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Presidential Radio Address - 15 July 2000

Good morning. Today I want to talk about what we as a nation must do to keep our economic expansion going and extend its benefits to every American.

For more than 7 years now, our Nation has followed a course of fiscal discipline that has paid tremendous dividends for the American people. We made tough choices, cut our deficits, paid down our debt. We've strengthened and extended the life of Social Security and Medicare. And we made the investments that matter most for America's future in education, in health care, in the environment, in science and technology, and in targeted tax cuts.

But in recent weeks, the Republicans in Congress have done an about-face on our strategy of fiscal discipline. Having already passed more than half a trillion dollars in reckless tax cuts, this week they passed a fiscally irresponsible plan to repeal the entire estate tax. Its costs would explode to $750 billion after 10 years. And every year fully half its benefits would go to just 3,000 families.

But they haven't been able to provide an affordable Medicare prescription drug benefit for tens of millions of Americans. They haven't been able to add even a day to the life of Social Security or Medicare. They haven't done anything new to improve our schools, increase the minimum wage, expand health insurance coverage for children or parents whose children have coverage, or even to pass a meaningful Patients' Bill of Rights. And now they seem ready to give up on our bipartisan plan to use Social Security and Medicare surpluses for debt reduction. All these actions are serving special interests, not our national interest.

As we look to the future, if we want to keep this economic expansion going, we have got to keep fiscal discipline at the forefront. That's why I want to stay on track to pay off our national debt by 2012. That's why we should dedicate Social Security surpluses to paying down the debt and use savings from debt reduction to extend the life of Social Security to 2057. Also, I support Vice President Gore's proposal to take Medicare funds out of the budget as well, and to use savings from debt reduction to help extend the life of the Medicare Trust Fund out beyond 2030.

Now, their plan would take all of our projected surplus and spend it all for tax cuts and for the cost of privatizing partially the Social Security system and other spending. Let me ask you something. If someone asked you to sign a contract committing you to spend every penny of your projected earnings for the next 10 years, would you do it? Unfortunately, that's what the congressional Republicans want us to do. Most of us would not sign away money we don't have, and neither should America.

That's why I've proposed setting aside $500 billion as a reserve for America's future, so we can have a national discussion of our priorities and so we're prepared for a rainy day. If we do it responsibly, we'll still have the resources to meet key needs of American families. We can increase our investments in education and health care. We can have the right kind of targeted tax cuts to help Americans modernize our schools, send our children to college, care for sick family members, pay for child care. And we can offer every older American the option of affordable, dependable prescription drug benefits through Medicare.

There's a growing consensus, in the Senate and all across America, that we need a real Medicare prescription drug benefit, not a flawed private insurance program that even the insurance companies admit won't work. I also think we can agree to protect our hard-fought fiscal discipline by pledging to use Medicare surpluses only for debt reduction, as Vice President Gore has urged. I hope Republicans and Democrats would start from there and move forward together on America's other priorities.

In that spirit, I've reached out to Congress and said that if they'll agree to pass a plan that offers affordable Medicare prescription drug coverage to all seniors and people with disabilities, while protecting our hard-won fiscal discipline, I will sign a marriage penalty relief law.

As yet, the Republican leaders have not yet responded to the Nation's call for a real prescription drug plan. But it's not too late to put progress over partisanship. The American people know what they need, a Medicare prescription drug benefit, investments in health and education, and targeted tax cuts that don't take us off the path of fiscal discipline and debt reduction.

Some people here in Washington already are looking ahead to election day. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. We did not reach this moment of prosperity by accident, but we could lose it through inattention. Remember, how a nation deals with prosperity is just as stern a test of its judgment and values as how it deals with adversity. If we fail that test, the losers won't be political parties or special interests; they'll be our children and our future. But if we succeed, America's best days are still ahead.

Thanks for listening.


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Presidential Radio Address - 22 July 2000

Good morning. Today I want to talk about securing our economic future by keeping our prosperity going and extending its benefits to all Americans. For more than 7 years now, our Nation has stuck to a course of fiscal discipline. We've made tough choices, paid down the national debt, invested in our people. The strategy is clearly paying off, with the longest economic expansion and the largest budget surplus in our history. Now we have the chance to pass responsible tax cuts as we continue to pursue solid economic policy.

But instead of following the sensible path that got us here, congressional Republicans are treating this surplus as if they'd won it in the lottery. Although it took 7 1/2 years to put deficits behind us, Congress has already drained more than $900 billion of the projected surplus on tax breaks, most of it in just the last few weeks. And they've promised to do even more, working from numbers that are nothing more than estimates from the future.

Taken together, the tax cuts passed last year and this year by this Congress would completely erase the entire projected surplus over 10 years. The majority seems to have forgotten that projections in a report are not the same as dollars in the bank.

Think of it: If someone asked you, "What is your projected income over the next 10 years? Now we want you to sign a contract committing you to spend every single penny of it right now," would you do it? Would you spend all your money now and save nothing for retirement or emergencies or educating your children? Well, that's exactly what congressional Republicans want us to do—sign away a budget surplus we don't yet have and may not get.

In good conscience I cannot sign one expensive tax break after another without any coherent strategy for safeguarding our financial future. At this rate there will be no resources left for extending the life of Social Security or Medicare, a real Medicare prescription drug benefit, investing in education, much less getting us out of debt, which is so critical to our continued economic health.

What's more, the Republican cuts provide relatively few benefits for the vast majority of our working families. They will provide more relief to the top one percent of taxpayers than to millions of working people who make up the bottom 80 percent of taxpayers. These tax breaks spend hundreds of billions of dollars and give one percent of Americans $17,000 a piece, while most Americans get less than $200 each. And tax cuts this large will stop us from paying down the debt, thereby raising interest rates, which will more than take away the tax cuts most Americans get in higher mortgage and interest payments.

Now, we should have tax cuts this year, but they should be the right ones, targeted to working families to help our economy grow, not tax breaks that will help only a few while putting our prosperity at risk.

That's why I've proposed a program of cuts to give middle class Americans more than twice the benefits of the Republican plan, at much less cost. Two-thirds of the relief of our proposal will go to the middle 60 percent of Americans, including my carefully targeted marriage penalty relief. My tax cuts would also help send our children to college, care for sick family members, pay for child care, ease the burden on working families with three or more children. And because my tax plan will cost substantially less than the tax cuts proposed by Congress, we'll still have enough money to provide a Medicare prescription drug benefit, to strengthen Social Security, modernize Medicare, and stay on track to be debt-free in 2012.

In a way, being debt-free is the biggest tax cut of all. If we can just keep interest rates one percent lower over the next 10 years, that's worth about—way over $250 billion in lower mortgage payments, $150 billion in lower car payments, $100 billion in lower student loan payments. That will benefit all Americans.

We have the resources. What we need is a common vision that extends beyond the November elections and a commitment to benefit all Americans, not just a few. That's why I've asked Congress to work with me on a balanced framework for tax cuts, investments, and debt reduction.

Throughout our history, America has been at its best when we looked to the future, when we chose the right way instead of the easy way. How we respond to this unprecedented moment of prosperity is just as great a test of our values and judgment as how we respond to adversity. Today, the right thing is for Democrats and Republicans to put election politics aside and work together to craft a 21st century budget, a framework for targeted tax cuts, responsible investments, and getting us out of debt.

This surplus comes from the hard work and ingenuity of the American people. We owe it to them to make the best use of it—for all of them, and for our children's future.

Thanks for listening.

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Presidential Radio Address - 29 July 2000

Good morning. This weekend marks the start of the summer recess for Members of Congress. Many are heading home to their districts, and most Republicans are meeting in Philadelphia for their party's convention.

But wherever they go, I hope they will be thinking of the millions of Americans for whom summer vacations are not an option, the millions who work all summer long, all year long, earning no more than the minimum wage.

I want to talk to you today about giving these hard-pressed Americans a much-deserved raise and helping them to live the American dream. The face of the minimum wage is the face of America. Every one of us knows at least one person who works for minimum wage. It might be a member of your family. It might be the person who cares for your children during the day or serves you lunch at the shop on the corner or cleans your office every night.

Seventy percent of the workers on the minimum wage are adults; 60 percent are women; and almost 50 percent work full-time. Many are their families' sole breadwinners, struggling to bring up their children on $10,700 a year. These hard-working Americans need a raise. They deserve it. They've earned it.

I've always believed that if you work hard and play by the rules, you ought to have a decent chance for yourself and for a better life for your children. That's the promise I made when I first ran for President, and that's the basic bargain behind so much of what we've done in the years since, from expanding the earned-income tax credit for lower income working people to passing the Family and Medical Leave Act, from increased child care assistance to health care for children to helping millions and millions of Americans move from welfare to work.

That's also why, in 1996, we raised the minimum wage to $5.15 an hour over 2 years. It's high time we did it again. In fact, it's long overdue.

More than a year ago now, I proposed to raise the minimum wage by $1 over 2 years, a modest increase that merely restores the minimum wage to what it was back in 1982 in real dollar terms. Still, it's no small change. For a full-time worker, it would mean another $2,000 a year—$2,000 more to pay for a child's college education, to cover critical health care, to pay the rent. And for a year now, the Republican leadership has sat on that proposal.

Back in 1996, the last time we raised the minimum wage, some of these same Republicans called it, and I quote, "a job killer cloaked in kindness." They said it would cause—again, a quote—"a juvenile crime wave of epic proportions." Well, time has not been kind to their predictions, and neither have the numbers. Our economy has created more than 11 million new jobs since we last raised the minimum wage. And study after study shows that a raise in the minimum wage is good not only for working families; it's good for our entire economy, especially at a time of labor shortages when we want to increase incentives for all Americans who can, to find work.

So this time, unlike the last time, the congressional majority knows better than to speak against raising the minimum wage. This time, instead of arguing the facts, the leadership is playing legislative games, stalling action, and stifling debate. Already, these delays have cost the minimum wage worker more than $900 in hardearned pay. To paraphrase Shakespeare, they've come to bury the minimum wage, not to raise it.

For working Americans, the wait grows longer. As recently as this week, the majority in Congress was still talking about raising the minimum wage, but they couldn't bring themselves to actually do it. In the last hours before their recess, they were still working overtime to give tax breaks to the tiniest, wealthiest fraction of America's families and still doing nothing for the 10 million people who would benefit from a boost in the minimum wage.

This weekend Republican leaders gather in Philadelphia. From their seats inside the convention hall, I hope they'll stop a moment to think of Americans outside that hall—Americans working in the restaurants, the shops, the hotels of Philadelphia, working hard for the minimum wage.

If Republican leaders really want to make their compassion count, they ought to join me in getting back to business and raising the minimum wage. I hope the majority will join the Democrats to seize this moment, to stop the delays, to work with me to help our working families.

Thanks for listening.


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Presidential Radio Address - 5 August 2000

Good morning. Seven years ago this month we set out on a course to eliminate the deficit, invest in education, and open markets for American products overseas. By sticking to that path, we have turned record budget deficits into record surpluses and produced the longest economic expansion in history, over 22 million new jobs, the lowest unemployment rate in 30 years, the lowest welfare rolls in 30 years, the lowest minority unemployment rate on record. Income taxes for the typical family are the lowest now in 35 years, and we're on track to achieve something unimaginable a few years ago, a debtfree America by 2012.

Now, this is the right path for America. A path that allows us to pay down the debt, lengthen the life of Social Security and Medicare, keep investing in education, and cut taxes for middle class families. We can't retreat from this opportunity of a lifetime to keep our economy strong and move our country forward. That's why I'm vetoing legislation that represents the first installment of a fiscally reckless tax strategy.

Today's economic progress is the direct result of a commitment to commonsense, kitchen-table values, responsibility and fairness, putting first things first, not spending what we don't have, looking out for our children's future. To stay true to these values, I've consistently vowed to veto tax breaks that abandon our pledge of fiscal discipline. For without this commitment, we wouldn't have a surplus today; we wouldn't be paying down the debt; we wouldn't have lower interest rates, which have led to record business investment and an effective tax cut for typical families—$2,000 in lower home mortgage payments, $200 less in car payments, $200 less in student loan payments.

Now once again, in spite if all this evidence, America is being asked to turn back. On Capitol Hill, the Republican majority has passed a series of expensive tax breaks to drain nearly a trillion dollars from the projected surplus. On the campaign trail, they are proposing over another trillion dollars in tax giveaways.

If they support both the tax cuts this year and the tax cuts of their Republican Presidential campaign, they would drain over $2 trillion from the projected surplus. And that's just what it is, projected; it's not money in the bank.

Even by Congress' own optimistic estimates, their total tax breaks would put us back into deficits. That means higher interest rates, which is like another tax increase on ordinary Americans.

So I asked the Republican leadership, do you really stand behind this $2 trillion tax cut strategy? If so, how do you justify leaving nothing for Social Security or Medicare, nothing for a new Medicare prescription drug benefit or education? And how will we ever make America debt free?

Now let me be clear. I support tax cuts but tax cuts we can afford. We can't afford a $2 trillion U-turn on the path of fiscal discipline and economic progress. That is not the way to continue our efforts to use these good times for great goals.

For 7 1/2 years we've achieved those great goals in the economy, in education, in welfare reform, in health care, in crime, in the environment, in building one America. If we want to keep making progress, we've got to keep making good choices. And committing 100 percent of the surplus, that may or may not materialize, to tax cuts is not a good choice. There is a better way.

Earlier this summer, I made an offer to the Republican leadership that I would sign a marriage penalty relief law if they would pass an affordable, voluntary Medicare prescription drug benefit available to all seniors and disabled Americans who need it. Unfortunately, they rejected my offer. They've got another chance, though. When they come back, we can work together for a middle class tax cut to help Americans send their children to college, provide long-term care for elderly or disabled relatives, make child care more affordable, provide targeted marriage penalty tax relief. We can do that and still pay off the debt, strengthen Social Security and Medicare, create a voluntary Medicare prescription drug benefit, and invest in education. We can do this. And that's what we ought to do. We ought to keep interest rates down and save the future for our children.

Let's not squander the surplus or this moment. Let's keep our economy strong, provide affordable tax relief, and extend our prosperity into the future. Let's do it together.

Thanks for listening.


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Presidential Radio Address - 12 August 2000

Good morning. These are good times for America, with the strongest economy we've ever had. And all across our country, Americans of every age and background are working together to strengthen the fabric of our communities.

Today I want to talk about some remarkable progress our society has made in the last 8 years: Crime is at a 25-year low; the welfare rolls, the smallest in 30 years; and a new report from the Centers for Disease Control shows that teen birth rates have fallen for the eighth year in a row, and now we have the lowest teen birth rate in 60 years. This is a remarkable achievement.

Consider this. If the teen birth rate had stayed at the same as its peak in 1991, teen mothers would have given birth to another 120,000 babies this year. That drop is wonderful news and further proof that together we can make real progress on social problems people once said were beyond our reach. This is a tribute to community and religious groups, to teachers and families, and of course, to our teenagers themselves.

From the start of our administration, we've endeavored to restore the sense that responsibility and opportunity are the foundations of a strong American community. Five years ago we called upon parents and community leaders to launch a national campaign to prevent teen pregnancy. The next year we worked across party lines to enact landmark welfare reform, which requires unmarried minor parents to stay in school and live under adult supervision. We also demanded that fathers live up to their obligations and have doubled child support collections. We've increased counseling, promoted abstinence, and paired children with mentors, documenting our achievements in a report to Congress this week.

Despite this progress, we know that too many of America's children still are having children. As friends and neighbors, we need to reach out and help these young people learn and grow.

Today I'm taking action to promote one innovative approach we all know will work. It's called, second chance homes, an idea that Vice President Gore and I have long supported and which was championed early on by Senators Moynihan, Kent Conrad, and Joe Lieberman.

These homes provide teenage moms and their babies with an environment that is safe, supportive, and supervised. The teens get the help they need to finish school. They learn how to care for their children and manage a budget. Some homes also work with teen fathers.

Experts say mothers in these homes are less likely to have another baby or go on welfare and more likely to get an education and find a job. I read of one young Massachusetts woman who got pregnant at 14 and soon was estranged from her family with no place to live. With the help of a second-chance home, she got back on her feet, trained at a community college, and has left welfare to become a proud working mother.

Second-chance homes are a good idea that enjoy bipartisan support. I've asked Congress already to provide $25 million to start more of them across the country. Now let's take bipartisan action to give mothers and babies hope for a better future.

But many families shouldn't have to wait for Congress to act. That's why today I'm directing the Secretaries of Health and Human Services and Housing and Urban Development to work together to help more communities across America open second-chance homes.

First, we'll make it easier for communities and faith-based groups to acquire vacant or foreclosed property to create these homes for teen mothers.

Second, we'll provide communities a blueprint for how to create second-chance homes, and a roadmap of Federal and State resources they can tap to get one up and running.

We extend this helping hand to these families because it's the right thing to do and because, over time, it will help the teen birth rate go down even more. With these steps, we'll do still more to make welfare what it was meant to be, a second chance, not a way of life. Working together in a spirit of progress and respect, we can help everyone to make the most of their own lives.

Thanks for listening.


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Presidential Radio Address - 19 August 2000

Good morning. During the recent political convention, we asked people all across our country to take stock of our Nation's progress and the challenges that lie ahead. One thing is clear: We live in a moment of unprecedented peace and prosperity, and getting there was not a matter of chance but of choice.

When the Vice President and I set out to restore the American dream 8 years ago, we faced some tough choices. But with the support of the American people, we made those choices together. Today I want to talk about how far we've come and how we can use this historic good time to address our outstanding challenges at home and abroad.

We now enjoy the longest economic expansion in our history, turning record deficits into record surpluses, creating more than 22 million jobs with the lowest unemployment in 30 years, and average family income has jumped by more than $5,000.

But more than just being better off, America is a better nation. We ended welfare as we knew it. With the benefits of job training, child care, and transportation, 7 1/2 million Americans have moved from welfare to work. We're turning our schools around with higher standards, more accountability, more investment. As a result, our reading, math, and SAT scores are going up, and more students than ever are going to college. We made our communities safer by putting 100,000 new police officers on the streets, banning assault weapons, keeping guns away from a half million felons, fugitives, and stalkers, and together, we brought crime to a 25-year low.

We've also extended the life of the Medicare Trust Fund by 26 years and passed the Family and Medical Leave Act, which over 20 million Americans have used to take a little time off for a newborn baby or a sick loved one. Our air and water are cleaner; our food is safer.

We've also stepped up our fight against AIDS, doubling AIDS research and prevention efforts. We're working on the reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE Act to provide a lifeline to half-million Americans living with HIV and AIDS.

While we're making real progress in the fight against AIDS here at home, we have to do more to combat this plague around the world. That's why today I'm pleased to sign the Global AIDS and Tuberculosis Relief Act. This bipartisan legislation authorizes funding for AIDS treatment and prevention programs worldwide and increases investment in vaccines for the world's children, including AIDS vaccine research. I hope Congress will also approve our vaccine tax credit to speed development of such critical vaccines for the developing world.

Fighting AIDS worldwide is not just the right thing to do; it's the smart thing. In our tightly connected world, infectious disease anywhere is a threat to public health everywhere. AIDS threatens the economies of the poorest countries, the stability of friendly nations, the future of fragile democracies. Already, HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death in Africa and increasingly threatens Asia and the states of the former Soviet Union. In the hardest hit countries, AIDS is leaving students without teachers, patients without doctors, and children without parents. Today alone, African families will hold nearly 6,000 funerals for loved ones who died of AIDS.

But we still have time to do a world of good if we act now. This bill is an important step in the fight against AIDS. It's also a symbol of the good we can accomplish when we work together in a bipartisan spirit. In that same spirit, Congress still has time to get important work done for the American people this fall. When they return in a few weeks, they'll still have time to put progress before partisanship to pass a real Patients' Bill of Rights; affordable Medicare prescription drug benefits for all our seniors; to set aside the Medicare surplus so that it can only be spent to strengthen Medicare, not raided for tax cuts we can't afford; to pass tax cuts that help middle class families send their kids to college and provide long-term care for their loved ones.

We should also pass a strong hate crimes bill and commonsense gun legislation. We should rebuild our crumbling schools, hire the rest of those 100,000 teachers, and raise the minimum wage.

These are big challenges, but if we make the tough choices together, we'll keep our progress and prosperity going.

Thanks for listening.


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Presidential Radio Address - 26 August 2000

Good morning. For millions of American children, this is the last glorious weekend of summer vacation. Ready or not, they're picking out new clothes and packing their school supplies for a promising new school year.

When that first bell rings on Monday, it signals not just the start of a new semester but also the highest enrollment in our Nation's history. This fall a record 53 million students will fill our classrooms. Unfortunately, thousands of school districts are struggling to find enough teachers to fill them.

Today I want to talk about this critical teacher shortage and the steps we're taking to address it. For nearly 8 years now, Vice President Gore and I have pushed to invest more in our schools and demand more from them. We've dramatically increased Federal investment in afterschool and summer school. We've raised standards, strengthened accountability, and worked to turn around failing schools. Today, math, reading, and SAT scores all are up, and more students than ever are going on to college.

Because America needs good new teachers more than ever before, we've set out to hire 100,000 of the highest quality, and we're pushing hard toward that goal. Since 1998, we've helped local schools hire a third of that total, and this year we've asked Congress for funding to reach 50,000.

We've also provided housing discounts for teachers moving to distressed communities and the forgiveness of student loans for those who commit to stay. All across our Nation, school districts are looking for a new generation of dedicated teachers. In Cleveland, for example, administrators hired more than 200 teachers over the summer, but they're still looking for another 400. And Cleveland is not alone.

With a strong economy and such a tight labor market, it's hard to find so many qualified professionals, and the challenge is growing. Over the next decade, America will need to hire 2.2 million new teachers both to handle rising enrollment and to replace those teachers set to retire.

By working together as communities and a nation, we can meet the growing need for more teachers in our classrooms. Today I'm announcing the first-ever national online teacher recruitment clearinghouse. By logging on to www.recruitingteachers.org, school districts can find qualified teachers, and teachers can find out where the jobs are.

I'm also directing Secretary Riley to notify every school district about this new tool and to provide them with information about how to make the most of it. This will transform what has been a hit-or-miss process into a more efficient, effective exchange of information. And over time, this site will help us to alleviate the national teacher shortage and to bring down class size.

Studies show what parents already know: Students perform better in smaller classes with more individual attention and greater discipline. In a few short weeks, Congress will return to Washington hot from the campaign trail, but America's families know this isn't just an election year; it's also a school year.

They want Congress to put progress before partisanship and to pass an education budget that reflects our national priorities. I urge Congress to pass my package of proposals to continue cutting class size and boosting teacher quality. These initiatives would provide $2.75 billion to recruit, train, and hire teachers, to reduce the class size and to invest in teacher quality so we can make real progress toward our goal of having a qualified teacher in every classroom.

I also urge Congress to take prompt action on our proposal to help local school districts tackle the enormous challenge of modernizing old schools and building new ones. The average American public school was built 42 years ago, and decades of use have taken their toll. It is high time we get our children out of trailers and into 21st century classrooms.

At the start of this new school year, parents and teachers everywhere are telling students to do their best. In turn, their families have a right to expect that we, here, will do ours. So let's not make them wait another year for the resources they need.

With more teachers, smaller classes, modern schools, and faith in their future, our children will do more than reach for their dreams; they'll achieve them.

Thanks for listening.


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Presidential Radio Address - 2 September 2000

Good morning. On this Labor Day weekend, as we relax with our families, we honor the hard-working men and women who've helped build the strongest economy in our Nation's history. With more than 22 million new jobs, record surpluses, the lowest unemployment rate in 30 years, all Americans have a right to be proud.

But even at this time of unprecedented prosperity, millions of Americans still are working every day for the minimum wage. Today I want to talk about giving them a much deserved raise.

Every one of us knows someone who works for the minimum wage and often struggles to make ends meet, people like Cheryl Costas, a mother of four I met just a few months ago. Cheryl's from a small town in Pennsylvania. She works at a local convenience store for the minimum wage so she can support her four children and her disabled husband. As she said to me, $5.15 an hour doesn't pay the bills. It doesn't put food on the table.

Seventy percent of all workers on the minimum wage, like Cheryl, are adults; almost 50 percent work full-time; 60 percent are women. In many cases, they are their family's sole breadwinners, struggling to raise their kids on $10,700 a year. These hard-working Americans need a raise.

For more than 7 years now, our administration has sought to build an America that promotes responsibility and rewards work. That's why we nearly doubled the earned-income tax credit to cut taxes for millions of hard-pressed working parents; why we passed a children's tax credit for $500 that 15 million Americans have taken advantage of; and why we provided for tax cuts for college tuition that 10 million families have taken advantage of; why we fought to pass the Family and Medical Leave Act that over 20 million Americans have taken advantage of to take a little time off when a baby is born or a parent is sick; why we've worked for better health care coverage and more child care coverage; and why, in 1996, I signed legislation to raise the minimum wage to $5.15 an hour over 2 years.

It's long passed time we raised it again. In fact, more than a year-and-a-half ago, I proposed to raise the minimum wage by a dollar over 2 years. That's a modest increase that merely restores the minimum wage to what it was way back in 1982 in real dollar terms.

Still, that's no small change to more than 10 million Americans who work for the minimum wage. For a full-time worker, it means another $2,000 a year, enough for a family of four to buy groceries for 7 months or pay their rent check for 5.

But month after month, even with bipartisan support in Congress, the Republican leadership has sat on our proposal to raise the minimum wage, costing the average full-time worker more than a $1,000 in lost wages. So far it's been the victim of every legislative maneuver in the congressional handbook, from poison-pill attachments to special interest strong-arming.

Some Republicans have even reverted to the same old attacks they used back in 1996, the last time we raised the minimum wage. Back then, they called the increase, and I quote, a "job killer" that would, quote, "lead to a juvenile crime wave of epic proportions." Well, my fellow Americans, the only thing of epic proportions that's happened since 1996 has been the continued growth of our economy. Since we last raised the minimum wage, our economy has created more than 11 million new jobs, and juvenile crime has gone down every year. Study after study has shown that raising the minimum wage is not only the right thing to do for working families; it's the smart thing to do for our economy.

So my message to Congress is simple: Stop stalling. If the subject is tax breaks for the wealthy or legislative loopholes for special interest, this Congress moves with breathtaking speed. It's now time for the Republican leadership to stop riding the brakes on the minimum wage.

In the last week, with the election fast approaching, we've seen signs that some Republican leaders may be willing finally to work with us. So when they come back to Washington next week, I urge them to send me a minimum wage bill as the first order of business. It should also include a moderate tax cut package that everyone can agree on, without harmful provisions that would threaten overtime protections.

Once we secure the victory for hard-pressed working families, we can get to work on other pressing priorities—on education, Social Security, Medicare, prescription drug coverage, a Patients' Bill of Rights, a middle class tax package including deductions for college tuition, and paying down the debt. Now, raising the minimum wage isn't just about dollars and cents; it's also about fundamental values: everybody counts; everyone's work should be rewarded; we all do better when we help each other.

America's workers have kept their end of the deal, and let's keep ours and honor Labor Day the right way, by giving working Americans the raise they have earned.

Thanks for listening.


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Presidential Radio Address - 9 September 2000

Good morning. This year our Nation is experiencing one of the worst wildfire seasons in memory. Extreme weather and lightning strikes have helped spark an estimated 250 fires every day. More than 6.6 million acres have burned already, and more than 35 large fires continue in 9 States. We've all witnessed the tragedy of family homes destroyed and admired the bravery of firefighters and citizens joining efforts to battle the blazes. I saw it firsthand in Idaho last month, and I'll never forget it.

Today I want to talk with you about important new steps we're taking to help communities recover and to ease the threat of fires in the years ahead. For months now, we've been mobilizing Federal resources to provide firefighters and communities the tools they need to combat the fires. More than 25,000 Federal, State, and local personnel have been engaged in the effort. We provided $590 million in emergency firefighting funds, and recently I declared Montana and Idaho disaster areas, making them eligible for more Federal relief. But we must do more.

That's why I directed Interior Secretary Babbitt and Agriculture Secretary Glickman to prepare a report outlining a strategy to help communities recover from these fires and to ensure that others are spared from similar tragedies in the future. Today I'm accepting the recommendations contained in this report and announcing the first steps we're taking to implement them.

First, saving lives and property is and will remain priority one. Our Nation is blessed with the best firefighting force in the world. They're doing an extraordinary job in some of the most dangerous and difficult conditions imaginable. Some are finally returning home for well-deserved rest. But the fire season isn't over, and as long as the fires burn, our firefighters will continue to receive our strong support to get the job done as quickly and safely as possible.

Second, we're launching new actions to help hard-hit communities recover as the smoke clears. Once the fires are out, the threat doesn't stop. Rain, for example, could trigger mudslides, and dirty runoff threatens water quality. To help prevent further damage, we've dispatched more than 50 rapid response teams to work with local communities to develop plans to repair damaged lands and protect precious water supplies.

In addition, we've just released nearly $40 million for 90 restoration projects throughout the West. We'll also soon establish one-stop centers in Idaho and Montana, so that citizens can gain quick access to assistance, from unemployment aid to small business loans. We want to make sure the help gets to those who need it right away.

Finally, we must continue to take a long-range look to diminish the threats from fires in the years ahead. For almost 100 years our Nation pursued a policy focusing on extinguishing all wildfires. It was well-intentioned, but as a result, many of our forests now have an unnatural buildup of brush and shrubs. This excessive undergrowth fuels forest fires, making them far more dangerous and difficult to control.

Our administration has taken a new approach to protect communities and reduce wildfire risks by getting rid of the forest underbrush that has accumulated over the last century. We're reducing the risk of fire on more than 2.4 million acres a year, a fivefold increase since 1994. We want to work with communities to expand these efforts in an environmentally sensitive way, particularly in those areas at greatest risk of wildfire.

Today's report provides a blueprint for action, immediate steps to deliver assistance to hardhit communities, new measures to build on our efforts to ease the threat of wildfires nationwide. The report recommends an additional $1.5 billion to carry out this strategy, and I'm committed to working with the Congress to secure this critical funding.

Throughout this wildfire season, we've seen our fellow citizens come together to save lives and aid communities in need. That's the best of the American spirit. It's reflected in these new steps to help put out the fires today, help communities heal tomorrow, and help to reduce wildfire threats for years to come.

Thanks for listening.


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Presidential Radio Address - 16 September 2000

Good morning. I'm joining you today from the Washington Home, a nursing home in our Nation's Capital that has been delivering quality care to older Americans for more than 100 years now. The seniors here with me receive topquality assistance from a dedicated and attentive staff.

Every one of the 1.6 million Americans living in nursing homes all across our Nation deserve the same quality care. And as the baby boomers retire, the demand for quality care will continue to rise even higher. By the year 2030, the number of Americans over the age of 85 will double, making compassionate, quality nursing home care even more important.

But while the majority of nursing homes today provide excellent care, too many of our seniors and Americans with disabilities in homes, in too many of those homes, are not getting the proper attention they deserve. According to current research, the number one culprit is chronic understaffing. When there are too few caregivers for the number of patients, the quality of care goes down.

A recent study from the Department of Health and Human Services reports that more than half of America's nursing homes don't have the minimum staffing levels necessary to guarantee quality care. And too often the staff that is there isn't properly trained. Patients in these homes are more likely to lose too much weight, develop bed sores, fall into depression. More than 30 percent are dehydrated, malnourished, at much higher risk for illness and infection.

Older Americans who have worked hard all their lives deserve respect, not neglect, and for more than 7 years now, Vice President Gore and I have acted to improve the quality of care in our Nation's nursing homes. In 1995 we put in place new regulations to crack down on abuse and neglect, stepping up on-site inspections of nursing homes.

That same year, when Congress tried to eliminate Federal assurances of nursing home quality, I said no. Then in 1998 I issued an Executive order, requiring all States to increase investigations of nursing homes and fine those that failed to provide the residents with adequate care.

Today I'm taking four new steps to improve nursing home conditions across America. First, working with Senator Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, and Senator Breaux, a Democrat from Louisiana, along with Representatives Waxman, Stark, and Gephardt, I'm sending legislation to Congress next week that I believe can be enacted this year. It will create $1 billion in new grants to boost staffing levels in nursing homes that need it most, to improve recruitment and retention, and to give more training to caregivers, rewarding the best performing nursing homes.

While working to improve nursing home care, we have to act swiftly to keep nursing homes safe. This legislation will impose immediate financial penalties on nursing homes that are endangering the safety of their residents, and then those funds will be used to improve patient care.

Second, I'm directing the Health Care Financing Administration to establish, within 2 years, minimum staffing requirements for all nursing homes participating in the Federal Medicare and Medicaid programs. The agency will also develop recommendations to ensure that nursing homes receive the necessary payments for high-quality care.

Third, we are taking new measures to educate caregivers at nursing homes. Just this week we launched a new campaign in America's 17,000 nursing homes to identify residents who are at risk and prevent them becoming dehydrated or malnourished.

And finally, to help families select the right nursing home, we'll require all facilities to post the number of health care personnel serving their patients.

Of all the obligations we owe to one another, our most sacred duty is to our parents. They kept us safe from harm when we were children, and we must do the same for them as they grow older. They shouldn't go another day without the care they deserve wherever they live, in whatever nursing home facility.

President Kennedy once said, "It is not enough for a great nation merely to have added new years to life. Our objective must be also to add new life to those years."

The steps we're taking today will help to bring new life to our Nation's seniors by bringing a new level of quality to America's nursing homes.

Thanks for listening.


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Presidential Radio Address - 23 September 2000

Good morning. In these first fall days of the new millennium, America is basking in the glow of unprecedented prosperity, with the longest economic expansion in history. But we're not just better off; we're more hopeful, more united, and more secure.

Last year the overall crime rate fell for the eighth consecutive year, the longest continuous drop in crime on record, giving us the lowest crime rate in 27 years. Since 1993, gun violence alone has declined by more than 35 percent. But none of us believes America is as safe as it should be, and none of us should be satisfied until America is the safest big Nation in the world.

This morning I want to talk about new ways we're harnessing the power of technology to catch more gun criminals and keep guns out of the wrong hands. Recently, we saw stark evidence that the Internet is fast becoming a new outlet for illegal gun sales. This past May, two teenagers, using a forged Federal firearms license, were able to order guns over the Internet for delivery to their home in Montclair, New Jersey. Because they used a forged license, there was no scrutiny, no background check, no questions asked. It was only because of the actions of a suspicious UPS delivery man that this scheme was thwarted.

Unfortunately, the Internet, despite all its benefits, is making it easier for guns to fall into the wrong hands. There are now 4,000 firearm sales-related sites on the Internet, and there are 80 sites where you can actually buy a gun at auction. Clearly, we must do more to ensure that every sale over the Internet is legal and that no one uses the anonymity of cyberspace to evade our Nation's gun laws.

That's why today I'm announcing that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms is launching a new website, called EZ CHECK, to prevent criminals and juveniles from using fraudulent licenses to buy firearms. The system, linked to the ATF website, allows licensed gun dealers to quickly verify that licenses presented to them for purchase or shipment of guns are valid. In addition, the ATF is proposing new measures to require gun sellers to verify licenses and report individuals who use invalid ones.

By making it easier to check the validity of gun licenses, we'll make it harder for guns to fall into the wrong hands and give law enforcement and the gun industry a new tool to put a stop to illegal sales.

EZ CHECK is a part of our comprehensive strategy to strengthen gun laws and better enforce those already on the books. In 1993 we passed the Brady law, which has kept more than half a million felons, fugitives, and domestic abusers from buying firearms. In 1994 we passed an historic crime bill, which has funded more than 100,000 additional community police officers around the Nation. The bill also toughened penalties and banned assault weapons.

Meanwhile, gun prosecutions have been rising. Federal firearms prosecutions have increased 16 percent since 1992, and the average sentence has gone up by 2 years. Since this strategy is working, it's quite curious to me that those who argue for more enforcement over new gun safety legislation are, nevertheless, refusing to fund key elements of our $280 million gun enforcement initiative, including funds for an additional 1,000 gun prosecutors. So I ask this Congress, don't just talk about strong enforcement; give us the tools to do the job.

I'm also calling on Congress to help prevent gun crimes from happening in the first place by passing our long-overdue commonsense gun safety measures, requiring background checks at gun shows, mandating child safety locks for handguns, and banning the importation of large capacity ammunition clips.

We must begin this new century by abandoning the stale debate from the last one about whether it's better to strengthen gun laws or enforce existing ones. The ATF's new EZ CHECK system, combined with our unprecedented enforcement budget and our strong commonsense gun safety proposals, will do both. They'll be a major step forward in our efforts to crack down on gun criminals and save lives.

Our current prosperity gives us the chance to focus on the big challenges of the new century. Making America the safest big country in the world is a challenge big enough to be worthy of our attention and one we must meet for the sake of our future and our children.

Thanks for listening.


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Presidential Radio Address - 30 September 2000

Good morning. This has been a good week for America. As our athletes continue to pile up medals in Sydney, our economy continues to break records at home. This week we learned that household income had reached an all-time high, poverty a 20-year low; the budget surplus is the largest on record; and for the first time in 12 years, thanks largely to the Children's Health Insurance Program, the number of Americans without health insurance has declined by over 1 1/2 million.

Today I want to talk with you about making the most of this moment, by putting our children's education first and building better schools for them.

This fall our schools opened their doors to the largest number of students in history. We have to work hard to give them the best education in history. We're working to turn our schools around, with higher standards, stronger accountability, and more investment. Reading, math, and SAT scores are up. So are high school graduation and college-going rates. We dramatically increased Head Start, after-school, and summer school programs. The number of students in States with core curriculum standards has increased from 14 to 49, and in State after State, failing schools are being turned around. With the Vice President's E-rate program, we've helped connect 95 percent of our schools to the Internet, and we're in the process of hiring 100,000 high-quality teachers to reduce class size in the early grades.

But it's hard for students to lift themselves up in schools that are falling down. Across our Nation, students are struggling to learn in schools that are crowded and crumbling. I visited schools all over the country where this is so: a school in Florida where classes were held not in one or two but 12 trailers; a school in Queens, where there were 400 more students than the school was built for; a school in Virginia, where the electrical service in some classrooms is so poor that if you plug in a new computer in the wall, the circuit breaker cuts off. This is a challenge all across our country. In cities and rural areas, small towns and Native American communities, the average American school building is now more than 40 years old. The estimated price tag to bring our schools into good condition—$127 billion.

Today I'm releasing a new Department of Education analysis that highlights the nationwide need to build new schools and modernize existing ones. The study provides a State-by-State report card that shows that at least 60 percent of the schools in every State are in need of repair. Many States and local communities are working to fix their schools, but too many school districts simply don't have the tax base to handle the burden alone.

That's why I've proposed a school construction tax credit to help communities build or modernize 6,000 schools and, also, grants and loans for emergency repairs in nearly 5,000 schools a year for 5 years.

The good news is, we have a bipartisan majority in the House of Representatives ready right now to pass school construction relief. But the Republican leadership continues to stand in the way and refuses to bring it to a vote. Every day they stall is another day our children are forced to go to school in trailers, overcrowded classrooms, and crumbling buildings. Congress must act now.

In a larger sense, this is about our priorities and values. The schools I attended as a child were fairly old, but they were very well-maintained. They sent every student a clear message: You are important; we take your education seriously. That's how my parents' generation kept faith with us, and how we must keep faith with our children.

But the clock is ticking. At midnight tonight the fiscal year runs out. Congress still hasn't sent me a budget for education and other pressing priorities. Yet, they have found the time, first, to pass huge, fiscally irresponsible tax cuts and then, after I vetoed them, to load up the spending bills with hundreds of millions of dollars in special interest projects. In one appropriations bill alone, there is $668 million in extra projects. That's enough to do emergency repairs in 2,500 schools, to send another one million children to after-school programs, to hire over 15,000 teachers to lower class size.

Not long ago, Senator McCain said porkbarrel spending, and I quote, "has lurched completely out of control." Well, it's time to turn off the porkbarrel spigot and deliver for our children's future.

That's why I've told my budget team to seek final negotiations on an education budget that stays true to our values and our children's long-term needs. We're not going to leave the table until we invest in modernizing our schools and continue our efforts to hire 100,000 quality teachers for smaller classes. We're going to keep fighting to strengthen accountability, to turn around failing schools or shut them down or put them under new management, to expand after-school programs and college opportunities for young people, and to ensure a qualified teacher in every classroom. Our children deserve 21st century schools.

In this time of prosperity, we have a responsibility to make sure they get no less. By building stronger schools, we'll build a stronger America in the future.

Thanks for listening.


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Presidential Radio Address - 7 October 2000

Good morning. Every year more than 56,000 Americans die from colorectal cancer, and another 130,000 are diagnosed with the disease. These are people we know and love, our families, friends, and neighbors. Today I want to talk about our common fight against this quiet killer and what we can do as a Nation to save more lives.

Many people are uncomfortable talking about cancer, especially colorectal cancer. And while all of us may be able to appreciate this reluctance, our silence protects no one, least of all those we love most. That's why so many Americans, tens of thousands of them, led by Katie Couric, have come to Washington this weekend to speak out and rally against colorectal cancer.

For 8 years now, the Vice President and I have made the fight against cancer one of our top priorities, nearly doubling funding for cancer research and treatment. We've also accelerated the approval of cancer drugs while maintaining the highest standards of safety. We've strengthened Medicare to make prevention, screening, and clinical trials more available and more affordable. During Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Senate voted to fund our proposal to provide health coverage to uninsured women with breast and cervical cancer.

These efforts are paying off. Earlier this year we learned for the first time that cancer deaths in the United States are no longer rising. We need to build on that progress by encouraging more early detection and treatment. Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cancer killer in America. The good news is that caught soon enough, more than 90 percent of the cases can be cured. That's why in 1998 Hillary helped to launch the first national campaign against colorectal cancer, much as we've been working for years to defeat breast cancer.

Our family, like so many American families, knows all too well the terrible toll cancer can take, and we want to do everything we can to help others avoid that loss. Today I'm announcing several new actions in the war against cancer. First, the National Cancer Institute will invest $30 million over the next 5 years to help doctors expand and improve screening procedures for colorectal cancer. We need to address the chronic underuse of these lifesaving tools, and this new investment will encourage physicians to make regular use of the most effective procedures.

Second, we're launching a new initiative to educate Medicare beneficiaries about the importance of regular checkups and cancer screenings. Beginning next year, every senior and every American with a disability using Medicare will get a screening reminder, starting with one on colorectal cancer, every time they go to their doctor or use Medicare's toll-free hotline.

Third, I'm urging Congress to pass bipartisan legislation that expands Medicare to include more sophisticated colorectal cancer screening tests for people over the age of 50. Congress should not adjourn before sending me this legislation. They should also pass my proposal to eliminate all cost-sharing requirements for colorectal screening and other preventive procedures under Medicare. If we take these steps, we'll remove major barriers to older Americans getting the preventive care they need.

And finally, once again I ask Congress to pass a strong, enforceable Patients' Bill of Rights, one that ensures that cancer patients, along with all patients, have access to the specialty care they need. It's time to put progress before partisanship and get people the medical care they need and deserve.

While the war against cancer is not yet won, we all have reason for new hope. Even as I speak, scientists are fast unlocking the secrets of the human genome, and revolutionary treatments are sure to follow. As they do, Americans should know that we'll do everything necessary to safeguard their privacy and to outlaw genetic discrimination in both employment and health insurance.

In the meantime, we must all stand watch against cancer, even if that means confronting at times our worst fears. None of us will ever die of embarrassment, so go to the doctor and get that screening done. Remember, with early detection, quality care, love from our families, and the grace of God, we can all lead longer, healthier, and better lives.

Thank you.


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Presidential Radio Address - 14 October 2000

Good morning. This week an apparent terrorist attack claimed the lives of brave American sailors off the coast of Yemen, and new violence erupted between Israelis and Palestinians in the Middle East.

Our sailors aboard the U.S.S. Cole were simply doing their duty, but a dangerous duty, standing guard for peace. Yesterday I spoke to the captain of the Cole, Commander Kirk Lippold. On behalf of all Americans, I expressed our deepest sympathies and commended him and his crew for the great job they're doing at this very difficult time.

To our sailors' families, let me say we hold you in our prayers. We will never know your loved ones as you did or remember them as you will, but we join you in grief. For your loss is America's loss, and we bow our heads to God in gratitude for the lives and service of your loved ones.

In their honor, I have ordered that flags be flown at halfstaff in the United States, our territories, our Embassies, military bases, and naval vessels until sunset on Monday. As we see the flag this weekend, we should think of the families and the sacrifice they have made for America.

This tragic loss should remind us all that even when America is not at war, the men and women of our military risk their lives every day in places where comforts are few and dangers are many. No one should think for a moment that the strength of our military is less important in times of peace, because the strength of our military is a major reason we are at peace. History will record our triumphs on the battlefield, but no one can ever write a full account of the wars never fought, the losses never suffered, the tears never shed because the men and women of our military were risking their lives for peace. We should never, ever forget that.

Our military power is not all people see when ships of the United States enter a foreign port. When U.S. sailors head down the brow of the ship or our troops set foot on foreign soil, our hosts see in the uniform of the United States men and women of every race, creed, and color who trace their ancestry to every region on Earth, yet are bound together by a common commitment to freedom and a common pride in being Americans.

That image of unity amidst diversity must confound the minds of the hate-filled cowards who killed our sailors. They can take innocent life, they can cause tears and anguish, but they can never heal or build harmony or bring people together. That is work only free, law-abiding people can do.

And that is why we will do whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, to find those who killed our sailors and hold them accountable, and why we will never let the enemies of freedom and peace stop America from seeking peace, fighting terrorism, and promoting freedom. For only by defending our people, our interests, and our values will we redeem the lives of our sailors and ruin the schemes of their killers.

That includes, of course, our efforts to promote peace in the Middle East. The conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is one of the greatest tragedies of our time and one of the very hardest problems to solve. Every step forward has been marked with pain. Each time the forces of reconciliation have reached out, the forces of destruction have lashed out. The violence we've seen there demonstrates beyond a shadow of a doubt that the alternative to peace is unacceptable, and that no one will gain from an endless contest of inflicting and absorbing pain.

Ending the violence and getting people of the Middle East back to dialog will be hard after what has happened. But no matter how difficult that task may be, no matter how terrible the images of this week's violence, the effort must continue, with America's strong support. We must do so because we have a profound national interest in peace in the Middle East and a very special bond to the State of Israel. As in all the world's troubled places, our efforts do not guarantee success. But not to try is to guarantee failure.

So today I ask your prayers for our men and women in uniform, for the families of our fallen sailors, and for all those here and everywhere who hope and work for a world at peace.

Thanks for listening.


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Presidential Radio Address - 21 October 2000

Good morning. By any standard, this fall is something special. Today New York hosts the first game of the first "subway series" since 1956. We're about to hold the first Presidential election of the 21st century. And this school year features the biggest class of students in our Nation's history.

Fall is also budget season in Washington, time for Congress to put everything else aside, step up to the plate, and complete its work on behalf of our students and all Americans. Instead, we're 3 weeks into the new fiscal year and still running the Government on a week-by-week basis and still fighting to get a budget that reflects the priorities of our people. Today I want to talk about what's at stake, starting with education, because in the last days of this Congress, our first priority should be the future of our children.

Al Gore and I came to Washington almost 8 years ago now with a strategy of fiscal discipline, targeted tax cuts, and investment in our people. Our determination to live within our means has brought our country out of an age of deficits into an era of surpluses. We're actually paying down the national debt, and Government spending is the smallest percentage of national income it's been since 1966. And our education strategy—higher standards, accountability, greater investment—is being embraced all across America, and it's working.

The dropout rate is down; test scores and graduation rates are up. The percentage of kids going on to college is at an all-time high, thanks in part to the largest expansion of college aid since the GI bill.

This past February I submitted a balanced budget that would sustain America's prosperity by maintaining our fiscal discipline and investing in our future. The budget strengthens Social Security and Medicare, adds a Medicare prescription drug benefit, keeps us on track to pay down the debt by 2012, and invests in education, technology, the environment, and health care.

Unfortunately, while we've been working to save money for our Nation's future, the Republican majority in Congress has been focusing on ways to spend it, loading up the spending bills with record amounts of pork-barrel spending. So again this week I'm asking Congress to bring its priorities back into line with the Nation's, and there's no better place to start than education.

We can't lift our children up in schools that are simply falling down. Congress should approve my plan to help communities build new schools and repair old ones. Every day they fail to act is another day too many children attend class in drafty trailers, crowded classrooms, and crumbling buildings. There's a bipartisan majority ready to pass tax credits for school construction. It's time for the Republican leadership to stop blocking it, schedule a vote, and let it happen.

We've also made a bipartisan commitment to hire 100,000 new teachers to reduce class sizes in the early grades and proposed an initiative to improve teacher quality. We've hired about 30,000 of those teachers. But now, the Republican leadership is trying to back out of our commitment. Instead, we should follow through. I've also proposed doubling our funding for after-school programs to cover 1.6 million children.

We know after-school programs result in higher test scores, lower juvenile crime rates, and fewer drug problems. We ought to do it. And we're still waiting for Congress to show that it supports holding our schools accountable by providing the resources to turn around failing schools or shut them down and reopen them under new management.

Congress also needs to finish the rest of its work, passing a real Patients' Bill of Rights, strong hate crimes legislation, and a raise in the minimum wage. Now, in all these cases, there is a bipartisan majority in both Houses for these bills. But the majority party's leadership again is blocking progress.

Congress should also act to ensure equal treatment for immigrants and equal pay for women. And it should pass the right kind of tax cuts for middle-class Americans, targeted tax cuts that preserve our fiscal discipline, allow us to get this country out of debt, and still give Americans tax relief to save for retirement and meet the costs of long-term care, child care, and college tuition, and tax credits that support investments in our inner cities, rural areas, Native American reservations, and other places our prosperity has not yet reached.

These priorities deserve attention now, not later. If I were a Member of Congress, I wouldn't want to go home and ask people to send me back to Washington so I could finish last year's work next year.

Yesterday I signed a fourth continuing resolution to keep the Government open until next Wednesday. But I told the leadership that if they fail to meet yet another deadline, we're going to have to take the continuing resolutions one day at a time until we get the job done. So I urge them: Come back next week, and let's finish work on the budget, so the benefits can start flowing to students and families who need them most.

Thanks for listening.


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Presidential Radio Address - 28 October 2000

Good morning. Here in Washington, after months of partisan delay by the congressional majority, Congress still hasn't completed its work on the budget, even though the budget year ended a month ago.

Yet, when Congress has acted in a spirit of bipartisanship, we've made remarkable progress. Today I want to talk to you about the most significant step we've ever taken to secure the health and safety of women at home and around the world. It's a new law I'm signing called the "Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act."

In America today, domestic violence is the number one health risk for women between the ages of 15 and 44. Close to a third of all women murdered in this country were killed by their husbands, former husbands, or boyfriends. Every 12 seconds another woman is beaten. That's nearly 900,000 victims every year. And statistics tell us that in half the families where a spouse is beaten, the children are beaten, too.

Domestic violence is a criminal activity. It devastates its victims and affects us all. It increases health costs, keeps people from showing up to work, prevents them from performing at their best. It destroys families, relationships, and lives, and it tears at the fabric of who we are as a people.

That's why, as part of our 1994 crime bill, Al Gore and I fought hard to pass the landmark Violence Against Women Act—the foundation of the bill I will be signing. That law imposed tough new penalties for actions of violence against women. It helped to train police, prosecutors, and judges to better understand domestic violence, to recognize its symptoms when they see them, and to take steps to prevent them. It gave grants to shelters that are havens for victims of domestic violence, and it set up a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week toll-free national hotline to help women get the emergency assistance and counseling they need, to find a shelter, and to report abuse to the authorities.

Most of all, the Violence Against Women Act worked. The hotline has been a tremendous help. More than half a million victims have found assistance by calling it. Police officers who once shied away from so-called family squabbles are now getting involved in saving lives. Best of all, violence against women by an intimate partner has fallen 21 percent since 1993.

The bill I'm signing will keep that progress going by keeping the Violence Against Women Act the law of the land. It provides new resources for Native American communities, restores protections for battered immigrant women, and, for the first time, extends the law to cover women abused by their boyfriends.

The new law contains another provision, too, one that will strengthen our fight against the insidious global practice of trafficking in human beings. Every year, a million or more women, children, and men are forced or tricked into lives of utter misery—into prostitution, sweatshop work, domestic or farm labor, or debt bondage. This is slavery, plain and simple. And it's not just something that happens far from our shores. In fact, each year as many as 50,000 people are brought to the United States for this cruel purpose. We must do our part to stop those responsible for these crimes and to help their victims.

The bill I'm signing will help to do that. It establishes the first Federal law that specifically targets this problem, setting out harsh penalties for those who trade in human beings, requiring convicted traffickers to forfeit their assets and make restitution to those they have exploited. The law gives victims better access to services like shelters, counseling, and medical care. It enables victims to stay in the United States so they can receive those services and helps law enforcement agencies to prosecute the traffickers. It increases our assistance to other countries, as well, to help them detect and punish this pernicious practice, and it provides for sanctions for any countries that refuse to take steps to end trafficking in women and children. I worked hard for these provisions. They build on what we've been doing at home and abroad to address the problem.

We see in the success of this landmark legislation once again that there is no real secret to getting things done in Washington. When we put progress over partisanship, we get results. When we work together, we get results.

Now, we've shown once again we can work together by passing this landmark legislation to fight violence against women. Let's follow the rule and finish all the work the American people expect of us. It's time for Congress to set partisanship aside on the last two unfinished bills and complete a budget with smaller class sizes, modern classrooms, family tax cuts, and a higher minimum wage—one that honors our values and secures a better future for our children and our great Nation.

Thanks for listening.


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Presidential Radio Address - 4 November 2000

Good morning. In just 3 days now, the American people will perform the most profound act of our democracy. They'll step into the voting booths all across America and, with the power guaranteed them by the Constitution, decide the future direction of our great Nation. It's an awesome responsibility, especially at this remarkable moment in history, when our ability to build the future of our dreams for our children has never been greater.

Look at what we've already accomplished together. Eight years ago, interest rates were high, and 10 million of our people were out of work. Deficits and debt were skyrocketing; so were the welfare rolls, crime, teen pregnancy, and income inequality.

But the American people made a choice to follow a new path, guided by old values of opportunity for all, responsibility from all, in a community of all Americans. And today, we're a Nation transformed, with the longest economic expansion in our history, more than 22 million new jobs, the lowest unemployment in 30 years, wages rising at all income levels, the highest homeownership in history. Just yesterday we learned that unemployment remains at 3.9 percent, and Hispanic unemployment has dropped to 5 percent, the lowest level on record. African-American unemployment has also been cut in half over the last 8 years to its lowest level ever recorded.

This turnaround is about more than economics. We've also got the lowest welfare rolls in 32 years, the lowest crime rates in 26 years. Teen pregnancy and drug abuse are down. Student test scores are up. There are fewer people without health insurance, for the first time in a dozen years.

Now, how do we keep this remarkable progress going? That's the question America must decide on Tuesday, because the best is still out there waiting for us.

Let me give you just one example. We all know that medical decisions should be made by doctors and nurses, not accountants, and that health plans too often do deny vital care and do delay appeals for months on end. There is now a bipartisan majority in Congress ready to pass a real, enforceable Patients' Bill of Rights to deal with problems like these. But the Republican leaders in Congress, under pressure from the HMO lobby, won't bring it up for a vote. That's not how democracy should work.

As President, there are steps I can take to move us forward, and today I am taking an important one. I'm directing the Labor Department to issue final rules within 2 weeks requiring private health plans covering 130 million Americans to provide a fair and unbiased process for patients to appeal when coverage has been denied or delayed.

Under this new rule, for the very first time, health plans would be required to make coverage decisions quickly and to provide consumers with reliable information on their rights and benefits. This new rule is an important step toward providing Americans the health care protections they need and deserve. But the only way to give every American in every health plan the right to see a specialist, to go to the nearest emergency room—not the cheapest—and to hold a health care plan accountable when it causes harm, the only way to do those things is to pass a real, enforceable Patients' Bill of Rights. The American people can make sure that will happen by voting on Tuesday.

Now, you know my choice. But what's important is your choice. A lot is at stake. Your vote will decide whether we're going to use the budget surplus to make America debt-free and keep interest rates low and the economy growing, or go back to an age of deficits. Your vote will decide whether we strengthen Social Security and Medicare and add affordable prescription drug benefits to Medicare.

Your vote will decide whether we invest in education and new classrooms and smaller class sizes, in improving teacher quality and turning around failing schools. Your vote will decide whether we bring prosperity to people and places left behind in our recovery. Your vote will decide whether we stand up to hate crimes and racial profiling, provide equal pay for equal work, and protect a woman's right to choose.

Franklin Roosevelt once said, the ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President or Senators or Congressmen or Government officials but the voters of this country. From Lexington and Concord to the beaches of Normandy to the streets of Selma, brave Americans fought and died for the rights we enjoy today. Now, with 8 years of great progress behind us, we know we have the power to build the future of our dreams for our children.

Let's start on Tuesday by going to the polls and exercising our fundamental American freedom.

Thanks for listening.


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Presidential Radio Address - 11 November 2000

Good morning. On this Veterans Day, as America honors the service and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform, we are witnessing the extraordinary resilience of the democracy they've pledged their lives to defend.

From our earliest days, the right to vote has meant the right to participate and be heard. If ever there was a doubt about the importance of exercising the most fundamental right of citizenship, it sure was answered on Tuesday. No American will ever again be able to seriously say, "My vote doesn't count."

President Franklin Roosevelt once said, "Democracy is not a static thing; it is an everlasting march." Our Founders may not have foreseen every challenge in the march of democracy, but they crafted a Constitution that would.

The people have spoken. The important thing for all of us to remember now is that a process for resolving the discrepancies and challenges to the election is in motion. The rest of us need to be patient and wait for the results.

I want to congratulate both Vice President Gore and Governor Bush for a vigorous and hard-fought campaign. Once again, the world is seeing democracy in action. The events unfolding in Florida are not a sign of the division of our Nation but of the vitality of our debate, which will be resolved through the vibrancy of our Constitution and laws. Regardless of the outcome, we will come together as a nation, as we always do.

As this election unfolds, the Nation's business continues. Tomorrow I will begin a trip to Asia that will end in Vietnam. I will be the first President to visit that nation since the height of the Vietnam war. I will go to open a new chapter in our relationship with its people.

For nearly a decade now, we have been building a more normal relationship with Vietnam, basing each step forward on progress in accounting for Americans missing from the war in Vietnam. We've made great strides, repatriating remains, obtaining documents, never forgetting that each case represents a brave American with a name, a home, a family that cares about his fate.

I will make clear to Vietnam that we expect continued cooperation. I will also offer the support of the American people as Vietnam becomes more open to the world, promoting trade and more ties among our people and championing human rights and religious freedom.

We also have important business here at home. As Congress prepares to finish its work for the year, I urge the Members to build on the bipartisan progress we have already made. Let's finish the job of improving our schools, resolve our differences on immigration and worker safety, and let's raise the minimum wage. We should pledge to get these things done for the American people before the next President takes office in January.

A couple of nights ago, we celebrated the 200th anniversary of the White House. We marked much more than the bicentennial of a building. Through two centuries of war and peace, triumph and tragedy, the White House has stood as the living symbol of our democracy. It has welcomed every President since John Adams under its roof, always through a peaceful transition of power.

This January, as it has done for 200 years, it will do so again, because of the timeless power of our Constitution and our undying faith in we, the people.

Thanks for listening.


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Presidential Radio Address - 18 November 2000

Good morning. I'm speaking to you from Hanoi, Vietnam, where I'm working to fulfill America's commitment to the families of those still missing from the war and opening a hopeful new chapter in our relationship with Vietnam and its people. Today I want to talk to you, however, about the new steps we're taking at home to strengthen our working families.

It may be hard to remember, but just 8 years ago many Americans were out of work, and Washington was out of ideas. Our economy was stagnant, burdened by a crushing debt and rising unemployment. I said I would work hard to turn the country around, to create a situation where everybody who was willing to work and take responsibility has the opportunity to live the American dream.

Since then we've worked hard to restore the value of work, increasing the minimum wage, expanding the earned-income tax credit, helping more than 15 million Americans work their way out of poverty toward the middle class. Congress passed the family and medical leave law, which has given over 20 million Americans the chance to take time off from work to care for a newborn child or a sick loved one. And we passed welfare reform, ending welfare as we knew it, cutting the welfare rolls in half, to their lowest levels in 32 years, and helping millions of parents move into the work force.

We were able to do this while protecting health care and nutrition for children, investing more in child care, transportation, and housing, to help parents go to work and to succeed at home and at work.

By rewarding work and promoting responsibility, we've helped put the American family back on top again, with 22 million new jobs, the lowest poverty in 20 years, the lowest Hispanic- and African-American unemployment ever recorded, and the highest homeownership in history. While we have made great progress, no one who works hard every day should have trouble putting food on the table at night. And the fact is there are still too many hard-pressed families struggling to get ahead and to make the often difficult transition from welfare to work.

Every day 17 million of our fellow Americans rely on food stamps for proper nourishment. These food stamps allow parents to give their children the necessities while getting their own feet on the ground. But as they return to work and struggle to make ends meet, many don't realize they're still eligible for food stamps. And in some States, parents who do sign up for food stamps have to fill out paperwork as often as once a month, and leave the workplace in order to do so.

Now, this simply should not be the case. So today I'm announcing new steps to remove some of the barriers facing working Americans and to help the families get the food they need.

First, it would allow States to provide recipients with an automatic 3-month food stamp benefit as they make the transition from welfare to work. This gives new workers stability in what can be a trying time. Second, we're eliminating unnecessary bureaucracies by allowing recipients up to 6 months to report income changes, reducing the amount of time they spend in food stamp offices. Third, if we want people to work, they need to be able to get to work. Today's action will make it easier for food stamp recipients to own a dependable car without having to sacrifice proper nutrition for their children. This builds on the steps we took in the Agriculture appropriation bill I signed last month. Finally, to ensure that the families who need assistance get it, we are requiring States to let recipients know that they're still eligible for food stamps when they start to work again.

Supporting hard-pressed working families is the right policy for America. It's also the smart thing to do. It encourages millions of people to take responsibility to strengthen their families, as well as our economy. I urge our Nation's Governors to implement these steps so that all working families get the nutritional benefits they need and deserve. And again I call on Congress to restore food stamp benefits to hard-working legal immigrants and to raise the minimum wage for all working families this year. No family working full-time and playing by the rules should have to raise children in poverty. In the coming weeks, Congress still has the chance to honor and award work by raising the minimum wage for our hardest pressed working families.

Thirty years ago Robert Kennedy reminded us that work is the meaning of what the country is all about. With the actions outlined today, we can create new opportunities for hard-working families and move our Nation closer to the time when everyone willing to work for it can achieve the American dream.

Thanks for listening.


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Presidential Radio Address - 25 November 2000

Good morning. All across America, friends and families are still savoring the joys—and the leftovers—of a bountiful Thanksgiving. This weekend also marks the traditional start of the holiday shopping season. But even as many of us head out to buy that perfect gift for those we love, millions of Americans are also extending their generosity to people they've never met.

Last year Americans gave a record $190 billion to charitable causes: to feed the hungry, immunize children, build homes, tutor immigrants, restore parks, and send disaster relief to hard-hit people all around the world. Working with America's extensive network of nonprofit and faith-based organizations, we're making a difference, but we still have more to do.

Today I'm releasing a report from the Council of Economic Advisers that examines this resurgence of charitable giving and outlines proposals to further cultivate public generosity. I'm also announcing the launch of a new $2 million privately funded initiative designed to introduce more young Americans to the rewards of charitable giving.

Both of these efforts emerged from last year's White House Conference on Philanthropy, which Hillary and I organized to showcase America's great tradition of giving. To keep the momentum going, we also formed a task force on nonprofits and governments which will soon issue a roadmap for creating innovative partnerships between nonprofit organizations and Federal agencies. We're tackling America's toughest challenges together and making the most of the American people's enduring spirit of generosity.

Now, according to the Council of Economic Advisers, charitable gifts now exceed 2 percent of our gross domestic product, the highest level of giving in nearly three decades. Sustained by a strong economy and rising incomes, charitable giving has jumped more than 40 percent since 1995. At the same time, both donors and charities have become much more sophisticated, often using the Internet for research, education, and, increasingly, to make contributions.

Overall, 70 percent of America's households made charitable contributions last year, even those who didn't have much extra to spare. In fact, half of all Americans with incomes of less than $10,000 made a charitable contribution. And as a percentage of their net wealth, families with the lowest incomes gave much more than the wealthiest. That's both humbling and inspiring, and suggests a tremendous potential for growth in charitable giving by well-to-do Americans.

This new report also reveals that people over the age of 65 are much more likely to make charitable contributions than younger people, even after accounting for differences in income and wealth. Perhaps, having earned the wisdom of a lifetime, seniors understand that the satisfaction of charitable giving cannot be measured in dollars and cents. And they know that personal generosity is an essential ingredient in the mortar that binds our entire community together.

Given this truth, how can we do a better job of engaging younger Americans in giving? We know already that they care about their communities, because so many are volunteering for local causes. Nearly 150,000 of them have joined AmeriCorps over the past 8 years, dedicating at least a year of their lives to public service.

According to one recent study, this youthful spirit of community can be translated into a lifetime of financial support for worthy causes but only if we engage people early and teach them the importance of philanthropy. With the help and guidance of several major philanthropic organizations, we developed a national blueprint to do just that, the Youth Giving Project.

Building on the success of a program in Michigan, this grassroots initiative will train young people to identify charitable needs in their own communities, teach them how to raise and distribute money to address those needs, and build leadership skills along the way. It will be coordinated by a nonprofit coalition of experts on youth programs that can provide local groups with training materials, access to a comprehensive web site, and expert advice.

This is just a small investment with a potentially great dividend. The baby boom generation stands poised to inherit $12 trillion from the World War II generation. And it's likely their children will inherit even more. With that in mind, we need to help younger people recognize their own capacity to do good and help them discover the rewards of generosity.

In this time of prosperity and season of sharing, let's remember: When we give what we can and give it with joy, we don't just renew the American tradition of giving, we also renew ourselves.

Thanks for listening.


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Presidential Radio Address - 2 December 2000

Good morning. Congress is on its way back to Washington after an extended break. It is very important that we get right back to business and fulfill our responsibility to give our children a world-class education.

Earlier this year I sent Congress a budget that would make vital investments in education, a budget that puts our children first by investing more in our schools and demanding more from them; by modernizing old schools, building new ones, reducing class sizes; by hiring more wellprepared teachers, expanding after-school programs, and turning around failing schools. That was way back in February. Ten months have passed since then; three seasons have turned; and Congress decided to break for the election without passing an education budget.

But this week Congress returns to session with still time to get the job done. Congress should pass the education budget as its first order of business. Fortunately, we're already standing on common ground. When Congress left town, we had already reached an historic agreement with Members of both parties. A broad, bipartisan coalition has pledged to provide much-needed funding to reduce class size, to provide crucial repairs for crumbling schools, to improve teacher quality, to expand Head Start, after-school programs, Pell grants, and support for students with disabilities. I hope when Congress comes back, these commitments to our children will be kept.

Even in the final days of this session, Congress should remember those first, fundamental obligations. Now is not the time to walk away from the agreement we made, especially so close to the finish line.

A lot is at stake here—the condition of our schools, the quality of our teachers, most important, the education of our children. Today I'm releasing a report that shows exactly what's at stake for the children in all 50 States. If Congress fails to pass the bipartisan education budget, California, for example, stands to lose almost three-quarters of a billion dollars in additional funds. New York could lose more than $40 million for more after-school and summer school programs alone. Illinois could lose nearly $70 million in added support for students with disabilities.

With America facing the largest student enrollment in history and with an historic agreement so close to conclusion, there's no reason why we shouldn't work together across party lines to get this job done. If we do, we can complete this year's unfinished business and continue the work of preparing our Nation to meet the challenges of the years to come.

We can also meet our other pressing priorities, from the health of our families to the safety of our neighborhoods, and ensure that we continue to expand the circle of opportunity until it embraces Americans from every corner of our country and every walk of life.

The holiday season is the perfect time to reflect on the values that unite us. As families, there's nothing we hold more dear than our children. As a nation, there is nothing more important to our future than our children and their education. As every parent knows, a good education is a gift that keeps on giving for a lifetime. So let's join together, two parties but one country, to give our children the schools, the teachers, and the future they deserve.

Thanks for listening.


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Presidential Radio Address - 9 December 2000

Good morning. Eight years ago this week, I brought together leading minds from all around our country for my first economic summit. The challenge then was immediate and clear: The deficit was $290 billion and rising; 10 million Americans were out of work; interest rates were high; and confidence was low.

Al Gore and I were determined to change that by putting into action a new economic strategy, one of fiscal discipline, investment in our people, and expanded trade. Since then, we've turned record budget deficits into record surpluses and produced the longest economic expansion in American history, with more than 22 million new jobs, the lowest Hispanic and African-American unemployment ever, and the highest homeownership on record.

Over the last 2 years, our economy has grown at an exceptional pace, often achieving growth rates as high as 5 percent. Obviously, economic growth at such a brisk level cannot be sustained forever, but the bulk of evidence suggests that our recordbreaking expansion is continuing. In fact, just this week we received a report showing continued growth in private sector jobs. We also learned that unemployment in November was 4.0 percent, among the lowest rates in 30 years.

I'm also pleased to report that the overwhelming majority of private sector experts are predicting solid but measured growth in the coming year, with low unemployment, low inflation, and strong productivity. This is good news for the American economy and for the American people, and this is no time to abandon the path of fiscal discipline that helped get us here.

Our economic success was not a matter of chance; it was a matter of choice—a commitment to commonsense American values, to responsibility and fairness, to putting people first, to not spending what we don't have. We must not take our economic strengths for granted. That's why it is critical that we continue to pay down the debt, to keep inflation and interest rates low. That's why we should keep expanding trade, opening markets abroad, and keep investing in our people—that's the most important thing—closing the skills gap with more training and better education.

Education is an important part of any strategy for economic growth. And in this information age, it is essential. If we want our children to be able to compete in the high-tech, high-wage job market of the 21st century, we must ensure that all of them have the skills they need to succeed.

With this in mind, I have met twice this week with congressional leaders of both parties to make sure we pass an education budget that prepares our children for the future. When Congress left town last month, we already had reached an historic bipartisan agreement on education. It would provide much-needed funding to reduce class size, repair crumbling schools, improve teacher quality. It would also expand Head Start, after-school programs, Pell grants, and support students with disabilities.

We know these are the basic building blocks of a 21st century work force. I hope Congress will keep its commitment to America's children and pass a balanced budget that makes education the number one priority.

Once President Lyndon Johnson said, "We must raise our sights to develop more completely our people's talents and to employ these talents fully." If we want to invest in the prosperity of our Nation, we must invest in the education of our children so that their talents may be fully employed. Working together, we can complete this year's unfinished business, keep paying down the debt, keep the prosperity going, and by investing in our children's education, prepare our Nation to meet the challenges of the years to come.

Thanks for listening.