Of course, as young women, you are also going to grapple with some unique challenges, like whether you will be able to earn equal pay for equal work, whether you will be able to balance the demands of your job and your family, whether you will be able to fully control decisions about your own health. And while opportunities for women have grown exponentially over the last 30 years, as young people, in many ways you have it even tougher than we did. Some folks in the financial world have not exactly been model corporate citizens. No wonder that faith in our institutions has never been lower, particularly when good news does not get the same kind of ratings as bad news anymore. Every day you receive a steady stream of sensationalism and scandal and stories with a message that suggest change is not possible, that you cannot make a difference, that you will not be able to close that gap between life as it is and life as you want it to be. My job today is to tell you, do not believe it. Because as thing--as tough as things have been, I am convinced you are tougher. I have seen your passion, and I have seen your service. I have seen you engage, and I have seen you turn out in record numbers. I have heard your voices amplified by creativity and a digital fluency that those of us in older generations can barely comprehend. I have seen a generation eager, impatient even, to step into the rushing waters of history and change its course. And that defiant, can-do spirit is what runs through the veins of American history. It is the lifeblood of all our progress. And it is that spirit which we need your generation to embrace and rekindle right now. The question is not whether we have got the solutions to our challenges; we have had them within our grasp for quite some time. We know, for example, that this country would be better off if more Americans were able to get the kind of education that you have received here at Barnard, if more people could get the specific skills and training that employers are looking for today. We know that we'd all be better off if we invest in science and technology that sparks new businesses and medical breakthroughs, if we developed more clean energy so we could use less foreign oil and reduce the carbon pollution that is threatening our planet.


We know that we are better off when there are rules that stop big banks from making bad bets with other people's money; when insurance companies are not allowed to drop your coverage when you need it most or charge women differently from men. Indeed, we know we are better off when women are treated fairly and equally in every aspect of American life, whether it is the salary you earn or the health decisions you make. The question is whether, together, we can muster the will--in our own lives, in our common institutions, in our politics--to bring about the changes we need. And I am convinced your generation possesses that will. And I believe that the women of this generation--that all of you--will help lead the way. Now, I recognize that is a cheap applause line when you are giving a commencement at Barnard. It is--in part, it is simple math. More and more women are outearning their husbands. You are more than half of our college graduates and master's graduates and Ph.D.'s. After decades of slow, steady, extraordinary progress, you are now poised to make this the century where women shape not only their own destiny, but the destiny of this Nation and of this world. But how far your leadership takes this country, how far it takes this world, well, that will be up to you. You have got to want it. It will not be handed to you. And as someone who wants that future--that better future--for you and for Malia and Sasha, as somebody who is had the good fortune of being the husband and the father and the son of some strong, remarkable women, allow me to offer just a few pieces of advice. Do not just get involved. It is been said that the most important role in our democracy is the role of citizen. And indeed, it was 225 years ago today that the Constitutional Convention opened in Philadelphia and our Founders, citizens all, began crafting an extraordinary document. Yes, it had its flaws, flaws that this Nation has strived to protect * over time. Questions of race and gender were unresolved. No woman's signature graced the original document, although we can assume that there were founding mothers whispering smarter things in the ears of the Founding Fathers. What made this document special was that it provided the space--the possibility--for those who had been left out of our charter to fight their way in.

Barack Obama Commencement Address at Barnard College in New York City


It provided people the language to appeal to principles and ideals that broadened democracy's reach. It allowed for protest and movements and the dissemination of new ideas that would repeatedly, decade after decade, change the world, a constant forward movement that continues to this day. And now that new doors have been opened for you, you have got an obligation to seize those opportunities. You need to do this not just for yourself, but for those who do not yet enjoy the choices that you have had, the choices you will have. One reason many workplaces still have outdated policies is because women only account for 3 percent of the CEOs at Fortune 500 companies. One reason we are actually refighting long-settled battles over women's rights is because women occupy fewer than one in five seats in Congress. Now, I am not saying that the only way to achieve success is by climbing to the top of the corporate ladder or running for office. Although, let us face it, Congress would get a lot more done if you did. That I think we are clear about. But if you decide not to sit yourself at the table, at the very least you have got to make sure you have a say in who does. Before women like Barbara Mikulski and Olympia Snowe and others got to Congress, just to take one example, much of federally funded research on diseases focused solely on their effects on men. It was not until women like Patsy Mink and Edith Green got to Congress and passed title IX, 40 years ago this year, that we declared women too should be allowed to compete and win on America's playing fields. Until a woman named Lilly Ledbetter showed up at her office and had the courage to step up and say, you know what, this is not right, women are not being treated fairly, we lacked some of the tools we needed to uphold the basic principle of equal pay for equal work. So do not accept somebody else's construction of the way things ought to be. It is up to you to right wrongs. It is up to you to point out injustice. It is up to you to hold the system accountable and sometimes upend it entirely. It is up to you to stand up and to be heard, to write and to lobby, to march, to organize, to vote. Those who oppose change, those who benefit from an unjust status quo, have always bet on the public's cynicism or the public's complacency.


Throughout American history, though, they have lost that bet, and I believe they will this time as well. But ultimately, class of 2012, that will depend on you. Do not wait for the person next to you to be the first to speak up for what is right. Because maybe, just maybe, they are waiting on you. Never underestimate the power of your example. The very fact that you are graduating, let alone that more women now graduate from college than men, is only possible because earlier generations of women--your mothers, your grandmothers, your aunts--shattered the myth that you could not or should not be where you are. I think of a friend of mine who is the daughter of immigrants. When she was in high school, her guidance counselor told her, you know what, you are just not college material. Well, she was stubborn, so she went to college anyway. She got her master's. She ran for local office, won. She ran for State office, she won. She ran for Congress, she won. She is America's Secretary of Labor. So think about what that means to a young Latina girl when she sees a Cabinet Secretary that looks like her. Think about what it means to a young girl in Iowa when she sees a Presidential candidate who looks like her. Think about what it means to a young girl walking in Harlem right down the street when she sees a U.N. Ambassador who looks like her. This diploma opens up new possibilities, so reach back, convince a young girl to earn one too. If you earned your degree in an area where we need more women, like computer science or engineering, reach back and persuade another student to study it too. If you are going into fields where we need more women, like construction or computer engineering, reach back, hire someone new. Until a girl can imagine herself, can picture herself as a computer programmer or a combatant commander, she will not become one. Until there are women who tell her, ignore our pop culture obsession over beauty and fashion and focus instead on studying and inventing and competing and leading, she will think those are the only things that girls are supposed to care about. Now, Michelle will say, nothing wrong with caring about it a little bit. And never forget that the most important example a young girl will ever follow is that of a parent. Persevere. No one of achievement has avoided failure--sometimes catastrophic failures. But they keep at it.


They learn from mistakes. You know, when I first arrived on this campus, it was with little money, fewer options. But it was here that I tried to find my place in this world. I knew I wanted to make a difference, but it was vague how, in fact, I'd go about it. I--but I wanted to do my part to shape a better world. So, even as I worked after graduation in a few unfulfilling jobs here in New York--I will not list them all----even as I went from motley apartment to motley apartment, I reached out. And I started to write letters to community organizations all across the country. And one day, a small group of churches on the South Side of Chicago answered, offering me work with people in neighborhoods hit hard by steel mills that were shutting down and communities where jobs were dying away. The community had been plagued by gang violence, so as--once I arrived, one of the first things we tried to do was to mobilize a meeting with community leaders to deal with gangs. And I'd worked for weeks on this project. We invited the police, we made phone calls, we went to churches, we passed out flyers. The night of the meeting, we arranged rows and rows of chairs in anticipation of this crowd. And finally, a group of older folks walked in to the hall and they sat down. And this little old lady raised her hand and asked, Is this where the bingo game is? And later, the volunteers I worked with told me, that is it, we are quitting. They'd been doing this for 2 years even before I had arrived. They had nothing to show for it. I did not know what I was doing. And as we were talking, I looked outside and saw some young boys playing in a vacant lot across the street. And they were just throwing rocks up at a boarded building. They had nothing better to do--late at night, just throwing rocks. Before you quit, answer one question. What will happen to those boys if you quit? Who will fight for them if we do not ? Who will give them a fair shot if we leave? And one by one, the volunteers decided not to quit.


We went back to those neighborhoods, and we kept at it, and we registered new voters, and we set up afterschool programs, and we fought for new jobs and helped people live lives with some measure of dignity. And we sustained ourselves with those small victories. We did not set the world on fire. Some of those communities are still very poor. But I believe that it was those small victories that helped me win the bigger victories of my last 3 1/2 years as President. And I wish I could say that this perseverance came from some innate toughness in me. I got it from watching the people who raised me. More specifically, I got it from watching the women who shaped my life. I grew up as the son of a single mom who struggled to put herself through school and make ends meet. She had marriages that fell apart, even went on food stamps at one point to help us get by. And she earned her degree and made sure that, through scholarships and hard work, my sister and I earned ours. She used to wake me up when we were living overseas--wake me up before dawn to study my English lessons. And when I'd complain, she'd just look at me and say, This is no picnic for me either, buster. And my mom ended up dedicating herself to helping women around the world access the money they needed to start their own businesses; she was an early pioneer in microfinance. And that meant, though, that she was gone a lot, and she had her own struggles trying to figure out balancing motherhood and a career. And when she was gone, my grandmother stepped up to take care of me. She only had a high school education. She got a job at a local bank. She hit the glass ceiling and watched men she once trained promoted up the ladder ahead of her. Rather than grow hard or angry each time she got passed over, she kept doing her job as best as she knew how and ultimately ended up being vice president at the bank. And later on, I met a woman who was assigned to advise me on my first summer job at a law firm. And she gave me such good advice that I married her. And Michelle and I gave everything we had to balance our careers and a young family. But let us face it, no matter how enlightened I must have thought myself to be, it often fell more on her shoulders when I was traveling, when I was away.


I know that when she was with our girls, she'd feel guilty that she was not giving enough time to her work, and when she was at her work, she'd feel guilty she was not giving enough time to our girls. And both of us wished we had some superpower that would let us be in two places at once. And the reason Michelle had the strength to juggle everything and put up with me and eventually the public spotlight was because she too came from a family of folks who did not quit. Because she saw her dad get up and go to work every day even though he never finished college, even though he had crippling MS. She saw her mother, even though she never finished college, in that school, that urban school, every day making sure Michelle and her brother were getting the education they deserved. They never indulged in self-pity, no matter how stacked the odds were against them. Those are the folks who inspire me. People ask me sometimes, who inspires you, Mr. President? Those quiet heroes all across this country--some of your parents and grandparents who are sitting here--no fanfare, no articles written about them, they just persevere. They just do their jobs. They meet their responsibilities. I am only here because of them. They may not have set out to change the world, but in small, important ways, they did. They certainly changed mine. So whether it is starting a business or running for office or raising a amazing family, remember that making your mark on the world is hard. It takes patience. It takes commitment. It comes with plenty of setbacks, and it comes with plenty of failures. But whenever you feel that creeping cynicism, whenever you hear those voices say you cannot make a difference, whenever somebody tells you to set your sights lower, the trajectory of this country should give you hope. Previous generations should give you hope. What young generations have done before should give you hope. Young folks who marched and mobilized and stood up and sat in, from Seneca Falls to Selma to Stonewall, did not just do it for themselves; they did it for other people. That is how we achieved women's rights. That is how we achieved voting rights. That is how we achieved workers' rights. That is how we achieved gay rights.


I am so happy to be back in ATL. Can we hear it for Rick Hart? He is the head of the Georgia There you are. You just tore it up. Rick is the head of the Georgia Students for Biden, the co-chair. And I will tell you one of the things that I love about Joe Biden, and he says it often. He understands his long life of service and dedication to public service, but he is always uplifting those who are the emerging leaders, and Rick Hart is one of them. So can we give it up for Rick, because that is what it is all about. That is what it is all about. It is about everybody taking on their role of leadership, knowing that we have so much at stake in this election. And so I came back to Atlanta. I love Atlanta. Last time I was here, it was before the pandemic. I spoke on the stage here at Morehouse in March of last year. And come into especially if you are black and hold elected office in America, coming to Atlanta is like coming back to the womb. Because Atlanta represents so much about who we are as America. Atlanta represents the hopes and the dreams and the fight to make real the promise of America. Atlanta is a place that has produced leaders who have been national leaders and international leaders. Who have always understood that hope will fuel the fight. Faith will be what grounds us in knowing what is possible. But then you got to just organize the folks, and bring people together, and recognize that nothing we have ever achieved as a nation by way of progress, came without a fight. And so that is what we have in front of us. We have for the next 11 days Georgia, a fight for the soul of our nation. This is a fight that we are engaged in, because we believe in the ideals of our country. We believe in our democracy. We know that America's democracy will always be as strong as we the people are in our willingness to fight for those ideals. And let us look at what is at stake. So we are dealing with a pandemic, and we are dealing with partly because of that, four crises that are occurring at one time in our nation. We are looking at because of the pandemic, a public health crisis. Where we have seen over 220,000 Americans lose their lives in just the last several months.

Kamala Harris Campaign Speech Transcript Atlanta, Georgia October 23


Many of whom tragically in their last days on earth, could not even be with their family, with people they love, because of the nature of this pandemic. We are looking at over eight and a half million folks who have contracted the virus, thankfully have lived, but are looking at untold long-term consequences. Doctors are talking about things like lung scarring. And in the midst of this public health pandemic, we have a Donald Trump who thanks to Bob Woodward, we know knew back on January 28th, he knew the deal about ENTITY. He had been informed that it can kill people, that it is five times as likely to kill as the flu. He knew it could harm children. And he sat on that information and he did not tell the American people. Can you imagine what you might've done had you known what he knew on January 28th? How folks might've said, I got to buy some extra toilet paper, at the very least. But also how the fact is that even in Donald Trump's America before the pandemic, folks were working two and three jobs to try and pay the bills and pay the rent. Joe Biden I believe in our America, nobody should have to work more than one job to pay their bills and pay their rent and put food on the table. And he sat on this information. And then had the gall, had the nerve to say it was a hoax, to muzzle the public health experts. To suggest that he keeps a ledger, and you are on one side of his ledger if you do not wear a mask, you are on another side of his ledger if you wear a mask. And he is in the United States Supreme court where his boy Bill Barr, trying to sue to get rid of the Affordable Care Act. And let us step back for a moment and think about this. This man from the time he was Even before he was running for office when he questioned the legitimacy of the birthplace of the first black president of the United States, has been so weirdly obsessed with trying to get rid of whatever Barack Obama created. We do not need presidents who have weird obsessions. What is that about? So he is in court right now trying to get rid of the Affordable Care Act, which brought health coverage to over 20 million Americans. You know anybody who has diabetes, high blood pressure, breast cancer, lupus. And he wants to get rid of the thing that brought care and dignity to tens of millions of Americans.


This is one of the reasons Donald Trump got to go. We are in the middle of all these crises, the economic crisis. Over 30 million people in just the last several months had to file for unemployment. We are looking at families that are getting up at the crack of dawn, to drive to sit in their car in a food line for hours. Praying that they can get to the end of the line before the food runs out. One in five mothers in America is describing her children under the age of 12 as being hungry. We are in the midst of a hunger crisis in America. And you see again, on the one hand you have Joe Biden who says Let me tell you how I measure the economy and how well it is doing. I measure the greatnesses of the economy based on how working people are doing. Which is why Joe Biden and I are saying, One, taxes will not be raised on anyone making less than $400,000 a year. We are saying that we know one of the greatest ways that we achieve access to economic health and intergenerational prosperity is home ownership. So we will have a $15,000 tax credit for first time home buyers, to help you with down payments and closing costs to buy a home. We understand working families need childcare, but nobody should have to pay more than 7% of their income in childcare. On the other hand you have Donald Trump. Who measures how well the economy is doing based on the stock market. Who as one of his first orders of business, passed a tax bill benefiting the top 1% and the biggest corporations of America. I will tell you, Joe Biden and I will make it one of our highest priorities to get rid of that tax bill, and do what we know needs to be done to invest that money in working families. Public health crisis and economic crisis is being compared to the great depression. So on one hand you have Joe Biden, who has the knowledge and the courage enough to use the term and speak those words, black lives matter. On the other hand you have Donald Trump, who refuses and will never say, Black lives matter. And people have asked me, they say, Well, ENTITY By the way senator is not on my birth certificate. We have seen that pattern going back to him questioning the legitimacy of Barack Obama, going back to Charlottesville. When people were peacefully protesting racial injustice in America, a woman was killed.


And on the other side, you had a bunch of neo-Nazis wearing swastikas, carrying Tiki torches, slurring, throwing out anti-Semitic and racist slurs, and Donald Trump said, Well, there are fine people on both sides. A president of the United States who referred to Mexicans as rapists and criminals. A president of the United States who made as one of his first policy initiatives, a ban on Muslims entering our country. And then stood on that stage and would not condemn known white supremacist, and then double down and said, Well, they should stand back and stand by. This is not reflective of who we believe we are as a nation. We need a president who acknowledges systemic racism, who acknowledges the history of America, and uses that bully pulpit and that microphone, in a way that speaks truth with an intention to address the inequities and bring our country together. So I come from California. I was born in Oakland, California. And we have some. The West Coast has been burning because of those wildfires. California, Oregon, Washington, the Gulf States have been battered by these storms. People in the Midwest, farmers have lost whole season of crops because of the floods. So Joe Biden says, We need to embrace science. We need to deal with it. This is something that is hurting people. It is something that we can address in a way we also create jobs by investing in infrastructure, investing in building renewable energy. That is going to be about jobs. Joe Biden knows the seriousness of environmental justice issues. He knows that of all of the areas where people live in America with poor air quality, 70% of the people in those areas are people of color. Joe Biden knows what is going on at Flint. Joe Biden says, We need to address this and we need to pay attention to science. On the other hand you have Donald Trump, who recently when he was asked about the wildfires in California And the reporter said something like, Well, so the scientists are basically saying these fires, what is happening, the scientists are saying, 'there is a connection between this drastic changes in the climate and these wildfires.' You know what the president of the United States said in response? Science does not know the president of the United States. And what we see is a through line, right, on that issue and the first issue.


An inability to do the job of Commander in Chief of the United States, whose first responsibility is to concern themselves with the health and safety of the American people. Now, you all know And Atlanta helped me when I ran for Senate, and I am now the only black woman in the United States Senate. Only the second in America's history to be elected to the United States Senate. And I am going to tell you because I have been there now for almost four years. The Senate is so important on all these issues. We need to take back the white house, there is no question about that. We also need to take back the Senate. We need to take back the Senate. It is the senators that will make decisions about advise and consent on who sits in the United States Supreme Court, right? One of the reasons I became a lawyer is because I was inspired by Thurgood Marshall and Charles Hamilton Houston and Constance Baker Motley, right? They are the ones who fought for Brown v. Board of Education. They are the ones who have fought for civil rights. Who sits in the United States Supreme Court has everything to do with our fight for equality. Well, it is going to be the president who nominates somebody, but it is the Senate who advise and consent will make the decision about whether it goes through. And right now we are seeing that battle in full relief, with this illegitimate process they have engaged in to try and fill the seat of the great Ruth Bader Ginsburg, while people are voting in an election. The majority of American people say, Let us decide who will be our president, and then let that person decide who fills that seat? The United States Senate is where there will be a decision on whether we put on the floor a bill that my brother Cory Booker from New Jersey and I wrote, called the George Floyd Justice and Policing Act. A bill that says like Joe Biden and I say, We should ban chokeholds and carotid holds, because George Floyd would be alive today if that were the case. A bill that says, Let us have a national registry of police officers who break the law, because that is the right thing to do. It says, We need to have a national standard for excessive use of force. Because it is not right that in some places when there is excessive use of force the question asked is, Was it reasonable? When we all know you could not reason a way just about anything. We need to change the standard.


Those kinds of decisions, yes they get made from the White House, and we will make them. It also gets made in the Senate. And so that brings me to Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff. And Georgia you got to send them to the United States Senate. Let them represent Georgia on all these issues. So I am here, Atlanta, Georgia, to ask you to do what I know you already know how to do so well. Which is to talk to folks about what is at stake. Which is to remind people on the issue of voting. That we have got so many reasons. One has to do with again, Atlanta, it has to do with John Lewis. It has to do with those men and women who shed blood on that Edmund Pettus Bridge and so many other places, for our right to vote. And so voting is about honoring those ancestors. Honoring what they fought for and what they sacrificed for our right to vote. Voting is because there is so much at stake. Everything that we discussed. Everything that affects our lives. And voting also is because we are not going to let anyone mess with our right to vote. Because here is how I think about that. Step back and think about And I have been spending a lot of time all over. I have been to Florida this week. I was in North Carolina this week. I will be in Ohio tomorrow. Ever since and even before they gutted the Voting Rights Act in 2013, a whole lot of really powerful people including in this state, because otherwise we would be talking about Governor Stacey. A whole lot of powerful people for quite some time, have been trying to suppress our vote. Have been trying to confuse us about the process, to make it difficult. Oh, you can fill out your ballot and then put it in one envelope. But then you need to put it in another envelope and make sure that is signed. Trying to confuse us, trying to make it difficult. They are messing with the post office. And we have to at some point sit back and think, Why are they trying to make it so difficult and confusing for us to vote? And I think the answer is because they know our power. They know our power. And so I am here to say Atlanta, let us not let anybody take our power from us. We know the power of our voice. We know at election time the power of our voice is expressed through our vote. We are not going to let anybody take us out this game.


Whoopi Goldberg, thank you for what you said and what you have done and for all the time you have given and the time you are willing to give because you never forgot where you came from and never stopped caring about how other people are doing who are not as fortunate as you are. Thank you, and God bless you. I want to thank all the dinner chairs and Chairman Fowler and your State chairman, Tom Byrne, and my former colleagues Jim Florio and Brendan Byrne, and Peter Duchin, who I have been enjoying for a year or two now, since I was a younger man. I want to say a special word of appreciation to Ray Lesniak because it is his birthday tonight, so I know we are all glad . I want to thank Senator Lautenberg for what he said and for what he is done in Washington, for standing up especially for the environment under a period of incredibly intense assault from the majority in Congress. Yes, you ought to clap for him because he did that. And as he leaves the United States Senate, I'd like to thank Senator Bradley for his 18 years of service to New Jersey and to America, for many, many years of friendship, counsel, and advice to me, and for the support that he gave this administration in the last 3 1/2 years. I know we all wish him well, and we know that the next chapter of his life will doubtless be just as exciting as the ones that have gone before. Thank you very much, Bill, and God bless you. You know, there have been a lot of sort of asides tonight about why Congressman Torricelli is not here. I think he is here for you, because he is down there voting on something you care about. And I have a message for those if there was some designed effort to keep him from coming up here tonight, guess what? He is still going to get the contributions, and we still know where he is, and we know what is at stake, and we are going to elect him in November, so it does not make any difference. One thing you know about Bob Torricelli is that he will stand up and fight for you with every fiber of his being. He does not do anything halfway; he is full of passion. He will fight for the water you drink, the land you live on, the air you breathe, the education of your children, the safety of your streets, and the example of your country as a beacon of freedom and democracy.

Remarks at a Democratic Dinner in Jersey City, New Jersey


He is been leading the fight to protect Sterling Forest here, the watershed for most of northern New Jersey. He wrote a section of the Superfund act that is focused on the chemical sites that are polluted here, something I am determined to see us finish the work on and another reason I do not want to see any further attempts to erode our investment in environmental protection. Bob Torricelli will protect all that. So I ask you to do what you can for the next 6 months to send Bob Torricelli to the United States Senate. Bill Bradley's shoes may be impossible to fill, but the people of New Jersey deserve someone fighting for them who is on their side and fighting for their future, not someone in the grip of an ideological theory that will only undermine our ability to go forward together. So I ask you again, do what you can, send him to the Senate. Do what you can for yourselves and your children and your future. We need Bob Torricelli, and I am going to depend on you to deliver New Jersey for us. Ladies and gentlemen, I do not want to keep you a long time tonight, but I want to just give a speech that in some ways is not particularly political. And after, I am going to ask you to do something that is intensely political. Usually these fundraisers we all know that our political system would not work without them, but a lot of times I think you come and go and you have your blood stirred, but I wonder if, when you leave, you think you have done your part and that is all there is to it. I want to talk to you tonight about what I believe is really going on in this country now, what I think is really at stake in this election, and why I hope you believe your financial contributions are only the beginning of your responsibilities as citizens for the next 6 months. We are clearly living through a time of change as profound as any the United States has endured in a hundred years in terms of the ways we work and live. Every so often our country is confronted with huge challenges, either to our very existence or at least to the ideals with which we started, that all of us are created equal and that we have inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and that the Government is instituted to promote the general, the common welfare. We had a lot of trouble getting started in working that out.


Then we had to fight a great Civil War to hold the country together and to redeem the promise of equality by extending it when it had to be extended. And then, 100 years ago, we faced a period of change rather like today, when we moved from the farm to the factory, from the country to the city. There were vast new opportunities, but there was a lot of uprooting; a lot of people's lives were dislocated. And the progressive era began, with Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson saying that the power of the United States Government should be used to curb the abuses of that era and to make sure its benefits could be extended to all Americans. They had the antitrust laws, the child laws, the environment protection laws, all designed to let us have the benefits of the new industrial age without being broken by it, without having our identity as a nation, our character as a people, our ideals as expressed in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution savaged. That is what it was all about. And then we underwent the Depression and World War II, and President Roosevelt and the Congress and the leaders of that time had to, first of all, defeat the opponents of freedom who would have killed our way of life beyond our borders and rally the American people to overcome that profound Depression and find a way to build a safety net under this country so that we could manage our economy in ways that did not permit it to crash again and break the lives of so many millions of people. Then we had to gird ourselves for the cold war, which we did, and wait for our victory to come, because communism was always founded on a total misunderstanding of human nature and the human condition. Now we are going through another period of change, economic and social change and the way we relate to the rest of the world, sort of like what happened 100 years ago. Now we have moved from a cold-war world to a global society, not just a global economy. big companies dramatically downsizing; new companies starting at a rapid rate; a lot of people doing exceedingly well; other people left behind; other people feeling uncertain about their future. When I ran for President in 1992, I got into that race because I was convinced we could no longer just sit by and let it happen, that we needed an aggressive response.


I still believe our vision for the future should be animated by three things: One, the desire to give the American dream of opportunity to every person in this country without regard to their race, their gender, their station in life, where they live, and what they are up against. Two, the understanding that we cannot achieve that in the world in which we are living unless we find a way to come together to respect our diversity, to bridge all those gaps of race and religion and region and ethnicity. This country now has, more or less, 200 different racial and ethnic groups. It is an astonishing thing that we can find ways to come together around our core values and our respect for one another's differences. And I am sick and tired of seeing elections used as wedges to divide people one from another, to try to get people who are in the majority to look down on those who are not , and then hope we can pick up the pieces after the election. We should be uniting the American people and going forward together. And the third thing we have to do is continue to be the world's greatest force for peace and freedom and prosperity. And as I have said many times, that sounds great and everybody is for that in general, but often in particular they are not. When I took the action I did in Haiti and Bosnia, in becoming the first President to try to do something in Northern Ireland, all of the things we have done in the Middle East, what all the polls said was the most unpopular decision of my administration, trying to keep Mexico from collapsing, everything I did, I did because I know that our country has got to try to be the world's greatest source of energy for peace and freedom and prosperity, and because I know that 20 years from now we can be the strongest country in the world, but others will grow stronger, and we have to work with Russia, we have to work with China, we have to work with a uniting Europe, we have to work with emerging countries, to have them define their greatness in a way that helps us all to go forward in peace and prosperity. How will these other countries define their greatness? Will it be as we do, by how well they educate their people and what their economic achievements are and what their cultural achievements are and whether they can help their less fortunate neighbors? Or will it be by whether they can bully people just because they are smaller than they are? We cannot walk away from this.


You cannot live in the world we are going toward and pretend to stay within your own borders. So that is what I tried to do in 1992. And ever since I have been in this office, everything I have done can be explained in terms of either trying to create opportunity or to bring us together around our basic values and respecting our diversity or maintaining our leadership for peace and freedom. And you heard Senator Lautenberg talking about it. We are moving in the right direction. It is also true that there are a lot of challenges out there. In the economic arena, we have at least three big challenges, do not we? In New Jersey, you know what one of them is. We have to figure out what to do about all these people who get downsized from big companies but who still have a lot of good years left. And we are working on that. In the next few days, I am going to have a lot of companies in the country come in, and we are going to highlight the companies that have been able to avoid that and have been able to do things that really help their employees if they have to leave. We have got to find a way, secondly, to give all of our working people a greater sense of economic security. I have heard Senator Bradley talk about this. If you cannot guarantee somebody the same job with the same company for a lifetime, then they have to know if they work hard and play by the rules, they will always be able to get new training for new work, they will always have access to health care, and they will always be able to have a pension they can carry around with them, even if they change jobs. They have to be able to know that. And lastly, we have to remember that here in New Jersey and throughout this country, in spite of the 8 1/2 million jobs, there are vast expanses within our inner cities and in our rural areas that have not felt any new investment opportunity. And do not kid yourself, when you have new jobs and growth, you also drive down the welfare rolls, you drive down the crime rate, you drive down the despair that people feel. So we have to find a way to bring free enterprise back to the inner cities and back to the rural areas of America. I know we can do it. If we can do it for other countries, we can do it for our own.


If you look at this great country of ours, and you ask, how can we come together instead of be driven apart, you have to start with our basic values. We need to build up families and the integrity and strength of childrearing, not tear it down. That is why I have said many times, I am all for welfare reform that is tough on work if people can work, but I do not want to hurt the children. We should be supportive of good parenting and work. All of us try to succeed as workers and parents. That is what we should want poor people to do, too. Everybody should be able to succeed in that way. We have to create an educational system that gives everybody genuine opportunity. And that means, among other things, what I was doing here in New Jersey a couple of weeks ago, which is ensuring that we hook up every classroom and every library, even in the poorest schools in America, to the information superhighway in the next 4 years. We can do that, and we can revolutionize education if we do it. We have got to continue our work to lower the crime rate by having more police on the street, more prevention strategies, being tough in keeping the assault weapons ban in the Brady bill and not giving them up, and by actually doing something to give our young people something to say yes to as well as something to say no to. We can bring the crime rate down; we can make our streets safe again; we can make our neighborhoods whole again. We know how to do it. We have to continue this fight to protect the environment. It is woefully short-sighted to believe that we can walk away from our obligations to clean up the messes we have made and protect ourselves from making further ones and gain anything economically by it. Yes, we have to find smarter ways to do it. Our administration has worked hard to find ways to grow the economy and clean the environment. But if we walk away from that, we will not go into the 21st century as a country that is stronger with stronger families and stronger communities and a stronger future. All of these things we must do. We have to keep working and reaching out to the rest of the world, even when it is frustrating, when there are no easy answers. And to do it, we have to have an idea of Government that is fundamentally different from that embraced by the congressional majority.


If you listen to them, what they say is, Government is the source of all of our problems; this new world is going to be so wonderful; if we could just get Government out of the way, all of our problems would be solved; what we need is empowerment defined as more choice and freedom from Government. If you listen to our crowd, what do we say? We are not for big Government anymore where it is not necessary. Just remember, folks, when election time comes, they bad-mouth the Government, but we are the ones that reduced it. But we did it in a way that treated those Federal workers with dignity. We gave them generous early retirement packages and severance packages and time to find other jobs. And we did not try to make some big thing out of it. We just did it because it needed to be done. But we believe that there is a different sort of empowerment. We believe that real opportunity means not only choice but the ability to exercise the choice. You remember the great French writer Anatole France said the rich and poor are equally free to sleep under the bridge at night. Now, that is what choice is without the capacity to exercise it. We believe our job in Washington is to give people the ability to make the most of their own lives as individuals, workers, as citizens, in families, in communities, and as citizens of this great Nation. That is what we believe, the power to make the most of their own lives. We cannot guarantee results for people, but if we do not make sure everybody has got a chance to do the most that they can with their lives and live out their dreams, this country will never be what it ought to be in the 21st century. That is the main choice you face in 1996. And let me say, in terms of the election, why you have to work at it. And you have to talk to people about what the nature of this time is, what the nature of this period of change is, and what should we be doing. And every one of you who can afford to be here tonight has a voice, a mind, a spirit that can be brought to bear on your friends and neighbors. And you need to take this opportunity to use this election as elections should always be used, as a genuine educational opportunity to learn about where we are. And every question then becomes, how do we do this in a way that gives everybody a chance to make the most of their own lives?


How do we do this in a way that brings the American people together and does not divide them? How do we do this in a way that maintains our leadership in the world for peace and freedom? So it is not a question of whether we balance the budget. We have reduced the deficit more than our predecessors. The question is, how we balance the budget, not whether we do it. So in every case, I ask you to think about this. You can look at the budget of 1995, which I vetoed, at the environmental initiatives, at the differences between us. Who is right about family and medical leave? Were we right to say that you should not lose your job if you have got to take a little time off when a baby is born or a parent is sick or a child is in the hospital? We now have gotten a bipartisan study of the family and medical leave law that says one in six American workers covered by the law have taken advantage of it, and about 90 percent of the businesses say it did not cost them any money to comply and did not cause them any problems. I think that is what we are about. All we did was to empower people to succeed at work and at home. That is what we should be doing. Were we right to fight for the 100,000 police and the assault weapons ban and the Brady bill? All I know is that the crime rate is down all across America now for 3 or 4 years in a row because of more police and prevention. All I know is that no lawful hunter has lost his or her weapon, but there are 60,000 people who did lose their weapons, the 60,000 people with criminal records who tried to buy a handgun and could not do it because of the Brady bill in the last year and a half. Were we right to fight for national service, to give people a chance to serve their community, solve the problems, work with people of different backgrounds, and earn some money to go to college, or were they right to say that is a luxury we cannot afford?


Were we right to change the student loan laws so that more people could borrow money to go to college on better terms and pay it back as a percentage of their income so that if you have a high tuition cost but you want to be a schoolteacher, a police officer, a nurse, or somebody else doing public service and you know you are not going to be rich, you still can always borrow the money to go to college, and you can still always pay it back? I believe we were right about that. All we were trying to do was to give people the means to make the most of their own lives, to seize the American dream, to come together instead of being divided, to stand up for the things we believe in around the world. That is all we did, and it makes all the difference. So I say to you, this is not like 1992 when the question was the status quo or change. The question is, which road will you walk into the 21st century? And I tell you, I see pictures in my mind all the time that give me the answer. The other day I was at Eastern High School in Washington, DC, where all of the students are African-American except the Russian exchange students, a program you have done a lot of work on. There they were, reaching for unity over diversity. There they were, struggling to come out of poverty. There they were, asking not for a guarantee, but just for a good education and a chance at the American dream. And if I have got anything to do about it, they are going to get it. That is what they are going to get. I got two letters from two married couples I got to know not very long ago because they had desperately sick children. I know as the father of only one child, there must be no greater pain in the world than having a child die before you do. And both these couples lost their children, but they got to be good parents because of the family and medical leave law that they helped us fight for. I think we were right, and I think that is the kind of change we want. I got a letter that I signed today back to a man who is now in his mid-sixties who lost a job 4 years ago at an aerospace plant, did not know where to turn.


But he wrote us, and because we found him the kind of training program that others are trying to eliminate, that man started his life over again in his early sixties and is working again and has dignity and is supporting himself and his family. That is what I believe we ought to be doing. It is not about big Government programs. It is not about yesterday's ideas. This is about which road we will walk into the future. It is about whether we will walk it together. I was over there today at the high school. We were at the high school; Senator Lautenberg talked about it. We did this antismoking program. And I was talking to the mayor on the way in about what kind of community it was. It was, except they had not only Christians and Jews among the student body, they had Hindus and Muslims among the student body, even there. I am telling you, this business of trying to drive a stake between people in this country based on their race, their ethnic background, or their religion has got to stop. We have got to stop it. We have got to stop it. Now, you do not have to guess about this; look around the rest of the world. Which road do you want to walk into the future? And I know that either I or my successors will make some mistakes in our judgments about what the United States should do around the world. But basically, it is right for us to continue to reach out to other countries. It is right for us to support peace and freedom and to try to expand our own prosperity by expanding that of others. It is right for us to be partners with other countries, even when we are tired and we want to lay our burdens down, because it is the only way to fight terrorism, the only way to fight drug dealing, the only way to fight organized crime; it is right to do that. So you get to decide about that, which road will you walk into the future. And I want to ask you when you leave here tonight to think about what else you can do for the next 6 months. I appreciate the money you have given Bob Torricelli and the Democratic Party and our efforts. I am grateful for that. But it is not enough, because the American people are trying to get a grip on this period of change. You should feel privileged to live in this time.


Please be seated, unless you do not have a seat. I appreciate the chance to come to this vital facility to meet the workers who make it go, meet the planners who keep it modern, and meet some of the people who benefit from the electricity that is generated out of here. I come knowing our Nation faces some great challenges. The biggest challenge we face is the security of our people. We have got to make sure that America is secure from the enemies which hate us. And we have got to make America secure by having an economy that grows so people can find work. On the first front, to make sure America is secure, we are making good progress. The 2 years from September the 11th-we got hit. We got hit by people who cannot stand what America believes in. We love freedom, and we are not going to change. Therapy will not work with this bunch. So we will bring people to justice. It does not matter how long it takes. America and many of our friends will find those who would harm the American people and bring them to justice. The only way to win the war on terror is to stay on the offensive. We can do a lot of things here at home. We can support our first-responders. We can make sure our law enforcement agencies talk to each other. But the best way to make sure the homeland is secure is to hunt these killers down one by one and bring them to justice, which the United States of America will do. As part of making sure America is secure, I laid out a doctrine that said, If you harbor a terrorist, if you feed a terrorist, if you hide a terrorist, you are just as guilty as the terrorists. To provide money to terrorists, you are guilty. And we will hold you account. And the Taliban found out what we meant. We gave an ultimatum to Mr. Saddam Hussein. We said, Get rid of your weapons. He ignored not only the United States but the civilized world. No terrorist organization will ever get a weapon of mass destruction from Mr. Sad-dam Hussein. This Nation yearns for peace, but we understand the nature of the enemy. For those of you who have got relatives in the United States military, I want to thank you, for a grateful nation. And you thank them, on behalf of the Commander in Chief and the people of this country, for the sacrifices they are willing to make on behalf of the rest of us. Economic security is on my mind.

Remarks at the Detroit Edison Powerplant in Monroe, Michigan


I am sure the numbers are beginning to look better, but there is still people looking for work. My attitude is, so long as somebody is looking for work, then we have got to continue to try to create the conditions necessary for job growth. We want the moms and dads to be able to make a living, to be able to put food on the table for their children. National security means economic security for every single citizen. And one of the lessons we learned a while ago was that a reliable, affordable electrical power is essential for economic growth in America. It is an essential part of an economic plan. If you are interested in creating jobs, you'd better have energy. You are not going to have an economy grow without reliable sources of energy. Lights went out last month-you know that. It might have been good for candle sales, but it certainly was not good for-job growth. It recognizes that we have got an issue with our electricity grid, and we need to modernize it. We need to make sure it works in the future. The first thing we are going to do is find out what went wrong and address the problem. Secretary of Energy Spence Abraham, right here, from the State of Michigan, is leading that investigation. We want the facts. We will put the spotlight of truth on the facts, and then we will deal with it. But also, it is clear that the power grid needs an overhaul. As we go into an exciting new period of American history, we want the most modern electricity grid for our people. When I first got in in Washington, I put out a plan, a national energy strategy. I felt like we needed an energy strategy for the country. If energy is an issue, first of all you need a strategy and a plan. And we laid one out. And part of that plan modernizes-called for the modernization of the electricity grid. We need more investment. We need research and development to make sure we are -as we invest new technologies, they are the latest and best for the people of this country. We also want to make sure voluntary reliability standards for utilities are now mandatory reliability standards. We want mandatory reliability standards, so people can count on the deliver-to have their electricity delivered. This is part of the plan I announced, as well as we have got to make sure that the energy we use, we have the best technologies to make sure we burn it as clean as we can.


That is why I have a strong initiative for clean coal technology. We want to make sure we encourage conservation. But the truth of the matter is, we need to become less dependent on foreign sources of energy, For the sake of economic security. We lead the world in new technologies when it comes to energy, and we not only can find new ways of producing energy and make sure we do so in an efficient way, we can make sure we do so in a clean way. You know right here what I am talking about, at this plant. We lead the world in technologies to make the production of energy cleaner. And so therefore, I am confident in predicting to the American people, not only can we promote job security and increase jobs, but we can do so in way that protects our environment. And I believe we have a duty to do so. I believe a responsible nation is one that protects the environment. And that is what I am here to discuss- -those moments when the Government does not help, when the Government stands in the way. For example, powerplants are discouraged from doing routine maintenance because of Government regulations. And by routine maintenance, I mean replacing wornout boiler tubes or boiler fans. So I changed those regulations-my administration did. And I am here to explain why we did, in a way that I hope the American people can understand. Before I begin, I do want to thank Tony Earley for that introduction. I just had a great tour of your facility, Tony, by Paul- Paul Fessler. He said to make sure I did not bring up the Michigan-Notre Dame game. So I will not bring it up. I am traveling today with Marianne Horinko, who is the Acting Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. She understands that we can grow our economy and protect the environment at the same time. When we talk about environmental policy in this Bush administration, we not only talk about clean air; we talk about jobs. And I believe we can do both, and so does Marianne. I want to thank you for your service. I thank Paul for the tour, and I was joined on the tour by Mike Smith, who is a senior union committeeman, Local 223. I appreciate Mike taking me around and introducing me to some of the fellow workers in the plants. You are providing a service. For all the workers who work here, I want you to know you are providing an important service. You are creating the conditions so people can find a job.


You are working hard to make sure somebody can turn on a light switch, and they can realize the comforts of modern life. Thanks for what you do. I am also traveling today with Members of the United States Congress, Congresswoman Candice Miller and Congressman Fred Upton. I want to thank you all for coming. We have got the secretary of state, Terri Lynn Land, with us, the attorney general, Mike Cox, the speaker of the house, Rick Johnson, members of the-all working hard at the State level. And finally, Mayor Al is with us, the mayor of Monroe. You must be filling the potholes--picking up the garbage--that is the way to go. Today when I landed, I met Claire Jennings. Let me describe right quick--it sounds like they know you, Claire. One of the things I try to do when I come to communities is to herald those folks who are volunteering their own time to make the world a better place. It is amazing the people I have been able to meet in our country. We have got all kinds of people from all walks of life taking time out to mentor a child or to take care of a-somebody who is lonely, to help heal a broken heart, surround somebody who hurts with love. It is really the strength of our country. I am proud of our military. I intend to keep our military strong. But the strength of the country is the heart and souls of our citizens. It is the willingness of people to lend a helping hand. What Claire has done is, she decided to enhance the wildlife growth around this plant. It is a wonderful-she is done a wonderful job, as have coworkers, in making sure the 800 acres here at the Monroe plant is spectacular to look at. And it will leave behind something like a legacy for future generations. So Claire, I want to thank you for setting a good example. I am glad you brought your daughter too. I said as plainly as I could that I believe we can grow our economy and protect the quality of our air at the same time. And we made progress doing just that. Let me give you a statistic or two. Our economy has grown 164 percent in three decades. And yet, according to a report that the EPA is releasing today, air pollution from six major pollutants is down by 48 percent during that period of time. So you nearly double your economy, and yet pollution is down by nearly 50 percent.


That should say to people that we can grow our economy, that we can work to create the conditions for job growth, and that we can be good stewards of the air that we breathe. And this plant is a good example of that achievement. Since 1974, the power generated from here has increased by 22 percent. You have created more power so more people can live a decent life. And yet, the particulate matter emissions have fallen by 80-81 percent. You are good stewards of the quality of the air as well. You work hard in this plant to put energy on the grid, and at the same time, you are protecting the environment. There is reason for this progress, and it is because our Nation made a commitment. Starting in the Clean Air Act of 1970, we set high goals. Let us work together to achieve these priorities. This administration, my administration strongly supports the Clean Air Act, and I believe that by combining the ethic of good stewardship-in other words, convince people that it is an important goal- and the spirit of innovation, we will improve the quality of our air even further, and, at the same time, make sure people can find a job. There is more to do, and so I want to talk about three ideas that-three commonsense steps that I put out to help us meet the new air quality standards and further improve quality of life. I hope you find that they make sense. They certainly do to me. They are commonsense ways to deal with our environment. First, we are going after the pollution that comes from diesel vehicles. We worked with the energy companies and the agricultural concerns and the manufacturers; we worked with environment groups; we worked with union groups to come up with a commonsense policy. We developed one, and it is now being implemented. Oil companies will lower the sulphur in diesel fuel. We will enforce new emission limits on diesel truck engines. And we are going to put forward new rules that will control pollution from off-road vehicles like heavy construction equipment. The stakeholders came; we developed good policy. Everybody is on board, and now we are headed toward a cleaner-cleaner quality air for all Americans. Again, you heard the CEO talk about this legislation. Clear Skies legislation will help cut powerplant emissions without affecting job growth and/or jobs at this plant. We are interested in reducing the nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide in mercury, coming out of the powerplants around America.


We have put forth a plan; we brought people in a room; we discussed it with them. The stakeholders agreed; union workers-union leaders have agreed; utilities have agreed; manufacturing companies have agreed to a plan that will reduce those three key pollutants by 70 percent over a reasonable period of time. We have got an interesting approach. It is been tried in the past. We put mandatory caps on emissions. Instead of the Government telling utilities where and how to cut pollution, we will work with them to create a cap, how much to cut and when we expect it cut by, but you figure out how. You are a lot better in figuring out the how than people in Washington, DC. Each year, each facility will need a permit for each ton of pollution it emits. Companies that are able to reduce their pollution below the amount can sell the surplus to others that need more time to meet the national goal and the national standard. The system makes it worthwhile for companies to invest earlier in controls and therefore pollute less. It ensures that high standards are met in a commonsense way that is cost-effective and saves jobs. And under the legislation, communities that have had trouble meeting air quality standards will finally have a clear and a more effective method to get them help. I am going to be talking about this tomorrow at the White House. I will be doing it in Washington because I expect Congress to act. Instead of playing politics with environmental legislation, we need to come together and do what is right for American workers and American families. Finally, I want to speak to one other matter. We need to fix those and have-we are in the process of fixing what they call New Source Review regulations. After I explain it, I think it will make sense as to why we are doing it. The old regulations, let me start off by telling you, undermined our goals for protecting the environment and growing the economy. The old regulations on the book made it difficult to either protect the economy or-protect the environment or grow the economy. Therefore, I wanted to get rid of them. I am interested in job creation and clean air, and I believe we can do both. One of the things we have got to do is encourage companies to invest in new technologies, convince utilities to modernize their equipment, so they can produce more energy and pollute less. In other words, as technologies come on, we want to encourage companies to make investment in those technologies.


Yet old regulations, the ones we are changing, actually discourage companies from even making routine repairs and replacing old equipment. Regulations intended to enhance air quality made it really difficult for companies to do that which is necessary to not only produce more energy but to do it in a cleaner way. Powerplants and companies wanted to make one change they could afford. The regulators could come in and order them to change everything, making every change a massive multiyear battle. That is the reality here at Monroe plant. The people who are trying to modernize this plant and do their job on behalf of the people of Michigan found out that the regulations were so complex that they could be interpreted any different way. And when you have complex regulations that are open for interpretation, guess what happens? And then you have litigation, and then things grind to a standstill. So a lot of planners and people who were charged with providing electricity and to protect the air decided not to do anything. They did not want to have to fight through the bureaucracy or fight through the endless lawsuits. They become old and tired, which means people start losing their jobs, which means our economy is not robust so people can find work if they are looking for work, which means some cases, energy costs are higher than they should be. And so we decided to do something about it-I did. It is been in the process for a while, and I decided to move, particularly when I heard stories like this one here at Monroe. In 1999, Detroit Edison made a decision to upgrade the turbine steam generators here. For the men and women who work at that plant, you understand, when I say vital decision, that it is a vital decision. The company wanted to give more efficient- wanted this plant to have new, efficient blades on the turbines, which will allow more electricity to be generated with the same amount of coal without causing emission increases. It seems like a commonsense policy. If I were running this plant, I would want to modernize it so we could produce more energy for the same amount of input and continue doing a good job of protecting the quality of the air. That is the kind of corporate behavior that I appreciate. Yet when the company took the plan to the EPA, the first thing that happened is they had to wait a year for an answer. They said, We have got a good way to do something, but please tell us if we can move forward.


And when the answer did come back, it was so complicated, because the rules are so complicated, that Detroit Edison decided to delay part of the project until its experts could decipher the details of the ruling. On the one hand, the rules are so complex that the answer coming back was even more complex, evidently, because nothing happened for a while. That does not make any sense. The quicker we put modern equipment into our powerplants, the quicker people are going to get more reliable electricity. If we are interested in job creation in America, we'd better have the most modern facilities to make sure that electricity is available so people can expand their job base. The rules created too many hurdles, and that hurts the working people. And so, as I said, we decided to do something about it. We began to review the old rules and regulations. And we wanted to do so in a careful way. The EPA held five public meetings. In other words, we said, If you have got a problem with the change, please bring them forward. Or you support the change, bring them forward. We wanted to hear from people, and the EPA did a good job of collecting data. In December, we issued the first set of rules to clarify and simplify regulations for manufacturers to do projects in an energy-efficient way and to promote policy that would discourage pollution. And now we have issued new rules that will allow utility companies like this one right here to make routine repairs and upgrades without enormous costs and endless disputes. We simplified the rules. We trust the people in this plant to make the right decisions. It makes sense to change these regulations. It makes sense for the workplace environment. It makes sense for the protection of our air. Not only do I believe that, but union leaders believe that. Manufacturers believe that. The utilities believe that. A bipartisan coalition in Congress believes it. We have done the right thing. The people at this plant wanted to put the most modern equipment, use the most modern technology to make sure the people of Michigan got energy at a reasonable and affordable price and at the same time protect the environment. Government policy prevented them from doing so. We have changed the Government policy for good of the people of this country. I mentioned the challenges we face, but I am an optimist, because I understand America. It is been my privilege to see the character of the American people. We set goals, and we work together to achieve those goals.


I was going to say, thank you, Laura, for those kind remarks. This is one of the great afternoons for Laura and me. We love to recognize our teachers. Actually, this is an annual event started by Harry Truman. And I am glad to be a part of a tradition here at the White House, saying thanks to our teachers. I admire teachers and like teachers so much, I married one. Laura is a great advocate for literacy and a strong supporter for America's teachers, and I am really proud to have her by my side during these unbelievable times and this great experience of serving our country-other than being a fine introducer. The thing I like about teaching is, teaching is such an optimistic profession. I know when teachers look out at their classrooms, you see more than a child at play or at study. You are able to see a child with big dreams and big hopes. You see future doctors and scientists and entrepreneurs and inventors, and I hope you see even a teacher or two. You dedicated your lives to the formation of young minds. You are giving our children the skills they need to succeed in life and equally important, the courage and the drive to realize those dreams. Our Nation is grateful for your hard work. We appreciate what you do, and we are honored you are here at the White House. I want to thank our Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings. She believes strongly in the classroom teacher, and she believes in the potential of every child. I am pleased to recognize Senator Sam Brownback, for the State of Kansas. I am glad you are here-and his wife, Mary; thank you for coming. thank you all for taking time to honor the teachers who are here. Sam Bennett from Florida- say hello to the Governor-Ron Poplau of Kansas-no wonder you all are here-and Susan Barnard of Washington State. Everybody here has been introduced to Kim Oliver, but you have not met her parents, Vincent and Veronica. I want to thank all the Teachers of the Year from around our country who are here. I really-Laura and I really enjoyed having our picture with you. But nevertheless, it is thanks from the bottom of our hearts. I thank Dr. Tom Houlihan, who is the executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers. That is one of the sponsoring organizations. I want to thank Margery for being here. That is also a sponsoring organization of this event.

Remarks Honoring the 2006 National and State Teachers of the Year


Kathleen Murphy is the president of ING, is here with us, as well as Tom Waldron, who is the executive vice president. These are the sponsoring groups of this important occasion. I also want to thank the chief state school officers who are with us. It is a job that requires compassion and determination and extraordinary patience. And as Laura hinted, or maybe did not hint, I was probably one of those kind that tested your patience. You are helping young people to learn the basics of reading and writing and adding and subtracting. You are serving as mentors and, probably most importantly, as role models. You help kindle young imaginations, and you inspire a love of learning. It is a pretty significant job description, when you think about it. And the teachers we honor here today are excelling at that job. Your daily efforts help young Americans grow into successful adults. In other words, you are building the future for the country. We ask a lot of our teachers, and we owe you a lot in return. And when I first came to office, I worked with members of both political parties-believe it or not, it is possible here in Washington to occasionally do that-to increase funding from the Federal level but also to pass the No Child Left Behind Act. The spirit of the No Child Left Behind Act basically says, society has a deep obligation to challenge the soft bigotry of low expectations, that we believe every child can learn, and therefore, we believe it makes sense to determine whether or not every child is learning. And if not, there ought to be extra help so that no child in our society is left behind. We are beginning to see good results, thanks to our Nation's teachers. The 2005 Nation's Report Card showed America's fourth graders are posting the best scores in reading and math in the history of the test. African American and Hispanic fourth graders set records in reading and math last year. America's eighth graders earned the best math scores ever recorded. Eighth grade Hispanic and African American students achieved their highest math scores ever. We are making really important strides toward closing an achievement gap in America, and I want to thank our teachers for your hard work. I have recently launched the American Competitiveness Initiative, which will help our students do better in math and science. We need to train 70,000 high school teachers to lead AP courses in math and science. I know we have got some AP teachers here, and I want to thank you for that.


It is okay to be a mathematician or a scientist-as a matter of fact, it is cool. We want to make sure that we help students who struggle with math get extra help to make sure that-to make sure they have a chance to be able to earn the high-wage jobs of the 21st century. If we ensure that America's children have the skills they need to succeed in life, we will make sure America succeeds in the world. Improving the quality of education for young Americans requires good laws and good policies, but ultimately it depends on good teachers. And that is why we are here on the South Lawn, to honor really good teachers. The Teacher of the Year, Kim Oliver, teaches kindergarten at Broad Acres Elementary School in Silver Spring, Maryland. Broad Acres is Montgomery County's highest poverty school, a place where 90 percent of the children qualify for federally-subsidized meals and about 75 percent have parents who do not speak English at home. It is a school filled with the kind of students that inspired Kim Oliver to become a teacher. Kim decided to become a teacher at a young age. It is really interesting for teachers to hear what she said. She said, As a young child, I loved and admired my day care teacher, Mrs. Chandler. I wanted to be just like her. Chandler made me feel special, as if I were the only child in her class. Kim Oliver had many friends growing up who came from unstable and impoverished homes. She says, I watched so many of my friends live up to the low expectations that were set for them. To this day, I find myself wondering, what if my disadvantaged friends had 12 years worth of Mrs. Chandlers in their lives? Kim went on to say, I chose to become a teacher to motivate and inspire the neediest students, who many have written off, and let them know they can achieve and succeed in life regardless of what the statistics may show. I love that attitude. I think you are beginning to get the drift of why she is the Teacher of the Year. When Kim Oliver arrived at Broad Acres in 2000, the school was threatened with forced restructuring by the State as a result of poor academic performance. Oliver took a leadership role at the school. That is what good teachers do; they take the lead. She became a teacher-leader and helped lead a collaborative effort to improve the curriculum, instruction, and assessment. She helped establish instructional planning sessions and formal procedures to examine student work and improve student performance.


She noticed that many parents at the school lacked the language skills to be able to read to their children and to be able to help with their school work. And so she and her colleagues purchased cassette players and recorded books on tape for the students to take home and share with their families, which made it a lot easier for parents who struggle with English to help their children. Kim Oliver also organized a regular Books and Supper Night, where families could check out books from the library and read together before sharing a dinner, which fostered learning and family involvement in their children's education. If you can get the parents involved in the child's education, you have a much better chance of succeeding. She set high expectations. Good teachers set high expectations. She provided needed assistance. She involved families, and she helped turn that school around. Within 2 years of her arrival, kindergarten students at Broad Acres were mastering early reading skills at higher rates than other schools in the district. After 3 years, Broad Acres students were meeting or exceeding all requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. She has a rare gift for touching hearts and minds, inspiring in her students to aim high and believe in their potential. A Broad Acres parent says, She knows how to talk to the children so they will listen. And all her students know that she cares about them. She made them all feel like they were smart and could learn anything. One of her colleagues says, When you walk into Ms. Oliver's classroom, one cannot help but notice that this is a special place. She is dedicated to her school community and committed to excellence, and she has been an instrumental force in improving student achievement at her school. I have high expectations for each of them. I teach them that they can accomplish anything with hard work and persistence. Kim Oliver understands that the key to helping children succeed is fighting the soft bigotry of low expectations. America is blessed to have teachers like Kim Oliver. We are blessed to have teachers like all those who are gathered here at the White House. We thank you for the love and devotion you have shown our children each day. May God continue to bless your work, and may God continue to bless our country.


It seems to me that this is becoming a spring tradition. For the fourth year in a row, the football team from the Naval Academy is here to receive the Commander in Chief's Trophy-the Rose Garden should be called the Yard. This year's team was among the Navy's best ever. That says a lot. This is a team that had the most rushing yards in the Nation. That says a lot. You had the highest graduation rate of any football team in the country. That says even more. You made it to the bowl game. And you beat ENTITY. I thank you all for coming. Deputy Secretary of the VA Gordon Mansfield; Secretary Don Winter of the Navy; General Pete Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff-and, I might add, the first marine to serve in that capacity; Admiral G, Ed Giambastiani-that is hard for a Texan to say, but it is not hard to tell you how much I admire Admiral G and Pete Pace; Admiral Mike Mullen, Chief of Naval Operations, thank you for coming, Chief; General Jim Conway, Commandant of the Marine Corps; and Ellen Moyer, the mayor of Annapolis. Vice Admiral Rod Rempt-Rod, I notice that you gathered up my speech. Just remember, page three follows page two. But it is good to have you again. Coach Paul Johnson-you talk about a winner, this guy knows how to build winners. I am proud to welcome you and your staff. I appreciate very much the members of the football team that have joined us, and I thank all of the Naval Academy supporters who are here. The Navy's fourth consecutive winning season may not sound like much to people who do not follow football, but it is a remarkable feat considering that the team was 0 and 10, 6 years ago. And here they are, standing in the Rose Garden with the Commander in Chief. It says a lot about resilience and a lot about determination and a lot about correcting past mistakes. Coach Johnson has put together a really good coaching staff, and I appreciate very much, Coach, you motivating these players toward championship-toward the championships that you have earned. The season started with three wins in a row, including a blowout over Stanford. You beat Air Force in Colorado Springs. You beat ENTITY by 12 points, the fifth win in a row for the Naval Academy. They tell me that is a pretty big deal.

Remarks on Presenting the Commander in Chief's Trophy to the United States Naval Academy Midshipmen


You earned a spot in the Meineke Car Care Bowl-Meineke Car Care Bowl. Boston College. I watched it. I was impressed by the 322 yards you earned. I know you are disappointed with the one-point loss, but you cannot be disappointed with the effort. I appreciate the fact that your class is the first in school history to win four straight Commander in Chief trophies, the first to go 8 and 0 against ENTITY and Air Force, and the first to play in four straight bowl games. That is a lot of firsts. Your class won 35 games in 4 years. The only Navy class to win more games graduated in 1909. I do not know whether William Howard Taft welcomed the team in 1909, but I can tell you, the 43rd President is proud to welcome such champions here to the Rose Garden. One of the reasons your team was so successful this year, of course, is because you had a captain from Texas. Five different Navy players rushed for more than 100 yards in a game this season. That is more than any other team in the Nation. I appreciate the fact that one of your quarterbacks stepped in for an injured starter and went on to score four touchdowns in a single game. I would like to say his name; I will probably bungle it. I will just say, the guy is from Hawaii. I appreciate the fact that Keenan Little became the first player in Navy history to score defensive touchdowns against Air Force and ENTITY in the same season. I am proud to be up here with a fellow Texan from Lewisville, Texas-the mascot of one of the high school teams in Lewisville, believe it or not, is the Fighting Farmers. He gained 134 yards against Air Force. When he was named MVP, he wisely-wisely-gave the credit to his offensive line. You know, it is interesting-how would you like to be the punter on the Navy team who went full-two full games without showing up on the field? Veteto-Greg is his first name-was, like, the punter on the team, and for two games in a row, he was never used. The team had a special leader in Eddie Martin. I do not know if the country knows this, but he was diagnosed with cancer last year. He did not play any games this year, but he always led the team out of the locker room for every home game. And so, Eddie, I appreciate the inspiration you have provided for your team and for the Academy.


I know you are fighting a brave battle, and a lot of people will pray for your full recovery. When you signed up for the Naval Academy, you signed up for more than playing football. I am glad Coach Johnson-I am sure Coach Johnson was glad that you said, I want to be a football player at the Naval Academy. But you signed up to become officers in the finest military the world has ever known. But you cannot have the finest military the world has ever known without men and women who volunteer to wear the uniform, just like you have done. You volunteered after September the 11th, 2001. I vowed after September 11th, 2001, that I would use the full power of our Government to protect the American people from harm, and I meant what I said. And therefore, anybody who signed up afterwards knew what they were getting into. It is a remarkable country when people make such a noble decision to serve their country in a time of war. And I am proud to be the Commander in Chief of such decent, honorable, sacrificing men and women. The lessons you have learned on the football field and at the Naval Academy will serve you well on the battlefield. You learned the importance of teamwork and leadership and strong personal character. And you are going to put those qualities to the highest possible use, and that is to protect the American people and to lay the foundation of peace for generations to come. The Navy and Marine Corps are on the frontline of fighting and winning the war against the extremists, radicals who would do this country harm. Every day we are on the offense against an enemy. My attitude is, I would rather defeat them over there so we do not have to face them here. And the Marine Corps and the Navy are helping to lead that charge. The sailors and marines on the high sea are sending a clear message to the world that we stand for strength, and we stand for peace. Former Navy football players have distinguished themselves in the line of duty. Marine First Lieutenant Brian Stann comes to mind, the class of '03. He won the Silver Star. Ron Winchester of '01, J.P. Blecksmith of the class of '03. Another gave his life in flight over the Pacific, Navy Lieutenant Commander Scott Zellem, the class of '91. The United States of America will not forget their sacrifices. We will complete our missions so that their sacrifices will not have gone in vain.


I am about to sign into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964. I want to take this occasion to talk to you about what that law means to every American. One hundred and eighty-eight years ago this week a small band of valiant men began a long struggle for freedom. They pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor not only to found a nation, but to forge an ideal of freedom--not only for political independence, but for personal liberty--not only to eliminate foreign rule, but to establish the rule of justice in the affairs of men. That struggle was a turning point in our history. Today in far corners of distant continents, the ideals of those American patriots still shape the struggles of men who hunger for freedom. Yet those who founded our country knew that freedom would be secure only if each generation fought to renew and enlarge its meaning. From the minutemen at Concord to the soldiers in Viet-Nam, each generation has been equal to that trust. Americans of every race and color have died in battle to protect our freedom. Americans of every race and color have worked to build a nation of widening opportunities. Now our generation of Americans has been called on to continue the unending search for justice within our own borders. Yet many are denied equal treatment. We believe that all men have certain unalienable rights. Yet many Americans do not enjoy those rights. We believe that all men are entitled to the blessings of liberty. Yet millions are being deprived of those blessings--not because of their own failures, but because of the color of their skin. The reasons are deeply imbedded in history and tradition and the nature of man. We can understand--without rancor or hatred--how this all happened. Our Constitution, the foundation of our Republic, forbids it. The principles of our freedom forbid it. Morality forbids it. And the law I will sign tonight forbids it. That law is the product of months of the most careful debate and discussion. It was proposed more than one year ago by our late and beloved President John F. Kennedy. It received the bipartisan support of more than two-thirds of the Members of both the House and the Senate. An overwhelming majority of Republicans as well as Democrats voted for it. It has received the thoughtful support of tens of thousands of civic and religious leaders in all parts of this Nation. And it is supported by the great majority of the American people. The purpose of the law is simple.

Radio and Television Remarks Upon Signing the Civil Rights Bill


It does not restrict the freedom of any American, so long as he respects the rights of others. It does not give special treatment to any citizen. It does say the only limit to a man's hope for happiness, and for the future of his children, shall be his own ability. It does say that there are those who are equal before God shall now also be equal in the polling booths, in the classrooms, in the factories, and in hotels, restaurants, movie theaters, and other places that provide service to the public. I am taking steps to implement the law under my constitutional obligation to take care that the laws are faithfully executed. First, I will send to the Senate my nomination of LeRoy Collins to be Director of the Community Relations Service. Governor Collins will bring the experience of a long career of distinguished public service to the task of helping communities solve problems of human relations through reason and commonsense. Second, I shall appoint an advisory committee of distinguished Americans to assist Governor Collins in his assignment. Third, I am sending Congress a request for supplemental appropriations to pay for necessary costs of implementing the law, and asking for immediate action. Fourth, already today in a meeting of my Cabinet this afternoon I directed the agencies of this Government to fully discharge the new responsibilities imposed upon them by the law and to do it without delay, and to keep me personally informed of their progress. Fifth, I am asking appropriate officials to meet with representative groups to promote greater understanding of the law and to achieve a spirit of compliance. We must not approach the observance and enforcement of this law in a vengeful spirit. Its purpose is not to divide, but to end divisions--divisions which have all lasted too long. Its purpose is to promote a more abiding commitment to freedom, a more constant pursuit of justice, and a deeper respect for human dignity. We will achieve these goals because most Americans are law-abiding citizens who want to do what is right. This is why the Civil Rights Act relies first on voluntary compliance, then on the efforts of local communities and States to secure the rights of citizens. It provides for the national authority to step in only when others cannot or will not do the job. This Civil Rights Act is a challenge to all of us to go to work in our communities and our States, in our homes and in our hearts, to eliminate the last vestiges of injustice in our beloved country.


I hope you all had a good weekend. Nobody likes paying taxes, particularly in times of economic stress. But most Americans meet their responsibilities because they understand that it is an obligation of citizenship, necessary to pay the costs of our common defense and our mutual well-being. And yet, even as most American citizens and businesses meet these responsibilities, there are others who are shirking theirs. And many are aided and abetted by a broken tax system, written by well-connected lobbyists on behalf of well-heeled interests and individuals. It is a Tax Code full of corporate loopholes that makes it perfectly legal for companies to avoid paying their fair share. It is a Tax Code that makes it all too easy for a number--a small number of individuals and companies to abuse overseas tax havens to avoid paying any taxes at all. And it is a Tax Code that says you should pay lower taxes if you create a job in Bangalore, India, than if you create one in Buffalo, New York. Now, understand, one of the strengths of our economy is the global reach of our businesses. And I want to see our companies remain the most competitive in the world. But the way to make sure that happens is not to reward our companies for moving jobs off our shores or transferring profits to overseas tax havens. This is something that I talked about again and again during the course of the campaign. The way we make our businesses competitive is not to reward American companies operating overseas with a roughly 2-percent tax rate on foreign profits, a rate that costs tens--that costs taxpayers tens of billions of dollars a year. The way to make American businesses competitive is not to let some citizens and businesses dodge their responsibilities while ordinary Americans pick up the slack. Unfortunately, that is exactly what we are doing. These problems have been highlighted by Chairmen Charlie Rangel and Max Baucus, by leaders like Senator Carl Levin and Congressman Lloyd Doggett. And now is the time to finally do something about them. And that is why today I am announcing a set of proposals to crack down on illegal overseas tax evasion, close loopholes, and make it more profitable for companies to create jobs here in the United States. For years, we have talked about ending tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas and giving tax breaks to companies that create jobs here in America. That is what our budget will finally do.

Remarks on Tax Reform


We will stop letting American companies that create jobs overseas take deductions on their expenses when they do not pay any American taxes on their profits. And we will use the savings to give tax cuts to companies that are investing in research and development here at home, so that we can jump-start job creation, foster innovation, and enhance America's competitiveness. For years, we have talked about shutting down overseas tax havens that let companies setup operations to avoid paying taxes in America. That is what our budget will finally do. On the campaign, I used to talk about the outrage of a building in the Cayman Islands that had over 12,000 businesses claim this building as their headquarters. And I have said before, either this is the largest building in the world or the largest tax scam in the world. It is the kind of tax scam that we need to end. And that is why we are closing one of our biggest tax loopholes. It is a loophole that lets subsidiaries of some of our largest companies tell the IRS that they are paying taxes abroad, tell foreign governments that they are paying taxes elsewhere, and avoid paying taxes anywhere. And closing this single loophole will save taxpayers tens of billions of dollars, money that can be spent on reinvesting in America. And it will restore fairness to our Tax Code by helping ensure that all our citizens and all our companies are paying what they should. Now, for years, we have talked about stopping Americans from illegally hiding their money overseas and getting tough with the financial institutions that let them get away with it. The Treasury Department and the IRS, under Secretary Geithner's leadership and Commissioner Shulman's, are already taking far-reaching steps to catch overseas tax cheats, but they need more support. And that is why I am asking Congress to pass some commonsense measures. One of these measures would let the IRS know how much income Americans are generating in overseas accounts by requiring overseas banks to provide 1099s for their American clients, just like Americans have to do for their bank accounts here in this country. If financial institutions will not cooperate with us, we will assume that they are sheltering money in tax havens and act accordingly. And to ensure that the IRS has the tools it needs to enforce our laws, we are seeking to hire nearly 800 more IRS agents to detect and pursue American tax evaders abroad.

Remarks on Tax Reform