This is a very special time of year for us, a time for family reunions and for celebrating together the blessings of God and the promises He has given us. From Thanksgiving to Hanukkah, which our Jewish community is now celebrating, to Christmas in 3 weeks' time, this is a season of hope and of love. Certainly one of the greatest blessings for people everywhere is the family itself. The American Family Institute recently dedicated its book of essays, The Family in the Modern World, to Maria Victoria Walesa, daughter of Danuta and Lech Walesa, to whose christening came 7,000 Poles expressing their belief that the family remains the foundation of freedom. And, of course, they are right. It is in the family where we learn to think for ourselves, care for others, and acquire the values of self-reliance, integrity, responsibility, and compassion. Families stand at the center of society, so building our future must begin by preserving family values. namely, that bigger government is the greatest force for fairness and progress. But this so-called solution has given most of us a bad case of financial indigestion. How can families survive when big government's powers to tax, inflate, and regulate absorb their wealth, usurp their rights, and crush their spirit? It now takes $85,000 to raise a child to age 18, and family incomes have not kept up. During the 1970's real wages actually declined over 2 percent. In 1948 the tax on the average two-child family was just $9. As economic and social pressures have increased, the bonds that bind families together have come under strain. For example, three times as many families are headed by single parents today as in 1960. Many single parents make heroic sacrifices and deserve all our support. But there is no question that many well-intentioned Great Society-type programs contributed to family breakups, welfare dependency, and a large increase in births out of wedlock. In the 1970's the number of single mothers rose from 8 to 13 percent among whites and from 31 to a tragic 47 percent among blacks. Too often their children grow up poor, malnourished, and lacking in motivation. It is a path to social and health problems, low school performance, unemployment, and delinquency. If we strengthen families, we will help reduce poverty and the whole range of other social problems.

Radio Address to the Nation on the American Family


We can begin by reducing the economic burdens of inflation and taxes, and we are doing this. Since 1980 inflation has been chopped by three-fourths. Taxes have been cut for every family that earns a living, and we have increased the tax credit for child care. Yesterday we learned that our growing economy reduced unemployment to 8.2 percent last month. The payroll employment figure went up by 370,000 jobs. At the same time, new policies are helping our neediest families move from dependence to independence. Our new job training law will train over a million needy and unemployed Americans each year for productive jobs. ENTITY should add that our enterprise zones proposal would stimulate new businesses, bringing jobs and hope to some of the most destitute areas of the country. The Senate has adopted this proposal. But after 2 years of delay, the House Democratic leadership only recently agreed to hold its first hearing on the legislation. And come January, we expect action. We are moving forward on many other fronts. We have made prevention of drug abuse among youth a top priority. We will soon announce a national missing children's center to help find and rescue children who've been abducted and exploited. We are working with States and local communities to increase the adoption of special-needs children. More children with permanent homes mean fewer children with permanent problems. We are also stiffening the enforcement of child support from absent parents. And we are trying hard to improve education through more discipline, a return to the basics, and through reforms like tuition tax credits to help hard-working parents. In coming months, we will propose new ways to help families stay together, remain independent, and cope with the pressures of modern life. A cornerstone of our efforts must be assisting families to support themselves. As Franklin Roosevelt said almost 50 years ago, Self-help and self-control are the essence of the American tradition. In Washington everyone looks out for special interest groups. And with your help, we will continue looking out for their interests. Till next week, thanks for listening, and God bless you.


rebuilding our economy so that, once again, hard work pays off, responsibility is rewarded, and anyone, regardless of who they are or where they come from, can make it if they try. Now, to get there, the most important thing we need to do is to get more Americans back to work. And over the past 3 years, we have made steady progress. We just learned that our economy added 212,000 private sector jobs in December. After losing more than 8 million jobs in the recession, we have added more than 3 million private sector jobs over the past 22 months. And we are starting 2012 with manufacturing on the rise and the American auto industry on the mend. We are heading in the right direction, and we are not going to let up. On Wednesday, the White House will host a forum called Insourcing American Jobs. We will hear from business leaders who are bringing jobs back home and see how we can help other businesses follow their lead. Because this is a make-or-break moment for the middle class and all those working to get there. We have got to keep at it. We have got to keep creating jobs. And we have got to keep rebuilding our economy so that everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules. We cannot go back to the days when the financial system was stacking the deck against ordinary Americans. To me, that is not an option, not after all we have been through. That is why I appointed Richard Cordray as our Nation's new consumer watchdog this week. to look out for you. Every day, his sole mission is to protect consumers from potential abuses by the financial industry and to make sure that you have got all the transparent information you need to make the important financial decisions in your lives. I nominated Richard for this job last summer. And yet Republicans in the Senate kept blocking his confirmation, not because they objected to him, but because they wanted to weaken his agency. That made no sense. Every day we waited was a day you and consumers all across the country were at greater financial risk. So this year, I am going to keep doing whatever it takes to move this economy forward and to make sure that middle class families regain the security they have lost over the past decade. That is my New Year's resolution to all of you.

Barack Obama The President's Weekly Address


It is a great honor to be back in Ohio. Today I come bringing a special visitor, un amigo de mio y tambien un amigo de los Estados Unidos. It is an honor to bring a good friend of mine and a friend of our country, President Vicente Fox, to Ohio. I have the honor of introducing him. But before I do so, I wanted to introduce him to Ohio. It is a State full of decent and compassionate and hard-working people-Toledo. Not all the wisdom exists in Washington, DC. And it was my honor that the President had accepted not only the invitation for the first state dinner I had as your President but agreed to travel with me to the heartland. So I want to thank you all for a warm welcome. I want to thank so very much the leadership of the University of Toledo and the students who are here, the faculty that have made this event possible. It is a thrill to be traveling with members of the United States congressional delegation, some of whom do what I tell them to do some of whom are a little hard to persuade, but all of whom love America and all of whom bring honor to the office they hold. I am very proud to be traveling with one of my Cabinet Secretaries, a man who is doing a fabulous job at HUD. When he was a young boy, his mother and daddy put him on a boat-I guess it was an airplane-to come to America from Cuba. They were not ever sure whether they would see him again. They were sure, however, they were sending him to a place that loved freedom, a place where you can be anything you want to be in America. Today, this good man is in the Cabinet. It shows what a wonderful country we have and shows what a great man Mel Martinez is. We have got distinguished members from the Mexican delegation traveling with us. We have got Ambassadors traveling with us. And we have even got the Treasurer of the United States traveling with us. My friend Rosario Marin is now the Treasurer of this great country. We just had a really good visit in Washington. It was a commitment to friendship. Good foreign policy says you want your neighborhood to be peaceful and prosperous; a good foreign policy starts with being friends with your neighbors. We are friends with our neighbors to the North, and we are very good friends with our neighbors to the South, the Mexicanos.

Remarks at the University of Toledo in Toledo


Friends hold each other with respect- treat each other with respect and hold each other in high esteem. And the speaker I am going to introduce is a man I hold in high esteem. Friends are willing to have honest dialog. And we have had a series of honest dialogs over the last 24 hours, had a frank discussion, but this is not our first discussion. We have been discussing common opportunities and common problems for months. And as a result, our relationship has never been better and never been stronger. I know there are some in this world and our country who want to build walls between Mexico and the United States. Fearful people build walls; confident people tear them down. And I am confident that a strong relationship-and I am confident that good neighbors and a strong relationship is in our Nation's best interests. I have seen it firsthand. Trade between Mexico and the United States has grown to a quarter of a trillion dollars. That means jobs in the United States, and as importantly, that means jobs in Mexico. I cannot tell you how hopeful trade is and how important it is. It is not only important for job-seeking Americans; it is incredibly important for Mexico to grow and to prosper, to develop a middle class for people in Mexico to be able to find work close to home. Oh, I know there is a lot of talk about Mexican laborers coming to the United States. Family values do not stop at the Rio Bravo. There are mothers and dads in Mexico who love their children just as much as mothers and dads in America do. And if there are a mother or dad who cannot find work, worried about food on the table, they are going to come and find work in America. And what we want to do is to have a trading relationship that encourages job creation in America but job creation in Mexico as well. We want Mexico to grow a middle class so the citizens of Mexico can find work to feed their families just like the citizens of America can find work to feed their families. We are talking about migration issues. It is a complex subject, but one that this country of ours must confront and have an open dialog about. And we have made good progress on that important issue. I want to tell you, President Fox is doing everything in his power to fight crime and drugs, and we are cooperating with him. But I also want to remind my fellow Americans, it is important to fight the supply of drugs.


But we have an obligation inside this country to fight to reduce the demand for drugs as well. Do not use drugs; make the right choices in life. We are working hard on environmental issues on our border. But our fellow citizens must understand that there is more than just economics that is important or crime-fighting that is important in our relationship with Mexico. We share values with Mexico. They are common values, values that unite people, whether they live in the United States or whether they live in Mexico. Faith, the strong value of faith exists in our country. As a matter of fact, I think it is the strength of America in many ways, and it exists in Mexico as well. The love of family-it is incredibly important for the future of our country. It is a strong value in the Mexican culture. America is known for our ability to work hard. Think about the Mexican worker who walks 500 miles across a desert to find work. We share that very important value of people willing to roll up their sleeves and work hard. No, we have got incredibly important relationship. It starts with leaders being willing to have open dialog. We have got something in common, by the way, that you probably have not thought about. President Fox's grandfather was raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. My grandfather was raised in Columbus, Ohio. I guess you could kind of say we are Ohioans, except it is kind of hard to tell by our accents. Not only do we share background; we share love for our respective countries. The first trip I took to foreign soil was to Guanajuato, Mexico, to visit President Fox on his ranch. By the way, I kind of like going to mine on occasion, too. And this is a man deeply committed to his country. He loves the people of Mexico. And I hope by now there is no question that I love the people of America as well. President Fox and I share the desire to do what we think is right for our countries. I think both of us are tired of the policy driven by polls and focus groups. I do not need a poll and focus group to tell me what to think and where to go, and neither does he. We both are doing in office what we said we would do. I told the people, by the way, that if they gave me the chance to be the President, the first thing I would do is remember whose taxpayers' money we are talking about when we are talking about budgets.


I have gladly accepted the invitation to say a few words on this program launching the annual Roll Call of the American Red Cross. I join in this appeal because ENTITY of the United States also is ENTITY of the American Red Cross. Moreover, I believe with heart and soul that all of us Americans should do everything we can to support an organization of such vital importance to our people. Knowledge of our individual responsibility toward the national and international services of the Red Cross is always essential to the success of these ministrations of mercy. We should bear in mind that, during the Roll Call, the Red Cross does not ask us to make a mere donation. It invites us to join and to take our place in the legion of men and women of good will who make the Red Cross one of our strongest shields against forces of destruction-whether activated by nature or man. We must realize that regardless of race, creed, or color, the Red Cross deeply matters to us, as individuals, in a world darkened by conflict and misery. The Red Cross stands upon a remarkable record of service to humanity. Founded in 1881 and chartered by Congress in 1905 as our national voluntary relief agency, the American Red Cross has played a conspicuous part in relieving the distress which has followed every national disaster. The growth of its services to the nation has been in direct proportion to the growing confidence of the American people in its ability to respond swiftly and competently to emergency situations. The Red Cross this year is being called upon to meet an unusual number of appeals for aid from every quarter. Because our Red Cross is a member of the large family of Red Cross societies which, in time of war, join with the neutral International Red Cross in Geneva in the alleviation of suffering caused by war, the conflict in Europe has brought added responsibilities to our national organization. We of this fortunate country are already doing much, in the name of humanity, on behalf of the unfortunate victims of this unhappy conflict. I am sure you would not want it otherwise, and when the time comes for the Red Cross to ask your help to continue this work I am confident of your sympathetic response. Equally important, however, is the year-in and year-out battle of our Red Cross to preserve life and health here at home. The psychology of hate and destruction, so rampant today, makes it too easy to forget that while war is not a human necessity, neither are the preventable deaths which harm a nation at peace.

Radio Appeal for the Red Cross.


Well, I just want to welcome the Amir of Qatar and thank him and the people of his country for the friendship that they have shown towards the United States. Qatar has been a center of innovation. We have seen enormous progress within the country on everything ranging from education to health care. And I think His Highness has shown extraordinary leadership over the last many years in helping to guide his country. Obviously, Qatar is also an important country in the region and has an influence that extends beyond its relatively small population. And so we had an opportunity to discuss a whole range of issues that directly relate to U.S. interests and U.S. security, but more importantly, the security of the entire world. We had a conversation about the situation in Syria. And obviously, we have been cooperating closely with Qatar and other countries in seeking to bring about an end to the slaughter that is taking place there-the removal of President Assad, who has shown himself to have no regard for his own people-and to strengthen an opposition that can bring about a democratic Syria that represents all people and respects their rights regardless of their ethnicity or their religious affiliations And I am very pleased that we are going to be continuing to work in the coming months to try to further support the Syrian opposition, and we will be closely coordinating our strategies to bring about a more peaceful resolution to the Syrian crisis. We also had an opportunity to discuss the situation in Egypt, where we both very much want to see success on the part of Egyptian democracy. And both of our countries are committed to trying to encourage not only progress in this new democracy, but also economic progress that can translate into actual prosperity for the people there. a secure Israel side-by-side with a sovereign Palestinian state. And we exchanged ideas about how we can advance those negotiations, and I have shared the importance of providing support to President Abbas and the Palestinian Authority so that they can be in position to have fruitful negotiations with the Israelis that can bring about, in a timely fashion, a two-state solution. And I had an opportunity to thank the Amir for the strong support that his country has provided to our efforts in Afghanistan, including the efforts that he has personally been involved with in getting a dialogue between the Afghan Government and the Taliban that might potentially result in some sort of political reconciliation. These are all very difficult issues, and neither of us are under any illusions that they will be solved overnight.

Remarks Following a Meeting With Amir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani of Qatar


I am really glad to see you. I bring you greetings from Hillary and our all-grown-up daughter, who are otherwise occupied in New York today. And she is doing very well, and I am proud of her. I think she is going to win on Tuesday. I want to talk today about today and tomorrow. I do want to thank people that are up here on this stage for their friendship. I thank Mark Pryor for taking on this campaign and for getting involved in public life in our State, carrying on his great family tradition while his daddy becomes an ivy league egghead. You notice, I was the only one who was dumb enough to do that before I ran for office; David waited until afterward. I want to thank Vic Snyder, who has been a great friend and supporter of mine in Congress and a great Representative for this district. It is been my honor to vote for him every time he is been on the ballot. I want to thank James Lee Witt and Rodney Slater. They have represented our State so well in the Cabinet. They have represented our country. They have done superb jobs, and I am very proud of them. We have a few other Arkansans in the crowd. I cannot see everybody because the lights are real bright. But I saw Ken Smith and Jim Bob Baker out there. They have also done very well by our administration and there may be others. But I am really-and Janis Kearney, I think, is here, who-she keeps up with what I do every day, and some day when I want to write my memoirs, I will be able to read what Janis said I did. And so when you read the book, it may be what she said instead of me, because I cannot remember anything anymore. But I want to thank all the people who are here. I want to thank Carroll Willis who has been down here working and who has been at the Democratic Party all these years and has done such a great job. And I want to thank my buddy Dale Bumpers. I finally got over being mad at him for leaving the Senate. You know, Dale and Dave and I could not quite calibrate our respective schedules and biological clocks so we could go out together. But I sort of envision a remake of the Three Amigos movie, where we just get on horses and ride out of Washington and thank hallelujah we survived it all. Look, I want to talk about this election a little bit.

Remarks at an Arkansas Civic Leaders Luncheon in Little Rock, Arkansas


The people in this room could carry this State for Al Gore and Joe Lieberman, if you want to bad enough. And I just want to say a few things. I appreciate what is been said, but our public life is always about tomorrow. And yet, yesterday is an indicator of tomorrow. As near as I can see, the case that the other guys are making is, Well, the economy is better; crime is down; welfare is down; the environment is better; education is improving; more people than ever are going on to college; we have got a decline in the number of people without health insurance for the first time in 12 years. So what we need to do is bag all those policies and do something entirely different. And among other things, now that we have got this surplus, I am going to give it all back to you right now, and then some. And I do not think people understand that. Because, as Vic would say, they run these ads on prescription drugs, and I will say more about that and the Patients' Bill of Rights and all that. Because they know that they have got a lot at stake in this election. They know there are big differences, and they know that the voters understand what the differences are and what the consequences are, that Al Gore and Joe Lieberman will be elected and the Democrats will win the House and the Senate. And it is a lot easier to muddy things up than it is to clarify them. Plus which, I think a lot of people kind of have forgotten what it was like 8 years ago. And sometimes it is harder to make a good decision in good times than it is in bad times. There are younger voters that will be voting in this Presidential election that do not even remember what it was like 8 years ago; even if they tried to think about it, they would have no memory of it. So here is what I would like you to say to people for the next 3 days. The people in this room can carry this State for Al Gore if you want to bad enough. And this State could literally determine the outcome of the election. There are about 15 to 20 States that are literally within 3 points one way or the other. And no one knows what is going to happen, but what will happen is, the people that want it bad enough will win.


Now, you know they want it bad enough because they do not like what we have done on issues where the majority of the people agree with us, and you know that they will show up because they have been out a long time. Here is what I would like you to say to people. First of all, the Republicans believe that former President Reagan is the source of all wisdom. He said you should decide whether to continue the party in office based on whether you are better off today than you were 8 years ago. So, by the Reagan test, Al Gore wins. But the real issue is, do you want to continue this prosperity and extend it to people and places that have been left behind? And the previous speakers talked about it a little bit, but I want you to think about it. People ask me all the time, they come up to me, and every time I go someplace in the country, they say, Oh, Mr. President, you have had such a nice, good 8 years, and you have had such a good economy; what great, new idea that you and Bob Rubin and Lloyd Bentsen bring to economic policy in Washington? And I always answer with one word, Arithmetic. You know, and I'd normally tell them I was from Arkansas and I had to be Governor 12 years, and I always found arithmetic was good-I did not need algebra, calculus, trigonometry-arithmetic. And what getting rid of the deficit did was to drive interest rates down, make it cheaper for people to borrow in the private sector. It ballooned the stock market, increased investment in business. It created over 22 million new jobs. And we did it in a way-this is the most important thing to me-it was good for everybody. Poverty went down; average income went above $40,000 for the first time in the history of the country. But it starts with arithmetic. Now, you can argue that Governor Bush and Al Gore have different tax plans and which one is better. Most people in Arkansas would be better off under the Gore plan in the short run, because it is more tilted toward middle class working people. Let us just look at the cost. And you can certainly argue about the Social Security plan, about whether it is good or bad to privatize Social Security. Let us forget about that for just a minute. That sounds like a lot of money-just say 2.


I do not think it will be that big, by the way, because this Congress put a lot of pork-barrel spending in to get themselves reelected, which I do not think they will be successful in doing, and I certainly hope not. Now, the Republican tax cut costs 1.3, but because you are not paying down the debt as much, it has extra interest costs. Now, they have admitted that their privatization of Social Security plan costs a trillion dollars. And as the Vice President said, you cannot spend the same money twice; you cannot give the same money to young people to put in the stock market and then give it to those of us who are over 50, when our Social Security checks are due. So that is another trillion that has to come out of the surplus. And then they promise to spend some money, about half a trillion dollars-that is .5. 1.6 plus 1 plus .5 is 3.1, and 3.1 is bigger than 2. Now, I am telling you, this is not rocket science. You get by all the romance and all the rhetoric, somebody up there has got to have arithmetic. We brought arithmetic back to Washington. The Republicans forgot about arithmetic for 12 years. They quadrupled the debt, and they want to go right back to the same economic policy they had before. And it is higher interest rates, which means trouble for all of you. Do you know, the average-the first-people in America who are paying on a $100,000 mortgage today are saving $2,000 every single year in lower interest rates because we got rid of the deficit. It is estimated that Al Gore's plan will keep interest rates one percent lower for a decade. Because he pays off the debt. Three hundred and ninety billion dollars in lower home mortgages, $30 billion in lower car payments, $15 billion in lower college loan payments, lower credit card payments; lower business loans, which means more businesses, more jobs, higher income and a bigger stock market. That is how the rich get richer, and the rest of us do, too. Now, I am telling you, you cannot go back to deficits without having higher interest rates and hurting ordinary people and weakening the overall economy. So you have just got to tell people this. they say, it is your money-which of course it is, the whole deal is yours. That is what the election is about.


So things are going along so well, they say, let us just take it all now. And here is the Vice President, that they criticize for telling people what they want to hear, and he said, Uh-uh, we are going to first pay down the debt. Then we are going to take what is left, and we are going to invest in education, health care, and the environment and give the American people a tax cut we can afford, for child care, long-term care, the cost of college tuition, and retirement savings. That is what we are going to do. But why are intelligent and very wealthy people like Bob Rubin still for Al Gore? Because they know they are better off with lower interest rates and working people having jobs and consuming and keeping this economy going. Now, you can explain that to people. Anybody can understand that. You cannot have a tax cut this big, a Social Security privatization program this big, and promise to spend this kind of money when there is not that much money. And the Gore/Lieberman plan is to pay down the debt, invest in the education of our children, in health care, in the environment, in national security, the things we have to have, and give the people a tax cut we can afford. And you have just got to ask people, Do you remember where we were 8 years ago? Do you want to build on this prosperity and extend it to others, or do you want to reverse it and go back to the previous economic program? It is not like we do not have a test here. We tried it our way for 8 years; before that, we tried it their way for 12 years. You can say that, and people will understand what you are saying. And I think it is worth pointing out that there were specific, serious policies of this administration that contributed to that. The crime rate is at a 26-year low. Because we have got 100,000 police on the street; we are putting another 50,000 on the street. The Brady bill kept guns out of a half million felons and stalkers, and no matter what our friends at the NRA say, there has not been a single hunter miss a day in the deer woods or a single sport shooter miss an event in Arkansas, not one, not one single day. It is just all a bunch of hogwash. The air is cleaner, the water is cleaner, 43 million more Americans breathing clean air.


We have safer drinking water, safer food, 90 percent of our kids immunized for the first time. And we have set aside more land for permanent preservation than any administration since Theodore Roosevelt almost 100 years ago. I remember their guy was saying all the time, you know, You had 8 years; you did not do anything on health care. When we took office, Al and I, Medicare was supposed to go broke last year-broke, out of money, kaput, busted. It is now good for 25 more years. And we have added preventive care for prostate cancer and for breast cancer. We have revolutionized care for diabetes. The American Diabetes Association said what we did was the most important thing since the development of insulin. We have got the number of people without health insurance going down for the first time in 12 years, because of the Children's Health Insurance Program we insisted be in the Balanced Budget Act. Now, there is a difference here, and I will come to that. What does Gore say? Pass a real Patients' Bill of Rights; pass a Medicare prescription drug program that all our seniors can afford to buy into. Give all our kids health insurance and insure as many of the working parents as we can afford to insure. So every now and then-usually the facts have no impact on them. I almost admire that about them. Never mind the facts, they know what their line is, and they just say it. But they have kind of quit saying that. The dropout rate is down; the high school graduation is up; the college-going rate is at an all-time high, thanks in part to the biggest expansion in college aid in 50 years. The math, the reading, and the science scores are up; there has been a 300 percent increase in the last 3 years in African-American and Hispanic kids taking advanced placement tests. We have 800,000 kids now in after-school programs that were not there before we took office. We have got, thanks to the leadership of our Education Secretary, Dick Riley, all but one State have academic standards now against which they measure their kids and systems for identifying failing schools and turn them around. Yes, the work is done by the schools, and yes, most of the money comes from the States. But the way we have spent this money has made a significant contribution to the continuing improvement of education in America. So what is their answer to that? It is not like you do not have a choice here.


On crime they have committed to repeal the 100,000 police program. They say never mind the fact we have got the lowest crime rate in 26 years, the Federal Government has got no business doing that. Al Gore, he wants to put 50,000 more police on the street and keep going until America is the safest big country in the world. On the environment, Al Gore wants to build on what we have done, and he will do even better because the economy is stronger. They want to repeal my order setting aside 40 million roadless acres in the national forests and to weaken the clean air standards. If you want to do that, you should vote for them, if you really believe that I have hurt the economy so bad. But if I was trying to hurt the economy with the environmental policies I have, I have done a poor job of it. I made a pure mess of that if I was trying to mess the economy up with my environmental policy. On health care, they are against the Patients' Bill of Rights, against the Medicare drug program, against our program to expand coverage. Oh, yes, they run these ads, and they say, We are for a Patients' Bill of Rights, too. We are for as much of a Patients' Bill of Rights as the HMO lobby in Washington will let us be for -which means it is a bill of suggestions, because if you get hurt, you cannot sue. On the Medicare drugs, they say, We are for Medicare drugs, too. What they do not say is, We are for as broad a plan as the big drug companies will let us be for -so they do not lose their monopoly position. And who cares if they leave half the seniors out who needs these drugs. You need to tell people this. They have a choice. But if they want every senior in this country to have access to medicine, if they want a real Patients' Bill of Rights, if they want to keep improving the environment as we grow the economy, if they believe that we ought to be making, for example, fuel out of farm products and biomass-let me just tell you, the reason ethanol never caught on, even though we had a plant in Arkansas way back in 1980, is that it takes 7 gallons of gasoline to make 8 gallons of ethanol. But the Department of Agriculture is funding research that I believe will bear fruit in the next couple of years.


And when it happens they will crack the chemical mystery, and it will be just like when you turn crude oil into gasoline. Then you will be able to make 8 gallons of ethanol, and you will not even have to use corn-you can use rice hulls; you can use hay; you can use any kind of biomass fuel with one gallon of gasoline. And when that happens, we will all be going around getting 500 miles a gallon. Now, Al Gore will fund that and push that, and they will not . But you talk about something that could revolutionize life for America's farmers, change everything in rural America and in rural Arkansas, that is it. So that is what Gore wants to do. They think we can drill our way out of the energy problem we have got. And in education, they want to repeal our commitment to put 100,000 teachers in the classroom. They say the Federal Government should not be doing that. All I know is that when we passed class size standards in Arkansas in the early grades, the achievement of our children went up, and it is happening all over America. We have the biggest number of kids in the history of our country, and we need more teachers in those schools. So you have got a choice. If you want to take down the 100,000 police and take down the 100,000 teachers and not have a real Patients' Bill of Rights and not have a Medicare prescription drug program that helps all of our people and not have a tax deduction for the cost of college tuition and weaken the environmental standards, you have got a choice. But if you kind of like having safer streets and a cleaner environment and knowing your National Government is supporting school reforms that work and helping more people get access to health care while we grow the economy, you have got to vote for Al Gore and Joe Lieberman, and you need to tell the American people that. We have got these two big questions. Do you want to build on the prosperity and keep it going; do you want to build on the social progress and keep it going? And the third thing I'd like to say is this- and James Lee said this; it really meant a lot to me. You know, I have watched Rodney and James Lee for the last 20 years, and now they are maybe the two most popular people in the Cabinet. You know, James Lee is from Yell County; Rodney is from Lee County.


And I think, you know, one of the reasons that they do so well is they came from little towns, and they learned to talk to people instead of talking governmentese, and they understand human nature. And here is James Lee Witt up here giving you a civil rights speech about how he has changed FEMA. But what he proved is that FEMA could be both competent and reflective of America. And the truth is, the more reflective of America it got, the more competent it got. You know, I tried to make every American, even when they and, on many occasions, I am sure you, disagreed with some particular decision I made, I tried to make people feel at home with the White House, to know that I was pulling for ordinary Americans, that everybody-everybody-in this country interests counted, with the White House, with the Cabinet, with the decisions that were made. And I think it is really important that we keep moving forward to build one America. That is why I am for this hate crimes legislation and for employment nondiscrimination. That is why I am for stronger equal pay laws for women. That is why I think it is important that the Supreme Court continue to protect civil rights and human rights. This is a big deal in this election. They are against the hate crimes legislation. They are even against our attempts to strengthen the equal pay laws for women. And most people believe the only issue at stake in the Supreme Court is a woman's right to choose. That is at stake, by the way, and it will certainly change depending on whether Al Gore wins or loses this election. You can go to the bank on that, because there will be at least two appointments in the next 4 years. But something that could have a more profound effect on America is that there is already a majority of 5-4 on that Court, that is determined to limit the ability of our National Government to protect and advance the civil rights and basic public health, safety, and welfare of the United States of America. Already, they have invalidated a provision of the Brady law because it required local folks to help us check criminal backgrounds. They invalidated a provision of the Violence Against Women Act-the Violence Against Women Act-because it required local government to do something to support our enforcement of that. And in the last couple of weeks, they invalidated an anti-ENTITYdiscrimination law. Now, these are bills we even got the Republicans in Washington to vote for.


The Supreme Court is to the right of the Republican Congress-already. You have got to think about this, and you have got to talk to people about this. Now, it ought to be a happy election because nobody has to say anything bad about anybody else. Near as I can see, the Vice President has never one time questioned the character or the integrity of his opponents. I wish I could say the same thing for them about him. The only problem is, people are fixing to go to the polls, and there is still not absolute clarity about what the choice is, what the consequences are to real people and their families. And look, this is a-I do not know if we will have another election in my lifetime where we have got so much prosperity, so much social progress, the absence of crisis at home, the absence of threats to our security abroad. And I just want to echo one or two things that Dale Bumpers said. First, let me say a word about Joe Lieberman. I have known him for 30 years. I met him when he was running for State senate, and I went to law school, in Connecticut. More than anybody else in the Congress, I think he clearly understands the approach that we brought to the country in 1992, whether you call it the New Democratic approach or the DLC approach or whatever. Basically, it was the idea that we would stop making false choices in Washington and try to unify our country. We could bring the deficit down and increase investment in education. We could be for a clean environment and for a growing economy. But you have got to be disciplined to do that. And he understands as well as anybody that the real appeal of our opponents in this election is, It is your money; let us just take it all now. And they want to talk about spending all this surplus right now. You may have won $10 million. If you went out and spent the 10 million, you should vote for Bush and Cheney. If not, you should vote for Gore and Lieberman. And what Dale said about the Vice President is absolutely right. But let me say, I think I know something about economic policy. And I hope I have learned something about decisionmaking and about the world at large. It matters whether you know about these issues.


A lot of reasons that these things have piled up, these good, positive changes, is that every day we had all these folks in the White House and all these folks in the Cabinet and Al Gore and I, we were working. We treated this like a job. We showed up, and we worked like crazy for 8 years. I got the gray hair to prove it. We worked at it. But it also matters what kind of experience you have. John Kennedy said the Presidency was preeminently a place of decisionmaking. Al Gore makes good decisions. When he had to come off the campaign trail a few days ago-we had all that trouble in the Middle East-and we were sitting in this room and for about 30 minutes he was asking questions from the various members of our national security team, I thought to myself, I would feel absolutely comfortable under any circumstances, with any crisis in the world, knowing that this man had to make the call. And that is a big deal, because it is still a world with real challenges out there. And you know as well as I do that if everybody understood the differences and the positions like I just explained them to you today, we'd win. Do you have any doubt of that? Okay, so I will say again, you can win this election in Arkansas for Al Gore and Joe Lieberman if you want to bad enough. And you just think about what we have got. We have got a chance, as Dale said, that at least in my lifetime we have never had, and we may not have it again in our lifetime, to literally build the future of our dreams for our kids. Do you want to keep this prosperity going and extend it to the people who have been left behind? Do you want to build on the progress of the last 8 years? Do you want to keep doing it as one America, keep bringing people together? Do you want to vote for somebody who is experienced and solid and proven, who will work hard, who knows a lot, who understands the future? You just have one choice. You have got 2 days to make it clear. You will be proud you did for the rest of your life. Thank you, and God bless you.


I have sought this opportunity to address you because it is clearly my duty to call your attention to the present cost of living and to urge upon you with all the persuasive force of which I am capable the legislative measures which would be most effective in controlling it and bringing it down. The prices the people of this country are paying for everything that it is necessary for them to use in order to live are not justified by a shortage in supply, either present or prospective, and are in many cases artificially and deliberately created by vicious practises which ought immediately be checked by law. They constitute a burden upon us which is the more unbearable because we know that it is wilfully imposed by those who have the power and that it can by vigorous public action be greatly lightened and made to square with the actual conditions of supply and demand. Some of the methods by which these' prices are produced are already illegal, some of them criminal, and those who employ them will be energetically proceeded against ; but others have not yet been brought under the law, and should be dealt with at once by legislation. I need not recite the particulars of this critical matter, the prices demanded and paid at the sources of supply, at the factory, in the food markets, at the shops, in the restaurants and hotels, alike in the city and in the village. They are familiar to you. They are the talk of every domestic circle and of every group of casual acquaintances even. of familiar knowledge, also, that a process has set in which is likely, unless something is done, to push prices and rents and the whole cost of living higher and yet higher, in a vicious cycle to which there is no logical or natural end. With the increase in the prices of the necessaries of life come demands for increase in wages demands which are justified if there be no other means of enabling men to live. Upon the increase of wages there follows close an increase in the price of the products whose producers have been accorded the increase not a proportionate increase, for the manufacturer does not content himself with that but an increase considerably greater that the added wage cost and for which the added wage cost is oftentimes hardly more than an excuse. The laborers who do not get an increase in pay when they demand it are likely to strike, and the strike only makes matters worse.

Address to Congress On the High Cost of Living


It checks production, it affects the railways, it prevents distribution and strips the markets, so that there is presently nothing to buy, and there is another excessive addition to prices resulting from the scarcity. These are facts and forces with which we have become only too familiar; but we are not justified because of our familiarity with them, or because of any hasty and shallow conclusion that they are natural and inevitable, in sitting inactively by and letting them work their fatal results if there is anything that we can do to check, correct, or reverse them. I have sought this opportunity to inform the Congress what the Executive is doing by way of remedy and control, and to suggest where effective legal remedies are lacking and may be supplied. We must, I think, frankly admit that there is no complete immediate remedy to be had from legislation and executive action. The free processes of supply and demand will not operate of themselves, and no legislative or Executive action can force them into full and natural operation until there is peace. All the world is waiting with what unnerving fears and haunting doubts who can adequately say? waiting to know when it comes a peace in which each nation shall make shift for itself as it can, or a peace buttressed 'and supported by the will and concert of the nations that have the purpose and the power to do and to enforce what is right. Politically, economically, socially, the world is on the operating table, and it has not been possible to administer any anaesthetic. It even watches the capital operation upon which it knows that its hope of healthful life depends. It cannot think its business out or make plans or give intelligent and provident direction to its affairs while in such a case. There can be no confidence in industry, no calculable basis for credits, no confident buying or systematic selling, no certain prospect of employment, no normal restoration of business, no hopeful attempt at reconstruction or the proper reassembling of the dislocated elements of enterprise until peace has been established and, so far as may be, guaranteed.


Our national life has no doubt been less radically disturbed and dismembered than the national life of other peoples whom the war more directly affected, with all its terrible ravaging and destructive force, but it has been, nevertheless, profoundly affected and disarranged, and our industries, our credits, our productive capacity, our economic processes are inextricably interwoven with those of other nations and peoples most intimately of all with the nations and peoples upon whom the chief burden and confusion of the war fell and who are now most dependent upon the cooperative action of the world. We are just now shipping more goods out of our ports to foreign markets than we ever shipped before not foodstuffs merely, but stuffs and materials of every sort ; but this is no index of what our foreign sales will continue to be or of the effect the volume of our exports will have on supplies and prices. It is impossible yet to predict how far or how long foreign purchasers will be able to find the money or the credit to pay for or sustain such purchases on such a scale; how soon or to what extent foreign manufacturers can resume their former production, foreign farmers get their accustomed crops from their own fields, foreign mines resume their former output, foreign merchants set up again their old machinery of trade with the ends of the earth. All these things must remain uncertain until peace is established and the nations of the world have concerted the methods by which normal life and industry are to be restored. All that we shall do, in the meantime, to restrain profiteering and put the life of our people upon a tolerable footing will be makeshift and provisional. There can be no settled conditions here or elsewhere until the treaty of peace is out of the way and the work of liquidating the war has become the chief concern of our Government and of other Governments of the world. Until then business will inevitably remain speculative, and sway now this way and again that, with heavy losses or heavy gains, as it may chance, and. the consumer must take care of both the gains and the losses. There can be no peace prices so long as our whole financial and economic system is on a war basis. Europe will not, cannot, recoup her capital or put her restless, distracted peoples to work until she knows exactly where she stands in respect of peace; and what we will do is for her the chief question upon which her quietude of mind and confidence of purpose depend.


While there is any possibility that the peace terms may be changed or may be held long in abeyance or may not be enforced because of divisions of opinion among the powers associated against Germany, it is idle to look for permanent relief. But what we can do we should do, and should do at once. And there is a great deal that we can do, provisional though it be. Wheat shipments and credits to facilitate the purchase of our wheat can and will be limited and controlled in such a way as not to raise, but rather to lower, the price of flour here. The Government has the power, within certain limits, to regulate that. We cannot deny wheat to foreign peoples who are in dire need of it, and we do not wish to do so; but, fortunately, though the wheat crop is not what we hoped it would be, it is abundant, if handled with provident care. The price of wheat is lower in the United States than in Europe, and can with proper management be kept so. By way of immediate relief, surplus stocks of both food and clothing in the hands of the Government will be sold, and, of course, sold at prices at which there is no profit. And by way of a more permanent correction of prices, surplus stocks in private hands will be drawn out of storage and put upon the market. Fortunately, under the terms of the Food Control act the hoarding of foodstuffs can be checked and prevented; and they will be, with the greatest energy. Foodstuffs can be drawn out of storage and sold by legal action, which the Department of Justice will institute wherever necessary; but so soon as the situation is systematically dealt with, it is not likely that the courts will often have to be resorted to. Much of the accumulating of stocks has no doubt been due to the sort of speculation which always results from an uncertainty. Great surpluses were accumulated because it was impossible to foresee what the market would disclose and dealers were determined to be ready for whatever might happen, as well as eager to reap the full advantage of rising prices. They will now see the disadvantage, as well as the danger, of holding off from the new process of distribution. Some very interesting and significant facts with regard to stocks on hand and the rise of prices in the face of abundance have been disclosed by, the inquiries of the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Labor, and the Federal Trade Commission.


They seem to justify the statement that in the case of many necessary commodities effective means have been found to prevent the normal operation of the law of supply and demand. In the combined total of a number of the most important foods in dry and cold storage the excess is quite 19 per cent. The supply of fresh eggs on hand in June of this year, for example, was greater by nearly Jo per cent than the supply on hand at the same time last year, and yet the wholesale price was 40 cents a dozen as against 3o cents a year ago. The stock of frozen fowls had increased more than 298 per cent., and yet the price had risen also from 34 1/2 cents per pound to 37 1/2 cents. The supply of creamery butter had increased 129 per cent., and the price from 41 to 53 cents per pound. The supply of salt beef had been augumented 3 per cent., and the price had gone up from $34 a barrel to $36 a barrel. Canned corn had increased in stock nearly 92 per cent., and had remained substantially the same in price. In a few foodstuffs the prices had declined, but in nothing like the proportion in which the supply had increased. For example, the stock of canned tomatoes had increased 102 per cent., and yet the price had declined only 25 cents per dozen cans. In some cases there had been the usual result of an increase of price following a decrease of supply, but in almost every instance the increase of price had been disproportionate to the decrease in stock. The Attorney General has been making a careful study of the situation as a whole and of the laws that can be applied to better it, and is convinced that, under the stimulation and temptation of exceptional circumstances, combinations of producers and combinations of traders have been formed for the control of supplies and of prices which are clearly in restraint of trade, and against these, prosecutions will be promptly instituted and actively pushed which will in all likelihood have a prompt corrective effect. There is reason to believe that the prices of leather, of coal, of lumber, and of textiles have been materially affected by forms of concert and cooperation among the producers and marketers of these and other universally necessary commodities which it will be possible to redress. No watchful or energetic effort will be spared to accomplish this necessary result. I trust that there will not be many cases in which prosecution will be necessary.


Public action will no doubt cause many who have perhaps unwittingly adopted illegal methods to abandon them promptly and of their own motion. And publicity can accomplish a great deal. The purchaser can often take care of himself if he knows the facts and influences he is dealing with; and purchasers are not disinclined to do anything, either singly or collectively, that may be necessary for their selfprotection. with information regarding the actual supply of particular commodities that is in existence and available, and with regard to supplies which are in existence but not available because of hoarding, and with regard to the methods of price fixing which are being used by dealers in certain foodstuffs and other necessaries. There can be little doubt that retailers are in part sometimes in large part responsible for exorbitant prices; and it is quite practicable for the Government through the agencies I have mentioned to supply the public with full information as 'to the prices at which retailers buy and as to the cost of transportation they pay, in order that it may be known just what margin of profit they, are demanding. Opinion and concerted action on the part of purchasers can probably do the rest. That is, these agencies may perform this indispensable service provided the Congress will supply them with the necessary funds to prosecute their inquiries and keep their price lists up to date. Hitherto the appropriation committee of the Houses have not always, I fear, seen the full value of these inquiries, and the departments and commissions have been very much straitened for means to render this service. That adequate funds be provided by appropriation for this purpose, and provided as promptly as possible, is one of the means of greatly ameliorating the present distressing conditions of livelihood that I have come to urge, in this attempt to concert with you the best ways to serve the country in this emergency. It is one of the absolutely necessary means, underlying many others, and can be supplied at once. There are many perfectly legitimate methods by which the Government can exercise restraint and guidance. Let me urge, in the first place, that the present Food Control Act should be extended, both as to the period of time during which it shall remain in operation and as to the commodities to which it shall apply.


Its provisions against hoarding should be made to apply not only to food, but also to feedstuffs, to fuel, to clothing, and to many other commodities which are indispensably necessaries of life. As it stands now, it is limited in operation to the period of the war and becomes inoperative upon the formal, proclamation of peace. But I should judge that it was clearly within the constitutional power of the Congress to make similar permanent provisions and regulations with regard to all goods destined for interstate commerce, and to exclude them from interstate shipment if the requirements of law are not complied with. The abuses that have grown up in the manipulation of prices by the withholding of foodstuffs and other necessaries of life cannot otherwise be effectively prevented. May I not call attention to the fact, also, that, although, the present act prohibits profiteering, the prohibition is accompanied by no penalty? It is clearly in the public interest that a penalty should be provided which will be persuasive. To the same end I earnestly recommend, in the second place, that the Congress pass a law regulating cold storage as it is regulated, for example, by the laws of the state of New Jersey, which limit the time during which goods may be kept in storage, prescribe the methods of disposing of them if kept beyond the permitted period, and require that goods released from storage shall in all cases bear the date of their receipt. It would materially add to the serviceability of the law, for the purpose we now have in view, if it were also prescribed that all goods released from storage for interstate shipment should have plainly marked upon each package the selling or market price at which they went in storage. By this means the purchaser would always be able to learn what profits stood between him and the producer or the wholesale dealer. It would serve as a useful example to the other communities of the country, as well as greatly relieve local distress, if the Congress were to regulate all such matters very fully for the District of Columbia, where its legislative authority is without limit. I would also recommend that it be required that all goods destined for interstate commerce should in every case, where their form or package makes it possible, be plainly marked with the price at which they left the hands of the producer. Such a requirement would bear a close analogy to certain provisions of the Pure Food Act, by which it is required that certain detailed information be given on the labels of packages of food and drugs.


And it does not seem to me that we can confine ourselves to detailed measures of this kind, if .it is indeed our purpose to assume national control of the processes of distribution. I take it for granted that that is our purpose and our duty. We need not hesitate to handle a national question in a national way. We should go beyond the measures I have suggested. We should formulate a law requiring a Federal license of all corporations engaged in interstate commerce and embodying in the license, or in the conditions under which it is to be issued, specific regulations designed to secure competitive selling and prevent unconscionable profits in the method of marketing. Such a law would afford a welcome opportunity to effect other much needed reforms in the' business of interstate shipment and in the methods of corporations which are engaged in it ; but for the moment I confine my recommendations to the object immediately in hand, which is to lower the cost of living. May I not add that there is a bill now pending before Congress which, if passed, would do much to stop speculation and to prevent the fraudulent methods of promotion by which our people are annually fleeced of many millions of hard earned money? I refer to the measure proposed by the Capital Issues Committee for the control of security issues. It is a measure formulated by men who know the actual conditions of business, and its adoption would serve a great and beneficent purpose. We are dealing, gentlemen of the Congress, I need hardly say, with, very critical and very difficult matters. We should go forward with confidence along the road we see, but we shall also seek to comprehend the whole of the scene amidst which we act. There is no ground for some of the fearful forecasts I hear uttered about me, but the condition of the world is unquestionably very grave and we should face it comprehendingly. The situation of our own country is exceptionally fortunate. We of all peoples can afford to keep our heads and to determine upon moderate sensible courses, of action which will insure us against the passions and distempers which are working such deep unhappiness for some of the distressed nations on the other side of the sea. But we may be involved in their distresses unless we help, and help with energy and intelligence. The world must pay for the appalling destruction wrought by the Great War, and we are part of the world. We must pay our share. For five years now the industry of all Europe has been slack and disordered.


The normal crops have not been produced; the normal quantity of manufactured goods has not been turned out. Not until there are the usual crops and the usual production of manufactured goods on the other side of the Atlantic can Europe return to the former conditions; and it was upon the former conditions, not the present, that our economic relations with Europe were built up. We must face the fact that unless we help Europe to get back to her normal life and production a chaos will ensue there which will inevitably be communicated to this country. For the present, it is manifest, we must quicken, not slacken, our own production. Upon our steadfastness and selfpossession depend the affairs of nations everywhere. It is in this supreme crisis the crisis for all mankind that America must prove her mettle. In the presence of a world confused, distracted, she must show herself selfpossessed, selfcontained, capable of sober and effective action. She saved Europe by her action in arms; she must now save it by her action in peace. In saving Europe she will save herself, as she did upon the battlefields of the war. The calmness and capacity with which she deals with and masters the problems of peace will be the final test and proof of her place among the peoples of the world. And, if only in our own interest, we must help the people overseas. We must keep her going or thousands of our shops and scores of our mines must close. There is no such thing as letting her go to ruin without ourselves sharing in the disaster. In such circumstances, face to face with such tests, passion must be discarded. Passion and a disregard for the rights of others have no place in the counsels of a free people. We need light, not heat, in these solemn times of selfexamination and saving action. The world has just' destroyed the arbitrary force of a military junta. It will live under no other. All that is arbitrary and coercive is in the discard. Those who seek to employ it only prepare their own destruction. We cannot hastily and overnight revolutionize all the processes of our economic life. These are days of deep excitement and of extravagant speech; but with us these are things of the surface. Everyone who is in real touch with the silent masses of our great people knows that the old strong fibre and steady selfcontrol are still there, firm against violence or any distempered action that would throw their affairs into confusion.


I am serenely confident that they will readily find themselves, no matter what the circumstances, and that they will address themselves to the tasks of peace with the same devotion and the same stalwart preference for what is right that they displayed to the admiration of the whole world in the midst of war. And I entertain another confident hope. I have spoken today chiefly of measures of imperative regulation and legal compulsion, of prosecutions and the sharp correction of selfish processes; and these no doubt are necessary. But there are other forces that we may count on besides those resident in the Department of Justice. We have just fully awakened to what has been going on and to the influences, many of them very selfish and sinister, that have been producing high prices and imposing an intolerable burden on the mass of our people. To have brought it all into the open will accomplish the greater part of the result we seek. I appeal with entire confidence to our producers, our middlemen, and our merchants to deal fairly with the people. It is their opportunity to show that they comprehend, that they intend to act justly, and that they have the public interest sincerely at heart. And I have no doubt that housekeepers all over the country and every one who buys the things he daily stands in need of will presently exercise a greater vigilance, a more thoughtful economy, a more discriminating care as to the market in which he buys or the merchant with whom he trades than he has hitherto exercised. I believe, too, that the more extreme leaders of organized labor will presently yield to a sober second thought and, like the great mass of their associates, think and act like true Americans. They will see that strikes undertaken at this critical time are certain to make matters worse, not better worse for them and for everybody else. The worst thing, the most fatal thing, that can be done now is to stop or interrupt production or to interfere with the distribution of goods by the railways and the shipping of the country. We are all involved in the distressing results of the high cost of living, and we must unite, not divide, to correct it.


Let me say, first of all, I thank you for that. And I was thinking when I was watching David Mixner make those remarks that 30 years ago, when I let him sleep on my floor when we were much younger men in England, and I did not charge him a nickel for it I never dreamed that either of us would be in this place tonight doing these things. David's life has taken a lot of twists and turns since then. He is had his ups and his downs like all the rest of us. But I can tell you something, when I met him when he was young, I thought I had never met a person whose heart burned with the fire of social justice so strongly. He has never forgotten the roots of his childhood. He has never forgotten not only the pain that he and other gay and lesbian Americans have endured; he also cares for other people who are dispossessed and downtrodden and underrepresented and often forgotten. And tonight I was watching him, and he introduced his wonderful sister who has also been a friend of mine for nearly 30 years now and I was thinking how fortunate we are in this country at this time, with all the things we have had to do, to have had his energy, his heart, his devotion, his passion. It was 8 years ago that he and Scott Hitt and a few other ANGLE members met with me this week 8 years ago, here. Then in May of '92 we had a big event out here, and some of you were there. And I told you that I had a vision of America, and you were part of it, that we were all part of the same community. Well, tonight I thank you for helping to make that happen. I thank my good friend Governor Gray Davis for the leadership he has given in California. I thank our leader in the House of Representatives, who when David made that crack about the Canterbury Tales and how we are known by our traveling companions it kind of made me feel sorry for Dick Gephardt. You talk about a guy that gets up and goes to work every day under adverse conditions and continues to do the right thing, he does. We just may need five more in the company to make it a much better trip. I want to thank Bill Melamed, Skip Paul, Gwen Baba, Roberta Bennett for putting this together. Sean Maloney, Karen Tramontano, Minyon Moore, Fred Hochberg, Richard Socarides, Marsha Scott.

Remarks at an Access Now for Gay and Lesbian Equality Dinner in Beverly Hills, California


And I want to thank Scott Hitt, especially, who is been the Chair of the ENTITY council. He is having his last meeting as Chair on Monday, and he is been magnificent, and we ought to give him a big hand. I'd also like to thank the Gay Men's Chorus. I was back there feverishly trying to write down all those lines. I want to call Hillary and give her those best lines tonight. You know, I am trying to remember them all. If someone would furnish me with the lyrics of that song, I would be eternally grateful. You know, I'd like to put what brought us all here tonight just for a minute. I know a lot of other people are going to speak and have a lot of great things to say, but I would like to put this in, just for a moment, in the context of history and the larger context of our future, and how the fight for equal rights and equal opportunity and full participation to build one America fits in with all the other things we should be doing as a country, and how what we are at home will determine what we can do around the world in the new millennium. When I ran for President in 1992, most Americans felt things were pretty dismal in this country. The economy was in bad shape; the society was divided; all the social indicators crime, welfare, and other things were going in the wrong direction. Politics was, as we all remember from the convention they had back then on the other side, a matter of division, you know, just drive a wedge in society and make sure your wedge is bigger than their wedge; you get more votes, you win; and if everybody is all torn up and upset, who cares, you are in power. And over and over and over again, things in Washington were sort of repeating themselves like a broken record. And I felt that we could do better with a unifying vision. That is why I set out a vision of America, and you were part of it. But I also had a vision that we could build an economy that was good for working people and employers. I believed we could build a country where we could grow the economy and make the environment better, not worse.


I have always believed that the real purpose of life and growth is to try and figure out how to develop these unifying visions and to move closer to them and to break down all these funny walls we have to put up in our minds to organize life into little boxes so we can figure out how to get from here to there. And, you know, in '92, the American people just sort of took a chance on me and Al Gore. I mean, it was an argument we made and there was no evidence for it because the other crowd had been in so long. We just made an argument. A month after we had that meeting out here in May of '92, I won the California primary. And the headline the next day was that the exit poll showed that all the people that voted for me really wanted Ross Perot to be President. And I was in third place. And then he and President Bush got in a fight about who messed up whose daughter's wedding or something. You remember that? I mean, it was an amazing and I thought to myself, people do not have jobs; they are being foreclosed on; why are you guys fighting about this? The wedding went off without a hitch. What is this about? And somehow the American people decided to give me a chance, decided to give Al and Hillary and Tipper and all the people that came in the administration a chance. I guess what I'd like to say tonight, first of all not with arrogance, but with humility is that we now know that there is evidence that we are right and that pulling things together and moving forward actually works. We have the lowest unemployment in 29 years, the lowest welfare rolls in 32 years, the lowest poverty rates in 20 years, the lowest crime rates in 26 years, the first back-to-back budget surpluses in 42 years, the highest homeownership in history, the longest peacetime expansion in history. And you have to 15 million Americans took leave under the family leave law. And when it was vetoed in the previous administration, they said, Oh, well, we have got to veto this bill because if we let people take time off from work when their babies are born or their parents are sick, why, it will ruin the small business economy. And every year, we have set a new record for new small businesses in America. Ninety percent of our kids are immunized against serious diseases for the first time, our young children.


We are giving 5 million more of them health insurance. A hundred thousand young people served in AmericCorps. And along the way, we gave America the most diverse, truly representative government by far in the history of America. That included you and everybody else. What I want to say to you is, this is not an argument anymore. We have evidence. And so you should be of good cheer. And when you look ahead to these elections in 2000, you should be absolutely sure that anybody who is not with you knows they are doing it in the face of the evidence. And because what really bothers me about what is going on in Washington now, it is like there are all these people out there making decisions in the congressional majority as if the last 6 1/2 years just did not happen. And that bothers me. So I say to you, when they say, looking at the Vice President and our party, Well, America needs a change, I agree with that. America always needs a change. We have got a lot more to do on your agenda. America needs a change. You mark my words, the world is changing so fast in how we work and live and relate to each other and folks around the globe, that the world will change. And are we going to use this unprecedented moment, the chance of a lifetime to say, okay, what are our big challenges out there, and seize them? Or are we going to do what got us into so much trouble in the first place? And I want to try to put the things that you are thinking about now into that context. What are the really big challenges facing America that affect you, too? One, the aging of America I hate it because I am doing it. But I am the oldest of the baby boomers. The number of people over 65 will double in the next 30 years; there will be two people working for every one person retired and drawing Social Security. Now, we have never been in a position, until now, in my lifetime, to deal with that challenge. But we now have the ability to run the life of Social Security out 50 years, to add more than a decade to the life of Medicare, to cover prescription drugs for elderly people threequarters of them cannot afford quality prescription drugs today and to do it in a way that all of you who are younger than that should rejoice about.


Because I can tell you those of us in the baby boom generation are plagued by the notion that our retirement will be so expensive for our country that it will burden our children and our ability to give our grandchildren the childhoods they deserve. But we can fix it now. So I gave them a plan to do it. we have got the largest and most diverse group of children in our school in history. We never had over 53 million children in schools, and they come from more different backgrounds than ever before. And that will be a godsend to 21st century America if, but only if, they all have a world-class education. And I think they are entitled to it. So I gave Congress a plan to build and modernize 6,000 schools and hire 100,000 teachers for smaller classes; make sure all the kids had computers in their classrooms; make sure we stopped social promotion, but had after-school programs for the kids who needed it; and more of these charter schools that California has led the way in bringing to our children. Funny thing, maybe Mr. Gephardt will talk about this later, but one of the most interesting things is last year, right before the election in '98, they got religion on this education program. And they supported this big downpayment on our plan for 100,000 teachers, and we funded 30,000 of those teachers. And you had those real liberals, like Mr. Armey going home. This is serious business; ask Dick. We have made a big downpayment on 100,000 teachers; we are going to put 30,000 teachers out there, and this is a great Republican program because there is no bureaucracy in it. We just give it to the schools, and they hire the teachers. They thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread before the election. They have just voted not only to refuse to fund any more of those but to no longer earmark the money for the 30,000. I am worried about the families of our country. I am worried about all these working people. How are they going to have the child care they need? How are they going to have the health care they need? Why do not we pass the Patients' Bill of Rights that protects working people? There is a difference between the two parties on that, and I think it is important.


We are finally going to get a chance we have been working for 2 years finally going to get a chance to vote on the Patients' Bill of Rights in the House next week. I am very worried about this fabulous economy, because we have left some people behind. Yes, we have got the lowest poverty rate in 20 years, but there are still people in places that have not felt this recovery. If you come from a lot of you come from other places, the Mississippi Delta, Appalachia, the Indian reservations, many of the inner cities. So I want to do some things that I think will change all that. I want to, first of all, give Americans with money the same incentives to invest in poor areas in America we give them to invest in poor areas around the world. I hope in the near future we will be able to make access to the Internet as universal as telephone access is. It will have a huge impact on the economy. Last night I was in northern California, and I was with some people who work with eBay. A lot of you probably buy things on eBay. And I learned that over and above the employees of that company, there are now over 20,000 people, including a lot of people that used to be on welfare, who actually make a living buying and selling things, trading on eBay, over 20,000 people. Well, I am telling you, that means nothing at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, where the unemployment rate is 73 percent. And we ought not to quit until every American has the chance to participate in our prosperity if he or she is willing to work. I want you to keep a checklist in your mind, and when I get to the end, ask yourself what is all this about, what is it got to do with you as Americans? This is part of being part of America. I think we need to do more, not less, for the environment. The Vice President has this livability agenda to deal with, using all kinds of computer technology to alleviate traffic congestion, to buy more green space in urban areas. We are trying to lead the world toward recognizing that this global warming is real, but that you do not have to end your economic growth, because now there are technologies available to allow us to grow the economy as we reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. There are people in the other party who believe that this is some sort of subversive plot to wreck America's economic future.


Not very long ago, I came out here and went to San Bernardino, to the Inland Empire, and we announced a housing development for low income working people in which the developers pledged, by the use of energy conservation technologies, to cut the utility bills of these low income working people by 40 percent. And I just got a report that the average reduction is 60 percent. That is good for the economy. That is not bad for the economy, and it is good for the environment. Let me just mention a couple of other things. I am very concerned that America, even though we have got the lowest crime rate in 26 years, is still a pretty dangerous country compared to other countries. We should be the safest big country in the world. We welcome all kinds of people. Why are not we the safest country in the world? Because we have not taken reasonable steps, not enough of them, to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and children. And because, frankly, even though we have put 100,000 more police on the street in community policing, we have still got neighborhoods that do not have enough coverage. put 50,000 more police officers out there to prevent crime in the highest crime areas of the country and to deal with guns and so forth. I have tried, from Bosnia to Kosovo to the Middle East to Northern Ireland, to stand up for the idea that people ought not to be murdered or moved wholesale because of their race or their religion. We have worked to support other countries and to build the capacity in Africa to prevent future Rwandas, because people ought not to be murdered because of what tribe they are in. And you can define tribe however you want. We are about to start a great debate on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, to end nuclear testing, something that Dwight Eisenhower and John Kennedy wanted us to do years ago. We are finally going to have a chance to do it. In so many of these areas, there are partisan differences which surprise me. And let me come back to you. Why are we for the hate crimes legislation? Why are we for ENDA? Because if we cannot build one America, it is going to be very hard to have a unifying force that will deal with every other one of these issues. And that is what I want you to think about.


Do not you think that it is interesting that here we are on the verge of this new millennium with all these absolutely breathtaking technological breakthroughs that people who are technologically challenged, like me, can hardly keep up with? I mean, is not it amazing to you that we have modernity is bursting out all over in the form of high technology. And yet, the world's largest problem and America's largest problem, that you can see when those kids got shot at that Jewish school and that Filipino postalworker was murdered here; that you could see when that guy who said he belonged to a church that did not believe in God but did believe in white supremacy killed all those people of color and wounded others in Illinois and Indiana; that you could see when Matthew Shepard was murdered and James Byrd was torn apart; and that you can see in the tribal slaughters of Rwanda, and the persecution of the Kosovar Albanians or the Bosnian Muslims or the fights in Northern Ireland or the continued agonies of the Middle East here we are on the verge of this great modern world, where we can make movies with virtual reality now, and virtual reality seems sometimes more real than what is real, and the biggest problem we have got is the primitive, ageold fear and hatred and dehumanization of the other people who are not like us. And so I say I am nearly done; I just want to say this I am going to do everything I can, every day that I have, to remind people of that, that we have to be one America. We can have honest differences over issues, but we cannot have honest differences about whether we share a common humanity. And we cannot be under the illusion that either material prosperity or technological breakthroughs alone can purge the darkness in our hearts. I believe with all my heart that we can find a way to marry prosperity and peace and humanity. But we must have a unifying vision. I want to say, again, I am grateful to people who have worked in my administration who have made me more alive to the concerns of your community, not only those who themselves are gay and lesbian, but others, beginning with my Vice President, who has been terrific on all of that in ways you will never know. But people are still scared of people who are not like them. And other people are scared of themselves, and they are afraid they will not count unless they have got somebody to look down on.


I thought for a minute you were going to say I was your favorite rabbi, but. I appreciate you giving me a chance to come. I too want to thank Mr. Saban for his vision and for sponsoring this forum. I am honored to be with you. Justice Breyer, I am pleased to see you yet again. I thank Ambassador Indyk. Minister Mofaz, it is good to see you, sir, and I appreciate you being here for this forum. I want to thank the Members of Congress who have joined us, members of the diplomatic corps, and of course, the distinguished guests. The Saban Forum is one of the world's premier venues for discussion on the Middle East. I thank you for the debates you provoke and the differences you have made. And I am honored to be with you. Over the past 8 years, I have had the privilege to see the Middle East up close. I have stood on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, and I have hiked the cliffs of Masada. I have enjoyed dinner in the desert of Abu Dhabi and prayed at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. I have looked into the eyes of courageous elected leaders from Iraq, Lebanon, Israel, and the Palestinian Territories. I have been convinced that no region is more fundamental to the security of America or the peace in the world than the Middle East. a Middle East where our friends are strengthened and the extremists are discredited, where economies are open and prosperity is widespread, and where all people enjoy the life of liberty that is the universal gift of an Almighty God. From our earliest days as a nation, the Middle East has played a central role in American foreign policy. One of America's first military engagements as an independent nation was with the Barbary pirates. One of our first consulates was in Tangiers. Some of the most fateful choices made by American Presidents have involved the Middle East, including President Truman's decision to recognize Israel 60 years ago this past May. In the decades that followed that brave choice, American policy in the Middle East was shaped by the realities of the cold war. Together with strong allies in the Middle East, we faced down and defeated the threat of communism to the region. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the primary threat to America and the region became violent religious extremism.

Remarks at the Saban Forum


Through painful experience, it became clear that the old approach of promoting stability is unsuited to this new danger, and that the pursuit of security at the expense of liberty would leave us with neither one. Across the Middle East, many who sought a voice in the future of their countries found the only places open to dissent were radical mosques. Many turned to terror as a source of empowerment. And as the new century dawned, the violent currents swirling beneath the Middle East began to surface. In the Holy Land, the dashed expectations resulting from the collapse of the Camp David peace talks had given way to the second intifada. Palestinian suicide bombers struck with horrific frequency and lethality. They murdered innocent Israelis at a pizza parlor or aboard buses or in the middle of a Passover Seder. Israeli Defense Forces responded with large-scale operations. And in 2001, more than 500 Israelis and Palestinians were killed. Politically, the Palestinian Authority was led by a terrorist who stole from his people and walked away from peace. In Israel, Ariel Sharon was elected to fight terror and pursue a greater Israel policy that allowed for no territorial concessions. Neither side could envision a return to negotiations or the realistic possibility of a two-state solution. Elsewhere in the Middle East, Saddam Hussein had begun his third decade as the dictator of Iraq, a reign that included invading two neighbors, developing and using weapons of mass destruction, attempting to exterminate Marsh Arabs and many Kurds, paying the families of suicide bombers, systematically violating U.N. resolutions, and firing routinely at British and U.S. aircraft patrolling a no-fly zone. Syria continued its occupation of Lebanon, with some 30,000 troops on Lebanese soil. Libya sponsored terror and pursued weapons of mass destruction. And in Iran, the prospect for of reform was fading, the regime's sponsorship of terror continued, and its pursuit of nuclear weapons was largely unchecked. Throughout the region, suffering and stagnation were rampant. The Arab Human Development Report revealed a bleak picture of high unemployment, poor education, high mortality rates for mothers, and almost no investment in technology. Above all, the Middle East suffered a deep deficit in freedom. Most people had no choice and no voice in choosing their leaders. Women enjoyed few rights, and there was little conversation about democratic change. Against this backdrop, the terrorist movement was growing in strength and in ambition.

Remarks at the Saban Forum


As we end July, it is the most deadly month for U.S. troops since the war began in 2001. It almost feels like a slippery slope. If I did not think that it was important for our national security to finish the job in Afghanistan, then I would pull them all out today, because I have to sign letters to these family members when a loved one is lost. We now have a strategy that can work. We have got one of our best generals in Dave Petraeus on the ground. I have been very clear that we are going to move forward on a process of training Afghans so that they can provide for their own security and that, by the middle of next year, by 2011, we are going to start thinning out our troops and giving Afghans more responsibility. I will tell you that I have not met a single young man or woman who is in uniform right now who is served in Afghanistan who does not think that that is an important mission. Why is this economy now not growing the way people in the country would want it to grow? So that means that if you are in a deeper hole, it is going to take longer to come back. When we have lost as many jobs as we have, when you have seen as much hardship, people losing values in their homes and their 401Ks, et cetera, people have every right to be scared, to be angry, to be frustrated. And I took this job because I was convinced that I could solve these problems, not just short term, but long term. And I do not expect the American people to be satisfied when we are only half of the way back. We have got to make sure that we deal with the long-term unemployment that is out there, which is a huge problem. A federal judge backed up your opinion of the Arizona immigration law. The mission of controlling our immigration process is absolutely correct. And that is why my administration's actually put more resources on the border to the point where we now have more of everything -- border patrols, more overflights, and, you know, more immigration agents. You name it, we have got more of them on the borders. And we want to work with Arizona. I understand the frustration of the people of Arizona.

Interview With Harry Smith on CBS' Early Show


I really just wanted to say that I think we had a good trip, and I am sorry I put you through so much. And I appreciate how much work was done on it. I thought we might just talk for a few minutes about it, kind of in a wrap-up fashion. But before we do, I wanted to say that after I got back on the plane, I called Prime Minister Rabin and ENTITY Mubarak to report on my meeting with Asad, and I attempted to call but was unsuccessful in reaching King Fahd I am going to talk to him probably tomorrow morning just to tell them what had gone on in the meeting and what the statement was and get their sense of what was going to happen. Rabin had watched it live. Rabin had watched it live. I think he did, but we had kind of a staticy connection, so I could not be sure. But everybody seemed to be pretty positive about it. Anyway, looking back over the trip, I can say without any hesitation that it certainly met all of our objectives when we went on the trip. And I think there were basically three big elements to it. The first was the prospect of really uniting Europe for the first time since nations have been on the landscape there. I am very encouraged by the initial reaction to the Partnership For Peace. Russia, Ukraine expressed an interest. We have now heard some interest from Romania. So I am feeling quite good about that. Even the Swiss said they wanted to think about whether there was some way they could support it even if they did not join, given their historic neutrality. I feel very good about it. The second important thing, of course, was the nuclear breakthrough, the agreement with Ukraine following the agreement that had been reached earlier in the year with Belarus and Kazakhstan, not having our nuclear weapons targeted at anybody, not having their nuclear weapons targeted at us. And we also had some important discussions with the Russians about going in and making sure that START I is completely ratified and implemented and that START II is ratified and implemented and that we keep thinking about what further steps there ought to be. So this was a very good meeting trip in that respect. And then the third aspect of the trip was the whole movement toward not only uniting Europe economically and politically but kind of getting growth back into the system. I met with the leaders of the European Union.

Interview With Reporters Aboard Air Force One


We talked about how to implement the GATT agreement, how to follow up on it, how important it was to get the growth rates up in Europe again, how important it was to open new markets to Eastern Europe and the states of the former Soviet Union. And then, of course, I talked about economics in Prague and then spent a lot of time dealing with it in Russia. And I must say, even though they have had a really tough time, I think they are on the verge of having some good things happen economically. For all the criticism of the pace of reform in Russia, one of the little-known facts about it is that in terms of privatizing companies, Russia's actually running ahead of the pace of the other former Communist economies. There is some other problems they have to deal with, their inflation problems and just having a legal framework that will attract more investment, but I feel quite good about that. Just from my experience in Moscow, I really think that while there are, as you would imagine, uncertainties among the people there because of all the hardships and the difficulty of sort of visualizing the future, I think there is a lot of emotion to the idea that the people ought to rule the country. I did not get much sense in anybody that they wanted a more authoritarian government. I think they like the fact that the voters are in the driver's seat, even though they are still trying to come to grips with exactly what that means and how to translate it into policies. So I would say on grounds of building a united Europe in terms of security, where all the neighbors agree to respect one another's borders, moving to continually reduce the nuclear threat to the world, and supporting economic and political reform in Europe and the former Communist countries, this was a very, very successful trip. And that is before we did the Middle East thing today. I went to this meeting hoping that we could get a signal from ENTITY Asad that was clear and unmistakable that he was ready to make a complete peace. Today was the first time he had ever explicitly said he wanted an end to the hostilities with Israel, willing to make peace with Israel as opposed to saying something like peace in the Middle East, and that peace to him meant normal peaceful relations, which is a general term that encompasses trade, tourism and travel, and embassies. That sends a very clear signal now back to the Israelis.