Later today, I will send a report to the Congress which endorses the recommendations of the bipartisan Commission on Strategic Forces, urges prompt congressional action and support. The actions they propose will preserve stable deterrence and thus protect the peace, and they will add solid incentives and credibility to our efforts to negotiate arms reductions that can pave the way to a more secure and peaceful future. On the 23d of March, I spoke to the American people about our program for strengthening this nation's security and that of our allies and announced a long-term research effort to reduce, someday, the threat posed by nuclear ballistic missiles. A week later in Los Angeles, I expanded our efforts to limit and reduce this danger through reliable, verifiable, and stabilizing arms control agreements. preventing conflict, reducing the risk of war, and safeguarding the peace. Every American President has accepted this crucial objective as his most basic responsibility. Concrete, positive action is required to free the world from the specter of nuclear conflict. And that is why we will continue to work relentlessly to achieve nuclear stability at the lowest possible levels. Our words, policies, and actions all make clear to the world our country's deeply held conviction that nuclear war on any scale would be a tragedy of unparalleled scope. Time and again, America has exercised unilateral restraint, good will, and a sincere commitment to effective arms control. Unfortunately, these actions alone have not yet made us truly safer, and they have not reduced the danger of nuclear war. Over the past year, for example, the Soviets have deployed over 1,200 intercontinental ballistic missile warheads, more than the entire Peacekeeper program. The history of American involvement in arms control shows us what works and what does not work. The fact is that in the past our one-sided restraint and good will failed to promote similar restraint and good will from the Soviet Union. They also failed to produce meaningful arms control. But history also teaches us that when the United States has shown the resolve to remain strong, stabilizing arms control can be achieved. In the late sixties, we made a major effort to negotiate an antiballistic missile treaty with the Soviet Union. After the Soviet leadership demonstrated a clear lack of interest, the Congress agreed to fund an antiballistic missile building program. Once the Soviets knew we were going ahead, they came to the negotiating table, and we negotiated a treaty. It was formally adopted and remains in force today.

Remarks Endorsing the Recommendations in the Report of the President's Commission on Strategic Forces


Obviously, the best way to nuclear stability and a lasting peace is through negotiations. And this is the course that we have set. And if we demonstrate our resolve, it can lead to success. It was against this background that I established a bipartisan Commission on Strategic Forces last January and directed it to review the strategic program for United States forces with particular emphasis on intercontinental ballistic missile systems and their basing. A distinguished bipartisan panel of Americans who served on the Commission, and those who served as senior counselors, have performed a great service to their country, and we all owe them a debt of gratitude. I want to express my appreciation to you all for a tough job extraordinarily well done. In the finest spirit of bipartisanship, the Commission unanimously arrived at clear, important recommendations on some of the most difficult issues of our time. During the past 3 months, the Commission held dozens of formal meetings and numerous small conferences. They talked to over 200 technical experts and consulted closely with the Congress. to achieve a greater degree of national consensus concerning our approach to strategic force modernization and arms control. As the Constitution's report concludes, If we can begin to see ourselves in dealing with these issues, not as political partisans or as crusaders for one specific solution to a part of this complex set of problems, but rather as citizens of a great nation with the humbling obligation to persevere in the long-run task of preserving both peace and liberty for the world, a common perspective may finally be found. Well, these words guided the work of the Commission. It is my fervent hope that they will guide all of us as we work toward the solution of what has been a difficult and lengthy issue. The Commission has completed its work and last week submitted its report to me. It was immediately released, as you know, to the public. After reviewing the report, I met with the National Security Council. They endorse the Commission's recommendations, as do all the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. First, the Commission urges us to continue the strategic modernization program which I announced in October of 1981. It reaffirms that the need remains for improvements in the command, control, and communications of our strategic forces, and continuation of our bomber, submarine, and cruise missile program. Second, the Commission urges modernization of our ICBM forces. We should immediately proceed to develop and produce the Peacekeeper missile and deploy 100 in existing Minuteman silos near Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming.


At the same time, the Commission recommends that we begin engineering the design for a small, singlewarhead missile. If strategic and technical considerations warrant, this missile could be ready for deployment in the early 1990's. Incidentally, this modernization program will save about $1.5 billion in 1984 and even more than that in each of the next 2 years. Third, the Commission recommends major research efforts in strategic defense and a thorough research program of hardening, making our land-based missile systems more secure. This modernization effort is the final component of our comprehensive, strategic program. It will mean a safer, more secure America. And it will provide clear evidence to the Soviet Union that it is in their best interest to negotiate with us in good faith and with seriousness of purpose. That adds up to an important incentive for both arms control and deterrence, for peace and security now and far into the future. Finally, the Commission underscores the need for ambitious arms control negotiations, negotiations that would lead to agreements that are balanced, promote stability in time of crisis, and result in meaningful, verifiable reductions. These are precisely the objectives of our arms control proposals now on the table in Geneva. These are-well, I want to reemphasize that we are in Geneva seeking equitable, reliable agreements that would bring real reductions. So, the task before us is to demonstrate our resolve, our national will, and our good faith. That is absolutely essential both for maintaining an effective deterrent and for achieving successful arms reductions. Make no mistake, unless we modernize our landbased missile systems, the Soviet Union will have no real reason to negotiate meaningful reductions. If we fail to act, we cannot reasonably expect an acceptable outcome in our arms control negotiations, and we will also weaken the deterrent posture that has preserved the peace for more than a generation. Therefore, I urge the Congress to join me now in supporting this bipartisan program to pursue arms control agreements that promote stability, to meet the needs of our ICBM force today, and to move to a more stable ICBM structure in the future. To follow up on the Commission's recommendations, I have asked Brent Scowcroft in his capacity as Chairman to keep me closely advised as this issue moves toward resolution, particularly as it relates to arms control. For more than a decade, each of four administrations made proposals for arms control and modernization. Unfortunately, each became embroiled in political controversy.


I want to thank the Democratic and Republican leaders who have come here today to support the Central American-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement known as CAFTA. As you can see, there are former Cabinet members of both Republican and Democrat Presidents, former staff members of Republican and Democrat Presidents, people who have said it is time to set aside political differences and focus on this very important trade agreement for the good of our country. And I want to thank you all for coming. I appreciate our visit. I appreciate the chance to hear your point of view about what we need to do together to get this bill passed. I want to thank the members of my Cabinet who are here. I particularly want to say thanks to Ambassador Rob Portman, who is the U.S. Trade Representative. He is the point person in the Bush administration to get this bill passed. He is working smart, and with your help and the help of those on the stage, I am confident that Congress will do the right thing. The reason we are here is because we share an interest in promoting opportunity and prosperity here at home. All of us understand that strengthening our economic ties with our democratic neighbors is a vital issue of national importance. All of us urge Congress to pass the agreement because America has an interest in strengthening democracy and advancing prosperity in our hemisphere. One of the surest ways to strengthen democracy and advance prosperity is by establish a trading system based on clear rules. My predecessors from both parties, former Presidents from both political parties, pursued this goal at all levels-at the global level, at the bilateral level, and at the regional level. Today, CAFTA presents us with an historic opportunity to advance a free and fair trading system that will bring benefits to all sides. I want to thank the members of the diplomatic corps from Central America who have joined us today. These Ambassadors understand what I just said. I said, this trade agreement benefits both sides. It is a good deal for the CAFTA countries, and it is a good deal for America as well. It is a good deal for America because CAFTA will help level the playing field for our goods and services. Under existing rules, nearly 80 percent of imports from Central America and the Dominican Republic already enter the United States duty free. But U.S. exports into the region face heavy tariffs. 80 percent of goods produced in Central America come into our country, come into the United States duty-free. Yet the same is not -it is not the same for American products.

Remarks on the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement


By passing CAFTA, the United States would open up a market of 44 million consumers for our farmers and small-business people and entrepreneurs. By lowering barriers in key segments like textiles, CAFTA will put our region in a better position to compete with low-cost producers in Asia. For the young democracies of Central America and the Dominican Republic, CAFTA would continue the current trade benefits. That means good jobs and higher labor standards for their workers. And because of reduced tariffs on U.S. goods, consumers in these countries would have access to better goods at lower prices. And that brings us a step closer to our goal of an Americas where the opportunities in San Jose, Costa Rica, are as real as they are in San Jose, California. People have got to understand that by promoting policy that will help generate wealth in Central America, we are promoting policy that will mean someone is less- more likely to stay at home to find a job. If you are concerned about immigration to this country, then you must understand that CAFTA and the benefits of CAFTA will help create new opportunity in Central American countries, which will mean someone will be able to find good work at home, somebody will be able to provide for their family at home, as opposed to having to make the long trip to the United States. For the Western Hemisphere, CAFTA would bring the stability and security that can only come from freedom. That is what we are interested in. We are interested in spreading freedom. Today, a part of the world that was once characterized by oppression and military dictatorship sees its future in democratic elections and free and fair trade, and we cannot take these gains for granted. These small nations are making big and brave commitments, and America must continue to support them. And CAFTA is a good way to support them. CAFTA is good for our workers. It is good for our farmers. It is good for our small-business people, but it is equally as good for the folks in Central America. By transforming our hemisphere into a powerful trading area, CAFTA will help promote democracy, security, and prosperity. The United States was built on freedom, and the more of it we have in our own backyard, the freer and safer and more prosperous America will be. The leaders from both parties here today share this vision. These folks, who toiled in the vineyards of good international politics and worked in the White House know exactly what I am talking about.


And Peter, thank you very much for that wonderfully warm introduction and for making me feel so welcome. I loved walking out through that crowd because it gave me a chance to see so many people who have been so supportive over the years, and I am very, very grateful to you. Believe me, I will never forget how I got there. It was good, strong, loyal friends out in the precincts and at dinners like this over the years, and I am very grateful to all of you. May I thank Reverend Gambet for his invocation; it was a unique invocation, and I kind of went along with the last part and could learn from the first part, but -- -- and Malcolm Evans for the national anthem. I missed the Pledge of Allegiance crowd. I hear they were absolutely fantastic, and some of them are back there, but thank you very much for a unique joint Pledge of Allegiance. And I want to thank Peter and David here for making this dinner happen. Of course, Senator Specter, I am just very pleased to have been with him today in what for, I think, both of us was a very moving tour through some of the less privileged, some of the impacted parts of this great city. Larry Coughlin is with us, who is our ENTITY-Quayle cochairman; Congressmen Weldon and Ridge and Ritter, all good people. We have got a great Republican delegation from Pennsylvania, I might add, in the United States Congress. I was delighted to see Barbara Hafer earlier on. And, of course, Governor Mike Castle, an old friend who is done a great job in a neighboring State with us tonight. And I'd be remiss if I did not single out Elsie Hillman, heading the campaign effort here in the Keystone State, and thank Dexter and then, of course, our team of Bobby Holt, Wally Ganzi. And then again, I will single out Dexter, who gets the star seat. He gets to sit next to Elsie, and that means he sold more tickets than anybody else. And, of course, Charlie, Charlie Kopp, he is a fundraising czar. And he is very successful -- so successful that he did not have to go to our dog Millie for a single dime. You may have seen our income tax returns, and you can tell who earns the money in the family. Millie is not a fat cat, but nevertheless has done a great job as our dog.

Remarks at a Bush-Quayle Fundraising Dinner in Philadelphia


And I want to share with you just some observations. This is a year where you are hearing a lot of talk about change. And I would be the first to concede that we must make significant change in this country. I hear a lot of talk about it coming out of the political arena, but we have been trying to effect constructive change. I came back from a very moving visit to Los Angeles; we got back Friday evening. And let me just give you a short report of what I saw and what I heard. Each one of us saw the images of hate and horror. That was all around you, images that we will not soon forget. But what I saw during my time in Los Angeles, even in the hardest hit parts of south central L.A., should give us some cause for hope. Everywhere, the people I talked with told about acts of individual heroism, about the extraordinary courage of just plain ordinary people. And some braved the gang of looters to form these bucket brigades to put out fires when the firetrucks could not get through. And then some stood up in the face of angry mobs and reached across the barrier of color to save lives of their fellow men and women. And many of these are not the stories that you will see on the nightly news. But believe me, they are the stories that tell us the power of simple human decency. What it tells me is that the time has come to set the old, worn-out ideas aside. And the time has come, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, to think anew and to act anew. And we start with the principles at the heart of this great Republican Party, principles that tell us something very obvious, and that is that we ought to keep the power close to the people, that we have got to strengthen families. I will never forget when Tom Bradley, the Mayor of Los Angeles, and others came to see me, large-city mayors, small-city mayors, Republicans, Democrats, liberals and conservatives joined, their National League of Cities. And they came and they said the one thing that united them in terms that they all agreed on was that the fundamental problem that the decline of the American family is causing in the cities. The prime cause of much of the unrest, the problems of crime, whatever, comes from the dissolution of the American family.


And we think we have got to find ways to strengthen that, instill character and values in our young people; that we must encourage entrepreneurship, ownership, increase investment, and create jobs. Now, these aims have got to form the heart of our agenda for economic opportunity, an agenda that can literally restore hope, cannot solve the problem overnight but restore hope to our inner cities. And they define what we must do. First, and let us be very clear on this one, we have got to preserve order. We have got to keep the peace because families cannot thrive, children cannot live, and jobs cannot flourish in a climate of fear. And I support the police. I saw the commissioner here today, had a great -- I see Governor Martinez, the head of our drug effort, here with him. He and I were together with the Senator and others. And I told the commissioner and told the people out here, We support your efforts. They put themselves in harm's way to save all of us. And we must start by standing strongly for order and keeping the peace. Now, those thoughts were foremost in my mind from the first hours of the violence in Los Angeles. A civilized society simply cannot tackle any of the really tough problems in the midst of chaos. Violence and brutality destroy order. They destroy the rule of law. And it must be condemned, violence, whenever you find it; we must condemn it as a society. When I was out in Los Angeles, I called a woman that had been a member of our little church in Houston, Texas, St. Martin's Parish. I'd got a message to call her. I called her, and she told me a tragic story of her brother and her son. They had gotten a call from a neighbor, a minority, a member of a minority group, and they'd climbed on their motorcycle and driven down to see this person. On the way, their motorcycle was surrounded by a gang. Somebody put a gun up to this kid's head, pulled the trigger, and it did not go off. He was beaten, and they put a gun up to his head, and he was killed right on the spot. This did not have anything to do with Rodney King. This did not have anything to do with anything other than wanton violence. We simply cannot be asked to condone that in our society.


In Los Angeles, I announced an addition to a program that is already at work here in Philadelphia, an exciting program that we saw today, an initiative that I call Weed and Seed. The idea is to weed out the gang leaders and drug dealers and career criminals and then seed the community with expanded employment, educational, and social services. So we are going to push for that. I am going to push and try to see that we can do more for the American people with this innovative new program. Secondly, we must spark an economic revival in urban America. The best answer to poverty is a job with dignity in the private sector, and that means establishing what we call enterprise zones in our inner cities. It means reforming our welfare system, putting an end to the pervasive disincentives that encourage welfare and discourage work. Thirdly, we have got to revolutionize American education. I might add, parenthetically, that I wish Barbara was here to see what you are doing with this show of support for literacy. Notebaert, wherever he may be, I would like to make this contribution. I am not trying to sell this. This is Millie's Book, and we want to donate this here as a contribution from the breadwinner in the Bush family. So please, we want the record to show we brought a book in. Now, we have a good education program. It burns me up when I hear some of the old thinkers, the pass-the-mandated-Federal-program thinkers, criticize. We have a program called America 2000. It is an innovative strategy, and it has things in it like choice. You can choose your colleges; why not choose your schools and thus make them more competitive? Competition, community action, all of these things are a part of it. Children in our inner cities deserve the same opportunities that kids in the suburbs have, and that is what a lot of that program is about. That means we have got to break the power of the establishment, the education establishment. And whether it is public or private or religious, parents, not the government, should be free to choose their children's schools. I am going to fight for that concept. Then another ingredient of our urban policy, and one I have been trying to get through for a long time, is homeownership. And I have never understood how anyone could be content with the present system, to take pride in the warehousing of the poor.


The aim behind our HOPE initiative is to give poor families a stake, give them a stake in their communities, to give them something of value they can pass along to their kids, by turning public housing tenants into homeowners. And we are going to fight for that principle. At every turn during my time in L.A., I heard people talking about the principles that guide these initiatives. These were people that were out there on the front line trying to help the kids. Personal responsibility, that was one; opportunity; ownership; independence; and then, of course, with great pride, dignity. And you know the sound of those words. It really adds up to the American dream. And we all know what the critics will say, and you have heard it. They will say, Well, you have proposed all this before, ENTITY. But now it is time to act on these proposals because this time they know we are right. We are right, and we want to get it passed through the Congress. Tomorrow I will be meeting with the leaders to try to get it done. It is no longer good enough to try the old ones. Let us try these new ideas and see if they cannot help some of the kids that we saw today here in Philadelphia. My first order of business is, then, to build a bipartisan effort in support of immediate action on this agenda. We will not settle for business-as-usual, measuring what we achieve by the size of the bureaucracy we build or the number of mandated programs we can send down to these communities who are crying out for flexibility. This time, we have got to put our principles to work and take the case for change directly to the American people. What is going on in urban America is just one part, though, of a larger issue because the need for reform does not end simply with our inner cities. It starts with the revolution in American education that I mentioned. America 2000, we call it. It starts with that. When you get down to what we have got to do really to be competitive in the future, to offer kids an opportunity, it is education. And it includes our aggressive action, also, to break down barriers to free trade. In each case, we have taken aim at the status quo, and we have set our sights on change. That is why I am fighting hard for a GATT agreement.


That is why we have proposed and are working with Mexico's able President, Carlos Salinas, to try to get a North American free trade agreement. It will mean more jobs for the United States, more jobs for Mexico, and a Mexico much better able to do what it must do with its environment and do what it must do in controlling its own borders. America needs legal reform to put an end to these outrageous court awards that sap our economy and strain our civility. We have gotten to a point where doctors will not deliver babies, where fathers are afraid to coach Little League, all because of the fear of some frivolous lawsuit. That will not change until people spend less time suing each other and more time helping each other. And we have got to change the laws in Washington. We must and we will reform the legal system. Now, we need health care reform and to open up access to affordable health care for all Americans. I was talking to Charlie about this a little earlier here. It used to be that going to the hospital did not conjure up visions of financial suicide. Today, the cost of even minor surgery has gone right out through the roof. More than 30 million Americans have no health care coverage at all. We can change that. And we can do it better than some of these nationalized programs that we are hearing about from the opposition. We have a comprehensive health care reform plan that will help us keep the quality health care. Make no mistake about it, people are still pouring into the United States for specialized care because they know we have the best quality health care in the entire world. So we want to keep the quality health care that makes us first in the world and at the same time open up access to all Americans. Contrary to what the big Government folks say, we can do it without putting the Government in charge of everybody's health care. If you want to stand in line, you can go to the department of motor vehicles. You do not need to go for a nationalized health care program. Let us face it, national health care, in my view, literally would be a costly national disaster, and I am not going to let that happen. We are going to fight for our plan of reform that gives access to insurance to the poor and the middle-income people alike. That is what we need, and that is what I believe we will be able to get when we take this case to the American people.


So far, I have spoken a little bit about what Government can do. So let me conclude by speaking about what society absolutely must do. Because there is something society must cultivate that Government cannot provide, something we cannot legislate, something that we cannot make happen by Government order. I am talking about the moral sense that guides us all. In the simplest of terms -- you want to get it to fundamentals -- I am talking about knowing right from wrong and then doing what is right. You go back to Los Angeles for a minute. Time and again the people I met with there put their finger on one root cause for the turmoil we see, and that, of course, back to the point, the dissolution of the family. What is the determining fact right now for whether a child has hope, stays in school, stays away from drugs? It is not the number of SBA loans or HUD grants. It is whether a child lives in a loving home with a mother and a father. Barbara Bush was absolutely right when she said, What happens in the White House does not matter half as much as what happens in your house. We have tried, both of us, augmented by tons of grandchildren, et cetera, to put the emphasis on American family, put that emphasis first. Everybody here devoting some time to helping someone else in the community. The people who help the poor, the elderly, kids in trouble, and never ask a nickel in return. Government alone simply cannot create the scale and the energy needed to transform the lives of people in need. Let the cynics scoff about it, but we know these volunteers are the lifeblood of the American spirit. Community action. It was a wonderful thing we saw right here in some of the most impoverished areas of Philadelphia. Government has a role, but it never can supplant the propensity of one American to help another. So we have got to find ways to help in that concept and help encourage it. I believe there is a great future in store because I believe that all of these principles will be coming into focus now. I believe we are right about family. I think we are right about freedom and free enterprise, and I think we are right about faith. Most of all, I think we are right about America's future. You know, we have been through a very tough time. I have a feeling this thing is beginning to move a little bit, and it is long overdue.


GOOD MORNING, I am glad that you could come over and visit with us. And I am happy to welcome you to the Capital and to the White House. I want to commend the American Legion for giving you young Americans a chance to learn at firsthand about your Government. I want to speak to you today because you are young and because you have lives to live. Many of you may be looking forward to careers in business. I would like you to consider an investment. I would ask you, after you have completed your education, to give careful consideration to the investment of a few years of your lives in the business of government, in the work of public service, in the cause of America. Our country needs men and women who are young--and young enough to dream of remaking America--as some of us did here in this Capital when I came here more than 30 years ago. We need young people who are confident in themselves and in their ability to meet the challenges that face us today. We need young people who care--and who are willing to work for something that is more than just a paycheck--for profits measured in human happiness and satisfaction gained from helping people to achieve human health and human dignity. So, I ask that you consider applying yourselves, your industry, your brains, your talent, and your imagination to the problems of the land in which you live. What is man born for but to be a reformer; a remaker of what man has made; a restorer of truth and good. America has always been a nation of reformers. And we have always been a people who knew and who accepted the responsibilities that that role demands. It is to be a remaker--not a wrecker--of what man has made. It is to be a restorer--not a destroyer--of truth and good. It is, beyond all else, to respect the laws of society--to rebuild society by changing laws, yes, by improving laws, yes, by using the laws--lest we accidentally or willfully weaken the foundations of law and bring all that we have achieved crashing down upon our heads. We have been through great trials in the history of this Nation. We have faced problems and challenges before. And in one of our gravest hours, one of our greatest Presidents left us the first commandment for a civilized society.

Remarks to the Delegates to Boys Nation.


Let every American, every lover of liberty, every well wisher to his posterity... never to violate in the least particular, the laws of the country . . . let every man remember that to violate the law, is to trample on the blood of his father, and to tear the character of his own, and his children's liberty. Let reverence for the laws, be breathed by every American . . . let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges;--let it be written in Primmers, spelling books, and in Almanacs;--let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in courts of justice. And, in short, let it become the political religion of the nation; and let the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the grave and the gay, of all sexes and tongues, and colors and conditions, sacrifice unceasingly upon its altars. So, your role can be not only to respect the law, but to make it a living thing, make it more just, make it more effective. We have our job cut out for us. It is ahead of us. We have cities to rebuild. We have economy to maintain. We have children to teach. We have old people to care for. We have young people to find jobs for. We have human rights to protect and to enlarge. We have land to conserve and air and water to clean, and a whole world to guard, and liberty and freedom to preserve. Who will do these things? Who can we look to to get this job done in the years ahead? You--and young men like you-your brothers, even those who today may feel that they do not have a very big stake in our society. Even though sometimes you may feel you have no role to play in making it more just, the challenge is there waiting for you. I am depending upon you. You may choose to work in the great world of Washington. You may elect to be leaders in your own communities back home. But the arena of action is not so important. The need for leadership--for commitment and responsibility--is upon us. That need is the same in every State in this land. It will always be your challenge, your opportunity, your responsibility, if you will only face up to and use it.


One of the biggest challenges of this recession has been its impact on State and local communities. With so many Americans unemployed or struggling to get by, States have been forced to balance their budgets with fewer tax dollars, which means that they have got to cut critical services and lay off teachers and police officers and firefighters. Now, it is one thing for States to get their fiscal houses in order and tighten their belts like families across America. Because families have been doing it, there is no reason that States cannot do it too. But we cannot stand by and do nothing while pink slips are given to the men and women who educate our children or keep our communities safe. That does not make sense. And that is why a significant part of the economic plan that we passed last year provided relief for struggling States, relief that has already prevented hundreds of thousands of layoffs. And that is why today we are trying to pass a law that will save hundreds of thousands of additional jobs in the coming year. It will help States avoid laying off police officers, firefighters, nurses, and first-responders. And it will save the jobs of teachers like the ones who are standing with me today. If we do nothing, these educators will not be returning to the classroom this fall. And that will not just deprive them of a paycheck, it will deprive the children and parents who are counting on them to provide a decent education. It means that students in Illinois and West Virginia who count on Rachel and Shannon are going to be not getting the education that they deserve. It will deprive countless cities and towns of the law enforcement officials and first-responders who risk their lives to keep us out of harm's way. It will cost us jobs at a time when we need to be creating jobs. In other words, it will take us backwards at a time when we need to keep this country moving forward. Now, this proposal is fully paid for, in part by closing tax loopholes that encourage corporations to ships American jobs overseas. So it will not add to our deficit. And the money will only go toward saving the jobs of teachers and other essential professionals. I heard the Republican leader in the House say the other day that this is a special interest bill. And I suppose if America's children and the safety of our communities are your special interests, then it is a special interest bill. But I think those interests are widely shared throughout this country.

Remarks on Legislation Creating the Education Jobs Fund


It is with a great deal of pleasure that I, on behalf of the people of our country, welcome to the United States a distinguished visitor, Prime Minister Nouira from Tunisia, who comes here representing a great country which has close and longstanding ties of friendship and common purpose with the people of our Nation. Ever since Tunisia won its independence under the inspired leadership of President Bourguiba, the relations between the two nations have grown ever closer. We share common purposes, common ideals, common hopes, and a common future. This has been especially true during the last 8 years, since Mr. Nouira because Prime Minister of Tunisia. I think among all those nations who have had a close economic aid relationship with the United States, Tunisia has excelled in the rapid technological and economic development among their people. They have made full and increasing use of the great natural resources and human resources of their country. And along with this economic development has come a very rapid evolution into a leadership role among the developing nations of the world, the Arab community, and within the United Nations especially. So, the political and economic leadership which has exemplified Tunisia's role accurately expresses the strength and the purpose, the innovation and commitment of the people of that great country. Tunisia is recognized as having a government and leaders that are at the same time practical and effective and idealistic and never deviating from proper principles of government. This leadership under Prime Minister Nouira and President Bourguiba has also been exemplified by great courage. As a member of the Arab nation community, as far back as 1965, President Bourguiba called for a recognition of Israel, its right to exist, its right to be recognized as a nation. We have received good advice, good counsel, good support from Tunisia during our own times of effort to bring peace to the Middle East and to the northern portion of the continent of Africa. I am looking forward to my opportunity today to discuss with the Prime Minister these same concerns that we share and the same prospects for further progress in the future. We also are exploring ways for increased economic cooperation, military counsel and communication, the sharing, for both peace and security, agricultural development in Tunisia and cultural exchange. At the same time we have Peace Corps volunteers in Tunisia teaching English and performing' other roles, there are volunteers from Tunisia now working in Louisiana, teaching French. This is typical of the human, economic, and political interrelationships that exist between our countries.

Visit of Prime Minister Hedi Nouira of Tunisia Remarks at the Welcoming Ceremony.


I want to thank you for your welcome. Laura and I are especially honored to visit this great institution in your bicentennial year. In every corner of America, the words West Point command immediate respect. This place where the Hudson River bends is more than a fine institution of learning. The United States Military Academy is the guardian of values that have shaped the soldiers who have shaped the history of the world. A few of you have followed in the path of the perfect West Point graduate Robert E. Lee, who never received a single demerit in 4 years. Some of you followed in the path of the imperfect graduate Ulysses S. Grant, who had his fair share of demerits and said the happiest day of his life was the day I left West Point. During my college years, I guess you could say I was-- during my college years, I guess you could say I was a Grant man. You walk in the tradition of Eisenhower and MacArthur, Patton and Bradley-the commanders who saved a civilization. And you walk in the tradition of second lieutenants who did the same by fighting and dying on distant battlefields. Graduates of this Academy have brought creativity and courage to every field of endeavor. West Point produced the chief engineer of the Panama Canal, the mind behind the Manhattan Project, the first American to walk in space. This fine institution gave us the man they say invented baseball and other young men over the years who perfected the game of football. You know this, but many in America do not I want an officer for a secret and dangerous mission. I want a West Point football player. being a plebe. But even a plebe at West Point is made to feel he or she has some standing in the world. Sir, the Superintendent's dog--the Commandant's cat, and all the admirals in the whole damn Navy. I probably will not be sharing that with the Secretary of the Navy. West Point is guided by tradition, and in honor of the Golden Children of the Corps, I will observe one of the traditions you cherish most. As the Commander in Chief, I hereby grant amnesty to all cadets who are on restriction for minor conduct offenses. Those of you in the end zone might have cheered a little early--because, you see, I am going to let General Lennox define exactly what minor means. Every West Point class is commissioned to the Armed Forces.

Commencement Address at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York


Some West Point classes are also commissioned by history to take part in a great new calling for their country. Speaking here to the class of 1942, 6 months after Pearl Harbor, General Marshall said, We are determined that before the Sun sets on this terrible struggle, our flag will be recognized throughout the world as a symbol of freedom on the one hand and of overwhelming power on the other. Officers graduating that year helped fulfill that mission, defeating Japan and Germany and then reconstructing those nations as allies. West Point graduates of the 1940s saw the rise of a deadly new challenge-the challenge of imperial communism-and opposed it from Korea to Berlin to Vietnam, and in the cold war from beginning to end. And as the Sun set on their struggle, many of those West Point officers lived to see a world transformed. History has also issued its call to your generation. In your last year, America was attacked by a ruthless and resourceful enemy. You graduate from this Academy in a time of war, taking your place in an American military that is powerful and is honorable. Our war on terror is only begun, but in Afghanistan it was begun well. I am proud of the men and women who have fought on my orders. America is profoundly grateful for all who serve the cause of freedom and for all who have given their lives in its defense. This Nation respects and trusts our military, and we are confident in your victories to come. This war will take many turns we cannot predict. Wherever we carry it, the American flag will stand not only for our power but for freedom. Our Nation's cause has always been larger than our Nation's defense. We fight, as we always fight, for a just peace, a peace that favors human liberty. We will defend the peace against threats from terrorists and tyrants. We will preserve the peace by building good relations among the great powers. And we will extend the peace by encouraging free and open societies on every continent. From this day forward, it is your challenge as well, and we will meet this challenge together. You will wear the uniform of a great and unique country. America has no empire to extend or utopia to establish. We wish for others only what we wish for ourselves, safety from violence, the rewards of liberty, and the hope for a better life. In defending the peace, we face a threat with no precedent. Enemies in the past needed great armies and great industrial capabilities to endanger the American people and our Nation.


The attacks of September the 11th required a few hundred thousand dollars in the hands of a few dozen evil and deluded men. All of the chaos and suffering they caused came at much less than the cost of a single tank. This Government and the American people are on watch. We are ready, because we know the terrorists have more money and more men and more plans. The gravest danger to freedom lies at the perilous crossroads of radicalism and technology. When the spread of chemical and biological and nuclear weapons, along with ballistic missile technology-when that occurs, even weak states and small groups could attain a catastrophic power to strike great nations. Our enemies have declared this very intention and have been caught seeking these terrible weapons. They want the capability to blackmail us or to harm us or to harm our friends, and we will oppose them with all our power. For much of the last century, America's defense relied on the cold war doctrines of deterrence and containment. In some cases, those strategies still apply, but new threats also require new thinking. Deterrence-the promise of massive retaliation against nations-means nothing against shadowy terrorist networks with no nation or citizens to defend. Containment is not possible when unbalanced dictators with weapons of mass destruction can deliver those weapons on missiles or secretly provide them to terrorist allies. We cannot defend America and our friends by hoping for the best. We cannot put our faith in the word of tyrants who solemnly sign nonproliferation treaties and then systemically break them. Homeland defense and missile defense are part of stronger security; they are essential priorities for America. Yet, the war on terror will not be won on the defensive. We must take the battle to the enemy, disrupt his plans, and confront the worst threats before they emerge. In the world we have entered, the only path to safety is the path of action, and this Nation will act. Our security will require the best intelligence to reveal threats hidden in caves and growing in laboratories. Our security will require modernizing domestic agencies such as the FBI, so they are prepared to act and act quickly against danger. Our security will require transforming the military you will lead, a military that must be ready to strike at a moment's notice in any dark corner of the world. And our security will require all Americans to be forward-looking and resolute, to be ready for preemptive action when necessary to defend our liberty and to defend our lives.


We must uncover terror cells in 60 or more countries, using every tool of finance, intelligence, and law enforcement. Along with our friends and allies, we must oppose proliferation and confront regimes that sponsor terror, as each case requires. Some nations need military training to fight terror, and we will provide it. Other nations oppose terror but tolerate the hatred that leads to terror, and that must change. We will send diplomats where they are needed, and we will send you, our soldiers, where you are needed. All nations that decide for aggression and terror will pay a price. We will not leave the safety of America and the peace of the planet at the mercy of a few mad terrorists and tyrants. We will lift this dark threat from our country and from the world. Because the war on terror will require resolve and patience, it will also require firm moral purpose. In this way our struggle is similar to the cold war. Now, as then, our enemies are totalitarians, holding a creed of power with no place for human dignity. Now, as then, they seek to impose a joyless conformity, to control every life and all of life. America confronted imperial communism in many different ways, diplomatic, economic, and military. Yet, moral clarity was essential to our victory in the cold war. When leaders like John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan refused to gloss over the brutality of tyrants, they gave hope to prisoners and dissidents and exiles and rallied free nations to a great cause. Some worry that it is somehow undiplomatic or impolite to speak the language of right and wrong. Different circumstances require different methods but not different moralities. Moral truth is the same in every culture, in every time, and in every place. Brutality against women is always and everywhere wrong. We are in a conflict between good and evil, and America will call evil by its name. By confronting evil and lawless regimes, we do not create a problem; we reveal a problem. And we will lead the world in opposing it. As we defend the peace, we also have an historic opportunity to preserve the peace. We have our best chance since the rise of the nation-state in the 17th century to build a world where the great powers compete in peace instead of prepare for war. The history of the last century, in particular, was dominated by a series of destructive national rivalries that left battlefields and graveyards across the Earth.


Germany fought France, the Axis fought the Allies, and then the East fought the West, in proxy wars and tense standoffs, against a backdrop of nuclear Armageddon. Competition between great nations is inevitable, but armed conflict in our world is not. More and more, civilized nations find ourselves on the same side, united by common dangers of terrorist violence and chaos. America has and intends to keep military strengths beyond challenge, thereby making the destabilizing arms races of other eras pointless and limiting rivalries to trade and other pursuits of peace. Today, the great powers are also increasingly united by common values, instead of divided by conflicting ideologies. The United States, Japan, and our Pacific friends, and now all of Europe, share a deep commitment to human freedom, embodied in strong alliances such as NATO. And the tide of liberty is rising in many other nations. Generations of West Point officers planned and practiced for battles with Soviet Russia. I have just returned from a new Russia, now a country reaching toward democracy and our partner in the war against terror. Even in China, leaders are discovering that economic freedom is the only lasting source of national wealth. In time, they will find that social and political freedom is the only true source of national greatness. When the great powers share common values, we are better able to confront serious regional conflicts together, better able to cooperate in preventing the spread of violence or economic chaos. In the past, great power rivals took sides in difficult regional problems, making divisions deeper and more complicated. Today, from the Middle East to South Asia, we are gathering broad international coalitions to increase the pressure for peace. We must build strong and great power relations when times are good to help manage crisis when times are bad. America needs partners to preserve the peace, and we will work with every nation that shares this noble goal. And finally, America stands for more than the absence of war. We have a great opportunity to extend a just peace by replacing poverty, repression, and resentment around the world with hope of a better day. Through most of history, poverty was persistent, inescapable, and almost universal. In the last few decades, we have seen nations from Chile to South Korea build modern economies and freer societies, lifting millions of people out of despair and want.


The 20th century ended with a single surviving model of human progress, based on nonnegotiable demands of human dignity, the rule of law, limits on the power of the state, respect for women, and private property and free speech and equal justice and religious tolerance. America cannot impose this vision, yet we can support and reward governments that make the right choices for their own people. In our development aid, in our diplomatic efforts, in our international broadcasting, and in our educational assistance, the United States will promote moderation and tolerance and human rights. And we will defend the peace that makes all progress possible. When it comes to the common rights and needs of men and women, there is no clash of civilizations. The requirements of freedom apply fully to Africa and Latin America and the entire Islamic world. The peoples of the Islamic nations want and deserve the same freedoms and opportunities as people in every nation. And their governments should listen to their hopes. A truly strong nation will permit legal avenues of dissent for all groups that pursue their aspirations without violence. An advancing nation will pursue economic reform, to unleash the great entrepreneurial energy of its people. A thriving nation will respect the rights of women, because no society can prosper while denying opportunity to half its citizens. In poverty, they struggle; in tyranny, they suffer; and as we saw in Afghanistan, in liberation, they celebrate. America has a greater objective than controlling threats and containing resentment. We will work for a just and peaceful world beyond the war on terror. The bicentennial class of West Point now enters this drama. With all in the United States ENTITY, you will stand between your fellow citizens and grave danger. You will help establish a peace that allows millions around the world to live in liberty and to grow in prosperity. You will face times of calm and times of crisis, and every test will find you prepared, because you are the men and women of West Point. You leave here marked by the character of this Academy, carrying with you the highest ideals of our Nation. Toward the end of his life, Dwight Eisenhower recalled the first day he stood on the plain at West Point. The feeling came over me, he said, that the expression 'the United States of America' would now and henceforth mean something different than it had ever before. Today, your last day at West Point, you begin a life of service in a career unlike any other. You have answered a calling to hardship and purpose, to risk and honor.


Over a month ago, Speaker Newt Gingrich and I met with a group of senior citizens in Claremont, New Hampshire. That sunlit event had a special spirit. We showed that the great debate now occurring in our country can and should be conducted with civility and a sense of common ground. Many Americans of both parties have told me since then that this is exactly the way they want their leaders to work together. And that is what I am committed to doing. Perhaps the most visible example of that spirit of New Hampshire came when the Speaker and I shook hands on the question of political reform, something that has divided the two parties and the Congress and the country for too long. The first question we answered was from a retired steelworker named Frank McConnell. He said that politics had become polluted by special interests and that too often the voice of the people was shut out. He said that bickering between the parties had blocked reform for too long, and he proposed that we create a blueribbon, bipartisan commission to write reforms to curb the power of special interests. There, in front of the entire country, the Speaker and I agreed to create this commission. A bipartisan commission could cut the knot that is strangling change. This panel would follow the approach that has worked on other critical issues. It would be comprised of distinguished citizens and would recommend broad changes in the rules which cover lobbyists and in how we finance political campaigns. Most important of all, the Congress would have to vote within a strict deadline, up or down, on the the package as a whole, no loopholes, no amendments. I am happy to report that in addition to myself and Speaker Gingrich, this very idea has been strongly endorsed for some time by Senate majority leader Bob Dole, who just last February said again that this was the way we ought to approach this question. It is clearer than ever that we need political reform. The American people believe their political system is too influenced by narrow interests, that our Government serves the powerful but not hard-working families. Even before the '94 elections, the special interests prevented passage of both campaign finance reform and lobby reform legislation that I had strongly asked the Congress to pass. When a minority in the Senate killed lobbying reform in 1994, lobbyists were standing right outside the Senate chamber cheering. Since the New Congress came in, I am sad to say, it is gotten worse, for even more power has been given to the lobbyists.

The President's Radio Address


Now this new majority lets lobbyists for polluters write legislation rolling back environmental and public health protections. They have brought them in to explain the legislation. They even gave them a room off the House floor to write the amendments and the statements the Members would have to give explaining the bills that the lobbyists had written for them. Since things have gotten in this state, it was a real moment of hope when the Speaker and I shook hands on reform in New Hampshire. Just 5 days later, I sent Speaker Gingrich a letter laying out in detail my ideas for how to move forward. The Speaker announced that he would send me his proposal, but he never has. I think the people of this country want us to move forward with political reform. Speaker Gingrich and I shook hands on it. We have an obligation to get this done and not walk away. We have to be as good as our word. Today, to move this process forward, I am announcing that two distinguished Americans have agreed to work with me to get the commission idea underway. They are the kind of people I will appoint as its members. John Gardner's name is synonymous with integrity. He is a Republican Cabinet Secretary to a Democratic President, the founder of the citizens' lobby Common Cause, a wise and effective man. She understands through her knowledge of history and today's political situation how politics affects the lives of ordinary people. I have asked John Gardner and Doris Kearns Goodwin to meet with Speaker Gingrich as soon as possible and the other congressional leaders, to get them going on this idea so that we can make this commission a reality and keep our commitment to the Frank McConnells and all the other Americans who want us to improve the way our political system works. John Gardner and Doris Kearns Goodwin will help us to get this movement going. And now I call on Speaker Gingrich and the other congressional leaders to come forward and do their part. The Speaker and I made a deal, and it is time to keep it. We already have signs of bipartisan agreement. On Monday, the Senate begins to debate on legislation to require lobbyists to disclose who they are, what they are paid, and what bills they are trying to influence. And the Senate will vote on legislation to ban lobbyists from providing lawmakers meals or gifts or travel. If a judge took a paid vacation from a lawyer in his courtroom, he'd be disbarred.

The President's Radio Address


May I salute Secretary Ed Derwinski, Reverend Morgan, and most of all, fellow veterans. From this sacred ground near the waters of Pearl Harbor, we remember the moment when the Pacific Ocean erupted in a storm of fire and blood. We remember a morning when America, where some thought isolation meant security, awoke wounded, and reeling, plunged into a desperate fight for world freedom. I remember the crackle of the radio and the voice of our President. We are going to win the war, FDR told us, and we are going to win the peace that follows. We won the war and secured the peace because American men and women responded bravely and instinctively to their Nation's call. They fought for their family and friends, defending the land they loved. When torpedoes crippled the U.S.S. California's ammunition hoists, Warrant Officer Thomas Reeves stood in a smoke-filled passageway and organized a human supply chain to move the ammunition. He worked with all his might till the smoke overcame him. He died that day aboard California, and he rests today in this cemetery. During the attack, Chief Boatswain Eddie Hill of the U.S.S. Nevada swam from the dock back out to his ship, ignoring the bombs falling all around him. He, too, died in the attack and rests here. The Bible says, Love is strong as death. that is the truth whispered by these rows of markers. I remember Ernie Pyle, and I will bet everybody behind me and in front of me remembers Ernie Pyle, too. The greatest of war correspondents, he fell to the enemy machinegun fire on Ie Shima. He lies here in this cemetery among the GI's he loved and honored so well. His plain-spoken news dispatches from the front reminded us that behind the battle statistics were true-life stories of how boys became men and men became heroes. He told us what was happening in the war, how our men were fighting. And by telling the stories of our servicemen to their hometowns and neighborhoods, he helped us understand why we were fighting, how our men at arms defended with all their hearts America's deepest ideals. Americans did not wage war against nations or races. We fought for freedom and human dignity against the nightmare of totalitarianism. The world must never forget that the dictatorships we fought, the Hitler and Tojo regimes, committed war crimes and atrocities.

Remarks to the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association in Honolulu, Hawaii


Our servicemen struggled and sacrificed not only in defense of our free way of life, but also in the hope that the blessings of liberty some day might extend to all peoples. This ground embraces many American veterans whose love of country was put to the test unfairly by our own authorities. These and other natural-born American citizens faced wartime internment, and they committed no crime. They were sent to internment camps simply because their ancestors were Japanese. Other Asian-Americans suffered discrimination, and even violence, because they were mistaken for Japanese. And they, too, were innocent victims, who committed no offense. Here lie valiant servicemen of the 442d Regimental Combat Team and of the Military Intelligence Service, Americans of Japanese ancestry who fought to defeat the Axis in Europe and in the Pacific. Among these, the late Senator Spark Matsunaga, a combat hero and survivor who went on to help lead postwar Hawaii to American statehood. I remember sharing danger and friendship in these skies and on this ocean. Some of my closest friends, like many people here, your closest friends, never came home. Perhaps because of this experience, I can better understand what you survivors of Pearl Harbor are sensing and feeling here today. As all the veterans here know, when a friend or comrade in arms falls in battle, war grabs a part of your soul. My roommate aboard the carrier San Jacinto, CVL - 30, was a guy named Jim Wykes. And as we were about to go into combat for the first time, a strike over Wake Island, Jim Wykes and his crew were sent out on a search mission from which they never returned. Many more from our little torpedo squadron were to give their lives. And the names of many of these, and more than 18,000 other World War II servicemen lost in action in the Pacific, are engraved in the walls of this magnificent memorial. During every passage of my life, I have often thought of those who never returned. Some left children behind, and today those children, like my own kids, are raising children of their own. And thank God, each surviving generation has honored the memory of our heroes of the Second World War. Each new generation has risen to meet the challenge of winning the peace. After vanquishing the dictators of Japan and Germany and Italy, America's war generation helped those countries rebuild and grow strong in the exercise of democracy and free enterprise. They affirmed again that our quarrel had not been with races or nations.


The American victors welcomed the new leaders of Japan and Germany and Italy into alliances that won the cold war and helped prevent the third world war. America and our wartime allies joined hands with the liberated peoples of our former foes to create and nurture international organizations aimed at protecting human rights, collective security, and economic growth. The cause of harmony among nations is not a call for pacifism. We avoided a third world war because we were prepared to defend the free world against aggressors. The Pearl Harbor generation saw its younger brothers go to Korea, its sons to Vietnam to resist communism. Pearl Harbor's grandchildren answered the call to the Persian Gulf to reverse Saddam's aggression against Kuwait. How fitting it is that this great cemetery holds so many who died for the cause of Korean and Vietnamese freedom. How honored we are to stand on this ground, consecrated with the remains of Marine Lance Corporal Frank Allen of Hawaii, who gave his life just 10 months ago in the battle to free Kuwait. Every soldier and sailor and airman buried here offered his life so that others might be free. Not one of them died in vain. Our men and women who served in Korea and Vietnam, whose sacrifices too often have been forgotten or even reviled, are nearing their day of greatest vindication. For I have confidence that the tragedy of totalitarianism has entered its final scene everywhere on this Earth. This morning's sun will course the Pacific skies and illuminate the lands of Asia. And just as certainly, the movement of human freedom will supplant dictatorships that now hold sway in Pyongyang and Rangoon and Hanoi, and yes, in China, too. For a billion yearning men and women, the future means freedom and democracy. This fair December dawn breaks on a world ready for renewal. A high tide of hope swells for those that are committed to peace and freedom. The nations pushed by tyrants into war against us half a century ago join us today as free and constructive partners in the effort for peace. The Soviet Communists' designs for world domination have collapsed before the free world's resolve. We have reached this morning because generation after generation of Americans kept faith with our founders and our heroes. From the snows of Valley Forge, to the fiery seas of Midway and Pearl Harbor, to the sands of Iraq and Kuwait, Americans lived and died true to their ideals. They have prepared the way for a world of unprecedented freedom and cooperation.


Well, now I am a little embarrassed to come up here after all those wonderful things were said about me, because I happen to think that we have a very wonderful Ambassador and his wife here representing the United States in this nation. And I also happen to have had the chance to observe and know what a wonderful staff there is in this Embassy, also. But the reason it makes it a little difficult is because I know how much we upset the routine when we drop in. Nancy and I want to thank Ambassador Price, his lovely lady, and all the members of the Embassy staff for your extraordinary efforts to assure the success of this visit, as you have done so before. This, as you have been told, is my third visit to London and probably my last as ENTITY, and I know how much time and hard work must be devoted to a presidential visit. I also know that a visit like this is an exceptional one, one that takes you away from your day-today business. And let me express my deep appreciation for the work you do to represent United States interests in the United Kingdom. I know you spend long hours working to secure our foreign policy objectives, to strengthen our economy, to enhance our national security, and to protect United States citizens overseas. And I know the many times when you have been called upon for some individual citizen to overcome something that is upsetting them at the time when they are far away from home and here in this land. Your work here in London has proven invaluable in ensuring that the special relationship we enjoy with Great Britain continues to bear fruit. Nancy and I wish to thank you, all the men and women of the Embassy, not just the American employees, but also the Foreign Service nationals without whose hard work and support this visit and the execution of our foreign policy would not be possible. And, Charlie, I just-there are no words to express the appreciation that we have. You have a great staff, and now it is coming time for me to say so long. I have to tell you, though, I want to tell you one little incident that occurred recently in my meeting with the General Secretary over there. And knowing, of course, that officially their nation is atheist, and we know that ours is based on the Judeo-Christian religion, and I could not resist one day-I told him that I was looking forward to having prepared the greatest gourmet dinner that anyone could ever think of, the most wonderful and delicious foods, and having him to that dinner.

Ronald Reagan Remarks to United States Embassy Personnel in London


It is wonderful to have you here and to see you joining in this important step forward for America. runaway government spending, double-digit inflation, record high interest rates they'd just hit 21 1/2 percent the worst tax burden in peacetime history, and high unemployment With support from the American people we put in place a program that was designed to cure this raging economic disease which had been ignored for too many years. Little more than a year's passed since our program went on the books, but already we have made solid progress against four of the five problems that we inherited. We have cut the growth of spending somewhere around in half, and we have reduced high inflation, high interest rates, and taxation. But let me just say something here about interest rates, which I will expand on in my speech to the Nation tonight. The very sharp and heartening decline that we have seen in interest rates brings us one step closer to the dream every American shares, which is lasting recovery. But let us understand that what brought, for example, Government-backed home mortgages down to 12 1/2 percent, the lowest level in 25 months, was not a quick fix, but our progress against inflation. The decline in inflation led directly to the fall in interest rates during the last several months. The Federal Reserve Bank announced last week that it was lowering its discount level to 9 1/2 percent. That is the first time this key interest rate has been a single digit since 1979 and the fifth reduction in the rate in 4 months. The Fed's lower rate shows its confidence that inflation and market interest rates are continuing to fall. The Federal Reserve has been pursuing a steady policy of trying to reduce inflation, and we have been supporting the Fed in that policy. And the Fed will continue to aim its policy at bringing inflation down further in the future. And that will continue to mean lower and lower interest rates as well. As I said, we are solving four of the five worst problems that we inherited. But unemployment, always the lagging indicator, remains too high, and clearly, our most urgent priority today is to create lasting, private sector jobs. I am not going to rest until every American who wants a job can find a job. Unemployment is a tragedy for all Americans in every region, every city, and every line of work. We need the strength of every back and the power of every mind to lift our nation from the economic swamp to higher ground.

Remarks on Signing the Job Training Partnership Act


We must not waste the energy of one citizen who wants to work. All of us are moved by the plight of millions of our people who cannot find jobs or provide for their families. Perhaps the cruelest trap of all has caught the legions of our youth. As they stand on the threshold of the American dream, far too many find the door of opportunity slammed in their face. Two out of every five people out of work-two out of every five are between the ages of 16 and 24. We continue to push for enterprise zones in our inner cities, a program to attract new businesses and jobs to areas of highest unemployment. It is tragic that this enterprise zone proposal has been bottled up in committee by the leadership of the House. I remember what it was like to be 21 years old and looking for a job in 1932. And I know how it feels when your future has been mortgaged by the generation before you. Today's young people must never be held hostage to the mistakes of the past. The only way to avoid making these mistakes again is to learn from them. It is estimated, for example, that at least 20 million American workers now rely on skills that will not be needed within 20 years. The government has trained thousands more in skills that already are not needed in their communities. Still others have been steered into make-work government for our young people. And that is why I am proud today to sign into law the Job Training Partnership Act, a program that looks to the future instead of the past. This is not another make-work, dead-end, bureaucratic boondoggle. This program will train more than one million Americans every year in skills they can market where they live. It will make a difference on Main Street. It will provide help, bring hope, and encourage self-reliance and personal initiative. State and local government officials, business and labor leaders, and other members of the private sector will plan area programs in private industry councils. Local people will decide at the grass roots level what opportunities are available in their communities, and then match real jobs with needed skills. And here is something else that makes this program different from many past failures. At least 70 percent of the program funds will go to actual job training. We are eliminating the bureaucratic and administrative waste that has marked so many so-called job bills in the past. It is based on a tried and tested concept.


Before my remarks, I have a brief announcement. Anyone that has not gotten his cuff links or tickets to the Kennedy Center, please see Max Friedersdorf. Well, ladies and gentlemen, members of the Cabinet and staff and all of you who are here, I do not think the East Room has ever seen exactly this kind of meeting here before. And I think last week we saw an extraordinary example of cooperation between the legislative and executive branches of government, and I want all of you Members of the House to know how deeply grateful I am for what you did last week. During these past 112 days we have worked well together, and I think we have made a little history. Thanks to you, we have made it clear that spending can be controlled and that our system works. The voice of the people can be heard here in the Capital, and in so doing, we have restored their confidence of our people in their government and in the institutions of this Government. I know that what we did was only the first step, but I have confidence that in the weeks and months ahead we will continue to put country ahead of partisanship. Yes, we have a big job ahead of us putting tax cuts into effect that are really the other half of returning America's prosperity. I believe the reduction in the tax rates, as I know I have said to many of you, is essential to restoring the spirit of enterprise. You know, some years ago there was an economist at Harvard, now deceased, Sumner Schlichter. And he said once that if a visitor from Mars came to Earth, he would conclude that our tax policy had been created to make private enterprise unworkable. And, you know, maybe what he was talking about, sometimes in a business or a sports team or an army, will outperform its competitor even though the material assets of the two seem to be roughly equal. Now, some academicians have commented-well, they have referred to this as the x factor in human affairs, a confidence or a spirit that makes men and women dream and dare and take greater risks. Well, for too long a time our tax structure has stifled that x factor and that spirit of confidence and daring in our economic doings here in our land. Those who have the means to invest have sought tax shelters instead. And workers have been discouraged from saving or even trying to increase their earnings by increasing their productivity.

Remarks on the Program for Economic Recovery at a White House Reception for Members of the House of Representatives


The Secretary General and I have now completed almost 2 hours of hard work with this brilliant and dedicated staff of the Strategic Air Command. I think that both of us have gained fresh understanding of the intimate relation between the strategic strength of the United States and the defense of the North Atlantic Alliance. We have had presented in some detail the military facts and figures which support the great and simple political reality that is set forth in our treaty, namely that the defense of one is the defense of all. We have learned again what we already knew, that the strength and the skill of this Command are absolutely vital to the peace of the Atlantic world. We recognize that the mission of this Command is peace. And we had related to us this afternoon the capacity, the numbers, the procedures, the overall plans, and the great amount of thinking that has gone into accomplishing that mission, namely preserving the peace. This day has thus brought new encouragement to me, and I hope also to my friend, the distinguished Secretary General. So we are grateful to all of you and to the State of Nebraska for all that we have seen. We also thank you for your distance from Washington. On the plane ride out and back, Mr. Brosio and I are finding a chance for some quiet conversations together concerning the future needs and the future hopes of our great alliance. The success of NATO is evident in every member country, in peace and prosperity, and in confidence in the future. Yet our very success creates new problems for tomorrow. The work of freedom is really never done, and as we go back to these discussions let me thank all of you again for this very profitable afternoon in Omaha. I have been here several times during the 13 years that General Power has been connected with the Strategic Air Command, and I have had numerous briefings from him and from his staff. I feel as I believe most Americans do, deeply in his debt, and the debt of the dedicated men who serve with him, for their love of country and for their proficiency to accomplish the mission assigned them. I want to thank the members of the families of the men assigned to this Command. They are called upon to make many sacrifices, and just as their men's mission is peace, I guess they sacrifice with a smile, because wherever I go and I see the Strategic Air Force, I am stimulated and inspired. Since General LeMay is here with us today, all of you really represent a great monument to his thinking and to his planning.

Remarks Upon Completing an Inspection of SAC Headquarters, Offutt Air Force Base, Omaha


Now that we realize the proof of the pudding is in the eating and you have preserved the peace now for almost 20 years, I think you can return to your homes this evening with a proper and justified well done from your Chief. Incidentally, just to show you that I really mean it, I added a good deal to my budget this year by insisting on a pay raise for all of you. Perhaps my colleague, Mr. Brosio, would have something that he would like to say to you now. The President spoke following an inspection with Manlio Brosio, Secretary General of NATO, of SAC Headquarters at Offutt Air Force Base, Omaha, Nebr. His opening words referred to Gen. Thomas S. Power, Commander in Chief, Strategic Air Command, and Gen. Curtis E. LeMay, Chief of Staff, Department of the Air Force. Thank you. I want only to say that I am very happy to be back in Omaha again. I have been here a few years ago, that is in 1957, when General LeMay was still Commander here. I have seen new, interesting things; I have learned a lot. But I am above all very deeply honored to have had the opportunity of coming tonight on the invitation and in the company of the President of the United States. I have seen really the contribution to the defense not only of the United States, but also of Europe by this central base and Command of the Western World which is absolutely indispensable and decisive. That convinces me and convinces all Europeans, I think, of the absolute necessity of continuing the close links which tie us in our essential Atlantic Alliance. I also share entirely what the President of the United States has told you just now, that all this huge preparation which needs an enormous amount of intelligence, of skill, of patience and of courage, is intended only to defend peace, is intended primarily to prevent war. And in these 15 years of life of the Atlantic Alliance, thanks to this preparation, thanks to our unity and solidarity, peace has been preserved. I am sure we will be able to preserve it with the same methods and with the same spirit for the future in the interest of the freedom and the welfare of the people of the United States and Europe.


It is wonderful to be here at Kenmore. And I want to first of all thank our principal, Mr. Dr. John Word Doctor; Superintendent of Arlington Public Schools Patrick Murphy. There they are over there, all doing great work. We have got your own Congressman, Jim Moran, here in the house. And we have got somebody who I believe is going to go down as the finest Secretary of Education we have ever had, Arne Duncan. Now, before I begin, let me just say that like all Americans, I continue to be heartbroken by the images of devastation in Japan. And I know all of you, young and old, have been watching the full magnitude of this tragedy unfold. I want to reiterate America's support for the people of Japan, who are some of our closest friends and allies. And I have said directly to the Prime Minister of Japan, Prime Minister Kan, that the United States will continue to offer any assistance we can as Japan recovers from multiple disasters and we will stand with the people of Japan in the difficult days ahead. Now, I just had a chance to talk with some of your teachers as well as some students, who told me about your all-school project that is weaving the life and music of Duke Ellington into your classes. And by getting students engaged in learning, you are teaching the kinds of skills about how to think and how to work together that young people are going to need in college and beyond. That is what all of our schools need to be doing. And in an economy that is more competitive and connected than ever before, a good job and a good career is going to demand a good education. Over the next 10 years, nearly half of all new jobs are going to require more than a high school diploma. So if you want a bright future, you are going to need a college degree or advanced training. And as Arne mentioned, unfortunately, too many students are not getting a world-class education today. As many as a quarter of American students are not finishing high school. The quality of our math and science education lags behind many other nations. And America has fallen to ninth in the proportion of young people with a college degree. And turning these statistics around is not just the right thing to do for our kids, it is the right thing to do for our economy, because the best jobs program out there is a good education. The best economic policy is one that produces more college graduates.

Remarks at Kenmore Middle School in Arlington


And that is why for the sake of our children and our economy and America's future, we are going to have to do a better job educating every single one of our sons and daughters, all of them. Now, that responsibility begins not in our classrooms, but it begins in our homes. It begins with parents who are instilling in their kids not only a love of learning, but also the self-confidence and especially the self-discipline and work ethics that are at the heart of success in school and success in life. Young people, I am talking to you. I have got a couple of them at home. And the truth is, the world's going to be more competitive, and nobody's going to just give success to you. You are going to have to earn it, and that means you have got to apply yourself. So that you are going to learn at home, first and foremost. All of us have a responsibility not just as parents, but as citizens for giving our kids the best possible education. Now, for a long time we were not sure about how to give our kids that kind of education. Some people thought, if you just put more money into education, that would solve the problem. And then on the other side thought, money does not matter, what we need is reform. In fact, there were those who argued that we should just dismantle the public education system altogether. Rather than working together, both sides remained locked in this stalemate year after year, decade after decade, and nothing much changed. And then something began to happen in States and local school districts. Instead of getting caught up in these old, stale debates, people began to agreeing to agree that, you know what, we need both more money and more reform. We need more resources for the schools, but we have got to reorganize how our schools are doing business in order to assure success for our young people. People began coming together parents, students, teachers, administrators, reformers, local officials and we started witnessing amazing success stories all across America. There is a school in Denver, Bruce Randolph School, that went from being one of the worst schools in Colorado to graduating 97 percent of its seniors last May. In Cincinnati, Taft High School went from handing out only one diploma for every five students to graduating 95 percent of its seniors and preparing them for careers in technology. So our goal as an administration, my goal as President, has been to build on these successes across America.


trying to figure out how do we incentivize success by starting something a competition called Race to the Top. Prove you are serious about reform, and we will show you the money. And because it is a competition for less than 1 percent of what our country spends on education each year, Race to the Top has led over 40 States to raise their standards for teaching, learning, and student achievement. And these standards were not developed in Washington, but they were developed by Republican and Democratic Governors all across this country. So we have made enormous progress. As Arne has said, this is probably the most significant education reform initiative that we have seen in a generation. But we need to make sure we are reaching every child in America, not just those in States or districts that take part in Race to the Top. And that is why not only do we need to continue this competition, we have got to open it up. And that is why we need to take the same bottom-up approach when it comes to reforming America's most important education law, otherwise known as No Child Left Behind. We have to reform No Child Left Behind. Now, over these last few weeks, during what we have called Education Month around the White House, I have been traveling across the country talking with folks about education. In fact, we have actually been doing that for the last couple of years. And what I have heard, what Arne's heard, what the rest of my team has heard loud and clear from teachers and students and parents and communities is that No Child Left Behind got some things right and got some things wrong. making a promise to educate every child with an excellent teacher. Shining a light on the achievement gap between students of different races and backgrounds and those with and without disabilities, that is the right thing to do. But what has not worked is denying teachers, schools, and States what they need to meet these goals. That is why we need to fix No Child Left Behind. We need to make sure we are graduating students who are ready for college and ready for careers. We need to put outstanding teachers in every classroom and give those teachers the pay and the support that they deserve. I got some applause for that one. We need to not only hold failing schools accountable, we need to help turn those schools around. In the 21st century, it is not enough to leave no child behind, we need to help every child get ahead. We need to get every child on a path to academic excellence.


I am proud of the commitment by Democrats and Republicans in Congress to fix No Child Left Behind, to make this reform a reality, because they recognize education is an area where we cannot afford to drag our feet. As Arne says, our kids only get one shot at an education, and we have got to get it right. So that is why I am calling on Congress to send me an education reform bill I can sign into law before the next school year begins before next year's school year. I want every child in this country to head back to school in the fall knowing that their education is America's priority. Let us seize this education moment. Let us fix No Child Left Behind. Now, last week, we got a reminder of why it is so critical that we reform this law. According to new estimates, under the system No Child Left Behind put in place, more than 80 percent of our schools may be labeled as failing 80 percent of our schools. And let us face it, skepticism is somewhat justified. We know that four out of five schools in this country are not failing. So what we are doing to measure success and failure is out of line. In fact, the list of supposedly failing schools is includes schools that are making extraordinary progress, including Kenmore. So yes, we have still got more work to do here at this school to close the achievement gap. I think Dr. Word would agree with that. We have got to make sure that every student is on track. But I mean, we can see here at Kenmore what Kenmore's thriving. You got more work to do, but you are doing fine. So what this means, though, is, is that we need a better way of figuring out which schools are deeply in trouble, which schools are not , and how we get not only the schools that are in really bad shape on track, how do we help provide the tools to schools that want to get even better to get better. That way of measuring success and failure, that is the first problem with No Child Left Behind that we need to fix. Instead of labeling schools a failure one day and then throwing up our hands and walking away from them, we need to refocus on the schools that need the most help. Black, White, Latino, Asian, students with disabilities, English language learners. We need to make sure some of our best teachers are teaching in some of our worst schools.


We need to reward schools that are doing the difficult work of turning themselves around. We are going to have to take a series of steps across a broad range of measures to not only target our most troubled schools, but also raise expectations for all our schools. But we have got to do more than that. In recent years, 15 States have actually lowered their standards to make it easier for their kids to meet the targets set by No Child Left Behind. That was that is a pretty perverse incentive when States say to themselves, you know what, let us lower our standards so that we have an easy time easier time passing those standards so that we do not get punished under No Child Left Behind . That makes no sense. They are graduating ready for college and ready for a career. To know whether our kids are on track to meet that goal, we need better assessments. Now, I want to speak to teachers in particular here. I am not talking about more tests. I am not talking about teaching to the test. We do not need to know whether a student can fill out a bubble. We do need to know whether they are making progress. We do need to know whether they are not only mastering reading, math, and science, but also developing the kinds of skills, like critical thinking and creativity and collaboration, that I just saw on display with the students that I met here. Those are skills they are going to need for the rest of their lives, not just to be good workers, but to be good citizens. But the point is, is that we need to refine how we are assessing progress so that we can have accountability without rigidity, accountability that still encourages creativity inside the classroom and empowers teachers and students and administrators. Of course, we also know that better standards, better assessments, and better curriculum will not make a difference without outstanding teachers. Every day in this country, teachers are doing a heroic job for their kids every day. They are taking on the problems that follow students into class, come in early to rewrite lessons, spending hours after school tutoring students. Now, in South Korea, teachers are known as nation builders, and I think it is time we treated our teachers with the same level of respect right here in the United States of America. But if we are serious about treating teachers that way, if we are serious about educating all our kids with an excellent teacher, then we are going to have to fix No Child Left Behind.


What No Child Left Behind says is that teachers need to be certified before they step into the classroom. Now, certification can be an important measure of the quality of the teacher, and obviously, we want teachers to be well-qualified. But when the quality of a teacher can make or break a child's education, we have got to make sure our certified teachers are also outstanding teachers, teachers who can reach every last child. And so what we need to do is a better job preparing and supporting our teachers, measuring their success in the classroom, holding them accountable. We are going to have to stop making excuses for the occasional bad teacher. We are going to have to start paying good ones like the professionals that they are. If we truly believe that teaching is one of the most valued professions in society and I cannot think of a more important profession then we have got to start valuing our great teachers. I do not know any teacher who got into it for the pay. The teachers who are here, you got into it for the kids, for the satisfaction of feeling like your passing on knowledge that these young people will use and carry on for the rest of their lives. So we need to reward you by letting you make more of a difference for your kids. give our best teachers more time to learn from each other, more time to mentor each other, more responsibilities in their schools. And to replace the baby boomers who are retiring in the coming years, we are going to have to recruit a whole new generation of teachers, including a hundred thousand new math and science teachers over the next decade. So these are the steps we are going to have to take to fix No Child Left Behind. And together with what we are already doing to make college more affordable for millions more students, I am confident these reforms will help us meet the goal that I set when I took office, which is, by the end of the decade, we will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. So these steps will require reforms. They will require a change in rules and standards and even attitudes. But let me just point out, there is no avoiding the fact they will also cost some money. It requires reform, but it costs some money. Making it possible for families to send their kids to college costs money. I understand that. And for too long, Government's been spending more than it is been taking in, and we cannot keep that up.


We are going to have to cut whatever spending we can afford to do without. So I have called on a 5-year freeze on annual domestic spending. That will cut the deficit by more than $400 billion over the next decade, making that kind of spending a much smaller share of the economy, smaller than it is been in 50 years. Right now we are sitting down with Republicans and Democrats to find other ways to get our deficits under control. We cannot cut education. We cannot cut the things that will make America more competitive. I mean, think about what happens in your own family when somebody loses a job or has an illness and you need to cut back. What do you do? You start by skipping that vacation you'd been planning, or you see what is on TV instead of going to the movies. Maybe you start packing your own lunch. There are a whole bunch of things that you might do. The last thing you are going to do is to dip into your child's college savings. You are not going to give that up. Well, what is true for your family is true for the American family. A budget that sacrifices our commitment to education would be a budget that is sacrificing our country's future. That would be a budget that sacrifices our children's future, and I will not let it happen. So yes, I am determined to cut our deficits. But I refuse to do it by telling students here, who are so full of promise, that we are not willing to invest in your future. I am not willing to tell these young people right here that their education is not a priority. I am talking about students like Katherine Diaz, who says, I think I should have the opportunity to be who I want to be. And it turns out that Katherine wants to either be a professional violinist or the first woman President of the United States. She might do both. professional violinist, President. Or I am talking about Roberto Claure. He says, With good schools and good teachers, we can grow up to be anything we want. It turns out Roberto wants to be the first Hispanic President of the United States. So you guys will have to work out, sort of, the sequence.