, while Congress· re- · surprisingly-packed~ A newly expanded NATO, and,.
fuses to approve $1.5 billion in overdue~ assessments . a renewal of American troop involvement in Bosnia, .
for ;the ·United N"ations,· the Pew. survey found that.·· will.prop~rly require Congressional approval. Glob~
Americans hold the organization iil·high regard;· , · al warming, tiade,.,dnigs and disease are at the·
. · , ·~. These practical attitudes pos~. an ·interesting. ·. center of Arilerican concern~. The Administration's
··challenge to makers ·of foreign policy, not to men- decision to push forjnore open trade and tq :help·
tion the news media that report it. When. It comes ·to . l:'es~;ue ·the economies~of Asia will .affect the jobs of ·
American intervention; the key to winning s'upport . everyone.:the n~w· surveys have thus reinforced an .
·is to. gain cooperation of 'qther countries.. As for old·.axiom.. Americans care more about :the wort~'·
fore'igp news generally, other polls show that if it than they are givencredit_for; The te$tbf leadership
.. focuses. on the ris'eand,fall of regimes and far-off · rem~ins to dra.matize the connection of the new
diplomatic and·. military clashes, . Americans· no problems of today to their' lives.
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/
.
...
_
\
'
, ..
.
.. . Kon~ahs, Patriotic for Now •
.·.
'
.
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room
. pronouncements i~ the newspapers · baz~ars. But one finds niore
to
and. on television, which have. Been· . :browse in the aisles and stalls.
bidding the .populace to .prepare. for
The .usually frenetic and boisier·
'
the harrowing pain and suffering . ous restaurants have· plenty of open
. · · ·
n recent weeks, there. has been. ·.·.th·at wt'll._be visited upon. all. ·.. ,
. seats at lunch ·and· dinner; .and ·an
much made ·of the .South Ko-·
· ···
·
h
.. _
. H'ts t_emp·er_ed. cynicism seemed to :· ·- alarming · · · · ot· them· ·and ot er
· rean.,_.peo_ ple's. national sen.se
· 1' · number
1·
d
capture the p~ychology ·of the ·mo- · · sma l busmesses. ~re·c osmg own:
ot' duty and shared sacrifi.ce. inent in : Sou.th. Korea . .:. :. how the.
Indeed; the whisper-ed talk in the ..
in the face of their country's .
'
.
.
. .
dh
s.· pecter of,..·. immine_nt .ruin_' ·. ha~.-· pr.o- .:new ap_artment ·contp_lexes ·a.J1. . t'urn.
deep economic woes.; caused·.
h
d
· vided;· for now,. common c;ause to ble tenements as turne to ques tons
. by the ,banking qisis. Mothers have . salarymen and artists alike.. ·.. .
of which middle man(lger.willlose his
. ¢xchanged their babies' 100-daygold · .·.. Another friend of mine likened the job, w,hich assistant or clerk will be
rings for ~orean won, and office nation to a· fancy ocean liner tl}atis. laid off. How many manufactqring
Workers have pooled: their foreign damaged and badly listing; small .. pla,nts will be shut down in the other
chang~ for.the- sa~ne purp·ose.
. · lifeboats are on the water, lashed to regions of the country? How many . ·
But we should be ·careful not to · one ano\:ller in a wide but precarious ·thousands. of assembly-line workers
· overstate the 'depth, of that popul~r· flotilla. · .
·
.. will be given permanent ~~ave?
unity and patriotism, particularly: if
One wonders how long this sens,e of.
The hardest cuts have only just
South Korea's' financial difficulties ·
. ·
·
begun, but when they. do ultimately.
· become entrenched o'r worsen.
d h
· th
t
·d
..
..
, Jin. t eir measure, e curren moo ·
To be 'sure,.· ft's.cal .aus tert'ty· an'··d ·
· · · ·
·· ·
· · . of shared support and willing SC1cri. personal <;ontributions .are the.
.
fice'will no doubt be, profoundly chatpresent order of the day. Tqere· are
lenged by inore caustic .feelings ·or.
.. notices aplenty of Stalled·~OnSUtnP·
ffi.
resentment and frustration from a
·• .tiOtl,. and ma,ny .South Koreans are ' . .
W ·. , • . · public that already feels betrayed ·by
·.·.,,depositing their dollars and other. . . 1· _ .:........ · · t·~ ~t
the pa.St·governanceof its leaders.·
. currencies into banks: to. help bolster
ilC.l cSell u..LefJ, •
. What will it be lUte in the streets:
the foreign currency reserves. .
·- 1 ·
.. ' . .
and parks if tens and even hundreds
My .'uncle, an\ academiC in SeOUl,
··
~· of.i:hotisands Qf m·anagerS arid work..
1
deposited in the bank what he had,
ers are suddenly unemployed, .if_ col$700 or so, and my family andfrien<;ls . national unity can last. After all, the . lege ·graduates .have scant hope .of .
, who .also hold fore1gn currency, par- · neXt., stage of reckon~g is only begin- ·finding work, if the period· of auster~,
ticul.arly dollars and :yen, haye done · ning..
.
. .
. ity ru:td sacrifice is counted not in
the same. . . · .
. . .
In Seoul, my family tells me, signs. months, btit years? ..
.
..
A'film maker'friend ofrhine said ·of .the thne. are becoming apparent; : For now, aU those rve spoke~ with
that he, to9, would. hav.e sent in ddt-: Descending over this very. old and · seem to be de'scribing what my film··
lar.s, but· he had little in the boo~ very new city there is a sense of an maker friend called an . "ominous
· times and nothing niore to offer no'?J. ·. odd, .discomfiting calm: There. are .ambience" in the land, an awful wait-··
· ·the earnestness of the ·film mak- · still the hourly tratfic jams on the ing game of the besieged. .
. .
er's response surprised me, given ,immense avenues al)d. gnafled
The. hope is that' immediate and
that he's often deeply· acerbic. an~ · 'stre'~ts and atop. the numerous sufficient world support will allow ,
cynical about th,e Goyernment and· bridges over the Han River,:but the·. the nation tinie, to right itself. again.
the Korean conglomerates. I thought .flow is perceptibly ligl}tet; owing no ·But. the dark wonder i~ there,· as
he would completely scorri the gra~e doubt to the· price of •gas having re~ · , well: whether any sol~dadty can hold
·
·
· ·
· ·· · ·
· centiy doubled. There are ~till shpp- if the splendid ship sinks, if the same
~ C~ang-rae Lee is the. author offfa· · · pers in the ·glitzy dep~I'tme~t stores
glittering .South Korea is no· longer.
tive Speaker," a·novel.
, \
~d in th~ ;sidewalk and und~fground
there. to return to. ·
0 .
. ,•
.
• !
·By -Chang-rae Lee
under:heath all
th. t.. ·. d .. ·1·11
a goo
..
a·y·
. ·•
, ..
,.•.·
·•....$lje ~~W ~~r~;(!timc~·.
· _·Sunday,,Jariuary4, _1998 ·.:.
'I
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'
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~-
.··' ·.
.
�1998 STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
PROPOSED OUTLINE
January 5, 1998
This speech will be a thematic, confident challenge to the nation to prepare for the 21st
Century. It will build on the momentum of six years of success to frame the new agenda for the
early years of the new century. Itwili summon a revived sense of national purpose. And it will
seek to launch a new era in American politics, in the aftermath of the balanced budget, arguing
frankly for a progressive government that is smaller but active, effective and empowering -not
the welfare state of the 20th Century, but an opportunity state for the 21st Century.
I. THEME [4 minutes]
America stands at the threshold of a new century ~ a time of umnatched abundance and
fulfillment, if we act today to seize its opportunities. The. computer revolution, the global
economy, the biomedical miracle, the end of the Cold War: all these~ were made in America, and
all these have remade our world. They .can be forces for good -- or they can be forces of
disruption and division. Who, better than America, is destined to shape this new world?
We are called upon to do what Americans have done at every moment of ch<.llenge and
change: act anew, to keep our oldest values alive in new times and build a strong American
uatio:1 on shifting ground. Because we did, problems that OlHX~ scerj]ed permanent ~111d
insunTJOUntahle have now bent to' O'Jf efforts: the budget deficit, crime, welfare. AJ11.:rica ll:;~s
eamed a profound period of prosperity ;:md peace, strength and. social pmgress. But our success
must not be a cause for contentment, but an impetus for urgency. We ha\'e been giv,;n a rare and
fleeting chance an American opportunity- to build today for tomorrow.
Together, we Amer~cans have addressed the greatest challenges of the end of the
20th Century. We have built a platfnrm for progress. Now it is time to turn to the new
challenges of the 21'1 Century. Together, we Americans have reformed government so it is
lean and resilient and rooted in our values; no:w, it is time to use it. In the 20 111 Century. to
help our people achieve the American Dream, we built a welfare state. Now, to reach that
dream, we must build an "opportunity state" - rooted in$rsonal rcsoom:ibil~focused
on giving people the tools to reap the rewards of ecQnomic change.
II. NEW OPPORTUNITY IN THE NEW ECONOMY [2.2 minutes]
A. 21st Century economy·- sweeping description of technology & global change. Greater
chance than ever for opp01tunity & abunda:nce but now must act to give all Americans
the chance to share in growth. Economic strategy:
�h
...
B. Opportunity only if we maintain fiscal discipline.
1. Announce year budget comes into balance
2. '93, began to restore American solvency. Now, must maintain fiscal discipline.
C. Qpportunity only if we lead ~lobal economy to work for our people
* International financial stability ·
Trade-- strong statement of need for openness-- fast track?
D. Opportunity only if we invest in our people. 5 key elements to expanding opportunity
and strengthening American Dream: [NOTE: ordering may change, e.g., mqjor Social
Security announcement could come first]
1. Education
Key to wider opportunity in new economy. We've opened doors
to college now, must make K-12 best in world.
* 1OOk teachers
standards - no social promotion
educational empowerment zones
mentoring
computers in classrooms
GI Bill/training/lifetime learning
2. Health care
*Medicare buy-in
*Patient bill of rights
3. Help families meet responsibilities at work & at home
*child care
4. Empower communities
empowerment zones
welfare to work
5. Retirement
*Social Security
Private pensions
*DENOTES MOST SIGNIFICANT POLICIES
2
�IV.
NEW OPPORTUNITY DEMANDS NEW RESPONSIBILITY
[5 mins]
A. Opportunity demands responsibility, from every part of society
B. Crime
juvenile bill gangs & guns
drug testing for arrestees
lifetime parole for certain crimes
crime victim constitutional amendment
confirming judges
C. Challenges to others to take responsibility
V.
OPPORTUNITY IF WE HARNESS SCIENCE FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD [5 mins]
A. *Tobacco/NIH biomedical research
B. Values and science - genetic testing, computer privacy, cloning
C. Space exploration
D.* Climate change
E. Clean water
VI.
STRENGTHENING OUR NATION: NEW SECURITY IN A NEW WORLD
[ 15 minutes]
A. Statement of American mission & new threats. America led forces of freedom in tight
against Communism. Now, must lead forces of civilization in fight against new threats.
B. *NATO
C. *Bosnia [check, see if order can be reversed]
D. New security threats
Biological Weapons Convention
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
Terrorism
E. UN and IFI arrears
Note: Other foreign policy concerns, e.g., announcing trips, Middle East, Iraq, will also
briefly be addressed.
3
�'I
....
i
•
•
•
VI.
STRENGTHENING OUR NATION: NEW DEMOCRACY FOR 21st CENTURY
[3 mins]
A. Reinventing government success/IRS reform
B. Campaign finance reform
March 11 vote
Free TV -- challenge to FCC, challenge to broadcasters
C. 21st Century elections-- 2 day voting, voting by mail
VII.
STRENGTHENING OUR NATION: ONE AMERICA IN THE 21st CENTURY
[5 minutes]
A. J\t each moment of change, Americans had to find ways to shape ourselves inot one
nation. Today, demographic change, greatest in our history.
B. Most important way to bridge divides of race is by broadly addressing the nation's
problems. Education, health care, jobs -- they unite us. Also must enforce civil rights laws.
C. But some challenges are not in laws but in our hearts. Challenge to reach across racial
lines in common understanding & citizen service.
D. Conclusion/heroes (focus on One America & millennium themes)
4
�Tried to appeal to both _ _ of our nation: to find a new unifying vision of America that gives
greater meaning to our union and wider, deepe1 rneaning to our freedom .•
This is, I am convinced, what our forefathers me<mt when they told themselves and their
descendants down to the present day to form a more: perfect union.
Just as we as _ _ , _ _ always seem to grow through succ~ss and failure, pain and joy, so
_ _ the nation grows in wisdom and spirit.
.
George Washington
into
--·-· ________ to our nation. Abraham Lincoln gave
his life to move beyond division and slavery to one nation. Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow
.
.
Wilson _ _ in to reap the benefits. of_·____
also to _ _ _ _ _ _ exploration of
people and
. So that _ _ _ _ one nation. FDR led us out of depression and through a
war to save freedom itself by reminding us that fear is always our real enemy and _ _ _ __
_ _ is the only way to pres~rve and
.our nation. 50 years of _ _ _ _ leaders from
President Truman to President Bush stood strong throughout the Cold War and built the our
United States to a new pinnacle (?) of prosperity, strength and _ __
But, by 1992, the _ _ _ _ _ _ again and the economy (?)rapidly than ever before. A new
global economy, the end of the Cold War the _ _ of new _ _ and old habits, the_,_of
need, religious fundamentalism, and cold war explosion of science , technology and information
presented the world with a whole new project " new winners and losers, new possibilities and
new threats in _ _ a lot of _ _ ,_·_·_. Most appealing_·_ _ _ , with out the apparent
order necessary to strengthen our vision and deepen our freedom.
I soughtthis office in 1992 because I felt om nation moving towards drift and division. _ _
__ __ __
. Our debt had quadruple in four years;·or social problems were
worsening. Too many hard working_·___ were struggling to survive and make ·sense of a
·
world increasingly beyond their control. Too inany of or children were being hurt(?).
For five years I have struggled to reaffirm(?) the promise of America, to forge a more perfect
union, to widen and deepep the _ _ of our freedom, to bring harmony (?) and hope to a new era
I _ _ _ _ believe can be the most wonderful in all humanity's long journey-
. I have _ _ to rebuild the _ _ of hope, to achieve the _ _ _ _ of our n<;1tion, to provide a
unifying vision on ____ all proceed with confide'nce into a new century, a new millennium.
.
.
Because the road has not always been clear, because neither I nor anyone has all the answers, I
have embraced the path of bold
experimentation that has setved us so well in the past.
�But all the _ _ activity has been grounded in three·_ _ principles: opportunity for all;
responsibility from all; one _ _ community of all our citizens.
To make these principles real in this time it has been necessary to change our recognition of the
role of government, going beyond the debate of ~eceQt years between those who say government
is the enemy of America's _ _ interests and shared values and those who say _ _ of the role
government will - - o r accept
of t h e - - - - we have to - - o n gtvmg
Americans the
and tools to _ _ make the most of this new era, on being a catalyst for
new ideas, the
and
the disadvantaged. _ _ _ we have had _ _ success,
thanks in large measure to the _ _ work of the Vice President in giving us the smallest
government in 35 years but one still strong enough to move us forward.
Beyond _ _ _ _ role of government, it has also _-_ _ _ to change the view Americans
hold of _ _ relative with the rest of the world. I have brought, with _____·_than I had
·
hoped, to
Congress _ _ the people that we live in an interdependent world in which
what happens beyond our borders. affects our security, our well being, and 'our children's future.
This fact _ _ our _ _ in partnership with others, in trade,"in UnitedNation's action
including peace-keeping and conflict .prevention, in combating climate change and the spread of
disease
in stabilizing the global financial ___ far more important than ev~r before.
Tonight, with the State of the Union so _ _ , let us embrace with optimism and vigor the
___ challenges to building our bridge to the 21st Century, let us _ _ our_·_and
differences in a _ _ of good will and civility. Let--'--- ___________
_ an economy based on opportunity, a society based on reform (?), a union rooted in
community.
FIRST: The opportunity economy
Strategy: Bal Budget(?), Investing in people. _ _ _ _ to our moderation (?).
Balanced Budget Surplus: Social Security first.
Year 10 --Education
Progress Especially college
Now- StudentLoan Reform(?)
Court
Environment: Grow and preserve
Record(?)
Clean Water
Climate Change
Trade:
Financial Markets:
Empowerment:
Abroad
'·
�SECOND Reform Society: Workers /Families
Retirement
Health Care:
Medicare
Medicaid
Health Care Bill of Rights
Children
Welfare
Government Reform: - - - IRS
Campaign Finance
National Security
THIRD Nation Rooted in - - . 1. One America: _·_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
·_._have together.
2.
·
. Serving America: - - together.
..
-------''---~
CONCLUSION: Gtfts to the Future
HRC · 1. Res · _ _ (Vacuum)
2. Space
3. Heritage ·
More to life 200 days _ _ a_._· _·__ must be__
·
_ _______
even _ _ _ _ . New level of Harmony-_._______ - _ _ _ _ about /1
'
�.·
·..
. ·.:.:.. ·
-~------:.---'---'---~~-=--------. ·~-
THE WHITE
HOUSE
WASHINGTON
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THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
�THE
WHITE
HOUSE.
WASHINGTON
�THE WHITE
HOUSE
WASH I.NGTON
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�-------·:---·-------.THE WHI TE HOUSE
.·
WASHINGTON
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I
.
��THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
�INFORMATION
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
FROM:
SAMUEL BERGER
SUBJECT:
State of the Union
Ideas
Foreig~
Policy Themes and
As you requested, this memorandum proposes a theme for the
'foreign policy ~ection of the State of the Uniori. and specific
objectives/initiatives to emphasize.
I.
THEME·
Because the framework· for the foreign policy section should flow
from the overall direction of the speech, it may be premature to
lock in a theme. And while repeating last year's ."six
priorities" risks boredom, deviating from them in an obvious way
(i.e. by listing new categories of priorities) risks confusion
and charges of inconsistency.
With these caveats in mind, one organizing principle sugg~sts
itself:
describe the new security challenges of the 21st c~ntury
-- and then show how we are meeting them·with a new security
strategy. Any of the speci~ic initiatives,or goals you may
choose to highlight would follow logically from this structure.
Confl~cts
between nation-states may be decreasing -- but
outbreaks of extreme nationalism and ethnic, racial and·
religious hatred have increased coriflict within them.
The
super-power stand off has .. ended -- but ·We remain vulner~ble to
·rogue states and to a nexus of new threats (terrorism, drug
trafficking, intern~tional crime), which will be all the more
lethal if weapons of mass destruction are allowed to spread.
Our answer to these challenges is a new security strategy for
the 21st century. As you explained in your speech to the U.N.,
the core elements of our foreign policy -- security alliances
like NATO; arms control regimes like CWC; free .trade agreements .
like the ITA; international coalitions to support peace and to
act against terror, crime and drugs; binding international
cc: Vice President
Chief of Staff
�...--~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-----------
2
commitments on the environment and human rights -- each advance
a distinct mission but also .serve a.common purpose: to secure
and ~trengthen democracy, p~ace and free markets while turning
back their enemies.
This network of institutions and
arrangements -- forged by American diplomacy; guaranteed by
American force -- forms·a bulwark for those who play by the
rules, isolating those who do not.
II.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES/INITIATIVES
Last year's foreign policy section worked well becau~e, while
most issues that needed a mention got one, you dwelled on only
three:
NATO enlargement; the Chemi·cal Weapons Convention and
trade.
We should follow that same approach·this year and focus
on three key initiatives that require legislative action in
1998: (i) NATO enlargement ratification; (ii) funding and/or
support for a pos~ible post-SFOR security presence in Bosnia;
and (iii) ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
Each follows logically from the framework outlined above.
Three other issues may also merit highlighting. ·
First, we are looking at an initfative to strengthen the
Biological· Weapons Convention, as well as our own efforts to
protect against and respond to the use of biological weapons
against our troops or citizens.
In the wake of Iraq, and
coupled with a call for the CTBT (and a reminder that Congress
has yet to pass ewe implementing legislation) such an ini t·iati ve
would highlight your understanding of and leadership on the new
threats posed by weapons of mass destruction.
Second, a tough paragraph ort U.N. arreais would be timely.
Congressional leadership, especially in the Senate, ·was acutely
embarrassed when the arrears package feli victim to politics in
the midst of the Iraq crisis.
The heroic work on the UN weapons
inspectors makes vivid the case for s~ttling our debts and dues~
Third, we need to corisider carefully what you say on trade in
general and Fast Track in particular. With the Santiago Summit
fast approaching, and questions about next sieps lingering, the
issue must be addressed -- indeed, it may merit a stand alone
section in the speech under the rubric of globalization.
Finally, we should consider whether and to what extent to use
the State of the Union to foreshadow your heavy foreign travel
schedule for 1998.
�
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Speechwriting Office - Antony Blinken
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<p>Antony Blinken served in the Clinton Administration as the chief foreign policy speechwriter in the National Security Council Speechwriting Directorate from 1994 thru 1998.</p>
<p>Blinken prepared remarks for President Clinton, Anthony Lake, Samuel Berger, James Steinberg, and General Donald Kerrick. His speechwriting topics cover a variety of subjects for various audiences including but not limited to: foreign trips or head of state visits, United Nations General Assembly addresses, and State of the Union and weekly radio addresses. As an NSC speechwriter, Blinken produced speeches on major foreign policy actions during the Clinton Administration on Haiti, Iraq and Bosnia. The documents in the collection consist of speech drafts, newspaper and magazine articles, memos, correspondence, schedules, and handwritten notes.</p>
<p>This collection was made available through a <a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/freedom-of-information-act-requests">Freedom of Information Act</a> request. </p>
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National Security Council
Speechwriting Office
Antony Blinken
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1994-1998
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<a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/show/36017" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="http://research.archives.gov/description/7585787" target="_blank">National Archives Collection Description</a>
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2006-0459-F
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Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
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Adobe Acrobat Document
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941 folders in 39 boxes
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State of the Union '98 Background 12/97
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National Security Council
Speechwriting Office
Antony Blinken
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Box 33
<a href="http://clintonlibrary.gov/assets/Documents/Finding-Aids/2006/2006-0459-F.pdf" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="http://catalog.archives.gov/id/7585787" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
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Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
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42-t-7585787-20060459f-033-006-2014
7585787